FYR of Macedonia: UNHCR
concerned over plight of civilians affected by fighting
31 MAY – The United Nations refugee agency today expressed
concern about the plight of civilians affected by the ongoing
hostilities in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Astrid van Genderen Stort, spokesperson for the UN High Commission
for Refugees (UNHCR) in Pristina, said the agency was "very
concerned that the continuing fighting will prevent further access
of humanitarian organizations to the region in order to provide
urgently needed aid." Stressing that freedom of movement
must be guaranteed, she said it was essential that no involuntary
evacuation out of the country took place, and that people were
given a free choice where to go when leaving the conflict zone.
The spokesperson also reported that some 500
people had crossed the boundary into Kosovo over the last two
days, but at the same time large numbers of people had been spontaneously
returning to southern Serbia's Presevo Valley.
Meanwhile, Yugoslav security forces have completed
their move into the last sub-sector of the five-kilometre wide
Ground Safety Zone, the international security force in Kosovo
(KFOR) reported today. According to KFOR, due to the potential
mine threat, it will take another 24 to 48 hours to clear the
zone for full freedom of movement for people going in and out
of the Presevo Valley.
Top UN official in Kosovo
welcomes Yugoslav remarks on elections
24 MAY – The United Nations Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK) today reacted positively to a reported statement
by the leadership of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia advising
Kosovo Serbs to register for the upcoming elections.
"This is good news," said Simon Haselock, a spokesman
for Hans Haekkerup, who heads the UN mission. "Mr. Haekkerup
would like to welcome President Kostunica's remarks reported in
the press that he and the Serbian Government would recommend to
Kosovo Serbs that they should register as voters for the Kosovo
elections."
While noting that President Kostunica's statement
was not a commitment to recommend that Kosovo Serbs participate
in the 17 November elections, Mr. Haekkerup felt that an encouragement
to register helped to keep their options open, the spokesman said.
He stressed that from UNMIK's point of view, all Kosovo citizens
should fully participate in the elections.
UN Mission in Kosovo establishes
new Police and Justice Pillar
22 MAY – The United Nations mission in Kosovo has established
a new structure to strengthen its justice and police capabilities,
a deputy head of the mission announced yesterday.
Gary Matthews, Principal Deputy Special Representative of the
UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), told journalists
in Pristina on Monday that the new Police and Justice Pillar had
been established "to provide greater focus, centrality and
coordination" to UNMIK's efforts. Its major components would
be UNMIK Police and the Department of Judicial Affairs.
Up to now, these functions were part of Pillar
II (Civil Administration), Mr. Matthews said. The new Pillar's
priorities included increasing Kosovo Police officers and enhancing
their capabilities; increasing the number of judges and prosecutors,
and expanding detention and penal facilities to hold those convicted
of crime.
"We will soon have much greater resources
and legislative powers to deal with crime, terrorism and violence,"
Mr. Matthews said. These included the coming into force on 4 June
of legislation to deal with illegal weapons possession and weapons
trafficking, pending legislation to deal with illegal border and
boundary crossing, and legislation in the works to deal with terrorism
and organized crime.
UNMIK head Hans Haekkerup signed the regulations
establishing the new structure on 18 May.
Security Council mission
set to visit Kosovo from 15 to 19 June
17 MAY – The planned visit of a Security Council delegation
to Kosovo will take place from 15 to 19 June to observe the "difficult
challenges" faced by the United Nations in the troubled province,
according to a document released today at United Nations Headquarters
in New York.
The dates for the Council visit and its terms of reference were
contained in a letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan from the
Council President, Ambassador James J. Cunningham of the United
States.
Noting that during its visit the delegation
would look at the impact of the regional situation on the work
of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Ambassador
Cunningham wrote that Council members will also convey "a
strong message" to Kosovo leaders on the need to reject violence,
condemn extremist and terrorist activities, promote ethnic reconciliation
and support implementation of resolution 1244.
Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury, Permanent
Representative of Bangladesh to the UN, will lead the Council
delegation.
Meanwhile, over 3,000 displaced people have
entered Kosovo from southern Serbia's Presevo Valley following
renewed fighting between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian insurgents,
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported today.
UNHCR spokesperson Astrid Van Genderen Stort said the agency had
increased its presence in certain critical areas with tents and
reception centres, continuously monitoring and assisting the new
arrivals.
In another development, 90 ethnic Albanians
had given themselves up by last night to the KFOR international
security force following an amnesty offer, a spokesman said today.
All had entered Kosovo at the same checkpoint one day after KFOR
offered amnesty to ethnic Albanian rebels if they laid down their
arms and surrender in Kosovo.
More ethnic Albanians
flee into Kosovo from southern Serbia: UN refugee agency
16 MAY – Some 550 ethnic Albanians have fled into Kosovo
to escape fighting in southern Serbia's Presevo Valley, the United
Nations refugee agency said today.
According to a spokesperson for the UN High Commission for Refugees
(UNHCR) in Pristina, the new arrivals bring to more than 3,000
the number of those who have fled from the Presevo Valley since
13 May.
The spokesperson also reported that ethnic Albanians
were trickling in from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
with 20 crossing into Kosovo today. The total number of those
who have crossed into Kosovo from the FYR of Macedonia stood at
more than 9,000 since fighting there resumed in early May, the
spokesperson said.
Annan welcomes conclusion of constitutional
framework for Kosovo
15 MAY – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today
welcomed the conclusion of a key legal document paving the way
for provisional self-government in Kosovo.
A spokesman for the Secretary-General said in a statement that
Mr. Annan commended the "consultative and inclusive manner"
in which the Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government
in Kosovo had been elaborated.
"The Secretary-General believes that there
are adequate guarantees built into the Constitutional Framework
to protect the rights and interests of all of Kosovo's communities,"
the statement said. Mr. Annan "strongly encourages all communities
to participate in the electoral process and the interim institutions
that will flow from these," calling in particular on the
Kosovo Serb community to register and take part in Kosovo-wide
elections scheduled for 17 November.
"It is now time to move forward the political
agenda in Kosovo," the spokesman said, stressing the Secretary-General's
hope that the elections would show that the future of the province
"lies in the peaceful pursuit of the political process."
He added that the local leadership should "seize this opportunity
to advance the interests of Kosovo in a peaceful and democratic
manner."
The Constitutional Framework was signed today
by the head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK), Hans Haekkerup, at a ceremony in Pristina. Flanked by
the Kosovo Albanian members of the Interim Administrative Council
(IAC), Mr. Haekkerup called the Framework "a significant
step forward: it does not address the final political solution,
but it is a very important stepping stone for reaching final agreement
at some stage."
All three Kosovo Albanian Members of the IAC
said they would participate in the process outlined by the Framework,
with two of them also expressing support for the document, UNMIK
said. The Kosovo Serb IAC member did not attend the signing ceremony.
Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) reported today that more than 1,000 ethnic Albanians had
fled to Kosovo from southern Serbia's volatile Presevo area, amid
new clashes between ethnic Albanian separatists and Serbian security
forces. The agency said it had urged Yugoslav and Serbian authorities,
as well as the area's ethnic Albanian leaders, to show maximum
restraint ahead of a planned hand-over by NATO of parts of the
Presevo area to Yugoslav forces on 24 May.
Top UN official in Kosovo announces elections
for 17 November
14 MAY – Kosovo-wide elections will take place on 17 November
2001, the top United Nations official in the province announced
today in a TV and radio address aired across Kosovo and over Serbian
media.
Hans Haekkerup, head of the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK), said voters would elect a 120-member law-making
Assembly. Voting would be by a proportional system, so that the
parties with the most votes would fill 100 of the Assembly seats.
The 20 other seats would go to non-majority communities -- 10
for Kosovo Serbs and 10 for other communities. All those 18 and
over who were Kosovo residents on 1 January 1998 would be eligible
to vote, including displaced people.
During the address, Mr. Haekkerup explained
the new provisional institutions of self-government, which are
spelled out in the Constitutional Framework for Interim Self-Government.
Mr. Haekkerup said he planned to sign the document -- which he
called "the most important legislative act since UNMIK was
established" -- after a final review on Tuesday morning by
the Kosovo members of the Interim Administrative Council.
Mr. Haekkerup outlined the main ideas within
the Constitutional Framework, and described the significant powers
and responsibilities that will be handed over to the Kosovar government.
The work of the Assembly will be guided by a seven-member Presidency,
which will suggest draft laws. The Assembly will elect a President
of Kosovo, who will nominate a Prime Minister.
Mr. Haekkerup said the Constitutional Framework
was a joint effort of all Kosovo communities, adding that although
consensus could not be obtained in several areas, he felt "the
result is a very fair compromise." He urged all communities
to participate in the elections and the new government, stressing
that only by participating "can the future for all communities
be secured."
International force seizes large quantity
of weapons in Kosovo
11 MAY – The international security force in Kosovo (KFOR)
has seized a large quantity of weapons believed to be destined
for ethnic Albanian rebels in the Presevo Valley area of southern
Serbia, a United Nations spokesman announced today.
According to the spokesman, a large truck carrying timber and
three cars accompanying it were stopped on Thursday evening outside
Pec in western Kosovo. Among the weapons seized were 52 rocket
launchers, five anti-aircraft surface-to-air missiles and a dozen
anti-tank rocket launchers. Seven people were arrested and held
for questioning, the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the number of ethnic Albanians arriving
in Kosovo from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia stood
at nearly 9,000, but daily arrivals had dwindled to between 350
and 400 people a day, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
reported today. Some of those arriving in Kosovo alleged that
Macedonian border police were charging money for allowing them
to leave, UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said today in Geneva. UNHCR
was discussing the allegations with the Skopje Government.
There were also reports of ethnic Albanian separatists
preventing villagers from leaving their homes in mountainous areas,
but such reports could not be confirmed independently, the spokesman
said. Villagers interviewed by UNHCR said some people stayed behind
to keep an eye on their property.
Kosovo: UNHCR reports
no major crossings of civilians from FYR of Macedonia
10 MAY – There have been no major crossings of civilians
from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia into Kosovo over
the past two days, officials from the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) said today.
A spokeswoman for the agency said in Pristina that some 300 people
had reportedly crossed into Kosovo yesterday, mainly coming from
the Kumanovo area, where shelling had continued throughout the
day. Spokeswoman Astrid van Genderen Stort noted that some refugees
had fled the directly affected villages out of fear, while others
had left as a precautionary measure.
A total of 8,076 people had crossed the border
since the latest round of fighting in the FYR of Macedonia started
on 3 May, the spokeswoman said. Due to lack of documents, more
than 3,000 had taken the so-called "unofficial" border
crossing. Many of them had reported having been stopped by Macedonian
forces and asked for a contribution in money or gold before a
crossing could be ensured. There were also reports of roadblocks
set up to stop the flight.
"UNHCR remains extremely concerned about
the well-being of the civilian population who remain in the area
of conflict," said Eric Morris, UNHCR Special Envoy to the
former Yugoslavia and Albania. "It also remains concerned
about reports on difficulties of coming across the border."
He encouraged all parties to allow freedom of movement for those
who are fleeing out of fear of becoming the victim of violence.
According to UNHCR, more than 16,000 people
have arrived in Kosovo from the FYR of Macedonia since fighting
began in March.
Kosovo: top UN official
sees progress in work on self-government framework
9 MAY – The head of the United Nations mission in Kosovo
said today that a "good compromise" between the province's
Serb and Albanian communities on a key legal document was drawing
near.
Speaking at a press conference at UN Headquarters in New York,
Hans Haekkerup, who heads the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK), said that while it had not yet been possible
to reach consensus on the Legal Framework for provisional self-government
institutions in the province, there was agreement on "98
per cent" of the document.
Efforts had been made to accommodate the concerns
of the Kosovo Serbs, Mr. Haekkerup said, with amendments guaranteeing
the rights of communities and mechanisms to solve problems when
a community's vital interests were at stake. While the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia has still not fully agreed, there will
be "understanding and acceptance" of the document when
it is put forward, Mr. Haekkerup noted.
Since a few questions were also outstanding
with Kosovo Albanians, it was UNMIK's task "to strike a balance"
while taking into account as far as possible the views of the
different communities, Mr. Haekkerup said.
Mr. Haekkerup, who spoke to the press after
briefing the Security Council in closed consultations, said that
there was broad support in the Council for moving ahead. The final
text of the Legal Framework will be promulgated and elections
will be held this year. The upcoming visit of members of the Council
to Kosovo could further the creation of self-government institutions,
he said.
During its consultations today, the Council
also discussed the general security situation both in Kosovo and
in the region, events in southern Serbia and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, and the need to give UNMIK the necessary
capability to fight terrorism and organized crime, Mr. Haekkerup
said.
Thousands leaving FYR
of Macedonia for Kosovo, UN refugee agency says
8 MAY – Some 6,600 people have arrived in Kosovo from the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia since 3 May amid new clashes
between ethnic Albanian militants and the country's security forces,
the United Nations refugee agency said today.
Most of the people were leaving as a precautionary measure, the
UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said, adding that an estimated
3,000 people had crossed the border on Monday alone, using both
the official border crossings and small mountain roads.
"UNHCR is gravely concerned about the new
wave of violence in the FYR of Macedonia sparked by rebel attacks
against security forces," said UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski
in Geneva. "We are urging that every effort be made to avoid
a further escalation."
In another development, Secretary-General Kofi
Annan met today at UN Headquarters with Yugoslav President Vojislav
Kostunica, a UN spokesman said. Speaking to the press after the
meeting, President Kostunica said talks had examined the legal
framework for provisional self-government institutions in Kosovo.
"The intention of our government is to have a multiethnic
and multicultural Kosovo within the framework of Security Council
resolution 1244," he said, adding that institutions for self-rule
should be provisional, not final. Other issues covered in the
talks included the rights of minorities in Kosovo, acts of violence,
missing persons and the displaced, Mr. Kostunica said.
Earlier in the day, the Secretary-General had
also met with his special Representative for Kosovo, Hans Haekkerup,
and his Special Envoy for the Balkans, Carl Bildt. Mr. Haekkerup
is scheduled to brief the Security Council tomorrow.
UN refugee agency concerned
at plight of civilians in FYR of Macedonia
7 MAY – The United Nations refugee agency today expressed
concern at the plight of civilians affected by fighting in the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
"We remain particularly concerned about the well-being of
civilians caught in the conflict areas," said Eric Morris,
Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
to the former Yugoslavia and Albania, in a statement issued in
Pristina.
"Civilians must be protected from military
attacks as well as political manipulations," Mr. Morris said,
adding that once people had fled out of fear of violence it was
"extraordinarily difficult" to create the conditions
for their safe return.
The UNHCR office in Pristina reported today
that over 3,000 people had entered Kosovo since fighting in the
FYR of Macedonia started on 3 May. While initially most arrivals
had come from the area around Kumanovo, where fighting was taking
place, over the weekend more than 1,500 people came from the Tetovo
region, after a nine-hour journey by foot over the mountains.
The new arrivals -- mostly women, young children
and elderly men -- told UNHCR that they had left for precautionary
reasons, fearing an escalation of the violence. Those who fled
from the Tetovo region reported a buildup of the Macedonian military
in Tetovo's rural areas.
Meanwhile, the head of the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Hans Haekkerup, left Kosovo today for
UN Headquarters in New York, where he will hold consultations
with Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday, and brief the Security
Council the next day.
Kosovo: refuting press reports, UN envoy
says work on legal framework goes on
3 MAY – The top United Nations official in Kosovo today
denied reports published in the Belgrade media that a legal framework
for interim self-government had been completed without including
the concerns of the Kosovo Serbs.
Hans Haekkerup, head of the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK), told journalists today that the comments in
the Belgrade press did not "reflect the reality." On
the contrary, he had been meeting continuously with Kosovo political
representatives and members of the international community on
the Legal Framework, which outlines structures of provisional
self-government.
"By the end of the week, we will take stock
of where we are and then finish the work," Mr. Haekkerup
said, stressing his intention to include some of the Serb-proposed
recommendations in the final document.
Mr. Haekkerup stressed that guarantees in the
document ensure the protection of minority interests. "We
have been building a lot of guarantees for minorities and groups,
so that it will be difficult for a majority to overrule a minority
in a non-acceptable way," he said.
The document provides for an elected assembly
to make decisions and pass laws in fields as varied as social
welfare, health, education, the environment, agriculture, industry
and trade.
Mr. Haekkerup stressed that the Legal Framework
would be an important step towards self-government, but would
not deal with the final settlement, on which the document was
"neutral." The Framework should, however, facilitate
a final political settlement, he said.
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