Former Yugoslav Security
agent transferred to UN Wr Crimes Tribunal
30 May - A former senior Yugoslav intelligence agent was transferred
from Serbia to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY)
in The Hague today to face charges of crimes against humanity
for murder and ethnic cleansing of Croats and Muslims in Croatia
and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the court said.
Franko Simatovic, 53, also known as “Frenki,”
was indicted on 1 May on four counts of crimes against humanity
– including persecutions on political, racial or religious
grounds, murder, deportation and forcible transfer – and
one count of violations of the laws or customs of war for murder.
The indictment accuses him of participating
in a joint criminal enterprise, with among others, former Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic, now standing trial before the Tribunal,
former Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic, already sentenced
to 11 years in prison, and two top fugitives, Bosnian Serb political
leader Radovan Karadzic and Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko
Mladic.
It alleges that between 1991 and 1995, Mr. Simatovic,
“acting alone or in concert with members of the joint criminal
enterprise, planned, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and
abetted the planning, preparation or execution of persecutions
of Croats, Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats and other non-Serbs”
in Croatia and Bosnia.
The persecutions were committed on the discriminatory grounds
of political affiliation, race or religion and included the murder,
forcible transfer and deportation of Croats, Bosnian Muslims,
Bosnian Croats and other non-Serbs, it adds.
UN celebrates first International
Day of Peacekeepers
29 May - The United Nations today observed the first International
Day of UN Peacekeepers with a pledge from Secretary-General
Kofi Annan that the world body’s peacekeeping mission would
continue because, even if it cannot by itself end war, it can
help prevent a recurrence of fighting.
“Above all, it gives time and space for
conflict resolution. It gives peace a chance,” Mr. Annan
said in a videotaped message that paid tribute to the more than
1,800 peacekeepers who have died in the 55 years since the first
UN peacekeeping operation.
The day – 29 May – was chosen for
the celebration because on that day in 1948 the first mission,
the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), began operations
with a group of unarmed military observers in Palestine –
a mission that is still alive today. Since then, there have been
56 UN peacekeeping operations, 43 of them established since 1988.
Today, there are nearly 37,000 UN peacekeepers
from 89 countries deployed in 14 missions on three continents.
“Fifty-five years ago, soldiers were sent
onto the battlefield under a new flag and with a new mission:
a mission of peace,” Mr. Annan said. “That mission
was without precedent in human history. It was an attempt to confront
and defeat the worst in man with the best in man; to counter violence
with tolerance, might with moderation, and war with peace.”
The Secretary-General noted the widespread tasks
the missions now undertake, such as policing and training, serving
as judges and prosecutors, administering health and education,
ensuring that human rights and gender equality are observed, building
administrations as in Kosovo and East Timor, and helping the new
authorities establish the rule of law as in Afghanistan.
“No figures, however, can do justice to
the ultimate sacrifice that more than 1,800 peacekeepers have
made over this half-century. On this day, we pay tribute to each
one of them,” he declared.
“I am proud to salute the peacekeepers
serving today, and to pay tribute to those who served in the past.
Their sacrifice has made the world a safer place.”
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UN marks 10-year anniversary
of War Crimes Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia
23 May - Ten years after the Security Council set up a tribunal
to prosecute war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia, it
can be "justly proud" of the important achievements
in recording the crimes that scarred the Balkans in the 1990s,
the president of the United Nations court said today.
"Our collective labours, and the labours
of the many individuals who have served at the Tribunal over the
years, have made a fundamental and lasting contribution to bringing
justice to the people of the former Yugoslavia," Judge Theodore
Meron said in a message to commemorate the tenth anniversary,
on Sunday, of the Statute that established the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia <"http://www.un.org/icty/latest/index.htm">(ICTY).
"The conflicts in the former Yugoslavia
involved terrible crimes that destroyed or devastated hundreds
of thousands of lives," he added. "The vast scale of
those crimes - the murders, rapes, and deportations, the acts
of torture, destruction, and cruelty - would dwarf the capacity
of any single court to bring more than a very partial reckoning.
But, if with painful slowness at first, with growing confidence
and efficiency this Tribunal has helped bring to account a significant
number of accused of high rank."
Judge Meron said that he also recognized the
hard work that lies ahead, including trials for dozens of the
defendants and the need to bring high-ranking indictees such as
Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic to justice.
"We must redouble our efforts," he
said. "The next few years will be crucial ones in the life
of the Tribunal. Day to day, the work that each of us does may
seem small and, at times, frustrating. But if we all continue
to devote our full energies to our common pursuit of justice,
I am confident that we will leave an important legacy to the people
of the Balkans and the world."
UN envoy says Balkan border
security needed to boost economy
23 May - The top United Nations official in Kosovo has called
on western Balkan countries to ensure secure borders in order
to solve their economic difficulties, including unemployment.
"We all need more jobs," the head
of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Michael
Steiner, told the Regional Conference on Border Security and Management
in Ohrid, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. "You may
ask whether this is connected to border security. It definitely
is: jobs need investment; investment needs confidence; confidence
needs security; and security needs safe borders and boundaries."
The UNMIK chief added that without secure borders,
it would not be possible to stamp out smuggling and the trafficking
of arms and drugs. "Extremist and criminal gangs co-operate
across the region and beyond. If we are to defeat them, so must
we," he added.
The two-day conference brought together leaders
of the western Balkans and the international community in an effort
to strengthen regional cooperation in order to combat smuggling,
human trafficking and terrorism. It was hosted by the Government
of former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and co-organized with
the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe and the North Atlantic
Treaty Alliance (NATO).
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Set of 29 mortal remains
in Serbia repatriated to Kosovo
22 May - A group of 29 mortal remains believed to belong to Kosovars
who had been in Serbia proper is expected to be handed over Friday
to family representatives, the United Nations mission in Kosovo
said today.
A group reburial is expected to take place at
a commemorative site outside Meja town after the remains are released
to the next of kin. The handover procedures, which began 8 May,
will include the completion of official documents.
There will be an additional handover to family
representatives from the Prizren area, which are also part of
the same repatriation process.
UN Tribunal accepts guilty
plea of Serb Commander during Srebrenica siege
21 May - The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
today accepted a guilty plea from a Bosnian Serb commander during
the 1995 siege of Srebrenica on charges of persecution as a crime
against humanity.
Dragan Obrenovic, the Deputy Commander of the
Zvornik Brigade, a unit of the Army of the Republika Srpska, agreed
to plead guilty to a count of persecutions on political, racial
and religious grounds as a crime against humanity. In exchange,
the Tribunal prosecutor’s office would recommend a 15- to
20-year sentence, with credit for time served in ICTY custody,
and dismiss all other charges.
The Tribunal has yet to set a time and date
for the sentencing hearing.
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UN envoy says Kosovo Assembly's
resolution 'divisive'
15 May - The provisional local authorities in Kosovo were today
excluded from United Nations delegations to three forthcoming
international meetings after the provincial assembly passed a
resolution that the top UN official there called "divisive"
and against the spirit of avoiding a return to Kosovo's violent
past.
The head of the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo, Michael Steiner, said the resolution raised questions
as to whether local leaders had learned the lessons of the past
conflict, when the international community intervened because
of widespread rights violations, particularly the denial of rights
of the majority community.
"We are fully aware that repression in
Kosovo gave rise to its people's struggle for justice," Mr.
Steiner said in a statement today. "It is, however, equally
critical to recognize that Kosovo's future peace and prosperity
depends on upholding the principle that was trampled on during
the 1990's, that is, respect for the rights and interests of all
Kosovo's communities."
He said the resolution, which reaffirms the
determination for an independent state and calls for the government
to regulate the "status of the fighter for the freedom and
independence of Kosovo," was divisive and ran counter to
the reconciliatory spirit enshrined in UN resolutions and the
constitutional framework.
The international community expected the Assembly
to act in a manner "that builds into the future and does
not drag Kosovo into the past," he added.
The three meetings are the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) Council on 21 May in Brussels, the Stability
Pact Parliamentary Conference from 21 to 22 May in Brussels, and
the Stability Pact Regional Conference of the European Union (EU),
NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) in Ohrid, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia from 22
to 23 May.
Mr. Steiner said he had spoken to the hosts
of all three meetings who "under these circumstances no longer
consider it appropriate that the Provisional Institutions (President,
Assembly and the Government respectively) are represented in the
UNMIK delegations."
Long-time UN official
Maryan Baquerot dies
14 May – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today expressed sadness
at the sudden death of a long-time United Nations official, Maryan
Baquerot.
The Secretary-General was saddened to learn
of Mr. Baquerot's death Tuesday and extends condolences to Mr.
Baquerot's wife, daughter and parents, "and to all others
touched by this loss," said a statement issued by a spokesman
for Mr. Annan. "Whatever the assignment, Mr. Baquerot made
important contributions and was highly respected by his colleagues."
Mr. Baquerot served most recently as an
Executive Director of the WHO. He had previously been the Director
of Administration at the UN Office in Geneva, Chief of Staff and
Director of Administration of the UN Mission in Kosovo, Director
of Human Resources for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
and served in the Office of Human Resources Management and Controller's
Office in New York.
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Kosovo mission at its
most difficult and delicate phase - UN envoy
8 May - The top United Nations official in Kosovo said today the
UN mission there had entered “what is perhaps its most critical
and delicate phase” with the transference of competencies
to local provisional institutions.
“Responsibilities have to be transferred
gradually, so that the society’s institutions have the capacity
to bear them,” Michael Steiner, the head of the UN Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK),
told the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and
Co-operation (OSCE)
in Europe in Vienna.
“This makes local capacity building and
monitoring more important than ever,” he added. “As
we transfer more responsibilities, we have to intensify our monitoring
of how they’re carried out. With its seasoned field presence,
the OSCE is uniquely qualified to play the leading role in this
critical process.”
Outlining the priorities of fighting organized
crime, establishing the rule of law, human rights and a market-based
economy, and speeding the return of refugees, Mr. Steiner said
integration within Kosovo was the key to the province’s
integration within Europe.
“Transforming Kosovo into a place where
all its people can live in security and dignity is not only essential
for the sake of minority communities,” he declared. “It
is essential for the long-term stability of the Balkans and Europe
itself. To achieve this transformation, we need to help Kosovans
to make European standards their own.”
He stressed that with regard to organized crime,
a regional problem, Europe faced a choice in weighing the importance
of Kosovo next to competing priorities farther afield.
“To put it starkly,” he said, “Europe
can either help us fill our prisons in Kosovo by supporting vital
work in training police, developing the judiciary and developing
technical forensic expertise. Or Kosovo will help fill prisons
in Europe. Clearly, this would be a bad bargain. Instead, after
the huge investment made already, we must continue our work to
make Kosovo a beacon for the rule of law and, ultimately, an exporter
of stability.”
UNMIK is a success because the engagement of
the international community he said. “It has been a joint
endeavour,” Mr. Steiner declared. “The legitimacy
that comes from the UN and the support of the whole Security Council
means that the whole world is represented in Kosovo. And the three
pillar structure, put in place from lessons learned in Bosnia,
has been a big success. It represents the EU (European Union),
the UN and the OSCE working hand in hand in UNMIK.”
UN to aid repatriation
of Kosovo Albanian bodies from Serbia
7 May – The first group of some 800 bodies exhumed in Serbia
proper, and believed to be of Kosovo Albanian missing persons,
will be repatriated under United Nations auspices tomorrow.
The transfer has been arranged by the Office
on Missing Persons and Forensics (OMPF) of the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in cooperation with the UN Civilian
Police's Missing Persons Unit (MPU) and the Serbian authorities.
OMPF said mortal remains were exhumed from the
Serbian sites at Petrovo Selo I and II; Batajnica, at seven different
locations; and Bajna Basta/Perucac Lake. An UNMIK team, including
an Albanian forensic pathologist, was in the Serbian capital of
Belgrade today to monitor the transfer of bodies exhumed from
Batajnica and identified by DNA.
Currently, 100 to 150 bodies are in the
process of being identified through DNA.
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