Security Council holds
first public meeting to evaluate past month's work
29 JUNE – The United Nations Security Council, whose presidency
rotates on a monthly basis, held today the first-ever open "wrap-up"
meeting designed to evaluate the past month's work.
Opening the meeting, the Council President for the month of June,
Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury of Bangladesh, said the past few
weeks had been both difficult and productive. In addition to discussing
major conflict areas, the Council had held a daylong debate on
the first-ever report of the Secretary-General on the prevention
of armed conflict. Ambassador Chowdhury, who is the Permanent
Representative of Bangladesh to the UN, said his country was preparing
a draft resolution on the issue to submit to the Council for adoption
next month.
"One aspect which came up time and again
in our deliberations was how decisions are translated into action,"
he said, stressing that the Secretary-General must be given resources
to implement the Council's decisions. He also called for reflecting
on how follow-up on the issues could be carried out "not
as routine calendar events but as conscious policy decisions to
pursue them in a proactive manner."
He welcomed this month's trip by a 15-member
Council delegationto the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including
Kosovo, as part of the body's ongoing effort to visit conflict
areas. June also saw the adoption of a major resolution on the
Council's relationship with troop-contributing countries, which
served to refine and strengthen that relationship.
Ambassador Chowdhury also pointed out that the
Council should pay greater attention to its relations with the
media and the public. "We should make efforts to see that
the Council's work receives the attention of the world outside,"
he said.
During the discussion that followed, Council
members congratulated Secretary-General Kofi Annan on his re-election
and lauded Ambassador Chowdhury for the efficient and transparent
manner in which he had conducted his work as Council President.
They offered suggestions about transmitting Council decisions
and resolutions to those for whom they were intended. Many underscored
the importance of sending Council missions to conflict areas and
of the debate on the prevention of armed conflict.
Top UN official in Kosovo
appeals for resources to fund return of Kosovo Serbs
29 JUNE – The top United Nations official in Kosovo today
appealed to international donors for resources for the "safe
and sustainable return of Kosovo Serbs" to the province.
Addressing a meeting of donor countries in Pristina, Hans Haekkerup,
head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK),
urged donors to take steps to start the process before the November
elections, and stressed that "collective efforts" should
be made.
According to Mr. Haekkerup, three elements should
be in place for returns to be "successful and sustainable:"
a safe and secure environment with an acceptable level of freedom
of movement for returnees; an inter-ethnic dialogue among political
and community leaders to build confidence among communities; and
a substantial commitment of resources on the part of the international
community.
"The survival and economic livelihood of
those returning will ultimately depend on the level of housing
and infrastructure reconstruction, on employment creation and
on working and accessible public services," Mr. Haekkerup
said.
Eric Morris, Special envoy for the former Yugoslavia
and Kosovo of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told
the meeting that Serb leaders in Kosovo and Belgrade had complained
that the Framework of Returns was insufficient. Andy Bearpark,
deputy UNMIK chief of reconstruction, said the Department of Reconstruction
had done a damage assessment of sites identified for returns.
Such assessment would be given to the donors, with whom the Department
would work closely to carry out reconstruction.
FYR of Macedonia: Annan
calls on parties to honour ceasefire agreement
26 JUNE – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called upon
the parties to the crisis in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
"to fully honour" the ceasefire agreement and "to
reinvigorate their efforts" towards a political settlement.
"[The Secretary-General] is convinced that there cannot be
a military solution to the present crisis and emphasizes the heavy
responsibility that now rests on political leaders and others
concerned for the future of their country and for peace in the
region," a spokesman for Mr. Annan said today in a statement.
The Secretary-General expressed support for
the ongoing efforts of the European Union (EU) and welcomed the
recent ceasefire negotiated by the EU High Representative, Mr.
Javier Solana, the spokesman said, adding that "every effort
must be made to avoid further violence and any form of provocation,"
and to resume the political dialogue and prevent the country from
sliding further towards war.
Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) today appealed to Governments for urgent financial support
to cope with the growing humanitarian consequences of the conflict.
According to the UNHCR Pristina office, the
agency is seeking $17.5 million to provide emergency assistance
over the next six months to more than 65,000 refugees in Kosovo,
some 6,000 refugees in Serbia and thousands more who are internally
displaced within the FYR of Macedonia.
Eric Morris, UNHCR's special envoy for the region,
said the continuing displacement had now affected more than 100,000
people. "UNHCR must be prepared for a worst-case scenario,
even though it is not too late for a peaceful solution,"
Mr. Morris said.
The funds requested would enable UNHCR to support
the many thousands of host families in Kosovo who have taken in
the refugees, Mr. Morris said. It would also provide food and
other assistance, and prepare the groundwork for expected continued
movements throughout the region. Yesterday the agency opened a
full-service registration centre in Kosovo that could be expanded
to hold up to 14,00 refugees.
Kosovo: political engagement
of minorities a key challenge, Security Council told
22 JUNE – Involving all communities in the political process
and guaranteeing multi-ethnicity in the province remained a major
challenge for the United Nations Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK), the top UN peacekeeping official told the Security
Council today as it met to discuss a recent visit by a Council
delegation to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo.
Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
Operations, stressed that the 15-member Council mission, which
visited the area from 16 to 18 June, had succeeded in delivering
"firm and balanced" messages that the UN and the international
community were committed to protecting the rights of all communities,
but that all Kosovars "must accept their share of the responsibility."
The Kosovo Albanians must respect the rights of the minority communities,
and these communities must accept "the risk of participation,"
he said.
The mission had made clear that there was "no
hidden agenda," Mr. Guéhenno stressed at the outset
of the debate, in which representatives of almost 20 countries
took part. He said the international community was aiming to "take
the process forward by establishing provisional self-government
through the November elections and by creating a society in Kosovo
that will be able to produce legitimate interlocutors for discussions
on a final settlement."
There was a need to create confidence-building
measures vis-à-vis the Kosovo Serb community in conjunction
with the Yugoslav authorities, Mr Guéhenno said. The security
situation was a key factor, as the Kosovo Serb community, in particular,
continued "to suffer disproportionately from major crimes
and ethnically motivated acts of intimidation."
Hundreds continue to arrive in Kosovo from
FYR of Macedonia: UNHCR
22 JUNE – Hundreds of people are continuing to arrive in
Kosovo from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as they
flee fighting along the border areas, the United Nations refugee
agency reported today.
Millicent Mutuli, spokeswoman for the Geneva-based UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR), said that on Thursday alone some 1,400 refugees
had entered Kosovo from Blace and the Jazince border crossing,
following clashes at the village of Radusha.
More than 50,300 refugees had arrived in Kosovo
and another 5,000 into southern Serbia since fighting intensified
this year in the FYR of Macedonia, the spokeswoman said. The flow
of refugees had slowed last week, but had picked up again this
week amid fears of a ceasefire breakdown and reports of fighting
near the capital, Skopje.
Security Council mission
presents findings of its visit to Kosovo
19 JUNE – The current political process in Kosovo is crucial
to combating extremism and encouraging moderates on all sides,
according to the report of the Security Council mission to the
province released today at United Nations Headquarters.
The Security Council mission -- the first to include all 15 members
and be headed by the Council President -- visited Kosovo and the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 16 to 18 June to observe the
operations of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) and the situation on the ground.
"The Mission sent a strong message to all
communities to reject all violence, extremism and terrorism and
to work with UNMIK in implementing Security Council resolution
1244," the Council President, Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury
of Bangladesh, said today as he presented the report at an open
meeting of the Council.
According to the report, creating a multi-ethnic
Kosovo remains one of the main challenges. The report stresses
the responsibility of Kosovo leaders for creating conditions conducive
to reconciliation and improved intercommunal relations. In particular,
the Kosovo Albanian leaders should be "more forthcoming with
regard to improving the treatment of the minority communities."
In turn, minority communities must realize that
there is no alternative to establishing a multiethnic society
and that the only viable future for all communities lies in participation,
the Council mission stresses. "The Kosovo Serb community,
in particular, must integrate into the structures being set up
by UNMIK, rather than attempt to set up parallel structures."
The Mission recommends that "more intensified
efforts should be put into the issue of the missing of all communities
and detainees, which continues to be a major impediment to reconciliation
and was an issue raised by almost every Kosovo representative
the Mission met," the report says.
Participation by all communities in the 17 November
elections, the return of refugees and displaced persons and their
participation in elections should be encouraged, the report observes.
For its part, UNMIK should continue its dialogue with Yugoslavia's
authorities, "whose influence in Kosovo is key on the implementation
of resolution 1244."
UNHCR still concerned
by refugee flow from FYR of Macedonia into Kosovo
19 JUNE – Despite a diminishing flow of people from the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia into Kosovo, the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today it remained
"extremely concerned" about the situation and continued
to monitor it closely.
Astrid Van Genderen Stort, a UNHCR spokeswoman in Pristina said
the number of arrivals through Blace and other border crossings
continued all through the weekend, although at a lower rate than
earlier last week. Over 1,500 people had crossed on Friday, but
on Sunday the number of new arrivals had decreased to 557 people.
Still, there have been 27,000 new arrivals in less than 10 days,
adding that the total number of Macedonians displaced since 3
May was close to 39,000.
In southern Serbia, over 700 Macedonians of
different ethnic background were reported entering at the end
of last week, UNHCR said, bringing the total number of arrivals
from the FYR of Macedonia to over 3,500.
Security Council mission,
Yugoslav leader agree on goal of multi-ethnic Kosovo
18 JUNE – After a meeting with Yugoslav President Vojislav
Kostunica in Belgrade, the visiting Security Council delegation
said today the two sides had agreed to work together in support
the common quest for a multi-ethnic Kosovo.
"We have made a new beginning in the relation between the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the international community,"
Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, the current
President of the Council, who led the 15-member mission, told
reporters after three hours of talks with President Kostunica,
Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic and other senior officials.
Council members discussed the constitutional
framework for an interim self-government, the return of Serbs
to Kosovo, the upcoming elections of 17 November and the issue
of missing and detained persons.
The Council delegation, which was flying back
to New York today, has scheduled an open meeting on Tuesday afternoon
to discuss its mission to Kosovo and Yugoslavia.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced
today in Pristina it was tapping contingency stockpiles and mobilizing
extra staff to assist a fresh wave of ethnic Albanian refugees
fleeing to Kosovo from the conflict in the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia.
According to WFP, more than 18,000 refugees
crossed the border during the past week to escape an upsurge in
fighting, bringing the total to over 41,000. Another 3,500 Macedonian
Albanians fled into southern Serbia.
On arrival, the refugees are registered, sheltered
in temporary accommodation and given emergency daily rations,
WFP said. Once settled with local families, they receive a full
month's ration of wheat flour, pulses, vegetable oil and sugar.
Security Council mission to Kosovo calls
on all communities to shun extremism
17 JUNE – Concluding its visit to Kosovo, a delegation of
the Security Council comprising all of its 15 members appealed
to both Kosovo Albanian and Kosovo Serb leaders today to shun
extremism and commit their efforts to building a multi-ethnic
society.
"The communities should look toward the future," Ambassador
Anwarul K. Chowdhury, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to
the United Nations and the President of the Council for the month
of June, told a press conference in Pristina at the end of a two-day
visit. "They should not be pulled back by their past, but
to organize their lives for peaceful coexistence."
Ambassador Chowdhury, who led the Council delegation,
noted that the Serb community was particularly concerned about
security, saying that displaced Kosovo Serbs would not be able
to return home unless their security was insured.
The issue of missing and detained persons came
up during discussions as a priority concern of the Council, he
said, adding that the delegation would take up the matter with
Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica on Monday, when it travels
to Belgrade.
Another strong message the Council repeated
throughout its visit was the importance of the participation of
the Kosovo Serbs in the 17 November elections and in the interim
institutions to be created.
Shortly before the Sunday press conference,
the delegation met with Russian Federation President Vladimir
Putin, who had made a surprise visit to Kosovo from Belgrade to
review the 3,000-strong Russian contingent at Pristina airport.
According to the UN Interim Administration Mission in the province
(UNMIK), the Council members and the head of UNMIK, Hans Haekkerup,
had "full and frank discussions" with President Putin
on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1244, which
established the UN presence in Kosovo. They also discussed the
upcoming elections and security concerns.
The Council delegation also held meetings with
representatives of all Kosovo communities, met with members of
the Interim Administrative Council and the Kosovo Transitional
Council, visited the divided city of Mitrovica and met with human
rights activists.
Exodus of ethnic Albanians from FYR of
Macedonia continues: UNHCR
15 JUNE – Ethnic Albanians continued to flee the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia for Kosovo and southern Serbia,
the United Nations refugee agency said today.
Kris Janowski, spokesman of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), said 2,600 people crossed into Kosovo on Thursday and
a few hundred more into southern Serbia. Most of them were using
the main border crossing at Blace.
UNHCR also reported arrivals from the FYR of
Macedonia (FYROM) in southern Serbia, with about 400 people crossing
the border daily, the spokesman said. Most were ethnic Albanians
who then headed on to Kosovo, but there were also ethnic Serbs
and Macedonians among them. Overall, more than 28,000 people left
FYROM in the past week, Mr. Janowski said, with some 25,000 going
to Kosovo and about 3,500 to southern Serbia.
Meanwhile, UNMIK Police uncovered an attempt
to smuggle a large quantity of military weapons into Kosovo, the
UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said today.
On June 14, in the Pec/Peje region, during a
random police search of vehicles entering Kosovo, the UNMIK Police
stopped a truck whose driver fled immediately. A hidden compartment
in the truck contained a cache of weapons -- including 318 AK-47
rifles, 605 AK-47 magazines, 1,008 rocket-propelled grenades and
512 hand grenades.
The truck, which originated in Bosnia and carried
Bosnian license plates, had just entered Kosovo from Montenegro,
UNMIK Police said. An investigation was under way to identify
the end users of the weapons and those responsible for their importation.
"Those are not defensive weapons," said UNMIK Police
spokesman Dereck Chappell. "They are weapons of war that
could only be used to destabilize Kosovo and the region."
15-member Security Council
mission set to visit Kosovo and Belgrade
14 JUNE – A 15-member delegation of the Security Council
will head to Kosovo and Belgrade tomorrow for a first-hand look
at the situation in the region and meetings with the Yugoslav
leadership, according to the Council President, Ambassador Anwarul
Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, who will lead the team.
The mission will spend Saturday and Sunday acquainting themselves
with the political and security challenges facing the UN Interim
Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), Ambassador Chowdhury told a
press briefing today.
On Monday, the mission heads to Belgrade for
meetings with the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
Vojislav Kostunica, as well as the country's Prime Minister, Foreign
Minister and other senior officials.
The President said the team would examine such
issues as the return of refugees as well as the status of missing
persons and detainees. Participants would also consider the broader
regional context. "We will see how the situation in the region
is impacting on UNMIK and its activities," he said, adding
that the Council was greatly concerned about developments in the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and would discuss the matter
with KFOR, the international security presence in Kosovo.
The mission marks the first time that all 15
Council members are taking part in such an endeavour. Ambassador
Chowdhury called this "an expression of the recent trend
in the Council to be more proactive, to be available for first-hand
experience of what is happening in a conflict area, [and] to gain
first-hand experience on how the UN operations are going."
"It's a very positive development in terms
of being a so-to-say hands-on Security Council with regard to
various conflict regions," he added.
Head of UN mission in
Kosovo stresses need for dialogue with Belgrade
13 JUNE – The head of the United Nations mission in Kosovo
today stressed the need to continue the dialogue with the new
government in Belgrade to resolve outstanding issues affecting
Kosovo.
Briefing the Kosovo Transitional Council on his visit to Belgrade
yesterday, the head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in
Kosovo (UNMIK), Hans Haekkerup, said he had discussed "all
high priority issues" with Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica
and Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic. These included issues relating
to the missing and the detained, participation of the international
community and Kosovo Albanians in the exhumation process in Serbia,
the return of Kosovo Serbs, their participation in the elections,
the situation in north Mitrovica and the tax collection points.
UNMIK and Yugoslav authorities needed to cooperate
on a variety of subjects, Mr. Haekkerup said, such as Kosovo Serb
participation in the 17 November elections. "Belgrade is
supportive of Kosovo Serb participating in the registration,"
Mr. Haekkerup said, "but there is no clear commitment to
support their participation in the elections."
According to Mr. Haekkerup, the Belgrade authorities
said they wanted Kosovo Serbs to be able to participate, but on
the basis of confidence-building measures such as their return
to Kosovo and an improvement in the security situation. For his
part, Mr. Haekkerup stressed that Kosovo Serb participation in
the elections and institutions of self-government was in the interest
of all Kosovars, and would affect the way the international community
perceived the province.
Despite challenges, UN mission in Kosovo
on track towards long-term goals: Annan
12 JUNE – The United Nations mission in Kosovo is pursuing
its goals of holding Kosovo-wide elections, implementing a constitutional
framework and setting the stage for self-government and economic
viability, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report to the
Security Council released today at UN Headquarters.
In his quarterly report on the activities of the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Mr. Annan says the Constitutional Framework
-- which lays the groundwork for provisional self-government and
for Kosovo-wide elections -- "represents a balanced elaboration
of the concept of 'substantial autonomy'" envisaged by the
Security Council, and benefits all communities.
It is now important to move ahead with preparations
for the 17 November elections, Mr. Annan says, including by strengthening
the public administration to prepare all Kosovars for the task
of self-government. "The majority of Kosovars yearn for stability
through self-government," Mr. Annan says. "In turn,
a more stable Kosovo will contribute to regional stability."
Engaging all communities in the institutions
of self-government is the only way to ensure the success of the
process, Mr. Annan says. A major challenge is securing the participation
of the Kosovo Serb community, which should realize that it cannot
hold itself outside of the process and that "the benefits
of cooperation are preferable to marginalization." Kosovo
Serb participation "will decide whether this community can
be fully integrated into Kosovo society" -- a factor that
would pave the way for an improved security situation, a precondition
for large-scale return.
Stressing the need for "reciprocal steps"
to create confidence between the majority and minority communities,
Mr. Annan sees as "encouraging" the "apparent realization
on the part of the Kosovo Albanian leadership that they must assume
responsibility for a tolerant and all-inclusive society."
The tense security situation remains "the
single most important threat" to reaching international goals
Mr. Annan says, welcoming UNMIK's "robust" policies,
including its efforts to tackle organized crime and terrorism.
Noting "a steady improvement in UNMIK relations
with the Yugoslav authorities," Mr. Annan underscores the
importance of engaging Belgrade in the process of implementing
Security Council resolution 1244 of 1999. "A substantive
gesture of utmost importance would be the encouragement of Kosovo
Serb registration and full participation in the interim structures
as a clear sign to the Kosovo Serbs that their future is in Kosovo,"
he writes.
Thousands of ethnic Albanians continue
to flee FYR of Macedonia: UNHCR
12 JUNE – Thousands of ethnic Albanians continued to flee
from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia into Kosovo amid
clashes between rebels and government forces and rising inter-ethnic
tension, the United Nations refugee agency said today.
On Monday alone, an estimated 5,300 people crossed the main border
crossing at Blace, said Kris Janowski, a spokesman for the Geneva-based
UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). UNHCR workers monitoring
the border 24 hours a day said the flow was continuing today.
While those moving over the weekend came primarily from the village
of Aracinovo, outside of Skopje, the people who arrived on Monday
came mostly from Skopje itself and its outskirts.
According to UNHCR, the refugees cited growing
tension between the country's ethnic groups and the threat of
a military confrontation outside Skopje as the main reasons for
leaving. Most of those arriving were women and children, since
men were being turned back at the official border crossing.
Nearly 18,000 people had crossed into Kosovo
since Friday, Mr. Janowski said. After receiving food and water
at the border, most were being accommodated with host families.
Thousands of ethnic Albanians
flee FYR of Macedonia, UN refugee agency says
11 JUNE – The United Nations refugee agency today urged
all sides to the intensifying conflict in the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia to step back from the brink.
The warning from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
came as thousands of ethnic Albanians crossed the border into
neighbouring Kosovo for a fourth straight day, raising the spectre
of another refugee crisis in the Balkans.
"The fighting must stop now because tomorrow
may already be too late," said High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers,
who visited the area on Friday and Saturday. With more than 1
million people in the Balkans still displaced, "the last
thing the region needs is more refugees," Mr. Lubbers said.
UNHCR workers monitoring the main Blace border
crossing between the FYR of Macedonia and Kosovo said about 12,000
people - mostly women and children - had crossed the frontier
since Friday. Many were exhausted after walking for hours in the
scorching Balkan heat.
The refugees said they had fled the village
of Aracinovo, outside of Skopje, fearing an outbreak of fighting
between rebels and government forces facing each other in a tense
standoff on the outskirts of Aracinovo. Those arriving at the
Kosovo border were given water and food before being registered
and taken on to host families.
UNHCR said more than 24,000 people have fled
from FYR of Macedonia to Kosovo since the fighting resumed in
early May, after a two-month lull.
Meanwhile in Pristina, a spokesman for KFOR,
the international security presence in Kosovo, said today its
continuing efforts to reinforce the Kosovo/FYR of Macedonia border
were already bearing fruit. Roy Brown said 16 people were detained
over the weekend in four separate incidents south of Vitina, with
weapons and equipment seized. Five individuals were arrested in
Prizen, and KFOR was continuing to foil border crossing attempts
from Albania to Kosovo on an almost daily basis, the spokesman
said.
United Nations mission
in Kosovo to issue anti-terrorism regulation
8 JUNE – Following an extraordinary session of the Interim
Administrative Council, the head of the United Nations mission
in Kosovo, Hans Haekkerup, said today he would promulgate a regulation
designed to curb terrorism.
According the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK),
the new Regulation on the Prohibition of Terrorism and Related
Offences will be the third part of a package designed to combat
terrorism and armed violence in Kosovo and to prevent its export
outside the territory. Under the regulation, any person who commits
an act of terrorism could face a prison sentence of between 10
and 40 years.
In addition, anyone who dispatches or transfers
armed groups, equipment, explosives, arms, ammunition and other
material for terrorism purposes inside or outside Kosovo could
face a 10 to 15 year prison sentence. Collecting funds or recruiting
people for terrorist purposes, and providing or receiving training
in carrying out terrorist acts could result in up to 15 years
in prison, UNMIK said.
The regulation also covers such offences as
preparing an act of terrorism; attempting, inciting or aiding
others to do so; and participating in a terrorist organization.
Outbreak of haemorrhagic
fever kills three in Kosovo
6 JUNE – Kosovo's Department of Health and Social Welfare
said today that 20 cases of suspected Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic
Fever (CCHF) had been reported in the province.
Three of those struck by the disease had died, according to the
Department of Health -- which is part of the Joint Interim Administrative
Structure set up by the United Nations Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
The Department recommended a series of preventive
measures, such as wearing clothing that cover legs and arms, using
tick repellents on skin and clothing, checking the whole body
regularly for ticks, and removing ticks gently but promptly.
There have been regular cases and outbreaks
of CCHF in Kosovo since 1986, the Department said. For example,
between 1996 and 2000 there were 43 sporadic cases with six fatalities.
As weapons amnesty period
ends in Kosovo, UN warns of penalties for illegal use
4 JUNE – The United Nations Mission in Kosovo announced
today the end of the weapons amnesty period aimed at encouraging
people to turn in illegal arms.
"From now on, anyone caught with an unauthorized weapon will
be subject to fines and imprisonment," Susan Manuel, spokesperson
for the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said
in Pristina. Persons found with unauthorized weapons could face
prison sentences of up to 10 years.
Calling the weapons amnesty programme "a
success," Roy Brown, spokesman for the international security
force (KFOR), said the last day of the programme had seen a flurry
of weapons being turned in to KFOR patrols and checkpoints. The
total collected by KFOR during the programme amounted to nearly
400 rifles, 65 pistols, 75 support weapons, 21 anti-tank weapons,
16 rockets, over 200 hand grenades and anti-personnel mines and
some 31,000 rounds of ammunition.
The regulation on illegal border crossing also
went into effect today, Ms. Manuel said, with UNMIK and KFOR having
designated 19 legal border and boundary crossing points with the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Montenegro.
She noted that anyone found crossing at other locales would be
subjected to a fine or a jail term.
"This regulation is not aimed at farmers
whose fields or sheep normally cross the border," Ms. Manuel
said, "but at extremists or criminals who are fuelling instability
in and outside Kosovo."
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