Bosnian Serb agrees
to guilty plea at UN War Crimes Tribunal
30 September - A Bosnian Serb accused of burning down a Muslim
village in 1992 has pleaded guilty to crimes against humanity
today at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal of
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.
According to the ICTY,
Miroslav Deronjic, a former politician, admitted, in a plea agreement,
to one count of "persecution on political, racial and religious
grounds as a crime against humanity."
Mr. Deronjic, 49, a former ranking member of
the Serbian Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a
commander of the local forces in the city of Bratunac, was arrested
7 July 2002 and charged with six counts of crimes against humanity
and the violations of the laws of war.
According to the ICTY, the indictment claimed
that "on the evening of 8 May 1992 Miroslav Deronjic gave
the order to attack the village of Glogova and burn it down."
The ICTY said that forces under Mr. Deronjic's
control "entered the village on foot and took control of
the village.
"The Bosnian Muslim villagers, who previously
had been disarmed, offered no resistance. The attacking forces
then allegedly set fire to Bosnian Muslim houses, buildings and
the mosque. The Bosnian Muslim portion of the village of Glogova
was razed to the ground. Miroslav Deronjic was present during
the attack on Glogova," it said.
No date for sentencing was announced.
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25 September - Speech
by Representative of Albania before the UN General Assembly, General
Debate
Some
of the world's poorest nations called on the richest today to
provide them with the keys to development through fairer trade
at the afternoon session of the third day of the United Nations
General Assembly's annual high-level debate.
President Alfred Moisiu of Albania said his
country "believes in a still greater role of the United Nations
for the strengthening of peace, security and the economic and
social development across the world." He supported Secretary-General
Kofi Annan's efforts to reform the institution "aimed at
making of the United Nations an ever stronger organization capable
of coping with the challenges of the present times, thus providing
timely solutions to issues that are of concern to all of its members."
Turning to his own region, Mr. Moisiu
noted recent progress in easing tensions in the conflict-torn
Balkans. He credited the UN mission in Kosovo and Mr. Annan's
former Special Representative there, Michael Steiner, for "the
democratic and integrating developments" after the fighting
there between Albanians and Serbs. He said that positive developments
in The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, where Albanians
and Macedonians had clashed, "also give hope for the achievement
of a lasting stability." Full
Speech
24 September - Speech
by Representative of Serbia and Montenegro before the UN General
Assembly, General Debate
For
his part, President Svetozar Marovic of Serbia and Montenegro
stressed the importance of the UN in the battle against terrorism
and solving other conflicts. "We can defeat terrorism only
if we all join forces. That is why multilateralism for us has
no alternative and the United Nations is a guarantee for that.
Both today and tomorrow," he declared. Referring to the fighting
between Albanians and Serbs that tore Kosovo apart four years
ago, he said: "The activities of the United Nations in Kosovo
demonstrate that with good intentions on all sides there is hope
to create preconditions for dialogue, instead of hatred and conflicts,
so that people discuss and resolve the problems instead of creating
new ones. We are glad that one of the crucial issues to the stability
of the entire region - the issue of Kosovo - is at a threshold
of dialogue, as we have called for."
Referring to the fierce Balkan wars of the past
decade, President Marovic said: "From our own recent experience
we know a lot about victims and suffering. That is why we call
for an end to violence in all parts of the world - in Baghdad
and Iraq in Jerusalem and in the Middle East. We are convinced
that the international community and the United Nations, primarily
the Security Council will find a way to stabilization and life
in peace and freedom for all people. The human race has only one
world to live in." Full
Speech
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24 September - Speech by Representative
of The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia before the UN General
Assembly, General Debate
The
President of The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Boris
Trajkovski, said reforming the UN - particularly the Security
Council - and revitalizing the General Assembly were of crucial
importance and should be pursued in an effective and efficient
manner. It is obvious that all Member States needed to be more
vocal in their support for multilateralism, particularly to ensure
the eradication of poverty, combat HIV/AIDS, protect the environment
and prevent conflict. He went on to say that terrorism was the
most serious contemporary threat for humanity and must remain
the highest priority.
Looking homeward, President Trajkovski said
his country had launched numerous regional initiatives in order
to contribute constructively to cooperation with and among its
neighbours. Macedonia had also recognized that the country could
move beyond its unfortunate past by promoting the significant
links among the people living in southeastern Europe, he added.
In the Balkans today, President Trajkovski said the spirit of
collaboration and mutual respect was now emerging, even between
"yesterday's enemies and opposing factions." While expressing
deep concern for the recent upsurge in inter-ethnic violence in
Kosovo, he said in other areas, there had been gradual but steady
reconciliation. Full
Speech
UN War Crimes Court doubles
sentence of Bosnian Serb prison warden to 15 years
17 September - Ruling on appeals filed by both the defence and
prosecution, the United Nations war crimes court in The Hague
today doubled to 15 years the jail term imposed on the Bosnian
Serb warden of a notorious prison in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina
on charges including the murder and torture of non-Serbs.
The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (<"http://www.un.org/icty/latest/index.htm">ICTY)
dismissed the five grounds submitted by the defence and granted
six of the seven submitted by the prosecution in the case of Milorad
Krnojelac, a mathematics teacher before becoming warden of Kazneno-Popravni
Dom prison in 1992.
The chamber quashed Mr. Krnojelac's acquittal
in March 2002 on two counts of crimes against humanity (torture
and murders) and two of violations of the laws or customs of war
(torture and murders), convicting him on all four.
It expanded his criminal responsibility for
the imprisonment of and inhumane acts against non-Serb civilians,
and for cruel treatment for the detention conditions, finding
him guilty as a co-perpetrator, and not only an accomplice.
The chamber also found him guilty as a co-perpetrator
in the forced labour, deportations and expulsions as crimes against
humanity, on which he had been acquitted by the Trial Chamber.
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Continued Security Council
support for Kosovo 'crucial' - UN Official
12 September 2003 - Concerned by the mounting tensions and insecurity
in Kosovo, a senior United Nations official today descried a number
of violent attacks in the province during the past two months,
primarily targeting Serbs, and said the continued support of the
Security Council would be "crucial" to maintaining the
rule of law.
In an <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/sc7870.doc.htm">open
briefing on the situation in Kosovo, Hédi Annabi, Assistant-Secretary-General
for UN Peacekeeping Operations, said the recent attacks had not
only been directed at the Kosovo Serb community but at law enforcement
authorities attached to the UN Mission in the province (UNMIK).
Property used by the police and the judiciary, including an UNMIK
police station, had been damaged in explosions and other attacks,
he added.
No one had claimed responsibility for any of
the attacks, Mr. Annabi noted, and the situation had prompted
UNMIK and the international security force (KFOR) to reassess
and enhance security measures. Some of the attacks had come after
the conviction on 16 July of four former Kosovo Liberation Army
members for war crimes committed primarily against fellow Kosovo
Albanians during 1998 and 1999.
Regarding political developments, Mr. Annabi
said that the Kosovo Assembly had reconvened last Thursday. Since
July, the government had focused on legislative development and
the security situation, but it had not taken up the initiation
of direct dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.
The Serbian Parliament, for its part, had endorsed
a "Declaration on Kosovo and Metohija" at the end of
August and adopted a resolution on the matter on 5 September,
Mr. Annabi said, noting that Kosovo Albanian leaders had been
critical of those documents, particularly the references to Kosovo's
status. On 3 September, the Kosovo government had publicly expressed
concern over the decision to adopt the Serbian declaration and
stated its intention to build an independent state.
Mr. Annabi also pointed out that the new head
of UNMIK, Harri Holkeri had reaffirmed the "standards before
status" principle and its focus on progress towards achieving
concrete benchmarks. Currently, Mr. Holkeri was overseeing the
development of an operational plan for the implementation of the
benchmarks, which was being drawn up jointly by UNMIK and the
Kosovo Provisional Institutions. He was also planning to propose
modalities for the dialogue between the provisional institutions
and Belgrade, which should focus on concrete issues for the benefit
of the people.
UNMIK would remain committed fully implementing
Council resolution 1244 of 1999 - which called for the setting
up of provisional self-government institutions in the war-ravaged
province, and was working with all interlocutors to achieve progress
on the benchmarks within the "standards before status"
policy framework, Mr. Annabi said.
Five die in Kosovo prison
fire, 17 injured - UN Official
5 September - Five Kosovo prisoners died in a fire and 16 more
were hospitalized for burns and smoke inhalation after rioting
inmates protesting over general conditions set their mattresses
ablaze, a senior United Nations official in the province said
today.
One prison officer was also hospitalized for
smoke inhalation suffered in an effort to help prisoners attempting
to flee the burning building in Dubrava Prison last night, the
Director of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Department of Justice,
Paul Coffey, told a news conference.
“Someone inside threw a burning mattress
at the guards,” Mr. Coffey said of the fire in the prison’s
block 2, which held 174 serious offenders, some of them for homicide.
“Prisoners then set other mattresses on fire, which caused
the fire to burn quickly beyond their control. The subsequent
flames and smoke reached the 2nd floor.”
An international judge has been appointed
to conduct an investigation, he added. The police commissioner
has already secured the facility for this purpose and will work
directly with the investigative judge. The Kosovo Penal Management
Division (PMD) will not investigate itself. But the director inspected
the prison last night and again this morning and instructed PMD
officials to fully cooperate with the investigation.
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Bosnian Serb pleads guilty
to murder, rape and p[ersecution - UN Tribunal
4 September - A Bosnian Serb charged by the United Nations International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) with crimes
against humanity, today pleaded guilty to all four counts against
him, including murder and rape.
In response, the Prosecutor's Office in The
Hague recommended that the Tribunal impose a sentence of 15 years
against Dragan Nikolic. The sentencing hearing is scheduled to
start on 3 November this year.
Mr. Nikolic admitted to committing persecutions
on political, racial and religious grounds, as well as murder,
rape, and torture, as part of a plea agreement negotiated with
prosecutors.
UN rights chief strongly
condemns recent attacks as "heinous acts"
2 September - The acting United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights, Bertrand Ramcharan, today strongly condemned the
recent series of attacks in Kosovo, calling them an assault on
the crucial process of democratic reforms and appealing for an
immediate end to the violence.
“These heinous acts underline the urgency
of ridding Kosovo of criminal and destructive influences and of
establishing a democratic society fully based on rule of law and
respect for human rights,” Mr. Ramcharan said in a statement.
“The perpetrators of these crimes must not be allowed to
undermine the peace process and the efforts to build a multi-ethnic
society in Kosovo.”
An attack on Sunday evening left one Serb dead
and four others injured, and two Serbian teenagers were shot dead
and four others injured while swimming in a river earlier in August.
“The acting High Commissioner encourages
the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo and
the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government to continue their
efforts to improve the security situation in Kosovo, in particular
through strengthening local police and measures to fight organized
crime,” the statement added.
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UN envoy deplores deadly
attack on Kosovo Serbs
1 September – The senior United Nations envoy to Kosovo
today strongly condemned an attack Sunday evening which left one
Serb dead and four others injured.
"This is a deplorable act and stains Kosovo's image in the
world," said Harri Holkeri.
Thirty-three year old Milomir Savic was treated
for serious injuries as a result of the attack in Gjilane region,
but died this morning.
Speaking at the launch of a UN organized weapons
amnesty programme, Mr. Holkeri urged all people in Kosovo to ensure
that violence has no place in their society, and encouraged those
still holding illegal firearms to hand them over to the authorities.
"The amnesty is significant in two ways:
as a sign of greater security and as a contribution to greater
security," he said. "Every gun and every grenade taken
off the streets is one less chance that a disagreement will have
fatal consequences."
During the month-long effort, citizens of Kosovo
can surrender unauthorized weapons without fear of prosecution.
After 30 September, those with illegal arms will be liable to
prosecution and imprisonment of up to eight years or a fine of
up to 7,500 euros.
" The people of Kosovo should seize this
opportunity to help themselves while helping Kosovo," Mr.
Holkeri said.
Also today, the envoy attended the opening
ceremony of Bajram Curri Elementary School in Slatina village.
"Let Kosovo's children learn from their innocence and let
them be educated in the values of tolerance and democracy that
are the foundation of a free society," he told participants.
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