Haekkerup resigns as head of UN mission
in Kosovo; Annan regrets move
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| Hans Haekkerup |
28 December – Citing personal reasons,
the head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK), Hans Haekkerup, today announced his resignation,
drawing an expression of regrets from Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
who praised the envoy for his contribution to UN efforts in the
province.
"The Secretary-General has expressed his
deep appreciation to Mr. Haekkerup for his accomplishments in
the service of the United Nations and wishes him every success
for the future," said a spokesman for Mr. Annan in a statement
issued in New York.
Mr. Annan also paid tribute to his envoy's achievements,
underscoring his "skilful management of the process that
led to the adoption of a constitutional framework and the successful
election held last month."
Explaining his motives in a radio interview,
Mr. Haekkerup noted that his work as UNMIK chief entailed long
and arduous hours. “My wife is going to have a baby early
in the new year, so this was a very good occasion to take a break
from the very intense work here,” the envoy said. He added
that his decision had been taken in consultation with Mr. Annan.
Mr. Haekkerup said Kosovo had seen numerous
accomplishments over the past year. "Maybe if you had asked
people a year ago 'do you think that we would have been where
we are now, that we have had elections, that we have a Constitutional
Framework, that we soon will have a government in Kosovo - a self-government
- with the participation of all communities?' I think many people
a year ago would have said: 'Well, Mr. Haekkerup, you will never
get there,' but we did."
The outgoing envoy said the international community
would reject any attempt to hamper democracy in Kosovo. "I
am sure that we would not accept anybody who would try to obstruct
the process of creating a government," he said.
Making a direct appeal to the people of
Kosovo, he said: "Every day you make a choice in what you
are doing and not doing… UNMIK, KFOR [the international protection
force] and the international community can do a lot but in the
end it's the population of Kosovo, you yourself, who [are] making
this choice."
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With UN support, Kosovo gains wide Internet
access
26 December - The United Nations Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) today announced a new
initiative which will provide Internet access to all business
and residential customers in the province.
In cooperation with Kosovo's post and telecommunications
office (PTK), UNMIK has launched the "Dardanet Network Centre"
in Pristina to connect users using "the only terrestrial
high-speed link to the global Internet infrastructure in Kosovo,"
the Mission said.
In addition to providing high-speed access and
e-mail, Dardanet will include a news server, providing information
on a wide range of interests, including music, television, movies,
sports and e-commerce.
The new service comes in response to a
rising demand for web access in Kosovo, according to PTK chief
Leme Xhema. "The Internet has grown popular among our business
and residential customers," she said, pledging to "move
Kosovo's telecommunication infrastructure forward."
Kosovo Supreme Court releases three bus
bomb suspects held on UN mission's orders
19 December - A panel of international
judges in the Kosovo Supreme Court has ordered the release of
three ethnic Albanians suspected of an attack on a public bus
that left 11 dead, the United Nations Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK) said today.
The Supreme Court yesterday rejected the public
prosecutor's petition for further detention of Avdi Behluli, Jusuf
Veliu and Cele Gashi, who have been held for several months since
the attack in February in Podujevo on the Executive Order of UNMIK
chief Hans Haekkerup.
In September, their case had been reviewed by
the Detention Review Commission, a special panel of international
judges from outside Kosovo, to decide whether their detention
was justified.
After considering evidence that could not be
released in court, the Commission found justification for holding
the three suspects based on Executive Orders and that there were
"reasonable grounds to suspect that each of the detained
persons had committed a criminal act and that circumstances existed
which suggested the strong possibility of flight."
The judges subsequently ordered the three suspects
held a further three months, until 19 December.
Florim Ejupi, the main suspect in the
attack, escaped from jail in May from Camp Bondsteel.
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UN set to transfer demining activities
to Kosovo authorities
14 December - After determining that all
known minefields and cluster bomb strike sites in Kosovo have
been cleared to internationally acceptable standards, the United
Nations Interim Administration Mission in the province today said
it was set to transfer the long-term responsibility for demining
activities to local authorities.
Over the past two and a half years, the UN Mine
Action Coordination Centre oversaw the work of 16 mine clearance
organizations, using personnel from a dozen countries working
alongside 900 trained Kosovars, to destroy nearly 25,000 landmines
and more than 8,300 cluster bombs, according to the Mission, known
by its acronym, UNMIK.
The effort included contribution from 15 other
organizations that helped communities to understand the threat
of mines and educate them about the risk they pose.
Total clearance, however, can never be
guaranteed, UNMIK said, noting that starting tomorrow, Kosovo's
Department of Civil Security and Emergency Preparedness will take
over responsibility for managing any residual threat.
Kosovo Assembly fails to elect President
13 December - The newly seated Kosovo Assembly
failed to elect a President for the province when the sole candidate
being voted on did not receive the required approval of two-thirds
of the 120-member council, the United Nations Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) reported today.
Ibrahim Rugova of the Democratic League of Kosovo
received 49 of the 70 votes cast but 50 Assembly members did not
vote, UNMIK said.
According to the UN Mission, the Assembly
did not schedule a date for another round of voting.
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Kosovo Assembly inauguration a 'milestone'
on road to democracy, Annan says
10 December – As the Assembly of Kosovo
opened today marking the start of the transfer of power from the
United Nations to the provisional institutions of self-government,
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the event as a "milestone
on the road to democracy."
"This is a day of hope, but also an occasion
for reflection and renewed resolve," Mr. Annan said in a
message to the inaugural session, which brought together democratically
elected representatives of Kosovo. He said those present faced
the challenge of functioning in "particularly difficult circumstances"
while overcoming the legacy of the past and establishing a political
culture of tolerance, mutual respect and constructive compromise.
"No one must suffer discrimination by virtue
of her or his ethnic origin," he stressed in the message
delivered on his behalf by Hans Haekkerup, the chief of the UN
Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
The Secretary-General also hailed the timing
of the Assembly's inauguration, which "by the most fortuitous
of coincidences" took place on the same date as the international
observance of Human Rights Day. "I trust that you will use
wisely the mandate given to you by the people of Kosovo,"
he said.
After hearing the Secretary-General's message,
the 120-member Assembly voted to seat five members of the seven-member
Presidency of the Assembly.
The 26 members of the Democratic Party
of Kosovo staged a brief walkout, with leader Hashim Thaci complaining
that he had not been allowed to speak. They returned after the
newly-elected President of the Assembly, Nexhet Daci took the
floor. Mr. Daci adjourned the session, and scheduled the Assembly
to reconvene on Thursday to elect a President of Kosovo.
Letter that sickened 5 at UN mission in
Kosovo did not contain anthrax - UN spokesman
6 December – A suspicious letter mailed
to the United Nations mission in Kosovo has sickened at least
five people but local security officials and doctors believe the
toxic white powder it contained was not anthrax and its effects
were not life-threatening, a UN spokesman said today.
UN security officers quickly cordoned off the
affected area and the building was evacuated after the letter
was discovered in the mailroom of the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), spokesman Fred Eckhard told a press
briefing in New York.
The letter, which was addressed to a UN official
and arrived in the diplomatic pouch from New York, was found to
contain white powder inside the envelope after a local staff member
opened it.
All those believed to have been exposed to the
powder were treated at the Pristina Hospital for vomiting and
skin rash. "All the affected persons have now left the hospital
and are not believed to have suffered any further symptoms from
the incident," the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, security officers and members
of the regional serious crime unit were investigating the matter,
interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence. The substance
in the envelope will be analyzed, Mr. Eckhard said.
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