Former Kosovo
minister held on contempt granted provisional release by UN tribunal
9 April 2009 – The United
Nations war crimes tribunal set up in the wake of the Balkan conflicts
of the 1990s has ordered the provisional release of Kosovo’s
ex-minister for culture, youth and sport, who was convicted of
contempt of court for trying to intimidate a witness in a war
crimes trial. Astrit Haraqija has completed his five-month sentence
imposed by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY), which found him guilty of trying to persuade
a Prosecution witness not to testify in the trial of former Kosovo
Albanian military leader Ramush Haradinaj. Both the Prosecution
and the Defence have appealed the Tribunal’s judgement to
release Mr. Haraqija, whose freedom is now dependent on the outcome
of the Appeals judgement. Bajrush Morina, part-time editor of
the Kosovo newspaper Bota Sot and former political advisor to
the Deputy Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport, was also accused
of the same crime and received a three month sentence, having
been granted provisional release in February. “The Tribunal
holds the safety of its witnesses and confidentiality of its protected
materials in high regard,” it said in a press release issued
in The Hague. To date, dozens of people have been charged with
witness intimidations, refusing to answer questions in court,
leaking confidential court documents and breaching protective
measures.
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Leaders
must put needs of Kosovo’s communities first, says top UN
envoy
Lamberto Zannier, Head of UN
Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
23 March 2009 – Although strides have been made to consolidate
stability in Kosovo, leaders in Pristina and Belgrade must give
priority to needs of Kosovo’s communities ahead of their
own political interests, a senior United Nations official told
the Security Council today.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Lamberto
Zannier said that since his briefing last July, the situation
in Kosovo, which was administered by the UN after Western troops
drove out Yugoslav forces amid inter-ethnic fighting over eight
years ago, has remained relatively peaceful.
In February 2008, Kosovo declared
its independence, in a move rejected by Serbia, and the UN has
remained neutral on the issue.
While both Pristina and Belgrade
have endeavoured to maintain peace in the area equally, “both
have stopped short of where we need to be in order to feel confident
that Kosovo is well and truly launched onto the path of lasting
peace and prosperity,” Mr. Zannier said at today’s
open debate.
He also briefed the Council
on the reconfiguration of the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK).
Last December, the European
Union’s Rule of Law Mission, or EULEX, successfully assumed
full responsibility in that sector – which includes police
and justice functions – under the overall authority of the
UN.
As a result, the number of UNMIK
police has decreased from 1,288 to 49, and there are no more UNMIK
judges in Kosovo’s courts, although the Mission remains
on the ground to consult with various groups on issues, including
cultural and religious ones, affecting the area’s communities.
The envoy highlighted some of
the challenges Kosovo faces, such as the sharp drop in the pace
of the voluntary returns of internally displaced persons (IDPs)
and the large number of missing persons from the conflict.
Further, the issue of electric
power supply “continues to plague the everyday lives of
all of Kosovo’s residents,” and the problem is due
primarily to non-payment by many consumers, including the wholesale
lack of compensation by the Kosovo Serb community, he said.
The Kosovo Energy Corporation
has allowed for malfunctions in the power supply to remain unfixed
for periods of one week or more in a bid to receive late payment.
“Although this policy
is affecting all ethnic groups to different degrees, the issue
has been politicized, leading to demonstrations by angry residents
of Kosovo Serb-inhabited villages, who have recently clashed with
the Kosovo Police when protestors tried to block traffic on main
thoroughfares,” Mr. Zannier told the meeting, which heard
from over one dozen speakers.
In his latest report to the
Council on UNMIK, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote that although
there is a perception among many Kosovo Albanians that the Mission
has run its course, it has stepped up the pace of its adaptation
to the changing situation on the ground.
Under “significant pressure”
from opposition parties, authorities in Kosovo have repeatedly
said in recent months that resolution 1244, which set up UNMIK,
is “no longer relevant and that the institutions of Kosovo
have no legal obligation to abide by it,” the publication
said.
The report noted that, in line
with Belgrade’s official policy, many Kosovo Serbs are rejecting
the legitimacy of Kosovo’s authorities, although many are
applying for identify cards, driver’s licenses and other
Kosovo documentation.
Notwithstanding these developments,
Mr. Ban said that the reconfiguration of UNMIK, for which he called
in response to the “profoundly changed reality” on
the ground, has picked up pace.
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Kosovo: pace
of UN mission’s reconfiguration picking up – Ban
19 March 2009 – Despite
a perception among many Kosovo Albanians that the United Nations
peacekeeping mission in Kosovo has run its course, Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon wrote in a new report that it has stepped up the pace
of its adaptation to the changing situation on the ground.
Under “significant pressure” from opposition parties,
authorities in Kosovo have repeatedly said in recent months that
resolution 1244, which set up the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK), is “no longer relevant and that the institutions
of Kosovo have no legal obligation to abide by it,” the
publication said.
UNMIK took over the administration
of Kosovo in 1999 after North Atlantic Treaty organization (NATO)
forces drove out Yugoslav troops amid deadly fighting with the
majority ethnic Albanian population there.
The UN has remained neutral
on the question of the status of Kosovo since its declaration
of independence last February, a move rejected by Serbia.
The report to the Security Council
on UNMIK noted that, in line with Belgrade’s official policy,
many Kosovo Serbs are rejecting the authority of Kosovo’s
authorities, although many are applying for identify cards, driver’s
licenses and other Kosovo documentation.
Notwithstanding these developments,
Mr. Ban said that the reconfiguration of UNMIK, for which he called
in response to the “profoundly changed reality” on
the ground, has picked up pace.
After almost 10 years of policing
Kosovo, UNMIK has been phasing out its police component to allow
the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, known as EULEX,
to assume its operational functions in the rule of law sector
under the UN’s overall authority.
The Secretary-General said this
joint effort with the UN has taken place without significant security
incidents and with the support of Pristina, Belgrade and international
partners. “It constitutes a major milestone in the international
involvement in Kosovo, and a positive example of cooperation between
the United Nations and the European Union,” he wrote.
Also last November, UNMIK’s
head told the Council that the mission is re-orienting its field
presence to concentrate in areas occupied by ethnic non-Albanians
following Kosovo’s declaration of independence.
“The recent actions of
the institutions of Kosovo have made it no longer possible or
practicable for UNMIK to function as an administrator,”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Lamberto
Zannier.
“We need to be able
to concentrate on the areas where we can still make a difference
for good, rather than attempt to continue functions which are
neither relevant nor needed,” he said, noting that UNMIK
would monitor the well-being of the non-Albanian communities and
retain a support and mediation role.
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