Kosovo: UN
peacekeeping chief heads to region for fact-finding tour
2 May 2008 – The United
Nations peacekeeping chief travels today to the Balkans for a
fact-finding mission on Kosovo, which earlier this year declared
its independence from Serbia.
Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
Operations, will be holding talks with all stakeholders in both
Pristina and Belgrade about the future of the international civil
presence in Kosovo, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters
today.
The UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has been in place since mid-1999 after
NATO forces drove out Yugoslav troops amid inter-ethnic fighting,
and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said it will continue to
exercise its authority until the Security Council decides otherwise.
Kosovo duo facing trial
at UN tribunal over alleged intimidation of witness
28 April 2008 – Kosovo’s
ex-minister for culture, youth and sport and a former newspaper
editor will appear tomorrow before the United Nations International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) after being
charged with contempt of court for allegedly trying to intimidate
a witness in a war crimes trial.
Astrit Haraqija and Bajrush Morina are accused by prosecutors
– in an indictment filed in January and made public by the
ICTY on Friday – of attempting to persuade a protected witness
with the codename PW not to testify against Ramush Haradinaj,
the former prime minister of Kosovo.
Mr. Haradinaj, who was a prominent
commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the conflict
with Serb forces in 1998-99, was acquitted by the ICTY earlier
this month of a series of charges of war crimes and crimes against
humanity, including murder, rape, torture, abduction, cruel treatment,
imprisonment and the forced deportation of Serbian and Kosovar
Roma civilians.
When they announced the verdict,
the judges said the tribunal had encountered many difficulties
in securing testimony from witnesses during the trials of Mr.
Haradinaj and his two co-accused.
The indictment released on Friday
states that Mr. Haraqija, a former minister of culture, youth
and sport in Kosovo, was one of the three co-founders of the “Defence
Committee for Ramush Haradinaj.” Mr. Morina was his employee,
working as a political adviser, and then also as a part-time editor
at Bota Sot, a Kosovo newspaper.
PW was granted protective measures
in 2005 and early last year his unredacted witness statements
were disclosed by prosecutors to the defence teams of Mr. Haradinaj
and his co-accused.
The indictment alleges that
after learning of the identity of the witness last July, Mr. Haraqija
instructed Mr. Morina to travel to PW’s country of residence
to persuade him not to testify, and that Mr. Morina met with the
witness on 10-11 July in a trip paid for by the ministry.
PW eventually did testify at
the trial, according to the indictment.
Meanwhile, a former senior Bosnian
Croat figure, Jadranko Prlic, facing trial on war crimes charges
has been granted temporary provisional leave by the ICTY on humanitarian
grounds. On Friday the tribunal agreed to release Mr. Prlic until
the start of his defence case, scheduled for Monday.
Mr. Prlic and five other co-accused,
all former high-level leaders in the Bosnian Croat wartime entity
known as Herceg-Bosna, stand accused of war crimes committed in
1992 and 1993 against Bosnian Muslims and other non-Croats in
south-western and central Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially the
municipalities of Prozor, Gornji Vakuf, Jablanica, Mostar, Ljubuški,
Stolac, Capljina and Vareš.
The many charges include murder,
rape, unlawful deportation, imprisonment, cruel treatment, unlawful
labour, the wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages,
and persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds.
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Ban
Ki-moon to discuss Kosovo issue during visit to Moscow
7 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today
he plans to discuss the situation in Kosovo, which declared its
independence from Serbia on 17 February, with Russian officials
during his visit to Moscow this week.
In an interview with UN Radio ahead of the visit, which begins
on Wednesday, Mr. Ban noted that there have been incidents of
violence in Kosovo – which came under UN administration
after Western forces drove out Yugoslav forces amid inter-ethnic
fighting in 1999.
“At this time, the situation
on the ground is rather calm but it is absolutely necessary for
the international community and parties concerned to make sure
that we’ll be able to keep peace and stability on the ground,”
he stated.
“Therefore, the parties
concerned should refrain from taking any unilateral action which
may exacerbate the current situation or which may incite violent
measures,” he added.
Mr. Ban also stated that the
UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) will continue to exercise its authority
in the area unless the Security Council decides otherwise.
Other issues to be discussed
during Mr. Ban’s three-day visit, his first to Russia since
taking office, include a proposed conference on the Middle East
peace process to be hosted by Russia and the situation in the
strife-torn Sudanese region of Darfur.
While in Moscow, he is expected
to meet with Russian Government leaders, including President Vladimir
Putin, President-elect Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov, as well as the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma and civil
society leaders.
In addition, he is scheduled
to speak at Moscow State University and address the launch of
the UN Global Compact’s Russia network.
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Former
top Yugoslav figure granted temporary leave by UN war crimes tribunal
4 April 2008 – The United Nations tribunal
set up to deal with the worst crimes committed during the Balkan
conflicts of the 1990s has granted temporary release to a former
senior Yugoslav political figure facing trial over an alleged
campaign of terror and violence against Kosovo Albanians and other
non-Serbs in 1999.
Nikola Šainovic, a former deputy prime minister of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, has been allowed by the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which is based
in The Hague, to return to Serbia for personal reasons from tomorrow
until Monday.
Announcing the decision today, the ICTY trial
chamber said Mr. Šainovic’s temporary release was subject
to several strict conditions, including 24-hour surveillance of
the accused by Serbian authorities.
Mr. Šainovic, 59, is on trial with five
others – Milan Milutinovic, Nebojša Pavkovic, Dragoljub
Ojdanic, Vladimir Lazarevic and Sreten Lukic – over an alleged
campaign of terror and violence directed against Kosovo Albanians
and other non-Serbs living in Kosovo in 1999. All six men face
charges of murder, deportation, forcible transfer and the persecution
of thousands of Kosovo Albanians and other non-Serbs.
The trial of the six men began in July 2006,
with the prosecution completing its case in May last year and
five of the six defence cases have now been completed, with Mr.
Lukic’s defence still ongoing.
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Former leader of Kosovo acquitted
of war crimes charges by UN tribunal
3 April 2008 – The United Nations tribunal
set up to deal with the worst acts committed during the Balkan
wars of the 1990s today acquitted a former prime minister of Kosovo
of charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Ramush Haradinaj, 39, who was also a well-known commander in the
Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the conflict with Serb forces
in 1998-99, had faced charges that included murder, rape, torture,
abduction, cruel treatment, imprisonment and the forced deportation
of Serbian and Kosovar Roma civilians.
But judges at the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), based in The Hague, found that
the evidence presented was sometimes inconclusive as to whether
a crime had been committed or, if so, whether the KLA was involved
as alleged.
The ICTY also acquitted one of Mr. Haradinaj’s
co-accused, Idriz Balaj, 36, of all charges.
But a third co-accused, Lahi Brahimaj, 38, was
convicted of the cruel treatment and torture of two people at
the KLA headquarters in Jablanica/Jabllanicë and has been
sentenced to six years in jail.
The three men had been accused by prosecutors
of being part of a joint criminal enterprise between March and
September 1998 that aimed to consolidate the KLA’s total
control over the Dukagjin area in north-western Kosovo by unlawfully
removing, mistreating and killing Serbian and Kosovar Roma civilians,
as well as Kosovar Albanians perceived to have been collaborating
with Serbian forces.
But the judges said the evidence indicated the
victims may have been targeted mainly for individual reasons rather
than because they were members of a targeted civilian group. The
acts of ill-treatment, forcible transfer and killing were also
not of a scale to conclude there was an attack against a civilian
population.
Judge Alphonsus Orie (presiding) said the ICTY
had encountered many difficulties in securing testimony from witnesses
during the trials of Mr. Haradinaj, Mr. Balaj and Mr. Brahimaj.
“The Chamber gained a strong impression
that the trial was being held in an atmosphere where witnesses
felt unsafe,” he said.
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Security
Council resolution still in force in Kosovo – Secretary-General
1 April 2008 – The United Nations mission in Kosovo continues
to operate on the assumption that the 1999 Security Council resolution
that gave it administrative authority following ethnic bloodshed
is still in force, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his first
report on the issue since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia
on 17 February.
In his report on the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK), covering the period from 12 December 2007 to 1 March,
Mr. Ban affirms that resolution 1244 remains in effect “unless
the Security Council decides otherwise” and that Kosovo’s
leaders and the Serbian Government are still committed to its
provisions.
The Secretary-General adds,
however, that Kosovo’s declaration of independence and subsequent
events have posed significant challenges to UNMIK’s ability
to exercise its authority.
“Pending Security Council
guidance, there might be a need for UNMIK to adjust its operational
deployment to deal with developments and changes on the ground
in a manner consistent with resolution 1244,” he says.
He reports that the minority
Kosovo Serbs, who condemned the declaration of independence, have
expanded their boycott of the institutions of Kosovo to include
the Kosovo Police Service (KPS), the Kosovo Corrections Service,
the judicial system, municipal administration, and UNMIK railways
and customs.
In several Kosovo Serb areas
in southern Kosovo, Kosovo Serb police officers stated that they
would no longer recognize the KPS chain of command and demanded
that they be placed under the direct command of international
UNMIK police officers.
The overall security situation
in Kosovo during the reporting period remained “calm though
tense,” he states, and most Kosovo Serb demonstrations have
been peaceful, though serious violent incidents occurring in the
days immediately before and after the declaration of independence.
Hand grenade and arson attacks
were directed against UNMIK and European Union premises and vehicles
in northern Mitrovica and Zubin Potok, which caused limited material
damage, he reports, and there two customs service points on the
administrative boundary line were attacked and destroyed on 19
February.
The 14 March attack on the District
Court building of UNMIK in North Mitrovica is not discussed because
it occurred after the reporting period.
However, the Secretary-General
stresses that any violence, whether directed at UNMIK personnel
or facilities or against members of any of Kosovo’s communities,
is “unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.”
He urges all sides to reaffirm
their commitments to refrain from any actions or statements that
could endanger peace or lead to violence.
Meanwhile, he says, the efforts
of the UN in Kosovo are aimed at ensuring that the political and
security situation in Kosovo and the wider region remains stable,
and that the safety and security of the population are preserved.
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