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CONTENTS: 11 June UNMIK AN ADMINISTRATION THAT DOES NOT APPLY ITS OWN
REGULATIONS UNMIK AN ADMINISTRATION THAT DOES NOT APPLY ITS OWN REGULATIONS Illegal vehicle registration was discussed in Koha Ditore on page one and four. With a pair of 'PR' license plates covered with piece of paper, a Serb was congratulating the other on his new license plates for his 'Zastava'. In the parking lot of the Fushė Kosovė Municipal building a white 'Fiqa" with 'PR' license plates was parked close to a bronze Mercedes with 'KS' plates. Both of the vehicles are the property of Kosovar citizens living in the Prishtina region. UNMIK and KPS police officers were roaming around and neither of them even contemplated that there could be something wrong. Year and a half ago former UNMIK Chief Administration Bernard Kouchner signed a regulation requiring Kosovars to temporarily register their vehicles with the official plates marked 'KS'. A year and a half later, Kosovo received a Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self Governance. It states that Kosovo is an undivided territory and also that Kosovo is an entity under provisional international administration, which has unique historic, judicial attributes. It clearly states that there is no room for any parallel structures in Kosovo. However, after all this Kosovo still has parallel structures, because it still has two parallel license plates, both considered official. Bernard Kouchner signed Regulation 1999/15 on 21 October 1999 outlining the temporary vehicle registration. The first article of this regulation states that Kosovar citizens are required to register their vehicles and apply for temporary license plates. On 30 November, Bernard Kouchner launched the first temporary license plates for Kosovo independent from Serbia and Yugoslavia, with 'KS'. He did not forget to mention that this was a historic day for Kosovo. Two years after the establishment of the international administration and year and a half after legalizing the only valid license plates in Kosovo, there is proof that 'KS' plates are not the only legal plates in Kosovo. All over Kosovo in Serb enclaves the only valid plates are the ones starting with 'K' however they end with 'M' and not 'S' these specific plates were reregistered during the Serb regime in Kosovo. UNMIK and UNMIK police are not eager top discuss the issue of license plates. "Policy regarding vehicle registration was and still is very problematic," said UNMIK spokeswoman Susan Manuel. She said that all Kosovo vehicles must have 'KS' plates. "Everyone in Kosovo has to register the vehicle with these plates however, there is no dead line for this" said Manuel. UNMIK said that it is everyone's right to travel around Kosovo with valid foreign license plates and vehicles from Yugoslavia are not excluded. "Vehicles owned by individuals that are not residents, and entities that are not located in Kosovo that have valid registration are excluded from this regulation," states article three of the Regulation 1999/15. However, plates with 'PR', 'KM' and 'GL' are not of another country and persons getting these plates are Kosovo citizens living in Kosovo. According to a Serb legal official in charge of this issue in northern Mitrovica more than 5,000 vehicles have Yugoslav plates in Kosovo and these plates can be obtained in Kosovar offices that are parallel to UNMIK offices in Serb enclaves. One of these offices is in Fushė Kosovė, which is located in the same building with the UNMIK international administration, the local Kosovar administration, the 'Serbian' offices as well as the UNMIK police and KPS. Thos responsible for UNMIK registration say that they have no knowledge that there is an office issuing 'PR' plates Gilbert Dumas is the number one person responsible for vehicle registration in Kosovo. As coordinator for UNMIK vehicle registration (VRP) he has only heard rumors that these offices exist and the vehicles are registered outside his registration office. He whistles surprisingly when he hears of this. "We did not know that there is an existing office in Fushė Kosovė," said Dumas. He thinks that registration in Fushė Kosovė and other offices in Serb enclaves in Kosovo are not valid and issued Yugoslav license plates issued to Kosovar citizens are not valid. "UNMIK is in charge of administrating Kosovo therefore vehicle registration and the issuing of license plates should be done only by his office," emphasized Dumas. According to the Serb official working in the dark office in Fushė Kosovė filled with old files everything concerning these documents and license plates is valid and his office has never had any problems with the internationals. With 120-130 DM, naturally in value of Yugoslav Dinars, the owner of a VW Golf 2 that was registered before the war can receive 'PR' license plates. This can be done after a very simple procedure and administrative taxes are paid in the BPK account number 42500-849-960. A BPK official in Prishtina said that this is an old account from before the war and that BPK does not recognize this account. According to this the funds paid in this account do not go to the consolidated Kosovo budget. UNMIK spokeswoman Susan Manuel imagines that funds from parallel vehicle registration do not remain in Kosovo. "These funds are going somewhere else, not in Kosovo, however this should not be so," said Manuel. Even though the Serb legal official said that there have been no obstacles for his office and other offices in Serb enclaves working openly, UNMIK offices in Prishtina said that these offices are illegal. "These centers should be stopped from working, however I do not know why this is not so," said Manuel. "UNMIK policy is clear that these offices should not be allowed, however I do not know why this policy has not been implemented". Traffic police: We have the knowledge that these offices exist however, no one told us to close them nor to stop Yugoslav license plates UNMIK police officials said that if there had been an order to close these offices, it would have been done without any problem. Head of UNMIK police traffic services Claude Rochon knows that these offices exist in Kosovo and issue license plates. However, he is not bothered but it even though he knows that they are not administrated by UNMIK. This office has never received an order to stop vehicles with Yugoslav plates in Kosovo, nor to stop Serb officials from issuing license plates. "Yugoslav plates in Kosovo are legal. There has never been a mentioning of changing the method of work regarding this issue. We were not told that they are unacceptable, therefore we have to accept them as long as we are not told differently from SRSG's office," said Rochon. "I was told by the Department of Legal Issues not to take any action against vehicles with Yugoslav license plates, even if they are issued in Kosovo". Nevertheless, in an exclusive UNMIK document released on 19 December 2000 which is valid to this day DSRSG for Civil Administration Gerard Fischer reminded Regional Administrators, International Co-Heads, UNMIK Chief of Police and VRP Chief that, "VRP is the only legal office which issues documents and legally registers vehicles in Kosovo". Claude Rochon said that vehicle registration in Kosovo is a bigger issue than just to say that only UNMIK is authorized to do this. "There are several other issues to be taken in consideration that have to do with freedom of movement and some other freedoms," said Rochon. UNMIK spokeswoman Susan Manuel also sees registration of vehicles with Yugoslav plates as a humanitarian issue. She said that UNMIK cannot issue a regulation to stop registration of vehicles. "This would make some people feel uncomfortable". What do Kosovars think? Kosovar Albanians resent the UNMIK policy toward Yugoslav registration of vehicles in Kosovo. Some think that Serbs have favors in this aspect, while others say that UNMIK fears the Serbs and is afraid to touch them. A court official in Mitrovica said that still no case has been filed because a Serb has been fined because they drove their vehicle without license plates. SHALA: AFTER THE LIBERATION AND BEFORE INDEPENDENCE Zėri on page three carried a column by its editor-in-chief Blerim Shala commenting on the 2nd anniversary of Kosovo's liberation. Shala stressed: "How is Kosovo doing after two years of liberation? The answer to this question depends on the point of view. We can say that the situation is much better now than it was before July 1999. But then again, if we compare the current situation with the West's and our hopes and goals, we can hardly be satisfied. If we see Kosovo through the eyes of the main western capital cities, then we would shrug our shoulders and shake our heads in concern, frustration and disappointment. United by the war to rescue Kosovo and build and democratize Kosovo, the international community and we are now aware of the fact that we had many illusions about each other. The international community believed that we, due to the fact that we were the victims, would be more merciful, farsighted and grateful. We believed they were more organized, determined, clear and pragmatic. They saw us as very homogenous. We share the same opinion as far as our flag and independence is concerned. But, we are scattered as far as the political organization to supply Kosovo with a democratic government is concerned. We used to think the international community was homogenous; they were united regarding Kosovo's democratization and stability. But they are scattered regarding the political and organizational potential to turn Kosovo's democratic government into a done deed. We expected too much from one another. By not fulfilling the joint intentions made possible misinterpretation, disagreements and blame to come between us. We know that it will be a joint failure even if only one of us is to blame. The West did not come here to make Kosovo independent or return it to the FRY. At least this much is clear and therefore, there is no need for conspiracy. Our task and the task of the West is to turn Kosovo into a democratic society with democratic government. With its inner stability, this democratic government would contribute to regional stability and create new political circumstances to solve Kosovo's final status. The joint target is to establish a democratic government, stabilize the social and economic developments, respect the minorities, and acknowledge the borders of the neighbor countries. These achievable characteristics in Kosovo resemble the criteria of acknowledging the states, formulated by the European Union and USA during the fall of 1991, when the three multiethnic communist federations divided. The conclusion is natural. Fulfilling the criteria in Kosovo enables its independence and vice-versa. There is no doubt about this and we should not even seek an alibi in case we fail. We would then pay a very high price. During the last two years, we have seen what a high price we had to pay for a decade of institutional vacuum. We have also seen how very damaging is the attempt to organize Kosovar peace and democracy by not letting go of the political logic that led us to political resistance against Serbia in 1989-1999. We cannot gain peace with the same measures that we won the war. Kosovo cannot change without establishing a genuine system of central and local governance, without establishing a decision-making parliament and government, reforming the economy, education and university, de- politicizing the KPC, police, customs, administration, including all minorities in the system, respecting the borders of the neighbor countries, contributing to regional stability, fighting organized crime, transforming the political conflict between us into a political competition, controlling the market with a supreme interest for Kosovo's budget by the state and without privatizing the majority of state enterprises. Now we are aware of our flaws and the international community's. But try to ask yourself one question. 'Where would we be now without KFOR, UNMIK and the West?' We all know the answer to this question. We know there is a long and difficult road ahead of us. But, we are not alone. We could not have won the war all by ourselves, although we often say that we won freedom by ourselves. If we use the offer of 17 November to elect Kosovo's future governors, then we will celebrate the third anniversary under much better circumstances." HAGUE INVESTIGATORS LOOK INTO THE FRIDGE TRUCK CASE "The Hague Tribunal investigators were invited to participate in the exhumation of the corpses in the fridge case," reported the ICTY Spokeswoman Florence Artmann, reported Zėri on page three. According to Artmann, the Belgrade government allowed the investigators to participate in the exhumation in order to "confirm the links between these crimes and the war crimes." "Great evidence is necessary" in order to prove the war crimes, said Artmann, adding that the investigators were informed of the transfer of the corpses and the possibility of this not being the only case." "If it is proven that this has something to do with the war crimes, then we will talk with the Belgrade authorities," stressed Artmann. Former Police Commissioner Bozidar Prelevic reported that the investigators are over in Belgrade and looking into the fridge case. He said that they should be very careful while investigating the case and not jump to conclusions.
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