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UNMIK-UNMIK Police-KFOR-UNHCR Press Briefing, 8 October 2001 UNMIK Spokesman Simon Haselock
Highlights of Security Council meeting, 5 October 2001 ˇThe Security Council met in open session on 5 October to discuss the latest report of the Secretary-General on Kosovo ˇThe Statement and press release is available and I commend it to you as is the SRSG's intervention. The SRSG's intervention goes into detail on the elections and the way that the transition is taking place between the JIAS system and the new Institutions of Provisional Self Government. ˇThe Council itself in its statement called on the Kosovo Serbs to vote and emphasized the responsibility of Kosovo's elected leaders to "respect fully the final status provisions of resolution 1244." ˇThe Council expressed full support for the efforts of UNMIK and paid tribute to its local and international staff. ˇThe Council sent two very clear messages: the Kosovo Serbs must vote in the elections; and Provisional Self-Government, based on the Constitutional Framework, does not prejudge the final status of Kosovo. ˇCouncil members also sent a clear message to the Kosovo Albanian leadership that there is no place for violence. Many members called on the political leadership and representatives of civil society to publicly condemn violence and use their authority to ensure a violence-free election. ˇThey also urged the Kosovar leadership to more actively confront the sources of insecurity, as well as publicly and actively support the return of Kosovo Serbs. ˇSerb participation: All Council members called on the Kosovo Serbs to vote and called on the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to encourage this. ˇMembers called on the Kosovo Serb community to recognize that it is in their best interests to vote and that only by participating can they have a say in the daily running of their affairs. ˇCouncil members expressed disappointment at the lack of progress in Mitrovica and called on the Kosovo Serbs there to participate in the UNMIK process and called on Belgrade to ensure the dismantling of the parallel security structures. IAC IAC will meet tomorrow. There will be a briefing by the acting SRSG Mr. Tom Koenigs, followed by a security briefing by the new COMKFOR, General Valentin, who will attend IAC for the first time. Then three draft regulations will be presented to IAC: the draft regulation on Documents Permitting the Operation of Vehicles in Kosovo and Other Related Matters, the draft regulation on the Establishment of the Kosovo Financial Board and a Regime for Financial Reporting of Business Organisations and the draft regulation on Amendments to the Kosovo Consolidated Budget. After that the Department of Education, Science and Technology will give a briefing on legal and structural accomplishments in the field of education. Announcement about press conferences: 1. Eight MEPs from the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with south-east Europe will be visiting Kosovo this Wednesday and Thursday, the 10th-11th October. The delegation, chaired by Doris Pack, will meet with Kosovo's political leaders, Acting SRSG Tom Koenigs, the OSCE, the EU, and the European Agency for Reconstruction. The MEPs will hold a press conference at the European Agency for Reconstruction at 1000 hrs on Thursday morning. All media are invited to attend. 2. The Department of Education, Science and Technology is organising a Press Conference in the Department's meeting room in the Eximkos Building at 15:00 hours on 9th October on the issue of the legislation on higher education and on schools. This is an important press conference and all media are invited to attend. 3. A reminder: Today at 1400 hrs there is a press conference by a team of experts from UNIFEM led by Ms. Elizabeth Rehn, former SRSG in Bosnia and Herzegovina and former defence minister of Finland, in the auditorium.
As I am sure you are aware, the US led attacks against the Taliban
regime in Afghanistan yesterday. Now I am sure that you have many
questions, however, all I can say at this moment is that NATO was not
directly involved in this action. I understand that the North
Atlantic Council, NATO's policy making committee, will be meeting sometime
to day and we expect a formal announcement to be issued after this
meeting. KFOR has increased its security stance and procedures for
our personnel, but this will not affect our mission, and we will continue
to ensure that Kosovo remains safe and secure. There were no significant finds of arms this week, but there is an encouraging trend of weapons being voluntarily handed in to KFOR and UNMIK-Police, along with finds of explosives and grenades being reported. We urge the people of Kosovo to do what they can to remove the threat of illegal weapons, which are the very tools of the violence that could threaten the stable security situation, at such an important time for Kosovo. This week General Valentin had very positive meetings with the main
K-Albanian political leaders. He has also toured each of the
Multinational Brigades, and will conclude with a to visit Multinational
Brigade Center today. General Valentin will meet with Mr Blatter of
United Nations High Commission for Refugees and then later with the head
of the Kosovo Protection Corps, General Ceku, and today.
Warning Regarding Dangerous Chemicals UNMIK Police want to warn the public about the improper use of a
chemical on humans. UNMIK Police have recently investigated three incidents in which this chemical has been purchased by persons who than applied it to humans to control head lice. Two deaths and two serious poisonings have already occurred. Persons should only purchase medicines for human use from pharmacies. A doctor should be consulted before taking medicines. If you have the product in your home, do not apply it to humans. If you do not need it for agricultural use, dispose of it now. Commendation for Kosovo Police Officers Six Kosovo Police Service officers received commendations on Saturday for their quick and professional response to a kidnapping that saved a young K-Albanian girl from multiple rape. At 10.00 p.m. on 13 August a young K-Albanian girl was forced into a car by three K-Albanian men on a street in South Mitrovica. A friend witnessed the kidnapping and called the Police. The KPS responded and showed initiative in collecting the witness and following the route the car had taken as they obtained a description of the vehicle. They broadcast the details of the car and another KPS vehicle located it as it was driving through Mitrovica. The second KPS patrol stopped the suspects' car, freed the victim and arrested all the occupants. In the short time the girl had been in the custody of her kidnappers she had already been assaulted and told that she could be raped. Congratulations to the KPS for their professional response. Policing North Mitrovica Last week UNMIK Police begun full time enforcement of traffic laws on the streets and roads of North Mitrovica. We are pleased to report that the public have accepted UNMIK Police and have shown support for our attempts to reduce the toll of death and injury arising from the high rate of traffic accidents. Small groups of persons have occasionally protested our presence but they do not enjoy wide community support and they have been unsuccessful in preventing normal policing in the North. Prostitution/Trafficking Enmforcement We have been very active this week in acting against the trafficking of women for prostitution. On 2 October, three Kosovo Albanian males were arrested in Lipjan for trafficking in women. On 5 October, five persons were detained at Gate 3 of the Serbian-Kosovo boundary as they attempted to enter Kosovo. A 31-year-old Kosovo Albanian and a 27-year-old Serbian were arrested for their involvement in trafficking three women from Moldova, Romania and Bosnia into Kosovo. On 4 October we raided the PLAYBOY Club in Ferizaj/Urosevac. Inside the crowded club, five women, the youngest only 18 years, were found entertaining a large number of men. One K-Albanian male was arrested for controlling the women. All five were removed to Ferizaj Police Station and the club was closed. Double Murder in Pec/Peja On Sunday, the 7th of October, officers from Djakova Police Station responded to a call in the village of NOVOSELLA concerning shots fired. Upon arrival, the bodies of two men were found. Richard PITAQI, aged 27 and his brother Ndve PITAQI, aged 30, both K-Albanian residents if the village, had been shot and killed. Two suspects fled the scene. One has now been arrested by DJAKOVA Police and is being interviewed. This is not politically or ethnically motivated, but the result of a previous family dispute.
Challenge Period Today is the start of the Challenge Period - this is the next stage in compiling an accurate Voters' List. People have the right to look at the list of voters registered to vote in their polling centre; if they find a problem with the a name on the list - for instance if the person isn't yet 18 - they can challenge the entry, through the election complaint and appeals sub commission. The viewing of the list will be done in a way to ensure that personal information -- which isn't relevant to voter eligibility - will not be disclosed. People will not be able to photocopy the list and can only make notes with permission of the international supervisor there. In Pristina and Mitorvica, the complete voters list will be available to scrutiny by one representative of political entities, NGOs and by council of Europe observers. The challenge period runs through to the 17th October. We will be having a detailed briefing on this tomorrow at noon at the OSCE Headquarters. Training This week we are running a series of seminars for political candidates on Getting Ready to Govern. These are designed to help political candidates learn more about their responsibilities as elected officials.
Q: Serbian media reported that some Serbian police officers were attacked by mortar fire on Saturday night on the border with Kosovo, inside the Ground Safety Zone. Did KFOR monitor anything on that? DS: We are aware of the press reports and we consider them to be slightly misleading. We have had reports of what could be described as heavy machine gun fire in that region but that was within Kosovo, the direction of that we couldn't possible determine at this time. But bearing in mind that Sunday is generally the happy day for Kosovo Albanians and there are generally incidents of happy fire on Sunday that is what we are attributing this to. Q: Have you received any information from New York about the interference of Macedonian authorities inside the territory of Kosovo? SH: No. Can you be more specific? Q: About the issue of interference that it is becoming a big problem? SH: I don't understand the context. Do you mean the border issue? Q: Yes. SH: I haven't heard anything more about that. What I said in the past is still the case. We are expecting discussions at the senior level outside the SRSG's competence in New York. Clearly it is an area which needs to be clarified; it is worrying given the context of the way that situation which currently pertains in Macedonia began in April/May of this year and so it is clearly an issue that needs to be sorted out. And we will wait to hear how it develops. Q: Daz, you said that KFOR has increased security. Can you elaborate a
bit more? Have you received any direct threats since the strikes occurred
yesterday? Q: Why have you increased the security level of the troops in Kosovo. What is your perception of the threat and who is the threat supposedly coming from? DS: As I understand it, this was a force wide, not specifically Balkans wide. This was a NATO directive to increase security across the board against potential threats against NATO troops as a result of the actions taken yesterday. Q: Will 2.5 million Euros that were given by European Union to OSCE for the election campaign be enough? CT: The 2.5 million Euro are for specific projects that will be implemented by OSCE partners. We already have 25 million Euro, which was granted this year for running he elections. This 2.5 million Euros is for very specific projects in being able to reach out to a wider electorate. Q: Could you tell us something about the projects specifically, please? CT: Specifically, we are working with women in rural communities, with the disabled, we are going to be assisting political parties in making TV spots. We are going to be assisting each of the Kosovo wide television stations in putting on election programming and the Kosovo print media in putting out election supplements. These are some of the projects that are being funded. Q: Some ten days ago UNMIK Police mentioned that a women was killed in a minefield close to Vitina. You presented it as an accident. When I spoke with the Mine Action Coordination Center they said that there was no minefield there and that it was not a mine but an explosive device - booby trap. How did UNMIK Police make such a mistake, if it was a mistake? DC: Yes I remember the incident. The information that I give you is the freshest and the most accurate and verified information that I can give you at the time I come to this press conference. I am not sure of the date the woman was killed and at the time it was reported to us that it was a known minefield. Subsequent to that an investigation of the crime scene did determine that it was in fact a booby trap and that items have been packed around the explosive to act as shrapnel deliberately to kill and injure as many people as possible. So you are correct but the information I gave you at time was accurate at the time. Q: Yes, but why didn't you correct it? DC: I believe that the information was subsequently given out on our press update once we received that new information. I am aware that some people are having difficulties receiving that. As a matter of course when you investigate and new information comes to light on that investigation of such high profile cases such as that, then of course we would correct any misinformation that might have arisen from the first release.
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