United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT

UNMIK- OSCE - EU Press Briefing, 07 March 2002

UNMIK Spokeswoman Susan Manuel
OSCE Spokesman Sven Lindholm
EU Spokeswoman Monique de Groot
KFOR Spokesman Daz Slaven

UNMIK Spokeswoman Susan Manuel

Launching of Weapons amnesty period

KFOR will announce today the launching of a weapons amnesty period, which it will implement along with UNMIK Police. Daz will explain further.

SRSG in Madrid

Mr. Steiner is in Madrid today where he will meet with the Foreign Minister of Spain, Mr. Josep Pique. Spain holds the chairmanship of the EU now, and Mr. Pique heads the Council of Foreign Ministers in the EU.

International Women’s Day

Mr. Steiner will be back tomorrow, which is International Women’s Day: He will give a speech at the opening of an Exhibition by Woman Artists and Musicians of Kosovo, in the National Theatre at 17:00 hrs. Media are invited. There are some 30 women artists whose work will be exhibited, and we are trying to ensure that women of diverse communities can make it to the event.

OSCE Spokesperson Sven Lindholm

International Women’s Day

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo, to commemorate International Women’s Day on March 8th, is hosting a series of roundtables to raise awareness of the roles women play in society. The aim is to bring together women’s groups emphasising issues of equal opportunities and ways to improve the economic, political and social status of women in Kosovo.

The roundtables will focus on women’s rights and gender equality. Participants will be presented a documentary film depicting positive images of women and activities in which they take par. These sessions are to be a tool to stimulate discussions on women’s status in the community, assessing the needs of local women’s groups and discover concrete proposals on how to improve the situation, such as strengthening networks of civil society groups.

The roundtables, open to the media, take place on March 8th in the following locations:

Gjilan/Gnijane, NGO Resource Centre from 13:00-18:00 hrs
Lipjan/Lipljan, OSCE Office from 15:00-17:00 hrs
Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, NGO Resource Centre from 10:00-13:00 hrs
Pejë/Pec, Democracy House from 11:00-13:00 hrs
Prizren, OSCE Office from 10:00-13:00 hrs
Skenderaj/Srbica, Municipal Assembly hall from 11:00-13:00 hrs

One further roundtable will be held on March 11th at the Community Centre in Štrpce/Shtërpcë, 16:00-18:00 hrs. Support is from the European Agency for Reconstruction.

EU spokeswoman Monique de Groot

EURO

Changeover period and dual circulation period ended 28 February. Total changeover transactions – 204,481 in amount of 209 million DEM or 106.6 million Euro.

Tomorrow evening the BPK hosts a reception to thanks everyone who contributed to the Euro changeover campaign. Media are invited to attend – media advisory send out later today.

Ministry of Finance and Economy

The newly elected Minister of Finance and Economy, Mr. Ali Sadriu met with a senior official of the IMF yesterday were they discussed among other things the imminent opening of an IMF office in Pristina - Press Release outside.

Pilot training on "Tax Regulations and its implementation in SOEs

The preparation of the pilot training on "Tax Regulations and its implementation in SOEs (Socially Owned Enterprises)" has started. The first session will target 12 to 15 finance officers of SOEs in Pristina. The goal is to help SOEs to apply the new tax regulations. The training will be delivered by CFA staff. If successful and depending on financial resources, similar training sessions will be delivered all over Kosovo and cover other topics such as sales, marketing, accounting, credit management, negotiation, corporate governance, etc.

Mining Conference

A delegation (consisting of local and international staff) from the Directorate of Mines and Minerals and Trepca will be attending the PDAC (Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada) International Convention, Trade Show and Investors Exchange from 10 – 14 March. This 4 day event will take place in Toronto Canada. A large exhibition on the geology of Kosovo and investment opportunities in the Mines and Minerals sector will be present as well as information materials about investing in Kosovo. The aim of the Kosovo participation in this event is to raise the profile of Kosovo and its Mineral wealth as well as aiding the capacity building of local staff enabling them to understand latest mining technologies.

News from the European Agency for Reconstruction: University of Pristina

The European Agency for Reconstruction has finished a major programme of works to refurbish and upgrade the heating system at the Students' Centre of Pristina University. In total, EUR1 million from the Agency's 2001 programme is being spent to upgrade facilities. Work to improve the electrical systems in dormitories; to upgrade the smoke detection system; and to install fire hydrants and fire escapes should be finished by this summer.

Health Sector

As part of the EAR's support to the health sector in Kosovo, the first course to train senior health service managers with the management skills required in a modern health system will begin tomorrow. In any part of the world, a health service has to ensure health care for its people but with only limited resources available to it. This course, funded by the Agency, and organised by the University of Pristina, will provide health service managers in Kosovo with the training required to manage resources effectively and efficiently.

There's a press release outside with more information on both these subjects.

Questions:

Q: Daz, if there is a person who is under detention, presumably an international, his immunity has been waived, there are investigations going on against him, if he is transferred from UN police installation to a military installation who is responsible to guard him. KFOR?

DS: You are talking hypothetically?

Q: Well, there is a case; I can mention the name, but hypothetically…

DS: OK. I am not exactly sure on the details of that; it would depend on the circumstances. If there is a transfer of an individual from an UNMIK facility to KFOR facility, that would be done in cooperation between the two organizations.

Q: And if he flees?

DS: Who would have responsibility for that?

Q: Yes.

DS: I don’t know. I have to find out.

Q: Sorry Susan, I have to read a sentence; this is not a show program just... ‘Additional evidence shows that the detainee was forced to walk through a Serbian enclave with a sign in Serbian stating I hate Serbs.’ Are you aware of this kind of the statement?

SM: I am aware of what has been published in the media about this case. The case is still under investigation, so we really cannot comment any further than that, but we have seen those statements in the media.

Q: How is it possible that this person was repatriated to Austria?

SM: This is under investigation, exactly this situation. We are disappointed that someone who is wanted here for questioning left Kosovo without informing UNMIK, so it is a case that is under investigation.

Q: Does this mean that in Kosovo, no one can touch the internationals?

SM: That is why we are having an investigation and why these articles are being written. When an international is accused of a crime, we are all under immunity from prosecution, so we have to get a waiver of immunity from the UN in New York, for our staff members who may be accused of a crime by the police. That is the procedure that we undertake.

Q: This was done; diplomatic immunity was waived for this Austrian policeman who was under police custody for abusing his authority. This is quite a scandal and I am wondering why this was not said by any of the spokesmen, be it from UN, be it from KFOR or UN Police. Why did we have no information on this?

SM: First of all, when we have an arrest, we don’t reveal people’s names or nationalities at the time of the arrest. The arrest has been in the press because the arrest involved not only an international but also three members of the Kosovo Police Service. That amount of detail had been released to the press. The fact that one of the suspects, the international suspect, left Kosovo, happened very recently and as I said, we are investigating it. But he is not yet charged with a crime and that is the point when we release names and nationality. And as far as the immunity, that part had not happened at the point that he left. That was in process.

Q: His immunity hasn’t been waived?

SM: At the point of the escape, no, but that is all in process now, and that is all under investigation now.

Derek Chappell, UNMIK Police: Maybe I can clarify some of the circumstances. The details of the alleged incident were reported to UNMIK Police very shortly after it happened. As it is our procedure, we immediately started an investigation. The facts that the international officer and KPS officers were investigated and detained was reported to the media. It was published on our daily press update last week, so it was a matter of public record that this was happening. Our investigation into criminal activity is still ongoing. When that is completed, it will be presented either to a prosecutor here, or to the home government of the international officer. Of course, we are disappointed he is not here to answer those charges, but he was not repatriated. To suggest he was repatriated would suggest that the legal process had been followed through and he had been returned, and that is not the case.

Q: Did he escape or …. (inaudible)?

DC: I’d say that he is not longer in Kosovo and the circumstances under which he left detention and returned to Austria are a matter of criminal investigation. There are now two criminal investigations going on into this matter. The first concerns the initial mistreatment of the prisoner. The second concerns the circumstances under which this person was able to leave Kosovo whilst he was still under investigation. That should not have happened and we hope the investigation will disclose how it happened.

Q: I’ve heard the report of the treatment of one prisoner in Dubrava prison. He was kept six months in Dubrava, he was suspected of murder, and then he was released because of the lack of evidence. He says that he was ill treated by two US soldiers and he has three teeth and a leg broken. This happened at the end of 2000, so I believe the investigation should have been completed. Could you say more about this?

SM: Could you get the details to us and we will look into it. Off the top of my head I haven’t heard of this case, but please get the details, and we can investigate it.

Q: Probably the police has all the facts.

DC: Well, you will have to give me details of the case, and then I could inquire as to whether or not we have investigated a complaint that a person made. Just my first reaction is to say that I am not aware of KFOR soldiers acting inside our prisons as guards or security staff.

Q: Inaudible…

DC: Well, you did originally say they were soldiers.

Q: Inaudible…

DC: If you give me details of this specific case we’ll look into that and get an answer to you.

Q: Inaudible…

DC: No, it does not happen very often. The activities of the UNMIK Police are governed by the Criminal Code and also by very strict internal Code of Conduct, professional Code of Conduct. Where there is an allegation of improper behavior, we either start an internal inquiry or a criminal inquiry. I don’t just of the top of my head have all the details of the investigations since we first came into Kosovo. Again, I can get those for you, and I can probably break them down by the type of allegation that has been made.

Q: What happened with the Egyptian policeman who killed Albanian girl, is his immunity waived or he still has it?

SM: His immunity has been waived; he is in custody in Kosovo. He needs some surgery which is what we are working on now, but he is still in custody in Kosovo.

Q: How is it possible that Austrian policeman was not out of the immunity?

SM: When a request is made for immunity to be waived, to New York, it comes back within a few hours, within 24 or 48 hours. It was the same procedure with the Egyptian policeman as with the Austrian.

Q: So what happened with the Austrian policeman?

SM: He left without permission of UNMIK.

Q: And who helped him to leave Kosovo?

SM: That is what is under investigation now.

Q: So KFOR is involved in this or not?

SM: Everything is under an investigation. I don’t think KFOR is involved.

Q: Do you expect the Egyptian policeman to go home for surgery and never come back?

SM: No, we are arranging for his surgery in Europe.

Q: But do you expect the risk of the similar situation as with the Austrian policeman?

SM: No, what happened with the Austrian policeman was very unusual.

Q: Who would have the authority to say that the Austrian policeman had to leave UNMIK Police detention and be taken to KFOR barracks because of health reasons?

DS: As I understand it, the guy was taken to the Austrian medical facility that is located at same location as a KFOR facility but it is not part of the KFOR facility.

Q: And who would have the authority to give that order?

SM: Every step of what happened in this case is now being investigated. As Derek said there are two investigations; one is how did he get away and the other is what did he do in the first place. So, we really do not have the details, the step by step of how he got to which facility, and why. But he was in a hospital facility due to the fact that he apparently had tried to commit suicide.

Q: How was he transported to the Austrian medical facility – by civilian car, police car, KFOR?

SM: I would like to say read my lips, Arber, but this is all under investigation.

Q: Not any more under investigation.

SM: Yes, it is, Arber.

Q: Austrian Ambassador in UN has already said everything about this case….(inaudible).

SM: Yes, we have told you that he has left, and we have told you that how he came about leaving is what is under investigation, so I can’t say anything further about it until we know what happened.

Q: Question for UNMIK. Serbia said that it will open police stations in enclaves. Are you going to let them open these police stations?

SM: No, of course not. I don’t know really whether this statement was misconstrued in the press, and don’t know what the original statement was, but we have the Kosovo Police Service, we have several hundred Serb members and we are hiring more. They work mostly in the enclaves, but it is all completely, --the staffing, posting, deployment,-- is all done by UNMIK Police and the Kosovo Police Service. There is no involvement of Belgrade in this and there will not be any Belgrade involvement in posting police around Kosovo.

Thank you very much.