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UNMIK-UNMIK POLICE -OSCE-EU- Press Briefing, 18 January 2002 UNMIK Spokeswoman Susan Manuel UNMIK Spokeswoman Susan Manuel High Level Working Group Meeting in Belgrade Mr. Charles Brayshaw will chair the second session of the High Level Working Group with Mr. Covic on Monday in Belgrade. On the agenda are returns of displaced people and refugees, missing persons. Detainees, railways and license plates. ICTY witnesses I was asked the last briefing what UNMIK's role might be in the transport of witnesses to the Hague for the Milosevic trial. The answer is that UNMIK will have nothing to do with the witnesses. Witness transfer and protection is a highly sensitive issue, and will be handled by special teams sent here from the ICTY in the Hague. We may have more information on this next week, after the new Kosovo ICTY officer arrives, as well as on how the trial will be broadcast on local TV so that viewers in Kosovo can watch it. Visas to Turkey As far as the Turkish office opening for visas, the cost for a visa which I told you on Monday was not accurate. The Turkish office will charge 10 Euro or US $10 for a visa to Turkey. Abandoned Serb Property in Kosovo Finally I was asked last Monday to comment on the plan announced by Serb Dpt Premier Covic by which he may propose that Serbia buy up abandoned Serb property. Somehow Zeri published the exact opposite of what I said in this briefing. 1. there is no law forbidding any person or entity from buying property
in Kosovo Please, if the is anything unclear in a briefing, please do not hesitate to clarify it with me later, rather than printing misinformation. Briefing on drivers licenses On Monday we will have a briefing on drivers licenses by Mr. Oswald Hall, at the usual press briefing time. From the Police Mr. Idriz Murtez, 39 was murdered yesterday in Podujevo. UNMIK police have one suspect in custody and are seeking another. Victim and suspect knew each other and police believe the motive was a dispute between the two of them. We would also like to refute the report broadcast by BK TV that MUP members from Serbia are coming to work in northern Kosovo. There is absolutely no truth to this. We have been trying to recruit more Serbs to join the KPS in northern Kosovo, but only Kosovo Serbs may apply. Fin ally UNMIK officials in Pristina are looking into the detention of Mr. Petar Saric, a noted writer, in Strpce. According to regional officials, the public prosecutor requested Mr. Saric detained pending an investigation into a dispute between Mr. Saric and some police officers. This has become an understandably sensitive issue in the community where Mr. Saric is a respected figure. UNMIK is looking very carefully at the circumstances of the case.
New OSCE Head of Mission The OSCE wants to welcome our new Head of Mission, Ambassador Pascal Fieschi, to Kosovo who arrived this Monday. Next week he will be travelling to Lisbon to attend attend the annual Heads of Mission meeting hosted by the OSCE Chairman in Office, Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama. Human Rights activities of the OSCE Human rights are the foundation of OSCE's work, and the responsibility
of everyone. One of the OSCE's strengths is being responsive to meet the
needs of the changing situation and in turn helping create of a culture
of human rights which aims to prevent violations in the [1] Legal system monitoring - To date, three six-month reviews of the criminal justice system have been completed which examine the challenges faced in establishing a functioning legal system, and recommending solutions to address problems. [2] Security issues - Since 1999, the OSCE has monitored human rights in relation to law enforcement to ensure that individuals' human rights are respected and protected. The aim is to ensure an effective and accountable police force, and also to address reasons why the law or human rights are not adequately protected. [3] Victim advocacy and support - This priority came out of the work
of the victim advocacy and support programme developed through the OSCE's
anti-trafficking activities. The needs of the victims of crime are of
great importance - to provide them proper services and prevent [4] Property - Property rights affect all communities in Kosovo. The legacy of discriminatory laws, population movements, damage to property, the challenges in solving property disputes, and a lack of legal security all contribute to ongoing human rights violations. OSCE's work will monitor the work of the Housing and Property Directorate (HPD), local governmental and law enforcement actors; and assist in the development and implementation of property legislation. Also in the coming weeks, OSCE will release a report a report on property that summarises critical issues identified though monitoring and offer recommendations. [5] Non-discrimination - Issues of discrimination affect not just smaller communities, but all persons. The aim is to look at the causes of discrimination, particularly within the public sector, and work on solutions, including legal reform, training, and raising awareness of what discrimination is and how it affects human rights. [6] Human rights promotion - Capacity building. The OSCE will continue
to offer in-depth training sessions to key actors in the government and
civil society in Kosovo on how human rights directly and affect their
work. Last year, for example, groups that benefited from training initiatives
were journalists, MECs, teachers and Community Committees. A key activity
this year is the human rights awareness campaign that OSCE is running
with the Council of Europe in primary schools across Kosovo. January's
"right" is article 8 of the European Convention, everyone has
the right to respect for his private and family life, his Second round of training for Bar/Judicial Exam begins The training for the second Bar/Judicial Exam, funded by the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR), began on 11 January 2001 and will last until 2 March 2002. As before, this training is being organised by the OSCE, through the Kosovo Judicial Institute (KJI). Materials for the training, including new copies of a booklet on "Human Rights Standards" and an updated version of a CD with UNMIK Regulations and other related documents in three languages (English/Albanian/Serbian), were prepared together with the American Bar Association/East-European Law Initiative (ABA/CEELI). Kosovo Law Centre The Kosovo Law Centre has moved and is now located in the Ulpiana area of Pristina, in the neighborhood of the Catholic Church. EU Spokesman Mike Todd Euro We are now two weeks into the introduction of Kosovo's new currency. And so far, the conversion to the Euro has been relatively successful. But that isn't to say there haven't been some problems. I just wanted to identify some of the issues that have been raised in this initial changeover period. Prices: there have been some complaints of certain retail businesses, and of wholesalers, raising their prices because of the new currency. There is absolutely no reason why this should happen and it is totally unconnected to the currency's arrival. What it is connected to is the questionable practices of some businesses in attempting to dishonestly increase their profits from the changeover. We would appeal to the media to put pressure on the traders not to try and cheat. Final Date: There have been some rumours circulating that the exchange date may be extended beyond February 28. I would like to give a strong signal that that is not the case. February 28 is the last date when DMs can be exchanged to Euros so people should make sure they do so before then. Minority Enclaves : A lot of effort has gone into ensuring that all sections of Kosovo's community have full access to the new notes and coins. This is being done through temporary exchange offices. So far the exchanges in Northern Kosovo have been very successful, we hope to see this continue. Banks: The success experienced by the banks has been remarkable. As has already been stated, the money deposited in bank accounts in Kosovo more than doubled in the month of December. This is not only beneficial for those individuals who have accounts but it is beneficial for the future of Kosovo's financial sector and Kosovo's long term economic growth. There will be a press conference on counterfeiting and the security features of the Euro next week, on Tuesday, 22 January at the BPK Headquarters at 11.00am. For more information please contact my esteemed colleague Burim Sadiku. Power As this is my last brief, I felt it was unavoidable, and I had to mention power. Currently there is a total of 716 MW being produced, this is in fact better than has ever been achieved before. There is, as is clear, a load shedding schedule still in place. One of the key reasons for this is that although power production has increased by around 35%, consumer demand still exceeds supply. I think one of the most telling figures is that prior to the 1999 conflict, the peak demand in Kosovo was 350 MW. As has recently been in the press, KEK does have some financial difficulties,
this is nothing new. KEK, the power sector in general, has been massively
propped up by international donor assistance. As has been repeatedly stated,
this support cannot and will not continue. Already for this year, there
are plans for the Kosovo Consolidated Budget to financially assist KEK.
That means those paying their taxes and those paying their electricity
bills, will be paying twice for the electricity of those not paying their
bills. It is a completely unfair situation but KEK has to have money to
function and the only way it can generate income is through payment of
electricity bills. No money, no power. |