DPI - Foreign Media Monitoring

26 July 2003 Saturday Edition

Kosovo News

· Former Finnish prime minister to be U.N. special envoy in Kosovo (AP)
· Former Finnish PM appointed new head of UN mission in Kosovo (COMTEX)
· New UNMIK governor confirmed as Harri Holkeri (Reuters)
· Ex-Finnish Leader to Be Kosovo Envoy (AP)

Regional News

· Multinational Peacekeeping Force Southeastern Europe HQ moved to Romania (XINHUA)
· Dinkic accusations reach new heights (Beta)
· G17's health minister cries "witch-hunt" and resigns (Beta)
· Anti-Corruption Council on the brink of collapse (Beta)
· Marovic: speedy EU accession requires greater consensus (Beta)
· Serbo-Macedonian police cooperation confirmed (B92)
· Eight years on the run for Karadzic and Mladic (Beta)
· Serbia and SCG receive full US support for reforms (B92)
· Border arrangements agreed |SRNA)
· Eastern Europe industry: Memorandum signed on trans-Balkan pipeline (EIU ViewsWire Eastern
· Annan Weighs Replacing Rwanda Prosecutor (AP)

Former Finnish prime minister to be U.N. special envoy in Kosovo
By BARBARA BORST=
Associated Press Writer=
UNITED NATIONS (AP) _ Harri Holkeri, former prime minister of Finland, has been appointed to head the U.N. administration in Kosovo province.
Holkeri, who also has served as U.N. General Assembly president, will be Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special representative to the Serbian province. Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since the end of the 1999 NATO bombing campaign that halted a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo.
The former prime minister has been one of Finland's most powerful conservative political figures, serving as a leader of the National Coalition Party, a member of Parliament and a member of the board of the Bank of Finland.
His international experience includes three years on the international body set up by Britain and Ireland to address the decommissioning of illegal weapons in the Northern Ireland conflict.
Holkeri succeeds Michael Steiner, who served as special envoy to Kosovo for a year and a half. Steiner, a senior German diplomat who is to become his country's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, was the third special representative and head of the U.N. Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since it was established in 1999. He followed Hans Haekkerup of Denmark and Bernard Kouchner of France.
In his final report to the Security Council, Steiner said Kosovo was moving toward the standards that will define its place in Europe, and multi-ethnicity was gradually improving.
But he also warned that ``a lot more work is required for Kosovo to become a truly multi-ethnic society.''

07/25/2003 23:19:54
Former Finnish PM appointed new head of UN mission in Kosovo
Source: Comtex Global News Date: July 25, 2003
United Nations Secretary- General Kofi Annan has named former Finnish Prime Minister Harri Holkeri as his new special representative for Kosovo, who will concurrently head the UN interim administration mission in the region (UNMIK).
Holkeri, who also served as the president of the 55th session of the UN General Assembly in 2000, would bring to the post a wealth of political experience, as well as a reputation as a skilled mediator and consensus builder, the UN spokesman's office said in a press release.
Holkeri will take the place of German Michael Steiner, who resigned in early July and is to become his country's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva. Steiner was the third special representative and UNMIK chief since it was created in 1999.
UN diplomats here confirmed that Annan chose Holkeri amid a dozen of candidates nominated by the United States and the European Union, which were wrangling for the top civilian post in Kosovo.
Holkeri, who was Finland's prime minister from 1987 to 1991, is going to face a serious challenge in Kosovo as both Serbia and the region's pro-independent provisional government have been pressing the United Nations recently to determine its final status.
Kosovo, a province of Serbia, has been under the United Nations ' administration since the withdrawal of Serbian troops from it in June 1999. The UNMIK has already transferred many functions to the local provisional government, but still retains some major powers.
CXGLOBviaNewsEdge

New UNMIK governor confirmed as Harri Holkeri | 20:28 | Reuters
NEW YORK -- Friday - The UN has announced that Harri Holkeri, former Finnish Prime Minister and one-time president of the UN General Assembly, has today been appointed as the new chief of UNMIK.

The decision to appoint Holkeri, who has no experience in the Balkans, was made by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan after interviewing around a dozen candidates amid squabbles between the United States and the European Union, which finances most of the operation.

Holkeri is to replace German Michael Steiner as the head of UNMIK after Steiner resigned on 8 July after 18 months in the job. Steiner is now his country's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.

Annan, after writing of his choice to the UN Security Council, said he expected Holkeri to be in Kosovo within a month.

"The operations and our activities there have reached a critical stage and to have a man of this experience, his calibre and his judgment in Kosovo are going to be a great asset to this organisation and to the international community," Annan told Reuters.

As the new governor of Kosovo, Holkeri faces the sensitive task of supervising the commencement of negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade on the final status of the province.

The European Union had put forth several names, beginning with Sweden's UN ambassador, Pierre Schori, and Italy's roving ambassador, Antonio Armellini. The United States campaigned against Schori because he criticized the invasion of Iraq and the United Nations rejected Armellini as lacking political weight.

Holkeri, who participated in the Northern Ireland peace process, was president of the 191-nation General Assembly in 2000-2001, presiding over its Millennium session.

He and retired Canadian Gen. John de Chastelain joined former US Senator George Mitchell to help resolve problems in the Northern Ireland peace process from 1995 to 1998.

Holkeri served from 1978 to 1997 on the board of the Bank of Finland and has been a board member of a number of other companies and organizations, including Finland's national airline Finnair.

He is president of the Finnish National Commission for the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO. Holkeri is a married father of two and the grandfather of six.

07/25/2003 20:03:27
Ex-Finnish Leader to Be Kosovo Envoy
UNITED NATIONS (AP) A former prime minister of Finland was appointed Friday to head the U.N. administration in Kosovo province, where a 1999 NATO bombing campaign halted a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists.
Harri Holkeri, one of Finland's most powerful conservative political figures, will be Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special representative to the Serbian province. He replaces Michael Steiner, a German diplomat who held the post for 18 months and left to be his country's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.
Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since the end of the NATO campaign.

Multinational Peacekeeping Force Southeastern Europe HQ moved to Romania, XINHUA

BUCHAREST, July 25 (Xinhua)--The headquarters of the Multinational Peacekeeping Force Southeastern Europe (MPFSEE) was transferred to Constanta, Romania Friday from the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv.
When addressing the take-over ceremony in Romania's Black Sea resort of Constanta, Romanian President Ion Iliescu said joining the European Union and NATO is the only choice for southeastern European countries, the Romanian news agency reported.
The MPFSEE, established in 1998, groups Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Romania and Turkey, with the United States, Croatia and Slovenia as observers.
Under the founding agreement signed in Skopje, Macedonia, headquarters of the MPFSEE should be based in member states in a rotary manner.
In the first four years it was based in Plovdiv, the second biggest city of Bulgaria. It will be based successively in Constanta, Romania; Edirne, Turkey; and Kilkis, Greece.
APviaNewsEdge

Dinkic accusations reach new heights | 14:55 -> 19:34 | Beta

BELGRADE -- Friday - Mladjan Dinkic, G17 Plus vice-president and former Serbian National Bank governor, has accused the heads of state security, Serbian ministers - including Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic - and the heads of the Belgrade Commercial Court of all participating in the money laundering affair and of assisting in the subsequent cover-up.

Speaking at a press conference, Dinkic said: "The money which was laundered via the Seychelles company of Zoran Janjusevic represents a provision which the officials from the Serbian prime minister's office illegally appropriated during the privatisation process of the Novi Popovac cement factory".

Startling coincidences

He explained: "The factory was sold on 31 January, 2002, and, according to the Hungarian police report, immediately afterwards on 28 February the payments started arriving on the account of the Janjusevic's Seychelles-based company, Myron Sails".

Dinkic's exposé continued: "By 30 January, 2003, according to the Hungarian police, a total of 1.02 million euros had been transferred to the company's account in several instalments, which were all marked 'Counselling - Miroljub Jakovljevic'". Dinkic explained that Jakovljevic has become one of Serbia's largest cement dealers in the past two years, before continuing:

"At that time, Nemanja Kolesar [executive-director of the Bank Recovery Agency] was president of the cement factory's Board of Directors. Suddenly Jakovljevic became the factory's main buyer, whilst simultaneously taking over the Lutra Company, which is the private company of Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic.

"This explains why Mihajlovic did not inform the prosecution, government or Anti-Money Laundering Commission for three weeks after receiving the document from the Hungarian police".

G17 Plus state that, to their knowledge, Privatisation Minister Aleksandar Vlahovic was in no way involved in the affair.

Dinkic added that the entire government must assume a degree of responsibility as it took the action of defending officials against whom a legitimate suspicion of direct involvement in this money laundering affair has been established. Dinkic's right to disclosure Democratic Party spokesman Aleksandar Radosavljevic has responded to the revelations by insisting that Dinkic has the right to present documentation, but the question of truth and validity remains to be answered. Radosavljevic stressed that the G17 Plus deputy leader should send the documents to the authorised bodies if he is a supporter of European Serbia. He added: "If it's proven that he's right all those responsible should suffer consequences, but this cuts both ways: Dinkic should answer for it if all turns out to be a lie".

Kolesar to seek court satisfaction

Following Dinkic's latest wave of accusations, Kolesar has said that he is to seek satisfaction in court by suing Dinkic, which he believes will put a stop to all attacks against his name.

A written statement released by Kolesar said: "For me, any kind of polemic with a person like Mr. Mladjan Dinkic represents the crossing of the boundaries of good taste. Mladjan Dinkic will have to repeat claims from today's press conference before the authorised bodies".

Additionally, Interior Minister Mihajlovic's Liberals of Serbia - formerly the New Democracy party - have dismissed accusations that their leader assisted in covering-up the affair.

Speaking to B92, Mihajlovic said that the police will respond professionally to the request of Serbia's public prosecutor regarding both Dinkic's accusations and those made against G17 Plus by Messrs Kolesar and Janjusevic.

Mihajlovic claimed to have no knowledge whatsoever of Jakovljevic, saying: "I've never heard of this gentleman nor do I understand what this is about and what Mr. Dinkic wanted to say.

"If he is trying to drag the Lutra Company into the whole story to make the plot thicker then he will have to prove these accusations in court, so he would be better off preparing answers to the questions that await him instead."

The interior minister added: "No matter how hard he tries to become important, Dinkic will always be remembered as a little troublemaker".

Mihajlovic's ministry have also dismissed today's fresh allegations, releasing a statement which insists:

"The official correspondence between the Hungarian and Serbian police in the case of payments made to bank accounts of certain people was fully in line with the law and quite usual. The Hungarian police document was addressed to and presented to the responsible department within the Interior Ministry, and not to the Interior Minister.

"Once the responsible department received the document, it took, and is still taking, operative measures and activities in line with the law."

The ministry emphasised: "Neither the minister nor anyone else has influenced the work of this responsible department in this or any other case".

G17's health minister cries "witch-hunt" and resigns | 14:16 -> 20:07 | Beta
BELGRADE -- Friday -- Professor Tomica Milosavljevic, G17 Plus member, has resigned from the post of Serbian Health Minister, accusing the government of pursuing a witch-hunt against his party.

Speaking to press, Milosavljevic said he could no longer accept the atmosphere in the government and thus "under these circumstances it is my firm belief that there is no point remaining in the post of minister, so I resign".

Explaining that he had offered his resignation on previous occasions to late PM Zoran Djindjic and current PM Zoran Zivkovic, Milosavljevic said he had done so to permit them to decide if his party affiliation was incompatible with a ministerial position, but they did not accept his resignation.

Milosavljevic said that in the aftermath of the Djindjic assassination he had remained in his post as a show of solidarity with those continuing the reformist policy and to aid the speedy stabilisation of the country, which had been the stance of G17 Plus.

The professor, a gastroenterologist intern, was appointed minister on the proposal of Djindjic in June 2002.

Following G17's change of status from an economic think-tank to a political party in December of that year, Milosavljevic decided to remain a member of the new G17 Plus, although he would not actively participate in the political undertakings of the party while a member of the government.

Milosavljevic is to continue as health minister in accordance with the law until a replacement can be found.

Broken promises

In response, The Serbian Government said Milosavljevic is leaving the Government "completely of his own volition as a politician and as a member of the leadership of G17 Plus".

According to a government statement, which noted that Milosavljevic was appointed as an expert: "Despite his public promise given on 16 December last year, following the forming of the party G17 Plus, that he would not be politically active during his term in office, the explanation in his resignation shows that the Minister got most directly engaged in daily politics".

The statement adds that Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic will nominate a successor at the first Serbian Parliament session to follow the summer break in order to ensure that "the very important health sector will not suffer due to this sudden resignation".

Mihajlovic claimed to have no knowledge whatsoever of Jakovljevic, saying: "I've never heard of this gentleman nor do I understand what this is about and what Mr. Dinkic wanted to say.

The interior minister added: "No matter how hard he tries to become important, Dinkic will always be remembered as a little troublemaker".

Mihajlovic's ministry have also dismissed today's fresh allegations, releasing a statement which insists:

"Once the responsible department received the document, it took, and is still taking, operative measures and activities in line with the law."

The ministry emphasised: "Neither the minister nor anyone else has influenced the work of this responsible department in this or any other case".

Anti-Corruption Council on the brink of collapse | 20:37 | Beta
BELGRADE -- Friday -- The Anti-corruption Council said today that its very existence will depend on talks with Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic and the Serbian Government's readiness to support measures aimed at preventing corruption.

Promptly afterwards Council member Nikola Milosevic tendered his irreversible resignation.

Members are to decide whether or not to collectively resign following a meeting with Zivkovic, currently out of the country, and member Ivan Lalic confirmed to Radio Television Serbia that the issue was discussed at today's Council meeting.

According to a Council statement, they are proposing implementation of stringent anti-corruption legislation, which includes the law preventing conflicts of professional interest for state practitioners.

However, the Council stress, on the law governing the financing of political parties has been ratified to date, and even this will not be applied before 2004.

The statement adds that a Council request for full disclosure of public company board positions held by Serbian Government representatives has yet to be honoured.

Media requests dodged

The Anti-Corruption Council has not been informed of the government's stance on a proposal to form an independent auditing company to investigate the legality of the operations of Radio Television Serbia, TV Pink and a number of other media firms.

They added that the government also ignored a request that the Broadcast Agency Council members be recalled and re-elected to ensure the procedure for formation of the Agency Council was fully adhered to.

According to the government's press office, documentation allegedly detailing illegal financing of the G17 Plus party has been submitted to the Council; although the anti-corruption team refute this, insisting that they were actually sent a private submission of Bank Recovery Agency director and money-laundering accused Nemanja Kolesar.

Marovic: speedy EU accession requires greater consensus | 12:44 | Beta
PODGORICA -- Friday -- State union President Svetozar Marovic has assessed that it could be possible for Serbia-Montenegro to sign the Stabilisation and Association agreement with the EU before then end of 2004.

In an interview for Podgorica's Pobjeda, Marovic said that the timeframe has the support of EU Foreign Affairs and Security chief Javier Solana; although he added that it is crucial that no conditions be added to the Feasibility Study.

Marovic insisted that speedier association with the EU requires a broader consensus among domestic political parties, noting: "this is our programme for the future, which belongs equally to majority and minority, authorities and opposition".

Marovic said that hasty EU accession is a definite possibility: "We have the support of Europe, but we need to support ourselves for the deadlines not to be a problem".

Serbia and SCG receive full US support for reforms | 12:40 | B92
WASHINGTON -- Friday -- A SCG-Serbia delegation, led by Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic and SCG Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic, met with a variety of American officials in Washington yesterday, after which Zivkovic told B92:

"We have received full support for reforms carried out by Serbian government, but also the state union."

Amongst those holding talks with the delegation were US Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Advisor to the US President Condoleezza Rice and War Crimes Ambassador Pierre Richard Prosper.

Zivkovic insisted that the talks confirmed a positive trend in the development of international relations, saying: "We talked about the normalisation of trade relations, strategic partnerships of the two countries, participation of our companies in the Iraqi reconstruction and the possibility of resuming weapons sales to some countries affected by US sanctions".

The PM added that the US request for its citizens to be exempt from extradition to the permanent International Criminal Court had been discussed: "I completely understand their interest and such request, but that topic is not over and will yet be discussed".

Eight years on the run for Karadzic and Mladic | 15:34 | Beta
THE HAGUE -- Friday -- Theodor Meron, president of The Hague Tribunal, has today marked the eighth anniversary of the indictments brought against former Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and former Bosnian-Serb military commander Ratko Mladic by again calling for their arrest and extradition.

In a statement read to press by Tribunal spokesman Jim Landale, Meron stressed that The Hague Tribunal's mission will not be completed until the pair - charged with acts of genocide - are made to face justice.

Meron insisted that Karadzic and Mladic must be arrested and transferred to the Netherlands before the court closes its doors for the last time.

Serbo-Macedonian police cooperation confirmed | 20:49 | B92
SKOPJE -- Friday -- Serbian Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic and Macedonian counterpart Hari Kostov have signed an agreement on cooperation between their respective Ministries in Ohrid today.

The Agreement envisages cooperation between Serbia and Macedonia on fighting organized crime, illegal border crossings and the trafficking of human, arms and drugs.

Speaking to B92, minister Mihajlovic said that the signing of the agreement means that the two ministries have put their cooperation into an institutional framework. He added that the broadest possible fight against organized crime will continue.

Border arrangements agreed | 21:32 | SRNA
ZAGREB -- Friday -- An inter-state commission for the demarcation of borders has today finalised a protocol arrangement on the northern and southern tri-border area between Croatia, Serbia-Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The agreement will be trilaterally signed in Sarajevo at the end of September.

The commission agreed on its future activities and on stepping up work. The Croatian Foreign Ministry said the various issues concerning the border regime were also discussed.

Eastern Europe industry: Memorandum signed on trans-Balkan pipeline
Source: EIU ViewsWire Eastern Europe
FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT
A three-party memorandum of understanding has been signed covering the building of a $1.2bn trans-Balkan pipeline. The pipeline will carry crude oil from Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan through the Black Sea Bulgarian port of Burgas to the Adriatic Sea. The oil will eventually reach oil refineries in Italy through the Otranto channel and its flow is expected to reach 750,000 barrels/day.
The memorandum was signed by the governments of Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria. It assigns exclusive rights for the project to US-based company AMBO.
The project will be financed by several financial institutions including the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the EBRD, which has pledged to cover some 30% of the costs.

Annan Weighs Replacing Rwanda Prosecutor
By BARBARA BORST Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS (AP) Secretary-General Kofi Annan is considering whether Carla Del Ponte should continue as the international prosecutor for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, diplomatic sources said Friday, citing problems with the pace of prosecutions.
A Western diplomat said Annan, and the U.N. Security Council, are looking for ways to make the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda more effective. However, other officials cited clashes between Del Ponte's office and the Rwandan government, notably over the court's efforts to investigate abuses by members of the Tutsi-led rebels who stopped the genocide and took power.
Del Ponte is expected to remain chief prosecutor for the tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands.
The Rwanda tribunal, based in Arusha, Tanzania, was set up to try the organizers of the genocide that killed more than 500,000 minority Tutsis and Hutu political moderates. The international court has completed 15 cases and has 61 in progress; it holds 55 detainees, more than half of whom are awaiting trial.
U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said the secretary-general has ``nothing to announce'' on renewal of Del Ponte's assignment, adding that she is scheduled to come to New York on Monday to see Annan.
The Security Council, which set up the tribunals, would have final say on the selection of prosecutors.
In The Hague, Del Ponte's spokeswoman, Florence Hartmann, said Friday Del Ponte is not considering stepping down and that she ``had support to carry out her mandate.''
``The only issue is to fight all attempts to compromise the independence, the credibility and authority of the prosecutor's office,'' she said.
The meeting with Annan comes amid reports of pressure from Rwandan authorities for a separate chief prosecutor at the two tribunals. Del Ponte currently heads investigations at both.
One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Rwandan government officials are linked to crimes under investigation by the tribunal and seek to undermine Del Ponte's work. If Del Ponte were replaced, it might be easier to exert political pressure on her replacement, the official said.
A Rwandan official at the United Nations said his government has repeatedly raised concerns over the tribunal's performance, including the slow pace of the trials and the safety and anonymity of witnesses. He said, however, that the Rwandan government hasn't decided whether to support or oppose renewal of Del Ponte's tenure as prosecutor.
A diplomat from a Security Council member country said council members are examining whether the Rwanda tribunal could progress more rapidly if it had its own chief prosecutor, rather than sharing one with the Yugoslavia tribunal.
``There has been a lot of effort to make the ICTR (Rwanda tribunal) more effective. There is still a lot to be done, in particular to speed up the case work,'' the diplomat said.