CONTENTS:
THE MISSION THAT MAKES HIM FEEL PROUD
KOUCHNER CONGRATULATED
KOSTUNICA ON ELECTION VICTORY
SERBS IS MITROVICA AND ZVEÇAN ALLIES WITH
MILOSEVIC
SERBS VOTED AGAINST KOSOVO
FISCHER REQUESTS THE RELEASE OF
POLITICAL PRISONERS
FIRST ONE MINUTE OF INDEPENDENCE AND THEN WE WILL
SEE
THE MISSION THAT MAKES HIM FEEL PROUD
Dr. Bernard Kouchner and the end of his mandate as Kosovo's first UN Chief Administrator reports on page four Bota Sot.
Very few people believed that UN Chief Administrator Bernard Kouchner would achieve successes that he achieved in Kosovo. With him taking on this mission skeptics saw it as impossible. He too saw that it was very difficult to run a region that just came out of a bloody war with still bleeding wounds that would not heal very easily. However now after 18 months as UN Chief Administrator, the Frenchman Bernard Kouchner is proud of achievements during his mandate.
In the beginning of his mandate, Bernard Kouchner had to reconcile Albanians that were not talking tom each other and convince them to sit at the same table. There was war and divisions were so deep that they looked like impassable. This also made impossible for Kouchner to know who had legitimacy and who did not. He had to take Rambouliet formula since he knew that elections would calm down the situation and bring the legitimacy of political leaders.
From a region that was destroyed from the war, Bernard Kouchner had to face the greatest challenge to shelter a war stricken population and start forming institutions that were destroyed for ten years during the Serb regime and mobilize the municipalities.
Many specific things have distinguished Bernard Kouchner during his mandate in Kosovo. There were only few times that he got mad. He was always laughing or smiling winning the media and their affection. They have called his enigmatic smile behind which something hides. Dr. Bernard Kouchner was in Kosovo at a very delicate time not only for him however, for the mission that had to face many great challenges. From a war stricken region, things came slowly into order. Elections held on 28 October ended successfully even though very few believed so. For this Bernard Kouchner congratulated and praised Kosovo Albanians saying that they have made him feel very proud. However, a part of this merit belongs to Bernard Kouchner and his mission. Institutions in Kosovo are slowly being formed and are taking democratic values.
Many have considered that Kouchner's mission will end with the holding and finishing of local elections. This in fact happened. Next general elections are to taken care by his predecessor the Dane Hans Haekkerup, which will be his greatest challenge to finish where Kouchner left.
There were few things that Kouchner did not manage to finish successfully during his mandate. One of them is the security issue. Even though UNMIK police shows that crime is falling, politically motivated crimes against LDK members has made this segment to fail.
Now everything is clear. Kouchner will hand over his duty on 13 January. Instead of him comes the Dane Hans Haekkerup. For Kouchner this is surely the end of his political carrier and the beginning of a new successful carrier in this field. From a doctor who established "Medicines Sans Frontier" humanitarian society respected worldwide has entered another profession that very few believed that he was capable of performing this delicate profession.
He is now preparing for another higher post within the UN maybe as it was mentioned very often to replace Sadako Ogata as head of UNHCR. Who knows? He passed his exam in Kosovo.
KOUCHNER CONGRATULATED KOSTUNICA ON ELECTION VICTORY
Before leaving for France to celebrate Christmas UN Chief Administrator Bernard Kouchner congratulate Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica on election victory reported Koha Ditore on page five.
Bernard Kouchner also congratulated Zoran Djindjic and the people of Serbia after preliminary results show that DOS has won the majority of the Serb Parliament inform UNMIK.
"Success of democracy in Serbia and FRY will benefit democratic movements in the Balkans," wrote Kouchner in letters to Kostunica and Djindjic. Kouchner left Kosovo on Saturday and said before leaving that he is happy that Kosovo is calm. He added that chances for peace are greater now that new democratic regime will be in Serbia.
UNMIK confirmed that in some parts of Kosovo, there were elections and that UNMIK and KFOR wee prepared for possible incidents during these elections. However, there were no reports of any incidents.
SERBS IS MITROVICA AND ZVEÇAN ALLIES WITH MILOSEVIC
Serb Parliamentary elections were organized in northern Kosovo reports Zëri on page eight.
Surprisingly for Albanians Serb elections were organized on 23 December in northern Kosovo. According to Contact a local radio station, these elections were organized in 120 voting polls. In these elections, the criminal Milosevic Socialist Party (SPS) won 42.5% of the votes in Mitrovica while DOS won 29.5%, in the Zveçan municipality SPS won 30% while Dos won 23%. This radio station mentions the difficulties that polling stations had during the elections. Ratomir Rajovic JUL member said that these were most disorganized elections for the ten last years.
SERBS VOTED AGAINST KOSOVO
Allowed by UNMIK and KFOR Serb elections were held in Kosovo reports Zëri on page two.
UN Chief Administrator Bernard Kouchner expressed his joy that Kosovo was peaceful during the Saturday while Serb Parliamentary elections were held. UN mission in Kosovo evaluated that participation in Serb populated areas in Kosovo was very low. UNMIK spokeswoman Susan Manuel said that according to KFOR and UNMIK police reports there was very little activity in these zones.
"There were several queues in Mitrovica almost none in Leposavic and Rahovec," said Manuel. She added that it is still not know for which political party voted Kosovo Serbs nevertheless there was no unrest.
International press agencies inform that Serbia has removed 900,000 Albanians from voting lists this shows a movement towards independence or partition of Kosovo they commented.
Sonja Biserko President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
said, "this brings Kosovo into the path towards secession". While an
American analyst said, "the best that Serbia can expect is partition over
the Ibër River. Serb authorities declared that KFOR could not offer
security for the elections because this would provoke Albanians.
FISCHER REQUESTS THE RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS
Although, Sunday was a celebration day in Germany and the German political scene in Berlin is celebrating Christmas, the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer kept doing his job, reported Koha Ditore on page two.
In fact, Joschka Fischer is the first Foreign Minister of the great powers who reacted after the elections held in Serbia after the victory of the opposition there. In his released statement it is said that that the convinced victory of the Serb democratic forces there indicates a convincing vote for the path the Serb population has elected, and this is the vote for the democratic path and the judicial state.
The peaceful revolution in Serbia with this case marked another decision, which would be a continuation of the return of the Serbs to the European families. The diplomatic relations have been replaced and now it is up to Belgrade to fulfill the democratic and economic reforms. The German government is optimistic that with the democratic changes in Belgrade, there will be solution to all the political problems. The German government appeals to the elected Belgrade representatives to solve the humanitarian issue of the political prisoners held in Serb prisons, as soon as possible.
In the meantime, chairman of Democratic Party Zoran Djindjic stated for the German television that he will not deliver Milosevic to The Hague, he will be tried him in Belgrade. This is the new winner and probably the Prime Minister of the new Serb state.
FIRST ONE MINUTE OF INDEPENDENCE AND THEN WE WILL SEE
After the proposal of Kofi Annan for a confederation between Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo, the comments of Kosovars and officials of political parties are for Kosovo first to be independence and then they will see, reported Koha Ditore on page three.
Everyone agrees that the proposal of UN Administrator coming from New York offers more than the internationals' official statements that Kosovo must have "substantial autonomy". However, this statement is not enough. The Albanians request independence and Serbia is the last state on earth with which they would want to have state relations.
"Such a proposal cannot be acceptable for Kosovo, because it is not in accordance with the aspirations and intentions of the Kosovo's population for independence. It is the right of Kosovo's population to be determined after Kosovo's statehood regarding with whom they will create state relations", said LDK Deputy Chairman Naim Jerliu. He stresses, "There is no Kosovar who would accept anything less than Kosovo's independence" and "the Kosovars remain determined for turning into reality the right for self-governance.
PDK Deputy Chairman Arsim Bajrami says that Annan's proposal is immature. "The international community and UN, in the name of which speaks Kofi Annan, must deal with the issue of Kosovo's independence, to recognize Kosovo's political moment… then it must be thought about a political relation in level with the region", stated Bajrami. He also affirms that the confederation between Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo would fail because, according to him, they are historically and currently confronted. Bajrami considers a confederation between Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia as much more natural and better.
"Kosovo is walking toward independence, and there is no return toward federation, confederation or any relations with other Balkan states", said AAK Secretary Ahmet Isufi. He stresses that the will of Kosovar Albanians is an independent state, Annan's proposal is advancement, and not fulfillment of what the Kosovar population requests. Isufi says that the confederation and various forms of relations with other Balkan states are now and for a certain amount of time not adequate.
"Everything that has happened with the Albanians makes the offer of the future of Kosovo and Albanians not to have relations with the Slavic nations unserious, even in a confederation which allows the possibility of 'relative' independence, which means one that enter independent states and create confederative relations", said Esat Stavilevci, professor in the Judicial University in Prishtina. He stresses that the confederations have historically proved themselves as failures, however Annan's proposal "raises hopes" for the Kosovars, "in a way abrogates Resolution 1244, which determines a substantial autonomy and on the other hand offers something above substantial autonomy". Stavilevci says that all efforts must be taken to achieve the independence as the time's single solution, needed for the balancing of political reports in the Balkans.
"Kofi Annan's proposal in essence is not something new and it is the implementation of the Dayton philosophy in another part of former Yugoslavia", said Enver Hasani, professor at the University of Prishtina. He stresses, "I would not say Annan's proposal is not in favor of the Albanians, it is in favor of the international community, which does not want to begin the process of dissolving the creature of FRY any further. In case Montenegro eventually separates in August, there cannot be talked about any kind of favoring, because the Serbs have proved themselves incapable of coexisting with other Slavic cultures, let alone with Albanians", concluded Hasani.