UNMIK/PR/397

PRESS RELEASE - 24 October 2000

Kouchner at IAC Deplores  Yesterday's Violence

At today's meeting of the Interim Administrative Council, SRSG Bernard Kouchner deplored the incident at yesterday's LDK rally in Gjakova/Djakovica in which Dr. Ibrahim Rugova was forced to leave the stage after the electricity supply was cut and guns fired.

Dr. Kouchner reminded IAC members that violence-marked elections would harm all of Kosovo.
He also expressed his shock at last night's rocket attack on a Serb-inhabited apartment block in the Ulpijana section of Pristina.

The issue of flags at polling stations was raised once again, with the SRSG re-affirming the position of UNMIK and the OSCE that only their flags could be raised at polling stations for Saturday's municipal elections, "if we want to convince world opinion that these elections were fully impartial." He asked the party leaders to assert their influence to avoid incidents, which he said could set back Kosovo's progress toward self-government. And he reminded the IAC that flying national flags at polling stations would be a violation of the administrative procedures which the parties had agreed upon. International observers would certainly make note of national flags flying or any incidents they inspired, Dr. Kouchner said.

Also discussed was the co-option of community members for places on municipal assemblies. Primarily the issue involves the Serb communities, most of whom failed to register to vote, but also members of the Turkish and other non-Albanian communities. The major political party leaders had agreed in principle that the SRSG could make such appointments, and UNMIK has been in contact with various Kosovo interlocutors in order to identify suitable candidates, Dr. Kouchner told the IAC.

Finally the IAC named Mr. Nait Babuna, an economist from the Kosovo Turk community, as co-head of the administrative Department of Transport and Infrastructure. The UNMIK co-head will be Mr. Patrick Auffret, the current director ad interim of transportation for UNMIK. All co-heads for the 20 administrative departments have now been appointed.