UNMIK/PR/408

PRESS RELEASE - 8 November 2000

KTC Discusses the Situation of Albanian Prisoners in Serbian Prisons
 
PRISTINA—SRSG Dr. Bernard Kouchner today informed the Kosovo Transitional Council that he and others in UNMIK were in touch with the authorities in FRY and other countries to ensure the well being of the Kosovo Albanian detainees in the Serbian prisons.

From the last reports available, he said, it appeared that the Albanian prisoners were safe. He said he had received several reports indicating great solidarity between the Serbian and Kosovo Albanian prisoners. However, the situation was still very tense.
 
Dr. Kouchner also informed the KTC, which spent considerable time discussing the situation in the Serbian prisons, that the Special Envoy for the Persons Deprived of Liberty during the Kosovo Conflict, Mr. Henrik Amneus, had met President Vojislav Kostunica yesterday and discussed the issue of the safety of the prisoners and their release. Today he met the Serbian Justice Minister.

The SRSG suggested the formation of a contact group with the Office of Human Rights and Community Affairs of UNMIK, and representatives of the family associations. This group will act as the focal point for all information on the developments in the Serbian prisons, which are presently in the grip of unrest.

SRSG told the KTC members about his meetings with two different sets of people since last night, which ended early this morning where they discussed the situation of the Kosovo Albanian prisoners. He said he had spoken to representatives of several Western countries, including Germany, France, USA, Italy and others and urged them to speak to the government of FRY to ensure the safety of these prisoners.

He told the members that the UN Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan had also issued a statement last night urging FRY to ensure the security and well-being of all prisoners, particularly the Kosovo Albanian detainees.

The Albanian members expressed deep concern about the safety of these prisoners. They said the situation was quite alarming and one of the members had received a call from a relative in the Nis prison yesterday, who had said that they were not safe. They urged the SRSG to do something for the safety of these people.
 
Mr. Nojkic, who has been in touch with the Serbian authorities gave the members an update on the situation of the Kosovo Albanian detainees. He also provided some relevant telephone numbers for information about these detainees.

The KTC was also given a briefing by Pillar IV and the UNHCR about preparations for winter. Ms. Joan Pearce of Pillar IV informed the members that the electricity situation should be considerably better this year.  However, if the peak demand rises as it did in October, there could be problems. The KEK had originally estimated that the peak demand would be 675 MW during the winter. However, just in October, the peak demand had reached 594 MW, more than the peak demand for December 1999. She urged the members to tell Kosovars not to waste electricity.

As far as the power stations were concerned, two units of Kosovo A, 3 and 4, and both units of Kosovo B, should be operational during the winter. At present one unit of each power station is being overhauled. This work should finish by the end of November. Kosovo will still need to import power from abroad, Ms. Pearce said. A bilateral agreement with Bulgaria had already been signed. Negotiations were ongoing with Montenegro, Macedonia, Hungary and Ukraine for the import of electricity. She said preparations for providing a normal water supply during the winter were also progressing well.

UNHCR’s Mr. Lennart Kotsalainen discussed the winter preparations for those who are dependent for shelter or fuel to keep themselves warm. He said the situation was far better than last year, though still many families will have to be accommodated in temporary shelters and provided fuel and firewood.