UNMIK/PR/426

PRESS RELEASE - 22 November 2000

SRSG Shares Outrage At Attack on FRY House With KTC

PRISTINA---SRSG Bernard Kouchner today told members of the Kosovo Transitional Council that he was absolutely outraged by the attack on the house of an official of the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in Pristina, in which oner person was killed and several injured. “Kosovo remains in crisis and the conflict between the communities is not over”, he said.

Expressing his disgust at this criminal act, SRSG who did some blunt talking, said it seemed as if dark days were coming back again. He said the attack was not a random act, but appeared to be a well prepared job, professional executed. “This kind of premeditated violence by extremists began with the killing of the four Ashkalis two weeks ago. It’s a warning to UNMIK and through it to the Serbs and the minorities.”

Dr. Kouchner said coming just two days before the Zagreb conference, such incidents only bring negative focus on Kosovo. “This is the image of Kosovo that it’s enemies want to present” adding that it also makes his task as representative of the peace process in Kosovo  to speak to the European and Balkan leaders difficult. It comes at a time when some progress, albeit slow, is being made on the issue of Kosovo Albanian detainees in FRY. He warned the members that the world was turning its attention away from Kosovo, especially after the changes in Belgrade and such attempts make it difficult to get the support of the international community.

The Serbian member expressed the sense of insecurity among the Serb community, saying that with the increasing number of attacks, more and more Serbs were leaving Kosovo

Dr. Kouchner said he would raise the issue of the missing and the detained in Zagreb, besides emphasising continued implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1244.

Ms. Maria Elena Andreotti, from UNMIK’s Office of Human Rights and Community Affairs, briefed the KTC about the progress on the subject of the detained and the missing, including the meeting with the FRY delegation which visited Pristina last week. She said a visit by some relatives of the detainees to the Nis prison will be shortly organized. The FRY authorities will allow 10 to 20 kg packages to be sent to the detainees. She said the list of prisoners given by the FRY authorities is presently being scrutinised by the relevant associations for any discrepancy. Besides, some additional information had been sought from the FRY authorities. Ms. Andreotti said an amnesty law will very soon be presented to the FRY parliament.