UNMIK/PR/79

Press Release

25 October 1999

SRSG orders temporary separate school for Obilic

PRISTINA - Bernard Kouchner, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, today ordered the establishment of a temporary separate school for Albanian children in Obilic municipality (Pristina region).

The action came after weeks of confrontations and intense negotiations regarding the planned opening of the Plemetina School to both Serb and Albanian schoolchildren. A confrontation near the school on 4 October between approximately 200 civilians and KFOR troops and UNMIK officers left several soldiers injured.

UN Civil Administration, UNMIK Police, and KFOR were actively involved in negotiations to find a peaceful solution to the issue, but negotiations broke down due to intransigence by the local Serb leadership.

While UNMIK policy favours joint schools for Albanian and Serb schoolchildren, the international community is not willing to endanger children in order to make a political point, as some Serb and Albanian nationalists are apparently ready to do.

In view of the extremely threatening social environment, Dr Kouchner ordered that a school used in Obilic by Albanian children be remodelled in order to accommodate additional students. When this is accomplished, the Plementina School for Serb children will start its school year.

Dr Kouchner emphasised that this arrangement is a temporary measure for the safety of the children in Obilic and that the ultimate goal is still a municipal school shared by Albanian and Serb schoolchildren. He expects that the vast majority of Kosovo's approximately 1,000 schools will open without any difficulties.

Dr Kouchner appealed to the parents of Kosovo to rise above ethnic hostilities and political manipulation to create a safe environment and a prosperous future for their children.