UNMIK/PR/9

14 July 1999

UNMIK Appeals for an End to Attacks on Minorities

Statement by Sergio Vieira de Mello, UNMIK SRSG a.i. on behalf of the United Nations and all components of UNMIK - the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); and the European Union (EU)

(Pristina, 14 July 1999) My colleagues and I are increasingly alarmed at the continued high level of violence and intimidation directed at minorities throughout Kosovo.  KFOR shares our concern.  Killings, kidnapping, forced expulsions, house burnings and looting are a daily occurrence.  These are criminal acts.  They cannot be excused by the suffering that has been inflicted in the past.  Kosovo’s future must be built on justice, not vengeance.

All the component parts of UNMIK are committed to helping Kosovo’s people.  The UN and the EU are determined to provide Kosovo with a modern civil administration and reconstruction to meet the needs of all communities.  The OSCE is committed to helping develop institutions which protect the human rights of all.  Continuous violence and anarchy can only frustrate these efforts.  UNHCR and the humanitarian community are trying to help three-quarters of a million returning refugees rebuild their lives and homes, but tens of thousands are being displaced in the current violence.

KFOR now has more than 32,000 soldiers in Kosovo who have performed admirably in difficult circumstances. Three thousand UN International Police will be deployed in Kosovo in the coming weeks and with the OSCE, will train a new Kosovo Police Service.  Despite their best efforts, however, soldiers and police officers cannot impose peace and tolerance without the cooperation of Kosovo’s population.

I have repeatedly urged the political leaders of Kosovo to call on their supporters to restrain their emotions and not to engage in violence. I am very grateful for their strong public support.  I regret to say, however, that their public statements have not had the desired impact on the overall situation on the ground.  Kosovo’s political leaders must take urgent and effective action to establish calm.  This will be the first item on the agenda of the inaugural meeting of the Kosovo Transitional Council which I plan to convene in Pristina on 16 July 1999.

The people of Kosovo themselves - the heads of families and leaders of communities - must also work with the international community to prevent acts of violence.  They must speak out against acts of intimidation, violence and random crime by their own family members and neighbours directed at Roma, Serbs and others.  Everyone who wishes to see his or her children to enjoy a prosperous and secure life in a new and democratic Kosovo has a duty to help end this violence now.