UNMIK-KFOR-Press Briefing: 6 September 2000

UNMIK Spokeswoman Claire Trevena
KFOR Spokesman Major Scott Slaten
OSCE Spokeswoman Laura O’Mahony

UNMIK Spokeswoman Claire Trevena

Good Morning ….

Immediately after this press conference, the new head of the EU Pillar, Andy Bearpark will be here to introduce himself. Father Sava’s briefing will follow that.

KTC

The Kosovo Transitional Council is meeting this morning after a short summer break. They are dsicussing the UNMIK policy statement on the elections in F.R.Y. That statement is likely to be issued after the KTC meeting.

They are also looking at Saturday’s Day Against Violence. Andy they will also discuss the present security situation.

The KTC will also be addressing the developments in the agricultural sector in Kosovo.

Mitrovica Escape

The police investigation into the escape of Serb prisoners from the Mitrovica Detention Centre is continuing. It should be finished in a couple of days. There is obviously an investigation into how this happened ongoing as well.

Police

 Police are investigating two explosions over the last couple of days – one Monday in a shop in a village near Podujevo which demolished a large part of the building; another overnight Monday, large explosion was in a coffee shop in Globocica – the owner is a Kosovo Gorani. One man has been arrested in that case.

EU

Yesterday the IAC endorsed the regulation which establishes the Department of Trade and Industry. This is probably the most important economic legal instrument put in place and will be followed by a series of enabling measures. This will allow the development of a modern economic framework for Kosovo to allow business to prosper.

Tommorrow there will be a photo opportunity for the first meeting of the Interim Credit Unit – established in co-operation with the DTI, the World Bank and the EU Agency for Reconstruction. Contact Mike Todd for more details – there’ll be a press release on this outside.

Training

There’s going to be a training seminar on establishing a school of Civil Protection in Kosovo tomorrow and Friday. The meetings are organised by IOM and hosted by the KPC at KPC headquarters.

KFOR Spokesman Major Scott Slaten

Weapon Discovered

During a KFOR reconnaissance operation yesterday, in an area six kilometers southwest of Mitrovice / Mitrovica, KFOR French motorized battalion soldiers discovered a machinegun and ammunition. The weapon and ammunition was confiscated. KFOR is continuing to investigate.

Peaceful Demonstration

Yesterday morning a crowd of one hundred people gathered in front of the Zvecan factory in MNB North. No speeches were made and the crowd dispersed quietly within ten minutes.

Windows Broken

Early this morning in the town of Kopiliq / Obilic, a drunken Kosovar Albanian man was caught breaking windows in a Serb owned restaurant. The man was apprehended and handed over to UNMIK Police for investigation.

Curfew / Border Violations

During the night a total of 12 people were temporarily detained for curfew violations in Prizren.

Also during the night, six people were arrested by a KFOR patrol while attempting to illegally cross the border from Albanian into Kosovo.

Robbery in Prizren

Late last night, a robbery was reported in Prizren. Six men with weapons and wearing masks entered the house of a Kosovo Bosnian family and demanded money. During the robbery, one of the suspects hit a woman living in the house in the head with the butt of his weapon. The suspects then ran from the house. A team of Red Cross workers gave the woman medical assistance. UNMIK Police, KFOR German military Police and two patrols from Task Force Prizren responded to the scene to investigate the attack and
conduct a search for suspects.

Incidents During the Past 24 Hours

Multinational Brigade Centre

Weapon Seized

In the village of Palaj / Crkvena Vodica, just before noon yesterday, a car was stopped and searched at a KFOR Norwegian Battalion checkpoint.  The search of the red Opel Vectra produced an illegal rifle. The Kosovar Albanian owner of the vehicle did not have a Weapons Authorization Card and was handed over to UNMIK Police authorities for questioning.

Media Opportunities

The press is invited on Monday, 11 September to attend a mass destruction of ammunition and weapons seized during cordon and search operations conducted in Kosovo over the past few months.

The majority of weapons and ammunition, that will be destroyed, were taken from the Drenica Valley MNB Centre search operation. The event is scheduled from 1:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Transportation for the press corps will leave from the KFOR Press Information Center in Pristina at 1:45 p.m. Interested journalists are kindly requested to sign up for this event before 10 September with the Media Operations Section of the CPIC.

OSCE Spokeswoman Laura O’Mahony

I have three election related notices. The first relates to a press release which you will find outside on the table. It concerns the visit to Stockholm this week by members of the Central Election Commission. Eight of the local members of  the Commission are in Stockholm for a seminar that’s been organised specifically for them. It’s been organised by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and by the OSCE mission here. The idea is to give them an opportunity  to talk with experts who’ve been involved in other election process elsewhere in the Balkans. And to give them the oportunity to learn from experiences elsewhere in the Balkans.

Before they left yesterday they approved 21 of the ballots for the forthcoming local elections they will approve the rest while they are in Stockholm and then those ballots go to London for printing.

The third notice concerns an event tomorrow and that is the first meeting of the elction Complaints and Appeals Sub Commission. The main point on their agenda will be appeals from out of Kosovo registration both those who’ve registered in person and mail in. They will try and deal with all the appeals to date and succesful appelants will then be added to the out of Kosovo final voters list.

Questions

Q: A few days ago, Bernard Kouchner and the civil administration in Kosovo promised they would transfer detainees from the northern part of Mitrovica and take them to detention places which will be more safe and secure. But yesterday the local media reported that William Nash the local administrator in Mitrovica, promised to the families of the detainees that there would be no transfer of these prisoners from Mitrovica prison. What kind of policy is going on here and is it any clash between the civil administration in Pristina and the civil administration in Mitrovica.

CT: No. The media got it wrong. It was a misquote. The policy is still the same that they will be transferred.

Q: If the Federal Elections will happen in Kosovo as it seems then the next step maybe will mean the parliamentary elections which case there will be a deputy from Kosov Serbs in a Serbian parliament. After this step will Yugoslav army come back? To which measure are we a part of Yugoslavia

CT: I think you are posing a hypothetical question. At the moment we are working under 1244; it is still part of Yugoslavia but Kosovo is under the administration of the United Nations. If there are going to be further elections it is a hypothetical question; and UNMIK has got a position on the present Yugoslav elections and that’s going to be released after the KTC meeting.