UNMIK-KFOR-OSCE Press Briefing: 06 November 2000

UNMIK Spokeswoman, Susan Manuel
UNMIK Police, Spokesperson
OSCE Spokesperson, Roland Bless

Susan Manuel

Tomorrow at 4 p.m. in office of the SRSG, SRSG Bernard Kouchner will sign a letter certifying the election results. You are all invited to attend that ceremony. We will also distribute the final list of all elected assembly members at that time. Please assemble downstairs near the café at 3:45 and we will take you up.

Roland will announce a more technical briefing on the election results for this afternoon.

Also tomorrow Dr. Kouchner will host the first session of the Interim Administrative Council since the elections. They will be discussing the elections and post-election issues.

The swearing-in ceremonies for the municipal assemblies are still due to take place on Saturday, 11 November. It will then be up to the assemblies to set their first meetings, which will take place in the following week. During those meetings, the presidents and deputies of the assemblies will be elected. Probably not all on the same day but we will get the schedule for you as soon as possible.

Officer Derek Chappel will elaborate on recent police matters and the past weekend's violence. However I would like to point out that we are investigating one incident in particular in connection with a possible political motivation. (We do not see the murders of this weekend as having been politically motivated.) However yesterday afternoon at about 2:10, there was an explosion which destroyed one house in Dragash, and seemed to have targeted a second house. Two people suffered minor injuries. Both were LDK members. We are currently attempting to confirm whether they were members of the previous municipal council and also whether they were elected to the new assembly in Dragash. This we have not yet established. We are not yet able to confirm this as a politically motivated attack, but we are seriously concerned.

The cell on political violence which was established under Dr. Kouchner four months ago to analyze and prevent possible political violence during the election campaign is still active and has been intensifying its work. The municipal elections were indeed largely peaceful, however we are maintaining our vigilance during this post-election period of transition.
 
UNMIK Police closed the General Djankovic/Han I Elezit border crossing with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at 1 a.m. today after a suspected explosive was found in a duty free shop. Police are in the process of removing the ordnance. However it caused a lot of traffic problems this morning.

Finally, Dr. Kouchner has appointed international judge Antti Ruotsalainen to the Supreme Court of Kosovo. His appointment begins on Wednesday, 8 November. Judge Ruotsalainen, of Finland, has  been serving with the district court system for the past several months.

UNMIK Police Spokesman Derek Chappel

UNMIK Police seize weapons and ammunition

On 1 November the Spanish Police conducted a search on a house in Stubla as part of an ongoing investigation. This search disclosed a large quantity of weapons and ammunition including six hand grenades, four anti-tank grenades, a rocket launcher, one heavy machine gun with a tripod, one thousand rounds for the machine gun, two AK 47 assault rifles, 14 magazines for the AK 47s, a short gun and six explosive chargers as well as other military equipment.  One person was arrested and is still in detention. As a result of this operation, the Spanish SPU conducted a second search on 3 November in the area of Latusa Djakovica. In this operation, four houses were sealed off and searched in a five-hour operation that involved 20 officers. A large quantity of weapons and military equipment were recovered and in this case three persons were detained and are still being held. Some of the items recovered in this operation include an AK 47 assault machine gun, 2 SKS rifles, 14 hand grenades, 27 magazines for the AK 47 and 3,316 individual rounds for the AK 47 as well as a large quantity of military equipment. The investigations are continuing and as I said all the persons detained are being held in custody.

Prisoner escapes from custody in Pristina

On 3 November at 13.15, an Albanian male prisoner being detained at the Pristina Court House on suspicion of murder escaped. He was located at 9.30 the next day and re-arrested by Police at an address within the city. He faces additional charges of escaping custody.

Four Albanian males shot dead

On 4 November at 14.45 in the afternoon, Police in Mitrovica responded to reports of a shooting in the village of Dobro Luka. Upon arrival they found two people who had been shot and killed. Dead are 61 year old Albanian male and a 22 year old Albanian male. The reason for the shooting is under investigation. But it appears related to a juvenile dispute between the children of the suspect and one of the victims.  The suspect was arrested at the scene and an AK 47 was recovered. The investigation is continuing. This incident highlights the dangers of large numbers of weapons that are still in private hands throughout Kosovo. As indicated in my first item, UNMIK Police are actively trying to find and remove these weapons. I will take this opportunity to appeal to people, following the successful elections that have just been held here, to realize that there is no need for private armories in Kosovo, to contact the local police station and make arrangements to hand in weapons that they have at home. Many of these murders we are seeing do neither  have a political nor ethnic connection. They are simply disputes that turn tragic because guns are at hand.

In the village of Lluzhan on 4 November, police responded to a shooting and found one Albanian man, 45, who had been shot dead in front of his own home. The area was cordoned and searched and at the present time there are no suspects and no known motives. Also on 4 November at 13.50 in the area of Vittina, an Albanian male aged 32 was shot while travelling in his car. A number of shots were fired one of which proved fatal. At this time there are no known suspects and there is no known motive. The investigation is continuing.

UNMIK Police commissions an anti-prostitution unit

I would like to take this opportunity to highlight a press release that we issued last week regarding the formation of an anti-prostitution unit. The UNMIK Police in Kosovo has formed the unit of 22 officers who will specialize in combating prostitution and the trafficking of humans in Kosovo. This unit has already started operation in the Pristina region and will be working in all five regions by the end of November. The unit will investigate the crime of prostitution and trafficking in humans and will separate the criminal element from the victims of trafficking. The formation of this unit represents a natural evolution of the United Nations Police Mission in Kosovo. We have been investigating these types of crimes on a continuous basis and suspects have been arrested. Numerous victims of trafficking have also been returned to their homes. With the formation of this unit, we will be attacking prostitution-related crime throughout Kosovo in an organized and systematic manner. A major focus of this unit will be the crime of trafficking in humans. Many of these victims are young women who answer  advertisements which appear to be legitimate jobs but find themselves forced into prostitution. The victims of trafficking would be treated as victims and as suspects.

All victims would be offered sanctuary, medical treatment and psychological counseling. Foreign victims will be offered repatriation assistance by the International Organization for Migration. Perpetrators of trafficking-related crimes will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Also subject to arrest and prosecution are the customers who knowingly use trafficking victim prostitutes. Establishments that are engaged in these types of activities will be publicly identified by announcements to the news media.

Criminal activity over the last few weeks

To give an overview of criminal activity over the last few weeks, last Monday, there was a significant decline in serious crime, not this past week, but the previous week. I realize that last week we had a dramatic rise in violence. We had six murders registered as opposed to one the previous week. This week we have seen a tragic increase in violence as the number of murders indicates. Until this week, the declining rate of serious criminal activity has allowed the Police much more time to devote to regular investigation in regular police matters. As a result, we are increasingly able to stop and search people and vehicles and we are increasingly able to devote more time and resources to investigate what might be considered routine crime. The costs and benefits of this are that we are arresting more people for drug possession and drug trafficking. In the last week we have seen five arrests for trafficking and possession. Until now this isn't something that we have really have the time to concentrate on. We've also been able to devote more time to outstanding major crimes still under investigation. Over the last few weeks, the unit recorded seven new murders. At the same time, we have arrested nine persons for outstanding murder inquiries.

OSCE Spokesman Roland Bless

Counting process completed

Let me give you an update on what has happened with regard to elections over the weekend. First of all, all the counting procedures have been completed at the counting center including tabulation and the mainly manually done seat allocation calculation. The entire process then went through several phases of auditing for the simple fact that we want to be certain that we announce correct results because recalling or correcting results which involves a seat allocation is of course something that has to be avoided.

Election day-related complaints

On a different note, the Elections Complaints and Appeals Sub-Commission (ECAS) has met over the weekend and they finished all their cases. They dealt with about 80 election day related-complaints. Most of them are minor. Some of them involved decisions which are now referred to the Central Elections Commission (CEC) for approval because the authority resides with the CEC. Today you can expect the following: we have called the CEC to a meeting at 2 o'clock where they will be given enough time to study the highly voluminous package of election results where they will debate on it and make recommendations to Dr. Bernard Kouchner for certification of the result. Later this afternoon at 5.30p.m. at the press center, we invite you to a briefing on all the technical aspects of these elections, including counting, tabulation, valid and invalid ballots, the conditional ballots out of Kosovo, all the absentee ballots. All these statistical figures that we have been able to communicate to you are only based on trends of 90 percent of the votes. You will be given the final figures at this afternoon's briefing. The CEC is then going to hand over the package to Dr. Kouchner for certification and this will be done at a ceremony tomorrow afternoon as Susan has already told you. So we will basically have that ready for you this afternoon including a handout and a facts and figures fact sheet. This will be at 5.30 p.m. at the press center.

 
Questions

Q: This technical briefing this afternoon. Will we get the seats allocation?

RB: In terms of numbers, yes, but not the names.

Q: What Mr. Kouchner will sign tomorrow, will it also include the appointment of the Serbs representatives in the municipal assemblies?

SM:  This is only the elected assembly members. We are not ready yet to name the appointed members.

Q:  In this anti-prostitution unit, are only UNMIK Police foreigners included or also KPS (Kosovo Police Service)?
 
DS: At the present time, the unit is comprised solely of international officers of the UNMIK police. Obviously, at some point in the future, we will be looking at training KPS officers to take over this function as we move away from active policing and hand the service to them.
 
Q: In how many police stations, did KPS take over and where do they patrol independently?

DS: I believe that the KPS run independent patrol in almost every police station in Kosovo. I would have to check and get the exact numbers for you.

Q: We have informations that in each municipality a commander has been appointed for the KPS officers?

DS: I don’t believe that information is correct. What is happening now is that members of the Kosovo Police Service who are considered suitable for supervisory duties either to be sergeants, to be inspectors, to be supervisors are being identified. They are receiving management training at the police college. At some point in the future, they will accept responsibility for their KPS officers as KPS supervisors. That has not happened yet. Those supervisors are still being trained and being identified. I am not aware of any local commander of KPS operations.

Q: What action, if any has been taken, concerning the fines that have yet to be paid by some political parties. One week ago, I said that Skenderaj PDK have not paid fines and you replied that somebody would be struck off the list. What action has been taken?

RB: Three candidates were actually taken off the list. I can give you the details afterwards. I have the decision on me. It was two times, if I recall correctly, number five on the list and in one case it was number four on the list. If you remember, parties were given an option to choose which candidate they want to have stricken. In cases where they did indicate a candidate that would be whoever they want to be stricken and other cases it would just be number five. I am not sure to give you a full answer but they are in a last batch of eighty decisions. There is any decision, which, again, has a linkage to potential candidates removal. I have just simply not been informed yet. Anyhow, this would be for the CEC (Central Elections Commission) to take up this afternoon.

Q: (inaudible):

RB: The votes which this candidate might have gathered are going to the party, but the candidate as self is invalid and the next in row will be the one getting the seat.

Q: How do you assess the situation now with all these murders one week after the elections? The week before the elections we had only one murder and now we have six. What’s happening on the underground?
 
SM: We don’t see any political connection as yet to these particular murders. Derrick did give his own analysis of what he thinks is happening with an armed society that does not need to use its arms anymore.

DS: I have examined each of these reports of the murders and I can’t see a direct connection. They seem to be unrelated. They seem to be personal disputes. I can’t say that with certainty but on initial observation, they appear to be incidents in which anger and hostility have erupted into gunfire because the guns were present. It may be that, in the course of the investigation, there will another motive. At the present time, there seems to be no political or ethnic motive. I have no idea why we should have six murders in one week.  I would relate it to the number of weapons in private hands.

Q: Is there not a contradiction between the statements of General Cabigioso who just told us that he was so proud for all the search operations and the weapons that have been collected and stuff like that and you saying now that the main reason why we have six murders per week is the large amount of weapons in the hands of people?

DS: Let’s keep things in perspective. The overall trend in major crime in Kosovo is to be steadily declining. This is an abnormal week. If this trend is repeated next week and the week after, then I think we have to seriously question what is the underlying cause. But as with all trends, there will be blips in the graph. There will be weeks that stand out as abnormal. I have no idea why we should have this level of violence one week after the elections. But let’s see if it is an abnormal week.

Q: How many people were arrested on the murder of Hazir Raci in Klina and what is thought to be the motive?

DS: I had information that there were two suspects detained. I am not sure that they have been charged.  I’ll have to get that answer for you.

Q: The traffic police confiscate cars without valid number plates, but in Serb enclaves no cars have valid number plates. Doe the traffic laws not apply over there as well?

SM: Apparently, the regulation is such that any valid registration plate is valid in Kosovo. In other words, if you have a car registered in Switzerland and you could prove it is your car, you can keep those plates. Actually what you find in Mitrovica is that the Serbs keep the Yugoslav plates and the Albanian don’t have any plates. So, you have to have a valid plate. It doesn’t necessary have to be a Kosovo plate.

Q: So, where do they pay their insurance?

SM: I think they also have to show valid insurance as well. And on the murder you have just asked about in Klina, we haven’t determined any political motivation to that at this point.

Q:  There a lot of speculations about Mr. Rugova or and Mr. Thaci going to Zagreb together with Mr. Kouchner. Do you have a clear position whether Mr. Kouchner will take along Mr. Thaci and Rugova   in the Balkans summit in Zagreb?

SM: No, it is only confirmed that Doctor Kouchner is going.

Q: So, Rugova and Thaci cannot go?

SM: Kouchner has not put together any of his delegation at this point.

Q: As far as I understood, it seems like you have a double standard about the registration plates for cars, especially when the Serb enclaves are at stake. Does it mean you are going to keep on using this double standard?

SM: We don’t call it a double standard. As I said, if you have a car registered with a valid plate from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or Switzerland, that car is legal.

Q:  What if you don’t have any plate?

SM: You have to have plates or, your car is basically impounded. The car registration is still in process, so there is no absolute deadline yet for having the plates in the regions which do not yet have vehicle registration centers.

Q: We can see the cars being removed in Pristina; we cannot see that being done in Gracanica or in Northern Mitrovica.

SM: In Northern Mitrovica, you see cars with plates. You don’t see them in Southern Mitrovica because we have not yet put a vehicle registration center in northern Kosovo.

Q: In connection with this, there cannot be anymore Yugoslav registration centers for the vehicles here. So how do you explain that you have a lot of cars being registered in Gracanica with old Pristina plates? Does it mean that there exists unofficial UNMIK registration vehicle Centers?

SM: No, no, not UNMIK vehicle registration Centers. But if they have a valid registration plate whose date has not expired, it is allowed.

Q: NATO entered in June 12 last year, so they have been present eighteen months. The validity of registration for the vehicles in Former Yugoslavia was only one year. How can these cars can still be registered with Pristina or Mitrovica plates?

SM: We will have to check on that, but they have valid plates. I know people are getting stopped. I even know one of you reporters was stopped and had their car impounded for having outdated Pristina plates. It is not like it is not happening.

Q: Can we take this as a police issue? In Gracanica, what happens is that you have got your vehicle registration card that says that your car has been registered. It has got a Pristina number plate and it is issued by MUP (Serbian Military Police) of Serbia. Officially MUP is operating in Kosovo in front of your eyes, registering cars, and you accept that as valid?

SM: I don’t know where the cars are being registered, but if they have a valid registration from a country and that country includes Yugoslavia, then we do not “bust” them, but exactly where the registration is happening, I will have to look into that for you.

Q: About the appointment of the Serb representative to the Municipal Councils, some news said that Oliver Ivanovic went to Belgrade to discuss with the new Yugoslav president Kostunica about how the members of the Serbs minorities would be represented. Does it mean that Kostunica or Belgrade will decide who will be the Serb representatives or it will be UNMIK, OSCE or Doctor Kouchner? It is not quite clear now. Is there any discussion between you and Belgrade on who will be the Serbs representatives?

SM: There is no discussion with Belgrade. I think you know that Doctor Kouchner has been meeting with various Kosovo Serb leaders and representatives, including Moncilo Trajkovic, Ivanovic and others. This is very much under discussion. It is Kouchner who will name the people to the assemblies of Zvecan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic, but there is not an agreement yet on those names.

RB: The OSCE just delivers the elections. We have nothing to do with the appointment; only elected members are going to be sorted out within the OSCE. The appointment is an operation on its own and it is the exclusive right of Doctor Kouchner to appoint.

Q: Apparently, you are saying that there is no connection with Belgrade on who will be who concerning the Serb representatives?

SM: There is no discussion between Doctor Kouchner’s office and Belgrade per se. Momcilo Trajkovic is saying that he is the representative of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia, but he has no official function vis a vis us, except that he is a Kosovar Serb representative, so we do meet with him, with Oliver Ivanovic, Bishop Artemije and others. There are several different people who are involved in the discussions.

Q: Will Doctor Kouchner be naming Serb representatives in Strpce?

SM: There will be ultimately representatives of all ethnic communities named to the municipal assemblies in proportion to their presence in the municipality.

Q: So, the majority in Strpce will be Serbs as more than half of the population that live in that municipality are Serbian?

 SM: I don’t know what the decision is on Strpce, but the elections result will stand. There will be a municipal assembly in Strpce, which was elected on the 28 of October.

Q: So the Albanian party that has won the election will have the majority of seats in Strpce?

SM: I don’t know what the numbers will end up being. There will be the municipal assemblies and then there will be names added to that list within a week or so.

Q: What will happen if the Serbs will refuse to be appointed in the Municipal Councils and will you accept the Serbs to be as observers like they are in the IAC for example.

SM: It is a very good question, because apparently there is a discussion about whether they will agree to be appointed at all, at least with some of the representatives who we are talking to. Some of the Serb representatives want  by-elections and no interim period of appointments. In terms of UNMIK, we have not made a final decision on that.

Q: Some international source say that the Serbs want to create a political party. Do you know anything about that?

SM: They have political parties, but do you mean an indigenous Kosovo political party? The Serb National Council could be considered a party, but  I don’t know of any new ones.

RB: If a political party wants to register, it has to gather 4,000 signatures Kosovo wide. So far, this has never happened for any Serb party in Kosovo. That’s the formula. This is a registration which goes beyond just one election.

Q: Has Dr. Kouchner begun to think about what he might do on December the 23rd?

SM: Yes he has been thinking a lot about it. He has been talking to foreign capitals about it, but he has not yet made a decision on it.

Q: Does he have a time scale within which he will make a decision, ahead of 23 December?

SM: Presumably, because it could involve registering the population.

Q: The OSCE are pretty quick at registering people. They managed in three months, but they have only six weeks this time.

SM: As I said, there has been no decision made yet.