12 December
The Transitional Departments of Civil Security and Emergency Preparedness,
Health, Environment and Spatial Planning, Labour and Social Welfare
and the ICRC signed a memorandum of understanding, which defined their
roles and responsibilities on mine and unexploded ordnance victim assistance
after the closure of the Mine Action Co-ordination Centre at the end
of 2001.
The Steering Group
on Constitutional Framework implementation agreed that the ad hoc Task
Force on the Kosovo Assembly would continue to provide advice and support
to the nascent Assembly Secretariat and support the effort to set up
the Office of the President and the Office of the Prime Minister. The
Steering Group also reviewed the remuneration of the elected Assembly
members, security considerations for the provisional institutions of
self-government (PISG), transport of minority staff of the PISG, and
the sale to the PISG of UNMIK-owned equipment present in the Government
Building.
13 December
A the second meeting of the Assembly, Kosovo's political parties
were unable to agree to forming working political majorities and thus
did not elect the President of Kosovo. The LDK's presidential nominee,
Ibrahim Rugova, failed to muster the required two-thirds majority to
be elected. He received 49 of 70 votes cast, with the PDK and the AAK
abstaining from the ballot.
The High-Ranking Working Group established in the Common Document
between UNMIK and the FRY/Serbia Co-ordination Centre for Kosovo met
for the first time and set out the principles of the composition and
procedures for its future work.
A new telephone switch installed by the PTK at the Illyria telecommunications
centre in Pristina will handle services for 23,000 subscribers and can
be expanded to 50,000 as necessary. It replaced the old exchange which
had a capacity of only 10,000 subscribers. The new exchange is thanks
to investment by the European Agency for Reconstruction and the support
of the UNMIK Directorate of Infrastructure Affairs/Post and Telecommunications.
The Transitional Department of Education, Science and Technology
agreed to expand its minority-bussing project to embrace minority and
vulnerable school children throughout Kosovo, which will require some
$2.3 million. If the funds are forthcoming, new buses will be in service
by September 2002.
14 December
The Advisory Board on Communities, which includes representatives
from all UNMIK Pillars, the Regional Administrators, several UN and
international agencies in Kosovo, as well as KFOR, held its first session.
It will meet monthly to provide co-ordinated policy guidelines, advice
and recommendations to the SRSG on issues related to minorities.
15 December
The opening of the Internal Medicine and Paediatric Facility
built by the French Red Cross in Laplje Selo completed the network of
facilities intended to provide secondary level healthcare to the Serb
communities in southeastern Kosovo. Other centres include the surgical
facility run by MDM-Greece and the maternity ward built by IOM, both
located in Gracanica.
18 December
A panel of three international judges in the Kosovo Supreme Court
ordered the release of three suspects detained in connection with the
Nis bus bombing-the attack last February in Puduevo on a bus travelling
from Nis (Serbia), killing 11 Kosovo Serbs. The court rejected the petition
for further detention, thus overturning the order of a Detention Review
Commission (a special panel also of international judges) which had
decided that the suspects' continued detention under the SRSG's Executive
Orders was justified. The main suspect in the terrorist attack had escaped
his detention in Camp Bondsteel in May 2001.
19 December
In a meeting with the President of the Assembly, UNMIK stressed
its readiness to help with the appointment of a Kosovar Secretary of
the Assembly as soon as possible. In the meantime, the SRSG designated
an international official to serve as Acting Secretary to discharge
various administration and management functions.
The PTK launched a business and residential customer internet
service, the Dardanet ISP Service Platform. Set up in collaboration
with Infonova Information Technology and with the support of the UNMIK
Directorate of Infrastructure Affairs/Post and Telecommunications, the
service will link customers to the global network via the only terrestrial
high-speed network in Kosovo. Working initially out of the Dardanet
Network Centre at PTK Headquarters in Pristina, the system will expand
to cover all major towns. In the first phase, business customers will
be able to lease line services of up to 2 MB bandwidth. Early in 2002,
a full dial-up infrastructure will be available for all private and
business customers.
20 December
A group of 30-40 Kosovo Serbs, highly protected by KFOR, gathered
for the first time since the end of the war in the market place in Lipjan/Lipljan
to listen to a declaration for peace and tolerance read by the Imam,
the Orthodox priest and the Croatian community leader. The Peace and
Tolerance Celebration was organized by the KFOR Finnish Battalion and
attended by the Municipal Administrator. However, the ceremony was also
marked by the hostile attitude of Albanian youngsters who chanted "UCK,
UCK" when the Declaration was read in Serbian. There was also a
clear attempt by some young Albanian youngsters not to let other Albanians
participate.
23 December
While lack of power remains a serious problem all over Kosovo,
a provisional solution for Obilic (Pristina region) meant the lifting
of collective disconnection in Serbian apartment blocks (on the grounds
of non-payment of electricity bills). imposed last week by the KEK.
UNMIK official convinced KEK to re-connect them with a view to persuading
Kosovo Serbs to start paying their bills.
26 December
At a meeting with the regional representatives of UNMIK, KFOR
and UNHCR in Pejë/Pec on the euro conversion arrangement for Kosovo
Serb enclaves, the UNHCR representative announced a special Donors Conference
for the new Kosovo Serb returns project in the Pejë/Pec region,
to be held in early February.
27 December
The SRSG met Nexhet Daci, the President of the Kosovo Assembly,
and Ibrahim Rugova (LDK) to discuss political aspects of the next meeting
of the Assembly (10 January).
28 December
SRSG Hans Haekkerup
resigned from his post, citing personal reasons, after nearly a year
as the head of UNMIK. Listing Haekkerup's achievements, a statement
by Secretary-General Kofi Annan noted the significant progress in implementing
Security Council Resolution 1244 and the fact that Kosovo was now on
the verge of setting up Provisional Institutions of Self-Government.
This reflected the outgoing SRSG's skilful management of the process
that led to adoption of the Constitutional Framework and the successful
election in November 2001. Haekkerup is also credited with reaching
an understanding with the FRY authorities, thus placing relations between
UNMIK and them on a sound footing. He did much to strengthen the rule
of law in Kosovo and handed over a fully-funded budget to the incoming
administration, the statement concluded. Pending the appointment of
a replacement for Mr Haekkerup, the Secretary-General placed Principal
Deputy SRSG Charles Brayshaw in charge of the Mission as Acting SRSG.
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