14 January
Acting SRSG Charles
Brayshaw returned from visits to New York and Washington, D.C. where
he briefed officials on developments in Kosovo and the UNMIK mission.
He said a new SRSG will be named soon.
Turkey officially
recognized the UNMIK Travel Document (TD) and will soon begin issuing
visas in Kosovo for a fee of 10 euro. The Bahamas informed UNMIK it
would like to see a sample TD first before deciding finally on recognition.
Printing of UNMIK TDs stopped in Germany as UNMIK gets ready to begin
their production in Kosovo next month. By producing TDs in Kosovo, UNMIK
hopes to eventually reduce the waiting time to one week, instead of
two months. So far, some 112,000 TDs have been issued. Holders of the
red Yugoslav passports that have expired need to get new passports from
the FRY offices in Kosovo. However, Germany, Austria and Switzerland
will allow those with expired passports but valid permits of stay to
remain in their territories. At Globocica, Jankovic and border posts
with Albania red passports holders cannot pass out of Kosovo, but they
are allowed back into the province. Before going to Pristina airport,
all travellers must be certain that they have valid permits of stay
abroad.
16 January
Acting SRSG Charles
Brayshaw and KFOR Commander, Lt. Gen. Marcel Valentin, took a ride on
the inaugural trip of the expanded Freedom of Movement train. The train
which now carries 10,000 passengers per week on a route between Lipjan/Lipljan
and Zvecan has now been extended to Ferizaj/Urosevac and Grlica.
UNMIK officials
moved the FRY offices from the former "Political Parties Building"
on Mother Theresa Street to a new location in the Pristina industrial
area, some two kilometres southwest of downtown Pristina on the main
road towards Fushe Kosove/Kosovo Polje. The move of the offices, whose
primary function has been issuing FRY passports, was taken to enhance
security of the staff. It was also part of the re-organization of major
buildings ongoing around Pristina to support the new provisional self-government.
17 January
Kosovo's National
Institute for Public Health and Epidemiologic Service announced that
by the beginning of 2002 there were 33 tularemia-infected patients at
Pristina Hospital. Tularemia is an acute infectious disease, caused
by bacteria that is brought to humans by rodents, mainly through food
and water. It is manifested in different clinical ways, but the most
frequent cases have to do with the increase of lymphatic glands. People
were urged to exercise caution: keep food in secure places and boil
water before use if it is taken from wells.
18 January
Acting SRSG Charles
Brayshaw condemned the murder of Smajl Hajdaraj, an LDK member of the
Kosovo Assembly. Mr Hajdaraj, 50, was travelling in his car near his
residence in Peje/Pec when he was ambushed and shot to death. "UNMIK
will do its utmost to apprehend the assailants and to determine the
motive for this contemptible act," Mr Brayshaw stated.
19 January
A multi-ethnic school,
which will educate 450 Kosovo Albanian, 70 Roma and 54 Kosovo Serb children,
was inaugurated in Rahovec/Orahovac. The school opening was made possible
thanks to the financial support from World Vision, UNICEF and the Government
of Japan. Although the Serb children have not yet begun attending the
school for security reasons, it is hoped that they will be able to do
so soon.
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