30 September
The SRSG visited
Kamenica where he met the Albanian and Serbian deputy presidents of
the Municipal Assembly, Nexhat Rexha and Nebojsa Simic. The SRSG visited
a multi-ethnic youth centre, an ambulanta, and the new municipal court
and court of minor offences. "These men are the avant garde in
terms of people living and working together in practice. But we still
need to support them," he said of the deputies. "The main
point is there is a willingness on all sides to live together and that's
very encouraging." Later he went to Upper Orahovac, where he visited
a youth centre and internet café. He encouraged dialogue between
the ethnic communities to increase their connections to the outside
world.
1 October
Michael Steiner delivered a major policy speech on Mitrovica
in which he laid out a seven-point programme to improve the living conditions
of the city. He announced that UNMIK will present return as a top priority
at the EU/World Bank donor conference in Brussels on 5 November. His
plan is to make Mitrovica a normal European town, secure with a functioning
administration, and economic prospects. "My plan is to replace
fear with trust and confidence" he said. The seven-point plan includes;
no incursion by people living in the south of the city, regular policing,
co-governance, decentralisation, quick economic boost, a Mitrovica donor
conference, and election participation.
Allegations of kidnapping and multiple rape in Pristina of two
teenage girls from northern Mitrovica proved to be unsubstantiated following
intesive police investigations. UNMIK Police acted swiftly after the
allegations were made, detaining four suspects, but after hearing all
those involved it was decided that no rape case could be made against
any suspect and that a charge of abduction could proceed against only
one of the four suspects.
3 October
Following the announcement on 1 October of the seven point plan
for Mitrovica, the Kosovo Trust Agency announced that it was ready to
move its headquarters to northern Mitrovica. "By carrying out the
move to northern Mitrovica it is hoped that sufficient security and
stability will be achieved, which will in turn encourage more foreign
investors to come to the region", said a KTA press release.
DSRSG for Economic Reconstruction and Development (EU Pillar
IV) Andy Bearpark attended the World Bank/IMF Annual Meeting earlier
this week in Washington, where the "Working Level Steering Group"
paved the way to continued donor support and new approaches to secure
financing for the Kosovo economy, indicated an UNMIK press release.
The group, which is chaired by the European Commission and the World
Bank, comprises senior financial officials of the main donor countries,
the G8. The group in particular endorsed UNMIK's plans to convene a
donor meeting in Brussels in early November to discuss a medium-term
(2003-2005) economic development strategy for Kosovo and assess the
need for continued donor support in this context.
4 October
COMKFOR, French
General Marcel Valentin, passed command to Italian General Fabio Mini.
The SRSG said that "Marcel combines many virtues that make him
a reassuring partner. His most obvious quality is his capacity for work
- and I say this as a German. He would often start the day at 5 in the
morning and continue working until midnight. Though he has commanded
an armoured regiment and an airborne division, Marcel's personal style
is modest. But Marcel's modesty cannot disguise his firmness of character.
Though he talks quietly, he has steel behind him," said Mr Steiner.
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