30 October
Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister
Nebojsa Covic and UNMIK's SRSG Michael Steiner held talks in Belgrade
in the wake of the municipal elections in Kosovo. Mr Steiner also had
a meeting with the Contact Group ambassadors to Yugoslavia. After the
meetings SRSG briefed the press about last Saturday's municipal elections.
"Frankly, my impression is that Serbs from Kosovo have shot themselves
in the foot," he said. "The result of contradictory messages
concerning the elections was the low turnout among the Serbs. This has
diminished their capacity to take part in decision-making in Kosovo,
but that was the decision of the voters." He confirmed that talks
with Kosovan political leaders on decentralisation had been called off
because of low voter turnout but added that "this does not mean
that the philosophy of decentralisation is off the table."
1 November
Michael Steiner and Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi launched the
Task Force on Returns, which will oversee and invigorate the returns
process by providing concerted high-level support and co-ordination.
The Task Force intends to ensure effective and consistent implementation
of returns policies among key institutions, and across Kosovo. The four
returns pillars of UNMIK, KFOR, the Provisional Government and UNHCR
took part in the inaugural meeting. The Inter-Ministerial Co-ordinator
on Returns Milorad Todorovic and UNMIK Senior Adviser on Returns Nenad
Radosavljevic took part in the discussions. "Returns is for all
of us a top priority," said Mr Steiner. "We want not to create
a new bureaucracy, but to have a co-ordinating forum to turn this priority
into reality. This is a good signal to IDPs, the receiving community
and the international community that we mean what we say."
2 November
At an evening gathering at the SRSG's residence, Mr Steiner and leaders
of Kosovo's Albanian and Serb political parties agreed on the need to
bring Kosovo's governmental institutions closer to the people and communities
they represent. "We had a constructive discussion on how we move
forward now, and reaffirmed that Kosovo must be a truly multi-ethnic
society," said the SRSG. "We have agreed that all Kosovo communities
will work within the institutions of Kosovo." In a letter sent
to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Walter Schwimmer,
Mr Steiner asked the Council to help Kosovo develop a proposal for the
decentralisation of governmental institutions in line with UN Security
Council Resolution 1244, the Constitutional Framework and modern European
practice.
3 November
Pronouncing them "valid and final", Michael Steiner officially
certified the final results of the 2002 Municipal Assembly elections,
which were organised by the OSCE. The official election results were
submitted by OSCE Head of Mission Pascal Fieschi. The results had previously
been approved by the Central Election Commission. "The municipal
elections were in compliance with international
standards for free and fair elections," said Mr Fieschi. Following
the SRSG's signing of the official results, the final breakdown of seats
won by each party in each of Kosovo's 30 municipalities was read aloud.
"In these municipal elections, thanks to the political parties
as well as the OSCE, all the communities in Kosovo participated,"
Mr Steiner said. "Some participated to a lesser degree, but they
did participate. ... I am optimistic about the future of Kosovo. We
still have a long way to go in fulfilling the benchmarks, but this election
confirms we are making huge steps
forward."
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