Alliance of violence: Extremists attack Kosovo's future

Last week's violent acts which rocked Kosovo marked a "terrible tragedy, not only for the victims and their families, but, for all the people of Kosovo," said SRSG Hans Haekkerup in response to the attack on a Kosovo Serb convoy.

Friday's planned act of terrorism, which was carried out just after the buses entered Kosovo from Merdare and resulted in at least seven deaths, came close on the heels of an ambush on a Serb convoy outside of Strpce which killed one Serb, the shooting of a Serb farmer in Kllokot/Klokot (Viti/Vitina) and the mining of a road in Zubin Potok that injured three young men.

This violence comes at a time when the international community is attempting to establish the framework necessary for general elections to take place in Kosovo and the government in Belgrade is discussing amnesty for Albanian detainees.

The UN Security Council moved quickly to condemn the attacks calling the upsurge in violence totally unacceptable and insisting the situation must be reversed.

Whatever the goals of such violence, one immediate result was a 10-day delay in the passing of the amnesty law by the Federal Parliament in Belgrade, which among others would release Kosovo Albanian detainees from FRY prisons. Another was reinforcement of those in the Security Council who want the elections postponed until Kosovars forced to flee feel safe enough to return and have their say in the future of Kosovo.

For the SRSG, the attacks represented "a serious blow against the people of Kosovo and the future of Kosovo. The international community will judge the attacks in recent days, in the harshest possible terms," he warned.

Underlining the seriousness of the current string of violence, KFOR Commander General Carlo Cabigiosu declared that the "best alliance we have in this moment in Kosovo is the de facto one existing between extremists of all factions. Even if they don't talk to each other, they achieve what they have in mind for different reasons. They want to be an obstacle to the future of Kosovo." KFOR protection of one community or the other, Cabigiosu and other military leaders warn, cannot stop such acts of violence without public support.

UN officials believe that until the broad population shows that it wants to move forward by turning against terrorists who blacken Kosovo in the eyes of the world, those who prefer instability for political and criminal reasons will continue to be successful. "If there is some form of acceptance of such acts--it will continue... This was not simply an attack against the Kosovo Serb community-it was an attack against all the people of Kosovo and against their aspirations to live in a safe and peaceful environment," says SRSG Haekkerup.

Security Council airs general elections concerns

Even before the bomb attack, the violence in Kosovo figured prominently in the agenda of the latest briefing of the UN Security Council on the situation in Kosovo and in the discussions that followed.

In the best case scenario, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno told the Council that it would take at least eight months to prepare province-wide elections. The volatile situation, however, was clearly a concern to the international community and could lead to a further delay in holding such elections, Security Council discussions revealed.

USG Guehenno said that elections were among the main priorities for the future work of the mission, but, that the legal framework detailing the composition and mandate of the body to be elected must first be established. In order for the elections to be held this year, the framework must be completed by April, he said.

Responding, Security Council members expressed their own concern over recent violence in both Kosovo and  the Presevo valley. Ethnic violence, members said, was preventing the return to Kosovo of many ethnic minorities. In order to hold elections, members felt strongly that it was necessary that all members of the ethnic groups which consider Kosovo their home should be able to freely participate in the elections.

Representing the Russian Federation, Sergey V. Lavrov noted that despite the efforts of the international community, no qualitative breakthrough has been made regarding a comprehensive settlement of the problems in Kosovo and Presevo in compliance with Resolution 1244. An adequate solution regarding the situation of refugees, he pointed out, had yet to be found. The return of all refugees who wished to come back to Kosovo had to be a prerequisite for elections. Without assured security, many would not return and in such a case the elections would not be representative, he concluded.

Speaking on the violence, Jean-David Levitte of France said that diminishing tension in Kosovo was ultimately the responsibility of the people of Kosovo.
   
Other priorities outlined by Guehenno included further steps to ensure effective law enforcement and a capable and fair judicial system; regular dialogue with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; and the resolution of legal property issues.

Democratic changes in Yugoslavia provided the opportunity for a new more constructive and meaningful dialogue with Belgrade, Guehenno said. To this end, the establishment of an UNMIK Belgrade office had been agreed in principle. UNMIK had also identified some areas, such as law enforcement and the judiciary, where powers should be retained by the Mission even after general elections, he told the council.

Gary Matthews appointed new PDSRSG

Gary Matthews has been appointed as the successor to Principal Deputy SRSG Jock Covey in Kosovo. Matthews, like Mr Covey from the United States, comes to Kosovo with Balkans experience gained in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was OSCE's Director of the Regional Centre Mostar in 1999 and 2000 and most recently served as the Deputy High Representative and Supervisor of Brcko, Office of the High Representative-North: Brcko.

During his thirty-year professional career, he held various senior positions in the US government including that of Ambassador to Malta. He was Special Coordinator for Soviet Union and East Europe and Acting Assistant Secretary of State. He has held several other policy-level positions in national security affairs, and his foreign assignments included Germany, Poland, Vietnam and Russia.

Mr Matthews holds Masters degrees in both Political Science and International Affairs. He has been a Member of the Board of Directors of The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. He also served as Editorial Manager of the Kiplinger Letters, a business, investment and management publisher.

Before Mr Matthews joined the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, OSCE's Ambassador Robert Barry said of him, "During his duty in Mostar, Gary Matthews has been a main acting force for progressive change in the region& . he has been instrumental in creating more momentum for positive change in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

Briefs . . . .

23,000 new telephone lines will be available to private subscribers by this autumn, according to Rainer Lesar, Co-Head of the Department of Post and Telecommunications. The new lines will be digital and use plastic-insulated copper and/or fibre optics cables. They will, thus, meet European standards and be internet capable. This significant expansion project for the local telephone network will be funded by the European Agency for Reconstruction. A yet-to-be-chosen local company will carry out the work.

KPC numbers will be cut by 1,700 over the next 18 months. The reductions will mean that the force will be eventually about 3,000 strong. Those demobilised will become reservists and, as such, beneficiaries of a vocational training and interim wages programme. Senior KPC personnel agree that the present strength is not needed to carry out the KPC's current roles. While the cutbacks could cause internal disagreement, budget constraints mean that an overstrength KPC is simply not sustainable.

Recent investors in the Germia building have been offered partial reimbursement for money they invested in the Pristina site. The building was taken over by UNMIK in December 2000 in order to house JIAS departments. The investors, who had begun renovation work on the building and would like to open shops there, are unable to adequately document their right to use the property. UNMIK regulations state that properties, such as the Germia building, registered in the name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or the Republic of Serbia are subject to UNMIK's administration. UNMIK has, meanwhile, expressed a willingness to employ those who used to work at the building for maintenance and other functions.

A 100 million Euro (200 million DM) support programme for Kosovo has been approved by the European Commission for 2001. The programme, a result of close cooperation between UNMIK and other donors, includes allocations of 38 million Euros for shelter, 20 million Euros for water and sewage maintenance, 18 million Euros to support local government and civil society and 14 million Euros for health.

A staff reduction of 1,200 at KEK, the Kosovo Energy Corporation, is to be implemented by March 31, 2001. The Public Utilities Department announced the cuts as part of a plan to transform KEK into "a viable commercial business by the end of 2001." The Supervisory Board of KEK initiated, supervised and finalised a programme for the fundamental restructuring of KEK last year. These cuts are part of the implementation of that programme. Additional reductions must be made by September. Staff made redundant will receive payments and training, and support will be given wherever possible to those affected. KEK is in any case expected to have operating losses of DM 70 million this year.

UNMIK regulations on Pledges and Business Organizations have been promulgated. Regulation 2001/5 On Pledges was issued to assist economic development in Kosovo by providing a simple, uniform and exclusive structure for pledges. The regulation outlines the terms under which pledges may be made and establishes the rights of participants in related agreements. Regulation 2001/6 On Business Organizations was issued to enable the orderly creation of for-profit business organizations in Kosovo. The purpose of the regulation is to establish a legal regime for the formation, maintenance and termination of personal business enterprises, partnerships and corporations in Kosovo.

Although UNEP identified traces of plutonium at sites in Kosovo attacked with depleted uranium munitions, UNEP stresses that the findings are not cause for immediate alarm. This only confirmed that some of the material used in the weapons had at some point been in nuclear reactors. However, the amount of plutonium found in the penetrators was very low and did not have any significant impact on their overall radioactivity, UNEP concluded.

Minority bus services will be handed over to the Department of Transport and Infrastructure in June. UNHCR, which has been responsible for these services in Kosovo, will continue handling services until that time. Presently, an external consultant is evaluating the service, regarding its overall benefit to the minority communities in terms of facilitating movement; the impact of the service on the sustainability of the minority communities in Kosovo and the effectiveness of the operation in responding to the needs of these communities.