UNMIK on AIR
By Andrea Saula
Hello and
Welcome. This is UNMIK on Air,
Atmosphere
Up and under (Erzan, bells, river)
It was a shock when last
March Prizren was heavily hit by violence. This town in the south of Kosovo is
known through ages as a multicultural and multiethnic place.
As the result of the
violence 56 houses, most of them owned by Serbs had been destroyed and its
inhabitants were pushed to run away. Return to the town of Prizren showed no
improvement up to now but in rural areas certain progress is evident.
Last week acting head of
UNMIK”s Office for Communities and Return (ORC) Killian Kleinschimidt paid a visit
to Przren and Suva Reka Municipalities in order to see how to make a progress
with return.
After meetings with both
local and international representatives in charged for returns, Kleinschmidt
said that he is not satisfied with the pace of return but also that he is
encouraged by the fact that more and more people show their readiness to
return.
Actuality No. 1
If you look at the
numbers (edit to) we still have more people leaving Kosovo and leaving
communities then coming back.. The good news is that there are less and less
reasons related to security and the lack of freedom of movement
There are more and
more reasons that affect everyone, the community as a whole, like jobs and
economy.
Mayor of
Prizren Eqrem Kryeziu, according to his statement given to the press, is quite
optimistic regarding the integration of minorities in his Municipality.
UNMIK on
Air reporters couldn’t find a single sign in his Municipality in other
language, except in Albanian.
Actuality
No. 2
Mr.
Kleinschimidt promised me strong support. On the other hand I was given
concrete suggestions that could help integration of minorities, Serbs, Askalis,
Romas, Egyptians, Bosniaks, Turkish. Of course, Albanian community can’t be forgotten
in this process.
According
to these officials, concrete moves are related to finding new resources for
financing returnee projects by involving local business as well to resolving
the problem of occupied property.
Meanwhile, most of Serbs
who fled last March still live in German KFOR base and according to Bratislav
Zrnzevic, the Coordination Center’s regional coordinator for return, some of
them, tired of waiting, decided to leave Prizren for good.
Actuality No. 3
Unfortunately, their number is decreasing everyday. They
have the will to come back but that is related with the return of other Serbs
that had lived in Prizren. All of us would feel more secure and more
comfortable in that case.
The situation is quite
different with rural areas in Prizren and nearby Municipalities. On going
returnee projects aim to bring back 200 families. These days UNMIK and its
Office for Communities and Return (ORC) are putting efforts to help the returns
of non-Albanian communities.
Into the multiethnic
village of Smac, in the Suva Reka Municipality, 8 K- Serb houses have been
reconstructed. 4 families have returned up to now but due to unfinished pluming
system they still live in nearby Serbian village Novake.
Actuality
No. 4
There
are no problems in the village. There’s one family that we don’t have any
contacts but that’s not important. But this Ali…so good guy, he’s like my son.
Neighbors are coming, inviting us for a coffees. With neighbors we haven’t any
problems.
That was one of returnees to
Smac Cedomir Krstic. Villagers claim that their major problems are related to
getting some equipment for their agricultural activities although some of them
still don’t have full excess to their land.
And that would be all in
today’s edition of UNMIK on Air programme. Stay tuned…