Hello and Welcome to Week in Review for
ü UN Mission Head, SRSG Sorren Jessen-Petersen meets with Contact Group Plus
ü Mortal Remains were transferred from Serbia Proper to Kosovo on Thursday
ü And…members of the Working Group on Decentralization begin identifying their pilot projects
1 Topping this week’s news…on Thursday…
Members of the Contact Group Plus joined Kosovo’s top administrator, SRSG Soren Jessen-Petersen in what was their first meeting since Kosovo’s new government was composed.
Contact group members include, the
Key among the concerns expressed were the reforms of local self government, participation of Kosovo Serbs in the provinces institutions and the implementation of Standards.
“Productive” was the word used by SRSG Jessen-Petersen when describing the meetings. Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj asserted Kosovo’s new government was ‘taking full responsibility’ for implementing the Standards, also presenting his government program to the international community.
Political integration of Serb representatives into Kosovo’s political and social spheres is among the major points of consideration for the new program.
Reacting to the
substance of conversation surrounding the Contact Group meeting, Kosovo Serb political leader, Oliver Ivanovic,
is quoted as saying that “Decentralization should provide functional local
institutions, guarantee transfer of more competences and reorganization of the
municipalities.” Ivanovic asserted that in order for
these conditions to be met, the UN administration and the newly elected Kosovo government must create new municipalities.
2 In related news…
Kosovo’s working group on decentralization meet in
Pristina on Monday. After a three-month hiatus, the meeting included experts
from the European Council, Kosovo’s government,
UNMIK, and the United States Agency for International Development.
The stated aim of
the meeting was to begin clarifying the pilot projects, which drew criticism
from the local representatives for what was termed as “ethnic coloring” to the
document – although no further explanation was given. Hysni
Bajrami, director for the Ministry on Local
Governance said the disagreements about the pilot projects could be addressed
by the planned sub-working group on decentralization proposed by the larger
body.
Notably absent
from the Working group meeting were Kosovo Serb
representatives. Kosovo Serb politicians are
demanding that parts of the Serbian plan for decentralization be included in
the discussions. SRSG Jessen-Petersen is on record as
saying the decentralization plan drafted by UNMIK, USAID and local members of
the working group is the blueprint for any future actions.
Political analysts
link the issue of decentralization to successful models of Kosovo’s
future status. This week, Kosovo’s press picked up on
the 8 options for Kosovo’s final status released by
the Center for International Policy in
3 On Thursday…
The mortal remains
of 44 people were transferred from
In a statement
made yesterday, SRSG Jessen-Petersen said UNMIK should
pay special attention to the issue of missing persons. He said the political
process in Kosovo relies heavily on progress in the
area of missing persons, adding, “We owe it to the families of missing persons,
in and outside Kosovo, to progress as fast as
possible on this issue; if we don’t do this, the suffering will grow.”
According to the
UN, teams consisting of OMPF officers will visit the families affected by the
transfer – families will begin receiving the remains in January of next year.
4 and finally, in a press conference on
Thursday….
The Kosovo Energy Corporation, KEK, announced a new management
policy which attempts to increase collection rates for electricity consumers in
Kosovo.
Power black-outs
to Serb villages have caused security concerns in recent weeks. KEK maintains
it is making every effort to provide energy to everyone – regardless of whether
they pay their bills.
The policy
concentrates in two areas: one, is to not repair damages in zones where the
payment percentage is low, and second, is a policy of enabling 24 hour energy
coverage for those areas where payment is regular, and a policy of 3 hours on
and 3 hours off where payment is not as regular.
According to KEK
statistics, roughly 30% of energy is paid for by Kosovans,
but critics charge, there is no consistent policy between geographic regions in
Kosovo, with regards to bill collection habits.
KEK management
says foreign investment is less likely to emerge if electricity distribution
does not allow for more stable bill collection.
This concludes this edition of Week in Review. Stay tuned to this channel every week at this time for UN Radio’s weekly wrap-up of news in and around Kosovo.