Week in review

1st of December 1

By Birol Urcan

 

·        Limaj and Musliu not guilty, Balaj sentenced to 13 years in prison.

 

·        Institutions and political parties welcome ICTY decision on Limaj.

 

·        Initial direct talks to begin early in 2006 says Ahtisaari

·        President’s proposed flag burnt in front of Pristina Municipal Assembly

·        Rugova condemns removal of the flag

·        Washington announces 13 key issues for Kosovo talks

·        Solana meets with Ahtisaari

·        EU backs census project with €1 million

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The Hague Tribunal found Fatmir Limaj and Isak Musliu not guilty, whereas sentenced Haradin Balaj to 13 years in prison for violation of war customs.

 

The Tribunal ordered the immediate release of Limaj and Musliu.

 

The three members of the Kosovo Liberation Army were charged with violation of war customs during the Kosovo conflict 1998-1999;  Multiple charges were made against the three men, including the crimes of torture, murder and illegal detention with the  establishment of a prison camp for civilians in Llapushnik, region in central Kosovo.

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Kosovo’s institutional and political leaders welcomed yesterday the decision of the Hague Tribunal to release Fatmir Limaj and Isak Musliu from all charges, and expressed their hope that Haradin Balaj, convicted 13 years to prison, will also be released.

 

Kosovo’s President Ibrahim Rugova welcomed yesterday’s judgment of the Hague Tribunal, which pronounced  the two former KLA members not guilty,

and Rugova is confident that Balaj will continue his battle to prove his innocence. “

 

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U.N. special envoy for the  Kosovo Status Talks, Marti Ahtisaari said he hoped the first direct meeting between Belgrade  and Pristina would take place early

next year.

Ahtisaari said at a Belgrade news conference following two days of talks in Belgrade and Pristina that his mandate was to encourage and facilitate direct talks between the two parties.

His mission headquarters in downtown Vienna "will be fully operational at the beginning of the new year," Ahtisaari explained.

He said the offices would host liaison officers maintaining contacts with the United States, Russia, the European Union and NATO.

 

The U.N. envoy said he was satisfied with the talks he had in Belgrade and Pristina, and that there were no dissenting views among the Serb officials he met with.

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Some members of the ex Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) War Veterans burnt on Monday the flag that President Rugova is proposing as Kosovo’s state flag.

The flag was placed alongside Albanian national flag in the streets of Pristina for celebrities of the November 28th , the Albanian national flag day.

 

Kosovo’s President Ibrahim Rugova strongly condemned the removal and burning of  the ’Ancient Dardania’ flag, reads a press release issued by President’s  Information Office. 

 

“Stressing that the people who do such acts with or without being aware line themselves up against Kosovo’s freedom, independence, and democracy,”

 

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Much of the media reported on rumors of a leaked document from the United States State department, which supposedly as been forwarded to their partners in the European Union and NATO a list of 13 key issues that the Kosovo status talks should be based on, but without any explicit suggestion as to what kind of a solution they expected.

In a document entitled “Issues for Kosovo Final Status Process”, the Washington administration makes it very clear what should be taken into account, to pave the way to a final settlement, which would offer "European perspective to Belgrade and Pristina, sources in Brussels told to the Serbian news agency Beta

 

Borders or Kosovo's relations with Serbia were not mentioned in the document.

However, the section "Constitution”: calls for "representation of minorities in Kosovo institutions," suggesting also the necessity of defining elements of the basic law, "citizenship" and "procedure and deadlines for drafting, ratifying and proclaiming" the new constitution.

"External modes" is a section dealing with the powers, "possible limitations and interim solutions" for representation abroad, regional relations, customs, trade and customs tariffs.

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EU high representative Javier Solana had talks in Brussels with the U.N. special envoy for the Kosovo status negotiations, Martti Ahtisaari, about the effects so far, of his tour of the western Balkans, and about preparations for the upcoming stages of talks on the status of the province.

 

Solana's spokeswoman Christina Gallach told this to the Serbian news agency BETA, pointing out that the EU high representative was "very closely monitoring the entire process, which bears key importance for the stability of Kosovo and of the region."

 

Stephan Lehne, the EU representative in Ahtisaari's team for solving the status of Kosovo, also attended the meeting between Solana and the U.N. special envoy.

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The European Union will support with €1 million the project for capacity building of the Statistical Office of Kosovo (SOK) which will serve for organizing, coordinating and supervising the housing and population census.

 

The Project “Support to SOK and preparation for the census of population is managed by the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR), and will run for 18 months.

It will be implemented by a consortium led by Italian Statistical Office (ISTAT)

 

Giorgio Mamberto, head of the Office of the European Commission in Kosovo said that the housing and population census is fundamental for a reliable statistical system, and the basis for effective policy making.

 

“This project will support different phases of the preparation, implementation, and dissemination of the census by the provision of technical assistance through international and local experts,” Mamberto said.

 

This was all from our week in review. Thank you for listening and have a nice weekend.