Week in review

15th of December 2005

By Birol Urcan

 

Hello and welcome from UNMIK on air you are listening to our week in review.

The headlines.

 

·        Albert Rohan in Pristina for the second round of talks

·        Jessen Petersen: Decentralization, the key factor for status

·        The Speaker of Albania’s Assembly supports independence for Kosovo

 

·        Privatization funds have the chance to be invested on Economic Development.

·        Zastava the car maker sues the Kosovo Trust Agency

 

·        UNESCO to reconstruct 13 cultural monuments in Kosovo

 

 

 

 

 

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The international Deputy Chief Negotiator for Kosovo future status, Austrian Diplomat, Albert Rohan on Monday this week arrived in Prishtina, and met with senior international officials, Kosovo Negotiations Team and political representatives of the Kosovo Serbs.


Rohan expressed that the Kosovo Albanian side has much work to do as the majority in Kosovo.

 

According to him, certain standards are yet to reach a convincing level, like rule of law, functioning institutions, human rights, decentralization, economy and the protection of minorities.

“We know Kosovo Albanians aspirations, but the status will not come automatically. Said Rohan adding that “As a majority they must try and reach to other communities, in particular the Serbian community“.

 

This is the second visit of Albert Rohan to Kosovo, since the beginning of the status talks between Pristina, the international community and Belgrade on the future status of Kosovo.

 

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SRSG Soren Jessen-Petersen believes that decentralization is one of the main issues to be solved in the process of Kosovo’s future status talks.

“Kosovo leaders should be ready for dialogue and to discuss the document with minorities, because such a thing is very useful,” said Jessen Petersen, after a meeting with the Kosovar negotiating team on Tuesday.

 

The UNMIK chief asked the members of the Kosovo delegation to be ready to discuss the decentralization document with the minorities in order to include them in the process.

 

Members of Kosovo Negotiations Team opposed Jessen-Petersen proposal for inclusion of decentralization in the status talks.

At the conclusion of the meeting the UNMIK Chief and the Kosovar negotiating, remained in disagreement.
 

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Albania’s Parliament Speaker, Jozefina Topalli, said that Albania supports Kosovo’s independence and that the neighboring country will play an active role in the process of resolving Kosovo’s future status.

“Our message is a message of support, of an active Albania for resolving of the final status for Kosovo, which is independence,” Topalli said during her official visit to Kosovo.

Topalli came for a two day visit at the invitation of her counterpart Nexhat Daci.

This is her first visit to Kosovo.

 

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Kosovo authorities and UNMIK are waiting for the green light from the UN Legal Office in New York to be able to begin a tender process which will allow the KTA to put into the market the money collected from the privatization process to date

 

This entry of the money to the market will be used as credit lines for businesses and for citizens.

So far the Kosovo Trust Agency has collected around €150 million from privatization of Socially Owned Enterprises.

 

This income is expected to serve Kosovo’s economic development through four commercial banks, which will be selected through a tender.

 

Modification of any regulation of the international administration also needs approval from the United Nations (UN) Legal Office in New York..

 

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The 11th round of privatization of Social Owned Enterprises in Kosovo has provoked legal action against the process.

 

Car maker ‘Zastava’ in Kragujevac, who claims to be the owner of ‘Ramiz Sadiku’ factory in Peja, has warned earlier that they will press charges against the Kosovo Trust Agency at the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg, if they try to sell the factory.

 

The Director for legal issues of the ‘Zastava’ factory, Zoran Adzic, said that the Factory appealed to the court in Strasbourg since Kosovo legal institutions would be "both the defense and the jury in this case”.
 

"Zastava has absolute legal interest in the Ramiz Sadiku factory in Peja", Adzic said, and added that its management learned about the sale from the web-site of the Kosovo Trust Agency.

 

The highest offer for ‘Ramiz Sadiku’ factory in the 11th round of the privatization process was 3.5 million euro.

 

 

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UNESCO has decided to begin the reconstruction of 13 cultural monuments, seven Orthodox-Christian and six Muslim, which are a part of cultural heritage in Kosovo.

This decision was brought after the recommendations of an experts’ commission for the reconstruction and preservation of cultural heritage in Kosovo.

UNESCO announced that the priority in the reconstruction will be given to the Church of the Mother of God of Ljevis, the Church of the Holy Savior and the Bath of Mehmet-Pasha in Prizren, the Church of St. Sava and the Bath in  Mitrovica and the Church of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple in Lipljan.

The implementation of the project will be lead by the Regional Bureau of UNESCO in Venice.

This are all from our week in review, thank you for listening and have a nice weekend.