WEEK IN REVIEW – January 27, 2005

Hello and Welcome to Week in Review for January 27, 2005 from the studios of UN Radio in Kosovo….

ü International Crisis Group calls for Kosovo’s Independence

ü A Kosovo Serb is appointed to head Kosovo’s Ministry of Returnss

ü Kosovo is a top discussion point in Brussels and at the Council of Europe

ü And…Kosovo villages are still without electricity

1 Topping this week’s news…

A report released on Monday by the Brussels-based think tank, the International Crisis Group, concludes that some form of independence would prevent future conflict in Kosovo.

5 years of political limbo and a sputtering economy contributed to ethnic riots last March by Kosovar Albanians. 19 people died and more than 4,000 non-Albanians were displaced, mostly Kosovo Serbs.

Still, project director for the ICG in Kosovo, Alex Anderson said most of the responsibility for determining Kosovo’s future status lies with the actions of the majority Albanian population.

“It does require commitment and a genuine drive from the Kosovo Albanians to insure and guaranty that it is going to provide a safe future for its minorities, particularly the Kosovo Serb minority.”

The ICG report suggests Serbia will have to reassess the total refusal to acknowledge what the report said was an international acceptance of some form of future Independence for Kosovo.

2 On Tuesday

ICG head, Gareth Evans, joined the European Policy Centre in Brussels at a European Parliament debate on Kosovo’s final status. The ICG report featured prominently in the debate.

Although UN Head, Soren Jessen-Petersen was not in attendance, special advisor to the SRSG Kim Friedberg delivered a speech outlining UNMIK’s position in the debate. Referring to the ICG report on numerous occasions, Friedberg said that the international community was given a clear indication last March that the “status quo will not hold.”

European Union Foreign Policy Commissioner Chris Patten said that political achievements made over the last decade in the Balkans are at risk if Kosovo’s status remains unresolved.

Serbian representative, Nebojsa Covic of the Coordination Centre for Kosovo was also in Brussels. In talks with EU High Representative, Javier Solana, Covic said any move towards the independence of Kosovo was unacceptable.

3 Also on Tuesday…

The Council of Europe adopted the Resolution on human rights protection in Kosovo. The resolution anticipates the establishment of an international court for human rights in the province. A decision was reached for the CoE’s Ministerial Committee to consult with UNMIK and KFOR in the founding of such a human rights court. Kosovo Ombudsperson, Marek Antoni Nowicki called for more work to be done on human rights in Kosovo than is presently being done. Analysts say the court will fail to materialize in the short term because it calls to question the diplomatic immunity enjoyed currently by internationals in Kosovo.

4 On Monday..

SRSG Soren Jessen-Petersen went to Paris to meet with UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura. The two discussed the cooperation of UNMIK and UNESCO in protecting both Serbian and Albanian cultural heritage sites. The SRSG made clear the commitment by Kosovo’s provisional government and UNMIK to continue reconstruction of Serb religious sites. The process has been on hold since the Serbian Orthodox Church pulled out of the process last fall. A donor’s conference to collect funds for the protection of heritage sites in Kosovo is set for March 13.

5 In Local news…

SRSG Soren Jessen-Petersen’s advisor on returns, Nenad Radosavljevic resigned on Wednesday, citing what he said was moral objections to the post. In a letter to Jessen-Petersen, Radosavljevic said that he could no longer be witness to the suffering of Kosovo Serbs and to the looting and destruction of their property. Critics of Radosavljevic charge he did more harm than good in the post.

6 In legal news…

A new Law on mining was adopted in Kosovo on Tuesday. The new legal regulations allay international investors concerns that the previous legal framework was not adequate for the supervision of mines and mining resources. Analysts note that Kosovo is rich in coal, lead, zinc, nickel, gold and silver, but it lacks legal regulations and investment.

8 And finally in more energy related news…

The PSS party, the group formed by financial-mogul, Bogoljub Karic, provided generators to Kosovo Serb families in Batuse and Lipljan this week. And a Union of private gas stations donated 12,000 litters of oil for these generators, according to party spokesperson Boris Stajkovac. Many of these families have been without electricity for more than one month. KEK, Kosovo’s energy provider, said the electricity cut-offs are due to a combination of an old network and a collective non-payment of service.

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.