UNMIK on Air

Week in Review

By Andrea Saula

 

Hello and Welcome to UNMIK on Air week in review, for the week ending Friday 1st of July, 2005.

 

These are the headlines:

 

  1. A Free Trade Agreement between Kosovo and Macedonia has been finalized
  2. More then 20 were activists arrested after their protest against Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister’s visit to Kosovo
  3. Journalist Bardhyl Ajeti died in Italy 3 weeks after he was shot

 

-         On Tuesday the Free Trade Agreement between Kosovo and Macedonia was finalized

 

After a meeting between the local and international authorities of Kosovo and a Skopje delegation in Prishtina, UNMIK Deputy Head Larry Rossin said that the FTA negotiations have been successfully completed.

 

The agreement foresees that custom duties on the movement of goods between Kosovo and FYR Macedonia will not be reinstated on most goods. However a few temporary exceptions are set out in the industrial and agricultural annexes of the agreement, UNMIK stated.

 

It is announced that the Interim FTA should be implemented in the very near future, after both sides have finalized necessary formalities.

 

-         Pristina-Belgrade working group for transportation, agreed on topics for future talks

 

After the meeting held in Belgrade on Wednesday, the chairman of the group, Jolly Dickson, stated that members of the Belgrade-Pristina work group for transportation and telecommunication have agreed on what the joint interests are in connection with the postal, road, railway and air transportation.

 

-         Informal Political Forum met yesterday

 

Members of the Informal Political Forum met for the second time to discuss the establishment of a Working Group on status and dialogue with Belgrade.

The action plan on Kosovo’s final status will be drafted by experts selected by the Government, Special Representative of the Secretary-General Soren Jessen-Petersen, the Parliament, and the Political Forum, Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi said on Wednesday.

 

-         Strong reactions on a private visit of a Serbian and Montenegrin official 

 

Early this week Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic paid a two days visit to Kosovo during which he met with UNMIK deputy chief Larry Rossin at UNMIK headquarters.

Vuk Draskovic and Larry Rosin discussed the need for the full participation of the Kosovo Serbs in Kosovo institutions with the decentralization process, the Belgrade media reported.

 

The Kosova Action Network (KAN), an NGO based in Kosovo, who opposed Draskovic’s threw rotten eggs on minister’s car, when he arrived at the UNMIK main building.

 

At least 21 of the protestors were arrested including two journalists. The majority was released shortly afterwards without any charges but two KAN activists and a Kosovalive reporter were kept in jail for 24 hours, so far no charges have been made.

 

-         also in the news

 

The Government at Monday’s meeting approved the budget proposal for the population census and the road construction project for the Morina-Merdare highway.

Government spokesperson Daut Dauti said that according to a report prepared by the Ministry of Public Affairs, the census will begin in early 2006.

The project is important because a census has not been taken since 1981,” said Dauti, adding that it will help many upcoming processes in Kosovo, including economic development.

 

 

-         K Serbs have new political party

 

Minister of Return in the Kosovo Government and the leader of Citizens List “Serbia”, Slavisa Petkovic, founded on Saturday a new Serb party in Kosovo.

 

The new political entity will be the Serb Democratic Party of Kosovo and Metohija.

 

-         K Serbs celebrated Vidovdan

 

The Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Pavle, along with various bishops and priests, performed on Thursday the holy liturgy of Vidovdan (St. Vidus Day), in the monastery of Gracanica,.

 

The Patriarch also performed a memorial service in Gazimestan, where a battle against Otomans took place 616 years ago.

 

-         and at the end

 

Bota Sot Journalist Bardhyl Ajeti died on Saturday Monday at a hospital in Milan, Italy, three weeks after he was shot.

Ajeti was shot while he was driving on the Pristina-Gjilan road near the village of Bersalc. He suffered gunshot wounds to the head.

 No suspects have been identified in this case.

 

Thank you for listening to our week ion review for the week ending Friday 1sy of July.

 

Good Day