UNMIK on
Air
By Zoran
Culafic
Hello and welcome. Today
in the UNMIK on air studio: Agim Ceku,
head of Kosovo’s Protection Force, the KPC.
The role and performance of the KPC is one of the so-called ‘standards’ for Kosovo that will be assessed coming Friday in the technical report to the Security Council.
The KPC should be a
civilian emergency organization. It carries out rapid response tasks to protect
public safety in times of emergency and when humanitarian assistance is needed.
The organization should be transparent, accountable, disciplined and
professional. Plus it should represent the entire population of Kosovo.
According to General Ceku his organization is ready to take
up these tasks.
Actuality: Helping returns, helping returnees to
feel better, helping improving their lives
– these are the top priories for KPC and its short-term plan. Training,
discipline, professionalism are also very important.
Also we want to be ready for standards assessment and
by that we want to help the implementation of standards, to help Kosovo.
Actuality: By working in those villages, by
talking to villagers we are sending the message that we support returns. By
being there we are sending message to all that returnees should feel safe and
not to be afraid. Our presence helps crossing the barriers help building mutual
confidence. The fact that we as former members of UCK, promote, support the
return means that no one should oppose it. 0’49”
As laid out in the ‘standards-document’, the KPC is supposed
to represent the entire population of Kosovo. However, up to now only 54
Kosovo-Serbs decided to join the organization.
Agim Ceku explains…
Actuality: We don’t have problems with other
minorities in Kosovo, they are very much interested in involving with KPC but
we have problems with members of Serbian community. Still, they don’t have
confidence in KPC. Also they don’t have political support neither from their
representatives here in Kosovo or from out of Kosovo, from Serbia.
Unfortunately, they don’t recommend to our citizens, members of Serbian
minority group here in Kosovo to join KPC.
According to Ceku the KPC has developed special programs aiming to attract Serbs to take part in the organization. One of these projects is the establishment of so called Task Force 8 – a special group for recruiting minorities. General Ceku emphasizes that minorities shouldn’t expect any discrimination in the KPC: on the contrary!
Actuality: They can expect positive
discrimination. We have a proof to that. 54 Serbs who got enrolled with TMK can
expect equal possibilities, to be promoted. They can get opportunities for education
both here in Kosovo and abroad. They can look ahead for a great career in the
KPC. They can be expecting to be a respectful citizen of the society as a KPC
member today and the army tomorrow.
Back announce: The KPC as ‘tomorrow’s army’ is
not something Ceku wishes to further elaborate on as Kosovo’s Constitutional
Framework and also the standards document define the organization as a ‘a
civilian emergency organization’ only.
That was general Agim Ceku interviewed by UNMIK on Air.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s show when we talk with Alexandra
Milenov, working with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia
in The Hague.