Hello and Welcome to Week in Review for Oct 8, 2004 - where we bring you a wrap up of some of the main news items in and around Kosovo. [I’m Jackson Allers]
1 Topping the news…
On Tuesday, Serbian President Boris Tadic endorsed Kosovo Serb participation in Kosovo’s upcoming Parliamentary elections, set for October 23. His announcement came before a meeting with the European Union’s High Representative for common foreign and security policy, Javier Solana.
The new head UN administrator, SRSG Soren Jessen-Petersen joined Solana in welcoming Tadic’s statement.
Jeff Bieley, press officer with the UN Mission in Kosovo underscored Jessen-Petersen’s position.
Bieley- “Participation by Kosovo Serbs paves the way for their representation in local institutions and will enable a constructive dialogue to address their concerns and for that matter the concerns of all communities at both the central and local levels. This is particularly relevant in the vitally important area of decentralization, where Kosovo Serb participation in the Kosovo Security Advisory Group and Working Group on Local Government ensure that their views are effectively taken into account.”
However, the Serbian President’s decision has split Belgrade’s policy of advocating against such participation, and it comes as no surprise that Tadic has received harsh criticism for the move.
The Serbian Radical Party, which gained a surprising number of votes in the September mayoral campaigns, has called for Tadic’s removal.
Meanwhile, Kosovo Serbs are also mixed in their reaction to the news. Current Kosovo Assembly member, Oliver Ivanovic was quoted as saying Tadic demonstrated statesmanship and balance, but he adds that the decision is a huge blow to the two Kosovo Serb factions vying for a unified line on the subject.
Ivanovic – “This is the worst outcome and we have now very clear polarization in Belgrade, and that’s the point we were scared of the most. The reflection of that on Serbs in Kosovo is going to be catastrophic. I’m afraid it is a conflict between two political concepts, and in the same time neither side is ready to go through up to the point where we can see what concept is better for the Serbs. I think that both concepts are legitimate and everyone has the right to think the way he wants, but it such a difficult situation for us it is catastrophic. I’m afraid of what is coming after this.”
Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Bajram Rexhepi has praised Tadic’s decision. But, he was critical of the set of conditions Tadic laid out as a condition for his endorsement of election participation. The Serbian President called for a 90 day ultimatum in which the international administration and Kosovo’s Government would have to comply with Belgrade’s call for the establishment of a Serbian led local government in all regional Serb communities – a move soundly rejected by the international community and Kosovo’s Government.
Still, Belgrade and the major Kosovo Serb Parties insist that there has not been enough progress on safety issues to warrant their endorsements for Kosovo Serb participation.
2
Meanwhile in more election news….
In a surprise move on Wednesday, Kosovo’s head
administrator, SRSG Jessen-Petersen has told Pascal Fieschi, the Chairman of
the Election commission in Kosovo, to add a new Serb political group to the
election process.
Although the formal certification process for ballot
positions has long since passed, observers say the move is expected to add to
pressures on Kosovo Serb political groups divided on the issue of Serb
participation in the election.
The name of the new Serb political group has not been made
public, and it will not appear on the voter ballot. But according to the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, voters will be able to
write the number of the party in a blank space at the bottom of the ballot.
3 Also in Local news…
169 Lay judges were sworn in on Wednesday. SRSG Jessen-Petersen administered the Oath of Office to the multi-ethnic panel of judges that includes 22 Kosovo Serbs, 6 from the Turkish community and 3 from Kosovo’s Bosniac communities. According to official statements, the lay judge candidates are all “citizens with unquestionable reputations.”
Although the lay judges are not professional judges, they will be part of court panels expected to add opinion to the various trial phases.
5
Later in the day, in a striking legal development, DOJ
Director Monaghan announced the indictment of two Albanians accused of being
involved in the violence that occurred in March.
Both cases have brought particular attention to the
international community, KFOR and local police - who have been accused by
critics of not bringing to justice those responsible for the March unrest. One
individual, Mehmet Morina, indicted for the particularly brutal murder of a
Serb man in Kosovo Polje outside of Pristina, faces a potential 40 years in
prison. Another, Adnan Dreni, is charged with being an organizer of the riots
in the western Kosovo town of Pec/Peja. His sentence carries a potential 5 year
sentence.
DOJ Director Monaghan said that there are still a number of investigations that are ongoing.
Monaghan - “There’s about 17 of them that are in the
judicial process and another thirty or more that are under police
investigations. We are working as hard as we can to resolve all of these cases
so that those that were guilty of crimes during the March violence will be
brought to justice.”
UN Radio in Kosovo will continue to follow the developments of these cases.
And this concludes this edition of Week in Review a production of UN Radio in Kosovo. Thanks for listening and stay tuned during this time every Friday for Week in Review, a wrap up of news from in and around Kosovo.
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