PRISTINA - The April consumer price index (CPI) of the U.N.-run province of Kosovo was down 0.7% on the month, after rising 1.5% in March, statistics showed on Tuesday.
Consumer prices were down 2.2% on the year in April, after falling 2.0% the previous month, the Kosovo Statistics Office said.
Kosovo Consumer Prices Index (pct change):
...........Apr….Mar.....Feb......Jan
m/m....-0.7….+1.5.....0.0.....-0.3
y/y......-2.2….-2.0......-3.0...+2.6
NOTE: Kosovo, a province of two million people, is legally part of the loose union of Serbia and Montenegro, which succeeded rump Yugoslavia in 2003. The province was put under United Nations administration after NATO bombed Serbia in 1999 to halt the Serb repression of the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Serbia withdraws international arrest warrant for Milosevic's wife
BELGRADE, May 31 (AFP) -
Serbia has withdrawn an international arrest warrant against Mira Markovic, fugitive wife of former Yugoslav president and war crimes indictee Slobodan Milosevic, a court official said Tuesday.
"The (international) arrest warrant is no longer in force after the defense lawyer has promised that the defendant, Mira Markovic, will appear at the trial scheduled in September," a spokeswoman for Belgrade's district court Ivana Ramic told AFP.
However, the national arrest warrant remains in force and Markovic will be arrested if and when she returns to Serbia-Montenegro, said Ramic.
Markovic could then be released on bail pending the verdict in her trial.
Ramic said that the court had informed the Interpol office in Belgrade that the international arrest warrant against Markovic had been withdrawn.
The arrest warrant was originally issued after Markovic failed to appear in court in April 2004, to face charges of abuse of power.
Serbian prosecutors had also issued an arrest warrant for Markovic, believed to be hiding in Russia with her son, over the August 2000 murder of former Serbian president Ivan Stambolic.
Milosevic has been indicted for ordering the murder, while several members of the special police unit "Red berets" are on trial for organizing and executing his order.
Since June 2002, Milosevic has been in custody at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague where he is standing trial on more than 60 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo that tore apart Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Serbia has withdrawn an international arrest warrant against Mira Markovic, fugitive wife of former Yugoslav president and war crimes indictee Slobodan Milosevic, a court official said Tuesday.
"The (international) arrest warrant is no longer in force after the defense lawyer has promised that the defendant, Mira Markovic, will appear at the trial scheduled in September," a spokeswoman for Belgrade's district court Ivana Ramic told AFP.
However, the national arrest warrant remains in force and Markovic will be arrested if and when she returns to Serbia-Montenegro, said Ramic.
Markovic could then be released on bail pending the verdict in her trial.
Ramic said that the court had informed the Interpol office in Belgrade that the international arrest warrant against Markovic had been withdrawn.
The arrest warrant was originally issued after Markovic failed to appear in court in April 2004, to face charges of abuse of power.
Serbian prosecutors had also issued an arrest warrant for Markovic, believed to be hiding in Russia with her son, over the August 2000 murder of former Serbian president Ivan Stambolic.
Milosevic has been indicted for ordering the murder, while several members of the special police unit "Red berets" are on trial for organizing and executing his order.
Since June 2002, Milosevic has been in custody at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague where he is standing trial on more than 60 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo that tore apart Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
UN approves postal code for Kosovo
PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro, May 31 (Reuters) - The United Nations has approved separate postal codes for Kosovo in a further move that Serbia says is tilting the scales in favour of independence for the ethnic Albanian majority.
Run by the U.N. since NATO forced Serb troops out six years ago, the province already has its own vehicle license plates and customs service. It is awaiting its own international telephone code and is demanding a Kosovo banking code as well.
Rafet Jashari, director of the Kosovo postal company, told a news conference the U.N. mission's legal office had approved Kosovo's membership of the Universal Postal Union, the Bern-based body that regulates international mail exchange between some 190 member countries.
Since the 1998-99 war, Kosovo post has been routed through Switzerland or Albania, often with long delays.
"By getting this code, everything will be sent and returned directly through Kosovo," he said. "It will increase speed and security ... and help economic development."
The U.N. mission has also applied for an international telephone code for Kosovo, and the province's Albanian-dominated institutions are pressing for the formal establishment of a central bank and independent SWIFT code for money transfers.
Serbia's pointman for Kosovo, Nebojsa Covic, complained to the U.N. Security Council last week that such initiatives "create an impression that, internationally, Kosovo ... is a completely separate entity".
Randjel Nojkic, a Kosovo Serb politician and Serbian postal and telecommunications official, told the Beta agency on Tuesday that Serb enclaves in Kosovo would ignore the new Kosovo code and continue to use their Serbian postal codes.
Until its "final status" is decided in U.N. mediated negotiations, possibly by the end of this year, the province of 2 million people formally remains part of Serbia and Montenegro.
Neither side talks about partition but in practice Kosovo is already divided. Most of the 90,000 Serbs who remained after the war continue to use the Serbian dinar, instead of the U.N.-imposed euro. They use schools and clinics that answer to Belgrade in what the U.N. calls an "illegal" parallel system.
Run by the U.N. since NATO forced Serb troops out six years ago, the province already has its own vehicle license plates and customs service. It is awaiting its own international telephone code and is demanding a Kosovo banking code as well.
Rafet Jashari, director of the Kosovo postal company, told a news conference the U.N. mission's legal office had approved Kosovo's membership of the Universal Postal Union, the Bern-based body that regulates international mail exchange between some 190 member countries.
Since the 1998-99 war, Kosovo post has been routed through Switzerland or Albania, often with long delays.
"By getting this code, everything will be sent and returned directly through Kosovo," he said. "It will increase speed and security ... and help economic development."
The U.N. mission has also applied for an international telephone code for Kosovo, and the province's Albanian-dominated institutions are pressing for the formal establishment of a central bank and independent SWIFT code for money transfers.
Serbia's pointman for Kosovo, Nebojsa Covic, complained to the U.N. Security Council last week that such initiatives "create an impression that, internationally, Kosovo ... is a completely separate entity".
Randjel Nojkic, a Kosovo Serb politician and Serbian postal and telecommunications official, told the Beta agency on Tuesday that Serb enclaves in Kosovo would ignore the new Kosovo code and continue to use their Serbian postal codes.
Until its "final status" is decided in U.N. mediated negotiations, possibly by the end of this year, the province of 2 million people formally remains part of Serbia and Montenegro.
Neither side talks about partition but in practice Kosovo is already divided. Most of the 90,000 Serbs who remained after the war continue to use the Serbian dinar, instead of the U.N.-imposed euro. They use schools and clinics that answer to Belgrade in what the U.N. calls an "illegal" parallel system.
Serbia To Launch War Crimes Probe After Argentina Arrest
BELGRADE (AP)--Serbia announced Tuesday it was launching a war crimes investigation into the activities of a Serbian paramilitary officer arrested in Argentina last week.
Bruno Vekaric, spokesman for Serbia's war crimes prosecutor's office, said Nebojsa Minic, 40, a former member of a notorious Serb paramilitary group, is suspected of taking part in the execution of civilians in Kosovo during the province's 1998-99 war.
Vekaric said the office has launched an investigation into allegations that Minic participated in the slaying of an ethnic Albanian family in the village of Cuska in western Kosovo in 1999.
The investigation could lead to another one by a war crimes court and possible formal charges against Minic. He isn't wanted by the U.N. war crimes court in The Hague, Netherlands.
Minic was arrested last week by Argentinian authorities in the western city of Mendoza following a tip from the U.S.-based Human Right Watch. Police had followed Minic for three months before the arrest.
Argentinian authorities detained Minic on charges of illegal entry and forged papers. A war crimes investigation in Belgrade would probably lead to an extradition demand by the Serbian authorities.
Minic was identified by a Belgrade-based group, the Humanitarian Law Fund, as a suspect in scores of murders committed by Serb paramilitaries in Kosovo.
According to the group, Minic was known as "Commander Death" in the western Kosovo town of Pec. The organization had said they had reliable evidence that Minic took part in the slayings. The Human Rights Watch apparently had similar information, the group said.
It wasn't clear when Minic fled. Serb forces under former President Slobodan Milosevic cracked down on Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians in 1998-99 to suppress a separatist rebellion.
Thousands of people, mostly ethnic Albanians, were killed in the crackdown. The brutality of the Serb troops prompted the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to bomb Serbia for 78 days in 1999 to force Milosevic to pull out his troops from Kosovo and relinquish control to the U.N. and NATO.
Kosovo has since been run by the U.N. and NATO peacekeepers although it remains officially part of Serbia-Montenegro. [ 31-05-05 1121GMT ]
Bruno Vekaric, spokesman for Serbia's war crimes prosecutor's office, said Nebojsa Minic, 40, a former member of a notorious Serb paramilitary group, is suspected of taking part in the execution of civilians in Kosovo during the province's 1998-99 war.
Vekaric said the office has launched an investigation into allegations that Minic participated in the slaying of an ethnic Albanian family in the village of Cuska in western Kosovo in 1999.
The investigation could lead to another one by a war crimes court and possible formal charges against Minic. He isn't wanted by the U.N. war crimes court in The Hague, Netherlands.
Minic was arrested last week by Argentinian authorities in the western city of Mendoza following a tip from the U.S.-based Human Right Watch. Police had followed Minic for three months before the arrest.
Argentinian authorities detained Minic on charges of illegal entry and forged papers. A war crimes investigation in Belgrade would probably lead to an extradition demand by the Serbian authorities.
Minic was identified by a Belgrade-based group, the Humanitarian Law Fund, as a suspect in scores of murders committed by Serb paramilitaries in Kosovo.
According to the group, Minic was known as "Commander Death" in the western Kosovo town of Pec. The organization had said they had reliable evidence that Minic took part in the slayings. The Human Rights Watch apparently had similar information, the group said.
It wasn't clear when Minic fled. Serb forces under former President Slobodan Milosevic cracked down on Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians in 1998-99 to suppress a separatist rebellion.
Thousands of people, mostly ethnic Albanians, were killed in the crackdown. The brutality of the Serb troops prompted the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to bomb Serbia for 78 days in 1999 to force Milosevic to pull out his troops from Kosovo and relinquish control to the U.N. and NATO.
Kosovo has since been run by the U.N. and NATO peacekeepers although it remains officially part of Serbia-Montenegro. [ 31-05-05 1121GMT ]
Speech by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Spring Session
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to appear before your Assembly again. And it is a great pleasure, also, to be back in Ljubljana, barely one year after Slovenia joined the ranks of our Alliance and the European Union, and at a time when it holds the Chairmanship-in-Office of the OSCE.
Slovenia's spectacular transformation over the past fifteen years cannot be seen in isolation from NATO's own success - both in bringing peace and stability to the wider Balkan region, and transforming from a Cold War alliance into a modern, 21st century security organisation.
NATO remains committed to helping all the countries of South-East Europe to follow in Slovenia's footsteps. We are working closely with Albania, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1) in the context of our Membership Action Plan. We are holding out the prospect of enhanced cooperation with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro - provided they meet certain conditions, notably full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. And during this critical period for the future of Kosovo we maintain a robust troop presence there, while we continue to engage in the Contact Group and to support the Standards Implementation Process. This is as necessary as ever at a moment where the international community begins to address what lies at the heart of the Kosovo question : the fulfilment of standards, and then possibly Kosovo's status.
But while our commitment to the Balkans endures, NATO has also had to turn its attention to a number of serious challenges beyond this region, and even beyond this continent. Today, we are no longer a "eurocentric" alliance - we can no longer afford to be. Instead of a geographical approach to security, we now take a functional approach - dealing with problems wherever and whenever they emerge, from our anti-terrorist naval operation in the Mediterranean to our training mission in Iraq. That requires a major overhaul of our military capabilities. And it requires a new level of cooperation with other nations and institutions.
Let me give you a quick update on each of these major areas of NATO transformation, turning to our missions in Afghanistan and Iraq first.
In Afghanistan, the expansion of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force into the country's four western provinces is underway.
Planning and force generation for ISAF expansion into the remaining parts of Afghanistan is now beginning, and this will require new commitments from nations. We want to give tangible support to the September parliamentary elections, which will mark the formal ending of the Bonn political process.
The Afghan Government must carry forward the post-Bonn political strategy, but we will want to lend our support. And we must maintain our support for the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration process, as well as for the national counter-narcotics programme. Narcotics production, in a country like Afghanistan, is a complex issue, not least because many Afghans depend on it for their livelihood. But we want to do what we can to help control this problem, especially with the help of our Provincial Reconstruction Teams.
When President Karzai visited NATO Headquarters just a few weeks ago, he made a strong plea for the Alliance to stay with his country after the September elections. I also firmly believe that we must stay the course in Afghanistan, to reinforce the considerable progress that we have helped to achieve over the last few years, and to help out in areas that are critical to Afghanistan's security and that of our own countries. I am pleased that there is broad agreement in the Alliance on this matter.
In Iraq, as well, democracy is slowly taking root, and NATO must do what it can to help the new government assert its authority by providing for greater security. The NATO Training Mission in Iraq is now operational, and I am pleased that all Allies are contributing in at least one of four ways: through in-country training; training outside Iraq; financial contributions; or donations of equipment. Our key operational challenge over the next weeks and months is to expand training beyond the Green Zone in Baghdad, and specifically to help to establish the planned Iraqi Training, Education and Doctrine Centre in Ar Rustamiya. That, as well, will require a strong effort on our part.
Another emerging theatre of activity is Darfur. The Alliance is prepared to respond positively to the request by the African Union for logistical support to its mission in Darfur. Mr. Konare, the Chairman of the Commission of the African Union, met with the North Atlantic Council two weeks ago. I was in Addis Ababa just last week to discuss how NATO can add value to the assistance offered to the African Union by the United Nations, the European Union, as well as by a number of individual nations.
The growing operational requirements that are being made of our Alliance underline the urgency of our military transformation process - which is the second feature of NATO that I wish to briefly highlight. We have made good progress in a number of areas. We have streamlined our military command structure and stood up the NATO Response Force. Allies are also working hard to make their forces meet the usability targets that we agreed upon last year. And we have developed procedures to make it easier for nations to commit capabilities to NATO operations.
Good progress - but, quite frankly, still not good enough. Collectively, in the Alliance, we have very great numbers of combat forces. What we do not have are sufficient support forces and capabilities to permit those combat forces to do their job in areas where there is little host nation support. Levels of defence expenditure, in many cases, are still not sufficient to support the investment in these necessary capabilities. Nor are they sufficient for many nations to properly address the modernisation requirements of their armed forces. And the problem is exacerbated by the costs of current operations that are being borne by defence budgets. Let there be no mistake: until we have the required capabilities, we will simply not be as effective as we need to be in the face of real emergencies. And I hope you will keep making your voices heard when your national defence budgets are discussed.
A third feature of NATO today is our determination to deepen and broaden our partnerships with other nations and organisations. Cooperation with them was essential to our success in bringing peace and stability to the Balkans over the past ten years. Just think of the important contributions non-NATO nations made and are still making to our operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in Kosovo. It is even more important now if we want to meet the truly global new threats to our security.
The Alliance has made good progress these last few years in enhancing cooperation with all its EAPC Partners, and especially those in the Caucasus and Central Asia. We have made the new security challenges a major focus of our cooperation. We are helping interested countries to introduce defence reforms and enhance their interoperability with NATO. And just last week we held the first EAPC Security Forum in Sweden, a new initiative to engage NATO and Partner officials and civil society representatives in a free-flowing discussion of the many common challenges before us.
But NATO, and this should also be true for the Euro-Atlantic Partnership embedded in Partnership for Peace, is based on common values. This is why we are deeply disturbed and cannot remain silent in the face of recent events in Uzbekistan. The North Atlantic Council has strongly condemned the reported use of excessive and disproportionate forces and supported the UN's call for an independent international inquiry. I will continue to insist that this inquiry takes place, as does the UN.
We continue, at the same time, to intensify our relations with our special partners, Russia and Ukraine. In Vilnius last month, the Foreign Ministers of NATO and Russia signed a Status of Forces Agreement that will boost our military cooperation. On that occasion, we also had a frank discussion of several issues of common interest, including sensitive topics such as Georgia. And I am confident that same constructive spirit will prevail when I visit Moscow next month.
NATO's relationship with Ukraine has entered a new phase. The new Ukrainian Government has left no doubt about its aspirations for Ukraine to join NATO. We agreed in Vilnius to start an intensified dialogue with Ukraine on these aspirations, while continuing to assist the country with the very challenging defence and other reforms that it still has to implement.
But we are also looking beyond the horizons of the Euro-Atlantic area. We have made good progress in enhancing NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue - in engaging our partners in Northern Africa and the Middle East both in greater dialogue and real, practical security cooperation. We are also building closer relations with countries in the Broader Middle East, and have concluded agreements with Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar in recent months. And we are responding to the greater interest that countries such as Australia, Japan and New Zealand have shown in closer contacts with NATO.
Finally, the Alliance is keen to develop more structured relationships with other international organisations - especially the UN, the OSCE, and the European Union. Our success in the Balkans has shown the potential of our cooperation with the EU in particular. The situation in Darfur, where both NATO and the EU have been asked to assist, underlines that we should be able to coordinate strategically, not just cooperate tactically on an ad-hoc basis.
What we need, above all, is a genuine strategic partnership between NATO and the European Union. The European Union is a genuine security actor, there is no question about it. This is about making the Union a stronger partner, not a counterweight. I believe that is the only way the EU can and should go. And I am convinced our American friends understand and appreciate this. Among Europeans, I have been pleased to see greater realism about the challenges that are involved in playing a sustained, meaningful security role, and greater awareness of what NATO already offers.
I hope - and expect - that this greater realism on both sides of the Atlantic will contribute to a closer NATO-EU relationship. We need a strong partnership that recognises the unique contribution which NATO and the EU each make to the stability and security of this continent. And that will allow them to cooperate much more effectively in all areas of common interest - not just crisis management in the Balkans. I believe that such a strategic partnership is within reach, and I will continue to do my utmost to make it a reality.
You, Ladies and Gentlemen, are Members of Parliament who are both interested and experienced in security and defence matters. That means that you have an important contribution to make in all the different areas of NATO activity that I have just outlined. You understand better than most other people why the Alliance must tackle modern security challenges at their source, even well beyond our traditional area of operations. You also understand why this job requires different military means than those that we employed in the past, and a new level of cooperation between nations and institutions. And I hope that I can continue to count on your support in these various areas - to maintain the Alliance's effectiveness, as well as its credibility.
In order to keep the Alliance strong and credible, it must be used - and seen to be used - not only as an instrument for action, but also as a forum for debate. These have always been the two key functions of NATO, and this Assembly has always been a center of fre-flowing political exchange of ideas. In today's challenging security environment, it is critical that we not only preserve these two functions, but actually reinforce them. And in this respect, as well, I count on your support.
We face new and complex challenges to our security - terrorism, proliferation, "failed states". NATO's work here in Europe is far from being done, but other parts of the world also demand our attention - Central Asia, Northern Africa, the broader Middle East. We must adapt our capabilities, structures and procedures to the changing circumstances. New security players, such as the European Union, are finding their role, and we need to work effectively with them.
It is vital that those challenges are discussed in NATO. That the Allies share views and shape consensus - and that they are ready, if necessary, to take action together. All our capitals will maintain bilateral relationships. It is normal, and indeed desirable, that the European Union' s dialogue with Washington and Ottawa intensifies. But the transatlantic Allies need a structured forum, to continuously discuss the key security issues that they face together. And NATO is that forum.
Of course, we do not want to turn NATO into a debating society. More intense discussion in the NATO Council must be accompanied, and indeed nurtured, by enhanced debate with our parliaments and with our publics, to whom we are ultimately accountable. Extending debate in that way is critical in building the strong strategic consensus that we need to to tackle the great challenges of our age - and shaping NATO's vital contribution to this endeavour.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Over the years, it has become customary for NATO's Secretary General to address the NATO Parliamentary Asssembly when it meets in plenary session.
I want to assure you that I do not look at this as an obligation. On the contrary. I have been a member of parliament myself not that long ago, and I understand and appreciate your role in defining, resourcing, and explaining NATO policy. As the Alliance continues to adapt to a new and complex security environment - an environment plenty of challenges that demand thorough debate and solid consensus - that role is more important than ever.
Thank you.
1. Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.
It gives me great pleasure to appear before your Assembly again. And it is a great pleasure, also, to be back in Ljubljana, barely one year after Slovenia joined the ranks of our Alliance and the European Union, and at a time when it holds the Chairmanship-in-Office of the OSCE.
Slovenia's spectacular transformation over the past fifteen years cannot be seen in isolation from NATO's own success - both in bringing peace and stability to the wider Balkan region, and transforming from a Cold War alliance into a modern, 21st century security organisation.
NATO remains committed to helping all the countries of South-East Europe to follow in Slovenia's footsteps. We are working closely with Albania, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1) in the context of our Membership Action Plan. We are holding out the prospect of enhanced cooperation with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro - provided they meet certain conditions, notably full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. And during this critical period for the future of Kosovo we maintain a robust troop presence there, while we continue to engage in the Contact Group and to support the Standards Implementation Process. This is as necessary as ever at a moment where the international community begins to address what lies at the heart of the Kosovo question : the fulfilment of standards, and then possibly Kosovo's status.
But while our commitment to the Balkans endures, NATO has also had to turn its attention to a number of serious challenges beyond this region, and even beyond this continent. Today, we are no longer a "eurocentric" alliance - we can no longer afford to be. Instead of a geographical approach to security, we now take a functional approach - dealing with problems wherever and whenever they emerge, from our anti-terrorist naval operation in the Mediterranean to our training mission in Iraq. That requires a major overhaul of our military capabilities. And it requires a new level of cooperation with other nations and institutions.
Let me give you a quick update on each of these major areas of NATO transformation, turning to our missions in Afghanistan and Iraq first.
In Afghanistan, the expansion of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force into the country's four western provinces is underway.
Planning and force generation for ISAF expansion into the remaining parts of Afghanistan is now beginning, and this will require new commitments from nations. We want to give tangible support to the September parliamentary elections, which will mark the formal ending of the Bonn political process.
The Afghan Government must carry forward the post-Bonn political strategy, but we will want to lend our support. And we must maintain our support for the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration process, as well as for the national counter-narcotics programme. Narcotics production, in a country like Afghanistan, is a complex issue, not least because many Afghans depend on it for their livelihood. But we want to do what we can to help control this problem, especially with the help of our Provincial Reconstruction Teams.
When President Karzai visited NATO Headquarters just a few weeks ago, he made a strong plea for the Alliance to stay with his country after the September elections. I also firmly believe that we must stay the course in Afghanistan, to reinforce the considerable progress that we have helped to achieve over the last few years, and to help out in areas that are critical to Afghanistan's security and that of our own countries. I am pleased that there is broad agreement in the Alliance on this matter.
In Iraq, as well, democracy is slowly taking root, and NATO must do what it can to help the new government assert its authority by providing for greater security. The NATO Training Mission in Iraq is now operational, and I am pleased that all Allies are contributing in at least one of four ways: through in-country training; training outside Iraq; financial contributions; or donations of equipment. Our key operational challenge over the next weeks and months is to expand training beyond the Green Zone in Baghdad, and specifically to help to establish the planned Iraqi Training, Education and Doctrine Centre in Ar Rustamiya. That, as well, will require a strong effort on our part.
Another emerging theatre of activity is Darfur. The Alliance is prepared to respond positively to the request by the African Union for logistical support to its mission in Darfur. Mr. Konare, the Chairman of the Commission of the African Union, met with the North Atlantic Council two weeks ago. I was in Addis Ababa just last week to discuss how NATO can add value to the assistance offered to the African Union by the United Nations, the European Union, as well as by a number of individual nations.
The growing operational requirements that are being made of our Alliance underline the urgency of our military transformation process - which is the second feature of NATO that I wish to briefly highlight. We have made good progress in a number of areas. We have streamlined our military command structure and stood up the NATO Response Force. Allies are also working hard to make their forces meet the usability targets that we agreed upon last year. And we have developed procedures to make it easier for nations to commit capabilities to NATO operations.
Good progress - but, quite frankly, still not good enough. Collectively, in the Alliance, we have very great numbers of combat forces. What we do not have are sufficient support forces and capabilities to permit those combat forces to do their job in areas where there is little host nation support. Levels of defence expenditure, in many cases, are still not sufficient to support the investment in these necessary capabilities. Nor are they sufficient for many nations to properly address the modernisation requirements of their armed forces. And the problem is exacerbated by the costs of current operations that are being borne by defence budgets. Let there be no mistake: until we have the required capabilities, we will simply not be as effective as we need to be in the face of real emergencies. And I hope you will keep making your voices heard when your national defence budgets are discussed.
A third feature of NATO today is our determination to deepen and broaden our partnerships with other nations and organisations. Cooperation with them was essential to our success in bringing peace and stability to the Balkans over the past ten years. Just think of the important contributions non-NATO nations made and are still making to our operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in Kosovo. It is even more important now if we want to meet the truly global new threats to our security.
The Alliance has made good progress these last few years in enhancing cooperation with all its EAPC Partners, and especially those in the Caucasus and Central Asia. We have made the new security challenges a major focus of our cooperation. We are helping interested countries to introduce defence reforms and enhance their interoperability with NATO. And just last week we held the first EAPC Security Forum in Sweden, a new initiative to engage NATO and Partner officials and civil society representatives in a free-flowing discussion of the many common challenges before us.
But NATO, and this should also be true for the Euro-Atlantic Partnership embedded in Partnership for Peace, is based on common values. This is why we are deeply disturbed and cannot remain silent in the face of recent events in Uzbekistan. The North Atlantic Council has strongly condemned the reported use of excessive and disproportionate forces and supported the UN's call for an independent international inquiry. I will continue to insist that this inquiry takes place, as does the UN.
We continue, at the same time, to intensify our relations with our special partners, Russia and Ukraine. In Vilnius last month, the Foreign Ministers of NATO and Russia signed a Status of Forces Agreement that will boost our military cooperation. On that occasion, we also had a frank discussion of several issues of common interest, including sensitive topics such as Georgia. And I am confident that same constructive spirit will prevail when I visit Moscow next month.
NATO's relationship with Ukraine has entered a new phase. The new Ukrainian Government has left no doubt about its aspirations for Ukraine to join NATO. We agreed in Vilnius to start an intensified dialogue with Ukraine on these aspirations, while continuing to assist the country with the very challenging defence and other reforms that it still has to implement.
But we are also looking beyond the horizons of the Euro-Atlantic area. We have made good progress in enhancing NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue - in engaging our partners in Northern Africa and the Middle East both in greater dialogue and real, practical security cooperation. We are also building closer relations with countries in the Broader Middle East, and have concluded agreements with Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar in recent months. And we are responding to the greater interest that countries such as Australia, Japan and New Zealand have shown in closer contacts with NATO.
Finally, the Alliance is keen to develop more structured relationships with other international organisations - especially the UN, the OSCE, and the European Union. Our success in the Balkans has shown the potential of our cooperation with the EU in particular. The situation in Darfur, where both NATO and the EU have been asked to assist, underlines that we should be able to coordinate strategically, not just cooperate tactically on an ad-hoc basis.
What we need, above all, is a genuine strategic partnership between NATO and the European Union. The European Union is a genuine security actor, there is no question about it. This is about making the Union a stronger partner, not a counterweight. I believe that is the only way the EU can and should go. And I am convinced our American friends understand and appreciate this. Among Europeans, I have been pleased to see greater realism about the challenges that are involved in playing a sustained, meaningful security role, and greater awareness of what NATO already offers.
I hope - and expect - that this greater realism on both sides of the Atlantic will contribute to a closer NATO-EU relationship. We need a strong partnership that recognises the unique contribution which NATO and the EU each make to the stability and security of this continent. And that will allow them to cooperate much more effectively in all areas of common interest - not just crisis management in the Balkans. I believe that such a strategic partnership is within reach, and I will continue to do my utmost to make it a reality.
You, Ladies and Gentlemen, are Members of Parliament who are both interested and experienced in security and defence matters. That means that you have an important contribution to make in all the different areas of NATO activity that I have just outlined. You understand better than most other people why the Alliance must tackle modern security challenges at their source, even well beyond our traditional area of operations. You also understand why this job requires different military means than those that we employed in the past, and a new level of cooperation between nations and institutions. And I hope that I can continue to count on your support in these various areas - to maintain the Alliance's effectiveness, as well as its credibility.
In order to keep the Alliance strong and credible, it must be used - and seen to be used - not only as an instrument for action, but also as a forum for debate. These have always been the two key functions of NATO, and this Assembly has always been a center of fre-flowing political exchange of ideas. In today's challenging security environment, it is critical that we not only preserve these two functions, but actually reinforce them. And in this respect, as well, I count on your support.
We face new and complex challenges to our security - terrorism, proliferation, "failed states". NATO's work here in Europe is far from being done, but other parts of the world also demand our attention - Central Asia, Northern Africa, the broader Middle East. We must adapt our capabilities, structures and procedures to the changing circumstances. New security players, such as the European Union, are finding their role, and we need to work effectively with them.
It is vital that those challenges are discussed in NATO. That the Allies share views and shape consensus - and that they are ready, if necessary, to take action together. All our capitals will maintain bilateral relationships. It is normal, and indeed desirable, that the European Union' s dialogue with Washington and Ottawa intensifies. But the transatlantic Allies need a structured forum, to continuously discuss the key security issues that they face together. And NATO is that forum.
Of course, we do not want to turn NATO into a debating society. More intense discussion in the NATO Council must be accompanied, and indeed nurtured, by enhanced debate with our parliaments and with our publics, to whom we are ultimately accountable. Extending debate in that way is critical in building the strong strategic consensus that we need to to tackle the great challenges of our age - and shaping NATO's vital contribution to this endeavour.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Over the years, it has become customary for NATO's Secretary General to address the NATO Parliamentary Asssembly when it meets in plenary session.
I want to assure you that I do not look at this as an obligation. On the contrary. I have been a member of parliament myself not that long ago, and I understand and appreciate your role in defining, resourcing, and explaining NATO policy. As the Alliance continues to adapt to a new and complex security environment - an environment plenty of challenges that demand thorough debate and solid consensus - that role is more important than ever.
Thank you.
1. Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.
Kosovo will be independent by spring 2006 - deputy premier
Text of report by Radio-Television Kosovo TV on 30 May
[Announcer] Kosovo will be independent by spring 2006, Deputy Prime Minister Adem Salihaj told Ilyria University students during an address on Standards and status.
[Reporter Blerta Foniqi] Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Adem Salihaj gave an address to students of the private University of Ilyria on the topic Standard and the Status. He told them that by summer of 2006 Kosovo will be independent. He also told the students that the Standards issue came up suddenly when UNMIK [United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] had no other ideas about how to continue its mission in Kosovo.
However, the Standards were gradually developed, evolved and assumed an important place in every sector of life in Kosovo. The fulfilment of Standards is a whole justification and proof that Kosovo has matured into an independent country.
Source: RTK TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1830 gmt 30 May 05
[Announcer] Kosovo will be independent by spring 2006, Deputy Prime Minister Adem Salihaj told Ilyria University students during an address on Standards and status.
[Reporter Blerta Foniqi] Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Adem Salihaj gave an address to students of the private University of Ilyria on the topic Standard and the Status. He told them that by summer of 2006 Kosovo will be independent. He also told the students that the Standards issue came up suddenly when UNMIK [United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] had no other ideas about how to continue its mission in Kosovo.
However, the Standards were gradually developed, evolved and assumed an important place in every sector of life in Kosovo. The fulfilment of Standards is a whole justification and proof that Kosovo has matured into an independent country.
Source: RTK TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1830 gmt 30 May 05
Kosovo will move forward with "unity and hard work" - UNMIK chief
Text of report by Radio-Television Kosovo TV on 30 May
[Announcer] On his return from the UN Security Council in New York, UNMIK chief Soeren Jessen-Petersen held a press conference at Pristina airport and called on Kosovo Albanians to fulfil the Standards.
[UNMIK chief Soeren Jessen-Petersen] I do not know what to tell you because I think it is already old news. Maybe just to confirm that we had a good meeting at the Security Council. The message was very clear. That is that the secretary general will launch a comprehensive review, that he will appoint a special envoy, probably tomorrow or Wednesday [1 June], to draft the comprehensive review. I think more than ever now the future is almost exclusively in the hands of the authorities, which means the government, the opposition, the municipal authorities and citizens. Everybody knows what needs to be done now over the next two to three months. I also hope that, in the first meeting of the Forum, we can focus specifically on how the authorities - and I underline the "authorities" - can now start concentrating on preparing for the next steps.
[Reporter] Mr Petersen, the French people said No to the European Constitution. How do you think this will reflect on Kosova's path toward the EU?
[Petersen] I do not think Kosovo has to worry about France right now. I think Kosovo really has to focus on implementing further Standards, ensure that the comprehensive review has a positive outcome, so that we can then move on to the next step, which is: discussions on status. I think it is too early to speculate on the consequences of that, and above all, I think that right now it is better that here in Kosovo we focus on our priorities, and these are: a comprehensive review, so that we can move on to status discussions.
[Reporter] Mr Petersen, you once said that September, October, this autumn will be the time for opening the status talks. Do you still stand by that?
[Petersen] I stand by that, but I have to underline again that the outcome of the comprehensive review is not a foregone conclusion. That was made very clear in the Security Council but, since we have until now passed each and every hurdle, and last Friday passed another difficult hurdle, I am confident that there will be further progress, that the authorities will work even harder and, if that is the case with even harder work, then I think that there is a good chance that the outcome will be positive, and then the status discussions will start. But again, I think that it is very important that we now take every step, each step, at a time, and the next step is the next two to three months with the comprehensive review.
[Reporter] Do you think that we still have on board all the political leaders and President Rugova for the Forum?
[Petersen] I certainly hope so because the good news is: last week we started in London, last Monday, and we saw that we have a united Contact Group. We saw again last Friday in the Security Council that members of the Contact Group who are also members of the Security Council spoke very positively about the way forward. It would be a great pity if we did not have a united political establishment here in Kosovo, because with unity it would be possible to move forwards. If there is any kind of division here, progress might be questioned. I am confident that everybody now understands what is at stake, everybody understands that with unity and hard work, Kosovo will move forward.
[Reporter] Are Serbs part of the Forum, are they on board or not?
[Petersen] Well, the Serbs know what they have to do. The Serbs have to join the democratic institutions and, if they join the democratic institutions, then we have Serb political parties in the Assembly and, since we have invited the political parties, we would then also invite the Serbs. But first they have to join the democratic institutions.
Source: RTK TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1830 gmt 30 May 05
[Announcer] On his return from the UN Security Council in New York, UNMIK chief Soeren Jessen-Petersen held a press conference at Pristina airport and called on Kosovo Albanians to fulfil the Standards.
[UNMIK chief Soeren Jessen-Petersen] I do not know what to tell you because I think it is already old news. Maybe just to confirm that we had a good meeting at the Security Council. The message was very clear. That is that the secretary general will launch a comprehensive review, that he will appoint a special envoy, probably tomorrow or Wednesday [1 June], to draft the comprehensive review. I think more than ever now the future is almost exclusively in the hands of the authorities, which means the government, the opposition, the municipal authorities and citizens. Everybody knows what needs to be done now over the next two to three months. I also hope that, in the first meeting of the Forum, we can focus specifically on how the authorities - and I underline the "authorities" - can now start concentrating on preparing for the next steps.
[Reporter] Mr Petersen, the French people said No to the European Constitution. How do you think this will reflect on Kosova's path toward the EU?
[Petersen] I do not think Kosovo has to worry about France right now. I think Kosovo really has to focus on implementing further Standards, ensure that the comprehensive review has a positive outcome, so that we can then move on to the next step, which is: discussions on status. I think it is too early to speculate on the consequences of that, and above all, I think that right now it is better that here in Kosovo we focus on our priorities, and these are: a comprehensive review, so that we can move on to status discussions.
[Reporter] Mr Petersen, you once said that September, October, this autumn will be the time for opening the status talks. Do you still stand by that?
[Petersen] I stand by that, but I have to underline again that the outcome of the comprehensive review is not a foregone conclusion. That was made very clear in the Security Council but, since we have until now passed each and every hurdle, and last Friday passed another difficult hurdle, I am confident that there will be further progress, that the authorities will work even harder and, if that is the case with even harder work, then I think that there is a good chance that the outcome will be positive, and then the status discussions will start. But again, I think that it is very important that we now take every step, each step, at a time, and the next step is the next two to three months with the comprehensive review.
[Reporter] Do you think that we still have on board all the political leaders and President Rugova for the Forum?
[Petersen] I certainly hope so because the good news is: last week we started in London, last Monday, and we saw that we have a united Contact Group. We saw again last Friday in the Security Council that members of the Contact Group who are also members of the Security Council spoke very positively about the way forward. It would be a great pity if we did not have a united political establishment here in Kosovo, because with unity it would be possible to move forwards. If there is any kind of division here, progress might be questioned. I am confident that everybody now understands what is at stake, everybody understands that with unity and hard work, Kosovo will move forward.
[Reporter] Are Serbs part of the Forum, are they on board or not?
[Petersen] Well, the Serbs know what they have to do. The Serbs have to join the democratic institutions and, if they join the democratic institutions, then we have Serb political parties in the Assembly and, since we have invited the political parties, we would then also invite the Serbs. But first they have to join the democratic institutions.
Source: RTK TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1830 gmt 30 May 05
Kosovo gets new zip codes
Pristina (AP):
Kosovo will adopt a set of new zip codes on Tuesday in a bid to speed up postal deliveries which have been slow and arduous in recent years due to a lack of clarity over the U.N.-run provinces status.
Kosovos capital, Pristina, will now use 10000 as its new code instead of the old Yugoslav code of 38000.
The new codes were approved by the U.N. legal office in Kosovo, said Seremb Gjergji, spokesman for Kosovos Post and Telecom.
The officials hope the codes will offer more security and have economic spinoffs, Gjergji said.
Kosovo became a United Nations protectorate in mid-1999 after NATO air strikes forced Serbia to relinquish control.
Kosovo will adopt a set of new zip codes on Tuesday in a bid to speed up postal deliveries which have been slow and arduous in recent years due to a lack of clarity over the U.N.-run provinces status.
Kosovos capital, Pristina, will now use 10000 as its new code instead of the old Yugoslav code of 38000.
The new codes were approved by the U.N. legal office in Kosovo, said Seremb Gjergji, spokesman for Kosovos Post and Telecom.
The officials hope the codes will offer more security and have economic spinoffs, Gjergji said.
Kosovo became a United Nations protectorate in mid-1999 after NATO air strikes forced Serbia to relinquish control.
Editorial: What EU does Kosovo want to integrate in? (Koha Ditore/Zeri)
Koha Ditore carries an editorial on the third page saying that today Kosovars would tell Brussels that ‘no matter what EU will be like in the future, Kosovo will be part of it’.
This might look ironic, but it is very real says the editorial adding that it is easier to foresee the status of Kosovo than the future of the European Union.
In an editorial titled ‘EU, US and the Kosovo status’, Zëri says that now that it seems the chapter of Kosovo status will be opened at an inconvenient time for the European Union, after the downslide caused by the French referendum, the US may well have a leading role in the process of defining Kosovo’s status.
This might look ironic, but it is very real says the editorial adding that it is easier to foresee the status of Kosovo than the future of the European Union.
In an editorial titled ‘EU, US and the Kosovo status’, Zëri says that now that it seems the chapter of Kosovo status will be opened at an inconvenient time for the European Union, after the downslide caused by the French referendum, the US may well have a leading role in the process of defining Kosovo’s status.
Haradinaj to be temporarily released (Kosova Sot)
Kosova Sot reports on the front page that based on some unofficial information a positive decision on Haradinaj’s temporary release could be taken during a statutory conference planned by the court panel for this week.
Monday, May 30, 2005
Macedonian president say Kosovo "far from meeting necessary standards"
Text of report in English by Macedonian state news agency MIA
Belgrade, 30 May: Kosovo is far from meeting the necessary standards, making the defining of its final status more difficult, Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski says in an interview with Belgrade monthly magazine in English language CorD .
International civil and military presence in Kosovo is needed for longer period of time, Crvenkovski says, adding that for Skopje peace, rule of law and stable institutions in Kosovo are more important than its status.
Preventing the spillover of Kosovo problems to neighbouring countries is even more important, Crvenkovski says.
"Fortunately it has not happened, but we should be extremely cautious. Therefore, I asked the Macedonian Government to introduce reciprocal visa regime and border control, responding to the UNMIK's [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] new measures in this respect," Crvenkovski says, adding that Macedonia must protect itself from the existing criminal groups.
Macedonia approves the model for Belgrade-Pristina-international community talks for finding mutually acceptable solution for Kosovo, Crvenkovski says.
"Macedonia is neither part of the problem nor part of a solution to this last open issue in the region," he says, adding that closing of this matter must not lead to new destabilization of the region.
"In that respect, the completion of a demarcation of our border with Serbia-Montenegro, on the Kosovo part, before defining of the province's final status is Macedonia's priority," Crvenkovski says.
Source: MIA news agency, Skopje, in English 1416 gmt 30 May 05
Belgrade, 30 May: Kosovo is far from meeting the necessary standards, making the defining of its final status more difficult, Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski says in an interview with Belgrade monthly magazine in English language CorD .
International civil and military presence in Kosovo is needed for longer period of time, Crvenkovski says, adding that for Skopje peace, rule of law and stable institutions in Kosovo are more important than its status.
Preventing the spillover of Kosovo problems to neighbouring countries is even more important, Crvenkovski says.
"Fortunately it has not happened, but we should be extremely cautious. Therefore, I asked the Macedonian Government to introduce reciprocal visa regime and border control, responding to the UNMIK's [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] new measures in this respect," Crvenkovski says, adding that Macedonia must protect itself from the existing criminal groups.
Macedonia approves the model for Belgrade-Pristina-international community talks for finding mutually acceptable solution for Kosovo, Crvenkovski says.
"Macedonia is neither part of the problem nor part of a solution to this last open issue in the region," he says, adding that closing of this matter must not lead to new destabilization of the region.
"In that respect, the completion of a demarcation of our border with Serbia-Montenegro, on the Kosovo part, before defining of the province's final status is Macedonia's priority," Crvenkovski says.
Source: MIA news agency, Skopje, in English 1416 gmt 30 May 05
Macedonian Foreign Ministry rejects media reports on Kosovo border demarcation
Text of report by Skopje-based correspondent Muamer Pajaziti entitled "There is no compromise for demarcation and new border regime" published by the Kosovo Albanian newspaper Koha Ditore on 30 May
Shkup [Skopje]: The Macedonian Foreign Ministry has rejected reports that it has conveyed a request to the international authorities in Prishtina [Pristina] for the Kosovar party to make concessions and agree on demarcation of the northern border before the final status of Kosova [Kosovo] is resolved, if the implementation of the new visa regime begins.
Foreign Minister Dusko Uzunovski said that there is no talk about such developments, which have been discussed by the media.
"All options on relations and open contests with Kosova remain open, and our established position is that the demarcation of the northern border with Kosova should take place before the final status of this neighbouring country is resolved," he told Koha Ditore. He added that he is not aware that requests such as those unveiled by the media have been presented to UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo].
Similar assessments were made by the UN mission in Prishtina. On this occasion, international officials told Koha Ditore that they have not received any such requests from the Macedonian party.
These reactions came after the Macedonian media, relying on sources within the [foreign] ministry, asserted that Macedonia has requested that UNMIK accept the solution for the border if it begins implementing the regulations on the new border regime which, according to the Macedonian media, implies a visa regime.
In the meantime, the Macedonian government will continue to insist on, and lobby diplomatically for, resolving the issue of demarcation of the border with Kosova before the talks on the final status of the neighbouring country begin.
In this regard, NATO and EU officials suggested last month that Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski should temporarily "forget" the border issue which, according to them, is very sensitive and could complicate the situation before the talks on the final status of Kosova.
In a statement on this issue, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn left open the possibility for a solution to be found at a later stage.
However, the official position of the Macedonian government remains unchanged as far as resolving this dispute is concerned. "The Macedonian government has not changed its position on major issues, such as demarcation of the border with Kosova. We believe that this issue is important and must be resolved before the talks on Kosova's final status begin," government spokesperson Saso Colakovski told Koha Ditore.
Over the past few months, Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski undertook a diplomatic offensive to convince the international community and the neighbouring states that this sensitive issue should be resolved. Buckovski took the view that resolution of the border issue is primary for the country, because it will influence the talks about affiliation to NATO and the EU. The governments of Albania and Serbia-Montenegro also supported these objectives of the Macedonian prime minister.
UNMIK's position is already clear - the border should not be resolved now, because definition of the final status should be awaited and the international administration has no mandate for this issue. "We have said that the border should be resolved before the final status is defined, but right now this is impossible," UNMIK spokespersons have said.
Oleg Levitin, UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] media representative in Shkup, has denied reports that a solution to the border dispute must be found before Kosova's final status is defined. According to him, UNMIK has no mandate to discuss this issue.
Source: Koha Ditore, Pristina, in Albanian 30 May 05 p 3
Shkup [Skopje]: The Macedonian Foreign Ministry has rejected reports that it has conveyed a request to the international authorities in Prishtina [Pristina] for the Kosovar party to make concessions and agree on demarcation of the northern border before the final status of Kosova [Kosovo] is resolved, if the implementation of the new visa regime begins.
Foreign Minister Dusko Uzunovski said that there is no talk about such developments, which have been discussed by the media.
"All options on relations and open contests with Kosova remain open, and our established position is that the demarcation of the northern border with Kosova should take place before the final status of this neighbouring country is resolved," he told Koha Ditore. He added that he is not aware that requests such as those unveiled by the media have been presented to UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo].
Similar assessments were made by the UN mission in Prishtina. On this occasion, international officials told Koha Ditore that they have not received any such requests from the Macedonian party.
These reactions came after the Macedonian media, relying on sources within the [foreign] ministry, asserted that Macedonia has requested that UNMIK accept the solution for the border if it begins implementing the regulations on the new border regime which, according to the Macedonian media, implies a visa regime.
In the meantime, the Macedonian government will continue to insist on, and lobby diplomatically for, resolving the issue of demarcation of the border with Kosova before the talks on the final status of the neighbouring country begin.
In this regard, NATO and EU officials suggested last month that Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski should temporarily "forget" the border issue which, according to them, is very sensitive and could complicate the situation before the talks on the final status of Kosova.
In a statement on this issue, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn left open the possibility for a solution to be found at a later stage.
However, the official position of the Macedonian government remains unchanged as far as resolving this dispute is concerned. "The Macedonian government has not changed its position on major issues, such as demarcation of the border with Kosova. We believe that this issue is important and must be resolved before the talks on Kosova's final status begin," government spokesperson Saso Colakovski told Koha Ditore.
Over the past few months, Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski undertook a diplomatic offensive to convince the international community and the neighbouring states that this sensitive issue should be resolved. Buckovski took the view that resolution of the border issue is primary for the country, because it will influence the talks about affiliation to NATO and the EU. The governments of Albania and Serbia-Montenegro also supported these objectives of the Macedonian prime minister.
UNMIK's position is already clear - the border should not be resolved now, because definition of the final status should be awaited and the international administration has no mandate for this issue. "We have said that the border should be resolved before the final status is defined, but right now this is impossible," UNMIK spokespersons have said.
Oleg Levitin, UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] media representative in Shkup, has denied reports that a solution to the border dispute must be found before Kosova's final status is defined. According to him, UNMIK has no mandate to discuss this issue.
Source: Koha Ditore, Pristina, in Albanian 30 May 05 p 3
Deadlock over Serb war suspect
© Copyright 2005. The Observer. All rights reserved.
AN alleged Serbian war criminal who went under the name of 'Mrtvi' (Death) during the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo has been arrested, Interpol confirmed yesterday.
Media reports have linked Nebojsa Minic, 40, to crimes against ethnic Albanians in the city of Pec, where he led a paramilitary squad that reportedly raped, killed and looted its victims, including children, as Nato bombers attacked Serbia in the spring of 1999. His alleged crimes have also been documented by Human Rights Watch, which has been campaigning since 1999 for him to stand trial in Serbia.
Held two weeks ago in Mendoza on charges of carrying fake documents under the alias of Vlada Radiojevic, he is being held in expectation of an extradition request from Serbia, although this may be slow in coming.
'We have no warrant pending for his arrest,' said Argentina's Interpol chief, Luis Fuensalida. 'The only charge against him concerns the fake alias he was living under. We know he has a criminal record in Belgrade for drug and arms trafficking, but there is no request for his capture related to this or on charges of crimes against humanity.'
Minic arrived in Argentina from Chile in September 2003. Since his arrest, he has been in hospital under armed guard, said to be suffering from cancer and undergoing treatment for an Aids-related condition, but he could be released if an extradition order does not arrive. 'There is no reason to keep holding him,' said his lawyer, Alejandra Ruiz. 'I expect him to be released under house arrest.'
According to press reports, Minic was turned in by an Argentinian lover furious at having contracted HIV from the fugitive. 'This woman had been harassing my client with death threats before she revealed his presence to the police,' Ruiz said.
The heavily tattooed Minic at first claimed his name was Vlada Radiojevic. But police sources said that he later confessed to one of his captors: 'I was a much tougher policeman than you are.'
In Kosovo, Minic sported a tattoo on his chest with the Serbian words for 'dead' and 'dead man', but has had it erased, according to sources in Mendoza.
His history as a gangster back to his teenage years, but his name first turned up associated to war crimes during the mass killings in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica in 1995, where Bosnian Serb soldiers murdered more than 7,000 men and boys. Media reports state that Minic was seen escorting truckloads of civilians to mass execution sites.
But the accusation against him by Human Rights Watch involves the killing of the family of a Kosovar Albanian butcher from Pec named Isa Bala in June 1999.
'We are the men with no names. We're probably going to die ourselves, but first we are going to have our fun,' Minic is said to have told Bala, demanding a large sum of money in exchange for sparing his family. Bala handed over his life's savings, but Minic's men murdered four of his children, his niece and his sister-in-law.
AN alleged Serbian war criminal who went under the name of 'Mrtvi' (Death) during the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo has been arrested, Interpol confirmed yesterday.
Media reports have linked Nebojsa Minic, 40, to crimes against ethnic Albanians in the city of Pec, where he led a paramilitary squad that reportedly raped, killed and looted its victims, including children, as Nato bombers attacked Serbia in the spring of 1999. His alleged crimes have also been documented by Human Rights Watch, which has been campaigning since 1999 for him to stand trial in Serbia.
Held two weeks ago in Mendoza on charges of carrying fake documents under the alias of Vlada Radiojevic, he is being held in expectation of an extradition request from Serbia, although this may be slow in coming.
'We have no warrant pending for his arrest,' said Argentina's Interpol chief, Luis Fuensalida. 'The only charge against him concerns the fake alias he was living under. We know he has a criminal record in Belgrade for drug and arms trafficking, but there is no request for his capture related to this or on charges of crimes against humanity.'
Minic arrived in Argentina from Chile in September 2003. Since his arrest, he has been in hospital under armed guard, said to be suffering from cancer and undergoing treatment for an Aids-related condition, but he could be released if an extradition order does not arrive. 'There is no reason to keep holding him,' said his lawyer, Alejandra Ruiz. 'I expect him to be released under house arrest.'
According to press reports, Minic was turned in by an Argentinian lover furious at having contracted HIV from the fugitive. 'This woman had been harassing my client with death threats before she revealed his presence to the police,' Ruiz said.
The heavily tattooed Minic at first claimed his name was Vlada Radiojevic. But police sources said that he later confessed to one of his captors: 'I was a much tougher policeman than you are.'
In Kosovo, Minic sported a tattoo on his chest with the Serbian words for 'dead' and 'dead man', but has had it erased, according to sources in Mendoza.
His history as a gangster back to his teenage years, but his name first turned up associated to war crimes during the mass killings in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica in 1995, where Bosnian Serb soldiers murdered more than 7,000 men and boys. Media reports state that Minic was seen escorting truckloads of civilians to mass execution sites.
But the accusation against him by Human Rights Watch involves the killing of the family of a Kosovar Albanian butcher from Pec named Isa Bala in June 1999.
'We are the men with no names. We're probably going to die ourselves, but first we are going to have our fun,' Minic is said to have told Bala, demanding a large sum of money in exchange for sparing his family. Bala handed over his life's savings, but Minic's men murdered four of his children, his niece and his sister-in-law.
The team that decides (Express)
Express reports that the United Nations will lead negotiations on Kosovo’s final status, but adds the organisation hasn’t made yet the necessary preparations for this process. The paper quotes UN officials as saying that the likeliest version is to appoint a Special Envoy of the Secretary General who would then appoint his team. An agreement has been reached that the envoy will be a European, and his team will consist of representatives of the Contact Group.
As far as negotiations on final status are concerned, the paper says that the prevailing opinion in the UN and the Contact Group is that shuttle diplomacy will be used in this case instead of a conference like the one in Dayton or Rambouillet.
The most often mentioned diplomat for the post of envoy for talks is former Finnish President Marti Ahtisaari. The paper carries a picture of Ahtisaari riding a bike.
As far as negotiations on final status are concerned, the paper says that the prevailing opinion in the UN and the Contact Group is that shuttle diplomacy will be used in this case instead of a conference like the one in Dayton or Rambouillet.
The most often mentioned diplomat for the post of envoy for talks is former Finnish President Marti Ahtisaari. The paper carries a picture of Ahtisaari riding a bike.
What to expect from Kai Eide’s report on Standards?
Zëri quotes diplomatic sources in Pristina as saying on the front page that Kosovo politicians are wrong if they think that Eide is prone to give a positive mark to Kosovars on Standards implementation.
In his last report after last year’s March riots he had focused on failures of the international community, especially of UNMIK, and had made suggestions for a way out from the stalemate.
This time Eide will entirely focus on results of the local factors in implementing the Standards. It will be a political report and will reflect achievements and failures of Kosovars in accomplishing the detailed Standards Implementation Plan.
In his last report after last year’s March riots he had focused on failures of the international community, especially of UNMIK, and had made suggestions for a way out from the stalemate.
This time Eide will entirely focus on results of the local factors in implementing the Standards. It will be a political report and will reflect achievements and failures of Kosovars in accomplishing the detailed Standards Implementation Plan.
Switzerland pro Kosovo’s independence - Koha Ditore
The paper reports that Swiss Ambassador to UN Peter Maurer was clearer than all other speakers during the session of SC in New York. ‘Return of Kosovo under Serb sovereignty is neither desirable nor realistic. Formal independence for Kosovo should be done under strong supervision of international community’, Maurer is quoted as saying.
Government promises to accelerate Standards implementation
Koha Ditore reports on the front page that after the positive signal from the UN Security Council, the Kosovo Government has decided to step up the implementation of standards by not changing its strategy. The paper notes that the government however doesn’t have a plan B in case the assessment of standards is negative.
On the other hand, the opposition believes in the good will of the government but is sceptical of its organisational and managing capacities. The opposition also believes there has been serious delay since the departure of former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj.
On the other hand, the opposition believes in the good will of the government but is sceptical of its organisational and managing capacities. The opposition also believes there has been serious delay since the departure of former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Luan Krasniqi KO's Lance Whitaker to earn world title shot
28.05.05 – By F.Weber - Boxing.de - Luan Krasniqi passed his most important test and scored the biggest win of his professional boxing career. In front of 5,000 enthusiastic fans at Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle of Stuttgart the 34-year-old heavyweight top-contender knocked out American Lance Whitaker in round six with a left cross to the head.
As the contest was declared as an official WBO eliminator, Krasniqi has now earned a world title shot at champion Lamon Brewster, a contest that will take place this year. Universum Box-Promotion already has an eye on the huge Color Line Arena of Hamburg and on September 28 as possible a date and site. September 28 was the birthday of German boxing hero Max Schmeling who passed away this year at age 99.
"I met Schmeling in 2002 and promised him to win the heavyweight world title for Germany", Krasniqi said after his biggest win so far. "Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough to accomplish this during his lifetime. Now I hope that I can challenge for the title later this year."
Expectations were high on Krasniqi when he entered the ring in front of his home croud in Stuttgart, a city close to his smaller hometown Rottweil, but he outboxed his ten centimeter taller and 13 kg heavier opponent Whitaker from the beginning and systematically worked out the chance for the knockout punch.
"I fought a very smart fight", Krasniqi said. "I used my feet and reflexes and I quickly moved in and out. I also used my jab all the time and listened to the commands of my coach Torsten Schmitz. Everything worked out well and this makes me so happy. Now I'm ready for the showdown and I want to fight Lamon Brewster for the world title."
"I trained very hard and my team gave me a lot of support. But it just showed that Luan was the better man tonight. I have no excuses", Whitaker admitted honestly.
Krasniqi won for the 28th time in a career that saw him losing only once with another fight resulting in draw. Earlier in his career Krasniqi already avenged his single loss to Przemyslaw Saleta in convincing manner.
His defeat to Krasniqi was the third loss for Lance “Mount” Whitaker who remained on the canvas flat on his back for almost a minute after the German knocked him out.
In the days preceeding the event the athmosphere was tense. Team Whitaker and their highly provocative speaker Steve “Crocodile” Fitch predicted on every possible location that the American would knock out the German in three rounds. At the official weigh-in on the previous day in Stuttgart the tension erupted into a riot on the podium. Krasniqi, however, handled all those psychological gibes very composed.
His upcoming opponent Lamon Brewster won the WBO belt on April 10, 2004, with an unexpected and sensational fifth round knockout over Wladimir Klitschko. Since then he defended his title twice: Against Australian Kali Meehan by a split decision and against Polish Andrew Golota with a first round knockout.
Should Krasniqi manage to defeat Brewster he would become the only heavyweight world champion from Germany beside Max Schmeling (1905 – 2005). The experts will probably give Krasniqi solid chances to succeed.
As the contest was declared as an official WBO eliminator, Krasniqi has now earned a world title shot at champion Lamon Brewster, a contest that will take place this year. Universum Box-Promotion already has an eye on the huge Color Line Arena of Hamburg and on September 28 as possible a date and site. September 28 was the birthday of German boxing hero Max Schmeling who passed away this year at age 99.
"I met Schmeling in 2002 and promised him to win the heavyweight world title for Germany", Krasniqi said after his biggest win so far. "Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough to accomplish this during his lifetime. Now I hope that I can challenge for the title later this year."
Expectations were high on Krasniqi when he entered the ring in front of his home croud in Stuttgart, a city close to his smaller hometown Rottweil, but he outboxed his ten centimeter taller and 13 kg heavier opponent Whitaker from the beginning and systematically worked out the chance for the knockout punch.
"I fought a very smart fight", Krasniqi said. "I used my feet and reflexes and I quickly moved in and out. I also used my jab all the time and listened to the commands of my coach Torsten Schmitz. Everything worked out well and this makes me so happy. Now I'm ready for the showdown and I want to fight Lamon Brewster for the world title."
"I trained very hard and my team gave me a lot of support. But it just showed that Luan was the better man tonight. I have no excuses", Whitaker admitted honestly.
Krasniqi won for the 28th time in a career that saw him losing only once with another fight resulting in draw. Earlier in his career Krasniqi already avenged his single loss to Przemyslaw Saleta in convincing manner.
His defeat to Krasniqi was the third loss for Lance “Mount” Whitaker who remained on the canvas flat on his back for almost a minute after the German knocked him out.
In the days preceeding the event the athmosphere was tense. Team Whitaker and their highly provocative speaker Steve “Crocodile” Fitch predicted on every possible location that the American would knock out the German in three rounds. At the official weigh-in on the previous day in Stuttgart the tension erupted into a riot on the podium. Krasniqi, however, handled all those psychological gibes very composed.
His upcoming opponent Lamon Brewster won the WBO belt on April 10, 2004, with an unexpected and sensational fifth round knockout over Wladimir Klitschko. Since then he defended his title twice: Against Australian Kali Meehan by a split decision and against Polish Andrew Golota with a first round knockout.
Should Krasniqi manage to defeat Brewster he would become the only heavyweight world champion from Germany beside Max Schmeling (1905 – 2005). The experts will probably give Krasniqi solid chances to succeed.
Kosovo faces renewed war - Tim Judah
Serbs want a new European role but old problems haunt them, reports Tim Judah
Sunday May 29, 2005
The Observer
With all eyes on France and the future of Europe, the fate of Kosovo might seem piffling, but no one is going to die in France as the result of its referendum. As for Kosovo, well, in 1999 we did fight a war over it and yet, when the UN Security Council on Friday gave the green light to a process that could result in its independence - or in another war - nobody noticed.
The council's decision is of momentous importance. The big powers - Britain, the US and France, dragging a reluctant Russia behind them - have decided that, six years after the end of the Kosovo war, the status quo itself has become a threat to stability.
Kosovo - for Serbs, the cradle of their civilisation, home to some of the most important Serbian historic sites - is now a land where more than 90 per cent of the population is ethnic Albanian. Technically it is part of Serbia, but it has been a UN protectorate since the war ended. Kosovo's Albanians desire independence and if Kosovo is forced back to Serbian rule no one doubts they will go back to war.
In March 2004, 19 died and 4,000 Serbs and Roma were 'ethnically cleansed' when Albanians rioted. Diplomats and policymakers realised something had to be done. On Friday that work began.
The UN has asked Kosovo to live up to a series of eight standards, including human rights. Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, will send a representative to assess the situation and in September, assuming a favourable report, a 'status envoy' will be appointed to discuss the 'final status' of the province.
According to sources this process will last up to nine months and, assuming Serbs and Albanians cannot agree on whether Kosovo should be independent or not, a Security Council solution might be imposed. It might be some form of what is called 'conditional independence'. That is to say, a figure with considerable legal powers, such as those held by Lord Ashdown in Bosnia, might be appointed with reserve powers to, for example, sack politicians deemed to be corrupt.
Here in Belgrade, it seems that the city is out enjoying the summer sun. For years, Serbs have wanted nothing less than for their country to be a normal part of Europe again. And things have been going their way. Last weekend the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development held its annual meeting here, and this weekend Serbia is holding its first Erotic Fair.
But Kosovo haunts them. On Friday Serbia handed over to Kosovo the remains of 64 Albanians, along with those of 709 others, in the Batajnica Ministry of Interior base, near Belgrade, where they were buried by the Milosevic regime during the war.
Vojislav Kostunica, the Serbian Prime Minister, and President Boris Tadic both say Kosovo is Serbian land and cannot have independence, only 'more than autonomy'. At first glance you might suspect that these were gambits in the negotiations. But they are not. Both men genuinely believe that Kosovo's two million Albanians can be persuaded by the international community to give up their dream of independence. But this is a fantasy and it is unlikely Russia will come to their rescue.
Serbians warn that, if Kosovo is given independence against their will, then extreme nationalists will come to power and plunge the region into chaos.
But Kosovo Albanians say the same. Without independence, they say, the radicals will begin an intifada, 'cleanse' the remaining Serb population and spread war into Serbia and Macedonia.
There is no easy answer for Kosovo. But one thing is sure. If nothing is done, the violence will be back and then British, French, Italian and US troops stationed there will come into the firing line and the UN mission could collapse.
Supporters of the European constitution remind us that the EU was born to end war. Across Kosovo, which has little prospect of entering the EU until at least 2014, they already use the euro and the European flag flies everywhere. They believe in it. Let's hope they're not wrong.
Sunday May 29, 2005
The Observer
With all eyes on France and the future of Europe, the fate of Kosovo might seem piffling, but no one is going to die in France as the result of its referendum. As for Kosovo, well, in 1999 we did fight a war over it and yet, when the UN Security Council on Friday gave the green light to a process that could result in its independence - or in another war - nobody noticed.
The council's decision is of momentous importance. The big powers - Britain, the US and France, dragging a reluctant Russia behind them - have decided that, six years after the end of the Kosovo war, the status quo itself has become a threat to stability.
Kosovo - for Serbs, the cradle of their civilisation, home to some of the most important Serbian historic sites - is now a land where more than 90 per cent of the population is ethnic Albanian. Technically it is part of Serbia, but it has been a UN protectorate since the war ended. Kosovo's Albanians desire independence and if Kosovo is forced back to Serbian rule no one doubts they will go back to war.
In March 2004, 19 died and 4,000 Serbs and Roma were 'ethnically cleansed' when Albanians rioted. Diplomats and policymakers realised something had to be done. On Friday that work began.
The UN has asked Kosovo to live up to a series of eight standards, including human rights. Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, will send a representative to assess the situation and in September, assuming a favourable report, a 'status envoy' will be appointed to discuss the 'final status' of the province.
According to sources this process will last up to nine months and, assuming Serbs and Albanians cannot agree on whether Kosovo should be independent or not, a Security Council solution might be imposed. It might be some form of what is called 'conditional independence'. That is to say, a figure with considerable legal powers, such as those held by Lord Ashdown in Bosnia, might be appointed with reserve powers to, for example, sack politicians deemed to be corrupt.
Here in Belgrade, it seems that the city is out enjoying the summer sun. For years, Serbs have wanted nothing less than for their country to be a normal part of Europe again. And things have been going their way. Last weekend the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development held its annual meeting here, and this weekend Serbia is holding its first Erotic Fair.
But Kosovo haunts them. On Friday Serbia handed over to Kosovo the remains of 64 Albanians, along with those of 709 others, in the Batajnica Ministry of Interior base, near Belgrade, where they were buried by the Milosevic regime during the war.
Vojislav Kostunica, the Serbian Prime Minister, and President Boris Tadic both say Kosovo is Serbian land and cannot have independence, only 'more than autonomy'. At first glance you might suspect that these were gambits in the negotiations. But they are not. Both men genuinely believe that Kosovo's two million Albanians can be persuaded by the international community to give up their dream of independence. But this is a fantasy and it is unlikely Russia will come to their rescue.
Serbians warn that, if Kosovo is given independence against their will, then extreme nationalists will come to power and plunge the region into chaos.
But Kosovo Albanians say the same. Without independence, they say, the radicals will begin an intifada, 'cleanse' the remaining Serb population and spread war into Serbia and Macedonia.
There is no easy answer for Kosovo. But one thing is sure. If nothing is done, the violence will be back and then British, French, Italian and US troops stationed there will come into the firing line and the UN mission could collapse.
Supporters of the European constitution remind us that the EU was born to end war. Across Kosovo, which has little prospect of entering the EU until at least 2014, they already use the euro and the European flag flies everywhere. They believe in it. Let's hope they're not wrong.
Krasniqi KOs Whitaker!
Saturday, May 28 2005
Former European champ Luan Krasniqi comprehensively outboxed Lance 'Mount' Whitaker and eventually stopped him in round six moments ago to become the mandatory challenger to WBO heavy champ Lamon Brewster. Whitaker was down after a straight right hand to the chin and was not able to beat the count. More details to follow.
Former European champ Luan Krasniqi comprehensively outboxed Lance 'Mount' Whitaker and eventually stopped him in round six moments ago to become the mandatory challenger to WBO heavy champ Lamon Brewster. Whitaker was down after a straight right hand to the chin and was not able to beat the count. More details to follow.
Serbia-Montenegro's president praises "balanced" U.N. debate on Kosovo
BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) - Serbia-Montenengro's president on Saturday praised what he termed a "balanced" debate at the U.N. Security Council on the situation in Kosovo.
Svetozar Marovic said he was "pleased" the Serbia-Montenegro delegation at Friday's session insisted that Kosovo remain part of Serbia.
"I am especially pleased that the Serbia-Montenegro delegation stressed ... that sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia-Montenegro must be respected," Marovic said in a statement.
Belgrade officials insist that Kosovo, which has been an international protectorate for more than five years, must remain part of Serbia despite an overwhelming pro-independence drive by its ethnic Albanian majority.
The United Nations has run Kosovo since 1999, when a NATO air war ended a Serb crackdown against separatist ethnic Albanians and forced Belgrade to relinquish control over its southern territory.
The Friday Security Council debate was designed to review the situation in Kosovo ahead of possible talks later this year on the province's final status.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report to the council Thursday that the United Nations will review Kosovo's progress toward achieving standards for democracy this summer, a key first step to the status discussion.
The U.N. administrator of Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen, said at the Security Council session that substantial progress has been made in developing tolerance and democracy in Kosovo. Serbian officials, however, claimed that Kosovo's human rights record remains poor.
More than 200,000 Serbs and other non-Albanians have fled Kosovo since Belgrade lost control over the province in 1999. Those who stayed behind lack freedom of movement and face harassment by extremist ethnic Albanians, Serbian officials allege.
Svetozar Marovic said he was "pleased" the Serbia-Montenegro delegation at Friday's session insisted that Kosovo remain part of Serbia.
"I am especially pleased that the Serbia-Montenegro delegation stressed ... that sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia-Montenegro must be respected," Marovic said in a statement.
Belgrade officials insist that Kosovo, which has been an international protectorate for more than five years, must remain part of Serbia despite an overwhelming pro-independence drive by its ethnic Albanian majority.
The United Nations has run Kosovo since 1999, when a NATO air war ended a Serb crackdown against separatist ethnic Albanians and forced Belgrade to relinquish control over its southern territory.
The Friday Security Council debate was designed to review the situation in Kosovo ahead of possible talks later this year on the province's final status.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report to the council Thursday that the United Nations will review Kosovo's progress toward achieving standards for democracy this summer, a key first step to the status discussion.
The U.N. administrator of Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen, said at the Security Council session that substantial progress has been made in developing tolerance and democracy in Kosovo. Serbian officials, however, claimed that Kosovo's human rights record remains poor.
More than 200,000 Serbs and other non-Albanians have fled Kosovo since Belgrade lost control over the province in 1999. Those who stayed behind lack freedom of movement and face harassment by extremist ethnic Albanians, Serbian officials allege.
Lord of Standards (Express/Koha Ditore)
‘The 20 months of Kosovo are in his hands. The months of standards. If he says yes, talks on Kosovo’s final status will start in autumn this year’. This is how Express daily newspaper refers to Norwegian Ambassador to NATO Kai Eide, who according to the paper on Tuesday will be appointed special envoy for the comprehensive review of standards implementation.
The paper quotes a spokesman of the United Nations as saying that the appointment of the special envoy is expected to happen on Tuesday.
‘I don’t know if I will be the man to assess the standards. I have heard about this, but I cannot comment on it,’ Eide told Express on Friday.
The paper notes that Kosovans have good experience with Eide’s reports, because his report in August 2004 resulted in a different approach by the UN in Kosovo.
Koha Ditore quotes an unnamed senior NATO official as saying that USG Annan will appoint Eide to the post.
According to Express, the United Nations will also appoint another envoy for negotiations. ‘I can tell you that the person who will assess the standards will not be the one that will lead status negotiations,’ said UNMIK chief Søren Jessen-Petersen. UN officials, the paper says, admit that one of the likeliest candidates to get this post is former Finnish President Marti Ahtisaari.
The paper quotes a spokesman of the United Nations as saying that the appointment of the special envoy is expected to happen on Tuesday.
‘I don’t know if I will be the man to assess the standards. I have heard about this, but I cannot comment on it,’ Eide told Express on Friday.
The paper notes that Kosovans have good experience with Eide’s reports, because his report in August 2004 resulted in a different approach by the UN in Kosovo.
Koha Ditore quotes an unnamed senior NATO official as saying that USG Annan will appoint Eide to the post.
According to Express, the United Nations will also appoint another envoy for negotiations. ‘I can tell you that the person who will assess the standards will not be the one that will lead status negotiations,’ said UNMIK chief Søren Jessen-Petersen. UN officials, the paper says, admit that one of the likeliest candidates to get this post is former Finnish President Marti Ahtisaari.
Friday, May 27, 2005
UN and Serbian Representatives Clash Over Report on Kosovo
Disagreement surfaced Friday in advance of Kosovo's progress in moving toward a stable, multi-ethnic society as a condition for determining the province's final political status.
The head of the U.N. Mission to Kosovo, Soeren Jessen-Petersen offered positive signs of increased dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on energy, missing persons and transportation issues. He said Kosovo has taken major steps to improve life for ethnic minorities, including new judges representing minority communities and he noted increased trust in the police and more freedom of movement.
But he said Kosovo's majority Albanians must show the same respect for minorities that European states accord minorities. And he said Belgrade must encourage Kosovo Serbs to participate in the process to ensure that their rights are protected.
"I think there was a clear message here: continue your good work, continue your hard work. If you work even harder, you will get there. But now it is very much in the hands of the Kosovo Albanians. They know what they have to do. The agenda is clear and I must say I count on the Kosovo leaders to do that and I count on the Kosovo Serbs and Belgrade to make sure that the Kosovo Serbs will be part of that process. That is very important," he said.
The United Nations has established a checklist of eight norms of democratic society which Kosovo must meet before any discussions on the province's final status.
The head of Belgrade's Kosovo Coordination Center, Nebojosa Covic, said Serbia and Montenegro support the comprehensive review Secretary-General Kofi Annan has initiated because it will show a far different reality than the one presented in Mr. Jesson-Peterson's report.
"Serbs are not against participation, but please do not ask them to participate in something which is not based on basic principle, an unprincipled approach that leads to the independence of Kosovo. Once they become free of fear and frustrations they are experiencing, for them it will be much easier and for Belgrade authorities to encourage them toward participation," he said.
Mr. Covic said an independent Kosovo is not a sustainable or democratic option and would destabilize the region.
The head of the U.N. Mission to Kosovo, Soeren Jessen-Petersen offered positive signs of increased dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on energy, missing persons and transportation issues. He said Kosovo has taken major steps to improve life for ethnic minorities, including new judges representing minority communities and he noted increased trust in the police and more freedom of movement.
But he said Kosovo's majority Albanians must show the same respect for minorities that European states accord minorities. And he said Belgrade must encourage Kosovo Serbs to participate in the process to ensure that their rights are protected.
"I think there was a clear message here: continue your good work, continue your hard work. If you work even harder, you will get there. But now it is very much in the hands of the Kosovo Albanians. They know what they have to do. The agenda is clear and I must say I count on the Kosovo leaders to do that and I count on the Kosovo Serbs and Belgrade to make sure that the Kosovo Serbs will be part of that process. That is very important," he said.
The United Nations has established a checklist of eight norms of democratic society which Kosovo must meet before any discussions on the province's final status.
The head of Belgrade's Kosovo Coordination Center, Nebojosa Covic, said Serbia and Montenegro support the comprehensive review Secretary-General Kofi Annan has initiated because it will show a far different reality than the one presented in Mr. Jesson-Peterson's report.
"Serbs are not against participation, but please do not ask them to participate in something which is not based on basic principle, an unprincipled approach that leads to the independence of Kosovo. Once they become free of fear and frustrations they are experiencing, for them it will be much easier and for Belgrade authorities to encourage them toward participation," he said.
Mr. Covic said an independent Kosovo is not a sustainable or democratic option and would destabilize the region.
U.N. will review Kosovo's progress on democracy and multiethnicity this summer
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Kosovo's U.N. administrator told the U.N. Security Council Friday that resolving the future status of the province will benefit its economy and lead to greater freedom of movement and progress on the return of minority Serbs.
Soren Jessen-Petersen said it is vital that Kosovo be integrated into the European Union and that resolving its status will also have "real regional benefits."
Kosovo is legally part of Serbia-Montenegro, the union that replaced Yugoslavia. But it has been under U.N. and NATO control since a 78-day NATO-led air war halted a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in 1999. It is governed by a Security Council resolution which leaves its political status undetermined.
The ethnic Albanian majority wants independence for Kosovo, while the Serb minority seeks to remain part of Serbia-Montenegro.
In a report to the council Thursday, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the United Nations will review Kosovo's progress toward achieving standards for democracy and multiethnicity this summer, a key first step to a possible discussion of its future status.
He welcomed the "concrete steps forward" in achieving the standards but stressed that none of the standards has been achieved and warned that the outcome of the review "is not a foregone conclusion."
International officials have conditioned talks on the province's future status with progress on eight standards including establishing functioning democratic institutions, protecting minorities, promoting economic development, and ensuring rule of law, freedom of movement and property rights.
Jessen-Petersen told the council that "according to realistic and fact-based criteria, Kosovo has seen steady further improvement" on meeting the standards in the past three months.
"We are pursuing the shortcomings on a daily basis," he said.
The pace of further progress, he said, depends on the willingness of the ethnic Albanian majority "to continue to make efforts to create a multiethnic and democratic Kosovo."
"This willingness does exist, despite the recent, painful conflict, and we must and will continue to support those who display it," Jessen-Petersen said.
Progress also depends on the degree of participation of minority Kosovo Serbs in Kosovo's government, he said.
Jessen-Petersen again urged the government of Serbia-Montenegro in Belgrade to support their participation.
"I am concerned that there is still -- after more than 15 months -- no clear signal from Belgrade to the Kosovo Serbs to participate in the institutions," he said. "Dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, although welcome and important, cannot substitute for the direct involvement of the Kosovo Servs in shaping their own future in an internal dialogue in Kosovo."
Resolving Kosovo's status will also have a positive impact, Jessen-Petersen said.
"With a resolution to the status issue, and therefore an end to the uncertainty, I am confident that we will see much more significant results on issues such as returns, freedom of movement and the economy," he said. "Status resolution will also have real regional benefits, including for regional dialogue and trade."
Soren Jessen-Petersen said it is vital that Kosovo be integrated into the European Union and that resolving its status will also have "real regional benefits."
Kosovo is legally part of Serbia-Montenegro, the union that replaced Yugoslavia. But it has been under U.N. and NATO control since a 78-day NATO-led air war halted a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in 1999. It is governed by a Security Council resolution which leaves its political status undetermined.
The ethnic Albanian majority wants independence for Kosovo, while the Serb minority seeks to remain part of Serbia-Montenegro.
In a report to the council Thursday, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the United Nations will review Kosovo's progress toward achieving standards for democracy and multiethnicity this summer, a key first step to a possible discussion of its future status.
He welcomed the "concrete steps forward" in achieving the standards but stressed that none of the standards has been achieved and warned that the outcome of the review "is not a foregone conclusion."
International officials have conditioned talks on the province's future status with progress on eight standards including establishing functioning democratic institutions, protecting minorities, promoting economic development, and ensuring rule of law, freedom of movement and property rights.
Jessen-Petersen told the council that "according to realistic and fact-based criteria, Kosovo has seen steady further improvement" on meeting the standards in the past three months.
"We are pursuing the shortcomings on a daily basis," he said.
The pace of further progress, he said, depends on the willingness of the ethnic Albanian majority "to continue to make efforts to create a multiethnic and democratic Kosovo."
"This willingness does exist, despite the recent, painful conflict, and we must and will continue to support those who display it," Jessen-Petersen said.
Progress also depends on the degree of participation of minority Kosovo Serbs in Kosovo's government, he said.
Jessen-Petersen again urged the government of Serbia-Montenegro in Belgrade to support their participation.
"I am concerned that there is still -- after more than 15 months -- no clear signal from Belgrade to the Kosovo Serbs to participate in the institutions," he said. "Dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, although welcome and important, cannot substitute for the direct involvement of the Kosovo Servs in shaping their own future in an internal dialogue in Kosovo."
Resolving Kosovo's status will also have a positive impact, Jessen-Petersen said.
"With a resolution to the status issue, and therefore an end to the uncertainty, I am confident that we will see much more significant results on issues such as returns, freedom of movement and the economy," he said. "Status resolution will also have real regional benefits, including for regional dialogue and trade."
SRSG address to the United Nations Security Council
PRISTINA_ SRSG Søren Jessen-Petersen has just finished addressing the UN Security Council at the start of the UNSC’s session on Kosovo at UN Headquarters in New York. This is the text of his address:
“ Mr President,
Let me begin by congratulating you as the President of the Council. You will appreciate my particular pleasure in seeing Denmark in the chair. I also want to thank you personally for honouring us with your presence today.
The three month period since my last appearance before the Security Council has been a challenging one. The progress made – and let there be no doubt that there has been progress – must be seen in the context of the challenges that Kosovo has faced.
In particular, March 2005 saw some very difficult moments. The Government formed in December 2004 made good progress through its first 100 days, and the momentum was considerable. However, in early March, a few days after my last report to this Council, that Government came to an end when Prime Minister Haradinaj resigned following notification of an imminent indictment from the ICTY. Within 24 hours following his indictment and after appealing for calm and for a continuation of progress in building a democratic society, Mr Haradinaj proceeded voluntarily to The Hague.
During those days, Kosovo showed the region and the world a commendable respect for the judicial process. Democracy was respected, and a new Government – continuing the coalition of the two parties, LDK and AAK, and under the leadership of Bajram Kosumi as Prime Minister– was formed within three weeks. Throughout those difficult days and weeks, the political leaders and citizens of Kosovo managed a highly unusual situation with maturity and without any disorder or instability.
In particular, standards implementation stayed on track. The brief delay around the time of the formation of the Government was quickly overcome. The new Government showed the same commitment to moving forward on standards and made continued progress on its programme during the months of April and May.
As in most new democracies – and let us remember that democracy in Kosovo is only a few years old – there is political tension. For the first time in its recent history, Kosovo has a strong opposition, under the leadership of Hashim Thaci and Veton Surroi, which, as everywhere, is critical of the work of the Government, while in agreement on the overall goals for Kosovo.
In order to manage any tensions more constructively, and in view of the critical period ahead for Kosovo and the significant political issues coming up, I decided to propose bringing political party leaders and the President of Kosovo together in a ‘Forum’. The purpose of this Forum is to enhance constructive dialogue and ensure maximum possible consensus on critical and crucial issues, without substituting for constitutional fora. My proposal has met with agreement and I will convene the first meeting of the Kosovo Forum next week.
Mr President,
I am glad to report some positive developments on dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. The first meetings of Direct Dialogue since March 2004 resumed one year later, beginning with the Working Group on Missing Persons on the 16th March. This was followed by meetings in April and May on the key issues of Energy and Returns of Displaced Persons. These Working Group meetings will take place on a regular basis in Belgrade and Pristina and are supported by intermediate technical meetings to work on substantive issues. This dialogue not only serves to make progress on the specific issues, which range from humanitarian to economic, but it is an important sign of building confidence – crucial as we move closer towards status discussions.
We need to continue encouraging political dialogue. I welcome the fact that Pristina and Belgrade have now expressed their readiness to engage in high-level political dialogue. It is vital that political leaders begin to talk with each other sooner rather than later. Pristina and Belgrade have every mutual interest in co-existing and interacting peacefully and constructively.
Over the past months, we have witnessed greater engagement and dialogue with the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Church and the PISG signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 25 March to allow for the reconstruction of Serbian Orthodox religious sites; this followed a lengthy delay due to talks within the Church on how to proceed. The PISG had already allocated 4.2 million euros last year, and is now actively considering to earmark an additional 1.5 million for reconstruction of Serbian Orthodox religious sites that were damaged during March 2004 violence.
It is obvious that long term preservation of cultural heritage in Kosovo (which includes Serbian Orthodox, Ottoman/Islamic, Catholic and vernacular sites) must be an increasing priority in the coming months. In this context I would like to mention the successful International Donors Conference for the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage of all communities in Kosovo, held two weeks ago in UNESCO in Paris with the support of that organisation, the EU, the Council of Europe, and others. Participants at the meeting pledged some 10 million euros and technical assistance in a clear expression of support for the cultural heritage in Kosovo. A technical mission to restore a church in Prizren, supported by UNESCO, took place just a few weeks ago, and more will now follow.
However, the news is not all good. Despite recent encouraging developments on dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, I am concerned that there is still – after more than 15 months –no clear signal from Belgrade to the Kosovo Serbs to participate in the institutions. Dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, although welcome and important, cannot substitute for the direct involvement of the Kosovo Serbs in shaping their own future in an internal dialogue in Kosovo.
Progress in Kosovo will continue, even without the meaningful participation of the Kosovo Serbs, but progress in establishing a fully multi-ethnic Kosovo and integrating all communities will remain limited as long as one ethnic group is pressured to stay outside the political, economic, and social processes. The fault for this obstacle towards progress does not lie in Pristina. The victims, however, are the Kosovo Serbs who are eager to participate at this crucial moment of time. Those who oppose progress can always find some reason to defer allowing participation, but the recent trends have proven that bolder engagement can actually foster real progress for the benefit of all. Belgrade, in my view, would help the Kosovo Serb community, and itself, by moving from reticence and delay to commitment and engagement.
Mr President,
Standards remains the roadmap for the short term but also for the long term. It is a way of building and strengthening democracy and a multi-ethnic society, and also a way for Kosovo to move progressively towards EU integration.
We have seen a continued strong commitment by the PISG during the reporting period. The structures working on standards implementation have shown themselves to be solid and durable. While we recognise that there is still much to do, the trends in a number of areas have been positive, and this is reflected in my technical assessment annexed to the SG report before the Council. We feel that the authorities, and increasingly the citizens, have understood the need to implement standards, and have made efforts to reach out to the minorities.
Mr President, let me say a few words on some specific issues.
Decentralisation, or local government reform, is not a standard as such, but it is an important process. Decentralisation will benefit the population as a whole, as it will bring services closer to the citizens, and it will also help to meet minority concerns.
After some hesitation following its formation, the Government has acted. A Steering Board and five Working Groups have been established and are convening, including two held this week on legislation and on pilot projects, which are to be established shortly. The Kosovo Serbs were invited to, and did participate in these meetings, thus having the opportunity to shape the process. I would also add that Belgrade was invited to join the Kosovo Serb delegation and that we were of course flexible on the modalities, but again failed to do so. Regrettably, the post of Deputy Minister for Local Government Administration, reserved for a Kosovo Serb, still remains vacant. As we push for further progress on decentralisation, I believe that the recent Contact Group agreement on the principle of ‘no partition’ of Kosovo does send a clear signal that the majority community has no reason to fear that meaningful decentralisation would be a cover for division. On the contrary, if well conceived and implemented, it should eventually promote co-existence around the efficient sharing of local capacities and resources.
I would add that we are currently looking at a number of initiatives that could be carried out prior to full-scale decentralisation and that could empower municipalities, for example in the field of policing and administration of justice.
Mr President,
Security has further improved and this is key, as it is a basis for progress in all areas. I want again to pay tribute to the Commander of KFOR and his forces, whose excellent work and close co-ordination with UNMIK and KPS is playing a key role in maintaining a safe and secure environment. The environment has indeed been generally calm during the reporting period, with only a few incidents of note. In particular, very little occurred in the way of inter-ethnic incidents. Unfortunately, the Commander of KFOR and I are concerned, and we have repeatedly said so, that – partly due to deliberate misinformation – perception of security remains a problem and leads to mainly self-imposed limits on freedom of movement. There is a tendency in some media to generalise and to misrepresent every incident involving Kosovo Serbs. Before the police investigation has even begun, some journalists – and some politicians – already pronounce an event as being ethnically motivated, thus feeding the fears of the Kosovo Serb community, including IDPs. In most cases we find, after professional and thorough investigations, that such assertions have no foundations.
There are also assertions that perpetrators are not sentenced – this is simply also misinformation. As a recent example, six Kosovo Albanians were found guilty of murder of two Kosovo Serbs in March 2004, and sentenced to a total of 38 years just last week by the Gjilan/Gnjilane Disrict Court. It is also worth noting that Serbian cabinet ministers, in recent meetings with senior UNMIK officials, have indicated that trust in the KPS on the part of the Kosovo Serb population has indeed increased. The KPS, as you may be aware, has a minority component of about 16%, and Kosovo Serbs make up about 10% of KPS numbers. I might add another example of progress: of 29 lay judges sworn in at the end of April, 16 were minority community members, of which 13 were Kosovo Serbs.
There are signs, and also evidence, of increased freedom of movement by Kosovo Serbs, although there are still too many who do not feel free to move. As a sign of the improving environment, there has been a reduction of escorts and of military and police presence at specific sites or locations. As a most recent example, at the beginning of this month, the first Serbian play since the end of the conflict was held at Kosovo’s main theatre in Pristina, and was prepared and performed by Serbs with large Serb attendance.
The number of returns is still disappointingly low. PISG, UNMIK, and UNHCR continue to work hard on improving conditions for returns, so that displaced persons can return to Kosovo if they so choose. I have recently met with IDPs in Serbia and returnees in Kosovo, and can report to you, Mr President, that their main concern is not primarily security; rather, they are concerned by property issues and by the lack of economic prospects.
There has been some qualitative progress in returns, as for example the first urban returns to Klina. My visits to returnees in several areas, including Bablyak and Brestovik, have convinced me that conditions are present to allow tomorrow’s returns to take place, and that positive encouragement by responsible politicians, both in Pristina and in Belgrade, can convince more displaced persons to return to Kosovo.
There have been increased efforts on the part of the Kosovo Government on returns. This includes personal appeals by the Prime Minister to potential returnees, and visits to Podgorica and to Skopje by the Minister of Returns – himself a Serb – and the Minister of Local Government Administration. These visits have resulted in better understanding and improved regional co-operation, as well as agreements with regional partners, as for example a recent Protocol on returns with Montenegro.
The Working Group on Returns, held on 12 May between Pristina and Belgrade under the chairmanship of UNHCR, was a successful first meeting and will continue. In a very positive development, the respective heads of delegations from Pristina and Belgrade met in Pristina to discuss issues of substance in a productive bilateral working meeting.
As regards functioning democratic institutions, I can report that the rapid formation of the new Government in March showed continued evidence of a stable political situation. The Assembly of Kosovo has lately shown itself to be a more transparent and democratic place for debate according to the established rules; the recent debate, 5-6 days ago, on decentralisation was a step forward. I and colleagues from the OSCE will continue to provide assistance and advice to the Assembly Presidency to ensure that this key institution functions democratically, as I trust it will.
We are rigorously stressing the need for local ownership, and the policy of transfer of competences to the PISG has continued. We are at this point carefully looking at transfer in police and justice areas, where we can transfer competencies short of sovereignty in order to ensure that the local authorities assume maximum responsibility and accountability, also in the area of security.
Mr President
We have continued to support the PISG’s efforts to co-ordinate and strengthen institutional capacity building. The PM has given full political backing to a PISG initiative, supported by UNMIK and the international community, to draw up a strategic plan in order to guide assistance and help focus on priorities. It is expected that the strategic plan will be developed by the summer and will serve as a basis for better targeting and co-ordinating donor efforts so that we can build up the institutions that Kosovoso needs. It is clear that considerable donor assistance will be necessary in a number of sectors over the next months and years.
On accountability, the policy we developed has served as an incitement to the PISG to address accountability problems and take corrective measures where necessary. UNMIK is prepared to take action if and when appropriate, but counts on the PISG to assume its responsibilities directly.
Mr President,
There have been some significant developments on economic issues which have helped to improve the investment climate somewhat, including in the area of privatisation, access to loans from the European Investment Bank, and long-term lease possibilities for investors.
However, it must be stressed that the extremely problematic economic conditions could at any moment lead to social instability – as they would in any society with high unemployment and continued stagnation. In spite of our efforts to make the investment climate more attractive and to stimulate the economy, it is clear that there will be no real overall progress until the status issue is resolved.
In conclusion, Mr President, let me stress again that according to realistic and fact-based criteria, Kosovo has seen steady further improvement during the reporting period. At the same time, the PISG knows that much still needs to be done in key standards areas, and we are pursuing the shortcomings on a daily basis.
We must however recognise that the pace of further progress on standards implementation is reliant on several factors. Firstly, it depends on the willingness of the majority community to continu making efforts to create a multi-ethnic and democratic Kosovo. This willingness does exist, despite the recent, painful conflict, and we must and will continue to support those who display that willingness. Secondly, the degree of Kosovo Serb participation will influence the extent to which their interests are reflected in the ongoing standards implementation; here, as we have urged repeatedly, Belgrade must give a clear, positive signal. Thirdly, status resolution and the ensuing certainty will mean that we can make faster and more substantial progress on a range of issues.
I want to be very frank: with a resolution to the status issue, and therefore an end to the uncertainty, I am confident that we will see much more significant results on issues such as returns, freedom of movement, and the economy.
Status resolution will also have clear regional benefits, including for regional dialogue and trade. There are clearly limits to the results on regional integration that can be achieved without having certainty on status. Leaving it pending will delay regional integration and adversely affect the interests of all – including Belgrade, Podgorica, Skopje, and Tirana. In my meetings with regional partners, the interest in seeing status resolution is strong.
We are all working toward the same ultimate goal: stabilising the region and the pursuit of the EU perspective. European integration is vital for Kosovo and for the region. It will serve, as it has elsewhere, to break down borders and ensure greater prosperity for everybody.
As you will have seen in his report, the Secretary General believes that a comprehensive review of standards should be initiated this summer. That comprehensive review can inter alia draw on existing structures and working groups in Pristina to support its work on reviewing the standards, and all interested parties will no doubt have a chance to make their voice heard.
I am confident that progress will continue in the interest of all communities in Kosovo, based on a forward-looking, constructive and honest approach by all concerned. The role of the Security Council in moving Kosovo from a holding operation to a sustainable and lasting solution is crucial, and I thank you for your support.”
“ Mr President,
Let me begin by congratulating you as the President of the Council. You will appreciate my particular pleasure in seeing Denmark in the chair. I also want to thank you personally for honouring us with your presence today.
The three month period since my last appearance before the Security Council has been a challenging one. The progress made – and let there be no doubt that there has been progress – must be seen in the context of the challenges that Kosovo has faced.
In particular, March 2005 saw some very difficult moments. The Government formed in December 2004 made good progress through its first 100 days, and the momentum was considerable. However, in early March, a few days after my last report to this Council, that Government came to an end when Prime Minister Haradinaj resigned following notification of an imminent indictment from the ICTY. Within 24 hours following his indictment and after appealing for calm and for a continuation of progress in building a democratic society, Mr Haradinaj proceeded voluntarily to The Hague.
During those days, Kosovo showed the region and the world a commendable respect for the judicial process. Democracy was respected, and a new Government – continuing the coalition of the two parties, LDK and AAK, and under the leadership of Bajram Kosumi as Prime Minister– was formed within three weeks. Throughout those difficult days and weeks, the political leaders and citizens of Kosovo managed a highly unusual situation with maturity and without any disorder or instability.
In particular, standards implementation stayed on track. The brief delay around the time of the formation of the Government was quickly overcome. The new Government showed the same commitment to moving forward on standards and made continued progress on its programme during the months of April and May.
As in most new democracies – and let us remember that democracy in Kosovo is only a few years old – there is political tension. For the first time in its recent history, Kosovo has a strong opposition, under the leadership of Hashim Thaci and Veton Surroi, which, as everywhere, is critical of the work of the Government, while in agreement on the overall goals for Kosovo.
In order to manage any tensions more constructively, and in view of the critical period ahead for Kosovo and the significant political issues coming up, I decided to propose bringing political party leaders and the President of Kosovo together in a ‘Forum’. The purpose of this Forum is to enhance constructive dialogue and ensure maximum possible consensus on critical and crucial issues, without substituting for constitutional fora. My proposal has met with agreement and I will convene the first meeting of the Kosovo Forum next week.
Mr President,
I am glad to report some positive developments on dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. The first meetings of Direct Dialogue since March 2004 resumed one year later, beginning with the Working Group on Missing Persons on the 16th March. This was followed by meetings in April and May on the key issues of Energy and Returns of Displaced Persons. These Working Group meetings will take place on a regular basis in Belgrade and Pristina and are supported by intermediate technical meetings to work on substantive issues. This dialogue not only serves to make progress on the specific issues, which range from humanitarian to economic, but it is an important sign of building confidence – crucial as we move closer towards status discussions.
We need to continue encouraging political dialogue. I welcome the fact that Pristina and Belgrade have now expressed their readiness to engage in high-level political dialogue. It is vital that political leaders begin to talk with each other sooner rather than later. Pristina and Belgrade have every mutual interest in co-existing and interacting peacefully and constructively.
Over the past months, we have witnessed greater engagement and dialogue with the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Church and the PISG signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 25 March to allow for the reconstruction of Serbian Orthodox religious sites; this followed a lengthy delay due to talks within the Church on how to proceed. The PISG had already allocated 4.2 million euros last year, and is now actively considering to earmark an additional 1.5 million for reconstruction of Serbian Orthodox religious sites that were damaged during March 2004 violence.
It is obvious that long term preservation of cultural heritage in Kosovo (which includes Serbian Orthodox, Ottoman/Islamic, Catholic and vernacular sites) must be an increasing priority in the coming months. In this context I would like to mention the successful International Donors Conference for the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage of all communities in Kosovo, held two weeks ago in UNESCO in Paris with the support of that organisation, the EU, the Council of Europe, and others. Participants at the meeting pledged some 10 million euros and technical assistance in a clear expression of support for the cultural heritage in Kosovo. A technical mission to restore a church in Prizren, supported by UNESCO, took place just a few weeks ago, and more will now follow.
However, the news is not all good. Despite recent encouraging developments on dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, I am concerned that there is still – after more than 15 months –no clear signal from Belgrade to the Kosovo Serbs to participate in the institutions. Dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, although welcome and important, cannot substitute for the direct involvement of the Kosovo Serbs in shaping their own future in an internal dialogue in Kosovo.
Progress in Kosovo will continue, even without the meaningful participation of the Kosovo Serbs, but progress in establishing a fully multi-ethnic Kosovo and integrating all communities will remain limited as long as one ethnic group is pressured to stay outside the political, economic, and social processes. The fault for this obstacle towards progress does not lie in Pristina. The victims, however, are the Kosovo Serbs who are eager to participate at this crucial moment of time. Those who oppose progress can always find some reason to defer allowing participation, but the recent trends have proven that bolder engagement can actually foster real progress for the benefit of all. Belgrade, in my view, would help the Kosovo Serb community, and itself, by moving from reticence and delay to commitment and engagement.
Mr President,
Standards remains the roadmap for the short term but also for the long term. It is a way of building and strengthening democracy and a multi-ethnic society, and also a way for Kosovo to move progressively towards EU integration.
We have seen a continued strong commitment by the PISG during the reporting period. The structures working on standards implementation have shown themselves to be solid and durable. While we recognise that there is still much to do, the trends in a number of areas have been positive, and this is reflected in my technical assessment annexed to the SG report before the Council. We feel that the authorities, and increasingly the citizens, have understood the need to implement standards, and have made efforts to reach out to the minorities.
Mr President, let me say a few words on some specific issues.
Decentralisation, or local government reform, is not a standard as such, but it is an important process. Decentralisation will benefit the population as a whole, as it will bring services closer to the citizens, and it will also help to meet minority concerns.
After some hesitation following its formation, the Government has acted. A Steering Board and five Working Groups have been established and are convening, including two held this week on legislation and on pilot projects, which are to be established shortly. The Kosovo Serbs were invited to, and did participate in these meetings, thus having the opportunity to shape the process. I would also add that Belgrade was invited to join the Kosovo Serb delegation and that we were of course flexible on the modalities, but again failed to do so. Regrettably, the post of Deputy Minister for Local Government Administration, reserved for a Kosovo Serb, still remains vacant. As we push for further progress on decentralisation, I believe that the recent Contact Group agreement on the principle of ‘no partition’ of Kosovo does send a clear signal that the majority community has no reason to fear that meaningful decentralisation would be a cover for division. On the contrary, if well conceived and implemented, it should eventually promote co-existence around the efficient sharing of local capacities and resources.
I would add that we are currently looking at a number of initiatives that could be carried out prior to full-scale decentralisation and that could empower municipalities, for example in the field of policing and administration of justice.
Mr President,
Security has further improved and this is key, as it is a basis for progress in all areas. I want again to pay tribute to the Commander of KFOR and his forces, whose excellent work and close co-ordination with UNMIK and KPS is playing a key role in maintaining a safe and secure environment. The environment has indeed been generally calm during the reporting period, with only a few incidents of note. In particular, very little occurred in the way of inter-ethnic incidents. Unfortunately, the Commander of KFOR and I are concerned, and we have repeatedly said so, that – partly due to deliberate misinformation – perception of security remains a problem and leads to mainly self-imposed limits on freedom of movement. There is a tendency in some media to generalise and to misrepresent every incident involving Kosovo Serbs. Before the police investigation has even begun, some journalists – and some politicians – already pronounce an event as being ethnically motivated, thus feeding the fears of the Kosovo Serb community, including IDPs. In most cases we find, after professional and thorough investigations, that such assertions have no foundations.
There are also assertions that perpetrators are not sentenced – this is simply also misinformation. As a recent example, six Kosovo Albanians were found guilty of murder of two Kosovo Serbs in March 2004, and sentenced to a total of 38 years just last week by the Gjilan/Gnjilane Disrict Court. It is also worth noting that Serbian cabinet ministers, in recent meetings with senior UNMIK officials, have indicated that trust in the KPS on the part of the Kosovo Serb population has indeed increased. The KPS, as you may be aware, has a minority component of about 16%, and Kosovo Serbs make up about 10% of KPS numbers. I might add another example of progress: of 29 lay judges sworn in at the end of April, 16 were minority community members, of which 13 were Kosovo Serbs.
There are signs, and also evidence, of increased freedom of movement by Kosovo Serbs, although there are still too many who do not feel free to move. As a sign of the improving environment, there has been a reduction of escorts and of military and police presence at specific sites or locations. As a most recent example, at the beginning of this month, the first Serbian play since the end of the conflict was held at Kosovo’s main theatre in Pristina, and was prepared and performed by Serbs with large Serb attendance.
The number of returns is still disappointingly low. PISG, UNMIK, and UNHCR continue to work hard on improving conditions for returns, so that displaced persons can return to Kosovo if they so choose. I have recently met with IDPs in Serbia and returnees in Kosovo, and can report to you, Mr President, that their main concern is not primarily security; rather, they are concerned by property issues and by the lack of economic prospects.
There has been some qualitative progress in returns, as for example the first urban returns to Klina. My visits to returnees in several areas, including Bablyak and Brestovik, have convinced me that conditions are present to allow tomorrow’s returns to take place, and that positive encouragement by responsible politicians, both in Pristina and in Belgrade, can convince more displaced persons to return to Kosovo.
There have been increased efforts on the part of the Kosovo Government on returns. This includes personal appeals by the Prime Minister to potential returnees, and visits to Podgorica and to Skopje by the Minister of Returns – himself a Serb – and the Minister of Local Government Administration. These visits have resulted in better understanding and improved regional co-operation, as well as agreements with regional partners, as for example a recent Protocol on returns with Montenegro.
The Working Group on Returns, held on 12 May between Pristina and Belgrade under the chairmanship of UNHCR, was a successful first meeting and will continue. In a very positive development, the respective heads of delegations from Pristina and Belgrade met in Pristina to discuss issues of substance in a productive bilateral working meeting.
As regards functioning democratic institutions, I can report that the rapid formation of the new Government in March showed continued evidence of a stable political situation. The Assembly of Kosovo has lately shown itself to be a more transparent and democratic place for debate according to the established rules; the recent debate, 5-6 days ago, on decentralisation was a step forward. I and colleagues from the OSCE will continue to provide assistance and advice to the Assembly Presidency to ensure that this key institution functions democratically, as I trust it will.
We are rigorously stressing the need for local ownership, and the policy of transfer of competences to the PISG has continued. We are at this point carefully looking at transfer in police and justice areas, where we can transfer competencies short of sovereignty in order to ensure that the local authorities assume maximum responsibility and accountability, also in the area of security.
Mr President
We have continued to support the PISG’s efforts to co-ordinate and strengthen institutional capacity building. The PM has given full political backing to a PISG initiative, supported by UNMIK and the international community, to draw up a strategic plan in order to guide assistance and help focus on priorities. It is expected that the strategic plan will be developed by the summer and will serve as a basis for better targeting and co-ordinating donor efforts so that we can build up the institutions that Kosovoso needs. It is clear that considerable donor assistance will be necessary in a number of sectors over the next months and years.
On accountability, the policy we developed has served as an incitement to the PISG to address accountability problems and take corrective measures where necessary. UNMIK is prepared to take action if and when appropriate, but counts on the PISG to assume its responsibilities directly.
Mr President,
There have been some significant developments on economic issues which have helped to improve the investment climate somewhat, including in the area of privatisation, access to loans from the European Investment Bank, and long-term lease possibilities for investors.
However, it must be stressed that the extremely problematic economic conditions could at any moment lead to social instability – as they would in any society with high unemployment and continued stagnation. In spite of our efforts to make the investment climate more attractive and to stimulate the economy, it is clear that there will be no real overall progress until the status issue is resolved.
In conclusion, Mr President, let me stress again that according to realistic and fact-based criteria, Kosovo has seen steady further improvement during the reporting period. At the same time, the PISG knows that much still needs to be done in key standards areas, and we are pursuing the shortcomings on a daily basis.
We must however recognise that the pace of further progress on standards implementation is reliant on several factors. Firstly, it depends on the willingness of the majority community to continu making efforts to create a multi-ethnic and democratic Kosovo. This willingness does exist, despite the recent, painful conflict, and we must and will continue to support those who display that willingness. Secondly, the degree of Kosovo Serb participation will influence the extent to which their interests are reflected in the ongoing standards implementation; here, as we have urged repeatedly, Belgrade must give a clear, positive signal. Thirdly, status resolution and the ensuing certainty will mean that we can make faster and more substantial progress on a range of issues.
I want to be very frank: with a resolution to the status issue, and therefore an end to the uncertainty, I am confident that we will see much more significant results on issues such as returns, freedom of movement, and the economy.
Status resolution will also have clear regional benefits, including for regional dialogue and trade. There are clearly limits to the results on regional integration that can be achieved without having certainty on status. Leaving it pending will delay regional integration and adversely affect the interests of all – including Belgrade, Podgorica, Skopje, and Tirana. In my meetings with regional partners, the interest in seeing status resolution is strong.
We are all working toward the same ultimate goal: stabilising the region and the pursuit of the EU perspective. European integration is vital for Kosovo and for the region. It will serve, as it has elsewhere, to break down borders and ensure greater prosperity for everybody.
As you will have seen in his report, the Secretary General believes that a comprehensive review of standards should be initiated this summer. That comprehensive review can inter alia draw on existing structures and working groups in Pristina to support its work on reviewing the standards, and all interested parties will no doubt have a chance to make their voice heard.
I am confident that progress will continue in the interest of all communities in Kosovo, based on a forward-looking, constructive and honest approach by all concerned. The role of the Security Council in moving Kosovo from a holding operation to a sustainable and lasting solution is crucial, and I thank you for your support.”
Annan set to name Norway's Eide as Kosovo envoy
BRUSSELS, May 27 (Reuters) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan will name Norway's ambassador to NATO, Kai Eide, to head a U.N. review aimed at paving the way for a decision on whether Kosovo should remain part of Serbia, a senior NATO diplomat said.
Eide, a Balkans expert and the former U.N. special representative in Bosnia, will be nominated either at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council later on Friday or early next week, said the diplomat, who requested anonymity.
The United Nations, which has administered the province of 2 million people since the Balkan wars of the 1990s, has set out a list of standards on human rights, security, law and democracy which Kosovo must show it is trying to meet before the issue of its eventual status can be taken up.
Washington said recently it wants the international community to move faster to resolve Kosovo's status. Kosovo's 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority demands independence while Belgrade insists the province remain a part of Serbia.
Annan is expected to tell the Security Council the review should be launched within months despite his misgivings over the pace of progress achieved by Kosovo leaders.
If Eide's review concludes that Kosovo is doing enough to try to meet the U.N. standards, a further round of diplomacy later this year will aim to determine Kosovo's future status.
Martti Ahtisaari, the Finnish former president who has long been involved in the Balkans, is seen as a front-runner for the post of "status envoy" to head those efforts.
The United Nations has governed Kosovo since 1999 after a NATO bombing campaign to halt Serb repression of its ethnic Albanians. Tens of thousands of Serbs fled the province to escape Albanians bent on revenge for Belgrade's harsh rule.
Eide, a Balkans expert and the former U.N. special representative in Bosnia, will be nominated either at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council later on Friday or early next week, said the diplomat, who requested anonymity.
The United Nations, which has administered the province of 2 million people since the Balkan wars of the 1990s, has set out a list of standards on human rights, security, law and democracy which Kosovo must show it is trying to meet before the issue of its eventual status can be taken up.
Washington said recently it wants the international community to move faster to resolve Kosovo's status. Kosovo's 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority demands independence while Belgrade insists the province remain a part of Serbia.
Annan is expected to tell the Security Council the review should be launched within months despite his misgivings over the pace of progress achieved by Kosovo leaders.
If Eide's review concludes that Kosovo is doing enough to try to meet the U.N. standards, a further round of diplomacy later this year will aim to determine Kosovo's future status.
Martti Ahtisaari, the Finnish former president who has long been involved in the Balkans, is seen as a front-runner for the post of "status envoy" to head those efforts.
The United Nations has governed Kosovo since 1999 after a NATO bombing campaign to halt Serb repression of its ethnic Albanians. Tens of thousands of Serbs fled the province to escape Albanians bent on revenge for Belgrade's harsh rule.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
State's English Outlines for Congress U.S. Policy on Kosovo
Human rights remain priority, director for South Central European Affairs says
By Jeffrey Thomas
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- In the coming months, a process might be launched to determine Kosovo’s future status. In this new phase, the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms would remain at the forefront of U.S. policy, the State Department’s Charles English told a congressional hearing May 25.
English, the director for South Central European affairs at the State Department, was testifying at a hearing of the U.S. Helsinki Commission on the future of human rights in Kosovo.
“We cannot achieve a lasting settlement in Kosovo until structures, institutions and habits that protect the rights and liberties of all of the people of Kosovo are in place,” he told the commission, which has held numerous hearings on the situation in Kosovo since the 1990s. “Principles of democracy and multi-ethnicity -- the cornerstones of our overall Balkans policy for over a decade -- will continue to guide us.”
English referred repeatedly in his remarks to testimony given May 18 by Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns before the House Committee on International Relations. Burns said the Bush administration believes that 2005 is a “year of decision” for Kosovo. He described a process whereby the United Nations would this summer launch a comprehensive review of Kosovo's progress in achieving certain basic human-rights and democratization benchmarks. If that review is positive, a process to determine Kosovo's future status will then be launched. (See related article.)
Burns spoke more broadly about the Balkans in a major policy speech on May 19, citing the effort by the United States, the United Nations and partners in Europe to launch a process to determine the future status of Kosovo as well as to encourage political and economic reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to bring war crimes indictees before the Hague tribunal. (See related article.)
English told the Helsinki Commission that the human rights challenges in Kosovo remain significant. Minority communities in particular “continue to face extraordinary obstacles to creating a sustainable life for themselves,” he said, citing such problems as discrimination, harassment, uneven access to public services, limited freedom of movement, and fears for personal safety.
The violence that erupted in March 2004 showed how much work Kosovo needs to do to develop into a free and pluralistic society, English said. “The primary responsibility for this lies with Kosovo's majority Albanian community,” he said. “Until that community adequately protects and guarantees the rights of its minority communities, the pace of Kosovo's Euro-Atlantic integration will suffer.”
English assured the commission that, even though many details of the process to determine Kosovo's future political status remain to be elaborated, “[W]e have already said that the protection of human rights must be at the core of any status settlement. We have said that this settlement must be based on multi-ethnicity and respect the rights of all citizens. We also envision effective constitutional guarantees to ensure the protection of minorities, as well as safeguards for the protection of cultural and religious heritage.”
Even after Kosovo's status is resolved, the work to defend human rights and democracy must continue and accelerate, English said, “if Kosovo is to meet the European Union's high standards for membership.
“The people of Kosovo -- minority and majority alike -- must never stop working to ensure that institutions are transparent, that the political culture is inclusive and that laws are just. This ongoing commitment to democracy, based on the rule of law, is the most basic criterion for joining the Euro-Atlantic community and calling oneself a free, just society. The United States will continue to support Kosovo's efforts to achieve this objective.”
Soren Jessen-Petersen, the special representative of the U.N. Secretary-General and head of the U.N. Mission in Kosovo, also testified at the hearing.
The unofficial transcript of Charles English’s statement is available on the U.S. Helsinki Commission Web site.
The U.S. Helsinki Commission, a U.S. government agency, monitors progress on the implementation of the 1975 Helsinki Accords. The commission consists of nine members from the United States Senate, nine from the House of Representatives, and one member each from the departments of State, Defense and Commerce.
By Jeffrey Thomas
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- In the coming months, a process might be launched to determine Kosovo’s future status. In this new phase, the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms would remain at the forefront of U.S. policy, the State Department’s Charles English told a congressional hearing May 25.
English, the director for South Central European affairs at the State Department, was testifying at a hearing of the U.S. Helsinki Commission on the future of human rights in Kosovo.
“We cannot achieve a lasting settlement in Kosovo until structures, institutions and habits that protect the rights and liberties of all of the people of Kosovo are in place,” he told the commission, which has held numerous hearings on the situation in Kosovo since the 1990s. “Principles of democracy and multi-ethnicity -- the cornerstones of our overall Balkans policy for over a decade -- will continue to guide us.”
English referred repeatedly in his remarks to testimony given May 18 by Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns before the House Committee on International Relations. Burns said the Bush administration believes that 2005 is a “year of decision” for Kosovo. He described a process whereby the United Nations would this summer launch a comprehensive review of Kosovo's progress in achieving certain basic human-rights and democratization benchmarks. If that review is positive, a process to determine Kosovo's future status will then be launched. (See related article.)
Burns spoke more broadly about the Balkans in a major policy speech on May 19, citing the effort by the United States, the United Nations and partners in Europe to launch a process to determine the future status of Kosovo as well as to encourage political and economic reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to bring war crimes indictees before the Hague tribunal. (See related article.)
English told the Helsinki Commission that the human rights challenges in Kosovo remain significant. Minority communities in particular “continue to face extraordinary obstacles to creating a sustainable life for themselves,” he said, citing such problems as discrimination, harassment, uneven access to public services, limited freedom of movement, and fears for personal safety.
The violence that erupted in March 2004 showed how much work Kosovo needs to do to develop into a free and pluralistic society, English said. “The primary responsibility for this lies with Kosovo's majority Albanian community,” he said. “Until that community adequately protects and guarantees the rights of its minority communities, the pace of Kosovo's Euro-Atlantic integration will suffer.”
English assured the commission that, even though many details of the process to determine Kosovo's future political status remain to be elaborated, “[W]e have already said that the protection of human rights must be at the core of any status settlement. We have said that this settlement must be based on multi-ethnicity and respect the rights of all citizens. We also envision effective constitutional guarantees to ensure the protection of minorities, as well as safeguards for the protection of cultural and religious heritage.”
Even after Kosovo's status is resolved, the work to defend human rights and democracy must continue and accelerate, English said, “if Kosovo is to meet the European Union's high standards for membership.
“The people of Kosovo -- minority and majority alike -- must never stop working to ensure that institutions are transparent, that the political culture is inclusive and that laws are just. This ongoing commitment to democracy, based on the rule of law, is the most basic criterion for joining the Euro-Atlantic community and calling oneself a free, just society. The United States will continue to support Kosovo's efforts to achieve this objective.”
Soren Jessen-Petersen, the special representative of the U.N. Secretary-General and head of the U.N. Mission in Kosovo, also testified at the hearing.
The unofficial transcript of Charles English’s statement is available on the U.S. Helsinki Commission Web site.
The U.S. Helsinki Commission, a U.S. government agency, monitors progress on the implementation of the 1975 Helsinki Accords. The commission consists of nine members from the United States Senate, nine from the House of Representatives, and one member each from the departments of State, Defense and Commerce.
Koffi Annan Report to the U.N. Security Council on Kosovo
See this link for the full report
http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2005/335
http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2005/335
Progress in Kosovo must be across the board, continuous – Annan
26 May 2005 – Noting concrete progress in Kosovo toward internally-agreed standards in such areas as government reform, the rule of law and minority rights, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a report out today, stressed that continuing progress must be made in all priority areas for any future political settlement to proceed.
Mr. Annan's latest report to the Security Council on the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) contains an assessment of progress measured against the eight agreed-upon standards in the priority areas of democratic institutions, rule of law, freedom of movement, sustainable returns of displaced persons, economic growth, property rights, cultural heritage, inter-community dialogue and a civil emergency response corps.
"All standards are important and the focus on areas of particular importance to Kosovo minorities does not diminish the relevance of any of the eight standards," Mr. Annan says in the report.
Mr. Annan recommends that a comprehensive review of progress against the standards should be initiated this summer, saying that he intends to appoint a Special Envoy to conduct that review in the near future.
He adds that the review – on the basis of which final status talks could be launched – should consist of consultations with the parties and the international community in order to assess the current situation and conditions for possible next steps in the process.
But he also stresses that the review's outcome is not a foregone conclusion. "During and beyond the comprehensive review, Kosovo's political leaders will be expected to pursue and strengthen their efforts to implement the standards, and will continue to be assessed on this basis," he says.
While noting improvements in outreach to minority communities and the smooth transition of government that took place recently, he expressed concern over the slow pace of local government reform, inter-party rancour and violent incidents that may have been related to such problems.
"It is crucial that any threats of violence or intimidation not detract us from our goal," he said. "It is the responsibility of all people in Kosovo to ensure that the work of extremists is not allowed to dictate the future course of Kosovo."
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Mr. Annan's latest report to the Security Council on the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) contains an assessment of progress measured against the eight agreed-upon standards in the priority areas of democratic institutions, rule of law, freedom of movement, sustainable returns of displaced persons, economic growth, property rights, cultural heritage, inter-community dialogue and a civil emergency response corps.
"All standards are important and the focus on areas of particular importance to Kosovo minorities does not diminish the relevance of any of the eight standards," Mr. Annan says in the report.
Mr. Annan recommends that a comprehensive review of progress against the standards should be initiated this summer, saying that he intends to appoint a Special Envoy to conduct that review in the near future.
He adds that the review – on the basis of which final status talks could be launched – should consist of consultations with the parties and the international community in order to assess the current situation and conditions for possible next steps in the process.
But he also stresses that the review's outcome is not a foregone conclusion. "During and beyond the comprehensive review, Kosovo's political leaders will be expected to pursue and strengthen their efforts to implement the standards, and will continue to be assessed on this basis," he says.
While noting improvements in outreach to minority communities and the smooth transition of government that took place recently, he expressed concern over the slow pace of local government reform, inter-party rancour and violent incidents that may have been related to such problems.
"It is crucial that any threats of violence or intimidation not detract us from our goal," he said. "It is the responsibility of all people in Kosovo to ensure that the work of extremists is not allowed to dictate the future course of Kosovo."
Search UN News
Advanced Search
Related news stories
UN environment agency praises new strategy to cut Eastern Europe's mining risks - 15 May
UN conference seeks €40 million to restore cultural heritage sites in Kosovo - 13 May
UNESCO to host donors' conference on cultural heritage in Kosovo - 11 May
Security Council voices concern over Africa's humanitarian emergencies - 10 May
General Assembly approves chiefs for development and internal oversight - 5 May
Kosovo After Haradinaj - The International Crisis Group
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Kosovo Albanian society showed welcome maturity in recent months as it reacted calmly to the indictment for war crimes of Prime Minister Haradinaj and the anniversary of the March 2004 riots. However, Kosovo Albanian politics remain fractious and worse. Mutual distrust between the two leading parties, President Rugova's Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), is distracting politicians from seeking a consensus position for the approaching negotiations on final status. Recent weeks have seen an escalation in tension between them so bitter that it risks spiralling into killings. It is vital that the international community, as it assesses Kosovo's readiness for final status talks, use the next important months to do a great deal more to help build institutions for genuine self-government. Otherwise, Kosovo is likely to return to instability sooner rather than later and again put at risk all that has been invested in building a European future for the Western Balkans.
Even though the international community is beginning to move Kosovo toward some form of independence, the escalation of internal political conflict and the April 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Haradinaj's younger brother show that serious risks of instability remain. Kosovo Albanians' present peace with the international community is highly conditional, resting on renewed optimism about imminent movement on final status and upon some progress in consolidation of a sense of ownership of institutions resulting from the more vigorous and effective government that Haradinaj ran before he was forced to step down and answer charges in The Hague. Most areas are calm, but Haradinaj's home municipality of Decan is a tinderbox, full of angry armed groups, and isolated from the rest of Kosovo. The next security watershed will be the Tribunal's decision whether to grant bail so the former prime minister can return home while awaiting trial.
Forced into opposition by the coalition of Rugova's LDK and Haradinaj's Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), the PDK, the main successor of the Kosovo Liberation Army, may prefer to derail the government rather than act responsibly by helping to forge a joint position on final status. Whether its politicians can cooperate over the next months will have far-reaching consequences for Kosovo's ability to function as a state once the current heavy international presence is converted into a lighter monitoring mission. There is a real prospect of a ruinous factionalism similar to that which has developed in Albania.
Kosovo's rival parties have to work consciously to avoid this scenario or they will bear responsibility for the failure to consolidate statehood. The UN Mission (UNMIK) has a responsibility too -- transfer of power and preparation of Kosovo for final status must go beyond a mere letting go of its six-year holding operation. It must use the period leading up to and including negotiations on final status to take the vigorous action necessary to pave the way for genuine self-government. UNMIK has put aside its inertia but appears to be following more of an escape strategy than a state-building strategy. Much of the work being rushed through at present to get a result in the mid-year standards review is of questionable quality, not likely to stand the test of time. Problems that will come back to haunt Kosovo like toleration of widespread corruption and of powerful, unaccountable partisan political intelligence agencies are being swept under the carpet rather than addressed.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Respecting Security:
1. UNMIK should adopt a more credible and open information policy regarding security matters, in particular by moving vigorously to close down the political party intelligence structures about which it has been claiming it has no knowledge.
2. Kosovo's political party leaders should cooperate with police investigations, notably:
(a) President Rugova should respond to police requests to interview him about the 15 March 2005 bomb attack against his motorcade; and
(b) PDK leader Hashim Thaci and General Secretary Jakup Krasniqi should provide evidence and witnesses to substantiate the dossier of accusations against LDK officials they gave to UNMIK.
3. The International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) should consider granting pre-trial release of former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj as a contribution to Kosovo's security and adopting release conditions that permit him to continue delivering constructive messages, such as that delivered at his brother's funeral, that help maintain social peace.
4. UNMIK, the government and civil society should launch joint initiatives in Dukagjini, and Decan municipality in particular, to draw the disaffected home area of former Prime Minister Haradinaj more fully into the mainstream of debate on Kosovo's final status, stem KLA-FARK feuding and support the rule of law.
Respecting Final Status Preparations:
5. The Contact Group (France, Germany, Italy, Russia, UK, and U.S.) and the UN Security Council should convert their demand for Kosovo's provisional government to begin implementation of decentralisation prior to final status talks into a requirement for the political parties to agree on comprehensive decentralisation proposals as part of the final status negotiations.
6. UNMIK and the major diplomatic liaison offices in Pristina must provide the political will, momentum, and resources for Kosovo Albanians to form and utilise a special commission such as the Political Forum proposed by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (SRSG), Jessen-Petersen, to develop detailed positions on final status. That commission:
(a) should be run by an able, non-politically aligned Kosovo technocrat, include representatives of each of the main Kosovo political parties, and develop realistic proposals likely both to command political consensus and stand up in status negotiations; and
(b) have its proposals subject to Kosovo Assembly approval.
Respecting Kosovo's Political System:
7. The PDK must accept that it lost the October 2004 election and its priority is now to win the trust of a greater number of voters by working constructively to develop Kosovo's final status agenda and credible alternative government capacity and policies (rather than soliciting a government role from the international community and smearing LDK ministers).
8. Donors and European Union bodies and member states in particular should extend technical assistance to the main opposition parties to enable them to present an informed challenge and alternative proposals across the entire spectrum of government policy, and offer longer term funding to nurture civic activist groups.
9. UNMIK should correct the wayward course of the Assembly to enable it to become Kosovo's main forum for constructive political debate, including by:
(a) the SRSG using his power to dismiss those who obstruct democratic functioning;
(b) reinforcing the Assembly monitoring run by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) pillar of UNMIK and institutionalising a direct link for it to the SRSG's Office; and
(c) setting clear new minimum expectations for the regularity of plenary sessions and observance of procedures by the Assembly leadership.
10. UNMIK should institute much more vigorous and pro-active auditing oversight of both central and municipal government.
11. UNMIK should put reform of the closed list election system on the agenda so as to enable establishment for the next general election of a mixed system of party lists and territorial mandates, or of territorial multi-member constituencies.
Pristina/Brussels, 26 May 2005
Kosovo Albanian society showed welcome maturity in recent months as it reacted calmly to the indictment for war crimes of Prime Minister Haradinaj and the anniversary of the March 2004 riots. However, Kosovo Albanian politics remain fractious and worse. Mutual distrust between the two leading parties, President Rugova's Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), is distracting politicians from seeking a consensus position for the approaching negotiations on final status. Recent weeks have seen an escalation in tension between them so bitter that it risks spiralling into killings. It is vital that the international community, as it assesses Kosovo's readiness for final status talks, use the next important months to do a great deal more to help build institutions for genuine self-government. Otherwise, Kosovo is likely to return to instability sooner rather than later and again put at risk all that has been invested in building a European future for the Western Balkans.
Even though the international community is beginning to move Kosovo toward some form of independence, the escalation of internal political conflict and the April 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Haradinaj's younger brother show that serious risks of instability remain. Kosovo Albanians' present peace with the international community is highly conditional, resting on renewed optimism about imminent movement on final status and upon some progress in consolidation of a sense of ownership of institutions resulting from the more vigorous and effective government that Haradinaj ran before he was forced to step down and answer charges in The Hague. Most areas are calm, but Haradinaj's home municipality of Decan is a tinderbox, full of angry armed groups, and isolated from the rest of Kosovo. The next security watershed will be the Tribunal's decision whether to grant bail so the former prime minister can return home while awaiting trial.
Forced into opposition by the coalition of Rugova's LDK and Haradinaj's Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), the PDK, the main successor of the Kosovo Liberation Army, may prefer to derail the government rather than act responsibly by helping to forge a joint position on final status. Whether its politicians can cooperate over the next months will have far-reaching consequences for Kosovo's ability to function as a state once the current heavy international presence is converted into a lighter monitoring mission. There is a real prospect of a ruinous factionalism similar to that which has developed in Albania.
Kosovo's rival parties have to work consciously to avoid this scenario or they will bear responsibility for the failure to consolidate statehood. The UN Mission (UNMIK) has a responsibility too -- transfer of power and preparation of Kosovo for final status must go beyond a mere letting go of its six-year holding operation. It must use the period leading up to and including negotiations on final status to take the vigorous action necessary to pave the way for genuine self-government. UNMIK has put aside its inertia but appears to be following more of an escape strategy than a state-building strategy. Much of the work being rushed through at present to get a result in the mid-year standards review is of questionable quality, not likely to stand the test of time. Problems that will come back to haunt Kosovo like toleration of widespread corruption and of powerful, unaccountable partisan political intelligence agencies are being swept under the carpet rather than addressed.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Respecting Security:
1. UNMIK should adopt a more credible and open information policy regarding security matters, in particular by moving vigorously to close down the political party intelligence structures about which it has been claiming it has no knowledge.
2. Kosovo's political party leaders should cooperate with police investigations, notably:
(a) President Rugova should respond to police requests to interview him about the 15 March 2005 bomb attack against his motorcade; and
(b) PDK leader Hashim Thaci and General Secretary Jakup Krasniqi should provide evidence and witnesses to substantiate the dossier of accusations against LDK officials they gave to UNMIK.
3. The International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) should consider granting pre-trial release of former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj as a contribution to Kosovo's security and adopting release conditions that permit him to continue delivering constructive messages, such as that delivered at his brother's funeral, that help maintain social peace.
4. UNMIK, the government and civil society should launch joint initiatives in Dukagjini, and Decan municipality in particular, to draw the disaffected home area of former Prime Minister Haradinaj more fully into the mainstream of debate on Kosovo's final status, stem KLA-FARK feuding and support the rule of law.
Respecting Final Status Preparations:
5. The Contact Group (France, Germany, Italy, Russia, UK, and U.S.) and the UN Security Council should convert their demand for Kosovo's provisional government to begin implementation of decentralisation prior to final status talks into a requirement for the political parties to agree on comprehensive decentralisation proposals as part of the final status negotiations.
6. UNMIK and the major diplomatic liaison offices in Pristina must provide the political will, momentum, and resources for Kosovo Albanians to form and utilise a special commission such as the Political Forum proposed by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (SRSG), Jessen-Petersen, to develop detailed positions on final status. That commission:
(a) should be run by an able, non-politically aligned Kosovo technocrat, include representatives of each of the main Kosovo political parties, and develop realistic proposals likely both to command political consensus and stand up in status negotiations; and
(b) have its proposals subject to Kosovo Assembly approval.
Respecting Kosovo's Political System:
7. The PDK must accept that it lost the October 2004 election and its priority is now to win the trust of a greater number of voters by working constructively to develop Kosovo's final status agenda and credible alternative government capacity and policies (rather than soliciting a government role from the international community and smearing LDK ministers).
8. Donors and European Union bodies and member states in particular should extend technical assistance to the main opposition parties to enable them to present an informed challenge and alternative proposals across the entire spectrum of government policy, and offer longer term funding to nurture civic activist groups.
9. UNMIK should correct the wayward course of the Assembly to enable it to become Kosovo's main forum for constructive political debate, including by:
(a) the SRSG using his power to dismiss those who obstruct democratic functioning;
(b) reinforcing the Assembly monitoring run by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) pillar of UNMIK and institutionalising a direct link for it to the SRSG's Office; and
(c) setting clear new minimum expectations for the regularity of plenary sessions and observance of procedures by the Assembly leadership.
10. UNMIK should institute much more vigorous and pro-active auditing oversight of both central and municipal government.
11. UNMIK should put reform of the closed list election system on the agenda so as to enable establishment for the next general election of a mixed system of party lists and territorial mandates, or of territorial multi-member constituencies.
Pristina/Brussels, 26 May 2005
Demarcation to be completed before Kosovo status talks - Macedonian premier
of report in English by Macedonian state news agency MIA
Skopje, 26 May: Demarcation of the border between Macedonia and Serbia-Montenegro in Kosovo part will be closed before opening province's final status talks, Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski said answering the question of deputy Ilija Srbinovski regarding border demarcation issue at Thursday's [26 May] parliament's session.
"This issue will be closed before the decision on final Kosovo's status, because it is also of interest of Kosovo's provisional government, having in mind that they will be asked not to cause instabilities or problems in the region in solving of province's status", he said.
Buckovski said that in consultations with experts, he was told that UNMIK [UN Interim Administration in Kosovo] had a mandate to participate in demarcation of border between Macedonia and Serbia-Montenegro in Kosovo part.
Buckovski also added that if Belgrade and Pristina would find mutually acceptable solution on province's status, it could not cause Macedonia's destabilization.
Source: MIA news agency, Skopje, in English 1222 gmt 26 May 05
Skopje, 26 May: Demarcation of the border between Macedonia and Serbia-Montenegro in Kosovo part will be closed before opening province's final status talks, Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski said answering the question of deputy Ilija Srbinovski regarding border demarcation issue at Thursday's [26 May] parliament's session.
"This issue will be closed before the decision on final Kosovo's status, because it is also of interest of Kosovo's provisional government, having in mind that they will be asked not to cause instabilities or problems in the region in solving of province's status", he said.
Buckovski said that in consultations with experts, he was told that UNMIK [UN Interim Administration in Kosovo] had a mandate to participate in demarcation of border between Macedonia and Serbia-Montenegro in Kosovo part.
Buckovski also added that if Belgrade and Pristina would find mutually acceptable solution on province's status, it could not cause Macedonia's destabilization.
Source: MIA news agency, Skopje, in English 1222 gmt 26 May 05
Kosovo leader committed to uphold principles of democracy, freedom
Pristina, 25 May: Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi said today that the standards are the basic values and principles of democracy and human freedoms, and that his government is committed to their full implementation.
Kosumi told the media that he has conveyed to the Contact Group [United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy] state members that Kosovo is putting a lot of efforts to build a stable society and democracy, which will be capable to govern on its own.
"We do not deem standards as a table with pluses and minuses, as something that is made today and forgotten tomorrow. The standards represent one of the basic values for democracy and human freedoms," the prime minister said.
While the head of the German office, Jurgen Engel conveyed the message of the Contact Group following the meeting in London on Monday [22 May] that the international community, including Russia, has a united stand on Kosovo.
"We agreed that the so-called comprehensive assessment of standards is very close. We are aware that we have still more to do and we will do it together. The Contact Group has supported the government to achieve a positive evaluation. Of course, the result will not come automatically," Engel said.
He made known that the international community is putting pressure on all sides, including Belgrade, in order to achieve progress in implementation of the standards.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 25 May 05
Kosumi told the media that he has conveyed to the Contact Group [United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy] state members that Kosovo is putting a lot of efforts to build a stable society and democracy, which will be capable to govern on its own.
"We do not deem standards as a table with pluses and minuses, as something that is made today and forgotten tomorrow. The standards represent one of the basic values for democracy and human freedoms," the prime minister said.
While the head of the German office, Jurgen Engel conveyed the message of the Contact Group following the meeting in London on Monday [22 May] that the international community, including Russia, has a united stand on Kosovo.
"We agreed that the so-called comprehensive assessment of standards is very close. We are aware that we have still more to do and we will do it together. The Contact Group has supported the government to achieve a positive evaluation. Of course, the result will not come automatically," Engel said.
He made known that the international community is putting pressure on all sides, including Belgrade, in order to achieve progress in implementation of the standards.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 25 May 05
Diplomatic sources optimistic about Contact Group meeting on Kosovo
Excerpt from report by Kosovo Albanian newspaper Koha Ditore on 25 May
Brussels, 24 May: European diplomats, but also those from the United States, said that they are pleased with the atmosphere that prevailed in the recent meeting of the Contact Group, which was held in London on Monday [23 May]. Most of those whom Koha Ditore managed to contact even said that this meeting was more positive than expected. Apparently their satisfaction comes from the fact that at this meeting Russia did not oppose the agenda of events that was presented by other members of the Contact Group. This means that, despite earlier announcements, now Moscow will not insist on postponing the comprehensive review of standards.
According to European diplomatic sources, who spoke to Koha Ditore after the Contact Group meeting, the appointment of Norwegian Ambassador to NATO Kai Eide as special envoy to review the standards is expected soon, perhaps this week. He will work for two months on this review in order to present the final report at the beginning of September, and then the Contact Group will convene at the ministerial level.
Evaluation should be compact
European diplomats told Koha Ditore that they are pleased with the fact that Russia admitted that it is unreasonable to postpone the standards review, because without that review it cannot be known to what extent the standards have been fulfilled. The decision whether or not the debate about the final status of Kosova [Kosovo] should start will be made only after that review. But, as the diplomats asserted, the important thing is that a unanimous position that the process should continue, regardless of whether or not the standards have been fulfilled to the extent that many states would want, dominates now. The same sources said that the standards review, which most probably will be done by Norwegian Ambassador to NATO Kai Eide, who will be appointed to this post by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, will be compact, detailed, concrete, and based on facts.
"It will be much more substantial than UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] Chief Soren Jessen-Petersen's assessments are," a diplomat said.
According to Western sources, it is already known that in his report to the UN Security Council, Jessen-Petersen will say that sufficient progress has been made by the institutions of Kosova to have a comprehensive review of standards. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will also agree to a great extent with such an assessment, although he will mention that they are not completely satisfied with Kosovar leaders. Following a harmonization of positions at the Contact Group's meeting in London, Russia is not expected to request the postponement of the process, because it also received some kind of guarantees that the review will not be done "just for show," but it will be correct and unbiased.
Britain has most favourable position
Although from the media reports in Kosova the impression is created that the United States will postpone the process, while the EU is more sceptical, the recent meeting of the Contact Group, as well as US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns' visit to Brussels, eliminated all the dilemmas about any possible disagreement between the EU and the United States over Kosova.
Although for the time being no country wants to publicly prejudge the result of the process of finding the final status, many diplomats say that Great Britain has the most advanced position and is the most open to accepting independence as an option. In fact, Great Britain is the only state that has stated publicly that it does not rule out independence as an option, a thing that the United States still refuses to say publicly, despite the conviction that prevails in Kosova that the United States has a more favourable position.
The diplomats said that Great Britain has a more advanced position than the United States on this issue, but the positions of these two states are coming closer recently. The diplomats, who wished to remain anonymous, also said that Germany has started moving its position closer to Great Britain's position as far as the future status of Kosova is concerned.
The fact that France and Italy, which are also members of the Contact Group, are not very loud in the debates about the final status does not present a problem to these diplomats, because, according to them, the roles within the Contact Group are also being gradually divided while awaiting the beginning of the process of finding the final status.
In the meantime, Russia is not interested in blocking the process for the time being, but nobody rules out the possibility that it might present various conditions during the process. This, the diplomats admitted, will greatly depend also on the role that will be given to Belgrade in this process, because, in case of Belgrade's consent, there could be no problems with Russia.
In order to be correct towards Russia, European diplomats asserted that Moscow's more realistic approach towards Kosova has been noted recently, an approach that Russia communicated also to Belgrade. European diplomats stated that they are very pleased with the announced US' commitment to Kosova and the Balkans. But some of them did not hide their fear that this commitment aims at accelerating the solutions in order for the United States to be able to withdraw from the Balkans as soon as possible.
"Now the United States mentions the Balkans as a burden and perhaps it wants to free from this burden. We need a joint action with the United States in the Balkans, especially in Kosova, for a longer period. Therefore, it would bother us if the United States would want to accelerate the solution only to withdraw," a European diplomat said. [passage omitted]
Source: Koha Ditore, Pristina, in Albanian 25 May 05 pp 1-2
Brussels, 24 May: European diplomats, but also those from the United States, said that they are pleased with the atmosphere that prevailed in the recent meeting of the Contact Group, which was held in London on Monday [23 May]. Most of those whom Koha Ditore managed to contact even said that this meeting was more positive than expected. Apparently their satisfaction comes from the fact that at this meeting Russia did not oppose the agenda of events that was presented by other members of the Contact Group. This means that, despite earlier announcements, now Moscow will not insist on postponing the comprehensive review of standards.
According to European diplomatic sources, who spoke to Koha Ditore after the Contact Group meeting, the appointment of Norwegian Ambassador to NATO Kai Eide as special envoy to review the standards is expected soon, perhaps this week. He will work for two months on this review in order to present the final report at the beginning of September, and then the Contact Group will convene at the ministerial level.
Evaluation should be compact
European diplomats told Koha Ditore that they are pleased with the fact that Russia admitted that it is unreasonable to postpone the standards review, because without that review it cannot be known to what extent the standards have been fulfilled. The decision whether or not the debate about the final status of Kosova [Kosovo] should start will be made only after that review. But, as the diplomats asserted, the important thing is that a unanimous position that the process should continue, regardless of whether or not the standards have been fulfilled to the extent that many states would want, dominates now. The same sources said that the standards review, which most probably will be done by Norwegian Ambassador to NATO Kai Eide, who will be appointed to this post by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, will be compact, detailed, concrete, and based on facts.
"It will be much more substantial than UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] Chief Soren Jessen-Petersen's assessments are," a diplomat said.
According to Western sources, it is already known that in his report to the UN Security Council, Jessen-Petersen will say that sufficient progress has been made by the institutions of Kosova to have a comprehensive review of standards. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will also agree to a great extent with such an assessment, although he will mention that they are not completely satisfied with Kosovar leaders. Following a harmonization of positions at the Contact Group's meeting in London, Russia is not expected to request the postponement of the process, because it also received some kind of guarantees that the review will not be done "just for show," but it will be correct and unbiased.
Britain has most favourable position
Although from the media reports in Kosova the impression is created that the United States will postpone the process, while the EU is more sceptical, the recent meeting of the Contact Group, as well as US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns' visit to Brussels, eliminated all the dilemmas about any possible disagreement between the EU and the United States over Kosova.
Although for the time being no country wants to publicly prejudge the result of the process of finding the final status, many diplomats say that Great Britain has the most advanced position and is the most open to accepting independence as an option. In fact, Great Britain is the only state that has stated publicly that it does not rule out independence as an option, a thing that the United States still refuses to say publicly, despite the conviction that prevails in Kosova that the United States has a more favourable position.
The diplomats said that Great Britain has a more advanced position than the United States on this issue, but the positions of these two states are coming closer recently. The diplomats, who wished to remain anonymous, also said that Germany has started moving its position closer to Great Britain's position as far as the future status of Kosova is concerned.
The fact that France and Italy, which are also members of the Contact Group, are not very loud in the debates about the final status does not present a problem to these diplomats, because, according to them, the roles within the Contact Group are also being gradually divided while awaiting the beginning of the process of finding the final status.
In the meantime, Russia is not interested in blocking the process for the time being, but nobody rules out the possibility that it might present various conditions during the process. This, the diplomats admitted, will greatly depend also on the role that will be given to Belgrade in this process, because, in case of Belgrade's consent, there could be no problems with Russia.
In order to be correct towards Russia, European diplomats asserted that Moscow's more realistic approach towards Kosova has been noted recently, an approach that Russia communicated also to Belgrade. European diplomats stated that they are very pleased with the announced US' commitment to Kosova and the Balkans. But some of them did not hide their fear that this commitment aims at accelerating the solutions in order for the United States to be able to withdraw from the Balkans as soon as possible.
"Now the United States mentions the Balkans as a burden and perhaps it wants to free from this burden. We need a joint action with the United States in the Balkans, especially in Kosova, for a longer period. Therefore, it would bother us if the United States would want to accelerate the solution only to withdraw," a European diplomat said. [passage omitted]
Source: Koha Ditore, Pristina, in Albanian 25 May 05 pp 1-2
Burns: Time for Kosovo has come
Zëri reports on the front page that US Under-Secretary Nicholas Burns has once again reiterated the commitment of his government to settle the issue of Kosovo’s status within a short period of time.
‘We believe 2005 will be a crucial year for Kosovo, a year that when the aspirations of the people of Kosovo will be fulfilled,’ Burns was quoted as saying in a NATO summit in Are, Sweden. ‘Negotiations for Kosovo will be difficult but we think the time has come.’
Express, which also covers the summit in Sweden, quotes Burns as saying that next week UNSG Kofi Annan will appoint Kai Eide to assess standards in Kosovo.
‘We believe 2005 will be a crucial year for Kosovo, a year that when the aspirations of the people of Kosovo will be fulfilled,’ Burns was quoted as saying in a NATO summit in Are, Sweden. ‘Negotiations for Kosovo will be difficult but we think the time has come.’
Express, which also covers the summit in Sweden, quotes Burns as saying that next week UNSG Kofi Annan will appoint Kai Eide to assess standards in Kosovo.
SG Annan satisfied with intensification of standards implementation
Bota Sot reports on page eight that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is satisfied with the intensification of standards implementation in Kosovo. According to the paper, Annan recommends the comprehensive review of standards to start this summer as a step before the start of talks on Kosovo’s future status.
In a report published in New York, Annan reportedly said that constant progress was achieved in standards implementation. But at the same time it is said that none of the eight standards has been fully achieved.
In a report published in New York, Annan reportedly said that constant progress was achieved in standards implementation. But at the same time it is said that none of the eight standards has been fully achieved.
KOSOVARS SPY SALVATION IN MINERAL WEALTH - IWPR
Experts' reports speak of vast, untapped resources, but questions over
their exploitation remain.
By Arbana Xharra in Pristina (BCR No 557, 25-May-05)
The sale in Kosovo of one of its biggest mineral mines has raised
hopes of the more effective exploitation of what experts say is a
great potential source of wealth.
The Ferronickel mines and plant in Drenas/Glogovac, 30 kilometres west
of Pristina, went under the hammer last week.
The sale was organised by the much-criticised Kosovo Trust Agency,
KTA, which the UN has charged with selling off Kosovo's socially-owned
firms.
That this region is mineral rich is beyond doubt. A recent joint
survey by Kosovo's Directorate for Mines and Minerals and the World
Bank put a 13.5 billion euro price tag on its resources of raw
materials.
The survey warned that the mines needed huge investment, to the tune
of about 1.8 billion euro, which might generate 35,000 new jobs.
Rainer Hengstmann, director of the Independent Commission for Mines
and Minerals, ICCM, is especially interested in Kosovo' reserves of
lignite, used primarily for generating electricity and heating.
"Kosovo's lignite wealth is strategically important, as it is one of
the biggest reserves of high quality lignite in Europe," he said.
Agron Dida, deputy minister for Energy and Mines, said, "In 2004,
Kosovo power plants used only around 5.7 million tonnes of lignite -
and there are an estimated ten billion tonnes [underground]," he said.
"We should be well set for the next few centuries."
Although Kosovo is apparently well endowed with valuable raw
materials, there is little to show for it. The territory suffers from
routine electricity shortages, for example, and Agim Shahini,
president of the Kosovar Business Alliance, says the power cuts put
off many foreign investors, "The unstable electricity supply is the
main disincentive to investors because factories cannot work on
generators."
Even the factories that should be processing Kosovo's underground
minerals lie unused and empty.
Ferronickel is one of them. Murat Mehaj, a geodesy expert who has
worked there since 1984, says at the peak of operations in 1989 the
company employed around 2,000 workers, producing 7,800 metric tonnes
of nickel per year.
Matters had deteriorated by 1991, when production slumped to only 300
tonnes per year. As Slobodan Milosevic tightened his grip on Kosovo,
the plant crumbled, laying off 1,800 workers.
The infrastructure suffered in 1999, when Serb police were stationed
in the buildings, which were hit by NATO bombs.
A sign of growing international interest in Kosovo's raw materials was
the World Bank's decision on April 21 to give 2.5 million US dollars
towards revitalising Kosovo's energy and mining sector.
At a press conference on March 17 in Pristina, Hengstman said two of
the world's largest mining exploration and extraction companies were
racing to exploit these underground riches, though he did not reveal
their names.
But the question of Kosovo's final status continues to block the
exploitation of its natural resources. In the current legal vacuum,
Serb officials say Belgrade has a right to veto any proposed deals.
Ivan Ahel, a Serb expert on Kosovo ores and technical director of
Belgrade's Zirovski Vrh uranium mine, said, "Under UN resolution 1244,
Kosovo is a part of Serbia and until that status changes, Serbia has a
right to be involved.
"As for who should manage that wealth, that requires a political
solution between the Serbian and Kosovo governments."
Ahel downplayed reports of the wealth lying underneath Kosovo's
surface, saying the quantities were large but the quality low.
"We have to make it clear to some Serb and Kosovo politicians that the
commercial interest is not as high as it might appear," he concluded.
Hengstman disputes Serbia's claim on Kosovo's natural resources. "The
natural wealth of Kosovo belongs to the people of Kosovo," he said,
cautioning that he could not deal with such complaints. "That's for
the politicians to deal with."
While Kosovo's status question is unresolved, Haki Shatri, Kosovo's
finance minister, says grants like the recent award from the World
Bank will remain important.
"Kosovo needs such donations because our unresolved status means we
cannot get loans from international monetary institutions," he said
Not all local Albanians share in the talk of a rosy future for Kosovo
built on valuable raw materials. Some point out that a great deal of
money has been invested already in mining projects - without obvious
results.
Around one billion euro has so far flowed from the World Bank and
European Agency for Reconstruction, EAR, into Kosovo's mining and
power projects. Yet the protectorate cannot even secure a decent power
supply to homes and factories.
"It is amazing to hear that there is this great wealth of minerals
underground that could help improve our electricity supply," one local
businessman told IWPR. "I have had to invest thousands of euro to buy
powerful generators."
Arbana Xharra is an economics reporter on Koha Ditore.
their exploitation remain.
By Arbana Xharra in Pristina (BCR No 557, 25-May-05)
The sale in Kosovo of one of its biggest mineral mines has raised
hopes of the more effective exploitation of what experts say is a
great potential source of wealth.
The Ferronickel mines and plant in Drenas/Glogovac, 30 kilometres west
of Pristina, went under the hammer last week.
The sale was organised by the much-criticised Kosovo Trust Agency,
KTA, which the UN has charged with selling off Kosovo's socially-owned
firms.
That this region is mineral rich is beyond doubt. A recent joint
survey by Kosovo's Directorate for Mines and Minerals and the World
Bank put a 13.5 billion euro price tag on its resources of raw
materials.
The survey warned that the mines needed huge investment, to the tune
of about 1.8 billion euro, which might generate 35,000 new jobs.
Rainer Hengstmann, director of the Independent Commission for Mines
and Minerals, ICCM, is especially interested in Kosovo' reserves of
lignite, used primarily for generating electricity and heating.
"Kosovo's lignite wealth is strategically important, as it is one of
the biggest reserves of high quality lignite in Europe," he said.
Agron Dida, deputy minister for Energy and Mines, said, "In 2004,
Kosovo power plants used only around 5.7 million tonnes of lignite -
and there are an estimated ten billion tonnes [underground]," he said.
"We should be well set for the next few centuries."
Although Kosovo is apparently well endowed with valuable raw
materials, there is little to show for it. The territory suffers from
routine electricity shortages, for example, and Agim Shahini,
president of the Kosovar Business Alliance, says the power cuts put
off many foreign investors, "The unstable electricity supply is the
main disincentive to investors because factories cannot work on
generators."
Even the factories that should be processing Kosovo's underground
minerals lie unused and empty.
Ferronickel is one of them. Murat Mehaj, a geodesy expert who has
worked there since 1984, says at the peak of operations in 1989 the
company employed around 2,000 workers, producing 7,800 metric tonnes
of nickel per year.
Matters had deteriorated by 1991, when production slumped to only 300
tonnes per year. As Slobodan Milosevic tightened his grip on Kosovo,
the plant crumbled, laying off 1,800 workers.
The infrastructure suffered in 1999, when Serb police were stationed
in the buildings, which were hit by NATO bombs.
A sign of growing international interest in Kosovo's raw materials was
the World Bank's decision on April 21 to give 2.5 million US dollars
towards revitalising Kosovo's energy and mining sector.
At a press conference on March 17 in Pristina, Hengstman said two of
the world's largest mining exploration and extraction companies were
racing to exploit these underground riches, though he did not reveal
their names.
But the question of Kosovo's final status continues to block the
exploitation of its natural resources. In the current legal vacuum,
Serb officials say Belgrade has a right to veto any proposed deals.
Ivan Ahel, a Serb expert on Kosovo ores and technical director of
Belgrade's Zirovski Vrh uranium mine, said, "Under UN resolution 1244,
Kosovo is a part of Serbia and until that status changes, Serbia has a
right to be involved.
"As for who should manage that wealth, that requires a political
solution between the Serbian and Kosovo governments."
Ahel downplayed reports of the wealth lying underneath Kosovo's
surface, saying the quantities were large but the quality low.
"We have to make it clear to some Serb and Kosovo politicians that the
commercial interest is not as high as it might appear," he concluded.
Hengstman disputes Serbia's claim on Kosovo's natural resources. "The
natural wealth of Kosovo belongs to the people of Kosovo," he said,
cautioning that he could not deal with such complaints. "That's for
the politicians to deal with."
While Kosovo's status question is unresolved, Haki Shatri, Kosovo's
finance minister, says grants like the recent award from the World
Bank will remain important.
"Kosovo needs such donations because our unresolved status means we
cannot get loans from international monetary institutions," he said
Not all local Albanians share in the talk of a rosy future for Kosovo
built on valuable raw materials. Some point out that a great deal of
money has been invested already in mining projects - without obvious
results.
Around one billion euro has so far flowed from the World Bank and
European Agency for Reconstruction, EAR, into Kosovo's mining and
power projects. Yet the protectorate cannot even secure a decent power
supply to homes and factories.
"It is amazing to hear that there is this great wealth of minerals
underground that could help improve our electricity supply," one local
businessman told IWPR. "I have had to invest thousands of euro to buy
powerful generators."
Arbana Xharra is an economics reporter on Koha Ditore.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
U.S. SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK (R-KS) HOLDS HEARING ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOSOVO - COMMITTEE HEARING
(CORRECTED COPY: ADDS ENGLISH)
UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE (HELSINKI COMMISSION) HOLDS HEARING: THE FUTURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOSOVO
MAY 25, 2005
COMMISSIONERS:
U.S. SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK (R-KS) CHAIRMAN U.S. SENATOR GORDON H. SMITH (R-OR) U.S. SENATOR KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R-TX) U.S. SENATOR SAXBY CHAMBLISS (R-GA) VACANT U.S. SENATOR CHRISTOPHER J. DODD (D-CT) U.S. SENATOR RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD (D-WI) U.S. SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY) VACANT
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH (R-NJ) CO-CHAIRMAN U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FRANK R. WOLF (R-VA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPH R. PITTS (R-PA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ROBERT B. ADERHOLT (R-AL) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MIKE PENCE (R-IN) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE BENJAMIN L. CARDIN (D-MD) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE LOUISE MCINTOSH SLAUGHTER (D-NY) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ALCEE L. HASTINGS (D-FL) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MIKE MCINTYRE (D-NC)
WITNESSES/PANELISTS:
SOREN JESSEN-PETERSEN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL HEAD U.N. MISSION IN KOSOVO
CHARLES ENGLISH DIRECTOR OFFICE FOR SOUTH CENTRAL EUROPEAN AFFAIRS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
The hearing was held at 11:00 a.m. in Room 124 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., Sam Brownback, co-chairman, Helsinki Commission, moderating.
[*] BROWNBACK: Good morning. We'll call the hearing to order.
And I thank you all for being here today, and apologies for being a bit late from a prior hearing.
In recent weeks, increased attention's been paid to Kosovo, the status of which is probably the single greatest issue yet to be resolved in the Balkans.
Leaving it unresolved, of course, leaves it as a source of instability in the region, given vast differences of positions regarding what the final status might be.
On the other hand, any effort to resolve the issue of Kosovo's status also poses certain risk.
The result is the careful creation of a process by the international community to move forward to the open-ended talks later this year. Dependent on the outcome of a midyear review of progress and implementing standards, this process was outlined to the Congress by Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns just last week.
Today's hearing on the future of human rights in Kosovo has been scheduled in order to go beyond the broad outline for proceeding with status questions this year, and to examine, instead, the specific impact this process may have on people living in the region.
In particular, many of us believe that there cannot be forward movement or a viable end result regarding Kosovo if human rights do not play a central role in the process.
Whatever status Kosovo achieves, the bottom line is that Kosovo is part of Europe, and all of Europe has committed to respect human rights and fundamental freedom, particularly in the context of the Helsinki final act and subsequent OSCE documents.
All too often, unfortunately, human rights problems can get sidelined in international talks. Those responsible for violations are usually unwilling to change their ways, or the actual exercise of individual rights and freedoms is perceived to be the source of friction.
The easiest course often appears to be one in which victims get ignored if not blamed.
In the case of Kosovo, the leading human rights issues relates to minority communities, including not only the Serb community, but the Roma and others as well.
Parts of these communities have struggled, since 1999, to survive in isolated enclaves with little freedom of movement, while other parts remain displaced and unable to return safely, let alone make a living.
In parts of northern Kosovo and other areas under Serb control, displaced Albanians also have been unable to return to their homes.
Fortunately, several of the aid standards outlined by the United Nations seek to address the rights of members of minority communities in Kosovo. By viewing these standards as excuses to delay or condition a determine of status, however, many Kosovar leaders seem not to understand that respecting human rights is not an option by a requirement.
Our witnesses this day can hopefully shed some light on how to change the situation on the ground in Kosovo, and how human rights will or will not play a role in what has been dubbed, "The year of decision in Kosovo."
BROWNBACK: Before I introduce the witnesses, I'd like to turn to my colleagues for any opening statements.
I understand they may be called for a vote at 11:30, so I would like to ask that they put forward their statement.
Congressman Smith?
C. SMITH: Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
Today's hearing, ladies and gentlemen, is very important because the issues surrounding Kosovo are developing at a rapid pace.
Having cooperated with them on a number of Helsinki Commission issues in the past, including efforts to combat trafficking person, I was very pleased that Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns appeared before the House International Relations Committee on this very important issue.
I am confident that the high level of U.S. engagement on Kosovo his personal involvement represents and that of other very dedicated servants like Charles English, will indeed have a positive impact on Kosovo.
Similarly, I want to thank our distinguished witnesses here today for their willingness as officials of the United Nations and, of course, the State Department, to discuss the situation in Kosovo.
I enthusiastically welcome your participation in this public hearing despite the sensitivities and emotions that obviously surround the debate on Kosovo's future.
While the question of Kosovo's status is important, we must encourage those most directly concerned to arrive at the answer through democratic processes and dialogue. Whatever determination is made regarding Kosovo's status, respect for internationally agreed upon human rights is prerequisite.
Unfortunately, six years after the conflict, the human rights situation in Kosovo is still not a good one, particularly for minority communities who live in enclaves and for the displaced.
We must condemn the sporadic acts of violence, the refusal to permit people to return or move about freely, and the destruction of homes and places of worship. The violence should not be allowed to happen especially when the peace-keeping force and international police are on the ground.
Regardless of what status is being advocated, independence for Kosovo and autonomy or something else, it is only reasonable to insist on the guarantee of basic human rights and freedoms for all people of Kosovo.
Over the years, Mr. Chairman, Helsinki Commission has held, as you know, numerous hearings relating to Kosovo. At times the focus was necessarily on the plight of Kosovar Albanians and the repression they endured during the years of the Milosevic regime.
We also brought attention to those Albanians who were held in Serbian prisons after Milosevic was ousted. We pressed for their release and we did so very vigorously.
Later, it was necessary for us to focus on the plight of Serbs, Roma and others living in Kosovo as minority populations.
We called upon Kosovo's Albanian majority to respect the rights of others just as they themselves deserved. We focused on the situation in Serb-controlled Lichuvisa (ph) as well as finding out what happened to missing persons regardless of their ethnicity.
We called for the prosecution of those responsible for war crimes also without regard to which side they represented. Last year, we condemned the outbreaks of violence in March of 2004 and the targeting of people's homes and their places of worship.
So this hearing indeed comes at a very timely time and I really congratulate you on calling the hearing.
And I yield back the balance of my time.
BROWNBACK: Congressman Cardin?
CARDIN: Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. I join with Mr. Smith in thanking you for holding this hearing on the human rights in Kosovo.
CARDIN: The hallmark of the Helsinki Commission's work has been in the human dimension basket, and we think this is an extremely important hearing for us to know the current situation in Kosovo, as it relates to respect of human rights.
And what we can do as a commission in our work with our colleagues in the parliamentary assembly as well as with the representatives in the State Department, to be as aggressive as we can in moving forward the human rights dimension.
So for that reason we're very pleased to have our two witnesses, an expert from the United Nations and from the State Department, to help us in understanding the current situation.
Let me just mention one area which has been of particular interest to our commission, and particular interest to me and that's the International Criminal Tribunal for war criminals. I'd be very interested as to how that is currently affecting attitudes within Kosovo.
It was a stark contrast when the prime minister of Kosovo was indicted and turned himself in at The Hague and the problems that we've had in other parts of that region in getting those who were indicted before The Hague.
So I'd be interested to see how that is playing within Kosovo itself and what the future holds for trying to bring to justice this part of the tragedy within the former Yugoslavia. We still have a lot of work to do in this regard.
So, Mr. Chairman, I thank you for this hearing. I look forward to hearing the witnesses and looking forward to developing a strategy for our commission to play a constructive role in advancing human rights in Kosovo.
BROWNBACK: Thank you, Congressman Cardin, and it's been noted the gentlemen may be called for a vote over to the House side. They may have to leave for that.
Panel, thank you very much for joining us today.
First, we have Soren Jessen-Petersen of Denmark, special representative of the U.N. Secretary General and head of the U.N. Mission in Kosovo.
This assignment, which he took last year, is a part of a distinguished career that includes years working for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, and with the stability pact on refugee, internally displaced persons and migration issues in the Balkans.
BROWNBACK: Later this week, Mr. Jessen-Petersen plans to report to the Security Council in New York on the current situation in Kosovo.
Our second witness is Mr. Charles English, director of the Office for South Central European Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Mr. English also has a distinguished career in the U.S. Foreign Service that includes assignments in South Central Europe.
We're grateful that Mr. English has offered to participate in the hearing today, especially in light of Undersecretary Burns' presentations just last week.
Gentlemen, thank you very much for being here with us.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen, welcome. And the microphone, the floor is yours.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, honorable members of the commission, ladies and gentlemen, as you mentioned, Mr. Chairman, on Friday, I will be addressing the U.N. Security Council to provide a quarterly update on the situation in Kosovo.
The meeting is crucial for confirming the path for the future status of Kosovo. Kosovo remains the last and the most difficult knot in the Balkans.
The present status quo of its undefined status is not sustainable, not desirable and not acceptable.
If we don't address it in the near term, we risk much of what the international community has achieved in the Balkans over the last 10 years.
In this context, the topic of today's meeting is of utmost importance and very timely.
I would like to commend you, Mr. Chairman, and the commission's membership, for taking this initiative and for inviting me.
Mr. Chairman, the U.N. Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, incorporates a strong human rights component in its mandate. At the end of UNMIK's mission, success will ultimately depend on the efficiency of the mechanisms we have created for the protection of human rights. It is important that the Kosovo institutions and the people of Kosovo have ownership of the human rights principles and mechanisms and ensure their sustainability.
There have been several positive indications recently. The substantially improved security climate reflected in the absence of major interethnic crimes in the past year is a sign that lessons from the riots of March 2004, have been learned, namely, that human rights violations are undermining the image of Kosovo and are against its interests.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: The bulk of the cases following the riots have been handled by the local judiciary and where the several perpetrators have been brought to justice, no cases of miscarriage of justice on account of ethnic bias have been reported.
The OSCE mission in Kosovo, which constitutes a part of the UNMIK-Pillar system, has assisted in creating the ombudsperson institution in Kosovo. In line with the best practice of similar institutions in Western democracies, the ombudsperson of Kosovo works directly with citizens in order to alleviate their human rights concerns and addresses the Provisional Institution of Self-Government, the PISG, and the UNMIK on their behalf.
OSCE has also been crucial in organizing both municipal and general elections in Kosovo, which were found by the Council of Europe to be free and fair. This is no small achievement in terms of ensuring people's right to choose.
Mr. Chairman, the fact that from a postwar, legal and administrative vacuum only six years ago a completely new system has been built in Kosovo has helped to place human rights principles at the core of Kosovo's laws and institutions.
New criminal laws have been framed in tune with international and European standards.
The Kosovo Police Service is multi-ethnic. The Kosovo Protection Corps continues its efforts to attract more recruits from the minority communities and has been reaching out in particular to the Kosovo Serbs. The Kosovo Correctional Service is emerging as another institution with strong human rights credentials.
Codes of conduct that comply with international human rights standards have been adopted for civil servants, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, police and correctional officers.
Within the Kosovo government structure, the Office of Good Governance plays an advisory role on human rights policies. OSCE human rights experts are working with municipal officials in order to ensure municipalities' compliance with international human rights standards.
We expect shortly to establish a human rights advisory panel to which people can bring their grievances on human rights violations.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Furthermore, in accordance with our policy to transfer from UNMIK to the PISG, all responsibilities which are not attributes of sovereignty, 27 out of 32 police stations in Kosovo have been transferred now to the Kosovo Police Service, KPS, control as is the first police region in Gnjilane, where the U.S. forces, of course, have their presence and headquarters.
A dignified handling last March of the ICTY indictment against the former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj, once again, underlined the new level of maturity of Kosovo society and institutions and also respect for the judicial process and for the international judicial process.
And as such, I could say that the action by Ramush Haradinaj and the mature response by the entire society for this indictment -- which evidently came as a shock for the large majority -- the way it was handled was not only in my view a credit to Kosovo's respect for the judicial process, but I believe it also sent a very important message to other parts of the Western Balkans.
So in many ways, the signs are encouraging and there are many positive examples that show the commitment of the institutions in Kosovo to human rights. Most importantly, I would say, the road map forward toward the process leading to (inaudible) discussions is the U.N. Security Council-endorsed standards, standards that are designed to ensure the presence of basic values of multiethnicity, democracy and market orientation in Kosovo.
These standards, our road map, also aim at operationalizing the respect for human rights. Irrespective of (inaudible) of Kosovo's institutions and citizens understand that must, should and will continue.
Further implementation of standards is essential for all the people of Kosovo to live in the kind of society they deserve and for Kosovo to meet the rigorous criteria for a Euro-Atlantic integration.
Mr. Chairman, on Friday, I will inform the Security Council that despite the difficult context in the month of March with the indictment, resignation and immediate voluntary departure of former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj for The Hague, followed by the quick formation of a new government -- despite all that, despite the difficult context, the forward momentum in implementing standards was maintained.
At the same time, there are some areas where the PISG has much more to do. For example, when it comes to freedom of movement, as you refer to, there are many Kosovo Serbs who move around freely, but there are also many who cannot move around freely.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: This is a problem that must be addressed and resolved. Although UNMIK and KFOR are increasingly convinced that the fear of movement among minorities is very often more perception than actual fact, I regret to say, by negative statements on the actual state of affairs by some forces.
Secondly, although we are witnessing a somewhat improved trend of return of displaced persons to their homes, there must be much more progress in this area.
Progress on return cannot be measured in numbers. Many displaced have probably already decided not to return. Others may be awaiting the outcome of status talks.
Progress on return and measuring progress must be based on the existence of conditions for return that will allow the displaced persons to exercise a free choice whether to return or not.
Action to establish such conditions depends on the provision of institutions in Kosovo, but it depends also on genuine cooperation promoting return by the authorities in Belgrade.
The issue of missing persons that you also refer to, which continues to plague the reestablishment of more normal relations between PISG and the government in Belgrade, has recently seen progress.
After almost a year since its first meeting in March 2004, Pristina-Belgrade dialogue on missing persons has recently resumed. And the working group met on the 16th of March.
Parties agreed, at the first meeting, on the consolidated list of missing persons, persons who have been missing.
And I do expect more progress during next meetings of the working group. The working group will meet in Pristina -- next meeting on the 9th of June.
Human rights cannot be enjoyed in isolation. As long as the Kosovo Serbs continue to exist on the fringes of Kosovo society, as do other minorities, uncertain as to where they belong, they will not actually see their rights within Kosovo, and the institutions will likewise not feel bound to deliver on those rights.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Also for this reason, I'm glad to know that as we move toward status negotiations, partition of Kosovo has been excluded as an option.
Mr. Chairman, so there are indeed many problems still that need to be addressed. But overall, after a period of some inertia, Kosovo is now gathering a positive momentum that needs to be accelerated by the international community.
After one year, direct dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade has resumed on several technical dimensions. Now we are working hard on taking this dialogue to the highest political level.
Within Kosovo we need to build up a stronger support for the process of decentralization that will bring municipal authorities closer to the people and that would promote integration.
There is a growing realization among many Kosovo Serbs that participation in the democratic processes would be more beneficial to their common future in Kosovo.
What we need now is a clear signal from Belgrade that will make it possible for the Kosovo Serbs to engage in the processes under way in Kosovo.
Within the international community, there now seems a broad agreement on a clear way forward. There seems to be broad agreement on the timetable that will lead us to a comprehensive view of standards beginning next month, and if that review is positive, to negotiations on Kosovo's future status, in the autumn.
This is essential as much for the stabilization in Kosovo and for the wider region as for ensuring a sustainable guarantee for the fundamental rights and freedoms of all people of Kosovo.
In concluding let me say how much I welcomed the statement last week to the House Committee on International Relations by Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns.
The full engagement of the United States and a proactive leadership and vision of the Contact Group members, of course, including the United States, in the process of steering Kosovo toward the future is of paramount importance.
I expect the Security Council to confirm the way ahead on Friday, bringing us one step closer to settling the status of Kosovo as the last piece of the puzzle in the Western Balkans.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
BROWNBACK: Thank you. (OFF-MIKE)
ENGLISH: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Thank very much for inviting me to testify today before the Helsinki Commission. It is an honor and a pleasure for me to be here to discuss the future of human rights in Kosovo.
But if I may, let me add that it is also a pleasure for me to appear before this commission alongside Soren Jessen-Petersen. Under Soren's leadership, UNMIK and the international community have made great progress in preparing Kosovo to move forward.
ENGLISH: I would like to commend Soren for his vision, his energy and his commitment to all the people of Kosovo, which have really been a key to so much of our success in the past nine months.
Thank you, sir.
Mr. Chairman, you and the other members of the committee, and Soren as well, have talked about Undersecretary Burns' testimony last week before the House Committee on International Relations. Let me just underscore how serious a beginning we are now engaged in.
In the next few months we expect, as Soren said, the United Nations to launch this comprehensive review of Kosovo's progress toward standard implementation. And if that review is positive, as we hope it will be, we will launch a process to determine Kosovo's future status.
And I want to note that in 2005 this is timely. It's now been a decade since the Dayton accords brought peace to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It's also a decade now since the terrible incidents of Srebrenica. July 11th will be the anniversary of that event.
And it only goes to underscore how important it is for the international community to work in harmony now to resolve this last great problem of the Balkans that Kosovo represents.
And in Kosovo, as we work to enter this new phase, Mr. Chairman, the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms will remain at the forefront of our policy, as it has been under our policy of standards before status.
We couldn't agree with you more, Mr. Chairman, with your opening statement that human rights must play a central role in the process. We assure you that the administration, with our Contact Group colleagues, will focus on this issue to make sure that it is absolutely central to all deliberations that go forward now.
We know that we cannot achieve a lasting settlement in Kosovo until structures, institutions and habits that protect the rights and liberties of all the people in Kosovo are in place. Principles of democracy and multiethnicity, the cornerstones of our overall Balkan policy for over a decade, will continue to guide us.
Mr. Chairman, you and others on the committee, and Mr. Jessen- Petersen as well, have noted that the human rights challenges in Kosovo remain very significant. ENGLISH: The people of Kosovo have suffered a legacy of dictatorship and conflict which culminated in mass murders, rapes, political oppression and forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
About 3,000 people from all sides of the Kosovo conflict remain missing. We are still learning of atrocities that were committed six years ago.
Just this month, another mass grave was discovered in Kosovo that contained the remains of 13 people.
To bring hope for the future to people who have suffered under a climate of fear and hatred for so long will not be easy. But I have to note, in underlining a number of things that Mr. Jessen-Petersen has already said, tangible process has been seen in respect to the human rights situation since the United States led efforts in 1999 to halt egregious abuses of human rights.
And under the stewardship and guidance of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo, UNMIK, Kosovo has now held four successive and democratic elections, established a constitutional framework, developed provisional governing institutions and built a professional and multiethnic police force.
We also continue to see improvements in Kosovo's ability to ensure that its citizens have equal access to the rule of law and that justice is administered equally, transparently and credibly.
All of these developments have resulted in major improvements for the protection of human rights in Kosovo.
But in spite of these significant accomplishments, there remains a major challenge in the protection of human rights in Kosovo, and that is the precarious situation of Kosovo's minority communities.
The minority communities, especially ethnic Serbs and Roma, which includes their derivative communities of Ashkali and Egyptians, continue to face extraordinary obstacles to creating a sustainable life for themselves in Kosovo.
Discrimination remains a serious problem. Access to public services is uneven. Incidents of harassment still occur. Freedom of movement is limited. And too many minorities still feel unsafe in Kosovo. Mr. Chairman, I know that you're well aware of the violence that disrupted lives and led to the deaths of 19 people last year in March, 2004.
Well over 900 homes were destroyed; 29 Serbian Orthodox churches. All of this underlines how much farther we have to go.
Primary responsibility for this lies with Kosovo's majority Albanian community. Until that community adequately protects and guarantees the rights of its minority communities, the pace of Kosovo's Euro-Atlantic integration will suffer.
This is why the United States and the international community, together with UNMIK, have highlighted the achievements of standards related to multiethnicity and the protection of minority rights as our priority.
I wanted to make just one reference, though, if I may, Mr. Chairman, to the fact that, though we often speak of the Serb minority, there are other non-Albanian ethnic groups that live in disadvantaged circumstances in Kosovo.
I've mentioned the Roma, the Ashkali and the Egyptians. They face discrimination and, like the Serbs, many of them have been forced from their homes, and they remain, also, a constant source of preoccupation for the international community.
ENGLISH: If I may shift for just one minute, Mr. Chairman, to discuss the issue of trafficking in persons. I know that that's an important issue for this commission.
I want to note that the fight against trafficking in persons is another focus of our human rights efforts in Kosovo. I note that the police in Kosovo, both local and U.N. civilian police, are becoming more effective at identifying trafficking victims and at infiltrating trafficking rings.
Our priority is to continue to build up local law enforcement and investigative capacity to fight this problem.
The Kosovo government has recently approved an action plan for the fight against trafficking in persons, and we hope and expect that this will spur additional progress on the issue.
Soren Jessen-Petersen mentioned continued work with Kosovo authorities to assure freedom of movement. We are also concerned with assuring freedom of assembly, speech and association, and with assuring that elections, when held, continue to meet the standards of free and fair. Thus far, we've been lucky and they have. I offer that as a credit, though, to UNMIK and to actually the will of the people in assuring that their voices are heard.
But I assure you that our focus on this will continue to guide us as Kosovo advances on the path to Europe.
To conclude, Mr. Chairman, 10 years ago, the Balkan region saw massive violations of the ultimate human right. As the horrors of the 1990s recede from memory, the region must now take steps to move beyond that dark era. By solving the Kosovo status question, we can fix the most serious issue still outstanding from the Balkans war.
But I want to note that solving Kosovo's status, however, does not mean that the work to defend human rights and democracy will end. On the contrary, this work must continue and accelerate, particularly if Kosovo is to meet the European Union's high standards for membership.
In a larger sense, this work is never finished in a free and democratic society. The people of Kosovo, minority and majority alike, must never stop working to assure that institutions are transparent, that the political culture is inclusive and that the laws are just. This ongoing commitment to democracy based on the rule of law is the most basic criterion for joining the Euro-Atlantic community and calling oneself a free and just society.
ENGLISH: The United States pledges that we will continue to support Kosovo's efforts to achieve this objective.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
BROWNBACK: Thank you both, gentlemen, for being here. I've got a few questions.
I may be called for a vote. And if that does occur, if there's a chance that you could stay and still respond to some questions that would be put forward by senior staff, I would appreciate that. But hopefully we can get through most of these.
I met with a delegation from the Serbian Orthodox Church, both this year and in 2004, after the rioting took place.
Mr. English, thank you for mentioning some of what occurred.
But when this delegation came here in mid-April, they had several practical recommendations and requests for what could be done to help the minority community.
They note, in that 2004 riot, that while there were people killed, there was property destroyed, a lot of it then permeated people's attitudes, that they just did not feel safe and left or went to other places, and that they felt that -- what people had to do was feel safe again -- safe to be able to reside in the area, safe to be able to go to their churches.
And one of the ideas was to be able to have the church property that was seized by the communists previously returned to the church in Kosovo and then to allow those displaced persons who cannot return to their own villages to resettle near the churches or the monasteries.
Have you thought about this approach as a way of stemming the flow out of people of this minority community so that they could establish a base where people could feel safe in returning to Kosovo?
Have you considered that? Either gentleman.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen, that might be best placed with you first.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Mr. Chairman, thank you.
First of all, I certainly also want to express my deep regret on what happened in 2004. I was not in Kosovo yet, but I lived it very closely because, at the time, I was the European Union special representative in Macedonia, and were able then to be following it closely from there -- also with the risks of spillover, which is always a very real one in that part of the world.
I also want to say I agree with you that it was a setback in many, many ways, but it was certainly also a setback in efforts to promote conditions for return.
Many who are still reflecting at that time on whether to return or not certainly, in March, decided that the time was not yet ripe for that.
In addition to that, most regrettably, we saw further outflow and, in fact, 2004, there was more people leaving Kosovo than returning. And that was most regrettable five years after the end of the war.
And many are still traumatized. When I talked about the problem of freedom of movement, it is still because of the trauma of March 2004.
We are not seeing departures at a level that we should worry about.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Those Kosovo Serbs who are in Kosovo do seem to remain but we should -- and I didn't mention that in my opening remarks -- we should be very careful. On one hand, we should work on promoting the return of the displaced, the structures and the conditions that would allow them to make a choice.
But our efforts should equally be focused on consolidating the presence of those who didn't leave, make sure that they feel safe, that they feel they have a future in Kosovo.
And I will just mention here, two-thirds of all Kosovo Serbs live rather scattered in small villages in the southern part of Kosovo and not up in the north near Mitrovica where we seem to have most of our attention.
As to what the Serbian Orthodox Church mentioned over here -- on one hand, there is no doubt that when we move into status discussions, there are two issues that must be addressed, they're absolutely crucial. In any status settlement, there must be a particular attention to the protection of the minorities and the continued monitoring for some times also after status, continuing international monitoring probably of the minorities. That is key.
And linked to that, there must also be special provisions for the protection of religious sites, Serbian Orthodox churches, in particular.
I do not personally feel that it would be the right thing to try to establish security, let's say, around the churches, security for individuals. I think that our challenge must be and remains to establish security throughout Kosovo so that the minorities, wherever they are, whether they're freely as a lot of them with the Kosovo Albanian and others, but also if they're living in enclaves, that they are safe and protected there.
I would be personally very hesitant to entertain ideas on kinds of safe areas or whatever around churches. I think that our experience in that part of the world and also other parts of the world have taught us that you have to provide security, you have to provide real security in general rather than trying to secure an area.
On the other hand...
BROWNBACK: What about the -- if I could, just to draw a point on that -- what about the return of the property to the church? What do you think about that? JESSEN-PETERSEN: That is certainly an issue that I do understand.
On the other hand, we have to be careful now. Return land that did belong to the church, yes. But inside Kosovo, not as a kind of extraterritoriality. I know that there are those thinking about that. Again, I think one should be very careful.
But we need to ensure and reassure the Serbs, the church, that their sites, their churches will receive particular attention and also particular protection in a future status of Kosovo, but not in terms of extraterritoriality or whatever.
BROWNBACK: No, I don't know of anybody advocating that this would be a separate state or a separate entity if you're talking about extraterritoriality of the church facilities.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: No. I don't think -- I have seen it in various reports. I think one should be very careful with that.
Let me just maybe very briefly mention, we have, just three, four weeks ago, taken an initiative. I signed an executive decision introducing what we called a need for some spatial planning around one of the most important Serbian orthodox churches, Vesoki, in the western part of Kosovo near Decani.
There have recently been a lot of illegal settlements around that church impacting eventually on the integrity of the church. And we felt there was a need to put that under our management for a temporary period to allow for regulation of all activities, all constructions, et cetera, around the church with the view, frankly, for protecting the church, protecting the integrity of the church.
These are measures that we might have to take in other situations. But that is in order to appeal to the institutions in Kosovo to take their responsibility seriously and make sure that nothing happens to the Serbian orthodox churches as we regrettably saw in March 2004.
BROWNBACK: Mr. English?
ENGLISH: If I may just clarify one thought, Mr. Chairman, and just elaborate on one other.
Sir, I mentioned this idea of extraterritoriality that's been kicking around -- just to clarify it for you. One of the suggestions, one of many suggestions that is now floating around in kind of the pre-status discussions is that perhaps Serbian Orthodox Church sites might be linked together in some sort of autonomous arrangement.
Now, the precedent to this is the Mount Athos region in Greece. It's a peninsula in northern Greece in which the Greek Orthodox Church basically enjoys autonomy. It's some 30 or so monasteries that exist on a peninsula. And there have been some who have suggested that perhaps some sort of Mount Athos-type solution be introduced for the Kosovo solution. That's just, as I say, one of a number of ideas that we expect people to advance as we begin the status negotiations.
I just want to say with regard to the return of people to Kosovo, as I mentioned in my statement, Mr. Chairman, this is a critical issue. This is one in which we will focused very strongly. We have been focused on it for the past six years, but there'll be a very renewed focus on it as part of the status discussions.
And we do believe that the status discussions, should they begin in the fall, will offer exactly this sort of opportunity to study and to advance this issue that really has been lacking in the past six years.
First, it will offer the Albanian community some kind of a certainty as to their own status. And so they'll be, we hope and expect, less reluctant in welcoming the return of their former neighbors.
The second thing is the displaced Serbs, Roma and other minorities and also the Albanians displaced within Kosovo will know what kind of Kosovo that they'll be returning to and living in. They'll know the kind of guarantees that will be on the table. Those guarantees will, by design, be strong guarantees.
And so I think that by advancing into the status talks, we can begin to create a kind of climate, and we will begin to create a kind of climate that will be more welcoming for the return of people, whether to their homes as is the traditional way of dealing with the return of refugees, or in some other kind of solution. We're certainly not in a position to say that any sensible solution can't be on the table. All solutions need to be looked at. Thank you.
BROWNBACK: It looks like that number last year of more people leaving than coming back in is a clear indicator people are voting with their feet and they're heading out, that the security situation still isn't resolved, that the opportunities are not developing and this is one we need to put a lot of emphasis and focus on.
BROWNBACK: And the meetings that I've had, a number of people expressed a great deal of fear that they're just not secure. And they're not only not secure, they don't have any opportunities, really, economically to provide for their families in a legitimate, meaningful fashion so they don't return.
And I read in the New York Times, recently, there was an article about Roma returning to Kosovo. Before the conflict, there were an estimated 130,000 Roma in Kosovo. As I understand it, there are only about 30,000 left today; 100,000 are still displaced in various countries throughout Europe. Some 34,000 Kosovar Roma were given temporary protection in Germany, but Germany's preparing to send them back. The return of the Roma to Kosovo, therefore, potentially constitutes one of the largest returns of a group in the foreseeable future.
Is Kosovo ready to absorb this group of people, particularly if Germany is moving to send them back?
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Well, the answer to that is that Kosovo is not in a position today to absorb the kind of numbers that you refer to, Mr. Chairman. And this is part of an ongoing dialogue that UNMIK has not only with Germany, but with a number of European countries that have received, over the years, since '99, displaced persons from Kosovo.
We have, on the basis of guidance from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, on the continuing protection needs of some of these groups including the Romas -- we have urged European countries to be careful, to be careful in returning forcibly -- we're talking about forced return of various groups, and the Roma is one of the groups.
On the other hand, the situation is such that we can and do have the capacity to receive small numbers of the various groups. And we have agreed -- just to refer to that press article which was not entirely correct -- with the Germans that based on very close coordination, where we get the list of people that they intend to return back, we are then given some 40 days to check on the whereabouts and whether it is responsible, whether it is possible for the persons to return. We either agree or we then signal back to, say, for example, Germany, that we would advise against it.
There is a lot of pressure -- it is no secret -- from countries such as Germany, to return or to return forcibly because of the high cost, et cetera, but we are constantly pointing out the need for the capacity to receive, in particular, medical cases, people with serious medical or mental post-trauma problems. We don't have the institutions to take care of it.
So there is an ongoing dialogue there. On the other hand, we have Romas returning, returning from the neighboring countries. We are working on some interim returns of a group of Roma Mahalas who were displaced in '99, who have been living in northern part of Mitrovica. We are working on the return plans for the southern part of Mitrovica.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: So the situation is not black and white. The security situation in some parts of Kosovo is still difficult, in other parts, there are no problems whatsoever. And therefore, there are parts where they can return. It requires an individual case-by- case attention. That's what we're trying to appeal to.
May I just say one word of the economic opportunities, coming back to what Chuck English said earlier?
BROWNBACK: If you could -- I've been buzzed for a vote, so it will have to be a fairly short response.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: It will be very short. Just to say the economy is in very bad shape; there has been very little progress over six years. The main problem is uncertainty over status.
As long as we can not move on investment, and we can't do because of the uncertainty over status, we will not be able to create the economic opportunities which would prompt a lot of displaced to return.
For the displaced today, it is security, it is property and it is economic opportunities. Without status, we will never be able to create the economic opportunities that might promote larger numbers of returns.
BROWNBACK: Do you agree with that, Mr. English?
ENGLISH: I very much agree with that, Mr. Chairman.
I might also add that capital inflows to Kosovo have been greatly hindered by the lack of status.
Kosovo's infrastructure is in disastrous shape. The electricity, water, all of the basic utilities are limping along -- 50-year-old plants in some cases.
The levels of capital inflow that are needed are the sorts of investments that -- in an economy as poor as Kosovo's -- one might turn to the International Development Agency or the World Bank, you know, the soft loan window of the World Bank. Unfortunately, because Kosovo has no status, it has no access to the kinds of money, to the multi-hundreds of millions of dollars that are necessary for these big kinds of projects. That's just one example.
If we resolve Kosovo's status, one of the things we have to make sure we do is resolve it in such a way as to assure Kosovo's access to that. And for that and for many other reasons, status is an issue whose time has come.
Thank you, sir.
BROWNBACK: Thank you.
And gentlemen, I apologize for this. If you could stay around for just a few more minutes, I'd like to ask Elizabeth Pryor, she's a senior adviser to the commission and Bob Hand, a staff adviser for the Balkans, to ask a few questions so that we will have them on the record for this hearing.
And I apologize. I've been called for a vote over the floor. I do appreciate both your attendance and your attention to this.
It does seem like that it's one of those situations that has been in the spotlight previously and starting to get back into it some, but we do need to get some of these issue resolved so we can move forward and the country can heal. It's like it's left with an open wound. And it's not at the status yet to be able to heal.
And you've got a few issues -- security, property, status, economic opportunity. Without those, it's just not going to move much further forward.
Thank you very much for your hearts and your work. God speed to you.
And, Elizabeth and Bob, if you want to step up for a few minutes.
ENGLISH: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
PRYOR: Again, thank you very much for being here today and for staying for a few minutes so that we can get some responses from you on a number of important issues and that they'll be included in the transcript of this hearing.
I thought I'd start by asking about what you think the contributions of the OSCE mission have been in Kosovo and a little bit about where you think it's heading. As hopefully things stabilize in Kosovo, problems of human rights improve, do you see that there's a long-term role for the mission there? Or do you see that it would be drawing down as the United Nations, KFOR and other international institutions might be leaving?
And I'd be interested in responses from both of you.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Well, first of all, I mean, very briefly, very clearly, OSCE (inaudible) of the UNMIK has played an absolutely crucial role over the last six years with the main areas as you've all referred to, human rights -- and I referred several times to OSCE in my opening remarks -- ongoing democratization, organizing very, very professionally, efficiently, four elections over the last six years, and in the various areas of institution building.
That has been a key contribution for building up institutions, capacities, democratic principles institutions, et cetera.
We are, right now, in UNMIK, we have embarked on an exercise to look at UNMIK's role during what I would call the next three phases, that is the phase leading up to the beginning of status discussions, then the phase during status discussions, and then the phase after status discussions.
We have embarked on that exercise not only to identify the role and the contribution UNMIK needs to be positioned and equipped to make, but also in particular in relation to the third phase, post- status, looking already at what I would call an (inaudible) which also requires beginning to reflect on various successor arrangements.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: I will not prejudge the outcome of status, but I don't think it is a secret that irrespective of the outcome, there will be a need for and continued international presence in the area of security but also in many other areas.
And I see in particular, as I mentioned earlier, a continued need for monitoring the rights and conditions of the minorities -- I expect it to be part of the status settlement -- and the need for an international presence to do that.
No doubt, as Chuck English said earlier, status is a long-term exercise, democratization is an ongoing exercise, building up the institutions will have to continue or consolidating the institutions after status. And I see a strong role of the OSCE there.
It's not for me to speculate on whether the OSCE will be prepared, but I think we will clearly need European Union involvement, much stronger involvement, in the post-status, in the area of justice, in the area of security, police, et cetera, in the area of the economy, but also, as I say, important responsibilities, continuing democratization, human rights monitoring, institution building, also out in the municipalities and I would very much look to the E.U. and to the OSCE to be key players in a post-status Kosovo.
PRYOR: Mr. English?
ENGLISH: May I just add to what Mr. Jessen-Petersen has just said? We assume that at some stage, when Kosovo's status is finally determined, whatever form that status will take, as Soren said, we assume that there will be the need for continued international presence.
The form of that continued international presence is really not yet determined. Whether the United Nations would continue to play an administrative role of some sort, not necessarily at the level at which the United Nations has played for the past six years; whether or not some other form would be found -- there are thoughts given to perhaps a European Union mission. The European Union, I must say however, is not enthusiastic about the idea of assuming such a role, because of their self-admitted lack of administrative capacity to do so -- whether or not there'll be some kind of coalition of the willing, if you'll allow, of the sort that we see in Bosnia through the Peace Implementation Council; whether the kind of powers that would exist in a post-UNMIK situation might relate to the sort that are exercised by the high representative, I kind of doubt that. I don't think they'd be that intrusive. ENGLISH: But I don't exclude anything. There are lots of possibilities. But I'm confident, though, that given the fact that the OSCE has played so critical a role in the region, in Bosnia, Herzegovina, in Croatia, in Serbian Montenegro and in Kosovo, that with the wealth of experience that the OSCE has, that there will be a role for the OSCE yet to be defined.
PRYOR: Thank you very much. Just playing on that and playing on the comment that you made, Mr. Jessen-Petersen, about needing an orderly transition as we go through the next months and possibly years, do you think the international presence right now is adequate for that? How would you see that building up or being cut down as we go through the transition period?
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Well, I'd like to divide the answer in two parts.
I have had an opportunity on several occasions, addressing, for example, on two occasions, the North Atlantic Council to appeal to NATO to stay the course, as that's the expression I've used. Right now, the KFOR forces are, I believe, approximately 17,500, 18,000, and as we move into the next phases of getting closer to status talks and probably, this autumn, into status talks, there is no doubt that tensions will mount in Kosovo and in the region.
So much is at stake now and we're already beginning to see increasing tensions. And we need to have throughout that presence, an international security presence that is mobile, that is visible, that is flexible and in terms of capabilities, at the level that they have right now.
I have been assured and reassured that there are intentions at this stage to decrease the capabilities and therefore, more or less, the numbers of the international security force.
That's key. For us to move forward on a political agenda, we need to maintain what is today a relatively safe and secure environment. And for that, we need KFOR more or less at the level that they have right now.
As to the international civilian presence, I refer to the restructuring that we are embarking on.
UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE (HELSINKI COMMISSION) HOLDS HEARING: THE FUTURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOSOVO
MAY 25, 2005
COMMISSIONERS:
U.S. SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK (R-KS) CHAIRMAN U.S. SENATOR GORDON H. SMITH (R-OR) U.S. SENATOR KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R-TX) U.S. SENATOR SAXBY CHAMBLISS (R-GA) VACANT U.S. SENATOR CHRISTOPHER J. DODD (D-CT) U.S. SENATOR RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD (D-WI) U.S. SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY) VACANT
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH (R-NJ) CO-CHAIRMAN U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FRANK R. WOLF (R-VA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPH R. PITTS (R-PA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ROBERT B. ADERHOLT (R-AL) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MIKE PENCE (R-IN) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE BENJAMIN L. CARDIN (D-MD) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE LOUISE MCINTOSH SLAUGHTER (D-NY) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ALCEE L. HASTINGS (D-FL) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MIKE MCINTYRE (D-NC)
WITNESSES/PANELISTS:
SOREN JESSEN-PETERSEN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL HEAD U.N. MISSION IN KOSOVO
CHARLES ENGLISH DIRECTOR OFFICE FOR SOUTH CENTRAL EUROPEAN AFFAIRS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
The hearing was held at 11:00 a.m. in Room 124 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., Sam Brownback, co-chairman, Helsinki Commission, moderating.
[*] BROWNBACK: Good morning. We'll call the hearing to order.
And I thank you all for being here today, and apologies for being a bit late from a prior hearing.
In recent weeks, increased attention's been paid to Kosovo, the status of which is probably the single greatest issue yet to be resolved in the Balkans.
Leaving it unresolved, of course, leaves it as a source of instability in the region, given vast differences of positions regarding what the final status might be.
On the other hand, any effort to resolve the issue of Kosovo's status also poses certain risk.
The result is the careful creation of a process by the international community to move forward to the open-ended talks later this year. Dependent on the outcome of a midyear review of progress and implementing standards, this process was outlined to the Congress by Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns just last week.
Today's hearing on the future of human rights in Kosovo has been scheduled in order to go beyond the broad outline for proceeding with status questions this year, and to examine, instead, the specific impact this process may have on people living in the region.
In particular, many of us believe that there cannot be forward movement or a viable end result regarding Kosovo if human rights do not play a central role in the process.
Whatever status Kosovo achieves, the bottom line is that Kosovo is part of Europe, and all of Europe has committed to respect human rights and fundamental freedom, particularly in the context of the Helsinki final act and subsequent OSCE documents.
All too often, unfortunately, human rights problems can get sidelined in international talks. Those responsible for violations are usually unwilling to change their ways, or the actual exercise of individual rights and freedoms is perceived to be the source of friction.
The easiest course often appears to be one in which victims get ignored if not blamed.
In the case of Kosovo, the leading human rights issues relates to minority communities, including not only the Serb community, but the Roma and others as well.
Parts of these communities have struggled, since 1999, to survive in isolated enclaves with little freedom of movement, while other parts remain displaced and unable to return safely, let alone make a living.
In parts of northern Kosovo and other areas under Serb control, displaced Albanians also have been unable to return to their homes.
Fortunately, several of the aid standards outlined by the United Nations seek to address the rights of members of minority communities in Kosovo. By viewing these standards as excuses to delay or condition a determine of status, however, many Kosovar leaders seem not to understand that respecting human rights is not an option by a requirement.
Our witnesses this day can hopefully shed some light on how to change the situation on the ground in Kosovo, and how human rights will or will not play a role in what has been dubbed, "The year of decision in Kosovo."
BROWNBACK: Before I introduce the witnesses, I'd like to turn to my colleagues for any opening statements.
I understand they may be called for a vote at 11:30, so I would like to ask that they put forward their statement.
Congressman Smith?
C. SMITH: Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
Today's hearing, ladies and gentlemen, is very important because the issues surrounding Kosovo are developing at a rapid pace.
Having cooperated with them on a number of Helsinki Commission issues in the past, including efforts to combat trafficking person, I was very pleased that Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns appeared before the House International Relations Committee on this very important issue.
I am confident that the high level of U.S. engagement on Kosovo his personal involvement represents and that of other very dedicated servants like Charles English, will indeed have a positive impact on Kosovo.
Similarly, I want to thank our distinguished witnesses here today for their willingness as officials of the United Nations and, of course, the State Department, to discuss the situation in Kosovo.
I enthusiastically welcome your participation in this public hearing despite the sensitivities and emotions that obviously surround the debate on Kosovo's future.
While the question of Kosovo's status is important, we must encourage those most directly concerned to arrive at the answer through democratic processes and dialogue. Whatever determination is made regarding Kosovo's status, respect for internationally agreed upon human rights is prerequisite.
Unfortunately, six years after the conflict, the human rights situation in Kosovo is still not a good one, particularly for minority communities who live in enclaves and for the displaced.
We must condemn the sporadic acts of violence, the refusal to permit people to return or move about freely, and the destruction of homes and places of worship. The violence should not be allowed to happen especially when the peace-keeping force and international police are on the ground.
Regardless of what status is being advocated, independence for Kosovo and autonomy or something else, it is only reasonable to insist on the guarantee of basic human rights and freedoms for all people of Kosovo.
Over the years, Mr. Chairman, Helsinki Commission has held, as you know, numerous hearings relating to Kosovo. At times the focus was necessarily on the plight of Kosovar Albanians and the repression they endured during the years of the Milosevic regime.
We also brought attention to those Albanians who were held in Serbian prisons after Milosevic was ousted. We pressed for their release and we did so very vigorously.
Later, it was necessary for us to focus on the plight of Serbs, Roma and others living in Kosovo as minority populations.
We called upon Kosovo's Albanian majority to respect the rights of others just as they themselves deserved. We focused on the situation in Serb-controlled Lichuvisa (ph) as well as finding out what happened to missing persons regardless of their ethnicity.
We called for the prosecution of those responsible for war crimes also without regard to which side they represented. Last year, we condemned the outbreaks of violence in March of 2004 and the targeting of people's homes and their places of worship.
So this hearing indeed comes at a very timely time and I really congratulate you on calling the hearing.
And I yield back the balance of my time.
BROWNBACK: Congressman Cardin?
CARDIN: Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. I join with Mr. Smith in thanking you for holding this hearing on the human rights in Kosovo.
CARDIN: The hallmark of the Helsinki Commission's work has been in the human dimension basket, and we think this is an extremely important hearing for us to know the current situation in Kosovo, as it relates to respect of human rights.
And what we can do as a commission in our work with our colleagues in the parliamentary assembly as well as with the representatives in the State Department, to be as aggressive as we can in moving forward the human rights dimension.
So for that reason we're very pleased to have our two witnesses, an expert from the United Nations and from the State Department, to help us in understanding the current situation.
Let me just mention one area which has been of particular interest to our commission, and particular interest to me and that's the International Criminal Tribunal for war criminals. I'd be very interested as to how that is currently affecting attitudes within Kosovo.
It was a stark contrast when the prime minister of Kosovo was indicted and turned himself in at The Hague and the problems that we've had in other parts of that region in getting those who were indicted before The Hague.
So I'd be interested to see how that is playing within Kosovo itself and what the future holds for trying to bring to justice this part of the tragedy within the former Yugoslavia. We still have a lot of work to do in this regard.
So, Mr. Chairman, I thank you for this hearing. I look forward to hearing the witnesses and looking forward to developing a strategy for our commission to play a constructive role in advancing human rights in Kosovo.
BROWNBACK: Thank you, Congressman Cardin, and it's been noted the gentlemen may be called for a vote over to the House side. They may have to leave for that.
Panel, thank you very much for joining us today.
First, we have Soren Jessen-Petersen of Denmark, special representative of the U.N. Secretary General and head of the U.N. Mission in Kosovo.
This assignment, which he took last year, is a part of a distinguished career that includes years working for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, and with the stability pact on refugee, internally displaced persons and migration issues in the Balkans.
BROWNBACK: Later this week, Mr. Jessen-Petersen plans to report to the Security Council in New York on the current situation in Kosovo.
Our second witness is Mr. Charles English, director of the Office for South Central European Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Mr. English also has a distinguished career in the U.S. Foreign Service that includes assignments in South Central Europe.
We're grateful that Mr. English has offered to participate in the hearing today, especially in light of Undersecretary Burns' presentations just last week.
Gentlemen, thank you very much for being here with us.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen, welcome. And the microphone, the floor is yours.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, honorable members of the commission, ladies and gentlemen, as you mentioned, Mr. Chairman, on Friday, I will be addressing the U.N. Security Council to provide a quarterly update on the situation in Kosovo.
The meeting is crucial for confirming the path for the future status of Kosovo. Kosovo remains the last and the most difficult knot in the Balkans.
The present status quo of its undefined status is not sustainable, not desirable and not acceptable.
If we don't address it in the near term, we risk much of what the international community has achieved in the Balkans over the last 10 years.
In this context, the topic of today's meeting is of utmost importance and very timely.
I would like to commend you, Mr. Chairman, and the commission's membership, for taking this initiative and for inviting me.
Mr. Chairman, the U.N. Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, incorporates a strong human rights component in its mandate. At the end of UNMIK's mission, success will ultimately depend on the efficiency of the mechanisms we have created for the protection of human rights. It is important that the Kosovo institutions and the people of Kosovo have ownership of the human rights principles and mechanisms and ensure their sustainability.
There have been several positive indications recently. The substantially improved security climate reflected in the absence of major interethnic crimes in the past year is a sign that lessons from the riots of March 2004, have been learned, namely, that human rights violations are undermining the image of Kosovo and are against its interests.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: The bulk of the cases following the riots have been handled by the local judiciary and where the several perpetrators have been brought to justice, no cases of miscarriage of justice on account of ethnic bias have been reported.
The OSCE mission in Kosovo, which constitutes a part of the UNMIK-Pillar system, has assisted in creating the ombudsperson institution in Kosovo. In line with the best practice of similar institutions in Western democracies, the ombudsperson of Kosovo works directly with citizens in order to alleviate their human rights concerns and addresses the Provisional Institution of Self-Government, the PISG, and the UNMIK on their behalf.
OSCE has also been crucial in organizing both municipal and general elections in Kosovo, which were found by the Council of Europe to be free and fair. This is no small achievement in terms of ensuring people's right to choose.
Mr. Chairman, the fact that from a postwar, legal and administrative vacuum only six years ago a completely new system has been built in Kosovo has helped to place human rights principles at the core of Kosovo's laws and institutions.
New criminal laws have been framed in tune with international and European standards.
The Kosovo Police Service is multi-ethnic. The Kosovo Protection Corps continues its efforts to attract more recruits from the minority communities and has been reaching out in particular to the Kosovo Serbs. The Kosovo Correctional Service is emerging as another institution with strong human rights credentials.
Codes of conduct that comply with international human rights standards have been adopted for civil servants, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, police and correctional officers.
Within the Kosovo government structure, the Office of Good Governance plays an advisory role on human rights policies. OSCE human rights experts are working with municipal officials in order to ensure municipalities' compliance with international human rights standards.
We expect shortly to establish a human rights advisory panel to which people can bring their grievances on human rights violations.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Furthermore, in accordance with our policy to transfer from UNMIK to the PISG, all responsibilities which are not attributes of sovereignty, 27 out of 32 police stations in Kosovo have been transferred now to the Kosovo Police Service, KPS, control as is the first police region in Gnjilane, where the U.S. forces, of course, have their presence and headquarters.
A dignified handling last March of the ICTY indictment against the former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj, once again, underlined the new level of maturity of Kosovo society and institutions and also respect for the judicial process and for the international judicial process.
And as such, I could say that the action by Ramush Haradinaj and the mature response by the entire society for this indictment -- which evidently came as a shock for the large majority -- the way it was handled was not only in my view a credit to Kosovo's respect for the judicial process, but I believe it also sent a very important message to other parts of the Western Balkans.
So in many ways, the signs are encouraging and there are many positive examples that show the commitment of the institutions in Kosovo to human rights. Most importantly, I would say, the road map forward toward the process leading to (inaudible) discussions is the U.N. Security Council-endorsed standards, standards that are designed to ensure the presence of basic values of multiethnicity, democracy and market orientation in Kosovo.
These standards, our road map, also aim at operationalizing the respect for human rights. Irrespective of (inaudible) of Kosovo's institutions and citizens understand that must, should and will continue.
Further implementation of standards is essential for all the people of Kosovo to live in the kind of society they deserve and for Kosovo to meet the rigorous criteria for a Euro-Atlantic integration.
Mr. Chairman, on Friday, I will inform the Security Council that despite the difficult context in the month of March with the indictment, resignation and immediate voluntary departure of former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj for The Hague, followed by the quick formation of a new government -- despite all that, despite the difficult context, the forward momentum in implementing standards was maintained.
At the same time, there are some areas where the PISG has much more to do. For example, when it comes to freedom of movement, as you refer to, there are many Kosovo Serbs who move around freely, but there are also many who cannot move around freely.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: This is a problem that must be addressed and resolved. Although UNMIK and KFOR are increasingly convinced that the fear of movement among minorities is very often more perception than actual fact, I regret to say, by negative statements on the actual state of affairs by some forces.
Secondly, although we are witnessing a somewhat improved trend of return of displaced persons to their homes, there must be much more progress in this area.
Progress on return cannot be measured in numbers. Many displaced have probably already decided not to return. Others may be awaiting the outcome of status talks.
Progress on return and measuring progress must be based on the existence of conditions for return that will allow the displaced persons to exercise a free choice whether to return or not.
Action to establish such conditions depends on the provision of institutions in Kosovo, but it depends also on genuine cooperation promoting return by the authorities in Belgrade.
The issue of missing persons that you also refer to, which continues to plague the reestablishment of more normal relations between PISG and the government in Belgrade, has recently seen progress.
After almost a year since its first meeting in March 2004, Pristina-Belgrade dialogue on missing persons has recently resumed. And the working group met on the 16th of March.
Parties agreed, at the first meeting, on the consolidated list of missing persons, persons who have been missing.
And I do expect more progress during next meetings of the working group. The working group will meet in Pristina -- next meeting on the 9th of June.
Human rights cannot be enjoyed in isolation. As long as the Kosovo Serbs continue to exist on the fringes of Kosovo society, as do other minorities, uncertain as to where they belong, they will not actually see their rights within Kosovo, and the institutions will likewise not feel bound to deliver on those rights.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Also for this reason, I'm glad to know that as we move toward status negotiations, partition of Kosovo has been excluded as an option.
Mr. Chairman, so there are indeed many problems still that need to be addressed. But overall, after a period of some inertia, Kosovo is now gathering a positive momentum that needs to be accelerated by the international community.
After one year, direct dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade has resumed on several technical dimensions. Now we are working hard on taking this dialogue to the highest political level.
Within Kosovo we need to build up a stronger support for the process of decentralization that will bring municipal authorities closer to the people and that would promote integration.
There is a growing realization among many Kosovo Serbs that participation in the democratic processes would be more beneficial to their common future in Kosovo.
What we need now is a clear signal from Belgrade that will make it possible for the Kosovo Serbs to engage in the processes under way in Kosovo.
Within the international community, there now seems a broad agreement on a clear way forward. There seems to be broad agreement on the timetable that will lead us to a comprehensive view of standards beginning next month, and if that review is positive, to negotiations on Kosovo's future status, in the autumn.
This is essential as much for the stabilization in Kosovo and for the wider region as for ensuring a sustainable guarantee for the fundamental rights and freedoms of all people of Kosovo.
In concluding let me say how much I welcomed the statement last week to the House Committee on International Relations by Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns.
The full engagement of the United States and a proactive leadership and vision of the Contact Group members, of course, including the United States, in the process of steering Kosovo toward the future is of paramount importance.
I expect the Security Council to confirm the way ahead on Friday, bringing us one step closer to settling the status of Kosovo as the last piece of the puzzle in the Western Balkans.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
BROWNBACK: Thank you. (OFF-MIKE)
ENGLISH: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Thank very much for inviting me to testify today before the Helsinki Commission. It is an honor and a pleasure for me to be here to discuss the future of human rights in Kosovo.
But if I may, let me add that it is also a pleasure for me to appear before this commission alongside Soren Jessen-Petersen. Under Soren's leadership, UNMIK and the international community have made great progress in preparing Kosovo to move forward.
ENGLISH: I would like to commend Soren for his vision, his energy and his commitment to all the people of Kosovo, which have really been a key to so much of our success in the past nine months.
Thank you, sir.
Mr. Chairman, you and the other members of the committee, and Soren as well, have talked about Undersecretary Burns' testimony last week before the House Committee on International Relations. Let me just underscore how serious a beginning we are now engaged in.
In the next few months we expect, as Soren said, the United Nations to launch this comprehensive review of Kosovo's progress toward standard implementation. And if that review is positive, as we hope it will be, we will launch a process to determine Kosovo's future status.
And I want to note that in 2005 this is timely. It's now been a decade since the Dayton accords brought peace to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It's also a decade now since the terrible incidents of Srebrenica. July 11th will be the anniversary of that event.
And it only goes to underscore how important it is for the international community to work in harmony now to resolve this last great problem of the Balkans that Kosovo represents.
And in Kosovo, as we work to enter this new phase, Mr. Chairman, the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms will remain at the forefront of our policy, as it has been under our policy of standards before status.
We couldn't agree with you more, Mr. Chairman, with your opening statement that human rights must play a central role in the process. We assure you that the administration, with our Contact Group colleagues, will focus on this issue to make sure that it is absolutely central to all deliberations that go forward now.
We know that we cannot achieve a lasting settlement in Kosovo until structures, institutions and habits that protect the rights and liberties of all the people in Kosovo are in place. Principles of democracy and multiethnicity, the cornerstones of our overall Balkan policy for over a decade, will continue to guide us.
Mr. Chairman, you and others on the committee, and Mr. Jessen- Petersen as well, have noted that the human rights challenges in Kosovo remain very significant. ENGLISH: The people of Kosovo have suffered a legacy of dictatorship and conflict which culminated in mass murders, rapes, political oppression and forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
About 3,000 people from all sides of the Kosovo conflict remain missing. We are still learning of atrocities that were committed six years ago.
Just this month, another mass grave was discovered in Kosovo that contained the remains of 13 people.
To bring hope for the future to people who have suffered under a climate of fear and hatred for so long will not be easy. But I have to note, in underlining a number of things that Mr. Jessen-Petersen has already said, tangible process has been seen in respect to the human rights situation since the United States led efforts in 1999 to halt egregious abuses of human rights.
And under the stewardship and guidance of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo, UNMIK, Kosovo has now held four successive and democratic elections, established a constitutional framework, developed provisional governing institutions and built a professional and multiethnic police force.
We also continue to see improvements in Kosovo's ability to ensure that its citizens have equal access to the rule of law and that justice is administered equally, transparently and credibly.
All of these developments have resulted in major improvements for the protection of human rights in Kosovo.
But in spite of these significant accomplishments, there remains a major challenge in the protection of human rights in Kosovo, and that is the precarious situation of Kosovo's minority communities.
The minority communities, especially ethnic Serbs and Roma, which includes their derivative communities of Ashkali and Egyptians, continue to face extraordinary obstacles to creating a sustainable life for themselves in Kosovo.
Discrimination remains a serious problem. Access to public services is uneven. Incidents of harassment still occur. Freedom of movement is limited. And too many minorities still feel unsafe in Kosovo. Mr. Chairman, I know that you're well aware of the violence that disrupted lives and led to the deaths of 19 people last year in March, 2004.
Well over 900 homes were destroyed; 29 Serbian Orthodox churches. All of this underlines how much farther we have to go.
Primary responsibility for this lies with Kosovo's majority Albanian community. Until that community adequately protects and guarantees the rights of its minority communities, the pace of Kosovo's Euro-Atlantic integration will suffer.
This is why the United States and the international community, together with UNMIK, have highlighted the achievements of standards related to multiethnicity and the protection of minority rights as our priority.
I wanted to make just one reference, though, if I may, Mr. Chairman, to the fact that, though we often speak of the Serb minority, there are other non-Albanian ethnic groups that live in disadvantaged circumstances in Kosovo.
I've mentioned the Roma, the Ashkali and the Egyptians. They face discrimination and, like the Serbs, many of them have been forced from their homes, and they remain, also, a constant source of preoccupation for the international community.
ENGLISH: If I may shift for just one minute, Mr. Chairman, to discuss the issue of trafficking in persons. I know that that's an important issue for this commission.
I want to note that the fight against trafficking in persons is another focus of our human rights efforts in Kosovo. I note that the police in Kosovo, both local and U.N. civilian police, are becoming more effective at identifying trafficking victims and at infiltrating trafficking rings.
Our priority is to continue to build up local law enforcement and investigative capacity to fight this problem.
The Kosovo government has recently approved an action plan for the fight against trafficking in persons, and we hope and expect that this will spur additional progress on the issue.
Soren Jessen-Petersen mentioned continued work with Kosovo authorities to assure freedom of movement. We are also concerned with assuring freedom of assembly, speech and association, and with assuring that elections, when held, continue to meet the standards of free and fair. Thus far, we've been lucky and they have. I offer that as a credit, though, to UNMIK and to actually the will of the people in assuring that their voices are heard.
But I assure you that our focus on this will continue to guide us as Kosovo advances on the path to Europe.
To conclude, Mr. Chairman, 10 years ago, the Balkan region saw massive violations of the ultimate human right. As the horrors of the 1990s recede from memory, the region must now take steps to move beyond that dark era. By solving the Kosovo status question, we can fix the most serious issue still outstanding from the Balkans war.
But I want to note that solving Kosovo's status, however, does not mean that the work to defend human rights and democracy will end. On the contrary, this work must continue and accelerate, particularly if Kosovo is to meet the European Union's high standards for membership.
In a larger sense, this work is never finished in a free and democratic society. The people of Kosovo, minority and majority alike, must never stop working to assure that institutions are transparent, that the political culture is inclusive and that the laws are just. This ongoing commitment to democracy based on the rule of law is the most basic criterion for joining the Euro-Atlantic community and calling oneself a free and just society.
ENGLISH: The United States pledges that we will continue to support Kosovo's efforts to achieve this objective.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
BROWNBACK: Thank you both, gentlemen, for being here. I've got a few questions.
I may be called for a vote. And if that does occur, if there's a chance that you could stay and still respond to some questions that would be put forward by senior staff, I would appreciate that. But hopefully we can get through most of these.
I met with a delegation from the Serbian Orthodox Church, both this year and in 2004, after the rioting took place.
Mr. English, thank you for mentioning some of what occurred.
But when this delegation came here in mid-April, they had several practical recommendations and requests for what could be done to help the minority community.
They note, in that 2004 riot, that while there were people killed, there was property destroyed, a lot of it then permeated people's attitudes, that they just did not feel safe and left or went to other places, and that they felt that -- what people had to do was feel safe again -- safe to be able to reside in the area, safe to be able to go to their churches.
And one of the ideas was to be able to have the church property that was seized by the communists previously returned to the church in Kosovo and then to allow those displaced persons who cannot return to their own villages to resettle near the churches or the monasteries.
Have you thought about this approach as a way of stemming the flow out of people of this minority community so that they could establish a base where people could feel safe in returning to Kosovo?
Have you considered that? Either gentleman.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen, that might be best placed with you first.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Mr. Chairman, thank you.
First of all, I certainly also want to express my deep regret on what happened in 2004. I was not in Kosovo yet, but I lived it very closely because, at the time, I was the European Union special representative in Macedonia, and were able then to be following it closely from there -- also with the risks of spillover, which is always a very real one in that part of the world.
I also want to say I agree with you that it was a setback in many, many ways, but it was certainly also a setback in efforts to promote conditions for return.
Many who are still reflecting at that time on whether to return or not certainly, in March, decided that the time was not yet ripe for that.
In addition to that, most regrettably, we saw further outflow and, in fact, 2004, there was more people leaving Kosovo than returning. And that was most regrettable five years after the end of the war.
And many are still traumatized. When I talked about the problem of freedom of movement, it is still because of the trauma of March 2004.
We are not seeing departures at a level that we should worry about.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Those Kosovo Serbs who are in Kosovo do seem to remain but we should -- and I didn't mention that in my opening remarks -- we should be very careful. On one hand, we should work on promoting the return of the displaced, the structures and the conditions that would allow them to make a choice.
But our efforts should equally be focused on consolidating the presence of those who didn't leave, make sure that they feel safe, that they feel they have a future in Kosovo.
And I will just mention here, two-thirds of all Kosovo Serbs live rather scattered in small villages in the southern part of Kosovo and not up in the north near Mitrovica where we seem to have most of our attention.
As to what the Serbian Orthodox Church mentioned over here -- on one hand, there is no doubt that when we move into status discussions, there are two issues that must be addressed, they're absolutely crucial. In any status settlement, there must be a particular attention to the protection of the minorities and the continued monitoring for some times also after status, continuing international monitoring probably of the minorities. That is key.
And linked to that, there must also be special provisions for the protection of religious sites, Serbian Orthodox churches, in particular.
I do not personally feel that it would be the right thing to try to establish security, let's say, around the churches, security for individuals. I think that our challenge must be and remains to establish security throughout Kosovo so that the minorities, wherever they are, whether they're freely as a lot of them with the Kosovo Albanian and others, but also if they're living in enclaves, that they are safe and protected there.
I would be personally very hesitant to entertain ideas on kinds of safe areas or whatever around churches. I think that our experience in that part of the world and also other parts of the world have taught us that you have to provide security, you have to provide real security in general rather than trying to secure an area.
On the other hand...
BROWNBACK: What about the -- if I could, just to draw a point on that -- what about the return of the property to the church? What do you think about that? JESSEN-PETERSEN: That is certainly an issue that I do understand.
On the other hand, we have to be careful now. Return land that did belong to the church, yes. But inside Kosovo, not as a kind of extraterritoriality. I know that there are those thinking about that. Again, I think one should be very careful.
But we need to ensure and reassure the Serbs, the church, that their sites, their churches will receive particular attention and also particular protection in a future status of Kosovo, but not in terms of extraterritoriality or whatever.
BROWNBACK: No, I don't know of anybody advocating that this would be a separate state or a separate entity if you're talking about extraterritoriality of the church facilities.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: No. I don't think -- I have seen it in various reports. I think one should be very careful with that.
Let me just maybe very briefly mention, we have, just three, four weeks ago, taken an initiative. I signed an executive decision introducing what we called a need for some spatial planning around one of the most important Serbian orthodox churches, Vesoki, in the western part of Kosovo near Decani.
There have recently been a lot of illegal settlements around that church impacting eventually on the integrity of the church. And we felt there was a need to put that under our management for a temporary period to allow for regulation of all activities, all constructions, et cetera, around the church with the view, frankly, for protecting the church, protecting the integrity of the church.
These are measures that we might have to take in other situations. But that is in order to appeal to the institutions in Kosovo to take their responsibility seriously and make sure that nothing happens to the Serbian orthodox churches as we regrettably saw in March 2004.
BROWNBACK: Mr. English?
ENGLISH: If I may just clarify one thought, Mr. Chairman, and just elaborate on one other.
Sir, I mentioned this idea of extraterritoriality that's been kicking around -- just to clarify it for you. One of the suggestions, one of many suggestions that is now floating around in kind of the pre-status discussions is that perhaps Serbian Orthodox Church sites might be linked together in some sort of autonomous arrangement.
Now, the precedent to this is the Mount Athos region in Greece. It's a peninsula in northern Greece in which the Greek Orthodox Church basically enjoys autonomy. It's some 30 or so monasteries that exist on a peninsula. And there have been some who have suggested that perhaps some sort of Mount Athos-type solution be introduced for the Kosovo solution. That's just, as I say, one of a number of ideas that we expect people to advance as we begin the status negotiations.
I just want to say with regard to the return of people to Kosovo, as I mentioned in my statement, Mr. Chairman, this is a critical issue. This is one in which we will focused very strongly. We have been focused on it for the past six years, but there'll be a very renewed focus on it as part of the status discussions.
And we do believe that the status discussions, should they begin in the fall, will offer exactly this sort of opportunity to study and to advance this issue that really has been lacking in the past six years.
First, it will offer the Albanian community some kind of a certainty as to their own status. And so they'll be, we hope and expect, less reluctant in welcoming the return of their former neighbors.
The second thing is the displaced Serbs, Roma and other minorities and also the Albanians displaced within Kosovo will know what kind of Kosovo that they'll be returning to and living in. They'll know the kind of guarantees that will be on the table. Those guarantees will, by design, be strong guarantees.
And so I think that by advancing into the status talks, we can begin to create a kind of climate, and we will begin to create a kind of climate that will be more welcoming for the return of people, whether to their homes as is the traditional way of dealing with the return of refugees, or in some other kind of solution. We're certainly not in a position to say that any sensible solution can't be on the table. All solutions need to be looked at. Thank you.
BROWNBACK: It looks like that number last year of more people leaving than coming back in is a clear indicator people are voting with their feet and they're heading out, that the security situation still isn't resolved, that the opportunities are not developing and this is one we need to put a lot of emphasis and focus on.
BROWNBACK: And the meetings that I've had, a number of people expressed a great deal of fear that they're just not secure. And they're not only not secure, they don't have any opportunities, really, economically to provide for their families in a legitimate, meaningful fashion so they don't return.
And I read in the New York Times, recently, there was an article about Roma returning to Kosovo. Before the conflict, there were an estimated 130,000 Roma in Kosovo. As I understand it, there are only about 30,000 left today; 100,000 are still displaced in various countries throughout Europe. Some 34,000 Kosovar Roma were given temporary protection in Germany, but Germany's preparing to send them back. The return of the Roma to Kosovo, therefore, potentially constitutes one of the largest returns of a group in the foreseeable future.
Is Kosovo ready to absorb this group of people, particularly if Germany is moving to send them back?
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Well, the answer to that is that Kosovo is not in a position today to absorb the kind of numbers that you refer to, Mr. Chairman. And this is part of an ongoing dialogue that UNMIK has not only with Germany, but with a number of European countries that have received, over the years, since '99, displaced persons from Kosovo.
We have, on the basis of guidance from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, on the continuing protection needs of some of these groups including the Romas -- we have urged European countries to be careful, to be careful in returning forcibly -- we're talking about forced return of various groups, and the Roma is one of the groups.
On the other hand, the situation is such that we can and do have the capacity to receive small numbers of the various groups. And we have agreed -- just to refer to that press article which was not entirely correct -- with the Germans that based on very close coordination, where we get the list of people that they intend to return back, we are then given some 40 days to check on the whereabouts and whether it is responsible, whether it is possible for the persons to return. We either agree or we then signal back to, say, for example, Germany, that we would advise against it.
There is a lot of pressure -- it is no secret -- from countries such as Germany, to return or to return forcibly because of the high cost, et cetera, but we are constantly pointing out the need for the capacity to receive, in particular, medical cases, people with serious medical or mental post-trauma problems. We don't have the institutions to take care of it.
So there is an ongoing dialogue there. On the other hand, we have Romas returning, returning from the neighboring countries. We are working on some interim returns of a group of Roma Mahalas who were displaced in '99, who have been living in northern part of Mitrovica. We are working on the return plans for the southern part of Mitrovica.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: So the situation is not black and white. The security situation in some parts of Kosovo is still difficult, in other parts, there are no problems whatsoever. And therefore, there are parts where they can return. It requires an individual case-by- case attention. That's what we're trying to appeal to.
May I just say one word of the economic opportunities, coming back to what Chuck English said earlier?
BROWNBACK: If you could -- I've been buzzed for a vote, so it will have to be a fairly short response.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: It will be very short. Just to say the economy is in very bad shape; there has been very little progress over six years. The main problem is uncertainty over status.
As long as we can not move on investment, and we can't do because of the uncertainty over status, we will not be able to create the economic opportunities which would prompt a lot of displaced to return.
For the displaced today, it is security, it is property and it is economic opportunities. Without status, we will never be able to create the economic opportunities that might promote larger numbers of returns.
BROWNBACK: Do you agree with that, Mr. English?
ENGLISH: I very much agree with that, Mr. Chairman.
I might also add that capital inflows to Kosovo have been greatly hindered by the lack of status.
Kosovo's infrastructure is in disastrous shape. The electricity, water, all of the basic utilities are limping along -- 50-year-old plants in some cases.
The levels of capital inflow that are needed are the sorts of investments that -- in an economy as poor as Kosovo's -- one might turn to the International Development Agency or the World Bank, you know, the soft loan window of the World Bank. Unfortunately, because Kosovo has no status, it has no access to the kinds of money, to the multi-hundreds of millions of dollars that are necessary for these big kinds of projects. That's just one example.
If we resolve Kosovo's status, one of the things we have to make sure we do is resolve it in such a way as to assure Kosovo's access to that. And for that and for many other reasons, status is an issue whose time has come.
Thank you, sir.
BROWNBACK: Thank you.
And gentlemen, I apologize for this. If you could stay around for just a few more minutes, I'd like to ask Elizabeth Pryor, she's a senior adviser to the commission and Bob Hand, a staff adviser for the Balkans, to ask a few questions so that we will have them on the record for this hearing.
And I apologize. I've been called for a vote over the floor. I do appreciate both your attendance and your attention to this.
It does seem like that it's one of those situations that has been in the spotlight previously and starting to get back into it some, but we do need to get some of these issue resolved so we can move forward and the country can heal. It's like it's left with an open wound. And it's not at the status yet to be able to heal.
And you've got a few issues -- security, property, status, economic opportunity. Without those, it's just not going to move much further forward.
Thank you very much for your hearts and your work. God speed to you.
And, Elizabeth and Bob, if you want to step up for a few minutes.
ENGLISH: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
PRYOR: Again, thank you very much for being here today and for staying for a few minutes so that we can get some responses from you on a number of important issues and that they'll be included in the transcript of this hearing.
I thought I'd start by asking about what you think the contributions of the OSCE mission have been in Kosovo and a little bit about where you think it's heading. As hopefully things stabilize in Kosovo, problems of human rights improve, do you see that there's a long-term role for the mission there? Or do you see that it would be drawing down as the United Nations, KFOR and other international institutions might be leaving?
And I'd be interested in responses from both of you.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Well, first of all, I mean, very briefly, very clearly, OSCE (inaudible) of the UNMIK has played an absolutely crucial role over the last six years with the main areas as you've all referred to, human rights -- and I referred several times to OSCE in my opening remarks -- ongoing democratization, organizing very, very professionally, efficiently, four elections over the last six years, and in the various areas of institution building.
That has been a key contribution for building up institutions, capacities, democratic principles institutions, et cetera.
We are, right now, in UNMIK, we have embarked on an exercise to look at UNMIK's role during what I would call the next three phases, that is the phase leading up to the beginning of status discussions, then the phase during status discussions, and then the phase after status discussions.
We have embarked on that exercise not only to identify the role and the contribution UNMIK needs to be positioned and equipped to make, but also in particular in relation to the third phase, post- status, looking already at what I would call an (inaudible) which also requires beginning to reflect on various successor arrangements.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: I will not prejudge the outcome of status, but I don't think it is a secret that irrespective of the outcome, there will be a need for and continued international presence in the area of security but also in many other areas.
And I see in particular, as I mentioned earlier, a continued need for monitoring the rights and conditions of the minorities -- I expect it to be part of the status settlement -- and the need for an international presence to do that.
No doubt, as Chuck English said earlier, status is a long-term exercise, democratization is an ongoing exercise, building up the institutions will have to continue or consolidating the institutions after status. And I see a strong role of the OSCE there.
It's not for me to speculate on whether the OSCE will be prepared, but I think we will clearly need European Union involvement, much stronger involvement, in the post-status, in the area of justice, in the area of security, police, et cetera, in the area of the economy, but also, as I say, important responsibilities, continuing democratization, human rights monitoring, institution building, also out in the municipalities and I would very much look to the E.U. and to the OSCE to be key players in a post-status Kosovo.
PRYOR: Mr. English?
ENGLISH: May I just add to what Mr. Jessen-Petersen has just said? We assume that at some stage, when Kosovo's status is finally determined, whatever form that status will take, as Soren said, we assume that there will be the need for continued international presence.
The form of that continued international presence is really not yet determined. Whether the United Nations would continue to play an administrative role of some sort, not necessarily at the level at which the United Nations has played for the past six years; whether or not some other form would be found -- there are thoughts given to perhaps a European Union mission. The European Union, I must say however, is not enthusiastic about the idea of assuming such a role, because of their self-admitted lack of administrative capacity to do so -- whether or not there'll be some kind of coalition of the willing, if you'll allow, of the sort that we see in Bosnia through the Peace Implementation Council; whether the kind of powers that would exist in a post-UNMIK situation might relate to the sort that are exercised by the high representative, I kind of doubt that. I don't think they'd be that intrusive. ENGLISH: But I don't exclude anything. There are lots of possibilities. But I'm confident, though, that given the fact that the OSCE has played so critical a role in the region, in Bosnia, Herzegovina, in Croatia, in Serbian Montenegro and in Kosovo, that with the wealth of experience that the OSCE has, that there will be a role for the OSCE yet to be defined.
PRYOR: Thank you very much. Just playing on that and playing on the comment that you made, Mr. Jessen-Petersen, about needing an orderly transition as we go through the next months and possibly years, do you think the international presence right now is adequate for that? How would you see that building up or being cut down as we go through the transition period?
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Well, I'd like to divide the answer in two parts.
I have had an opportunity on several occasions, addressing, for example, on two occasions, the North Atlantic Council to appeal to NATO to stay the course, as that's the expression I've used. Right now, the KFOR forces are, I believe, approximately 17,500, 18,000, and as we move into the next phases of getting closer to status talks and probably, this autumn, into status talks, there is no doubt that tensions will mount in Kosovo and in the region.
So much is at stake now and we're already beginning to see increasing tensions. And we need to have throughout that presence, an international security presence that is mobile, that is visible, that is flexible and in terms of capabilities, at the level that they have right now.
I have been assured and reassured that there are intentions at this stage to decrease the capabilities and therefore, more or less, the numbers of the international security force.
That's key. For us to move forward on a political agenda, we need to maintain what is today a relatively safe and secure environment. And for that, we need KFOR more or less at the level that they have right now.
As to the international civilian presence, I refer to the restructuring that we are embarking on.
STATE DEPARTMENT REGULAR BRIEFING BRIEFER: RICHARD BOUCHER, DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN
Q Yesterday, in an important three-hour forum on the status of Kosovo at the Wilson Center, your director of the Office of South and Central European Affairs, Mr. Charles English, stated clearly that, quote, "Kosovo must be governed by the Kosovars period," quote. Do you agree, since that means indepence and partition of Serbia?
MR. BOUCHER: Our undersecretary for political affairs spoke at great length about the situation last week. I'll leave it with what he said.
Q The same U.S. official -- MR. BOUCHER: Okay, we've got other people that want to ask questions.
Q Yes. The same U.S. official, Mr. Charles English, to a question of mine during this conference, "Who created Kosovo?" declared loudly that, quote, "It was a work of God. I have to run to the State Department. I am late." Unquote. I submit that God might have had something to do with the creation of the official, but not of Kosovo. And I'm wondering if his answer reflects the U.S. policy to this effect?
(Laughter.) MR. BOUCHER: I'm sorry, I don't have anything on that.
We'll try to check with God to see what he has.
Q Mr. Boucher, why everyone -- why everyone in your government is so sensitive in accepting the historical fact that today's Kosovo is a product of Adolf Hitler, who created that in September 1943, transferring Albanians from the mainland, saying that the Albanians are, quote, "vital mountain warriors race," unquote, that fitted very well in his racist theories. Why you do not accept this?
MR. BOUCHER: Our undersecretary addressed these matters in great length last week, and I'll stick with what he said. If these matters are relevant to our current consideration, I'm sure he addressed them.
Okay, let's go on and finish off with rest of the questions.
MR. BOUCHER: Our undersecretary for political affairs spoke at great length about the situation last week. I'll leave it with what he said.
Q The same U.S. official -- MR. BOUCHER: Okay, we've got other people that want to ask questions.
Q Yes. The same U.S. official, Mr. Charles English, to a question of mine during this conference, "Who created Kosovo?" declared loudly that, quote, "It was a work of God. I have to run to the State Department. I am late." Unquote. I submit that God might have had something to do with the creation of the official, but not of Kosovo. And I'm wondering if his answer reflects the U.S. policy to this effect?
(Laughter.) MR. BOUCHER: I'm sorry, I don't have anything on that.
We'll try to check with God to see what he has.
Q Mr. Boucher, why everyone -- why everyone in your government is so sensitive in accepting the historical fact that today's Kosovo is a product of Adolf Hitler, who created that in September 1943, transferring Albanians from the mainland, saying that the Albanians are, quote, "vital mountain warriors race," unquote, that fitted very well in his racist theories. Why you do not accept this?
MR. BOUCHER: Our undersecretary addressed these matters in great length last week, and I'll stick with what he said. If these matters are relevant to our current consideration, I'm sure he addressed them.
Okay, let's go on and finish off with rest of the questions.
U.S. SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK (R-KS) HOLDS HEARING ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOSOVO - COMMITTEE HEARING
COMMISSIONERS:
U.S. SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK (R-KS) CHAIRMAN U.S. SENATOR GORDON H. SMITH (R-OR) U.S. SENATOR KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R-TX) U.S. SENATOR SAXBY CHAMBLISS (R-GA) VACANT U.S. SENATOR CHRISTOPHER J. DODD (D-CT) U.S. SENATOR RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD (D-WI) U.S. SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY) VACANT
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH (R-NJ) CO-CHAIRMAN U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FRANK R. WOLF (R-VA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPH R. PITTS (R-PA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ROBERT B. ADERHOLT (R-AL) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MIKE PENCE (R-IN) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE BENJAMIN L. CARDIN (D-MD) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE LOUISE MCINTOSH SLAUGHTER (D-NY) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ALCEE L. HASTINGS (D-FL) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MIKE MCINTYRE (D-NC)
WITNESSES/PANELISTS:
SOREN JESSEN-PETERSEN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL HEAD U.N. MISSION IN KOSOVO
The hearing was held at 11:00 a.m. in Room 124 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., Sam Brownback, co-chairman, Helsinki Commission, moderating.
[*] BROWNBACK: Good morning. We'll call the hearing to order.
And I thank you all for being here today, and apologies for being a bit late from a prior hearing.
In recent weeks, increased attention's been paid to Kosovo, the status of which is probably the single greatest issue yet to be resolved in the Balkans.
Leaving it unresolved, of course, leaves it as a source of instability in the region, given vast differences of positions regarding what the final status might be.
On the other hand, any effort to resolve the issue of Kosovo's status also poses certain risk.
The result is the careful creation of a process by the international community to move forward to the open-ended talks later this year. Dependent on the outcome of a midyear review of progress and implementing standards, this process was outlined to the Congress by Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns just last week.
Today's hearing on the future of human rights in Kosovo has been scheduled in order to go beyond the broad outline for proceeding with status questions this year, and to examine, instead, the specific impact this process may have on people living in the region.
In particular, many of us believe that there cannot be forward movement or a viable end result regarding Kosovo if human rights do not play a central role in the process.
Whatever status Kosovo achieves, the bottom line is that Kosovo is part of Europe, and all of Europe has committed to respect human rights and fundamental freedom, particularly in the context of the Helsinki final act and subsequent OSCE documents.
All too often, unfortunately, human rights problems can get sidelined in international talks. Those responsible for violations are usually unwilling to change their ways, or the actual exercise of individual rights and freedoms is perceived to be the source of friction.
The easiest course often appears to be one in which victims get ignored if not blamed.
In the case of Kosovo, the leading human rights issues relates to minority communities, including not only the Serb community, but the Roma and others as well.
Parts of these communities have struggled, since 1999, to survive in isolated enclaves with little freedom of movement, while other parts remain displaced and unable to return safely, let alone make a living.
In parts of northern Kosovo and other areas under Serb control, displaced Albanians also have been unable to return to their homes.
Fortunately, several of the aid standards outlined by the United Nations seek to address the rights of members of minority communities in Kosovo. By viewing these standards as excuses to delay or condition a determine of status, however, many Kosovar leaders seem not to understand that respecting human rights is not an option by a requirement.
Our witnesses this day can hopefully shed some light on how to change the situation on the ground in Kosovo, and how human rights will or will not play a role in what has been dubbed, "The year of decision in Kosovo."
BROWNBACK: Before I introduce the witnesses, I'd like to turn to my colleagues for any opening statements.
I understand they may be called for a vote at 11:30, so I would like to ask that they put forward their statement.
Congressman Smith?
C. SMITH: Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
Today's hearing, ladies and gentlemen, is very important because the issues surrounding Kosovo are developing at a rapid pace.
Having cooperated with them on a number of Helsinki Commission issues in the past, including efforts to combat trafficking person, I was very pleased that Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns appeared before the House International Relations Committee on this very important issue.
I am confident that the high level of U.S. engagement on Kosovo his personal involvement represents and that of other very dedicated servants like Charles English, will indeed have a positive impact on Kosovo.
Similarly, I want to thank our distinguished witnesses here today for their willingness as officials of the United Nations and, of course, the State Department, to discuss the situation in Kosovo.
I enthusiastically welcome your participation in this public hearing despite the sensitivities and emotions that obviously surround the debate on Kosovo's future.
While the question of Kosovo's status is important, we must encourage those most directly concerned to arrive at the answer through democratic processes and dialogue. Whatever determination is made regarding Kosovo's status, respect for internationally agreed upon human rights is prerequisite.
Unfortunately, six years after the conflict, the human rights situation in Kosovo is still not a good one, particularly for minority communities who live in enclaves and for the displaced.
We must condemn the sporadic acts of violence, the refusal to permit people to return or move about freely, and the destruction of homes and places of worship. The violence should not be allowed to happen especially when the peace-keeping force and international police are on the ground.
Regardless of what status is being advocated, independence for Kosovo and autonomy or something else, it is only reasonable to insist on the guarantee of basic human rights and freedoms for all people of Kosovo.
Over the years, Mr. Chairman, Helsinki Commission has held, as you know, numerous hearings relating to Kosovo. At times the focus was necessarily on the plight of Kosovar Albanians and the repression they endured during the years of the Milosevic regime.
We also brought attention to those Albanians who were held in Serbian prisons after Milosevic was ousted. We pressed for their release and we did so very vigorously.
Later, it was necessary for us to focus on the plight of Serbs, Roma and others living in Kosovo as minority populations.
We called upon Kosovo's Albanian majority to respect the rights of others just as they themselves deserved. We focused on the situation in Serb-controlled Lichuvisa (ph) as well as finding out what happened to missing persons regardless of their ethnicity.
We called for the prosecution of those responsible for war crimes also without regard to which side they represented. Last year, we condemned the outbreaks of violence in March of 2004 and the targeting of people's homes and their places of worship.
So this hearing indeed comes at a very timely time and I really congratulate you on calling the hearing.
And I yield back the balance of my time.
BROWNBACK: Congressman Cardin?
CARDIN: Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. I join with Mr. Smith in thanking you for holding this hearing on the human rights in Kosovo.
CARDIN: The hallmark of the Helsinki Commission's work has been in the human dimension basket, and we think this is an extremely important hearing for us to know the current situation in Kosovo, as it relates to respect of human rights.
And what we can do as a commission in our work with our colleagues in the parliamentary assembly as well as with the representatives in the State Department, to be as aggressive as we can in moving forward the human rights dimension.
So for that reason we're very pleased to have our two witnesses, an expert from the United Nations and from the State Department, to help us in understanding the current situation.
Let me just mention one area which has been of particular interest to our commission, and particular interest to me and that's the International Criminal Tribunal for war criminals. I'd be very interested as to how that is currently affecting attitudes within Kosovo.
It was a stark contrast when the prime minister of Kosovo was indicted and turned himself in at The Hague and the problems that we've had in other parts of that region in getting those who were indicted before The Hague.
So I'd be interested to see how that is playing within Kosovo itself and what the future holds for trying to bring to justice this part of the tragedy within the former Yugoslavia. We still have a lot of work to do in this regard.
So, Mr. Chairman, I thank you for this hearing. I look forward to hearing the witnesses and looking forward to developing a strategy for our commission to play a constructive role in advancing human rights in Kosovo.
BROWNBACK: Thank you, Congressman Cardin, and it's been noted the gentlemen may be called for a vote over to the House side. They may have to leave for that.
Panel, thank you very much for joining us today.
First, we have Soren Jessen-Petersen of Denmark, special representative of the U.N. Secretary General and head of the U.N. Mission in Kosovo.
This assignment, which he took last year, is a part of a distinguished career that includes years working for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, and with the stability pact on refugee, internally displaced persons and migration issues in the Balkans.
BROWNBACK: Later this week, Mr. Jessen-Petersen plans to report to the Security Council in New York on the current situation in Kosovo.
Our second witness is Mr. Charles English, director of the Office for South Central European Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Mr. English also has a distinguished career in the U.S. Foreign Service that includes assignments in South Central Europe.
We're grateful that Mr. English has offered to participate in the hearing today, especially in light of Undersecretary Burns' presentations just last week.
Gentlemen, thank you very much for being here with us.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen, welcome. And the microphone, the floor is yours.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, honorable members of the commission, ladies and gentlemen, as you mentioned, Mr. Chairman, on Friday, I will be addressing the U.N. Security Council to provide a quarterly update on the situation in Kosovo.
The meeting is crucial for confirming the path for the future status of Kosovo. Kosovo remains the last and the most difficult knot in the Balkans.
The present status quo of its undefined status is not sustainable, not desirable and not acceptable.
If we don't address it in the near term, we risk much of what the international community has achieved in the Balkans over the last 10 years.
In this context, the topic of today's meeting is of utmost importance and very timely.
I would like to commend you, Mr. Chairman, and the commission's membership, for taking this initiative and for inviting me.
Mr. Chairman, the U.N. Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, incorporates a strong human rights component in its mandate. At the end of UNMIK's mission, success will ultimately depend on the efficiency of the mechanisms we have created for the protection of human rights. It is important that the Kosovo institutions and the people of Kosovo have ownership of the human rights principles and mechanisms and ensure their sustainability.
There have been several positive indications recently. The substantially improved security climate reflected in the absence of major interethnic crimes in the past year is a sign that lessons from the riots of March 2004, have been learned, namely, that human rights violations are undermining the image of Kosovo and are against its interests.
U.S. SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK (R-KS) CHAIRMAN U.S. SENATOR GORDON H. SMITH (R-OR) U.S. SENATOR KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R-TX) U.S. SENATOR SAXBY CHAMBLISS (R-GA) VACANT U.S. SENATOR CHRISTOPHER J. DODD (D-CT) U.S. SENATOR RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD (D-WI) U.S. SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY) VACANT
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH (R-NJ) CO-CHAIRMAN U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FRANK R. WOLF (R-VA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPH R. PITTS (R-PA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ROBERT B. ADERHOLT (R-AL) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MIKE PENCE (R-IN) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE BENJAMIN L. CARDIN (D-MD) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE LOUISE MCINTOSH SLAUGHTER (D-NY) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ALCEE L. HASTINGS (D-FL) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MIKE MCINTYRE (D-NC)
WITNESSES/PANELISTS:
SOREN JESSEN-PETERSEN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL HEAD U.N. MISSION IN KOSOVO
The hearing was held at 11:00 a.m. in Room 124 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., Sam Brownback, co-chairman, Helsinki Commission, moderating.
[*] BROWNBACK: Good morning. We'll call the hearing to order.
And I thank you all for being here today, and apologies for being a bit late from a prior hearing.
In recent weeks, increased attention's been paid to Kosovo, the status of which is probably the single greatest issue yet to be resolved in the Balkans.
Leaving it unresolved, of course, leaves it as a source of instability in the region, given vast differences of positions regarding what the final status might be.
On the other hand, any effort to resolve the issue of Kosovo's status also poses certain risk.
The result is the careful creation of a process by the international community to move forward to the open-ended talks later this year. Dependent on the outcome of a midyear review of progress and implementing standards, this process was outlined to the Congress by Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns just last week.
Today's hearing on the future of human rights in Kosovo has been scheduled in order to go beyond the broad outline for proceeding with status questions this year, and to examine, instead, the specific impact this process may have on people living in the region.
In particular, many of us believe that there cannot be forward movement or a viable end result regarding Kosovo if human rights do not play a central role in the process.
Whatever status Kosovo achieves, the bottom line is that Kosovo is part of Europe, and all of Europe has committed to respect human rights and fundamental freedom, particularly in the context of the Helsinki final act and subsequent OSCE documents.
All too often, unfortunately, human rights problems can get sidelined in international talks. Those responsible for violations are usually unwilling to change their ways, or the actual exercise of individual rights and freedoms is perceived to be the source of friction.
The easiest course often appears to be one in which victims get ignored if not blamed.
In the case of Kosovo, the leading human rights issues relates to minority communities, including not only the Serb community, but the Roma and others as well.
Parts of these communities have struggled, since 1999, to survive in isolated enclaves with little freedom of movement, while other parts remain displaced and unable to return safely, let alone make a living.
In parts of northern Kosovo and other areas under Serb control, displaced Albanians also have been unable to return to their homes.
Fortunately, several of the aid standards outlined by the United Nations seek to address the rights of members of minority communities in Kosovo. By viewing these standards as excuses to delay or condition a determine of status, however, many Kosovar leaders seem not to understand that respecting human rights is not an option by a requirement.
Our witnesses this day can hopefully shed some light on how to change the situation on the ground in Kosovo, and how human rights will or will not play a role in what has been dubbed, "The year of decision in Kosovo."
BROWNBACK: Before I introduce the witnesses, I'd like to turn to my colleagues for any opening statements.
I understand they may be called for a vote at 11:30, so I would like to ask that they put forward their statement.
Congressman Smith?
C. SMITH: Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
Today's hearing, ladies and gentlemen, is very important because the issues surrounding Kosovo are developing at a rapid pace.
Having cooperated with them on a number of Helsinki Commission issues in the past, including efforts to combat trafficking person, I was very pleased that Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns appeared before the House International Relations Committee on this very important issue.
I am confident that the high level of U.S. engagement on Kosovo his personal involvement represents and that of other very dedicated servants like Charles English, will indeed have a positive impact on Kosovo.
Similarly, I want to thank our distinguished witnesses here today for their willingness as officials of the United Nations and, of course, the State Department, to discuss the situation in Kosovo.
I enthusiastically welcome your participation in this public hearing despite the sensitivities and emotions that obviously surround the debate on Kosovo's future.
While the question of Kosovo's status is important, we must encourage those most directly concerned to arrive at the answer through democratic processes and dialogue. Whatever determination is made regarding Kosovo's status, respect for internationally agreed upon human rights is prerequisite.
Unfortunately, six years after the conflict, the human rights situation in Kosovo is still not a good one, particularly for minority communities who live in enclaves and for the displaced.
We must condemn the sporadic acts of violence, the refusal to permit people to return or move about freely, and the destruction of homes and places of worship. The violence should not be allowed to happen especially when the peace-keeping force and international police are on the ground.
Regardless of what status is being advocated, independence for Kosovo and autonomy or something else, it is only reasonable to insist on the guarantee of basic human rights and freedoms for all people of Kosovo.
Over the years, Mr. Chairman, Helsinki Commission has held, as you know, numerous hearings relating to Kosovo. At times the focus was necessarily on the plight of Kosovar Albanians and the repression they endured during the years of the Milosevic regime.
We also brought attention to those Albanians who were held in Serbian prisons after Milosevic was ousted. We pressed for their release and we did so very vigorously.
Later, it was necessary for us to focus on the plight of Serbs, Roma and others living in Kosovo as minority populations.
We called upon Kosovo's Albanian majority to respect the rights of others just as they themselves deserved. We focused on the situation in Serb-controlled Lichuvisa (ph) as well as finding out what happened to missing persons regardless of their ethnicity.
We called for the prosecution of those responsible for war crimes also without regard to which side they represented. Last year, we condemned the outbreaks of violence in March of 2004 and the targeting of people's homes and their places of worship.
So this hearing indeed comes at a very timely time and I really congratulate you on calling the hearing.
And I yield back the balance of my time.
BROWNBACK: Congressman Cardin?
CARDIN: Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. I join with Mr. Smith in thanking you for holding this hearing on the human rights in Kosovo.
CARDIN: The hallmark of the Helsinki Commission's work has been in the human dimension basket, and we think this is an extremely important hearing for us to know the current situation in Kosovo, as it relates to respect of human rights.
And what we can do as a commission in our work with our colleagues in the parliamentary assembly as well as with the representatives in the State Department, to be as aggressive as we can in moving forward the human rights dimension.
So for that reason we're very pleased to have our two witnesses, an expert from the United Nations and from the State Department, to help us in understanding the current situation.
Let me just mention one area which has been of particular interest to our commission, and particular interest to me and that's the International Criminal Tribunal for war criminals. I'd be very interested as to how that is currently affecting attitudes within Kosovo.
It was a stark contrast when the prime minister of Kosovo was indicted and turned himself in at The Hague and the problems that we've had in other parts of that region in getting those who were indicted before The Hague.
So I'd be interested to see how that is playing within Kosovo itself and what the future holds for trying to bring to justice this part of the tragedy within the former Yugoslavia. We still have a lot of work to do in this regard.
So, Mr. Chairman, I thank you for this hearing. I look forward to hearing the witnesses and looking forward to developing a strategy for our commission to play a constructive role in advancing human rights in Kosovo.
BROWNBACK: Thank you, Congressman Cardin, and it's been noted the gentlemen may be called for a vote over to the House side. They may have to leave for that.
Panel, thank you very much for joining us today.
First, we have Soren Jessen-Petersen of Denmark, special representative of the U.N. Secretary General and head of the U.N. Mission in Kosovo.
This assignment, which he took last year, is a part of a distinguished career that includes years working for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, and with the stability pact on refugee, internally displaced persons and migration issues in the Balkans.
BROWNBACK: Later this week, Mr. Jessen-Petersen plans to report to the Security Council in New York on the current situation in Kosovo.
Our second witness is Mr. Charles English, director of the Office for South Central European Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Mr. English also has a distinguished career in the U.S. Foreign Service that includes assignments in South Central Europe.
We're grateful that Mr. English has offered to participate in the hearing today, especially in light of Undersecretary Burns' presentations just last week.
Gentlemen, thank you very much for being here with us.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen, welcome. And the microphone, the floor is yours.
JESSEN-PETERSEN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, honorable members of the commission, ladies and gentlemen, as you mentioned, Mr. Chairman, on Friday, I will be addressing the U.N. Security Council to provide a quarterly update on the situation in Kosovo.
The meeting is crucial for confirming the path for the future status of Kosovo. Kosovo remains the last and the most difficult knot in the Balkans.
The present status quo of its undefined status is not sustainable, not desirable and not acceptable.
If we don't address it in the near term, we risk much of what the international community has achieved in the Balkans over the last 10 years.
In this context, the topic of today's meeting is of utmost importance and very timely.
I would like to commend you, Mr. Chairman, and the commission's membership, for taking this initiative and for inviting me.
Mr. Chairman, the U.N. Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, incorporates a strong human rights component in its mandate. At the end of UNMIK's mission, success will ultimately depend on the efficiency of the mechanisms we have created for the protection of human rights. It is important that the Kosovo institutions and the people of Kosovo have ownership of the human rights principles and mechanisms and ensure their sustainability.
There have been several positive indications recently. The substantially improved security climate reflected in the absence of major interethnic crimes in the past year is a sign that lessons from the riots of March 2004, have been learned, namely, that human rights violations are undermining the image of Kosovo and are against its interests.
Kosovo: Hour's Surroi backs talks with Serbia, comprehensive decentralization
Prishtina [Pristina], 25 May: Veton Surroi, the head of The Hour, said today that the dialogue with Belgrade should be more ambitious and not just for photo opportunity.
"Prishtina and Belgrade need a dialogue not only just for a formal photo opportunity. We need to express publicly our own interests and also to know the problems Belgrade has with Kosova [Kosovo]," said Surroi.
Surroi made these comments after meeting with the representatives of the Contact Group [United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy], who have informed him on their Monday's meeting in London.
Surroi appreciated the Contact Group's continuous involvement in the processes in Kosova. He also expressed readiness of The Hour to participate and provide their assistance in all processes.
He also said that The Hour supports the return and freedom of movement for minorities, especially for the Serbs.
As for the reforms in local government, Surroi said that he is committed to a process that has legitimacy and legality. "We should have a comprehensive and a more ambitious decentralization process," said Surroi.
He also said that it is also important to know the number of municipalities in Kosova before municipal elections next year.
"This is a process, which requires a broad consensus in Kosova, and that not only among Albanians. The two Serb parliamentary groups should also be involved in the municipality definition process," said Surroi.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 25 May 05
"Prishtina and Belgrade need a dialogue not only just for a formal photo opportunity. We need to express publicly our own interests and also to know the problems Belgrade has with Kosova [Kosovo]," said Surroi.
Surroi made these comments after meeting with the representatives of the Contact Group [United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy], who have informed him on their Monday's meeting in London.
Surroi appreciated the Contact Group's continuous involvement in the processes in Kosova. He also expressed readiness of The Hour to participate and provide their assistance in all processes.
He also said that The Hour supports the return and freedom of movement for minorities, especially for the Serbs.
As for the reforms in local government, Surroi said that he is committed to a process that has legitimacy and legality. "We should have a comprehensive and a more ambitious decentralization process," said Surroi.
He also said that it is also important to know the number of municipalities in Kosova before municipal elections next year.
"This is a process, which requires a broad consensus in Kosova, and that not only among Albanians. The two Serb parliamentary groups should also be involved in the municipality definition process," said Surroi.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 25 May 05
Kosovo: PDK's Thaci indicates compromise possible on Informal Political Forum
Text of report in English by independent internet news agency KosovaLive
Prishtina [Pristina], 25 May: Hashim Thaci, the head of the Democratic Party of Kosova [Kosovo] [PDK], announced today a possible compromise for establishing of Informal Political Forum.
Only a few hours before the meeting of the leaders of four largest political parties (LDK [Democratic League of Kosovo], PDK, AAK [Alliance for the Future of Kosovo], and The Hour) with the head of UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo], Soren Jessen-Petersen, Thaci was optimistic that an agreement for establishing the forum will be reached.
"Some of our remarks were included in the final draft," said Thaci, adding that some other issues will be discussed in today's meeting.
Unconfirmed sources say that the PDK agreed to give up from its request for a decision-making forum.
Prishtina [Pristina], 25 May: Hashim Thaci, the head of the Democratic Party of Kosova [Kosovo] [PDK], announced today a possible compromise for establishing of Informal Political Forum.
Only a few hours before the meeting of the leaders of four largest political parties (LDK [Democratic League of Kosovo], PDK, AAK [Alliance for the Future of Kosovo], and The Hour) with the head of UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo], Soren Jessen-Petersen, Thaci was optimistic that an agreement for establishing the forum will be reached.
"Some of our remarks were included in the final draft," said Thaci, adding that some other issues will be discussed in today's meeting.
Unconfirmed sources say that the PDK agreed to give up from its request for a decision-making forum.
Serbia-Montenegro adopts positions ahead of key UN meeting
BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The state union of Serbia and Montenegro has unanimously adopted the basic positions on Kosovo's efforts in implementing international standards as the United Nations Security Council is set to discuss the future status of Kosovo, local radio said Wednesday.
The positions were agreed on Tuesday at a meeting attended by top government officials, including Serbian President Boris Tadic, Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Affairs Minister Vuk Draskovic and Kosovo Coordination Center chief Nebojsa Covic, said the independent radio B92.
It was agreed upon that a basic protection of the rights of Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo has not been implemented, nor have the standards of free movement.
In addition, the return of Serb refugees to their homes in Kosovo has not been implemented, and according to the UN Mission in Kosovo, only 3 percent of Serb refugees have returned to their homes, said the radio.
However, the temporary institutions in Kosovo expect that Kosovo will receive a positive evaluation of the implementation of standards at the May 27 UN meeting, and that a special emissary will be named to assess the progress in standards which the United Nations has asked Kosovo authorities to implement before the final status talks.
Kosovo Presidential Representative Muhamed Hamiti said that the Security Council meeting should open the door to a process which will eventually lead to the independence of Kosovo.
"We expect the Security Council to attest to the progress which has been made in Kosovo and to open the path to what is called an all-encompassing assessment of standards and the beginning of the process of finalizing Kosovo's status, which we call the closing of the process for the independence of Kosovo, because that would be the optimal solution," Hamiti was quoted as saying by the radio.
A de facto UN protectorate, Kosovo is legally part of Serbia. Its future status remains the subject of a bitter dispute between the independence-seeking Albanian majority and the minority Serbs, who want to remain in Serbia.
The positions were agreed on Tuesday at a meeting attended by top government officials, including Serbian President Boris Tadic, Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Affairs Minister Vuk Draskovic and Kosovo Coordination Center chief Nebojsa Covic, said the independent radio B92.
It was agreed upon that a basic protection of the rights of Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo has not been implemented, nor have the standards of free movement.
In addition, the return of Serb refugees to their homes in Kosovo has not been implemented, and according to the UN Mission in Kosovo, only 3 percent of Serb refugees have returned to their homes, said the radio.
However, the temporary institutions in Kosovo expect that Kosovo will receive a positive evaluation of the implementation of standards at the May 27 UN meeting, and that a special emissary will be named to assess the progress in standards which the United Nations has asked Kosovo authorities to implement before the final status talks.
Kosovo Presidential Representative Muhamed Hamiti said that the Security Council meeting should open the door to a process which will eventually lead to the independence of Kosovo.
"We expect the Security Council to attest to the progress which has been made in Kosovo and to open the path to what is called an all-encompassing assessment of standards and the beginning of the process of finalizing Kosovo's status, which we call the closing of the process for the independence of Kosovo, because that would be the optimal solution," Hamiti was quoted as saying by the radio.
A de facto UN protectorate, Kosovo is legally part of Serbia. Its future status remains the subject of a bitter dispute between the independence-seeking Albanian majority and the minority Serbs, who want to remain in Serbia.
Albania, Kosovo To Start Energy Transmitter Project
Albania's state-owned power utility KESH and Kosovo's power corporation (KEK) presented in the country's capital Tirana the feasibility study for the construction of a 400 KV energy transmission line between the UN-governed southern Serbian province of Kosovo and Albania, KESH' transmission director, Gazmend Daci, said on May 25,2005.
The 158 km transmission line will connect the Vau i Deje power plant, in western Albania, and the Kosovo B power plant in Podgorica.
By the transmitter Albania and Kosovo will become part of the Balkan power transmission network.
[Editor's note: Kosovo records energy overproduction in the winter and insufficient energy production in the summer while in Albania it is the other way round because the country's energy capacities are based on hydroelectric plants. In 2004, the World Bank allocated $1.1 mln (873,600 euro) for the project's feasibility study, BBC Monitoring European reported on January 21, 2004].
The 158 km transmission line will connect the Vau i Deje power plant, in western Albania, and the Kosovo B power plant in Podgorica.
By the transmitter Albania and Kosovo will become part of the Balkan power transmission network.
[Editor's note: Kosovo records energy overproduction in the winter and insufficient energy production in the summer while in Albania it is the other way round because the country's energy capacities are based on hydroelectric plants. In 2004, the World Bank allocated $1.1 mln (873,600 euro) for the project's feasibility study, BBC Monitoring European reported on January 21, 2004].
Serbian academy to hold "patriotic" meeting on Kosovo Serbs in Mitrovica
Kosovska Mitrovica, 25 May: A scientific gathering about "Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija", to be attended by over 60 experts, will be held between 27-29 May in Kosovska Mitrovica in the organization of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and the Pristina University.
The representatives of the Pristina University, whose seat is temporarily in Kosovska Mitrovica, have told a news conference that five experts from Russia will be among the participants.
Pristina University Dean Radivoje Papovic said that the Serb population in Kosovo "is of lasting concern for every decent Serb".
Papovic said that the gathering would show that "the Pristina University's mission is primarily a scientific and patriotic one, with a marked national prefix".
"This gathering intends to demonstrate what we are and what we do not accept to become," Papovic said.
He said that the gathering would be attended by Serbian Patriarch Pavle and the bishops.
The representatives of the Pristina University, whose seat is temporarily in Kosovska Mitrovica, have told a news conference that five experts from Russia will be among the participants.
Pristina University Dean Radivoje Papovic said that the Serb population in Kosovo "is of lasting concern for every decent Serb".
Papovic said that the gathering would show that "the Pristina University's mission is primarily a scientific and patriotic one, with a marked national prefix".
"This gathering intends to demonstrate what we are and what we do not accept to become," Papovic said.
He said that the gathering would be attended by Serbian Patriarch Pavle and the bishops.
Serbian interior ministry: former Serb paramilitary arrested in Argentina
BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) - Argentinian authorities have arrested a Serb suspected by human rights campaigners of committing atrocities during the 1999 Kosovo war, the Serbian Interior Ministry said Wednesday.
The ministry said Buenos Aires has asked Belgrade for documents on the man, identified as Nebojsa Minic, who was arrested Monday in the western Argentinian city of Mendoza after a tip from the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch.
Minic, 40, formerly a member of a notorious Serb paramilitary group in Kosovo, had been followed by Argentinian police for three months after illegally entering the country from Chile.
Argentina also asked whether Belgrade has requested an Interpol warrant for Minic, which would be grounds for his extradition from Argentina.
Serbian authorities have not announced publicly that they are seeking Minic, although some war crimes cases are being tried by Serbian courts. Minic is not wanted by the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.
According to the Serbian ministry, Minic would remain in the custody of the Mendoza police, on charges of illegal entry and forged papers, pending a response from Belgrade.
Meanwhile, Minic was identified by a Belgrade-based group, the Humanitarian Law Fund, as a suspect in scores of murders committed by Serb paramilitaries in Kosovo.
Spokeswoman Natasa Kandic urged the Serb authorities to demand Minic's extradition so he could be tried before Belgrade courts for war crimes committed in Kosovo.
The government did not immediately respond.
According to Kandic, whose Humanitarian Law Fund has assembled data on atrocities during the 1998-99 war in the southern province, Minic was known as "Commander Death" in the western Kosovo town of Pec.
As a police reservist, he had joined the Serb paramilitary troops in Pec and was implicated in the murder of a six-member ethnic Albanian family, Kandic said.
"Minic lived in Pec and wreaked death and destruction in the area," Kandic said. "He must be tried for war crimes."
"We have very reliable documents, testimonies of survivors of massacres, who have identified him," she added.
Kandic said that Human Rights Watch, which had tipped Buenos Aires on Mandic, had similar documents.
It was not clear when Minic fled from Serbia-Montenegro, Yugoslavia's successor state.
Serb forces under former President Slobodan Milosevic cracked down on Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians in 1998-99 to suppress a separatist rebellion.
Thousands of people, mostly ethnic Albanians, were killed in the crackdown. The brutality of the Serb troops prompted NATO to bomb Serbia for 78 days in 1999 to force Milosevic to pull out his troops from Kosovo and relinquish control to the United Nations and NATO.
Kosovo has since been run by the United Nations and NATO peacekeeepers although it remains officially part of Serbia-Montenegro.
The ministry said Buenos Aires has asked Belgrade for documents on the man, identified as Nebojsa Minic, who was arrested Monday in the western Argentinian city of Mendoza after a tip from the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch.
Minic, 40, formerly a member of a notorious Serb paramilitary group in Kosovo, had been followed by Argentinian police for three months after illegally entering the country from Chile.
Argentina also asked whether Belgrade has requested an Interpol warrant for Minic, which would be grounds for his extradition from Argentina.
Serbian authorities have not announced publicly that they are seeking Minic, although some war crimes cases are being tried by Serbian courts. Minic is not wanted by the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.
According to the Serbian ministry, Minic would remain in the custody of the Mendoza police, on charges of illegal entry and forged papers, pending a response from Belgrade.
Meanwhile, Minic was identified by a Belgrade-based group, the Humanitarian Law Fund, as a suspect in scores of murders committed by Serb paramilitaries in Kosovo.
Spokeswoman Natasa Kandic urged the Serb authorities to demand Minic's extradition so he could be tried before Belgrade courts for war crimes committed in Kosovo.
The government did not immediately respond.
According to Kandic, whose Humanitarian Law Fund has assembled data on atrocities during the 1998-99 war in the southern province, Minic was known as "Commander Death" in the western Kosovo town of Pec.
As a police reservist, he had joined the Serb paramilitary troops in Pec and was implicated in the murder of a six-member ethnic Albanian family, Kandic said.
"Minic lived in Pec and wreaked death and destruction in the area," Kandic said. "He must be tried for war crimes."
"We have very reliable documents, testimonies of survivors of massacres, who have identified him," she added.
Kandic said that Human Rights Watch, which had tipped Buenos Aires on Mandic, had similar documents.
It was not clear when Minic fled from Serbia-Montenegro, Yugoslavia's successor state.
Serb forces under former President Slobodan Milosevic cracked down on Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians in 1998-99 to suppress a separatist rebellion.
Thousands of people, mostly ethnic Albanians, were killed in the crackdown. The brutality of the Serb troops prompted NATO to bomb Serbia for 78 days in 1999 to force Milosevic to pull out his troops from Kosovo and relinquish control to the United Nations and NATO.
Kosovo has since been run by the United Nations and NATO peacekeeepers although it remains officially part of Serbia-Montenegro.
Editorial: KFOR and KPS – be alert
Koha Ditore carries an editorial saying that it would be good if KFOR and KPS were on alert because Belgrade is orchestrating activities for political benefits at the detriment of Kosovo and that extremists are trying to bring back the situation before 1999.
The editorial provides examples. It notes that Covic said an independent Kosovo was unacceptable. This was endorsed by local Serbs in Mitrovica and Graçanica who oppose the process launched by the international community. Some journalists in Mitrovica joined the bargaining and wrote a letter to UN SG Kofi Annan ‘warning’ him on the eve of the Security Council meeting that they ‘are discriminated against and that they have no conditions for work’. Finally, it says leading Serb politicians decided to present ‘the real situation’ in Kosovo to the international community during the SC meeting in New York.
The editorial provides examples. It notes that Covic said an independent Kosovo was unacceptable. This was endorsed by local Serbs in Mitrovica and Graçanica who oppose the process launched by the international community. Some journalists in Mitrovica joined the bargaining and wrote a letter to UN SG Kofi Annan ‘warning’ him on the eve of the Security Council meeting that they ‘are discriminated against and that they have no conditions for work’. Finally, it says leading Serb politicians decided to present ‘the real situation’ in Kosovo to the international community during the SC meeting in New York.
Petrisch: Formal independence with limited sovereignty the best solution
Koha Ditore quotes Austrian Ambassador to UN Wolfgang Petritsch saying that as long as status of Kosovo is not resolved, there will be neither economic development nor genuine reform. He added that, at the moment, the best solution for Kosovo would be formal independence, but with a limited level of sovereignty.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Head of U.N. Mission in Kosovo Not to Become Head of the UNHCR
By Evelyn Leopold
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan chose former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres on Tuesday as the new U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, responsible for 17 million homeless people around the world.
Guterres, 56, president of the Socialist International since 1999, replaces former Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers, who was pressured to resign in February following allegations of sexual harassment, which he vigorously denied.
The Geneva-based UNHCR, the largest refugee agency in the world, has an annual budget of close to $1 billion and 6,000 staff in 115 countries.
The U.N. General Assembly must approve the nomination, said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric in making the announcement. Diplomats said the 191-member body was expected to do so soon.
Guterres was one of eight candidates interviewed by a panel of senior U.N. officials and outside experts. Annan made the final decision.
The final short list, U.N. sources said, included Guterres, Gareth Evans, Australia's former foreign minister and now president of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group think tank, and Jessen-Peterson of Denmark, now head of the U.N. administration in Kosovo.
Ken Bacon, president of Refugees International, a Washington-based advocacy group, who sat on the selection panel, said Guterres' political skills would help him face challenges at the agency.
UNHCR was struggling with funding shortfalls, a growing tendency of countries to close their borders to asylum seekers and a large, unprotected, population of stateless and homeless people, Bacon said.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan chose former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres on Tuesday as the new U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, responsible for 17 million homeless people around the world.
Guterres, 56, president of the Socialist International since 1999, replaces former Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers, who was pressured to resign in February following allegations of sexual harassment, which he vigorously denied.
The Geneva-based UNHCR, the largest refugee agency in the world, has an annual budget of close to $1 billion and 6,000 staff in 115 countries.
The U.N. General Assembly must approve the nomination, said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric in making the announcement. Diplomats said the 191-member body was expected to do so soon.
Guterres was one of eight candidates interviewed by a panel of senior U.N. officials and outside experts. Annan made the final decision.
The final short list, U.N. sources said, included Guterres, Gareth Evans, Australia's former foreign minister and now president of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group think tank, and Jessen-Peterson of Denmark, now head of the U.N. administration in Kosovo.
Ken Bacon, president of Refugees International, a Washington-based advocacy group, who sat on the selection panel, said Guterres' political skills would help him face challenges at the agency.
UNHCR was struggling with funding shortfalls, a growing tendency of countries to close their borders to asylum seekers and a large, unprotected, population of stateless and homeless people, Bacon said.
Experts Discuss Future of Kosovo - VOA
With the United Nations set to discuss on May 27 a likely move towards final status negotiations for the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo, a panel of experts Tuesday discussed the future of Kosovo and the western Balkans at Washington's Woodrow Wilson Center. Speakers emphasized the need for the entire region to be integrated into the European Union.
State Department Balkans expert Charles English said the United States is hopeful that the U.N. will undertake a comprehensive review that could lead to the beginning of status negotiations for Kosovo in September. Kosovo's 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority wants independence. Serbia opposes it. The review will assess the progress of Kosovo's elected administration in complying with western standards of governance.
Elaborating on a policy initiative unveiled by Under-Secretary of Nicholas Burns a week ago, Mr. English said Kosovo's government has not yet succeeded in guaranteeing the security of the province's non-Albanian citizens, most of whom are confined to enclaves protected by NATO led peacekeepers. More must be done, said Mr. English, to encourage Serbian refugees to return to Kosovo, a United Nations protectorate since 1999.
Mr. English said if the U.N. review is favorable, Washington will suggest that a senior European diplomat be placed in charge of the final status negotiations. "The status of Kosovo, the future of Kosovo lies in Europe, not only for Kosovo, but for Serbia and Montenegro as well. Both Kosovo and Serbia Montenegro need to understand that the real solution to the question of status lies less in the relationship between Belgrade and Pristina and far more in their respective relations with Brussels (the EU)," he said.
Bruce Jackson, the former U.S. military intelligence officer who heads a non-governmental organization called The Project on Transitional Democracies, agreed that final status negotiations for Kosovo should begin this year. Mr. Jackson said the status quo is no longer sustainable in the troubled Balkan region. To avoid falling back into nationalism and conflict, he said, the entire region must quickly be put on a path towards membership in the European Union. People in the region, he said, must have a goal-a destination-to work towards.
"It is a multi-year idea with status issues addressed in 2005, a concluding EU summit in 2006, and a destination point, notionally in Sarajevo in 2014, by which time every state in the region will be in European institutions-both NATO and the European Union," he said.
Slovenia is the only former Yugoslav republic to have been admitted to the European Union. Bulgaria and Romania are set to join at the beginning of 2007 and Croatia could follow two years later.
Mr. Jackson believes that the wide gap between Belgrade and Pristina over Kosovo independence can be bridged by the prospect of membership in the European Union.
"I think many of the elite in Belgrade recognize that creating a streamlined Serbia without Kosovo and without Montenegro is the best thing for their country. They would be in the EU overnight. And then what would happen is there would be this slip stream effect in which Montenegro and Kosovo would be dragged towards that movement," he said.
Mr. Jackson warned that ten years of constructive western involvement in the Balkans could ultimately fail without bold leadership to fully integrate the region into Euro Atlantic institutions.
State Department Balkans expert Charles English said the United States is hopeful that the U.N. will undertake a comprehensive review that could lead to the beginning of status negotiations for Kosovo in September. Kosovo's 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority wants independence. Serbia opposes it. The review will assess the progress of Kosovo's elected administration in complying with western standards of governance.
Elaborating on a policy initiative unveiled by Under-Secretary of Nicholas Burns a week ago, Mr. English said Kosovo's government has not yet succeeded in guaranteeing the security of the province's non-Albanian citizens, most of whom are confined to enclaves protected by NATO led peacekeepers. More must be done, said Mr. English, to encourage Serbian refugees to return to Kosovo, a United Nations protectorate since 1999.
Mr. English said if the U.N. review is favorable, Washington will suggest that a senior European diplomat be placed in charge of the final status negotiations. "The status of Kosovo, the future of Kosovo lies in Europe, not only for Kosovo, but for Serbia and Montenegro as well. Both Kosovo and Serbia Montenegro need to understand that the real solution to the question of status lies less in the relationship between Belgrade and Pristina and far more in their respective relations with Brussels (the EU)," he said.
Bruce Jackson, the former U.S. military intelligence officer who heads a non-governmental organization called The Project on Transitional Democracies, agreed that final status negotiations for Kosovo should begin this year. Mr. Jackson said the status quo is no longer sustainable in the troubled Balkan region. To avoid falling back into nationalism and conflict, he said, the entire region must quickly be put on a path towards membership in the European Union. People in the region, he said, must have a goal-a destination-to work towards.
"It is a multi-year idea with status issues addressed in 2005, a concluding EU summit in 2006, and a destination point, notionally in Sarajevo in 2014, by which time every state in the region will be in European institutions-both NATO and the European Union," he said.
Slovenia is the only former Yugoslav republic to have been admitted to the European Union. Bulgaria and Romania are set to join at the beginning of 2007 and Croatia could follow two years later.
Mr. Jackson believes that the wide gap between Belgrade and Pristina over Kosovo independence can be bridged by the prospect of membership in the European Union.
"I think many of the elite in Belgrade recognize that creating a streamlined Serbia without Kosovo and without Montenegro is the best thing for their country. They would be in the EU overnight. And then what would happen is there would be this slip stream effect in which Montenegro and Kosovo would be dragged towards that movement," he said.
Mr. Jackson warned that ten years of constructive western involvement in the Balkans could ultimately fail without bold leadership to fully integrate the region into Euro Atlantic institutions.
A Balkan question - The Guardian Part Two
Snezhana Karadzic has the air of a perfect international civil servant. Calm, efficient and elegant, she sits in the United Nations headquarters in Kosovo and, with no hint of bias, trots out every relevant statistic on relations between Serbs and Albanians since Nato bombed the region six years ago.
But ask about her own experiences and the professional mask comes crashing down. Tears well up as she describes what happened last year, at a time when every expert thought Kosovo was proceeding smoothly.
"I was at home in Obilic with my daughter. She was on her first visit back to Kosovo since 1999. She's a medical student in Nis. It wasn't yet 7.30am and I saw a mob stoning the church and various buildings where Serbs live. We were in panic. We expected the police and Kfor [the international peacekeeping troops] to rescue us but no one turned up. Along with two other women, we managed to barricade the entrance to our block of flats. I thought this was it, I was going to lose my daughter. I told her to go up to the fifth floor. If she heard the barricade breaking down, she should jump out of the window. We had our backs to the doors. The basement was in flames. I felt glass breaking." She recounts it all in a rush.
"Kfor came just in time, but they didn't defend our flats. They told us we had two minutes to leave and be taken to safety. I've never been back there. You know, I was one of the Serbs working to build bridges to Albanians. In two days all the hope, enthusiasm and engagement by people in the minority communities to start a new life in the new Kosovo were burnt up."
It is seven years since Kosovo hit the international headlines when forces under Slobodan Milosevic started a campaign of ethnic cleansing and the guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army sought to defend the majority Albanian community in what was then a province of Serbia. Determined not to permit "another Bosnia", Nato intervened in 1999. After 11 weeks of Nato bombing, Milosevic was forced to withdraw his troops and police, some 700,000 Albanian refugees came home and about 100,000 Serbs - roughly half the province's Serb population - fled. The UN was put in charge, pending agreement on whether Kosovo should become independent or revert to Serbian rule.
For most of those two years, Kosovo was an intimate part of my life. The territory is small, and like scores of other reporters I rushed up and down talking to increasingly fearful people on both sides and chronicling the tragedies of burning villages and huge refugee columns. Now I was on my first trip back after five years. Kosovo has sunk into international oblivion again but this summer is expected to be a crucial turning point. Kofi Annan will probably appoint a special UN envoy to start the long-delayed negotiations on Kosovo's "final status". The old issues of Serbian intransigence and Albanian impatience which prompted the last crisis are still in play. Will they come back to haunt us with a new round of violence?
I decided to begin by visiting the underdogs, the Serbs. Reverse ethnic cleansing forced all those who remained in Kosovo in 1999 to retreat to pathetic enclaves. The biggest and safest was the northern part of Kosovo, starting from the town of Mitrovica, where Serbs continue to use Belgrade's currency, the dinar, and little has changed. Elsewhere, the story is grimmer. For the first three years of UN rule Serbs had minimal freedom to travel out of their enclaves except in buses and convoys guarded by foreign troops. They were afraid of being set upon by revenge-seeking neighbours. New licence plates for cars, which made it impossible to tell which town they were from, eased things slightly, at least until last year's political explosion which made Snezhana Karadzic and Serbs in several other towns suddenly homeless.
The trigger was a TV report that Serb youths with a dog had chased three Albanian children into a river, where two drowned and one was missing. Albanians marched on Serb communities. For two days there was a total breakdown of law and order with clashes and shooting between Serbs and Albanians while Kfor and the UN police concentrated on evacuating Serbs as their homes and churches burned. Nineteen people died (the majority Albanians), and 4,500 Serbs were displaced.
One of the worst episodes left the ancient Orthodox convent of Devic in smouldering ruins. In the pre-war period we often visited this simple collection of buildings on the slope of a narrow wooded valley. The mostly elderly women who spent their time praying and farming were then known as "nuns with guns". Now there is a roadblock, guarded by French troops. They escort you up to the convent gate. The buildings are surrounded by coils of barbed wire.
"We can no longer till our fields. Our tractors were stolen last year and the cattle taken or killed," says the mother superior, Sister Anastasia, who has been at Devic since 1968. The nuns' living quarters have been rebuilt but the 15th-century church is a soot-blackened wreck with plastic sheeting in its windows instead of glass. KLA graffiti has been scrawled on the arches.
Sister Anastasia smiles when reminded of the "nuns with guns" tag. "It was exaggerated. All we had was one shotgun and a pistol left by the police. It's terrible that old ladies had to have weapons, but if we had had proper ones last year we would have defended ourselves," she says. In fact, they got the usual Kfor treatment: troops escorted them to safety but did not defend the buildings from the rampaging crowd. The nuns were back at the ruined convent three weeks after their escape.
Karadzic is also determined not to be driven out. She shrugged off the sneers of other Serbs and stayed at her job in the UN's office of community affairs. Her ransacked flat was restored by the government but she is afraid to go back to Obilic, preferring to camp in an old motel in the Serb enclave of Caglavica. "I was encouraged by Albanian colleagues not to give up. They told me my multi-ethnic hopes are the only ones possible. I'm not so enthusiastic today because I see destructive forces on both sides. Both communities are very deeply disturbed. But there is much more work to do."
Her courage is striking, though not unique. She referred me to two other remarkable Serbs, the first to return to the once multi-ethnic town of Klina since 1999. I found them planting onions in the front garden of their bungalow. Leposava Mazic does the shopping, but her husband, Miodrag, 58, has not been out in the four weeks since they came back. With a slight stoop and piercing black eyes, he talks with sensitivity of his Albanian neighbours. "I don't go out yet, because I don't want to seem to be imposing myself. If someone wants to take revenge on us, they can," he says.
Klina's Albanian mayor supported the couple's return, otherwise it would have been suicidal. An Albanian family that was living in their bungalow was persuaded to leave. "They were still rebuilding their own house and I told them to take all the furniture from ours. In 1999 all our Albanian neighbours' houses were burnt. We did our best to protect them, but I felt I had to give him everything," says Mazic. He and his wife got new kitchen equipment and a TV from a foreign charity.
Mazic is unusual for a Kosovo Serb. He speaks passable Albanian and shows great sensitivity to the much worse suffering of the Albanian community. "We're glad to be home but I can't say we're happy. Our neighbours have sons who are still missing. We know how hard it is for them to talk to us. We just don't want them to hate us."
All over Kosovo fear and hatred are still almost as raw as they were in 1998 and 1999, though they are kept under better control nowadays. War memorials to KLA "martyrs" have sprung up in dozens of villages, and the cemeteries are full of civilian dead. "In Holland, if you speak German no Dutchman will talk to you again. Here, it's only six years since the war and we're asked to behave as though nothing has happened," says Sabri Popaj, a 46-year-old farmer who testified against Milosevic at the Hague as the lone survivor of a massacre in which 168 Albanians were killed, including his two teenage children and numerous cousins. He is not against Serbs coming back, he says. He just does not want anything to do with them.
Kosovo's Albanian politicians have consistently argued that independence will ease tensions, since Albanians will no longer fear a reimposition of Serb control. It will also liberate Serbs who have illusions of going back to the past, and take their lead from Belgrade, where politicians urged Serbs to boycott Kosovo's UN-organised elections. "We're working on getting all refugees back and all Serbs are welcome to return," says Kosovo's new prime minister, Bajram Kosumi, whose cheerful, uncombed look conceals his past as a tough student leader who spent 10 years in Serbian gaols. "It's in their interests to have independence. They're in a limbo where they're pressured by Belgrade." To gain time, western governments produced a strategy called Standards Before Status. Under it, Kosovo has to reach various benchmarks of good behaviour before discussions on its future can begin. The main one is respect for minority rights and a policy of encouraging Serbs to return. Last year's riots were a massive setback but they appear to have shocked Kosovans into ensuring no repetition.
The commonest shop sign in Kosovo is the yellow and black neon logo for Western Union. It is both a pun on where Kosovans would love to be politically, and proof of the weakness of Kosovo's economy. Without the cash sent back by Kosovans abroad, many families would be starving or homeless. Money from the diaspora exceeds what foreign governments spend through the UN and the EU to fund the international police and peace-keepers as well as reconstruction.
Naser Aliu is one of the few emigres who returned. With his elder brothers he used to run a sandwich bar near London's Victoria station, but he wanted to be close to his elderly parents and bring his children up in Albanian-language schools. Now he has a sandwich bar in central Pristina. Without the custom from the UN offices nearby, he could not survive. "Local people don't have money to eat out. They'll sit all evening over a macchiato, but that doesn't help us," he says.
The strongest argument for Kosovo's independence lies across the snow-capped mountains which mark its southern boundary. Drive into Macedonia and you find a place which itself very nearly plunged into war four years ago, with several circumstances similar to Kosovo's. Albanians and Slavs lived under a kind of social apartheid with separate schools and largely mono-ethnic villages and suburbs. An incipient civil war was under way as disgruntled Albanians attacked the police and created no-go areas.
So how did Macedonia avoid Kosovo's fate? To find out, I went to Lake Ohrid, one of Europe's least-known tourist pearls, a magnificent inland sea flanked by a dozen ancient churches. In a villa snuggling among the pine trees, European, American and local negotiators spent several weeks in 2001 hammering out an agreement which brought Macedonia back from the abyss. Unlike in Kosovo, western governments stepped in early to broker a peace deal.
Its most contentious element, a redrawing of municipal boundaries and devolution of power from the centre, only went into effect last month. Struga, one of the lake-side counties, was the first to switch from Macedonian to Albanian control. It was "un-gerrymandered" so that its Albanian majority is no longer split into different villages. As a result, an Albanian mayor was elected for the first time. The outgoing Macedonian, a hardline nationalist who once threatened to declare Struga's independence, gave a lecture instead of a gracious farewell before grudgingly shaking his successor's hand. But at least he accepted change peacefully. This is the second difference from Kosovo: no Milosevic. At local and national level, most Macedonian politicians saw the value of making appropriate concessions to the other community rather than going to war.
While bridges have been built, they are not yet all crossed. Macedonia's political parties are still split on ethnic lines. Ramiz Merko, Struga's new mayor, acknowledges that few Macedonians voted for him: "In our manifesto we did our best to drop all the patriotic stuff, and leave that to history. We want to improve the standard of living of all families." One of his first tasks is to get Albanians into town hall jobs and other local government offices which are currently 95% Macedonian.
On the Albanians' side, the best living example of Macedonia's spirit of compromise is a politician who escaped arrest as a student in Pristina university in the early 1980s, got asylum in Switzerland, worked in the Albanian political underground, and came back secretly to Macedonia to launch the 2001 war. Ali Ahmeti then accepted a ceasefire and became a major player behind the Ohrid accords. Macedonian leaders still saw him as a terrorist, but foreign diplomats negotiated with him. He now heads the Democratic Union of Integration, which came out as the largest Albanian party in the last two elections and runs the country in coalition with Macedonians.
It is a remarkable twist, which might not have happened if the World Trade Centre had been attacked a few weeks earlier. The Ohrid accords were signed on August 13 2001, but if the "war on terror" had already been under way President Bush and Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, could have refused the green light to their officials to talk to Ahmeti.
In the mountains above Tetovo, veterans of the five-month guerrilla war still worship Ahmeti, though they complain the country's coalition government has not improved the economy yet. Qamil Huseyni, 26, shows me the huge war memorial in Selce, where the guerrillas used to have their headquarters. It was put up with diaspora funds. "Twenty-six martyrs will be reburied here in May. We are also going to erect a tall, double-headed black eagle at a cost of euros 40,000 (about pounds 28,000) that will be visible down in Tetovo," he says proudly. The eagle is the Albanian symbol.
Huseyni travels to Tetovo in a battered taxi every day to study English and German. Some of his friends plan to pay the euros 1,500 (pounds 1,000) needed to get a forged German visa on the black market. "There is no work here," he says.
The most hopeful place in Macedonia is Tetovo's new university, where Macedonians and Albanians mingle with amazing normality. It was set up shortly before the brief war under an "affirmative action" programme to provide higher education for Albanians in their own language. About a quarter of its students are Macedonians. Courses are given in both languages, and some faculties such as Communication Sciences give all their tuition in English in the third and fourth years. "This place is becoming more prestigious than expected, and the best secondary school graduates from Skopje [Macedonia's capital] want to come here," says Vladimir Radevski, dean of the communications faculty. "It's a unique meeting place for the two communities. My colleagues and friends in Skopje were surprised when I came here. Some claimed Albanians couldn't learn computer science. Others just asked why I would want to teach Albanians."
And this is the third difference from Kosovo. Enough members of the elite of both sides are willing to cross ethnic boundaries so that resistance crumbles. There may be minor social pressure against bridge-building, but there is no physical violence to deter it. Once a critical mass forms in favour of tolerance, bigotry is driven to the margins.
But there is one even more important difference. I was told numerous times that everything depends on the majority being confident the existence of their state is not under threat. Macedonians, who are a clear majority, once feared the largely Albanian parts might split off, but that fear is now discarded since all sides realise that entry into the EU would be impossible if war resumed or the state split.
In Kosovo, the state question is unresolved. As long as the Albanian majority is not assured that the door has permanently slammed on Serbian rule, tensions are bound to continue.
But ask about her own experiences and the professional mask comes crashing down. Tears well up as she describes what happened last year, at a time when every expert thought Kosovo was proceeding smoothly.
"I was at home in Obilic with my daughter. She was on her first visit back to Kosovo since 1999. She's a medical student in Nis. It wasn't yet 7.30am and I saw a mob stoning the church and various buildings where Serbs live. We were in panic. We expected the police and Kfor [the international peacekeeping troops] to rescue us but no one turned up. Along with two other women, we managed to barricade the entrance to our block of flats. I thought this was it, I was going to lose my daughter. I told her to go up to the fifth floor. If she heard the barricade breaking down, she should jump out of the window. We had our backs to the doors. The basement was in flames. I felt glass breaking." She recounts it all in a rush.
"Kfor came just in time, but they didn't defend our flats. They told us we had two minutes to leave and be taken to safety. I've never been back there. You know, I was one of the Serbs working to build bridges to Albanians. In two days all the hope, enthusiasm and engagement by people in the minority communities to start a new life in the new Kosovo were burnt up."
It is seven years since Kosovo hit the international headlines when forces under Slobodan Milosevic started a campaign of ethnic cleansing and the guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army sought to defend the majority Albanian community in what was then a province of Serbia. Determined not to permit "another Bosnia", Nato intervened in 1999. After 11 weeks of Nato bombing, Milosevic was forced to withdraw his troops and police, some 700,000 Albanian refugees came home and about 100,000 Serbs - roughly half the province's Serb population - fled. The UN was put in charge, pending agreement on whether Kosovo should become independent or revert to Serbian rule.
For most of those two years, Kosovo was an intimate part of my life. The territory is small, and like scores of other reporters I rushed up and down talking to increasingly fearful people on both sides and chronicling the tragedies of burning villages and huge refugee columns. Now I was on my first trip back after five years. Kosovo has sunk into international oblivion again but this summer is expected to be a crucial turning point. Kofi Annan will probably appoint a special UN envoy to start the long-delayed negotiations on Kosovo's "final status". The old issues of Serbian intransigence and Albanian impatience which prompted the last crisis are still in play. Will they come back to haunt us with a new round of violence?
I decided to begin by visiting the underdogs, the Serbs. Reverse ethnic cleansing forced all those who remained in Kosovo in 1999 to retreat to pathetic enclaves. The biggest and safest was the northern part of Kosovo, starting from the town of Mitrovica, where Serbs continue to use Belgrade's currency, the dinar, and little has changed. Elsewhere, the story is grimmer. For the first three years of UN rule Serbs had minimal freedom to travel out of their enclaves except in buses and convoys guarded by foreign troops. They were afraid of being set upon by revenge-seeking neighbours. New licence plates for cars, which made it impossible to tell which town they were from, eased things slightly, at least until last year's political explosion which made Snezhana Karadzic and Serbs in several other towns suddenly homeless.
The trigger was a TV report that Serb youths with a dog had chased three Albanian children into a river, where two drowned and one was missing. Albanians marched on Serb communities. For two days there was a total breakdown of law and order with clashes and shooting between Serbs and Albanians while Kfor and the UN police concentrated on evacuating Serbs as their homes and churches burned. Nineteen people died (the majority Albanians), and 4,500 Serbs were displaced.
One of the worst episodes left the ancient Orthodox convent of Devic in smouldering ruins. In the pre-war period we often visited this simple collection of buildings on the slope of a narrow wooded valley. The mostly elderly women who spent their time praying and farming were then known as "nuns with guns". Now there is a roadblock, guarded by French troops. They escort you up to the convent gate. The buildings are surrounded by coils of barbed wire.
"We can no longer till our fields. Our tractors were stolen last year and the cattle taken or killed," says the mother superior, Sister Anastasia, who has been at Devic since 1968. The nuns' living quarters have been rebuilt but the 15th-century church is a soot-blackened wreck with plastic sheeting in its windows instead of glass. KLA graffiti has been scrawled on the arches.
Sister Anastasia smiles when reminded of the "nuns with guns" tag. "It was exaggerated. All we had was one shotgun and a pistol left by the police. It's terrible that old ladies had to have weapons, but if we had had proper ones last year we would have defended ourselves," she says. In fact, they got the usual Kfor treatment: troops escorted them to safety but did not defend the buildings from the rampaging crowd. The nuns were back at the ruined convent three weeks after their escape.
Karadzic is also determined not to be driven out. She shrugged off the sneers of other Serbs and stayed at her job in the UN's office of community affairs. Her ransacked flat was restored by the government but she is afraid to go back to Obilic, preferring to camp in an old motel in the Serb enclave of Caglavica. "I was encouraged by Albanian colleagues not to give up. They told me my multi-ethnic hopes are the only ones possible. I'm not so enthusiastic today because I see destructive forces on both sides. Both communities are very deeply disturbed. But there is much more work to do."
Her courage is striking, though not unique. She referred me to two other remarkable Serbs, the first to return to the once multi-ethnic town of Klina since 1999. I found them planting onions in the front garden of their bungalow. Leposava Mazic does the shopping, but her husband, Miodrag, 58, has not been out in the four weeks since they came back. With a slight stoop and piercing black eyes, he talks with sensitivity of his Albanian neighbours. "I don't go out yet, because I don't want to seem to be imposing myself. If someone wants to take revenge on us, they can," he says.
Klina's Albanian mayor supported the couple's return, otherwise it would have been suicidal. An Albanian family that was living in their bungalow was persuaded to leave. "They were still rebuilding their own house and I told them to take all the furniture from ours. In 1999 all our Albanian neighbours' houses were burnt. We did our best to protect them, but I felt I had to give him everything," says Mazic. He and his wife got new kitchen equipment and a TV from a foreign charity.
Mazic is unusual for a Kosovo Serb. He speaks passable Albanian and shows great sensitivity to the much worse suffering of the Albanian community. "We're glad to be home but I can't say we're happy. Our neighbours have sons who are still missing. We know how hard it is for them to talk to us. We just don't want them to hate us."
All over Kosovo fear and hatred are still almost as raw as they were in 1998 and 1999, though they are kept under better control nowadays. War memorials to KLA "martyrs" have sprung up in dozens of villages, and the cemeteries are full of civilian dead. "In Holland, if you speak German no Dutchman will talk to you again. Here, it's only six years since the war and we're asked to behave as though nothing has happened," says Sabri Popaj, a 46-year-old farmer who testified against Milosevic at the Hague as the lone survivor of a massacre in which 168 Albanians were killed, including his two teenage children and numerous cousins. He is not against Serbs coming back, he says. He just does not want anything to do with them.
Kosovo's Albanian politicians have consistently argued that independence will ease tensions, since Albanians will no longer fear a reimposition of Serb control. It will also liberate Serbs who have illusions of going back to the past, and take their lead from Belgrade, where politicians urged Serbs to boycott Kosovo's UN-organised elections. "We're working on getting all refugees back and all Serbs are welcome to return," says Kosovo's new prime minister, Bajram Kosumi, whose cheerful, uncombed look conceals his past as a tough student leader who spent 10 years in Serbian gaols. "It's in their interests to have independence. They're in a limbo where they're pressured by Belgrade." To gain time, western governments produced a strategy called Standards Before Status. Under it, Kosovo has to reach various benchmarks of good behaviour before discussions on its future can begin. The main one is respect for minority rights and a policy of encouraging Serbs to return. Last year's riots were a massive setback but they appear to have shocked Kosovans into ensuring no repetition.
The commonest shop sign in Kosovo is the yellow and black neon logo for Western Union. It is both a pun on where Kosovans would love to be politically, and proof of the weakness of Kosovo's economy. Without the cash sent back by Kosovans abroad, many families would be starving or homeless. Money from the diaspora exceeds what foreign governments spend through the UN and the EU to fund the international police and peace-keepers as well as reconstruction.
Naser Aliu is one of the few emigres who returned. With his elder brothers he used to run a sandwich bar near London's Victoria station, but he wanted to be close to his elderly parents and bring his children up in Albanian-language schools. Now he has a sandwich bar in central Pristina. Without the custom from the UN offices nearby, he could not survive. "Local people don't have money to eat out. They'll sit all evening over a macchiato, but that doesn't help us," he says.
The strongest argument for Kosovo's independence lies across the snow-capped mountains which mark its southern boundary. Drive into Macedonia and you find a place which itself very nearly plunged into war four years ago, with several circumstances similar to Kosovo's. Albanians and Slavs lived under a kind of social apartheid with separate schools and largely mono-ethnic villages and suburbs. An incipient civil war was under way as disgruntled Albanians attacked the police and created no-go areas.
So how did Macedonia avoid Kosovo's fate? To find out, I went to Lake Ohrid, one of Europe's least-known tourist pearls, a magnificent inland sea flanked by a dozen ancient churches. In a villa snuggling among the pine trees, European, American and local negotiators spent several weeks in 2001 hammering out an agreement which brought Macedonia back from the abyss. Unlike in Kosovo, western governments stepped in early to broker a peace deal.
Its most contentious element, a redrawing of municipal boundaries and devolution of power from the centre, only went into effect last month. Struga, one of the lake-side counties, was the first to switch from Macedonian to Albanian control. It was "un-gerrymandered" so that its Albanian majority is no longer split into different villages. As a result, an Albanian mayor was elected for the first time. The outgoing Macedonian, a hardline nationalist who once threatened to declare Struga's independence, gave a lecture instead of a gracious farewell before grudgingly shaking his successor's hand. But at least he accepted change peacefully. This is the second difference from Kosovo: no Milosevic. At local and national level, most Macedonian politicians saw the value of making appropriate concessions to the other community rather than going to war.
While bridges have been built, they are not yet all crossed. Macedonia's political parties are still split on ethnic lines. Ramiz Merko, Struga's new mayor, acknowledges that few Macedonians voted for him: "In our manifesto we did our best to drop all the patriotic stuff, and leave that to history. We want to improve the standard of living of all families." One of his first tasks is to get Albanians into town hall jobs and other local government offices which are currently 95% Macedonian.
On the Albanians' side, the best living example of Macedonia's spirit of compromise is a politician who escaped arrest as a student in Pristina university in the early 1980s, got asylum in Switzerland, worked in the Albanian political underground, and came back secretly to Macedonia to launch the 2001 war. Ali Ahmeti then accepted a ceasefire and became a major player behind the Ohrid accords. Macedonian leaders still saw him as a terrorist, but foreign diplomats negotiated with him. He now heads the Democratic Union of Integration, which came out as the largest Albanian party in the last two elections and runs the country in coalition with Macedonians.
It is a remarkable twist, which might not have happened if the World Trade Centre had been attacked a few weeks earlier. The Ohrid accords were signed on August 13 2001, but if the "war on terror" had already been under way President Bush and Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, could have refused the green light to their officials to talk to Ahmeti.
In the mountains above Tetovo, veterans of the five-month guerrilla war still worship Ahmeti, though they complain the country's coalition government has not improved the economy yet. Qamil Huseyni, 26, shows me the huge war memorial in Selce, where the guerrillas used to have their headquarters. It was put up with diaspora funds. "Twenty-six martyrs will be reburied here in May. We are also going to erect a tall, double-headed black eagle at a cost of euros 40,000 (about pounds 28,000) that will be visible down in Tetovo," he says proudly. The eagle is the Albanian symbol.
Huseyni travels to Tetovo in a battered taxi every day to study English and German. Some of his friends plan to pay the euros 1,500 (pounds 1,000) needed to get a forged German visa on the black market. "There is no work here," he says.
The most hopeful place in Macedonia is Tetovo's new university, where Macedonians and Albanians mingle with amazing normality. It was set up shortly before the brief war under an "affirmative action" programme to provide higher education for Albanians in their own language. About a quarter of its students are Macedonians. Courses are given in both languages, and some faculties such as Communication Sciences give all their tuition in English in the third and fourth years. "This place is becoming more prestigious than expected, and the best secondary school graduates from Skopje [Macedonia's capital] want to come here," says Vladimir Radevski, dean of the communications faculty. "It's a unique meeting place for the two communities. My colleagues and friends in Skopje were surprised when I came here. Some claimed Albanians couldn't learn computer science. Others just asked why I would want to teach Albanians."
And this is the third difference from Kosovo. Enough members of the elite of both sides are willing to cross ethnic boundaries so that resistance crumbles. There may be minor social pressure against bridge-building, but there is no physical violence to deter it. Once a critical mass forms in favour of tolerance, bigotry is driven to the margins.
But there is one even more important difference. I was told numerous times that everything depends on the majority being confident the existence of their state is not under threat. Macedonians, who are a clear majority, once feared the largely Albanian parts might split off, but that fear is now discarded since all sides realise that entry into the EU would be impossible if war resumed or the state split.
In Kosovo, the state question is unresolved. As long as the Albanian majority is not assured that the door has permanently slammed on Serbian rule, tensions are bound to continue.
Kosovo Serb leader promises imminent return to Assembly, not government
[Announcer] The chairman of the Serb List for Kosova [Kosovo], Oliver Ivanovic, has said today that Serbs will return to the Kosova Assembly after the UN Security Council meeting, which he characterised as a key factor. Ivanovic said they would not join the government since it was working for the independence of Kosova and independence was not a good solution for the Serbs.
[Oliver Ivanovic speaking in Albanian throughout] Following the Security Council [meeting] I think we will sit down once again and decide what to do. We are part of the institutions even now, we have been participating in the working groups, we have participated and will continue to participate in parliamentary commissions and we are awaiting the moment when we will participate in the work of the Assembly as well.
I am not sure about the government, it is still unknown but I think we will look into that soon as well.
[Unclear question]
[Oliver Ivanovic] It depends. The government has a programme and is working towards Kosova's independence, and we do not think independence is a solution for anyone.
Source: KohaVision TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1800 gmt 24 May 05
[Oliver Ivanovic speaking in Albanian throughout] Following the Security Council [meeting] I think we will sit down once again and decide what to do. We are part of the institutions even now, we have been participating in the working groups, we have participated and will continue to participate in parliamentary commissions and we are awaiting the moment when we will participate in the work of the Assembly as well.
I am not sure about the government, it is still unknown but I think we will look into that soon as well.
[Unclear question]
[Oliver Ivanovic] It depends. The government has a programme and is working towards Kosova's independence, and we do not think independence is a solution for anyone.
Source: KohaVision TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1800 gmt 24 May 05
Serbia to tell UN no Kosovo standards fulfilled - government
[Presenter] The Serbian government met today to set a platform which the Serbian delegation is to present at the UN Security Council session on Kosovo-Metohija on 27 May. Besides government members, President Boris Tadic, Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic and the Coordination Centre for Kosovo-Metohija chairman, Nebojsa Covic, also attended the meeting.
A conclusion regarding the basis for the participation of the Serbia-Montenegro delegation at the UN Security Council session, which will be headed by Covic, was unanimously reached at the meeting.
It was stated that there was no protection of basic human rights of Serbs and non-Albanians, no freedom of movement, no elementary protection of their property and that Serbs were still subject to violence.
Also, the return of expelled Serb inhabitants has not been realized, which UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] data confirm, according to which some three per cent of Serbs have returned to the province. As was stated, the Serbian president and premier are ready to open dialogue immediately and appeal to representatives of the Kosovo interim institutions to accept their invitation to dialogue without any further conditioning.
The conclusion also said that talks should be held at the place where problems had occurred and where they still existed, i.e. in Kosovo-Metohija.
Source: B92 TV, Belgrade, in Serbian 1715 gmt 24 May 05
A conclusion regarding the basis for the participation of the Serbia-Montenegro delegation at the UN Security Council session, which will be headed by Covic, was unanimously reached at the meeting.
It was stated that there was no protection of basic human rights of Serbs and non-Albanians, no freedom of movement, no elementary protection of their property and that Serbs were still subject to violence.
Also, the return of expelled Serb inhabitants has not been realized, which UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] data confirm, according to which some three per cent of Serbs have returned to the province. As was stated, the Serbian president and premier are ready to open dialogue immediately and appeal to representatives of the Kosovo interim institutions to accept their invitation to dialogue without any further conditioning.
The conclusion also said that talks should be held at the place where problems had occurred and where they still existed, i.e. in Kosovo-Metohija.
Source: B92 TV, Belgrade, in Serbian 1715 gmt 24 May 05
Kosovo premier says no unilaterally scheduled talks with Belgrade
Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi gave an interview to our daily, saying that the Kosovo government has started cooperating with the Montenegrin authorities about the return of refugees. He says that the return is to be conducted in an organized manner. Kosumi says that the Kosovo government will try to bring its citizens home, where their property awaits them.
[Passage omitted]
[Reporter] Where will the negotiations with [Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav] Kostunica be held and are there any special conditions you would like to state?
[Bajram Kosumi] Kostunica unilaterally suggested the place and the date of the talks. However, both sides must agree about such a decision. As you can see, there will be no meeting on 25 May in Prizren. There will be no meetings announced by just one side. Moreover, Kostunica cannot presume to invite me as a guest to come to my own house. I officially said that an official meeting can be arranged when we reach an agreement about the location. We could meet in my office in the Kosovo government building or in Belgrade. If we cannot reach an agreement about either of these places then we could agree about a third location, a neutral one. As far as our side is concerned we are not stating any conditions that have to be met before the talks. We will talk as two prime ministers who represent two countries of equal status.
[Reporter] Will Kosovo become independent and when?
[Kosumi] In a year Kosovo will be different than it is today. The USA, together with the European Union, will be a very important partner participating in this process. I must say that the USA proved to be very interested and expeditious with their implementation plans. We saw this during the last 10 years in Bosnia-Hercegovina and six years ago in Kosovo. We need US help in the region. The Americans should participate in the process of negotiations and dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.
[Reporter] If Kosovo becomes independent do you expect to see a union of independent states in the Balkans?
[Kosumi] I do not expect to see any kind of union of independent states in the Balkans. The only place where we can be allies will be within the European Union.
[Passage omitted]
Source: Dan, Podgorica, in Serbian 24 May 05 p4
[Passage omitted]
[Reporter] Where will the negotiations with [Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav] Kostunica be held and are there any special conditions you would like to state?
[Bajram Kosumi] Kostunica unilaterally suggested the place and the date of the talks. However, both sides must agree about such a decision. As you can see, there will be no meeting on 25 May in Prizren. There will be no meetings announced by just one side. Moreover, Kostunica cannot presume to invite me as a guest to come to my own house. I officially said that an official meeting can be arranged when we reach an agreement about the location. We could meet in my office in the Kosovo government building or in Belgrade. If we cannot reach an agreement about either of these places then we could agree about a third location, a neutral one. As far as our side is concerned we are not stating any conditions that have to be met before the talks. We will talk as two prime ministers who represent two countries of equal status.
[Reporter] Will Kosovo become independent and when?
[Kosumi] In a year Kosovo will be different than it is today. The USA, together with the European Union, will be a very important partner participating in this process. I must say that the USA proved to be very interested and expeditious with their implementation plans. We saw this during the last 10 years in Bosnia-Hercegovina and six years ago in Kosovo. We need US help in the region. The Americans should participate in the process of negotiations and dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.
[Reporter] If Kosovo becomes independent do you expect to see a union of independent states in the Balkans?
[Kosumi] I do not expect to see any kind of union of independent states in the Balkans. The only place where we can be allies will be within the European Union.
[Passage omitted]
Source: Dan, Podgorica, in Serbian 24 May 05 p4
Saint Petersburg institute Gipronikel obtained 2 orders to restore a plant to make ferronickel in Kosovo
Saint Petersburg institute Gipronikel obtained 2 orders to restore a plant to make ferronickel in Kosovo. One order is to study and forecast a situation on metallurgical market, the second one - estimate costs necessary to reconstruct the enterprise ruined by aviation of the Anti-Yugoslavian coalition and partially submerged. On one hand, appealing the Russian institute for help is logic enough, so exactly Gipronikel had designed it at the end of 60s-beginning of 70s. But on the other hand, exactly this order is unique as the institute was ordered strictly economic marketing study, i.e. on which hundreds of well-known foreign consulting, marketing and other firms are specializing. European and American firms consider themselves as not only more qualified ones in economic studies, but also more impartial. But in this situation, qualification of Gipronikel was declared the highest.
Its studies of market are based on not only known trends, but also subject knowledge of all world's fields of non-ferrous metals, technological tendencies and other exact data, mainly unknown to ordinary specialists on marketing.
"Sankt-Peterburgskiye Vedomosti" (Saint Petersburg), 24.05.05
Its studies of market are based on not only known trends, but also subject knowledge of all world's fields of non-ferrous metals, technological tendencies and other exact data, mainly unknown to ordinary specialists on marketing.
"Sankt-Peterburgskiye Vedomosti" (Saint Petersburg), 24.05.05
Kosovo police deny Serb members attacked in divided town
Pristina, 24 May: Kosovo Police Service [KPS] spokesman Shaban Tasholi has denied that two Serb KPS members were attacked last night in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, which is mainly inhabited by Serbs.
"We have no information that a clash occurred between a group of seven Serbs and two Serb members of the KPS, as relayed by Radio Blue Sky, citing unnamed police sources in Kosovska Mitrovica," Tasholi told the SRNA agency.
The chairman of the Community of Serb Municipalities of Kosovo-Metohija, Marko Jaksic, said this information was fabricated and an attempt to turn any clash or the smallest incident into a Serb showdown with members of the Kosovo institutions or UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo].
Jaksic pointed out that last night there was a physical clash between a young Serb man and a certain Vojinovic - a Kosovo policeman who was off duty - in a cafe bar in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, which those with ill-intentions attempted to use by describing it as an attack on the Kosovo Police Service.
"We have no information that a clash occurred between a group of seven Serbs and two Serb members of the KPS, as relayed by Radio Blue Sky, citing unnamed police sources in Kosovska Mitrovica," Tasholi told the SRNA agency.
The chairman of the Community of Serb Municipalities of Kosovo-Metohija, Marko Jaksic, said this information was fabricated and an attempt to turn any clash or the smallest incident into a Serb showdown with members of the Kosovo institutions or UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo].
Jaksic pointed out that last night there was a physical clash between a young Serb man and a certain Vojinovic - a Kosovo policeman who was off duty - in a cafe bar in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, which those with ill-intentions attempted to use by describing it as an attack on the Kosovo Police Service.
Kosovo Ashkali leader deplores repatriation from Germany
Prishtina [Pristina], 21 May: The representatives of the Ashkali community in Kosova [Kosovo] reacted today against the "forcible" return of members of their community from Germany and other EU countries since the conditions for their return to Kosova have not improved.
PDAShK [Democratic Albanian Ashkali Party Of Kosovo] Chairman Sabit Rrahmoni, who is also a member of the Kosova Assembly, has been following implementation of an agreement that was signed between UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] administration and the German Government on repatriation of all Kosova citizens without a legal status in Germany, including members of the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities.
"A few days ago, Germany repatriated several members of this community, some of whom - three or four families - have been accommodated in tents or camps, as their homes have been destroyed," Rrahmoni said.
According to him, this shows that there are no conditions for the mass return of members of this community to Kosova. "We will oppose the return of our members from the Diaspora until the rest of the displaced in the region - Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia - have returned," the PDAShK leader said.
Otherwise, Rrahmoni said their return would result in a real catastrophe because, according to him, there were many problems in Kosova facing this community and that many of them had not rebuilt their destroyed homes.
In Fushe Kosove [Kosovo Polje], Rrahmoni said, 200 families returned in 2000 and, being unable to rebuild their homes, they were living in the homes of those living abroad. "If the return from the Diaspora continues, then these families will have to vacate those houses and go to Plemetin or be accommodated in other camps, which would, of course, be damaging to the positive ongoing processes in Kosova," Rrahmoni said.
According to the information that the PDAShK has, there are 8,300 members of the Ashkali community in Germany. According to Rrahmoni, there are also about 1,200 members of the Egyptian community and about 3,500 Roma.
The Ashkali leader said that under the agreement they should be repatriated by the end of this year, with most of them being repatriated during the summer.
"It is expected that 500 of them will be repatriated in May, whereas the largest number is expected to return during the summer," Rrahmoni said.
The leader of this community also said that his party was doing its utmost to prevent the repatriation, given that there are no conditions for that. He said that the Kosova Assembly's Communities' Committee had urged the Assembly Presidency to pay a visit to Berlin and ask the German Government directly to stop the repatriation.
Rrahmoni said that this would not affect the process of meeting the standards because, according to him, the return of all refugees is not one of the standards but a right of everyone who wants to return.
The members of the Ashkali, Roma, and Egyptian communities have faced many problems, especially housing problems, in the postwar period. Some of the members of these communities have been accommodated in camps in Plemetin, Kastriot [Obilic], and Mitrovice [Kosovska Mitrovica].
The Kosova Government has promised to close these camps, which have been described as "the shame of Kosova society," by this summer. Deputy Prime Minister Adem Salihaj has said that the Kosova Government had been working hard to close the Plemetin camp as soon as possible, possibly before June, so that this issue could be taken off the government's agenda.
The government's objective, according to Salihaj, is not just to close the camp but also to resolve the housing problem of the families living there.
PDAShK [Democratic Albanian Ashkali Party Of Kosovo] Chairman Sabit Rrahmoni, who is also a member of the Kosova Assembly, has been following implementation of an agreement that was signed between UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] administration and the German Government on repatriation of all Kosova citizens without a legal status in Germany, including members of the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities.
"A few days ago, Germany repatriated several members of this community, some of whom - three or four families - have been accommodated in tents or camps, as their homes have been destroyed," Rrahmoni said.
According to him, this shows that there are no conditions for the mass return of members of this community to Kosova. "We will oppose the return of our members from the Diaspora until the rest of the displaced in the region - Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia - have returned," the PDAShK leader said.
Otherwise, Rrahmoni said their return would result in a real catastrophe because, according to him, there were many problems in Kosova facing this community and that many of them had not rebuilt their destroyed homes.
In Fushe Kosove [Kosovo Polje], Rrahmoni said, 200 families returned in 2000 and, being unable to rebuild their homes, they were living in the homes of those living abroad. "If the return from the Diaspora continues, then these families will have to vacate those houses and go to Plemetin or be accommodated in other camps, which would, of course, be damaging to the positive ongoing processes in Kosova," Rrahmoni said.
According to the information that the PDAShK has, there are 8,300 members of the Ashkali community in Germany. According to Rrahmoni, there are also about 1,200 members of the Egyptian community and about 3,500 Roma.
The Ashkali leader said that under the agreement they should be repatriated by the end of this year, with most of them being repatriated during the summer.
"It is expected that 500 of them will be repatriated in May, whereas the largest number is expected to return during the summer," Rrahmoni said.
The leader of this community also said that his party was doing its utmost to prevent the repatriation, given that there are no conditions for that. He said that the Kosova Assembly's Communities' Committee had urged the Assembly Presidency to pay a visit to Berlin and ask the German Government directly to stop the repatriation.
Rrahmoni said that this would not affect the process of meeting the standards because, according to him, the return of all refugees is not one of the standards but a right of everyone who wants to return.
The members of the Ashkali, Roma, and Egyptian communities have faced many problems, especially housing problems, in the postwar period. Some of the members of these communities have been accommodated in camps in Plemetin, Kastriot [Obilic], and Mitrovice [Kosovska Mitrovica].
The Kosova Government has promised to close these camps, which have been described as "the shame of Kosova society," by this summer. Deputy Prime Minister Adem Salihaj has said that the Kosova Government had been working hard to close the Plemetin camp as soon as possible, possibly before June, so that this issue could be taken off the government's agenda.
The government's objective, according to Salihaj, is not just to close the camp but also to resolve the housing problem of the families living there.
Serbia Against Kosovo's Independence - Deputy PM
BELGRADE (AP)--Serbia won't accept independence for Kosovo, the country's deputy prime minister said Tuesday, ahead of a top-level meeting to plot Serbia's strategy for the future of the volatile province.
Miroljub Labus said the demands by the majority ethnic Albanians in Kosovo to split from Serbia and form an independent state are "unacceptable."
The province's ethnic Albanians, who fought a war against Yugoslav government troops in 1998-99, insist on full independence, but Serbs see the province as their historic heartland and an integral part of Serbia.
Labus repeated the official Serbian stand that Kosovo can only be granted "more than autonomy but less than independence."
"We don't think that Kosovo's independence, conditional or unconditional, is an acceptable solution for Serbia," Labus told reporters.
But he said that a compromise on Kosovo is possible during future internationally mediated negotiations with ethnic Albanians.
"The solution depends on all participants of the negotiations. Serbia has a maneuvering space in the negotiations, and we have to use it," Labus said without elaborating.
Kosovo formally remains part of Serbia-Montenegro, Yugoslavia's successor state, but has been an international protectorate since the 1999 NATO bombing halted Serbia's crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians and forced Belgrade to relinquish control over Kosovo to the U.N. and NATO.
The Kosovo peace process suffered a grave setback in March 2004 when bloody rioting by Kosovo Albanians left 19 people dead and destroyed numerous Serbian homes and churches.
Labus was speaking ahead of a meeting later Tuesday by the top Serbian leadership which was to confirm the republic's official stand ahead of a U.N. Security Council debate on Kosovo scheduled for May 27.
Talks to decide the province's future are expected later this year if the U.N. determines that Kosovo has reached internationally set standards for protecting minority rights, democratization and the reform of local governance.
Miroljub Labus said the demands by the majority ethnic Albanians in Kosovo to split from Serbia and form an independent state are "unacceptable."
The province's ethnic Albanians, who fought a war against Yugoslav government troops in 1998-99, insist on full independence, but Serbs see the province as their historic heartland and an integral part of Serbia.
Labus repeated the official Serbian stand that Kosovo can only be granted "more than autonomy but less than independence."
"We don't think that Kosovo's independence, conditional or unconditional, is an acceptable solution for Serbia," Labus told reporters.
But he said that a compromise on Kosovo is possible during future internationally mediated negotiations with ethnic Albanians.
"The solution depends on all participants of the negotiations. Serbia has a maneuvering space in the negotiations, and we have to use it," Labus said without elaborating.
Kosovo formally remains part of Serbia-Montenegro, Yugoslavia's successor state, but has been an international protectorate since the 1999 NATO bombing halted Serbia's crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians and forced Belgrade to relinquish control over Kosovo to the U.N. and NATO.
The Kosovo peace process suffered a grave setback in March 2004 when bloody rioting by Kosovo Albanians left 19 people dead and destroyed numerous Serbian homes and churches.
Labus was speaking ahead of a meeting later Tuesday by the top Serbian leadership which was to confirm the republic's official stand ahead of a U.N. Security Council debate on Kosovo scheduled for May 27.
Talks to decide the province's future are expected later this year if the U.N. determines that Kosovo has reached internationally set standards for protecting minority rights, democratization and the reform of local governance.
Ivanovic: Return to institutions perhaps after UN SC meeting
Leader of Serb list for Kosovo and Metohija Oliver Ivanovic said that the return of Kosovo Serbs to local institutions largely depends on the stance of Belgrade but also on the results that will come out from the UN SC session on Friday. He also said that their return is hindered by the small number of votes his party won in general elections in Kosovo due to the decision of local Serbs to boycott them.
Factual independence next year, formal independence after several years of transitory period
Zëri reports on the front page that the European Union still has no proposal as far as the political status of Kosovo is concerned. The EU, the paper says, still hasn’t managed to harmonize the positions of member countries on the three non-negotiable principles that were announced by the Contact Group in early April. It is believed that the EU will support these principles in mid-June.
Citing diplomatic sources in Pristina, the paper notes that the prevailing idea in Brussels and in Solana’s office, as far as the issue of Kosovo is concerned, is to find a solution that would at the same time respect the reality in Kosovo and try to save Belgrade’s face for a couple of years.
Zëri also says that according to an idea in Brussels, in spring-summer 2006 Kosovo would de facto become an independent country but would not be recognized by UN, EU and Western countries. Kosovo would enter another period of transition that would last for 2-3 years, ultimately leading to Kosovo’s independence.
Citing diplomatic sources in Pristina, the paper notes that the prevailing idea in Brussels and in Solana’s office, as far as the issue of Kosovo is concerned, is to find a solution that would at the same time respect the reality in Kosovo and try to save Belgrade’s face for a couple of years.
Zëri also says that according to an idea in Brussels, in spring-summer 2006 Kosovo would de facto become an independent country but would not be recognized by UN, EU and Western countries. Kosovo would enter another period of transition that would last for 2-3 years, ultimately leading to Kosovo’s independence.
Annan backs mid-2005 UN launch of Kosovo review
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on Monday for the launch within months of a U.N. review intended to lead to a final determination of whether Kosovo should gain independence or remain a part of Serbia.
Annan, in a report to the Security Council expected to be released later this week, said he was not totally satisfied with the pace of the progress achieved to date by the leaders of the Serbian province of 2 million people, which the United Nations has administered since the Balkan wars in the 1990s.
But the review process should begin this summer on the assumption of the Kosovo leaders' "continued and effective progress" toward a set of goals enabling the international community to take up Kosovo's long-term status, he said in the report, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
Annan planned to soon appoint a special envoy to lead the review, he said. Among the top contenders is Kai Eide, Norway's ambassador to NATO, diplomats said.
His report surfaced a week after the United States said it wanted the international community to move more quickly to resolve Kosovo's status, left undecided after the Balkan wars in the 1990s.
The United Nations has set out a list of standards -- on law and order, functioning democratic institutions, security and human rights -- that must be met before the question of Kosovo's eventual status is taken up.
The United Nations has governed Kosovo since 1999 after a NATO bombing campaign to halt Serb repression of its ethnic Albanians. Tens of thousands of Serbs fled the province during the bombing to escape Albanians bent on revenge for Belgrade's harsh rule, and the West wants them to return home and be accepted by the Albanian community as neighbors.
Kosovo's 90-percent ethnic Albanian majority demands independence. Belgrade insists the province remain a part of Serbia.
A final decision is up to the international community, through a process outlined by the Security Council.
U.N. officials have long envisaged a mid-2005 review of the progress on the standards, with an eye to proceeding to the final status question if the results were favorable.
But Kosovo's progress in meeting the standards has been uneven, raising concerns the review could come later.
"It should be clearly understood that the outcome of the comprehensive review is not a foregone conclusion," Annan said. "During and beyond this comprehensive review, the representatives of Kosovo's provisional institutions and Kosovo's political leaders will be expected to pursue and strengthen their efforts to implement the standards, and will continue to be assessed on this basis."
Annan, in a report to the Security Council expected to be released later this week, said he was not totally satisfied with the pace of the progress achieved to date by the leaders of the Serbian province of 2 million people, which the United Nations has administered since the Balkan wars in the 1990s.
But the review process should begin this summer on the assumption of the Kosovo leaders' "continued and effective progress" toward a set of goals enabling the international community to take up Kosovo's long-term status, he said in the report, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
Annan planned to soon appoint a special envoy to lead the review, he said. Among the top contenders is Kai Eide, Norway's ambassador to NATO, diplomats said.
His report surfaced a week after the United States said it wanted the international community to move more quickly to resolve Kosovo's status, left undecided after the Balkan wars in the 1990s.
The United Nations has set out a list of standards -- on law and order, functioning democratic institutions, security and human rights -- that must be met before the question of Kosovo's eventual status is taken up.
The United Nations has governed Kosovo since 1999 after a NATO bombing campaign to halt Serb repression of its ethnic Albanians. Tens of thousands of Serbs fled the province during the bombing to escape Albanians bent on revenge for Belgrade's harsh rule, and the West wants them to return home and be accepted by the Albanian community as neighbors.
Kosovo's 90-percent ethnic Albanian majority demands independence. Belgrade insists the province remain a part of Serbia.
A final decision is up to the international community, through a process outlined by the Security Council.
U.N. officials have long envisaged a mid-2005 review of the progress on the standards, with an eye to proceeding to the final status question if the results were favorable.
But Kosovo's progress in meeting the standards has been uneven, raising concerns the review could come later.
"It should be clearly understood that the outcome of the comprehensive review is not a foregone conclusion," Annan said. "During and beyond this comprehensive review, the representatives of Kosovo's provisional institutions and Kosovo's political leaders will be expected to pursue and strengthen their efforts to implement the standards, and will continue to be assessed on this basis."
Monday, May 23, 2005
A Balkan question - The Guardian
Guardian Features Pages
A Balkan question: Serbia's attempt to ethnically cleanse Kosovo was the last bloody act in the break-up of Yugoslavia. Six years after Nato put a halt to the conflict, Jonathan Steele returns to find a province desperate to keep a lid on its divisions. As they prepare to vote on independence, can its people reach a lasting compromise?
2,951 words
24 May 2005
The Guardian
2
English
© Copyright 2005. The Guardian. All rights reserved.
Snezhana Karadzic has the air of a perfect international civil servant. Calm, efficient and elegant, she sits in the United Nations headquarters in Kosovo and, with no hint of bias, trots out every relevant statistic on relations between Serbs and Albanians since Nato bombed the region six years ago.
But ask about her own experiences and the professional mask comes crashing down. Tears well up as she describes what happened last year, at a time when every expert thought Kosovo was proceeding smoothly.
"I was at home in Obilic with my daughter. She was on her first visit back to Kosovo since 1999. She's a medical student in Nis. It wasn't yet 7.30am and I saw a mob stoning the church and various buildings where Serbs live. We were in panic. We expected the police and Kfor [the international peacekeeping troops] to rescue us but no one turned up. Along with two other women, we managed to barricade the entrance to our block of flats. I thought this was it, I was going to lose my daughter. I told her to go up to the fifth floor. If she heard the barricade breaking down, she should jump out of the window. We had our backs to the doors. The basement was in flames. I felt glass breaking." She recounts it all in a rush.
"Kfor came just in time, but they didn't defend our flats. They told us we had two minutes to leave and be taken to safety. I've never been back there. You know, I was one of the Serbs working to build bridges to Albanians. In two days all the hope, enthusiasm and engagement by people in the minority communities to start a new life in the new Kosovo were burnt up."
It is seven years since Kosovo hit the international headlines when forces under Slobodan Milosevic started a campaign of ethnic cleansing and the guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army sought to defend the majority Albanian community in what was then a province of Serbia. Determined not to permit "another Bosnia", Nato intervened in 1999. After 11 weeks of Nato bombing, Milosevic was forced to withdraw his troops and police, some 700,000 Albanian refugees came home and about 100,000 Serbs - roughly half the province's Serb population - fled. The UN was put in charge, pending agreement on whether Kosovo should become independent or revert to Serbian rule.
For most of those two years, Kosovo was an intimate part of my life. The territory is small, and like scores of other reporters I rushed up and down talking to increasingly fearful people on both sides and chronicling the tragedies of burning villages and huge refugee columns. Now I was on my first trip back after five years. Kosovo has sunk into international oblivion again but this summer is expected to be a crucial turning point. Kofi Annan will probably appoint a special UN envoy to start the long-delayed negotiations on Kosovo's "final status". The old issues of Serbian intransigence and Albanian impatience which prompted the last crisis are still in play. Will they come back to haunt us with a new round of violence?
I decided to begin by visiting the underdogs, the Serbs. Reverse ethnic cleansing forced all those who remained in Kosovo in 1999 to retreat to pathetic enclaves. The biggest and safest was the northern part of Kosovo, starting from the town of Mitrovica, where Serbs continue to use Belgrade's currency, the dinar, and little has changed. Elsewhere, the story is grimmer. For the first three years of UN rule Serbs had minimal freedom to travel out of their enclaves except in buses and convoys guarded by foreign troops. They were afraid of being set upon by revenge-seeking neighbours. New licence plates for cars, which made it impossible to tell which town they were from, eased things slightly, at least until last year's political explosion which made Snezhana Karadzic and Serbs in several other towns suddenly homeless.
The trigger was a TV report that Serb youths with a dog had chased three Albanian children into a river, where two drowned and one was missing. Albanians marched on Serb communities. For two days there was a total breakdown of law and order with clashes and shooting between Serbs and Albanians while Kfor and the UN police concentrated on evacuating Serbs as their homes and churches burned. Nineteen people died (the majority Albanians), and 4,500 Serbs were displaced.
One of the worst episodes left the ancient Orthodox convent of Devic in smouldering ruins. In the pre-war period we often visited this simple collection of buildings on the slope of a narrow wooded valley. The mostly elderly women who spent their time praying and farming were then known as "nuns with guns". Now there is a roadblock, guarded by French troops. They escort you up to the convent gate. The buildings are surrounded by coils of barbed wire.
"We can no longer till our fields. Our tractors were stolen last year and the cattle taken or killed," says the mother superior, Sister Anastasia, who has been at Devic since 1968. The nuns' living quarters have been rebuilt but the 15th-century church is a soot-blackened wreck with plastic sheeting in its windows instead of glass. KLA graffiti has been scrawled on the arches.
Sister Anastasia smiles when reminded of the "nuns with guns" tag. "It was exaggerated. All we had was one shotgun and a pistol left by the police. It's terrible that old ladies had to have weapons, but if we had had proper ones last year we would have defended ourselves," she says. In fact, they got the usual Kfor treatment: troops escorted them to safety but did not defend the buildings from the rampaging crowd. The nuns were back at the ruined convent three weeks after their escape.
Karadzic is also determined not to be driven out. She shrugged off the sneers of other Serbs and stayed at her job in the UN's office of community affairs. Her ransacked flat was restored by the government but she is afraid to go back to Obilic, preferring to camp in an old motel in the Serb enclave of Caglavica. "I was encouraged by Albanian colleagues not to give up. They told me my multi-ethnic hopes are the only ones possible. I'm not so enthusiastic today because I see destructive forces on both sides. Both communities are very deeply disturbed. But there is much more work to do."
Her courage is striking, though not unique. She referred me to two other remarkable Serbs, the first to return to the once multi-ethnic town of Klina since 1999. I found them planting onions in the front garden of their bungalow. Leposava Mazic does the shopping, but her husband, Miodrag, 58, has not been out in the four weeks since they came back. With a slight stoop and piercing black eyes, he talks with sensitivity of his Albanian neighbours. "I don't go out yet, because I don't want to seem to be imposing myself. If someone wants to take revenge on us, they can," he says.
Klina's Albanian mayor supported the couple's return, otherwise it would have been suicidal. An Albanian family that was living in their bungalow was persuaded to leave. "They were still rebuilding their own house and I told them to take all the furniture from ours. In 1999 all our Albanian neighbours' houses were burnt. We did our best to protect them, but I felt I had to give him everything," says Mazic. He and his wife got new kitchen equipment and a TV from a foreign charity.
Mazic is unusual for a Kosovo Serb. He speaks passable Albanian and shows great sensitivity to the much worse suffering of the Albanian community. "We're glad to be home but I can't say we're happy. Our neighbours have sons who are still missing. We know how hard it is for them to talk to us. We just don't want them to hate us."
All over Kosovo fear and hatred are still almost as raw as they were in 1998 and 1999, though they are kept under better control nowadays. War memorials to KLA "martyrs" have sprung up in dozens of villages, and the cemeteries are full of civilian dead. "In Holland, if you speak German no Dutchman will talk to you again. Here, it's only six years since the war and we're asked to behave as though nothing has happened," says Sabri Popaj, a 46-year-old farmer who testified against Milosevic at the Hague as the lone survivor of a massacre in which 168 Albanians were killed, including his two teenage children and numerous cousins. He is not against Serbs coming back, he says. He just does not want anything to do with them.
Kosovo's Albanian politicians have consistently argued that independence will ease tensions, since Albanians will no longer fear a reimposition of Serb control. It will also liberate Serbs who have illusions of going back to the past, and take their lead from Belgrade, where politicians urged Serbs to boycott Kosovo's UN-organised elections. "We're working on getting all refugees back and all Serbs are welcome to return," says Kosovo's new prime minister, Bajram Kosumi, whose cheerful, uncombed look conceals his past as a tough student leader who spent 10 years in Serbian gaols. "It's in their interests to have independence. They're in a limbo where they're pressured by Belgrade." To gain time, western governments produced a strategy called Standards Before Status. Under it, Kosovo has to reach various benchmarks of good behaviour before discussions on its future can begin. The main one is respect for minority rights and a policy of encouraging Serbs to return. Last year's riots were a massive setback but they appear to have shocked Kosovans into ensuring no repetition.
The commonest shop sign in Kosovo is the yellow and black neon logo for Western Union. It is both a pun on where Kosovans would love to be politically, and proof of the weakness of Kosovo's economy. Without the cash sent back by Kosovans abroad, many families would be starving or homeless. Money from the diaspora exceeds what foreign governments spend through the UN and the EU to fund the international police and peace-keepers as well as reconstruction.
Naser Aliu is one of the few emigres who returned. With his elder brothers he used to run a sandwich bar near London's Victoria station, but he wanted to be close to his elderly parents and bring his children up in Albanian-language schools. Now he has a sandwich bar in central Pristina. Without the custom from the UN offices nearby, he could not survive. "Local people don't have money to eat out. They'll sit all evening over a macchiato, but that doesn't help us," he says.
The strongest argument for Kosovo's independence lies across the snow-capped mountains which mark its southern boundary. Drive into Macedonia and you find a place which itself very nearly plunged into war four years ago, with several circumstances similar to Kosovo's. Albanians and Slavs lived under a kind of social apartheid with separate schools and largely mono-ethnic villages and suburbs. An incipient civil war was under way as disgruntled Albanians attacked the police and created no-go areas.
So how did Macedonia avoid Kosovo's fate? To find out, I went to Lake Ohrid, one of Europe's least-known tourist pearls, a magnificent inland sea flanked by a dozen ancient churches. In a villa snuggling among the pine trees, European, American and local negotiators spent several weeks in 2001 hammering out an agreement which brought Macedonia back from the abyss. Unlike in Kosovo, western governments stepped in early to broker a peace deal.
Its most contentious element, a redrawing of municipal boundaries and devolution of power from the centre, only went into effect last month. Struga, one of the lake-side counties, was the first to switch from Macedonian to Albanian control. It was "un-gerrymandered" so that its Albanian majority is no longer split into different villages. As a result, an Albanian mayor was elected for the first time. The outgoing Macedonian, a hardline nationalist who once threatened to declare Struga's independence, gave a lecture instead of a gracious farewell before grudgingly shaking his successor's hand. But at least he accepted change peacefully. This is the second difference from Kosovo: no Milosevic. At local and national level, most Macedonian politicians saw the value of making appropriate concessions to the other community rather than going to war.
While bridges have been built, they are not yet all crossed. Macedonia's political parties are still split on ethnic lines. Ramiz Merko, Struga's new mayor, acknowledges that few Macedonians voted for him: "In our manifesto we did our best to drop all the patriotic stuff, and leave that to history. We want to improve the standard of living of all families." One of his first tasks is to get Albanians into town hall jobs and other local government offices which are currently 95% Macedonian.
On the Albanians' side, the best living example of Macedonia's spirit of compromise is a politician who escaped arrest as a student in Pristina university in the early 1980s, got asylum in Switzerland, worked in the Albanian political underground, and came back secretly to Macedonia to launch the 2001 war. Ali Ahmeti then accepted a ceasefire and became a major player behind the Ohrid accords. Macedonian leaders still saw him as a terrorist, but foreign diplomats negotiated with him. He now heads the Democratic Union of Integration, which came out as the largest Albanian party in the last two elections and runs the country in coalition with Macedonians.
It is a remarkable twist, which might not have happened if the World Trade Centre had been attacked a few weeks earlier. The Ohrid accords were signed on August 13 2001, but if the "war on terror" had already been under way President Bush and Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, could have refused the green light to their officials to talk to Ahmeti.
In the mountains above Tetovo, veterans of the five-month guerrilla war still worship Ahmeti, though they complain the country's coalition government has not improved the economy yet. Qamil Huseyni, 26, shows me the huge war memorial in Selce, where the guerrillas used to have their headquarters. It was put up with diaspora funds. "Twenty-six martyrs will be reburied here in May. We are also going to erect a tall, double-headed black eagle at a cost of euros 40,000 (about pounds 28,000) that will be visible down in Tetovo," he says proudly. The eagle is the Albanian symbol.
Huseyni travels to Tetovo in a battered taxi every day to study English and German. Some of his friends plan to pay the euros 1,500 (pounds 1,000) needed to get a forged German visa on the black market. "There is no work here," he says.
The most hopeful place in Macedonia is Tetovo's new university, where Macedonians and Albanians mingle with amazing normality. It was set up shortly before the brief war under an "affirmative action" programme to provide higher education for Albanians in their own language. About a quarter of its students are Macedonians. Courses are given in both languages, and some faculties such as Communication Sciences give all their tuition in English in the third and fourth years. "This place is becoming more prestigious than expected, and the best secondary school graduates from Skopje [Macedonia's capital] want to come here," says Vladimir Radevski, dean of the communications faculty. "It's a unique meeting place for the two communities. My colleagues and friends in Skopje were surprised when I came here. Some claimed Albanians couldn't learn computer science. Others just asked why I would want to teach Albanians."
And this is the third difference from Kosovo. Enough members of the elite of both sides are willing to cross ethnic boundaries so that resistance crumbles. There may be minor social pressure against bridge-building, but there is no physical violence to deter it. Once a critical mass forms in favour of tolerance, bigotry is driven to the margins.
But there is one even more important difference. I was told numerous times that everything depends on the majority being confident the existence of their state is not under threat. Macedonians, who are a clear majority, once feared the largely Albanian parts might split off, but that fear is now discarded since all sides realise that entry into the EU would be impossible if war resumed or the state split.
In Kosovo, the state question is unresolved. As long as the Albanian majority is not assured that the door has permanently slammed on Serbian rule, tensions are bound to continue.
Hopes for the future . . . Miodrag and Leposava Mazic, left, Serbs who have returned to their Albanian-dominated village; Kfor peacekeepers in Mitrovica; Snezhana Karadzic, a Serb building bridges to the Kosovans
A Balkan question: Serbia's attempt to ethnically cleanse Kosovo was the last bloody act in the break-up of Yugoslavia. Six years after Nato put a halt to the conflict, Jonathan Steele returns to find a province desperate to keep a lid on its divisions. As they prepare to vote on independence, can its people reach a lasting compromise?
2,951 words
24 May 2005
The Guardian
2
English
© Copyright 2005. The Guardian. All rights reserved.
Snezhana Karadzic has the air of a perfect international civil servant. Calm, efficient and elegant, she sits in the United Nations headquarters in Kosovo and, with no hint of bias, trots out every relevant statistic on relations between Serbs and Albanians since Nato bombed the region six years ago.
But ask about her own experiences and the professional mask comes crashing down. Tears well up as she describes what happened last year, at a time when every expert thought Kosovo was proceeding smoothly.
"I was at home in Obilic with my daughter. She was on her first visit back to Kosovo since 1999. She's a medical student in Nis. It wasn't yet 7.30am and I saw a mob stoning the church and various buildings where Serbs live. We were in panic. We expected the police and Kfor [the international peacekeeping troops] to rescue us but no one turned up. Along with two other women, we managed to barricade the entrance to our block of flats. I thought this was it, I was going to lose my daughter. I told her to go up to the fifth floor. If she heard the barricade breaking down, she should jump out of the window. We had our backs to the doors. The basement was in flames. I felt glass breaking." She recounts it all in a rush.
"Kfor came just in time, but they didn't defend our flats. They told us we had two minutes to leave and be taken to safety. I've never been back there. You know, I was one of the Serbs working to build bridges to Albanians. In two days all the hope, enthusiasm and engagement by people in the minority communities to start a new life in the new Kosovo were burnt up."
It is seven years since Kosovo hit the international headlines when forces under Slobodan Milosevic started a campaign of ethnic cleansing and the guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army sought to defend the majority Albanian community in what was then a province of Serbia. Determined not to permit "another Bosnia", Nato intervened in 1999. After 11 weeks of Nato bombing, Milosevic was forced to withdraw his troops and police, some 700,000 Albanian refugees came home and about 100,000 Serbs - roughly half the province's Serb population - fled. The UN was put in charge, pending agreement on whether Kosovo should become independent or revert to Serbian rule.
For most of those two years, Kosovo was an intimate part of my life. The territory is small, and like scores of other reporters I rushed up and down talking to increasingly fearful people on both sides and chronicling the tragedies of burning villages and huge refugee columns. Now I was on my first trip back after five years. Kosovo has sunk into international oblivion again but this summer is expected to be a crucial turning point. Kofi Annan will probably appoint a special UN envoy to start the long-delayed negotiations on Kosovo's "final status". The old issues of Serbian intransigence and Albanian impatience which prompted the last crisis are still in play. Will they come back to haunt us with a new round of violence?
I decided to begin by visiting the underdogs, the Serbs. Reverse ethnic cleansing forced all those who remained in Kosovo in 1999 to retreat to pathetic enclaves. The biggest and safest was the northern part of Kosovo, starting from the town of Mitrovica, where Serbs continue to use Belgrade's currency, the dinar, and little has changed. Elsewhere, the story is grimmer. For the first three years of UN rule Serbs had minimal freedom to travel out of their enclaves except in buses and convoys guarded by foreign troops. They were afraid of being set upon by revenge-seeking neighbours. New licence plates for cars, which made it impossible to tell which town they were from, eased things slightly, at least until last year's political explosion which made Snezhana Karadzic and Serbs in several other towns suddenly homeless.
The trigger was a TV report that Serb youths with a dog had chased three Albanian children into a river, where two drowned and one was missing. Albanians marched on Serb communities. For two days there was a total breakdown of law and order with clashes and shooting between Serbs and Albanians while Kfor and the UN police concentrated on evacuating Serbs as their homes and churches burned. Nineteen people died (the majority Albanians), and 4,500 Serbs were displaced.
One of the worst episodes left the ancient Orthodox convent of Devic in smouldering ruins. In the pre-war period we often visited this simple collection of buildings on the slope of a narrow wooded valley. The mostly elderly women who spent their time praying and farming were then known as "nuns with guns". Now there is a roadblock, guarded by French troops. They escort you up to the convent gate. The buildings are surrounded by coils of barbed wire.
"We can no longer till our fields. Our tractors were stolen last year and the cattle taken or killed," says the mother superior, Sister Anastasia, who has been at Devic since 1968. The nuns' living quarters have been rebuilt but the 15th-century church is a soot-blackened wreck with plastic sheeting in its windows instead of glass. KLA graffiti has been scrawled on the arches.
Sister Anastasia smiles when reminded of the "nuns with guns" tag. "It was exaggerated. All we had was one shotgun and a pistol left by the police. It's terrible that old ladies had to have weapons, but if we had had proper ones last year we would have defended ourselves," she says. In fact, they got the usual Kfor treatment: troops escorted them to safety but did not defend the buildings from the rampaging crowd. The nuns were back at the ruined convent three weeks after their escape.
Karadzic is also determined not to be driven out. She shrugged off the sneers of other Serbs and stayed at her job in the UN's office of community affairs. Her ransacked flat was restored by the government but she is afraid to go back to Obilic, preferring to camp in an old motel in the Serb enclave of Caglavica. "I was encouraged by Albanian colleagues not to give up. They told me my multi-ethnic hopes are the only ones possible. I'm not so enthusiastic today because I see destructive forces on both sides. Both communities are very deeply disturbed. But there is much more work to do."
Her courage is striking, though not unique. She referred me to two other remarkable Serbs, the first to return to the once multi-ethnic town of Klina since 1999. I found them planting onions in the front garden of their bungalow. Leposava Mazic does the shopping, but her husband, Miodrag, 58, has not been out in the four weeks since they came back. With a slight stoop and piercing black eyes, he talks with sensitivity of his Albanian neighbours. "I don't go out yet, because I don't want to seem to be imposing myself. If someone wants to take revenge on us, they can," he says.
Klina's Albanian mayor supported the couple's return, otherwise it would have been suicidal. An Albanian family that was living in their bungalow was persuaded to leave. "They were still rebuilding their own house and I told them to take all the furniture from ours. In 1999 all our Albanian neighbours' houses were burnt. We did our best to protect them, but I felt I had to give him everything," says Mazic. He and his wife got new kitchen equipment and a TV from a foreign charity.
Mazic is unusual for a Kosovo Serb. He speaks passable Albanian and shows great sensitivity to the much worse suffering of the Albanian community. "We're glad to be home but I can't say we're happy. Our neighbours have sons who are still missing. We know how hard it is for them to talk to us. We just don't want them to hate us."
All over Kosovo fear and hatred are still almost as raw as they were in 1998 and 1999, though they are kept under better control nowadays. War memorials to KLA "martyrs" have sprung up in dozens of villages, and the cemeteries are full of civilian dead. "In Holland, if you speak German no Dutchman will talk to you again. Here, it's only six years since the war and we're asked to behave as though nothing has happened," says Sabri Popaj, a 46-year-old farmer who testified against Milosevic at the Hague as the lone survivor of a massacre in which 168 Albanians were killed, including his two teenage children and numerous cousins. He is not against Serbs coming back, he says. He just does not want anything to do with them.
Kosovo's Albanian politicians have consistently argued that independence will ease tensions, since Albanians will no longer fear a reimposition of Serb control. It will also liberate Serbs who have illusions of going back to the past, and take their lead from Belgrade, where politicians urged Serbs to boycott Kosovo's UN-organised elections. "We're working on getting all refugees back and all Serbs are welcome to return," says Kosovo's new prime minister, Bajram Kosumi, whose cheerful, uncombed look conceals his past as a tough student leader who spent 10 years in Serbian gaols. "It's in their interests to have independence. They're in a limbo where they're pressured by Belgrade." To gain time, western governments produced a strategy called Standards Before Status. Under it, Kosovo has to reach various benchmarks of good behaviour before discussions on its future can begin. The main one is respect for minority rights and a policy of encouraging Serbs to return. Last year's riots were a massive setback but they appear to have shocked Kosovans into ensuring no repetition.
The commonest shop sign in Kosovo is the yellow and black neon logo for Western Union. It is both a pun on where Kosovans would love to be politically, and proof of the weakness of Kosovo's economy. Without the cash sent back by Kosovans abroad, many families would be starving or homeless. Money from the diaspora exceeds what foreign governments spend through the UN and the EU to fund the international police and peace-keepers as well as reconstruction.
Naser Aliu is one of the few emigres who returned. With his elder brothers he used to run a sandwich bar near London's Victoria station, but he wanted to be close to his elderly parents and bring his children up in Albanian-language schools. Now he has a sandwich bar in central Pristina. Without the custom from the UN offices nearby, he could not survive. "Local people don't have money to eat out. They'll sit all evening over a macchiato, but that doesn't help us," he says.
The strongest argument for Kosovo's independence lies across the snow-capped mountains which mark its southern boundary. Drive into Macedonia and you find a place which itself very nearly plunged into war four years ago, with several circumstances similar to Kosovo's. Albanians and Slavs lived under a kind of social apartheid with separate schools and largely mono-ethnic villages and suburbs. An incipient civil war was under way as disgruntled Albanians attacked the police and created no-go areas.
So how did Macedonia avoid Kosovo's fate? To find out, I went to Lake Ohrid, one of Europe's least-known tourist pearls, a magnificent inland sea flanked by a dozen ancient churches. In a villa snuggling among the pine trees, European, American and local negotiators spent several weeks in 2001 hammering out an agreement which brought Macedonia back from the abyss. Unlike in Kosovo, western governments stepped in early to broker a peace deal.
Its most contentious element, a redrawing of municipal boundaries and devolution of power from the centre, only went into effect last month. Struga, one of the lake-side counties, was the first to switch from Macedonian to Albanian control. It was "un-gerrymandered" so that its Albanian majority is no longer split into different villages. As a result, an Albanian mayor was elected for the first time. The outgoing Macedonian, a hardline nationalist who once threatened to declare Struga's independence, gave a lecture instead of a gracious farewell before grudgingly shaking his successor's hand. But at least he accepted change peacefully. This is the second difference from Kosovo: no Milosevic. At local and national level, most Macedonian politicians saw the value of making appropriate concessions to the other community rather than going to war.
While bridges have been built, they are not yet all crossed. Macedonia's political parties are still split on ethnic lines. Ramiz Merko, Struga's new mayor, acknowledges that few Macedonians voted for him: "In our manifesto we did our best to drop all the patriotic stuff, and leave that to history. We want to improve the standard of living of all families." One of his first tasks is to get Albanians into town hall jobs and other local government offices which are currently 95% Macedonian.
On the Albanians' side, the best living example of Macedonia's spirit of compromise is a politician who escaped arrest as a student in Pristina university in the early 1980s, got asylum in Switzerland, worked in the Albanian political underground, and came back secretly to Macedonia to launch the 2001 war. Ali Ahmeti then accepted a ceasefire and became a major player behind the Ohrid accords. Macedonian leaders still saw him as a terrorist, but foreign diplomats negotiated with him. He now heads the Democratic Union of Integration, which came out as the largest Albanian party in the last two elections and runs the country in coalition with Macedonians.
It is a remarkable twist, which might not have happened if the World Trade Centre had been attacked a few weeks earlier. The Ohrid accords were signed on August 13 2001, but if the "war on terror" had already been under way President Bush and Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, could have refused the green light to their officials to talk to Ahmeti.
In the mountains above Tetovo, veterans of the five-month guerrilla war still worship Ahmeti, though they complain the country's coalition government has not improved the economy yet. Qamil Huseyni, 26, shows me the huge war memorial in Selce, where the guerrillas used to have their headquarters. It was put up with diaspora funds. "Twenty-six martyrs will be reburied here in May. We are also going to erect a tall, double-headed black eagle at a cost of euros 40,000 (about pounds 28,000) that will be visible down in Tetovo," he says proudly. The eagle is the Albanian symbol.
Huseyni travels to Tetovo in a battered taxi every day to study English and German. Some of his friends plan to pay the euros 1,500 (pounds 1,000) needed to get a forged German visa on the black market. "There is no work here," he says.
The most hopeful place in Macedonia is Tetovo's new university, where Macedonians and Albanians mingle with amazing normality. It was set up shortly before the brief war under an "affirmative action" programme to provide higher education for Albanians in their own language. About a quarter of its students are Macedonians. Courses are given in both languages, and some faculties such as Communication Sciences give all their tuition in English in the third and fourth years. "This place is becoming more prestigious than expected, and the best secondary school graduates from Skopje [Macedonia's capital] want to come here," says Vladimir Radevski, dean of the communications faculty. "It's a unique meeting place for the two communities. My colleagues and friends in Skopje were surprised when I came here. Some claimed Albanians couldn't learn computer science. Others just asked why I would want to teach Albanians."
And this is the third difference from Kosovo. Enough members of the elite of both sides are willing to cross ethnic boundaries so that resistance crumbles. There may be minor social pressure against bridge-building, but there is no physical violence to deter it. Once a critical mass forms in favour of tolerance, bigotry is driven to the margins.
But there is one even more important difference. I was told numerous times that everything depends on the majority being confident the existence of their state is not under threat. Macedonians, who are a clear majority, once feared the largely Albanian parts might split off, but that fear is now discarded since all sides realise that entry into the EU would be impossible if war resumed or the state split.
In Kosovo, the state question is unresolved. As long as the Albanian majority is not assured that the door has permanently slammed on Serbian rule, tensions are bound to continue.
Hopes for the future . . . Miodrag and Leposava Mazic, left, Serbs who have returned to their Albanian-dominated village; Kfor peacekeepers in Mitrovica; Snezhana Karadzic, a Serb building bridges to the Kosovans
Envoys gather in London to discuss progress Kosovo has made on reforms
LONDON (AP) - International envoys gathered in London Monday to examine what progress Kosovo has made toward establishing democracy and protecting minority groups.
Britain's Foreign Office described the closed-door meeting of the so-called Contact Group as a stocktaking session ahead of a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on May 27.
Kosovo has been an international protectorate administered by the United Nations and a NATO-led peacekeeping force since 1999, when a NATO air war ended a Serb crackdown on ethnic-Albanian separatists.
Serbs consider Kosovo an integral part of their state, but the province's ethnic Albanian majority want complete independence.
Talks to decide the province's final status will be held later this year, if Kosovo reaches internationally set standards for protecting minority rights, democratization and the reform of local governance.
The Contact Group monitoring Kosovo's progress includes representatives from United States, the European Union, Britain, France, Russia, Italy and Germany.
The group urged Bosnian leaders to comply with European Union demands for police reform, saying the EU principles were "not negotiable."
Bosnia has two police forces, one for each of the country's two ethnic mini states. The EU insists on unification of the two forces, which the Bosnian Serb mini state is opposing.
The Contact Group urged the Bosnian Serb Parliament, which is due to discuss the issue again on Monday, to approve the reforms, which are a precondition for Bosnia to begin membership negotiations with the EU.
Britain's Foreign Office described the closed-door meeting of the so-called Contact Group as a stocktaking session ahead of a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on May 27.
Kosovo has been an international protectorate administered by the United Nations and a NATO-led peacekeeping force since 1999, when a NATO air war ended a Serb crackdown on ethnic-Albanian separatists.
Serbs consider Kosovo an integral part of their state, but the province's ethnic Albanian majority want complete independence.
Talks to decide the province's final status will be held later this year, if Kosovo reaches internationally set standards for protecting minority rights, democratization and the reform of local governance.
The Contact Group monitoring Kosovo's progress includes representatives from United States, the European Union, Britain, France, Russia, Italy and Germany.
The group urged Bosnian leaders to comply with European Union demands for police reform, saying the EU principles were "not negotiable."
Bosnia has two police forces, one for each of the country's two ethnic mini states. The EU insists on unification of the two forces, which the Bosnian Serb mini state is opposing.
The Contact Group urged the Bosnian Serb Parliament, which is due to discuss the issue again on Monday, to approve the reforms, which are a precondition for Bosnia to begin membership negotiations with the EU.
Helsinki Commission, Top U.N. Official to Discuss Human Rights Concerns In Kosovo
Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), chairman of the United States Helsinki Commission, announced that the Commission will hold a hearing to discuss the latest human rights concerns in Kosovo.
WHAT: The Future of Human Rights in Kosovo
WHEN: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
WHERE: 124 Dirksen Senate Office Building
The featured panelists will be:
-- Soren Jessen-Petersen, special representative of the U.N. Secretary General and head of U.N. Mission in Kosovo
-- Charles L. English, director, Office of South Central European Affairs, U.S. Department of State
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, is a U.S. Government agency that monitors progress in the implementation of the provisions of the 1975 Helsinki Accords. The Commission consists of nine members from the United States Senate, nine from the House of Representatives, and one member each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce.
WHAT: The Future of Human Rights in Kosovo
WHEN: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
WHERE: 124 Dirksen Senate Office Building
The featured panelists will be:
-- Soren Jessen-Petersen, special representative of the U.N. Secretary General and head of U.N. Mission in Kosovo
-- Charles L. English, director, Office of South Central European Affairs, U.S. Department of State
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, is a U.S. Government agency that monitors progress in the implementation of the provisions of the 1975 Helsinki Accords. The Commission consists of nine members from the United States Senate, nine from the House of Representatives, and one member each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce.
Minority balance in Kosovo institutions satisfactory - official
Pristina, 23 May: The Kosovo government's coordinator for implementation of standards said today that representation of minority communities in the province's institutions was satisfactory.
"The participation of minority representatives in the Kosovo institutions is satisfactory in relation to the ratio of the population," said Avi Arifi.
"At least 6 per cent of the staff in the three central Kosovo institutions are members of the Serbian community, there is one Serb and two Bosniaks working in the office of the Kosovo president, which is 6 per cent of the employees in the office, while 10.2 per cent of government employees are from minority communities, 6.8 per cent of them Serbs," he added.
"This is satisfactory in relation to the ratio of minority community members in the society but does not satisfy the plans of the former UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] chief, Michael Steiner, who sought 16.6 per cent minority staff."
"We can come to that figure by getting rid of the parallel authorities in the Serbian enclaves," said Arifi, adding that the government had published an employment advertisement for a greater number of minority community members in the central institutions, but there had not been much interest.
"The participation of minority representatives in the Kosovo institutions is satisfactory in relation to the ratio of the population," said Avi Arifi.
"At least 6 per cent of the staff in the three central Kosovo institutions are members of the Serbian community, there is one Serb and two Bosniaks working in the office of the Kosovo president, which is 6 per cent of the employees in the office, while 10.2 per cent of government employees are from minority communities, 6.8 per cent of them Serbs," he added.
"This is satisfactory in relation to the ratio of minority community members in the society but does not satisfy the plans of the former UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] chief, Michael Steiner, who sought 16.6 per cent minority staff."
"We can come to that figure by getting rid of the parallel authorities in the Serbian enclaves," said Arifi, adding that the government had published an employment advertisement for a greater number of minority community members in the central institutions, but there had not been much interest.
Serbia: Spinning its Wheels - The International Crisis Group Report
V. CONCLUSION
Serbia's minority government appears stable, and it may
well last out its four-year mandate. This is in large part
due to the fact that the official coalition of DSS, G17+,
New Serbia (NS) and Serbian Movement of Renewal
(SPO) enjoys significant under-the-table support from
the Seselj (SRS) and Milosevic (SPS) parties.
Those parties, whose real leaders are both on trial before
the ICTY, enjoy the prerogatives of power with none of
the responsibilities. They realise that Kostunica's
political ideology is similar to theirs, that without their
active support his government would fall and that
following new elections, the opposition DS might well
be able to form a very different coalition and resume its
attempt to dismantle the ideological legacy of the
Milosevic era. They welcome or at least are satisfied
with G17+ efforts to reform the economy, while
Kostunica permits the old-line ideologues to retrench
and preach their values to the country.
This dichotomy in Serbia's political life means that
as long as G17+ is in the current government, the
international community can expect to see progress on
economic reforms. Nonetheless, in the absence of a
significant change of heart by the DSS and/or an effort to
bring the DS into the coalition, little will happen in terms
of reforming the fundamental manner in which Serbian
government and society function. Without continued
international pressure, including clear conditionality,
Serbia's reform forces are likely to find themselves
overmatched against the recidivist pressure that comes
from the nationalist parties. The result would be a Serbia
that gradually regains economic strength, while remaining
a source of potential instability in the region.
Belgrade/Brussels, 23 May 2005
SEE FULL REPORT at www.crisisweb.org
Serbia's minority government appears stable, and it may
well last out its four-year mandate. This is in large part
due to the fact that the official coalition of DSS, G17+,
New Serbia (NS) and Serbian Movement of Renewal
(SPO) enjoys significant under-the-table support from
the Seselj (SRS) and Milosevic (SPS) parties.
Those parties, whose real leaders are both on trial before
the ICTY, enjoy the prerogatives of power with none of
the responsibilities. They realise that Kostunica's
political ideology is similar to theirs, that without their
active support his government would fall and that
following new elections, the opposition DS might well
be able to form a very different coalition and resume its
attempt to dismantle the ideological legacy of the
Milosevic era. They welcome or at least are satisfied
with G17+ efforts to reform the economy, while
Kostunica permits the old-line ideologues to retrench
and preach their values to the country.
This dichotomy in Serbia's political life means that
as long as G17+ is in the current government, the
international community can expect to see progress on
economic reforms. Nonetheless, in the absence of a
significant change of heart by the DSS and/or an effort to
bring the DS into the coalition, little will happen in terms
of reforming the fundamental manner in which Serbian
government and society function. Without continued
international pressure, including clear conditionality,
Serbia's reform forces are likely to find themselves
overmatched against the recidivist pressure that comes
from the nationalist parties. The result would be a Serbia
that gradually regains economic strength, while remaining
a source of potential instability in the region.
Belgrade/Brussels, 23 May 2005
SEE FULL REPORT at www.crisisweb.org
Envoys gather in London to discuss progress Kosovo has made on reforms
LONDON (AP) - International envoys gathered in London Monday to examine what progress Kosovo has made toward establishing democracy and protecting minority groups.
Britain's Foreign Office described the closed-door meeting of the so-called Contact Group as a stocktaking session ahead of a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on May 27.
Kosovo has been an international protectorate administered by the United Nations and a NATO-led peacekeeping force since 1999, when a NATO air war ended a Serb crackdown on ethnic-Albanian separatists.
Serbs consider Kosovo an integral part of their state, but the province's ethnic Albanian majority want complete independence.
Talks to decide the province's final status will be held later this year, if Kosovo reaches internationally set standards for protecting minority rights, democratization and the reform of local governance.
The Contact Group monitoring Kosovo's progress includes representatives from United States, the European Union, Britain, France, Russia, Italy and Germany.
Britain's Foreign Office described the closed-door meeting of the so-called Contact Group as a stocktaking session ahead of a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on May 27.
Kosovo has been an international protectorate administered by the United Nations and a NATO-led peacekeeping force since 1999, when a NATO air war ended a Serb crackdown on ethnic-Albanian separatists.
Serbs consider Kosovo an integral part of their state, but the province's ethnic Albanian majority want complete independence.
Talks to decide the province's final status will be held later this year, if Kosovo reaches internationally set standards for protecting minority rights, democratization and the reform of local governance.
The Contact Group monitoring Kosovo's progress includes representatives from United States, the European Union, Britain, France, Russia, Italy and Germany.
To go or not to go to New York
Koha Ditore reports that the four main political parties have separate positions surrounding the refusal of Prime Minister Kosumi to attend the UN Security Council session in New York.
The paper reports that the LDK and AAK, the two ruling parties, believe that Kosumi made a right decision because he was not given the right to address the Security Council. On the other hand, the opposition criticises the Prime Minister, but there are essential differences in the positions of PDK and ORA.
Koha quotes PDK spokeswoman Vlora Çitaku as saying, ‘The representation of Kosovo institutions in debates at the UN Security Council has turned into a real circus. This is not the first time that the SRSG makes the invitation and then Kosovo institutions turn it down. First of all, it should be clarified if there was an invitation in the first place.’
On the same page, an editorial piece of the paper says that Kosumi is making a mistake.
A front-page editorial in Kosova Sot asks ‘Is this simply of game of internationals or a real wish to pave way to our representation in the world?’
Express quotes reliable international sources as saying that not only Bajram Kosumi, but even former PMs Ramush Haradinaj and Bajram Rexhepi were never invited to attend the session of the Security Council.
The paper reports that the LDK and AAK, the two ruling parties, believe that Kosumi made a right decision because he was not given the right to address the Security Council. On the other hand, the opposition criticises the Prime Minister, but there are essential differences in the positions of PDK and ORA.
Koha quotes PDK spokeswoman Vlora Çitaku as saying, ‘The representation of Kosovo institutions in debates at the UN Security Council has turned into a real circus. This is not the first time that the SRSG makes the invitation and then Kosovo institutions turn it down. First of all, it should be clarified if there was an invitation in the first place.’
On the same page, an editorial piece of the paper says that Kosumi is making a mistake.
A front-page editorial in Kosova Sot asks ‘Is this simply of game of internationals or a real wish to pave way to our representation in the world?’
Express quotes reliable international sources as saying that not only Bajram Kosumi, but even former PMs Ramush Haradinaj and Bajram Rexhepi were never invited to attend the session of the Security Council.
Status process starts: agenda to be set this week
Koha Ditore reports on the front page that three high-level meetings, which will be held this week, will clarify the positions of the UN, US, Russia, EU and UNMIK toward Kosovo. This will also be the week of US pressure to accelerate the process, as US Under-Secretary Nicholas Burns will visit Europe and the Balkans.
The paper notes that the US and EU are determined that status talks should start this autumn in order to avoid the potential danger from a new wave of violence. Russia said that standards haven’t implemented and it calls for the postponement of the process. At the same time, international media and analysts consider that the US is determined in its position.
The paper notes that the US and EU are determined that status talks should start this autumn in order to avoid the potential danger from a new wave of violence. Russia said that standards haven’t implemented and it calls for the postponement of the process. At the same time, international media and analysts consider that the US is determined in its position.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
UNMIK chief confident in UNSC's approval of Kosovo standards
Prishtina [Pristina], 20 May: The head of UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo], Soren Jessen-Petersen, said yesterday [19 May] upon returning from New York that he and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan are confident that Kosova [Kosovo] has made enough progress for comprehensive review of standards to go ahead.
But, Jessen-Petersen said that it remains to the UNSC to evaluate the progress during the session, which is scheduled for the end of this month in New York.
"This is a matter of how the Security Council will assess my report on progress and the Technical Assessment and it depends very much on statements in the Council," he said.
He has said that, as a result of the debate, the UN secretary general will be in a position to recommend that the comprehensive review be launched.
He also said that, in case of a positive evaluation of standards, the UN Secretary General will appoint a special envoy for status.
Jessen-Petersen made those comments last night at the Prishtina Airport upon return from New York.
He met there his compatriot, Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller. They have agreed that no option is excluded for resolving Kosova's status, including its independence, a stance that was reiterated by the Contact Group [United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy].
"The issue of Kosova should be resolved in that way, where all sides including the neighbours will be involved. Kosova needs peace, progress and economic development," the foreign minister said.
He also said that the comprehensive review of the standards should start as soon a possible in order for the process of resolving of status to start in autumn.
It may take five or six months, so in the spring we could enter into a process and have an outcome of Kosova's final status," Moller said, who will preside the UNSC.
Whereas the chief of UNMIK, Soren Jessen-Petersen has also reported that he will go to London next week to meet with the Contact Group. "We are going to discuss the progress with a view, once again, to have an agreed position, the Contact Group and the UN and UNMIK, and as a part of that meeting, we will finalize the report of the UN secretary general that will go to the council," he added.
Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 20 May 05
But, Jessen-Petersen said that it remains to the UNSC to evaluate the progress during the session, which is scheduled for the end of this month in New York.
"This is a matter of how the Security Council will assess my report on progress and the Technical Assessment and it depends very much on statements in the Council," he said.
He has said that, as a result of the debate, the UN secretary general will be in a position to recommend that the comprehensive review be launched.
He also said that, in case of a positive evaluation of standards, the UN Secretary General will appoint a special envoy for status.
Jessen-Petersen made those comments last night at the Prishtina Airport upon return from New York.
He met there his compatriot, Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller. They have agreed that no option is excluded for resolving Kosova's status, including its independence, a stance that was reiterated by the Contact Group [United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy].
"The issue of Kosova should be resolved in that way, where all sides including the neighbours will be involved. Kosova needs peace, progress and economic development," the foreign minister said.
He also said that the comprehensive review of the standards should start as soon a possible in order for the process of resolving of status to start in autumn.
It may take five or six months, so in the spring we could enter into a process and have an outcome of Kosova's final status," Moller said, who will preside the UNSC.
Whereas the chief of UNMIK, Soren Jessen-Petersen has also reported that he will go to London next week to meet with the Contact Group. "We are going to discuss the progress with a view, once again, to have an agreed position, the Contact Group and the UN and UNMIK, and as a part of that meeting, we will finalize the report of the UN secretary general that will go to the council," he added.
Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 20 May 05
Rebuilding the Balkans, brick by brick
Jean Lemierre International Herald Tribune
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2005
BELGRADE The Western Balkans is often associated with fledgling states, impossible politics, stalled economies, violence and corruption. But the people who live and invest there are changing that image.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro emerged from what was Yugoslavia and, like neighboring Albania, set out to forge their futures as independent, democratic, market-based states.
Important efforts by many political leaders in the region and by the international community are devoted to making the future more stable. But negotiations and political compromise are only part of the solution. Across the region, owners of businesses, industries and banks are finding their own ways to build enduring stability.
They are building with bricks, among other things. A disused brick factory in Sarajevo will soon be renovated and put back into operation by a Croatian company that makes construction materials. The investment represents not only an expansion by NasiceCement of Croatia to acquire a clay brick plant in Bosnia. It represents the future of the region.
Across the Western Balkans, old trading links are being restored. Old political wounds and ethnic divisions are giving way to the practicalities of doing business. A Serbian juice-maker has aspirations to be the best in the Balkans. Grand Coffee may be branded Bosnian, but it is part of a Serbian company that is growing internationally. Hypermarkets, agribusiness and pharmaceutical companies from the region are expanding into neighboring countries and beyond.
These are the successful projects of entrepreneurs who see their future in a regional economy with a market of 25 million people. Their focus is on what governments have done to encourage trade and attract investment, especially beyond their own countries. Entrepreneurs in the Balkans understand that countries have to join up or give up.
All the governments of the region have signed bilateral agreements for free trade across their mutual borders. An integrated energy market is becoming a reality. Transport infrastructure, such as railroads, air links and highways are creating a transit corridor that will form the fabric of a regional economy.
Foreign investors are recognizing the opportunities that Southeast Europe's regional market can offer, including the steel multinationals LNM and US Steel. Foreign direct investment into the Western Balkans over the past two years adds up to more than $6 billion in the oil industry, banks, tourism, transport and other sectors.
The economies of the region are showing the results, with growth averaging more than 5 percent in 2004 in all five countries. Governments are reinforcing market economies through privatization and by introducing new institutions to promote competition, corporate governance and an increasingly sophisticated banking sector. The private sector now accounts for more than 60 percent of the regional economy.
The Western Balkans is in the full throes of a process of transition from planned economies to democratic market economies. The philosophy of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is that this transition is ultimately the best hope for prosperity and stability.
The EBRD has partnered with foreign investors and provided loans or taken stakes in Balkan companies to start or expand operations, often into a neighboring country. We support local banks to finance small businesses and to develop a full market economy. That includes finding ways to redirect the massive remittances that Balkan expatriates send from abroad, channeling them through banks instead of the informal economy.
Even in Kosovo, whose final status is yet to be determined, entrepreneurship and market principles are starting to take hold, thanks in part to EBRD financing for 25,000 loans to small and micro businesses.
To develop the market economies of the Western Balkans is to invest in the stability of the region. Strong trading links across borders and between ethnic groups, incentives to get closer to the European Union, and initiatives to work collectively will give people a sense of control of their own destiny and make them more prosperous. And that can only help the political process.
(Jean Lemierre is president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.)
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2005
BELGRADE The Western Balkans is often associated with fledgling states, impossible politics, stalled economies, violence and corruption. But the people who live and invest there are changing that image.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro emerged from what was Yugoslavia and, like neighboring Albania, set out to forge their futures as independent, democratic, market-based states.
Important efforts by many political leaders in the region and by the international community are devoted to making the future more stable. But negotiations and political compromise are only part of the solution. Across the region, owners of businesses, industries and banks are finding their own ways to build enduring stability.
They are building with bricks, among other things. A disused brick factory in Sarajevo will soon be renovated and put back into operation by a Croatian company that makes construction materials. The investment represents not only an expansion by NasiceCement of Croatia to acquire a clay brick plant in Bosnia. It represents the future of the region.
Across the Western Balkans, old trading links are being restored. Old political wounds and ethnic divisions are giving way to the practicalities of doing business. A Serbian juice-maker has aspirations to be the best in the Balkans. Grand Coffee may be branded Bosnian, but it is part of a Serbian company that is growing internationally. Hypermarkets, agribusiness and pharmaceutical companies from the region are expanding into neighboring countries and beyond.
These are the successful projects of entrepreneurs who see their future in a regional economy with a market of 25 million people. Their focus is on what governments have done to encourage trade and attract investment, especially beyond their own countries. Entrepreneurs in the Balkans understand that countries have to join up or give up.
All the governments of the region have signed bilateral agreements for free trade across their mutual borders. An integrated energy market is becoming a reality. Transport infrastructure, such as railroads, air links and highways are creating a transit corridor that will form the fabric of a regional economy.
Foreign investors are recognizing the opportunities that Southeast Europe's regional market can offer, including the steel multinationals LNM and US Steel. Foreign direct investment into the Western Balkans over the past two years adds up to more than $6 billion in the oil industry, banks, tourism, transport and other sectors.
The economies of the region are showing the results, with growth averaging more than 5 percent in 2004 in all five countries. Governments are reinforcing market economies through privatization and by introducing new institutions to promote competition, corporate governance and an increasingly sophisticated banking sector. The private sector now accounts for more than 60 percent of the regional economy.
The Western Balkans is in the full throes of a process of transition from planned economies to democratic market economies. The philosophy of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is that this transition is ultimately the best hope for prosperity and stability.
The EBRD has partnered with foreign investors and provided loans or taken stakes in Balkan companies to start or expand operations, often into a neighboring country. We support local banks to finance small businesses and to develop a full market economy. That includes finding ways to redirect the massive remittances that Balkan expatriates send from abroad, channeling them through banks instead of the informal economy.
Even in Kosovo, whose final status is yet to be determined, entrepreneurship and market principles are starting to take hold, thanks in part to EBRD financing for 25,000 loans to small and micro businesses.
To develop the market economies of the Western Balkans is to invest in the stability of the region. Strong trading links across borders and between ethnic groups, incentives to get closer to the European Union, and initiatives to work collectively will give people a sense of control of their own destiny and make them more prosperous. And that can only help the political process.
(Jean Lemierre is president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.)
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Albanian, Croatian presidents discuss relations, regional problems
Tirana, 21 May: The president of Albania, Alfred Moisiu, and the president of Croatia, Stipe Mesic, met today in Varna (Bulgaria) and discussed the situation in the region. The Press Office of the Albanian President made known that the two presidents, who are taking part in the Varna Forum, stressed the "excellent level of bilateral political relations" and committed themselves "to increasing the formal and informal contacts, extending them to other counterparts in the region". They also placed emphasis upon the necessity for the realistic treatment of the regional issues. The president of Croatia, Mesic, informed his Albanian counterpart about his idea to visit Kosovo in a near future.
[Passage omitted]
Source: ATA news agency, Tirana, in English 1812 gmt 21 May 05
[Passage omitted]
Source: ATA news agency, Tirana, in English 1812 gmt 21 May 05
Kosovo police arrest four Serbs in Gjilane
Gnjilane, 21 May: Members of the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) arrested four Serbs from Gnjilane municipality at around 0330 [0130 gmt] this morning.
They arrived in a state of alcoholic intoxication at the police station in Gnjilane and tried to enter the building, KPS spokesman Refki Morina told SRNA.
"Police station security guards barred them from entering the building and called the police patrol which arrested them on orders from the investigation judge," Morina said.
The arrested include a KPS member, a prison security guard and two civilians.
"The Gnjilane investigation judge has ordered an official investigation, and they are currently being questioned," Morina added, declining to disclose the names of the detained.
Source: SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 0809 gmt 21 May 05
They arrived in a state of alcoholic intoxication at the police station in Gnjilane and tried to enter the building, KPS spokesman Refki Morina told SRNA.
"Police station security guards barred them from entering the building and called the police patrol which arrested them on orders from the investigation judge," Morina said.
The arrested include a KPS member, a prison security guard and two civilians.
"The Gnjilane investigation judge has ordered an official investigation, and they are currently being questioned," Morina added, declining to disclose the names of the detained.
Source: SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 0809 gmt 21 May 05
U.S. Is Seeking to Speed Up Talks on Kosovo's Status - The New York Times
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
Published: May 21, 2005
WASHINGTON, May 20 - The Bush administration, opening an initiative to stabilize the troubled Balkan states, is seeking to speed up talks to grant greater independence for Kosovo in return for strides by the Kosovo government to protect the rights of Serbs and other minorities, State Department officials have announced.
As part of the effort, R. Nicholas Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, will travel in the coming week to Europe and to the Balkan region to meet with officials about Kosovo and various steps that the United States wants the leaders of Serbia and Bosnia to take.
Mr. Burns said Wednesday that the eventual goal was to heal one of the largest remaining wounds from the cold war in Europe. Kosovo has remained a United Nations protectorate as part of the deal ending the ethnic wars in the mid-1990's that followed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.
"We and our allies are entering a new stage in our policy toward the Balkans, one that will accelerate the region's integration into the European family and Euro-Atlantic institutions," Mr. Burns told the House Committee on International Relations, adding that "2005 is a year of decision for Kosovo."
The official United States position has not moved to an outright endorsement of Kosovo as an independent nation, but it has not ruled that out.
Some State Department officials acknowledged that the nearly intractable ethnic hatreds in the Balkans have been a side issue for the Bush administration, in part because of its concern about global terrorism.
Clinton administration officials, particularly the former United Nations ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, have suggested that the Bush administration was averse to trying to build on an achievement of the Clinton years, namely the bombing of Serbia and the setting up of Kosovo as a semi-independent protectorate.
A senior State Department official gave credit to Mr. Holbrooke for pressing the need for greater involvement in the Balkans and also to Senator George V. Voinovich, an Ohio Republican who is of Serbian and Slovenian descent.
In his testimony, Mr. Burns described three main areas for the initiative.
First, he said, is the need to begin immediately discussing the future status of Kosovo.
Kosovo, a Muslim-dominated province of the former Yugoslavia, revolted after suffering a crackdown by Serbia under Mr. Milosevic. But after evidence of abuses against Kosovo's own Serbian minority, the region was put under a United Nations protectorate with its future undefined.
The new country of Serbia and Montenegro insists that Kosovo should remain part of its territory, but Kosovo's Muslim majority wants independence. Until now, the European and American approach has been that Kosovo must improve its democratic institutions and treatment of ethnic minority groups before independence can be discussed.
Mr. Burns said the United States now favored discussing the future status of Kosovo simultaneously with improvements in its democratic standards, with the hope that the improvement can become an incentive for achieving independence. Mr. Burns said the aim was to settle Kosovo's status by the end of 2005.
The second goal, Mr. Burns said, is to get the government of Serbia and Montenegro to hand over people charged with war crimes dating from the outset of the Balkan wars, particularly the Serbian leaders Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, who were associated with the massacre at Srebrenica in Bosnia.
Finally, Mr. Burns said, steps must be taken by Bosnia to establish a unification government that integrates the ethnic divisions in its country. He suggested that a future special envoy from Europe, assisted by a deputy from the United States, might assist in negotiating these arrangements.
Since 1999, a United Nations peacekeeping force has been stationed in Kosovo. From a peak of 40,000 troops six years ago, there are now 18,000 troops from 34 countries, including about 1,800 Americans.
"President Bush has made clear that having gone in to Kosovo with our allies, we will stay there with them until the job is done," Mr. Burns told the House committee. "We seek, of course, to hasten the day when peace is self-sustaining and our troops can come home."
But the larger goal, Mr. Burns said, is to stabilize the Balkan region so that it can take advantage of benefits achieved by other parts of Europe that lived in the Soviet sphere of influence during the cold war, but which have now established new ties and membership in NATO and the European Union.
Published: May 21, 2005
WASHINGTON, May 20 - The Bush administration, opening an initiative to stabilize the troubled Balkan states, is seeking to speed up talks to grant greater independence for Kosovo in return for strides by the Kosovo government to protect the rights of Serbs and other minorities, State Department officials have announced.
As part of the effort, R. Nicholas Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, will travel in the coming week to Europe and to the Balkan region to meet with officials about Kosovo and various steps that the United States wants the leaders of Serbia and Bosnia to take.
Mr. Burns said Wednesday that the eventual goal was to heal one of the largest remaining wounds from the cold war in Europe. Kosovo has remained a United Nations protectorate as part of the deal ending the ethnic wars in the mid-1990's that followed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.
"We and our allies are entering a new stage in our policy toward the Balkans, one that will accelerate the region's integration into the European family and Euro-Atlantic institutions," Mr. Burns told the House Committee on International Relations, adding that "2005 is a year of decision for Kosovo."
The official United States position has not moved to an outright endorsement of Kosovo as an independent nation, but it has not ruled that out.
Some State Department officials acknowledged that the nearly intractable ethnic hatreds in the Balkans have been a side issue for the Bush administration, in part because of its concern about global terrorism.
Clinton administration officials, particularly the former United Nations ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, have suggested that the Bush administration was averse to trying to build on an achievement of the Clinton years, namely the bombing of Serbia and the setting up of Kosovo as a semi-independent protectorate.
A senior State Department official gave credit to Mr. Holbrooke for pressing the need for greater involvement in the Balkans and also to Senator George V. Voinovich, an Ohio Republican who is of Serbian and Slovenian descent.
In his testimony, Mr. Burns described three main areas for the initiative.
First, he said, is the need to begin immediately discussing the future status of Kosovo.
Kosovo, a Muslim-dominated province of the former Yugoslavia, revolted after suffering a crackdown by Serbia under Mr. Milosevic. But after evidence of abuses against Kosovo's own Serbian minority, the region was put under a United Nations protectorate with its future undefined.
The new country of Serbia and Montenegro insists that Kosovo should remain part of its territory, but Kosovo's Muslim majority wants independence. Until now, the European and American approach has been that Kosovo must improve its democratic institutions and treatment of ethnic minority groups before independence can be discussed.
Mr. Burns said the United States now favored discussing the future status of Kosovo simultaneously with improvements in its democratic standards, with the hope that the improvement can become an incentive for achieving independence. Mr. Burns said the aim was to settle Kosovo's status by the end of 2005.
The second goal, Mr. Burns said, is to get the government of Serbia and Montenegro to hand over people charged with war crimes dating from the outset of the Balkan wars, particularly the Serbian leaders Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, who were associated with the massacre at Srebrenica in Bosnia.
Finally, Mr. Burns said, steps must be taken by Bosnia to establish a unification government that integrates the ethnic divisions in its country. He suggested that a future special envoy from Europe, assisted by a deputy from the United States, might assist in negotiating these arrangements.
Since 1999, a United Nations peacekeeping force has been stationed in Kosovo. From a peak of 40,000 troops six years ago, there are now 18,000 troops from 34 countries, including about 1,800 Americans.
"President Bush has made clear that having gone in to Kosovo with our allies, we will stay there with them until the job is done," Mr. Burns told the House committee. "We seek, of course, to hasten the day when peace is self-sustaining and our troops can come home."
But the larger goal, Mr. Burns said, is to stabilize the Balkan region so that it can take advantage of benefits achieved by other parts of Europe that lived in the Soviet sphere of influence during the cold war, but which have now established new ties and membership in NATO and the European Union.
Friday, May 20, 2005
Kosovo government to include MPs' recommendations in decentralization document
Excerpt from report by Kosovo Albanian television KohaVision TV on 20 May
[Announcer] On the second day of the Kosova [Kosovo] Assembly session representatives of all political parties agreed that the recommendations for the decentralization process presented at the assembly be included in the decentralization document, which means that the government is obligated to process this document within two weeks in the assembly.
[Reporter Blerta Dalloshi] The Kosova government will take into consideration the recommendations resulting from the assembly in order to discuss them and include them in the decentralization document. It is expected that within two week the government will return the new document to the assembly. This was promised today to MPs by the minister of Local Government, Lutfi Haziri.
[Lutfi Haziri] Every recommendation, suggestion, remark, whether technical, was very valuable for me and I will discuss, prepare and process all recommendations to the government in order to eliminate the weaknesses that can be identified and strengthen the document and ensure that the process will in future go right and be in the interest of Kosova's citizens.
[Reporter] The decision to incorporate the recommendations into this document was taken after consultations between the heads of parliamentary groups in the assembly.
[Ora party vice-chairman Ylber Hysa] We should preserve the spirit of debate that we had yesterday and in this way the proposal for compromise is that recommendations from yesterday's debate be discussed by the government and within a certain acceptable deadline, a period of two weeks was proposed here, and be returned to the assembly.
[Reporter] Democratic Party of Kosova PDK chairman Hashim Thaci, on the other hand, proposed to vote on the government's proposal or, if not, that the remarks of the deputies be taken into consideration.
[Hashim Thaci] It should be clearly defined whether the government's pilot project has the support of the Kosova parliament or not.
[Speaker Nexhat Daci] Who is in favour of the PDK's proposal?
[Reporter] No-one of Kosova MPs voted in favour of Thaci's proposal.[Passage omitted]
[Announcer] On the second day of the Kosova [Kosovo] Assembly session representatives of all political parties agreed that the recommendations for the decentralization process presented at the assembly be included in the decentralization document, which means that the government is obligated to process this document within two weeks in the assembly.
[Reporter Blerta Dalloshi] The Kosova government will take into consideration the recommendations resulting from the assembly in order to discuss them and include them in the decentralization document. It is expected that within two week the government will return the new document to the assembly. This was promised today to MPs by the minister of Local Government, Lutfi Haziri.
[Lutfi Haziri] Every recommendation, suggestion, remark, whether technical, was very valuable for me and I will discuss, prepare and process all recommendations to the government in order to eliminate the weaknesses that can be identified and strengthen the document and ensure that the process will in future go right and be in the interest of Kosova's citizens.
[Reporter] The decision to incorporate the recommendations into this document was taken after consultations between the heads of parliamentary groups in the assembly.
[Ora party vice-chairman Ylber Hysa] We should preserve the spirit of debate that we had yesterday and in this way the proposal for compromise is that recommendations from yesterday's debate be discussed by the government and within a certain acceptable deadline, a period of two weeks was proposed here, and be returned to the assembly.
[Reporter] Democratic Party of Kosova PDK chairman Hashim Thaci, on the other hand, proposed to vote on the government's proposal or, if not, that the remarks of the deputies be taken into consideration.
[Hashim Thaci] It should be clearly defined whether the government's pilot project has the support of the Kosova parliament or not.
[Speaker Nexhat Daci] Who is in favour of the PDK's proposal?
[Reporter] No-one of Kosova MPs voted in favour of Thaci's proposal.[Passage omitted]
Albanian government decides to open border crossing with Kosovo
Tirana, 20 May: The Council of Ministers met today and agreed to the decision on opening the border crossing point in Borje village of Kukes, at the state ground border of the Republic of Albania with Kosovo."
According to the Prime Minister's Press Office, the opening of this border point in this zone aims at facilitating the free movement of citizens in crossing the border with Kosovo, preventing illegal crossings, through tightening control on citizens and vehicles crossing the border.
Opening the border crossing point in Borje village will also help the inhabitants of these villages further develop communication with Kosovo, especially in business, development of friendly and family relations, cultural, educational and other relations.
Source: ATA news agency, Tirana, in English 0000 gmt 20 May 05
According to the Prime Minister's Press Office, the opening of this border point in this zone aims at facilitating the free movement of citizens in crossing the border with Kosovo, preventing illegal crossings, through tightening control on citizens and vehicles crossing the border.
Opening the border crossing point in Borje village will also help the inhabitants of these villages further develop communication with Kosovo, especially in business, development of friendly and family relations, cultural, educational and other relations.
Source: ATA news agency, Tirana, in English 0000 gmt 20 May 05
"Win the Peace" in Balkans, Settle Kosovo Status, U.S. Urges
Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns outlines vision for Balkans
In a speech that looked at the past dozen years in the Balkans and the challenges for 2005 and beyond, Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns outlined the U.S. vision for “a final and decisive international effort to help the peoples of the region put war behind them forever, find peace, and find a future home in NATO and the European Union.”
Burns spoke May 19 at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington about the effort by the United States, the United Nations and partners in Europe to launch a process in 2005 to determine the future status of Kosovo. He also discussed political and economic reform efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the European Union (EU) and NATO presences there, and the need to bring remaining war crimes indictees in the region before the Hague tribunal.
“The Balkans — so often a source of instability in European History — are now poised to be the last piece in forming, as President Bush describes, ‘a Europe that is truly whole, free and at peace,’" Burns said. “That objective is our largest strategic goal in Europe, and one that will be one of the most important accomplishments of the European-American alliance.”
He called the future status of Kosovo “the region’s last and largest unresolved issue,” and said the United States, its European partners and the United Nations “hope to launch a process this year to determine Kosovo’s future status.”
Noting that since 1999 Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations and secured by NATO, with its future status not yet determined, Burns said it is time “to resolve that issue, and to finally win the peace.”
In 2005, there will be an international review of Kosovo’s progress in implementing United Nations-endorsed standards for political, economic and security reform, he said.
“Further implementation of the standards, especially those related to the rights and security of Kosovo’s minority communities, is essential for all the people of Kosovo to live in the kind of society they deserve, and for Kosovo to meet the rigorous criteria for Euro-Atlantic integration,” Burns said.
The so-called Contact Group -- which includes the United States as well as the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the United Kingdom – is “hopeful that Kosovo is on course to a positive review,” Burns said. He added that the Contact Group and the United Nations are expected to meet later this year “to consider the results of the comprehensive review and to decide whether to launch a status process. If the result of the review is sufficiently positive, the United States will advocate a swift launch of status talks.”
He acknowledged that finding common ground between the positions taken by Belgrade and by Kosovo’s Albanian population on Kosovo’s final status “will be a major challenge, but we believe that with U.S. leadership and trans-Atlantic cooperation, we can a solution that produces long-term stability for the Balkans by moving the whole region into the Euro-Atlantic family of nations.”
“We are encouraged by recent statements from Belgrade indicating a willingness to cooperate on Kosovo,” Burns said.
The United States also expects the international civilian and military presences to continue in place past a status settlement “to ensure its full implementation and to monitor the political and security situations for Kosovo’s minorities,” Burns said.
“While much of the Balkans final integration will be a European-led project, the United States will remain centrally involved in the years to come,” he said.
Burns said that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has asked him to travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, and Kosovo in early June to help promote “the final steps necessary to bring security and peace to the Balkans.”
The under secretary delivered testimony May 18 to the House International Relations Committee on the effort to launch a process aimed at completing the standards review and determining Kosovo’s future status.
Following is the text of Burns’ speech at the Wilson Center:
(begin text)
U.S. Department of State
TEN YEARS AFTER DAYTON: WINNING THE PEACE IN THE BALKANS
R. Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Woodrow Wilson Center
Washington, DC
May 19, 2005 Introduction
Mr. Hamilton, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for inviting me here and giving me the honor to speak with you today at the Wilson Center. All of us in the American Foreign Service, Mr. Hamilton, remember well your many years of service in the House and on the International Relations Committee, particularly during the 1990’s when your support and actions were so crucial and your steady leadership was greatly appreciated. We are pleased that the Wilson Center can now profit from your expertise and experiences with you as its Director and President. I am also pleased to be with you today at the invitation of my friend John Sitilides of the Wilson Center.
President Woodrow Wilson went to war reluctantly in 1917 and only as a last recourse. He is best remembered now as a President determined to defend the principles he believed were essential to a moral world order. Wilson was also a man who had a clear vision of a European future and foresaw a role for a democratic international community to preserve the peace. The war that embroiled the U.S. and the Wilson Administration in Europe began in the Balkans in the wars of 1912 and 1913 and in the shot fired by Gavrilio Princip in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914.
The twentieth century began and ended with conflict in the Balkans. A decade ago, international peacekeepers were held hostage in Bosnia, and the International Community was held hostage by a lack of consensus for action. The Balkans were our top foreign policy priority – just as Iraq and the Global War on Terrorism are today. And for fundamentally similar reasons: to stop catastrophic human rights abuses, to stand against tyranny, and to stand up for the values that make us more secure. Today, the Balkans remain a vital part of that global mission. It is time to solve this missing piece in the President’s vision of a single Europe whole, free, and at peace.
Nearly one hundred years after the First World War and a decade after Srebrenica, the U.S is resolved to move the Balkan region beyond the savage conflicts of the 19th and 20th centuries and to integrate it into the democratic peace established in the rest of Europe after the end of the Cold War – because it is in our national interest to do so. This Center, named in President Wilson’s honor, is perhaps the most fitting place to discuss United States policy in the Balkans and what we and our European partners must now do to help the people of the region find stability, democracy and peace. Ten years after the horrible massacres at Srebrenica, NATO’s battle to stop the Bosnian war and the U.S.-inspired peace at Dayton, 2005 must begin a year of decision on the future of the Balkans.
To be effective today, we need to learn from the tragic events of a decade ago. Ten years ago the Balkans were in flames in a catastrophic conflict. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people were killed and millions more were displaced from their homes. The Balkans also was a gaping diplomatic wound, which, if left untreated, was capable of infecting trans-Atlantic relations, not just between the U.S. and Western Europe, but also with a newly independent Russia, which had just emerged from the disintegrated Soviet Union. It was in the Balkans that the U.S. and its allies - and Russia - reached a consensus for action and put an end to the worst bloodshed Europe had seen since World War II.
It was in the Balkans that we learned anew that for diplomacy to be effective, it must sometimes be backed with the threat and use of force. We learned in the Balkans the danger of delay when crimes against humanity are committed by a wicked tyrant, and it was in the Balkans where the U.S. and NATO intervened to stop the Bosnian war and win the peace in 1995 and then acted again in 1999 to stop Slobodan Milosevic barbarous assault on Kosovo’s Albanian communities.
As State Department Spokesman in 1995, I remember all too vividly the feeling of horror upon receiving the first reports of the massacre at Srebrenica ten years ago in July. I recall the terrible sadness we all felt at learning that our friends Ambassador Bob Frasure, Nelson Drew and Joe Kruzel were later killed in an accident on the Mt. Igman road because the Bosnian Serbs refused to guarantee them safe passage in their mission of peace. I was privileged to be at Dayton when Ambassador Richard Holbrooke achieved a remarkable peace agreement very few thought was possible. As Ambassador to Greece during the Kosovo crisis, working closely with my good friend Ambassador Chris Hill, I saw first hand the suffering of Albanians forced to flee Milosevic’s cruelty. And most recently, as U.S. Ambassador to NATO, I saw how far these countries have come. I’ve met with the region’s leaders who have a genuine desire to move forward beyond the past in a responsible way and into our great trans-Atlantic alliance.
A Year of Decision
Ten years after Srebrenica the United States and our partners cannot define averting disaster in the Balkans as success: we must demand solutions to problems, not defer them. The days for diplomatic triage in the Balkans must give way to a final and decisive international effort to help the peoples of the region to put war behind them forever, find peace and find a future home in NATO and the European Union.
President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have been and will continue to be fully supportive of a strong U.S. role in this last campaign to achieve a permanent peace in the Balkans region. Secretary Rice has asked me to travel to Sarajevo, Belgrade and Kosovo in early June to help take the final steps necessary to bring security and peace to the Balkans. The Balkans — so often a source of instability in European History — are now poised to be the last piece in forming, as President Bush describes, "a Europe that is truly whole, free and at peace." That objective is our largest strategic goal in Europe, and one that will be one of the most important accomplishments of the European-American alliance. With the Cold War over, the Berlin Wall and Soviet Union disappeared, most of Central Europe now part of NATO and the European Union, it is only in the Balkans that our work for a final, democratic peace in Europe is incomplete.
And yet the opportunity to move forward is not indefinite. We must act now to address the future status of Kosovo, the region’s last and largest unresolved issue. The status quo is neither stable nor sustainable. On this, all parties agree.
Hope and Challenges in Kosovo
2005 is a year of decision for Kosovo. Six years ago the United States led the NATO Allies in a campaign to end Slobodan Milosevic’s abhorrent abuse in Kosovo and halt his attempts at ethnic cleansing. After an intensive military air campaign, the international community demanded that Serb security and paramilitary forces leave, allowing Kosovar Albanians back to their homes under NATO protection. Belgrade reluctantly complied, but Kosovo was effectively made a ward of the international community — administered by the UN and secured by NATO — with its future status left to later determination. That time is upon us to resolve that issue, and to finally win the peace.
Winning the Peace in Kosovo
Together with the United Nations and our European partners, we hope to launch a process this year to determine Kosovo’s future status. Getting there will not be easy. It will require continued U.S. engagement and trans-Atlantic cooperation. It will require Kosovo’s leadership to continue progress on the UN-endorsed standards that are designed to ensure basic values of multi-ethnicity, democracy, and market-orientation while placing Kosovo decisively on the path to integration with Europe. For Kosovo to move forward, the timeline for accountability must accelerate, as responsibility moves over from the UN Mission in Kosovo to the Provisional Institutions of Self Government (PISG). No matter what Kosovo’s final status might be, these values are at the heart of our effort to resolve the major remaining issue in the Balkans.
In 2003, my predecessor Marc Grossman proposed, and the UN Security Council endorsed, a process of regular reviews of progress on the standards, leading to a comprehensive progress review in mid-2005. We hope that review will begin shortly and have strongly endorsed Norway’s able Ambassador to NATO, Kai Eide, to conduct the review. Further implementation of the standards, especially those related to the rights and security of Kosovo’s minority communities, is essential for all the people of Kosovo to live in the kind of society they deserve, and for Kosovo to meet the rigorous criteria for Euro-Atlantic integration. Having put meaning in the UN slogan "standards before status" we are effectively moving to an approach of "standards with status" – recognizing that, only with a resolution of the status question will we bring the kind of stability to Kosovo necessary for the building of the kind of advanced democratic and market-oriented institutions that the standards process has sought to achieve.
We are working actively with our fellow members of the Contact Group - the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United Kingdom – to implement our vision for Kosovo and hope to move forward with the comprehensive review this summer. The review will look not only at the technical fulfillment of the standards, but also at the larger political issues. While the result of the review is not a foregone conclusion, we are hopeful that Kosovo is on course to a positive review. We expect the Contact Group and the UN to meet this fall to consider the results of the comprehensive review and to decide whether to launch a status process. If the result of the review is sufficiently positive, the United States will advocate a swift launch of status talks. We believe a senior European political figure should lead the talks, and Secretary Rice has offered to identify a senior American to serve as deputy.
The exact shape of a status process remains undefined, and in order to preserve our role as facilitators of a negotiated solution, the United States and our partners in the Contact Group have not advocated any specific outcome for status talks. However, the Contact Group has already identified three essential elements: status talks will involve dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina; Kosovo’s Serbs and other minority communities will have a role in the process; and all parties are expected to engage constructively and not obstruct the process. The goal will be to agree on Kosovo’s future status in the international community.
Belgrade has set forth a position of "more than autonomy, but less than independence" for Kosovo. Kosovo’s Albanian population insists on immediate and unconditional independence. Finding common ground between these positions will be a major challenge, but we believe that with U.S. leadership and trans-Atlantic cooperation, we can a solution that produces long-term stability for the Balkans by moving the whole region into the Euro-Atlantic family of nations.
The Contact Group has also identified some basic principles that it believes should guide a settlement of Kosovo’s final status. We ruled out a return to the situation before March 1999 and made clear that Kosovo’s final status must enhance regional stability and contribute to the Euro-Atlantic integration of the Balkans.
Accordingly, Kosovo’s final status must:
- Be based on multi-ethnicity with full respect for human rights including the right of all refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes in safety;
- Offer effective constitutional guarantees to ensure the protection of minorities;
- Promote effective mechanisms for fighting organized crime and terrorism; and;
- Include specific safeguards for the protection of cultural and religious heritage.
Just last week, the U.S. pledged one million dollars to a UNESCO effort to raise funds to protect all of Kosovo’s religious and historical sites, including especially Serb sites, to ensure the preservation of Kosovo’s rich cultural and ethnic heritage.
Additionally, the Contact Group told the parties that we believe that Kosovo’s final status must:
- Not be decided by any party unilaterally or result from the use of force;
- Not change the boundaries of the current territory of Kosovo, either through partition or through a new union of Kosovo with any country or part of any country after the resolution of Kosovo’s status; Fully respect the territorial integrity of all other states in the region;
- Ensure that Kosovo continues to develop in a sustainable way both politically and economically; and
- Ensure that Kosovo does not pose a military or security threat to its neighbors.
We expect that the UN’s international civilian and NATO’s military presence would continue past a status settlement to ensure its full implementation and to monitor the political and security situations for Kosovo’s minorities. We are discussing with our friends in the European Union placing an EU focus on the international efforts following a status settlement. We ask them to think creatively and to act decisively and assure them that the United States will remain an active partner in Kosovo and throughout the region.
That means we will continue to honor our Alliance commitments and to lead efforts to ensure that KFOR [the NATO-led security force in Kosovo] is the most capable and effective force it can be.
Serbia and Montenegro
In resolving the status of Kosovo, we look to Belgrade to play a role of continued constructive engagement. How the U.S. and our European allies choose to move forward on relations with Serbia and Montenegro will be determined in part by how effectively and democratically that country chooses to address lingering questions regarding the future of the State Union [of Serbia and Montenegro, established in February 2003], its full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and Belgrade’s commitment to cooperate constructively on Kosovo. We are determined to remain engaged with reformers to realize the promise of October 2000, when Milosevic finally had to accept that democracy had come to Serbia and his day was done. We want Serbia to succeed, and will respect any decision regarding the State Union’s future status as long as it is made in accordance with established constitutional and legal principles and reflects the democratic will of its citizens.
We are encouraged by recent statements from Belgrade indicating a willingness to cooperate on Kosovo. Belgrade’s clear determination could be immediately demonstrated by supporting the return of Kosovo Serbs to the Assembly and political life in Kosovo. I look forward to discussing all of these issues with the Serbian leadership in a few weeks’ time.
Hope and Challenges in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ten years after the horror of Srebrenica and the fragile hope of Dayton, the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina is also beginning to be written. In December 2004, the NATO-led Stabilization Force, SFOR, officially ended, having completed its historic and enormously successful mission to end the war, enforce a peace, and separate two warring armies in the same state.
The United States and our European allies should be particularly proud of NATO’s decisive role in keeping the peace for nearly a decade. It was NATO’s finest hour. NATO restored peace to Bosnia and maintained it for nine years with only a few casualties among the tens of thousands of allied soldiers who served there as peacekeepers. To move on to today’s challenges, an EU-led force - Operation Althea - stands watch in Bosnia, while a NATO headquarters in Sarajevo retains the lead in international efforts on defense reform, counterterrorism, and the ongoing search for the remaining fugitive war crime indictees. Bosnia and Herzegovina is also moving steadily forward with a massive reform effort to rebuild its economy, strengthen state-level institutions, and meet the criteria for EU and NATO integration.
High Representative Lord Paddy Ashdown has been an especially important and effective leader in moving Bosnia along the path of reconciliation and integration into the Euro-Atlantic community. But Bosnia and Herzegovina’s future increasingly must be defined by Bosnians themselves. In the months to come, we will need to reexamine the international civilian presence to ensure that it accurately reflects the progress made and where Bosnia and Herzegovina is headed. The key to success in Bosnia has been the international community’s resolve to meet challenges with determination and flexibility without creating a culture of dependency. We would like to see the development of a political climate in Bosnia and Herzegovina where citizens are confident that their vote matters, and where campaigns are defined not by narrow ethnic interests and complaints against the international community, but by the ideas and issues that will move Bosnia and Herzegovina forward into the EU and NATO.
ICTY Cooperation
The peoples of the region have waited long enough for the justice, security and freedom that other Europeans have enjoyed for generations. The Tito era in Yugoslavia never dealt with the lingering issues of the First and Second World Wars, as Western Europe did so successfully. Instead, Yugoslavia’s slogan of "Brotherhood and Unity" was just that, a slogan. It was no substitute for accountability and justice. The demise of Yugoslavia in 1991 was followed by a decade of chaotic disintegration of state institutions, massive refugee flows, brutal ethnic recriminations, and senseless war. But today, ten years after the Bosnian’s war’s end and six years after NATO’s intervention in Kosovo, the Balkan countries have the opportunity to put that past behind them and to join a unified democratic Europe, where they will be welcomed as partners and future allies.
To secure that future, the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, and other countries need to face squarely their past. This requires first and foremost the political will to arrest the remaining fugitives indicted for the most serious war crimes in Europe since the Second World War, in particular Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic, and Ante Gotovina. They should all be transferred to The Hague where the War Tribunal’s doors remain open and justice is waiting. We must not forget the horrific murders they stand accused of committing on a massive scale. We owe it to their victims and their families to convince Belgrade, Banja Luka and Zagreb to capture these fugitives and extradite them to The Hague, just as we owe the living the opportunity to return to their homes in safety.
Through international resolve and the efforts of the local Governments, all but a remaining ten indictees have gone to face justice at the Tribunal. Those that remain know that our resolve to hold them accountable has never been greater, nor have the benefits of meeting their international obligations. We have been encouraged by the recent political will and actions demonstrated in the past few months by Serbia and by Bosnia and Herzegovina. We recognize their efforts in bringing more than a dozen indictees to the Tribunal, including ones like former Army Chief of Staff Nebojsa Pavkovic. The U.S. will not support NATO membership for countries that have not fully cooperated with the ICTY and will encourage the EU to apply a similar standard in deciding on its new members. In addition, the U.S. will not agree to admit Serbia and Montenegro into NATO’s Partnership for Peace until the major war criminals face their crimes in The Hague, especially Ratko Mladic.
As all parties meet their obligations to cooperate with the Tribunal by ensuring the remaining fugitive indictees are transferred, we look forward to the Tribunal’s successful completion of its mandate. All indictments have now been issued, and we continue to support the Tribunal in its efforts to complete trials by 2008, and appeals by 2010. We also provide considerable assistance to countries region to help build the capacity to credibly and transparently adjudicate war crimes cases domestically, including those transferred by the Tribunal itself.
We are also seeking to build a partnership in the Balkans with nations that are not only independent and free, but capable of working with us in Europe and beyond in our larger ambition to win the war on terrorism. Our friends in the Balkans are showing that they can and want to meet this challenge. Albania and Macedonia have contributed soldiers to Operation Iraqi Freedom, and to NATO’s peacekeeping force in Afghanistan. Bosnia and Herzegovina is about to deploy a military team to Iraq. Croatia is with us in Afghanistan and is also assisting with training Iraqi police forces. Serbia and Montenegro are contributing to the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Balkan states all seek future membership in NATO and the EU. They must earn that distinction but have begun to walk down the road in partnership with us. We want to see progress on that road become irreversible.
Regional Challenges: Adriatic Charter
There is a great deal of progress to recognize, but more work remains. Work that we undertake with our partners, and that they undertake with each other. Two years ago Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia signed the Adriatic Charter with the United States, pledging mutual support as they pursue the political, economic, defense, and social reforms to achieve their eventual NATO membership. The Adriatic Charter has proven to be an especially useful forum for regional security and cooperation, something that did not exist just a few short years ago. Through the Charter the countries have learned to help themselves by helping each other, building on the lessons learned by NATO’s seven newest members. Thus, the Charter countries have also reached out to both Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, including them as observers at recent meetings and promoting greater regional cooperation. Earlier this month in a meeting in Tirana, seven neighboring NATO countries again pledged their support and assistance to see the Adriatic Charter countries ultimately obtain an invitation to NATO. The door to NATO remains open to the Adriatic Charter members. It is not a question of if they will join the Alliance, but rather a question of when they will meet all the requirements of membership. That task is in their hands and we wish them well. They have our full support and encouragement as they continue to invest the effort and the resources necessary to realize their aspirations.
Albania in particular faces an important task in the weeks ahead, with Parliamentary elections set for July 3rd. We and our European partners regard these elections as very important: first because the ability to conduct free and fair elections is an essential indicator of democratic development, critical criteria for integration, and secondly because the government which emerges will need to undertake other reforms that will be needed to bring Albania up to NATO and EU standards.
Although we have seen perhaps the most progress from Croatia in moving toward the Euro-Atlantic community, we ask of Croatia no less than we ask of all nations. As Croatia moves closer to the EU and NATO, it must continue to cooperate constructively, as it agreed to do at Dayton. Most notably, it must undertake all efforts to locate and arrest Ante Gotovina. Until that happens, the United States cannot consider Croatia for NATO membership.
Closing
Ten years ago, the crisis in the Balkans was a source of considerable friction in the trans-Atlantic relationship. Today, winning the peace in the Balkans is one of the areas where we cooperate most effectively with our European partners. Working closely with our allies and the people of the region, we will help write the next chapter to a story that began with the breakup of Yugoslavia and a series of tragic wars — wars that ended only after the collective action of the world’s greatest alliance. That alliance - NATO - today remains the bedrock of the trans-Atlantic community and is preparing for the eventual day when the Balkan states will be full members of both NATO and the EU.
Europe has shown the will to take on a greater role in the region, recognizing that the Balkans’ stability is linked to a future within Europe. As Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini noted, "Forging a common identity and outlook for the Balkans is a responsibility that Europe must accept if it wishes to measure up to its historic mission of offering continuous prospects for peace prosperity and stability to the peoples of the entire continent." So, while much of the Balkans final integration will be a European-led project, the United States will remain centrally involved in the years to come. We have invested too much and have too important a stake in the region’s success — and in our partnership with Europe — to do otherwise. The U.S. has unique credibility in the region as we led the effort to end the two wars of the 1990’s. The U.S. has a unique responsibility and will remain centrally involved. Thus, the reasons for this speech and for my trip to the region.
In his attempt to secure a peace for Europe after World War I, President Wilson defined a lasting peace as "....only a peace the very principle of which is equality and common participation in a common benefit." In this year of decision, we look forward to working with our European allies and those partners in the Balkans committed to democratic ideals to secure for ourselves and for all people of the region this common benefit of a Europe that is truly and forever whole, free, and at peace.
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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
In a speech that looked at the past dozen years in the Balkans and the challenges for 2005 and beyond, Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns outlined the U.S. vision for “a final and decisive international effort to help the peoples of the region put war behind them forever, find peace, and find a future home in NATO and the European Union.”
Burns spoke May 19 at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington about the effort by the United States, the United Nations and partners in Europe to launch a process in 2005 to determine the future status of Kosovo. He also discussed political and economic reform efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the European Union (EU) and NATO presences there, and the need to bring remaining war crimes indictees in the region before the Hague tribunal.
“The Balkans — so often a source of instability in European History — are now poised to be the last piece in forming, as President Bush describes, ‘a Europe that is truly whole, free and at peace,’" Burns said. “That objective is our largest strategic goal in Europe, and one that will be one of the most important accomplishments of the European-American alliance.”
He called the future status of Kosovo “the region’s last and largest unresolved issue,” and said the United States, its European partners and the United Nations “hope to launch a process this year to determine Kosovo’s future status.”
Noting that since 1999 Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations and secured by NATO, with its future status not yet determined, Burns said it is time “to resolve that issue, and to finally win the peace.”
In 2005, there will be an international review of Kosovo’s progress in implementing United Nations-endorsed standards for political, economic and security reform, he said.
“Further implementation of the standards, especially those related to the rights and security of Kosovo’s minority communities, is essential for all the people of Kosovo to live in the kind of society they deserve, and for Kosovo to meet the rigorous criteria for Euro-Atlantic integration,” Burns said.
The so-called Contact Group -- which includes the United States as well as the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the United Kingdom – is “hopeful that Kosovo is on course to a positive review,” Burns said. He added that the Contact Group and the United Nations are expected to meet later this year “to consider the results of the comprehensive review and to decide whether to launch a status process. If the result of the review is sufficiently positive, the United States will advocate a swift launch of status talks.”
He acknowledged that finding common ground between the positions taken by Belgrade and by Kosovo’s Albanian population on Kosovo’s final status “will be a major challenge, but we believe that with U.S. leadership and trans-Atlantic cooperation, we can a solution that produces long-term stability for the Balkans by moving the whole region into the Euro-Atlantic family of nations.”
“We are encouraged by recent statements from Belgrade indicating a willingness to cooperate on Kosovo,” Burns said.
The United States also expects the international civilian and military presences to continue in place past a status settlement “to ensure its full implementation and to monitor the political and security situations for Kosovo’s minorities,” Burns said.
“While much of the Balkans final integration will be a European-led project, the United States will remain centrally involved in the years to come,” he said.
Burns said that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has asked him to travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, and Kosovo in early June to help promote “the final steps necessary to bring security and peace to the Balkans.”
The under secretary delivered testimony May 18 to the House International Relations Committee on the effort to launch a process aimed at completing the standards review and determining Kosovo’s future status.
Following is the text of Burns’ speech at the Wilson Center:
(begin text)
U.S. Department of State
TEN YEARS AFTER DAYTON: WINNING THE PEACE IN THE BALKANS
R. Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Woodrow Wilson Center
Washington, DC
May 19, 2005 Introduction
Mr. Hamilton, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for inviting me here and giving me the honor to speak with you today at the Wilson Center. All of us in the American Foreign Service, Mr. Hamilton, remember well your many years of service in the House and on the International Relations Committee, particularly during the 1990’s when your support and actions were so crucial and your steady leadership was greatly appreciated. We are pleased that the Wilson Center can now profit from your expertise and experiences with you as its Director and President. I am also pleased to be with you today at the invitation of my friend John Sitilides of the Wilson Center.
President Woodrow Wilson went to war reluctantly in 1917 and only as a last recourse. He is best remembered now as a President determined to defend the principles he believed were essential to a moral world order. Wilson was also a man who had a clear vision of a European future and foresaw a role for a democratic international community to preserve the peace. The war that embroiled the U.S. and the Wilson Administration in Europe began in the Balkans in the wars of 1912 and 1913 and in the shot fired by Gavrilio Princip in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914.
The twentieth century began and ended with conflict in the Balkans. A decade ago, international peacekeepers were held hostage in Bosnia, and the International Community was held hostage by a lack of consensus for action. The Balkans were our top foreign policy priority – just as Iraq and the Global War on Terrorism are today. And for fundamentally similar reasons: to stop catastrophic human rights abuses, to stand against tyranny, and to stand up for the values that make us more secure. Today, the Balkans remain a vital part of that global mission. It is time to solve this missing piece in the President’s vision of a single Europe whole, free, and at peace.
Nearly one hundred years after the First World War and a decade after Srebrenica, the U.S is resolved to move the Balkan region beyond the savage conflicts of the 19th and 20th centuries and to integrate it into the democratic peace established in the rest of Europe after the end of the Cold War – because it is in our national interest to do so. This Center, named in President Wilson’s honor, is perhaps the most fitting place to discuss United States policy in the Balkans and what we and our European partners must now do to help the people of the region find stability, democracy and peace. Ten years after the horrible massacres at Srebrenica, NATO’s battle to stop the Bosnian war and the U.S.-inspired peace at Dayton, 2005 must begin a year of decision on the future of the Balkans.
To be effective today, we need to learn from the tragic events of a decade ago. Ten years ago the Balkans were in flames in a catastrophic conflict. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people were killed and millions more were displaced from their homes. The Balkans also was a gaping diplomatic wound, which, if left untreated, was capable of infecting trans-Atlantic relations, not just between the U.S. and Western Europe, but also with a newly independent Russia, which had just emerged from the disintegrated Soviet Union. It was in the Balkans that the U.S. and its allies - and Russia - reached a consensus for action and put an end to the worst bloodshed Europe had seen since World War II.
It was in the Balkans that we learned anew that for diplomacy to be effective, it must sometimes be backed with the threat and use of force. We learned in the Balkans the danger of delay when crimes against humanity are committed by a wicked tyrant, and it was in the Balkans where the U.S. and NATO intervened to stop the Bosnian war and win the peace in 1995 and then acted again in 1999 to stop Slobodan Milosevic barbarous assault on Kosovo’s Albanian communities.
As State Department Spokesman in 1995, I remember all too vividly the feeling of horror upon receiving the first reports of the massacre at Srebrenica ten years ago in July. I recall the terrible sadness we all felt at learning that our friends Ambassador Bob Frasure, Nelson Drew and Joe Kruzel were later killed in an accident on the Mt. Igman road because the Bosnian Serbs refused to guarantee them safe passage in their mission of peace. I was privileged to be at Dayton when Ambassador Richard Holbrooke achieved a remarkable peace agreement very few thought was possible. As Ambassador to Greece during the Kosovo crisis, working closely with my good friend Ambassador Chris Hill, I saw first hand the suffering of Albanians forced to flee Milosevic’s cruelty. And most recently, as U.S. Ambassador to NATO, I saw how far these countries have come. I’ve met with the region’s leaders who have a genuine desire to move forward beyond the past in a responsible way and into our great trans-Atlantic alliance.
A Year of Decision
Ten years after Srebrenica the United States and our partners cannot define averting disaster in the Balkans as success: we must demand solutions to problems, not defer them. The days for diplomatic triage in the Balkans must give way to a final and decisive international effort to help the peoples of the region to put war behind them forever, find peace and find a future home in NATO and the European Union.
President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have been and will continue to be fully supportive of a strong U.S. role in this last campaign to achieve a permanent peace in the Balkans region. Secretary Rice has asked me to travel to Sarajevo, Belgrade and Kosovo in early June to help take the final steps necessary to bring security and peace to the Balkans. The Balkans — so often a source of instability in European History — are now poised to be the last piece in forming, as President Bush describes, "a Europe that is truly whole, free and at peace." That objective is our largest strategic goal in Europe, and one that will be one of the most important accomplishments of the European-American alliance. With the Cold War over, the Berlin Wall and Soviet Union disappeared, most of Central Europe now part of NATO and the European Union, it is only in the Balkans that our work for a final, democratic peace in Europe is incomplete.
And yet the opportunity to move forward is not indefinite. We must act now to address the future status of Kosovo, the region’s last and largest unresolved issue. The status quo is neither stable nor sustainable. On this, all parties agree.
Hope and Challenges in Kosovo
2005 is a year of decision for Kosovo. Six years ago the United States led the NATO Allies in a campaign to end Slobodan Milosevic’s abhorrent abuse in Kosovo and halt his attempts at ethnic cleansing. After an intensive military air campaign, the international community demanded that Serb security and paramilitary forces leave, allowing Kosovar Albanians back to their homes under NATO protection. Belgrade reluctantly complied, but Kosovo was effectively made a ward of the international community — administered by the UN and secured by NATO — with its future status left to later determination. That time is upon us to resolve that issue, and to finally win the peace.
Winning the Peace in Kosovo
Together with the United Nations and our European partners, we hope to launch a process this year to determine Kosovo’s future status. Getting there will not be easy. It will require continued U.S. engagement and trans-Atlantic cooperation. It will require Kosovo’s leadership to continue progress on the UN-endorsed standards that are designed to ensure basic values of multi-ethnicity, democracy, and market-orientation while placing Kosovo decisively on the path to integration with Europe. For Kosovo to move forward, the timeline for accountability must accelerate, as responsibility moves over from the UN Mission in Kosovo to the Provisional Institutions of Self Government (PISG). No matter what Kosovo’s final status might be, these values are at the heart of our effort to resolve the major remaining issue in the Balkans.
In 2003, my predecessor Marc Grossman proposed, and the UN Security Council endorsed, a process of regular reviews of progress on the standards, leading to a comprehensive progress review in mid-2005. We hope that review will begin shortly and have strongly endorsed Norway’s able Ambassador to NATO, Kai Eide, to conduct the review. Further implementation of the standards, especially those related to the rights and security of Kosovo’s minority communities, is essential for all the people of Kosovo to live in the kind of society they deserve, and for Kosovo to meet the rigorous criteria for Euro-Atlantic integration. Having put meaning in the UN slogan "standards before status" we are effectively moving to an approach of "standards with status" – recognizing that, only with a resolution of the status question will we bring the kind of stability to Kosovo necessary for the building of the kind of advanced democratic and market-oriented institutions that the standards process has sought to achieve.
We are working actively with our fellow members of the Contact Group - the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United Kingdom – to implement our vision for Kosovo and hope to move forward with the comprehensive review this summer. The review will look not only at the technical fulfillment of the standards, but also at the larger political issues. While the result of the review is not a foregone conclusion, we are hopeful that Kosovo is on course to a positive review. We expect the Contact Group and the UN to meet this fall to consider the results of the comprehensive review and to decide whether to launch a status process. If the result of the review is sufficiently positive, the United States will advocate a swift launch of status talks. We believe a senior European political figure should lead the talks, and Secretary Rice has offered to identify a senior American to serve as deputy.
The exact shape of a status process remains undefined, and in order to preserve our role as facilitators of a negotiated solution, the United States and our partners in the Contact Group have not advocated any specific outcome for status talks. However, the Contact Group has already identified three essential elements: status talks will involve dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina; Kosovo’s Serbs and other minority communities will have a role in the process; and all parties are expected to engage constructively and not obstruct the process. The goal will be to agree on Kosovo’s future status in the international community.
Belgrade has set forth a position of "more than autonomy, but less than independence" for Kosovo. Kosovo’s Albanian population insists on immediate and unconditional independence. Finding common ground between these positions will be a major challenge, but we believe that with U.S. leadership and trans-Atlantic cooperation, we can a solution that produces long-term stability for the Balkans by moving the whole region into the Euro-Atlantic family of nations.
The Contact Group has also identified some basic principles that it believes should guide a settlement of Kosovo’s final status. We ruled out a return to the situation before March 1999 and made clear that Kosovo’s final status must enhance regional stability and contribute to the Euro-Atlantic integration of the Balkans.
Accordingly, Kosovo’s final status must:
- Be based on multi-ethnicity with full respect for human rights including the right of all refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes in safety;
- Offer effective constitutional guarantees to ensure the protection of minorities;
- Promote effective mechanisms for fighting organized crime and terrorism; and;
- Include specific safeguards for the protection of cultural and religious heritage.
Just last week, the U.S. pledged one million dollars to a UNESCO effort to raise funds to protect all of Kosovo’s religious and historical sites, including especially Serb sites, to ensure the preservation of Kosovo’s rich cultural and ethnic heritage.
Additionally, the Contact Group told the parties that we believe that Kosovo’s final status must:
- Not be decided by any party unilaterally or result from the use of force;
- Not change the boundaries of the current territory of Kosovo, either through partition or through a new union of Kosovo with any country or part of any country after the resolution of Kosovo’s status; Fully respect the territorial integrity of all other states in the region;
- Ensure that Kosovo continues to develop in a sustainable way both politically and economically; and
- Ensure that Kosovo does not pose a military or security threat to its neighbors.
We expect that the UN’s international civilian and NATO’s military presence would continue past a status settlement to ensure its full implementation and to monitor the political and security situations for Kosovo’s minorities. We are discussing with our friends in the European Union placing an EU focus on the international efforts following a status settlement. We ask them to think creatively and to act decisively and assure them that the United States will remain an active partner in Kosovo and throughout the region.
That means we will continue to honor our Alliance commitments and to lead efforts to ensure that KFOR [the NATO-led security force in Kosovo] is the most capable and effective force it can be.
Serbia and Montenegro
In resolving the status of Kosovo, we look to Belgrade to play a role of continued constructive engagement. How the U.S. and our European allies choose to move forward on relations with Serbia and Montenegro will be determined in part by how effectively and democratically that country chooses to address lingering questions regarding the future of the State Union [of Serbia and Montenegro, established in February 2003], its full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and Belgrade’s commitment to cooperate constructively on Kosovo. We are determined to remain engaged with reformers to realize the promise of October 2000, when Milosevic finally had to accept that democracy had come to Serbia and his day was done. We want Serbia to succeed, and will respect any decision regarding the State Union’s future status as long as it is made in accordance with established constitutional and legal principles and reflects the democratic will of its citizens.
We are encouraged by recent statements from Belgrade indicating a willingness to cooperate on Kosovo. Belgrade’s clear determination could be immediately demonstrated by supporting the return of Kosovo Serbs to the Assembly and political life in Kosovo. I look forward to discussing all of these issues with the Serbian leadership in a few weeks’ time.
Hope and Challenges in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ten years after the horror of Srebrenica and the fragile hope of Dayton, the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina is also beginning to be written. In December 2004, the NATO-led Stabilization Force, SFOR, officially ended, having completed its historic and enormously successful mission to end the war, enforce a peace, and separate two warring armies in the same state.
The United States and our European allies should be particularly proud of NATO’s decisive role in keeping the peace for nearly a decade. It was NATO’s finest hour. NATO restored peace to Bosnia and maintained it for nine years with only a few casualties among the tens of thousands of allied soldiers who served there as peacekeepers. To move on to today’s challenges, an EU-led force - Operation Althea - stands watch in Bosnia, while a NATO headquarters in Sarajevo retains the lead in international efforts on defense reform, counterterrorism, and the ongoing search for the remaining fugitive war crime indictees. Bosnia and Herzegovina is also moving steadily forward with a massive reform effort to rebuild its economy, strengthen state-level institutions, and meet the criteria for EU and NATO integration.
High Representative Lord Paddy Ashdown has been an especially important and effective leader in moving Bosnia along the path of reconciliation and integration into the Euro-Atlantic community. But Bosnia and Herzegovina’s future increasingly must be defined by Bosnians themselves. In the months to come, we will need to reexamine the international civilian presence to ensure that it accurately reflects the progress made and where Bosnia and Herzegovina is headed. The key to success in Bosnia has been the international community’s resolve to meet challenges with determination and flexibility without creating a culture of dependency. We would like to see the development of a political climate in Bosnia and Herzegovina where citizens are confident that their vote matters, and where campaigns are defined not by narrow ethnic interests and complaints against the international community, but by the ideas and issues that will move Bosnia and Herzegovina forward into the EU and NATO.
ICTY Cooperation
The peoples of the region have waited long enough for the justice, security and freedom that other Europeans have enjoyed for generations. The Tito era in Yugoslavia never dealt with the lingering issues of the First and Second World Wars, as Western Europe did so successfully. Instead, Yugoslavia’s slogan of "Brotherhood and Unity" was just that, a slogan. It was no substitute for accountability and justice. The demise of Yugoslavia in 1991 was followed by a decade of chaotic disintegration of state institutions, massive refugee flows, brutal ethnic recriminations, and senseless war. But today, ten years after the Bosnian’s war’s end and six years after NATO’s intervention in Kosovo, the Balkan countries have the opportunity to put that past behind them and to join a unified democratic Europe, where they will be welcomed as partners and future allies.
To secure that future, the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, and other countries need to face squarely their past. This requires first and foremost the political will to arrest the remaining fugitives indicted for the most serious war crimes in Europe since the Second World War, in particular Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic, and Ante Gotovina. They should all be transferred to The Hague where the War Tribunal’s doors remain open and justice is waiting. We must not forget the horrific murders they stand accused of committing on a massive scale. We owe it to their victims and their families to convince Belgrade, Banja Luka and Zagreb to capture these fugitives and extradite them to The Hague, just as we owe the living the opportunity to return to their homes in safety.
Through international resolve and the efforts of the local Governments, all but a remaining ten indictees have gone to face justice at the Tribunal. Those that remain know that our resolve to hold them accountable has never been greater, nor have the benefits of meeting their international obligations. We have been encouraged by the recent political will and actions demonstrated in the past few months by Serbia and by Bosnia and Herzegovina. We recognize their efforts in bringing more than a dozen indictees to the Tribunal, including ones like former Army Chief of Staff Nebojsa Pavkovic. The U.S. will not support NATO membership for countries that have not fully cooperated with the ICTY and will encourage the EU to apply a similar standard in deciding on its new members. In addition, the U.S. will not agree to admit Serbia and Montenegro into NATO’s Partnership for Peace until the major war criminals face their crimes in The Hague, especially Ratko Mladic.
As all parties meet their obligations to cooperate with the Tribunal by ensuring the remaining fugitive indictees are transferred, we look forward to the Tribunal’s successful completion of its mandate. All indictments have now been issued, and we continue to support the Tribunal in its efforts to complete trials by 2008, and appeals by 2010. We also provide considerable assistance to countries region to help build the capacity to credibly and transparently adjudicate war crimes cases domestically, including those transferred by the Tribunal itself.
We are also seeking to build a partnership in the Balkans with nations that are not only independent and free, but capable of working with us in Europe and beyond in our larger ambition to win the war on terrorism. Our friends in the Balkans are showing that they can and want to meet this challenge. Albania and Macedonia have contributed soldiers to Operation Iraqi Freedom, and to NATO’s peacekeeping force in Afghanistan. Bosnia and Herzegovina is about to deploy a military team to Iraq. Croatia is with us in Afghanistan and is also assisting with training Iraqi police forces. Serbia and Montenegro are contributing to the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Balkan states all seek future membership in NATO and the EU. They must earn that distinction but have begun to walk down the road in partnership with us. We want to see progress on that road become irreversible.
Regional Challenges: Adriatic Charter
There is a great deal of progress to recognize, but more work remains. Work that we undertake with our partners, and that they undertake with each other. Two years ago Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia signed the Adriatic Charter with the United States, pledging mutual support as they pursue the political, economic, defense, and social reforms to achieve their eventual NATO membership. The Adriatic Charter has proven to be an especially useful forum for regional security and cooperation, something that did not exist just a few short years ago. Through the Charter the countries have learned to help themselves by helping each other, building on the lessons learned by NATO’s seven newest members. Thus, the Charter countries have also reached out to both Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, including them as observers at recent meetings and promoting greater regional cooperation. Earlier this month in a meeting in Tirana, seven neighboring NATO countries again pledged their support and assistance to see the Adriatic Charter countries ultimately obtain an invitation to NATO. The door to NATO remains open to the Adriatic Charter members. It is not a question of if they will join the Alliance, but rather a question of when they will meet all the requirements of membership. That task is in their hands and we wish them well. They have our full support and encouragement as they continue to invest the effort and the resources necessary to realize their aspirations.
Albania in particular faces an important task in the weeks ahead, with Parliamentary elections set for July 3rd. We and our European partners regard these elections as very important: first because the ability to conduct free and fair elections is an essential indicator of democratic development, critical criteria for integration, and secondly because the government which emerges will need to undertake other reforms that will be needed to bring Albania up to NATO and EU standards.
Although we have seen perhaps the most progress from Croatia in moving toward the Euro-Atlantic community, we ask of Croatia no less than we ask of all nations. As Croatia moves closer to the EU and NATO, it must continue to cooperate constructively, as it agreed to do at Dayton. Most notably, it must undertake all efforts to locate and arrest Ante Gotovina. Until that happens, the United States cannot consider Croatia for NATO membership.
Closing
Ten years ago, the crisis in the Balkans was a source of considerable friction in the trans-Atlantic relationship. Today, winning the peace in the Balkans is one of the areas where we cooperate most effectively with our European partners. Working closely with our allies and the people of the region, we will help write the next chapter to a story that began with the breakup of Yugoslavia and a series of tragic wars — wars that ended only after the collective action of the world’s greatest alliance. That alliance - NATO - today remains the bedrock of the trans-Atlantic community and is preparing for the eventual day when the Balkan states will be full members of both NATO and the EU.
Europe has shown the will to take on a greater role in the region, recognizing that the Balkans’ stability is linked to a future within Europe. As Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini noted, "Forging a common identity and outlook for the Balkans is a responsibility that Europe must accept if it wishes to measure up to its historic mission of offering continuous prospects for peace prosperity and stability to the peoples of the entire continent." So, while much of the Balkans final integration will be a European-led project, the United States will remain centrally involved in the years to come. We have invested too much and have too important a stake in the region’s success — and in our partnership with Europe — to do otherwise. The U.S. has unique credibility in the region as we led the effort to end the two wars of the 1990’s. The U.S. has a unique responsibility and will remain centrally involved. Thus, the reasons for this speech and for my trip to the region.
In his attempt to secure a peace for Europe after World War I, President Wilson defined a lasting peace as "....only a peace the very principle of which is equality and common participation in a common benefit." In this year of decision, we look forward to working with our European allies and those partners in the Balkans committed to democratic ideals to secure for ourselves and for all people of the region this common benefit of a Europe that is truly and forever whole, free, and at peace.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
Kosovo to soon to have a Central Bank, says Adem Salihaj
Zëri quotes Deputy Prime Minister Adem Salihaj as saying that The Banking and Payment Authority of Kosovo (BPK) will transform into the Central Bank. Salihaj said the transformation is done with the direct engagement of SRSG Søren Jessen-Petersen and UNMIK Pillar IV head Joachim Ruecker as part of the transfer of competencies to local institutions.
The paper quotes unnamed sources as saying that a meeting was held yesterday between the heads of local and international institutions and a decision was made on this matter. The sources, who attended the meeting, said the procedures for transforming the BPK into a Central Bank would be finalized by the end of June. The sources also said that the transformation would need the approval of the United Nations Security Council.
According to the source, the Board of the Central Bank would consist of seven members, a representative of the Ministry of Economy and Finances, UNMIK Pillar IV, the International Monetary Fund, two deputy directors and two members of civil society.
In closing, the paper notes that bank experts in Kosovo have constantly reiterated that, like others countries, Kosovo needs to have a central bank. They claimed that without a genuine central bank there can be no economic development, social well-being and progress.
The paper quotes unnamed sources as saying that a meeting was held yesterday between the heads of local and international institutions and a decision was made on this matter. The sources, who attended the meeting, said the procedures for transforming the BPK into a Central Bank would be finalized by the end of June. The sources also said that the transformation would need the approval of the United Nations Security Council.
According to the source, the Board of the Central Bank would consist of seven members, a representative of the Ministry of Economy and Finances, UNMIK Pillar IV, the International Monetary Fund, two deputy directors and two members of civil society.
In closing, the paper notes that bank experts in Kosovo have constantly reiterated that, like others countries, Kosovo needs to have a central bank. They claimed that without a genuine central bank there can be no economic development, social well-being and progress.
Kosumi says Kosovo will be completely different next year
PRISTINA, May 20 (Hina) - Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi told Belgrade-based news agency Beta on Friday he was confident that in a year's time Kosovo would be completely different than today thanks to the engagement of the international community.
For six years Kosovo politicians have been dealing with Belgrade much more than with Kosovo Serbs, Kosumi said. "I do not believe that little has been done for local Serbs," he said, adding that great progress had been made in that regard.
He said that in personal contacts with Kosovo Serbs he had gained the impression that their vision of Kosovo was different from how Serbian politicians perceived Kosovo.
Kosumi said he was ready to meet Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica in Pristina or Belgrade or some third country and that the time, place and topics of the meeting should be arranged by their associates.
The Serbian government on Thursday stated that the Kosovo Prime Minister's condition for the meeting, namely that he be treated as the prime minister of a neighbouring country, "are unrealistic".
For six years Kosovo politicians have been dealing with Belgrade much more than with Kosovo Serbs, Kosumi said. "I do not believe that little has been done for local Serbs," he said, adding that great progress had been made in that regard.
He said that in personal contacts with Kosovo Serbs he had gained the impression that their vision of Kosovo was different from how Serbian politicians perceived Kosovo.
Kosumi said he was ready to meet Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica in Pristina or Belgrade or some third country and that the time, place and topics of the meeting should be arranged by their associates.
The Serbian government on Thursday stated that the Kosovo Prime Minister's condition for the meeting, namely that he be treated as the prime minister of a neighbouring country, "are unrealistic".
Kosovo group protests against decentralization plan
Prishtina [Pristina], 19 May: With the motto Decentralization - Another Name for Division of Kosova [Kosovo], the members of the Kosova Action Network [KAN] protested today for an hour against the decentralization before Kosova's status is resolved.
While the Kosova Assembly has initiated a debate on decentralization, the KAN activists have displayed a map, warning "how Kosova would look after decentralization".
Shkelzen Gashi, an activist from the KAN said that following after last year's riots the Serbian government has imposed decentralization project to UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo], which has accepted it in principle.
According to him, this project was accepted by the three largest political parties (LDK [Democratic League of Kosovo], PDK [Democratic Party of Kosovo], AAK [Alliance for the Future of Kosovo]) in July 2004, when the draft document was prepared during Bajram Rexhepi's government.
The project made now by Local Government Minister Lutfi Haziri is based on that document, only the pilot municipalities have been added to that.
"The aim of this project is secession of one-third of Kosova's territory," said Gashi.
According to Gashi, Serbia has two plans. The first one is to keep its sovereignty over Kosova, and if this doesn't work then they will apply the alternative plan for secession of one third of Kosova's territory.
"Ten municipal units will be created according the government plan. Of those, six belong to Serbs, two to other minorities and two others to Albanians. The question is if we represent minority here. If we represent 90 per cent or only 10 per cent of the population," said Gashi.
KAN activists say that draft document and decentralization plan is similar to the Serbian government's plan, with very small differences.
Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 19 May 05
While the Kosova Assembly has initiated a debate on decentralization, the KAN activists have displayed a map, warning "how Kosova would look after decentralization".
Shkelzen Gashi, an activist from the KAN said that following after last year's riots the Serbian government has imposed decentralization project to UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo], which has accepted it in principle.
According to him, this project was accepted by the three largest political parties (LDK [Democratic League of Kosovo], PDK [Democratic Party of Kosovo], AAK [Alliance for the Future of Kosovo]) in July 2004, when the draft document was prepared during Bajram Rexhepi's government.
The project made now by Local Government Minister Lutfi Haziri is based on that document, only the pilot municipalities have been added to that.
"The aim of this project is secession of one-third of Kosova's territory," said Gashi.
According to Gashi, Serbia has two plans. The first one is to keep its sovereignty over Kosova, and if this doesn't work then they will apply the alternative plan for secession of one third of Kosova's territory.
"Ten municipal units will be created according the government plan. Of those, six belong to Serbs, two to other minorities and two others to Albanians. The question is if we represent minority here. If we represent 90 per cent or only 10 per cent of the population," said Gashi.
KAN activists say that draft document and decentralization plan is similar to the Serbian government's plan, with very small differences.
Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 19 May 05
Europe's Next Independent State - The Christian Science Monitor
Out of sight, out of mind. That's largely been the world's approach toward the former Balkans ethnic war zone of Kosovo.
Thankfully, that's about to end.
This summer, the international community is set to review the highly charged issue of Kosovo's political status. Since a 1999 NATO air campaign drove Serb forces from Kosovo, this poor, tense corner of the former Yugoslavia has been in legal limbo.
Officially, it's a province of the country now known as Serbia and Montenegro. It has a Serb minority, but Kosovo's 90 percent ethnic Albanian population demands independence. The compromise since the war has been to have Kosovo administered by the United Nations, and secured by 18,000 NATO troops.
This "between" state is no longer sustainable. Uncertainty has helped drive Kosovo's economy into the ground. Unemployment runs at about 60 percent. Because of Kosovo's undetermined future, neither the World Bank nor the International Monetary Fund can offer assistance.
At the same time, ethnic conflicts have flared. Last spring, Kosovo's mainly Muslim Albanians went on a rampage, injuring hundreds of Serbs and attacking their Orthodox churches, which are part of Serb identity. Nineteen people died. Without a settling of the status question, it's feared violence could flare again.
This week, the Bush administration gave a welcome, if belated, push toward resolving this thorny problem by putting forward a road map toward resolution. If all goes well, final-status negotiations - involving Europe, the US, and both sides in the conflict - would begin in the fall.
Choices for Kosovo
To maintain credibility as a facilitator, the US isn't taking a position on Kosovo's final status. But the Western community is rightly gravitating toward independence.
Such a decision would involve some difficult issues, but considering the alternatives, independence makes the most sense.
Serbia's notion of "more than autonomy, but less than independence" is vague, and simply won't be accepted by Kosovo's majority Albanians. Autonomy was the official status under which "ethnic cleansing" of the Albanians by Serbs occurred, and it was that ethnic violence that led to the war in the first place. Serbia is now a fledgling democracy, but that doesn't erase the Albanians' historic fears.
Partition is also being talked about. But while Kosovo's north is largely Serb, many Serbs are scattered in the south, and it's hard to imagine them accepting such a deal.
That leaves independence, with all its risks and complications. Risks, because the Albanians so far have a poor record in their treatment of Serb and other minorities. And complications, because of the issues independence raises not only for Serbia - loath to give up more territory of the former Yugoslavia - but also for Kosovo's neighbors, which have large ethnic Albanian populations.
Further afield is the precedent that might be set for other secessionist movements in countries such as Moldova, Georgia, and Azerbaijan if the West helps create an independent Kosovo (which was never a state or republic).
But how to persuade Serbia to give up Kosovo? One, it must be promised eventual integration with the world of democratic nations, including the European Union and NATO. And two, it must receive guarantees of protection for the Serb minority in Kosovo.
Protecting the minority Serbs
Kosovo has made some progress, but it has so far failed to live up to UN-endorsed "standards" of a multi- ethnic society. Those standards were to have been met before final-status talks could begin. But the Bush administration is wisely urging that improvement of standards continue along with the talks, rather than having them serve to delay them.
Through negotiations, limits that would calm Serb fears could be set on a free Kosovo. It should not, for instance, be allowed to later join with Albania. Its higher courts - which would guarantee minority rights - might include internationally appointed judges for a time. And it will probably have to work out a long-term deal with NATO. Ultimately, for Kosovo as for Serbia, the promise of integration with Europe would be a strong incentive for good behavior.
Saving Kosovo was a necessary step in 1999. So is setting it free today.
Thankfully, that's about to end.
This summer, the international community is set to review the highly charged issue of Kosovo's political status. Since a 1999 NATO air campaign drove Serb forces from Kosovo, this poor, tense corner of the former Yugoslavia has been in legal limbo.
Officially, it's a province of the country now known as Serbia and Montenegro. It has a Serb minority, but Kosovo's 90 percent ethnic Albanian population demands independence. The compromise since the war has been to have Kosovo administered by the United Nations, and secured by 18,000 NATO troops.
This "between" state is no longer sustainable. Uncertainty has helped drive Kosovo's economy into the ground. Unemployment runs at about 60 percent. Because of Kosovo's undetermined future, neither the World Bank nor the International Monetary Fund can offer assistance.
At the same time, ethnic conflicts have flared. Last spring, Kosovo's mainly Muslim Albanians went on a rampage, injuring hundreds of Serbs and attacking their Orthodox churches, which are part of Serb identity. Nineteen people died. Without a settling of the status question, it's feared violence could flare again.
This week, the Bush administration gave a welcome, if belated, push toward resolving this thorny problem by putting forward a road map toward resolution. If all goes well, final-status negotiations - involving Europe, the US, and both sides in the conflict - would begin in the fall.
Choices for Kosovo
To maintain credibility as a facilitator, the US isn't taking a position on Kosovo's final status. But the Western community is rightly gravitating toward independence.
Such a decision would involve some difficult issues, but considering the alternatives, independence makes the most sense.
Serbia's notion of "more than autonomy, but less than independence" is vague, and simply won't be accepted by Kosovo's majority Albanians. Autonomy was the official status under which "ethnic cleansing" of the Albanians by Serbs occurred, and it was that ethnic violence that led to the war in the first place. Serbia is now a fledgling democracy, but that doesn't erase the Albanians' historic fears.
Partition is also being talked about. But while Kosovo's north is largely Serb, many Serbs are scattered in the south, and it's hard to imagine them accepting such a deal.
That leaves independence, with all its risks and complications. Risks, because the Albanians so far have a poor record in their treatment of Serb and other minorities. And complications, because of the issues independence raises not only for Serbia - loath to give up more territory of the former Yugoslavia - but also for Kosovo's neighbors, which have large ethnic Albanian populations.
Further afield is the precedent that might be set for other secessionist movements in countries such as Moldova, Georgia, and Azerbaijan if the West helps create an independent Kosovo (which was never a state or republic).
But how to persuade Serbia to give up Kosovo? One, it must be promised eventual integration with the world of democratic nations, including the European Union and NATO. And two, it must receive guarantees of protection for the Serb minority in Kosovo.
Protecting the minority Serbs
Kosovo has made some progress, but it has so far failed to live up to UN-endorsed "standards" of a multi- ethnic society. Those standards were to have been met before final-status talks could begin. But the Bush administration is wisely urging that improvement of standards continue along with the talks, rather than having them serve to delay them.
Through negotiations, limits that would calm Serb fears could be set on a free Kosovo. It should not, for instance, be allowed to later join with Albania. Its higher courts - which would guarantee minority rights - might include internationally appointed judges for a time. And it will probably have to work out a long-term deal with NATO. Ultimately, for Kosovo as for Serbia, the promise of integration with Europe would be a strong incentive for good behavior.
Saving Kosovo was a necessary step in 1999. So is setting it free today.
Serbian president insists on meeting Kosovo president in Belgrade or Pristina
Belgrade, 20 May: Serbian President Boris Tadic still insists that Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova and he meet either in Belgrade or Pristina rather than at the sidelines of an international conference in Geneva, Tadic's office said today [20 May].
"Serbian President Boris Tadic still insists that the direct dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, that is, the direct meeting with Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova proposed by him, start either in Belgrade or Pristina," a statement issued by his office reads.
According to the statement, Tadic "takes the view that holding such a meeting would show to all the citizens of our country that a direct and open dialogue is the right way to solve a crisis". [Passage omitted]
Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 0946 gmt 20 May 05
"Serbian President Boris Tadic still insists that the direct dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, that is, the direct meeting with Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova proposed by him, start either in Belgrade or Pristina," a statement issued by his office reads.
According to the statement, Tadic "takes the view that holding such a meeting would show to all the citizens of our country that a direct and open dialogue is the right way to solve a crisis". [Passage omitted]
Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 0946 gmt 20 May 05
EXCLUSIVE-Glowing UN report heralds Kosovo endgame
By Branislav Krstic and Matthew Robinson
PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro, May 20 (Reuters) - Kosovo's U.N. governor will tell the U.N. Security Council next week the disputed province has made major progress on security and minority rights, in a report that could mark the beginning of the end of the province's uncertain status.
In the report, seen by Reuters ahead of its presentation in New York on May 27, Kosovo's U.N. governor Soren Jessen-Petersen, a Danish diplomat, details "significant progress" over the past three months on all eight "benchmarks".
These are democracy standards set by the West as a condition for opening talks on whether the protectorate ultimately becomes independent, as its 90 percent Albanian majority demands, or remains nominally part of Serbia, as Belgrade insists.
The United States and European Union want the talks to start in the autumn, to head off any risk of fresh violence from Albanians impatient to close the final chapter in the bloody collapse of Yugoslavia which led to war in Kosovo in 1998-99.
If Jessen-Petersen's report had been negative, Kosovo's leaders would have been told they had not made enough progress and the process would have been put on hold for another three months.
"A significant proportion of these Priority Standards Goals and actions have been achieved or, if both effort and pace of delivery are maintained, are on track for achievement during 2005," he writes in the report to be made public on Tuesday.
"The successes ... are creating a new framework of confidence in Kosovo's ability to build and sustain institutions that work for, and protect and promote the rights of all people," Jessen-Petersen adds.
He cites improved freedom of movement for minorities, low levels of inter-ethnic crime and a "deepening maturity" shown by Kosovo's Albanian dominated interim institutions.
If the Security Council endorses his report, Secretary-General Kofi Annan will appoint a special envoy in June or July to make a comprehensive review of Kosovo's progress since the "standards before status" policy was unveiled in 2003.
SACRED CRADLE
Serbia's traditional ally Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council with veto power, wants the review delayed. But Western diplomats say Moscow's opposition can be overcome.
The United States signalled its decision to resolve the issue this year, in a statement on Wednesday by the U.S. State Department's Nicholas Burns to the House Committee on International Affairs.
"The determination to go ahead is much greater than the Russian determination to delay it," said one senior diplomat.
Kai Eide, Norway's ambassador to NATO, is tipped to conduct the review. If positive, diplomats say Annan will select another envoy in September to mediate between Belgrade and Pristina, with the aim of reaching a status solution by early 2006.
Serbs believe the mountain-ringed province of two million people is the sacred cradle of their nation. The U.N. seized it in 1999 after 78 days of NATO bombing expelled Serb forces accused of atrocities against civilians while they fought to smother an Albanian guerrilla insurgency.
After five years of political drift, two days of Albanian riots against Serbs and other ethnic minorities in March last year killed 19 people and sent 4,000 fleeing.
Kosovo Albanians are angry the years of U.N. stewardship failed to rebuild the economy or dent a jobless rate of over 60 percent. Eide warned in a report to Annan after the riots that prolonging Kosovo's uncertain status was not an option.
PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro, May 20 (Reuters) - Kosovo's U.N. governor will tell the U.N. Security Council next week the disputed province has made major progress on security and minority rights, in a report that could mark the beginning of the end of the province's uncertain status.
In the report, seen by Reuters ahead of its presentation in New York on May 27, Kosovo's U.N. governor Soren Jessen-Petersen, a Danish diplomat, details "significant progress" over the past three months on all eight "benchmarks".
These are democracy standards set by the West as a condition for opening talks on whether the protectorate ultimately becomes independent, as its 90 percent Albanian majority demands, or remains nominally part of Serbia, as Belgrade insists.
The United States and European Union want the talks to start in the autumn, to head off any risk of fresh violence from Albanians impatient to close the final chapter in the bloody collapse of Yugoslavia which led to war in Kosovo in 1998-99.
If Jessen-Petersen's report had been negative, Kosovo's leaders would have been told they had not made enough progress and the process would have been put on hold for another three months.
"A significant proportion of these Priority Standards Goals and actions have been achieved or, if both effort and pace of delivery are maintained, are on track for achievement during 2005," he writes in the report to be made public on Tuesday.
"The successes ... are creating a new framework of confidence in Kosovo's ability to build and sustain institutions that work for, and protect and promote the rights of all people," Jessen-Petersen adds.
He cites improved freedom of movement for minorities, low levels of inter-ethnic crime and a "deepening maturity" shown by Kosovo's Albanian dominated interim institutions.
If the Security Council endorses his report, Secretary-General Kofi Annan will appoint a special envoy in June or July to make a comprehensive review of Kosovo's progress since the "standards before status" policy was unveiled in 2003.
SACRED CRADLE
Serbia's traditional ally Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council with veto power, wants the review delayed. But Western diplomats say Moscow's opposition can be overcome.
The United States signalled its decision to resolve the issue this year, in a statement on Wednesday by the U.S. State Department's Nicholas Burns to the House Committee on International Affairs.
"The determination to go ahead is much greater than the Russian determination to delay it," said one senior diplomat.
Kai Eide, Norway's ambassador to NATO, is tipped to conduct the review. If positive, diplomats say Annan will select another envoy in September to mediate between Belgrade and Pristina, with the aim of reaching a status solution by early 2006.
Serbs believe the mountain-ringed province of two million people is the sacred cradle of their nation. The U.N. seized it in 1999 after 78 days of NATO bombing expelled Serb forces accused of atrocities against civilians while they fought to smother an Albanian guerrilla insurgency.
After five years of political drift, two days of Albanian riots against Serbs and other ethnic minorities in March last year killed 19 people and sent 4,000 fleeing.
Kosovo Albanians are angry the years of U.N. stewardship failed to rebuild the economy or dent a jobless rate of over 60 percent. Eide warned in a report to Annan after the riots that prolonging Kosovo's uncertain status was not an option.
Del Ponte against Ramush Haradinaj’s defence in freedom
‘I am against his release due to his ability to interfere in preparation of the legal process and with the witnesses’, the paper quotes ICTY chief prosecutor, Carla del Ponte as saying at the OSCE Headquarters in Vienna, dailies write.
Ponte added that she has a bitter experience from the treatment of witnesses in Kosovo. She said that if the court decided in favour of his temporary release, the decision would be respected. However, she would file an appeal.
Ponte added that she has a bitter experience from the treatment of witnesses in Kosovo. She said that if the court decided in favour of his temporary release, the decision would be respected. However, she would file an appeal.
EU claims to have same position as Washington on Kosovo
Koha Ditore’s Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj quotes EU officials as saying that US Assistant Secretary Nicholas Burns in his speech on Kosovo said the same things that are the positions of the European Union. The only voice that is different from the others in the Contact Group is Russia’s.
EU representatives also said that Burns’ statement confirms that when it comes to Kosovo and its future there are no differences between Europeans and Americans.
Asked to comment on his eventual role in Kosovo, Norwegian Ambassador to NATO Kai Eide was quoted as saying, ‘I have read the same things as toy in the press and I have no comment’. Eide refused to say if he would accept the post if UNSG Annan decides to appoint him his special envoy for the assessment of standards implementation. On the same issue, an unnamed EU diplomat told the paper that Eide would be the right person for this job and that he would carry out the task with responsibility.
In a related article, the paper quotes two foreign political analysts as saying that the US and the EU are working for Kosovo’s independence. US analyst Ted Carpenter says that the US and its allies have decided to separate Kosovo from Serbia, and British analyst Tim Judah said the process was moving toward a conditional independence for Kosovo.
EU representatives also said that Burns’ statement confirms that when it comes to Kosovo and its future there are no differences between Europeans and Americans.
Asked to comment on his eventual role in Kosovo, Norwegian Ambassador to NATO Kai Eide was quoted as saying, ‘I have read the same things as toy in the press and I have no comment’. Eide refused to say if he would accept the post if UNSG Annan decides to appoint him his special envoy for the assessment of standards implementation. On the same issue, an unnamed EU diplomat told the paper that Eide would be the right person for this job and that he would carry out the task with responsibility.
In a related article, the paper quotes two foreign political analysts as saying that the US and the EU are working for Kosovo’s independence. US analyst Ted Carpenter says that the US and its allies have decided to separate Kosovo from Serbia, and British analyst Tim Judah said the process was moving toward a conditional independence for Kosovo.
Jessen-Petersen optimistic about report at Security Council
All dailies cover the return of Kosovo chief administrator Søren Jessen-Petersen from New York yesterday and the statements he made at Pristina Airport. Zëri quotes the SRSG as saying that there is sufficient progress for a comprehensive review of standards. Koha Ditore also reports that Jessen-Petersen hopes his report at the UN Security Council will pave way to a comprehensive review of standards.
‘At the meeting, I will report about the progress and I hope that as a result of the debate that will be held the UN Secretary General will be a position to recommend that a comprehensive review can be launched and to appoint a special envoy,’ the SRSG is quoted as saying. ‘At the UN, both the Secretary General and I believe sufficient progress has been achieved to move on with the comprehensive review, but we will have to wait and see what happens.’
Zëri also reports that Jessen-Petersen has ruled out speculation that he could soon take up the post of UN High Commissioner for Refugees. ‘Let me make it clear: I haven’t applied for another post. I am here to do my job in Kosovo, and I am completely focused on the report at the Security Council and my mandate is to facilitate the process of talks on status.’
‘At the meeting, I will report about the progress and I hope that as a result of the debate that will be held the UN Secretary General will be a position to recommend that a comprehensive review can be launched and to appoint a special envoy,’ the SRSG is quoted as saying. ‘At the UN, both the Secretary General and I believe sufficient progress has been achieved to move on with the comprehensive review, but we will have to wait and see what happens.’
Zëri also reports that Jessen-Petersen has ruled out speculation that he could soon take up the post of UN High Commissioner for Refugees. ‘Let me make it clear: I haven’t applied for another post. I am here to do my job in Kosovo, and I am completely focused on the report at the Security Council and my mandate is to facilitate the process of talks on status.’
Thursday, May 19, 2005
STATE DEPARTMENT REGULAR BRIEFING BRIEFER: RICHARD BOUCHER, DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN - REMARKS ON KOSOVO
Second of all, as far as our relationship with Greece, we are partners, we are allies, we work together in many, many important areas and we look forward to having the chance to discuss those with Greek leaders tomorrow.
Q On Albania -- on Kosovo, excuse me. The Undersecretary Nicholas Burns testifying in Congress yesterday for Kosovo, stated inter alia, quote, "All the local structure must be accountable to Pristina, not to Belgrade. Belgrade-funded institutions, most notably Mitrovica, must be dismantled or integrated into Kosovo's structures," unquote.
I am wondering if that means behind the scenes yes, U.S.
policy is moving towards full indepence of Kosovo.
MR. BOUCHER: U.S. policy is exactly where Undersecretary Burns put it yesterday, and that is the way I put it, I think the day before, that there is a review this summer, and then we look forward after that to addressing the final status issues, if that turns out to be the appropriate next step.
Q One more question. Since in the case of Kosovo indepence, according to a lot of political observers, will be a wave a Albanian refugees towards western Balkans, do you have contingency plans to prevent such a development due to the point that Undersecretary Nicholas Burns stated yesterday that the 18,000 American soldiers will remain in Kosovo for unlimited period of time?
MR. BOUCHER: You're -- you're -- (laughs) -- you're way out there on that one. You're just projecting things into some future that may or may not happen. You're predicting disaster from a step that -- from the process that we're taking and predicting the outcome of the process we're taking. That's a hypothetical, and a hypothetical on a hypothetical on a worst case scenario. So I'm not going to bother with it, I'm sorry.
Q On Albania -- on Kosovo, excuse me. The Undersecretary Nicholas Burns testifying in Congress yesterday for Kosovo, stated inter alia, quote, "All the local structure must be accountable to Pristina, not to Belgrade. Belgrade-funded institutions, most notably Mitrovica, must be dismantled or integrated into Kosovo's structures," unquote.
I am wondering if that means behind the scenes yes, U.S.
policy is moving towards full indepence of Kosovo.
MR. BOUCHER: U.S. policy is exactly where Undersecretary Burns put it yesterday, and that is the way I put it, I think the day before, that there is a review this summer, and then we look forward after that to addressing the final status issues, if that turns out to be the appropriate next step.
Q One more question. Since in the case of Kosovo indepence, according to a lot of political observers, will be a wave a Albanian refugees towards western Balkans, do you have contingency plans to prevent such a development due to the point that Undersecretary Nicholas Burns stated yesterday that the 18,000 American soldiers will remain in Kosovo for unlimited period of time?
MR. BOUCHER: You're -- you're -- (laughs) -- you're way out there on that one. You're just projecting things into some future that may or may not happen. You're predicting disaster from a step that -- from the process that we're taking and predicting the outcome of the process we're taking. That's a hypothetical, and a hypothetical on a hypothetical on a worst case scenario. So I'm not going to bother with it, I'm sorry.
Comment: Joint State With Albanians Would be a Disaster - IWPR
Keeping the territory will condemn Serbs to perpetual poverty, conflict and political chaos.
By Dr Ivan Ahel in Belgrade (BCR No 556, 18-May-05)
When it comes to thinking about Kosovo, most of the public are so caught between their emotions and rational reasoning that they forget one point: it is not in Serbia's best interest to retain the former province as part of its territory.
A school of thought prevails among ordinary Serbs according to which their spiritual, national and state boundaries are marked out by churches, monasteries and warriors' graves.
This school of thought insists Kosovo is the very foundation of the Serbian state and church and that Kosovo is also the cultural centre of Serbdom - a holy gathering place for all Serbs. In other words, without Kosovo, there is no Serbia.
For most Serbs, Kosovo is a priceless, mystical treasure chest.
Whoever dares meddle in these secrets is the enemy of the Serb people. Without Kosovo, Serbia loses the very purpose of its existence, its people lose their spiritual essence and Serbia loses the only space where it can meet both its past and eternity. This, in a nutshell, is the basis of the concept of "Heavenly Serbia". And it is a concept that has been nourished in Serbian souls over many centuries with the help of the Serbian Orthodox Church and many intellectuals.
The remaining citizens and politicians – significantly fewer in numbers – who prefer the rational school of thought have woken up to the fact that Serbia no longer runs Kosovo and to the fact that since the tragic conflict between Serbs and Albanians erupted, only a few Serbs remain there in enclaves, hardly making ends meet. Almost all Serb holy places and monuments have been destroyed.
This school of thought knows the international community is not very partial to the ideas of the "Kosovo myth" and that, on the contrary, they have brutally punished Serbia, declaring it the main culprit for the sufferings of the Kosovars. Today, they are also promulgating the idea of an "independent Kosovo".
The international community prescribed total autonomy for Kosovo in UN Resolution 1244, which invites the Serbs to participate in this autonomy in proportion to their numbers. As Albanians outnumber the Serbs by 19 to one, the crucial demographic advantage of the former effectively means Serbia will never again rule Kosovo.
The same demographic advantage will also come to the fore in any referendum on the final status of Kosovo.
With the help of the international community, the Albanians have already formed an entity that resembles a state, possessing its own parliament and government. They practically govern Kosovo.
Such contrasting images lead to contradictory conclusions on what is to be done to resolve the Kosovo problem.
The Serbian government concept, embodied in the slogan "more than autonomy, less than independence", assumes Kosovo will be a sort of special entity that will remain part of the state of Serbia and Montenegro.
But this new community would, in fact, pose a dangerous threat to Serbia's interests. Firstly, it would have to take the form of a confederation, or of a federation of Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo.
Secondly, Albanians would make up 20 per cent of the total population of the new community and hold a fifth of the deputies in the federal parliament. As Albanians would be the second biggest ethnic group in the state, it would also mean Albanian becoming the second language of the state.
Given the Albanian age structure, (which is far younger than that of the Serbs) Albanians would make up 30 per cent of army recruits and officers.
They would have to be offered many ministerial posts. Every few years, an Albanian would have to be the state president or foreign minister.
Under such circumstances, even the name of the state would be contentious. It could not possibly be Serbia. Such a complex, multi-ethnic community would not bear the name of Yugoslavia, or of Serbia and Montenegro, because Albanians form no part of such entities.
They would certainly insist on a name of their own choosing for the joint state.
Looking at Kosovo's economic indicators, one can also see it has few worthwhile resources. The exploitation of its coal is barely commercially viable. The issue of the joint use of this resource might in any case be settled through an agreement determining all the elements and conditions for independence.
The extraction of lead-zinc ore is commercially viable only in the mines of Ajvalija and Belo Brdo, a Serbian enclave, and this will only continue for a short time, as these resources will soon be exhausted.
Agriculture is primitive and does not meet the needs of the population. There is, in fact, no real economy in Kosovo and the province has Europe's highest unemployment rate.
Kosovo's infrastructure is extremely backward and requires huge investments.
But it is the demographic data that should cause the greatest concern.
In Kosovo's Albanian municipalities, the size of the rural population has doubled since the Second World War and the urban population has jumped by a factor of ten.
In contrast to this, the Serb villages in Kosovo are steadily losing residents. Central Serbia also suffers from severe, accelerating, depopulation. As Kosovo directly adjoins central Serbia, the formation of a joint state would mean a young Albanian population steadily inundating the southern tip of this region.
A newly formed Serbian-Albanian state would not be productive in any respect, but on the contrary, would be underdeveloped and backward. A comparative analysis of the development levels of various parts of Serbia in terms of GDP per capita between the Eighties and Nineties confirms this. The GDP in central Serbia was five times higher than that of Kosovo.
This means that in a joint state, Serbia would have to financially support two million poor and unproductive people, greatly to the detriment of Serbia itself.
The international community has in practice accepted that Kosovo's separation from Serbia is the only efficient way to stabilise the region.
Serbia has no potential or capacity to change the course of these events and must go with the flow if it wants to protect its best interests.
Serbia would have to pay too much for a common life with the Albanians, in spite of the fact that over the past five centuries, the Serbian church, every Serb state and many intellectuals have endeavoured to institutionalise a set of values and beliefs, which maintain that it is imperative for Kosovo to remain part of Serbia.
These beliefs are deeply rooted in the Serbian psyche and are part of the national identity, which is why they are so difficult and slow to change.
On the other hand, the Albanians' desire for a state of their own in Kosovo is almost fanatical. Two peoples with such characteristics can hardly be expected to accept ideas about the formation of a complex joint state through consensus, in which the diversity principle would be respected and equal rights secured for all.
If emotions prevail in Serbia, it stands a good chance of opting for the barren Kosovo myth. It is only if reason wins the day that we have a chance to look to the future. In the meantime, the Serbian government has sworn to defend the Kosovo myth while, at the same time, hoping the international community will take a rational decision. This effectively means running away from the truth, when what Serbia should be doing now is putting up a fight for its true interests.
Ivan Ahel is the author of the study entitled "A Systematic Approach to the Kosovo Problem", commissioned by the Forum for Interethnic Relations, an NGO based in Belgrade.
By Dr Ivan Ahel in Belgrade (BCR No 556, 18-May-05)
When it comes to thinking about Kosovo, most of the public are so caught between their emotions and rational reasoning that they forget one point: it is not in Serbia's best interest to retain the former province as part of its territory.
A school of thought prevails among ordinary Serbs according to which their spiritual, national and state boundaries are marked out by churches, monasteries and warriors' graves.
This school of thought insists Kosovo is the very foundation of the Serbian state and church and that Kosovo is also the cultural centre of Serbdom - a holy gathering place for all Serbs. In other words, without Kosovo, there is no Serbia.
For most Serbs, Kosovo is a priceless, mystical treasure chest.
Whoever dares meddle in these secrets is the enemy of the Serb people. Without Kosovo, Serbia loses the very purpose of its existence, its people lose their spiritual essence and Serbia loses the only space where it can meet both its past and eternity. This, in a nutshell, is the basis of the concept of "Heavenly Serbia". And it is a concept that has been nourished in Serbian souls over many centuries with the help of the Serbian Orthodox Church and many intellectuals.
The remaining citizens and politicians – significantly fewer in numbers – who prefer the rational school of thought have woken up to the fact that Serbia no longer runs Kosovo and to the fact that since the tragic conflict between Serbs and Albanians erupted, only a few Serbs remain there in enclaves, hardly making ends meet. Almost all Serb holy places and monuments have been destroyed.
This school of thought knows the international community is not very partial to the ideas of the "Kosovo myth" and that, on the contrary, they have brutally punished Serbia, declaring it the main culprit for the sufferings of the Kosovars. Today, they are also promulgating the idea of an "independent Kosovo".
The international community prescribed total autonomy for Kosovo in UN Resolution 1244, which invites the Serbs to participate in this autonomy in proportion to their numbers. As Albanians outnumber the Serbs by 19 to one, the crucial demographic advantage of the former effectively means Serbia will never again rule Kosovo.
The same demographic advantage will also come to the fore in any referendum on the final status of Kosovo.
With the help of the international community, the Albanians have already formed an entity that resembles a state, possessing its own parliament and government. They practically govern Kosovo.
Such contrasting images lead to contradictory conclusions on what is to be done to resolve the Kosovo problem.
The Serbian government concept, embodied in the slogan "more than autonomy, less than independence", assumes Kosovo will be a sort of special entity that will remain part of the state of Serbia and Montenegro.
But this new community would, in fact, pose a dangerous threat to Serbia's interests. Firstly, it would have to take the form of a confederation, or of a federation of Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo.
Secondly, Albanians would make up 20 per cent of the total population of the new community and hold a fifth of the deputies in the federal parliament. As Albanians would be the second biggest ethnic group in the state, it would also mean Albanian becoming the second language of the state.
Given the Albanian age structure, (which is far younger than that of the Serbs) Albanians would make up 30 per cent of army recruits and officers.
They would have to be offered many ministerial posts. Every few years, an Albanian would have to be the state president or foreign minister.
Under such circumstances, even the name of the state would be contentious. It could not possibly be Serbia. Such a complex, multi-ethnic community would not bear the name of Yugoslavia, or of Serbia and Montenegro, because Albanians form no part of such entities.
They would certainly insist on a name of their own choosing for the joint state.
Looking at Kosovo's economic indicators, one can also see it has few worthwhile resources. The exploitation of its coal is barely commercially viable. The issue of the joint use of this resource might in any case be settled through an agreement determining all the elements and conditions for independence.
The extraction of lead-zinc ore is commercially viable only in the mines of Ajvalija and Belo Brdo, a Serbian enclave, and this will only continue for a short time, as these resources will soon be exhausted.
Agriculture is primitive and does not meet the needs of the population. There is, in fact, no real economy in Kosovo and the province has Europe's highest unemployment rate.
Kosovo's infrastructure is extremely backward and requires huge investments.
But it is the demographic data that should cause the greatest concern.
In Kosovo's Albanian municipalities, the size of the rural population has doubled since the Second World War and the urban population has jumped by a factor of ten.
In contrast to this, the Serb villages in Kosovo are steadily losing residents. Central Serbia also suffers from severe, accelerating, depopulation. As Kosovo directly adjoins central Serbia, the formation of a joint state would mean a young Albanian population steadily inundating the southern tip of this region.
A newly formed Serbian-Albanian state would not be productive in any respect, but on the contrary, would be underdeveloped and backward. A comparative analysis of the development levels of various parts of Serbia in terms of GDP per capita between the Eighties and Nineties confirms this. The GDP in central Serbia was five times higher than that of Kosovo.
This means that in a joint state, Serbia would have to financially support two million poor and unproductive people, greatly to the detriment of Serbia itself.
The international community has in practice accepted that Kosovo's separation from Serbia is the only efficient way to stabilise the region.
Serbia has no potential or capacity to change the course of these events and must go with the flow if it wants to protect its best interests.
Serbia would have to pay too much for a common life with the Albanians, in spite of the fact that over the past five centuries, the Serbian church, every Serb state and many intellectuals have endeavoured to institutionalise a set of values and beliefs, which maintain that it is imperative for Kosovo to remain part of Serbia.
These beliefs are deeply rooted in the Serbian psyche and are part of the national identity, which is why they are so difficult and slow to change.
On the other hand, the Albanians' desire for a state of their own in Kosovo is almost fanatical. Two peoples with such characteristics can hardly be expected to accept ideas about the formation of a complex joint state through consensus, in which the diversity principle would be respected and equal rights secured for all.
If emotions prevail in Serbia, it stands a good chance of opting for the barren Kosovo myth. It is only if reason wins the day that we have a chance to look to the future. In the meantime, the Serbian government has sworn to defend the Kosovo myth while, at the same time, hoping the international community will take a rational decision. This effectively means running away from the truth, when what Serbia should be doing now is putting up a fight for its true interests.
Ivan Ahel is the author of the study entitled "A Systematic Approach to the Kosovo Problem", commissioned by the Forum for Interethnic Relations, an NGO based in Belgrade.
On trial - The Economist
A lively start for a new organised-crime court
ASSAULTS are not meant to happen in court. Yet Aleksandra Ivanovic, the wife of a man on trial for murdering Zoran Djindjic, Serbia's prime minister, in 2003, managed one when she hit a prosecution witness on the head with her handbag. He had called her husband “a biological insult”; as she struck him, she shrieked, “it's you that is the biological insult!”
Such scenes might suggest that Serbia's special court for organised crime and war crimes is a joke. Yet to the surprise of many, it has made steady progress in Serbia's war on organised crime. It may even soon win its first case sent back to Serbia by the UN war-crimes tribunal in The Hague. (This week, the tribunal sent a first case back to Bosnia for trial.)
The court was set up just before Djindjic's assassination in March 2003. He was murdered on the eve of unleashing a police operation to crush organised crime. The court was part of that strategy; now one of its first high-profile cases is of the men accused of killing him. So far it has begun 34 organised-crimes trials. Eight have reached a verdict and ten are close to one. Besides the Djindjic case there are several others involving political murders or attempted murders.
In the Djindjic trial the prosecution is trying to show that Milorad “Legija” Ulemek, Ms Ivanovic's husband and former head of the police's notorious special operations unit, organised the death of Djindjic before he could crack down on crime bosses, especially the Zemun Gang. The defence is trying to show that Djindjic and his associates had a suspiciously close relationship with the gang.
Milos Vasic, a Belgrade journalist and author of a best-selling book on the Djindjic killing, says he has been impressed by the court. “Slow but pretty thorough,” is his verdict. Maja Kovacevic Tomic, the court's spokesman, is even happier. She notes that, when Vojislav Kostunica became Serbia's prime minister in March 2004, his government promised to close the court. Now, as it chalks up successes in the war on organised crime, the government has backed off from that threat. So a forum remains in which witnesses are claiming that Mr Kostunica and his allies helped to set the stage for the murder of Djindjic, his arch-rival.
Mr Kostunica may have decided to ignore this because he has his eye on what could prove to be a bigger prize. He has always argued that, if Serbs committed war crimes, they should be tried at home, not in The Hague. There is one war-crimes trial at the special court, of a group accused of taking part in a massacre of Croatian prisoners from Vukovar in 1991.
At the Hague tribunal judges are now examining cases of lesser ranking indictees to see whether they can be tried back home. Last week they began to consider whether the case of three Serbs, alleged to have organised the Vukovar massacre, should be returned to Belgrade. Croatia also wants this trial, because the killings took place on its soil.
If the judges opt for Belgrade Mr Kostunica will take the credit. He will see it as a reward for sending 15 indictees to The Hague since October. More important still, it might give him political cover to do the unthinkable: to order the arrest of the two big fish still at large, General Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic (if either is in Serbia). The Hague tribunal has indicted both men on genocide charges.
ASSAULTS are not meant to happen in court. Yet Aleksandra Ivanovic, the wife of a man on trial for murdering Zoran Djindjic, Serbia's prime minister, in 2003, managed one when she hit a prosecution witness on the head with her handbag. He had called her husband “a biological insult”; as she struck him, she shrieked, “it's you that is the biological insult!”
Such scenes might suggest that Serbia's special court for organised crime and war crimes is a joke. Yet to the surprise of many, it has made steady progress in Serbia's war on organised crime. It may even soon win its first case sent back to Serbia by the UN war-crimes tribunal in The Hague. (This week, the tribunal sent a first case back to Bosnia for trial.)
The court was set up just before Djindjic's assassination in March 2003. He was murdered on the eve of unleashing a police operation to crush organised crime. The court was part of that strategy; now one of its first high-profile cases is of the men accused of killing him. So far it has begun 34 organised-crimes trials. Eight have reached a verdict and ten are close to one. Besides the Djindjic case there are several others involving political murders or attempted murders.
In the Djindjic trial the prosecution is trying to show that Milorad “Legija” Ulemek, Ms Ivanovic's husband and former head of the police's notorious special operations unit, organised the death of Djindjic before he could crack down on crime bosses, especially the Zemun Gang. The defence is trying to show that Djindjic and his associates had a suspiciously close relationship with the gang.
Milos Vasic, a Belgrade journalist and author of a best-selling book on the Djindjic killing, says he has been impressed by the court. “Slow but pretty thorough,” is his verdict. Maja Kovacevic Tomic, the court's spokesman, is even happier. She notes that, when Vojislav Kostunica became Serbia's prime minister in March 2004, his government promised to close the court. Now, as it chalks up successes in the war on organised crime, the government has backed off from that threat. So a forum remains in which witnesses are claiming that Mr Kostunica and his allies helped to set the stage for the murder of Djindjic, his arch-rival.
Mr Kostunica may have decided to ignore this because he has his eye on what could prove to be a bigger prize. He has always argued that, if Serbs committed war crimes, they should be tried at home, not in The Hague. There is one war-crimes trial at the special court, of a group accused of taking part in a massacre of Croatian prisoners from Vukovar in 1991.
At the Hague tribunal judges are now examining cases of lesser ranking indictees to see whether they can be tried back home. Last week they began to consider whether the case of three Serbs, alleged to have organised the Vukovar massacre, should be returned to Belgrade. Croatia also wants this trial, because the killings took place on its soil.
If the judges opt for Belgrade Mr Kostunica will take the credit. He will see it as a reward for sending 15 indictees to The Hague since October. More important still, it might give him political cover to do the unthinkable: to order the arrest of the two big fish still at large, General Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic (if either is in Serbia). The Hague tribunal has indicted both men on genocide charges.
Comment: Broad Autonomy Vs Independence - IWPR
Albanians must accept that no solution is possible without the consent of Serbia - and the most that Belgrade can offer is broad autonomy.
By Dusan Batakovic
Kosovo is, beyond doubt, the most difficult problem that the Balkans and Europe face today. Ethnic tolerance has vanished, discrimination has become part of daily life and violence goes unpunished and is seen as politically legitimate.
The solution to the Kosovo problem requires an approach that is phased, unbiased and innovative, in congruence with the need to suppress growing anti-European trends in the province.
It is also necessary to introduce and establish what is still missing: political responsibility, the rule of law, functional democratic institutions and in consequence of all of those, the application of human, civil and property rights to all citizens, including Serbs.
For six years now, with minor exceptions, the Kosovo Serbs have been exposed to constant harassment, deprived of basic human rights, isolated inside enclaves and denied freedom of movement and the right to work or use their own property, most of which has been usurped, destroyed or burned down.
With the exception of the north of Mitrovica, where Serbs are the majority, Serb children in Kosovo lack the basic conditions for normal life. They are not free to move around and have to be escorted to school by KFOR soldiers, there to protect them from frequent attacks, insults and harassment not only from Albanian extremists but their very neighbours.
In spite of the significant international military presence, more than 1,300 Serbs have been killed in ethnically motivated crimes over the last six years and another 1,300 are listed as missing. More than 250,000 Serbs and other ethnic communities, mostly Roma, Bosniaks and Jews, live in other parts of Serbia or Montenegro as displaced persons without jobs and a secure future. Less than one per cent of those have returned over the past six years, owing to the quiet but efficient resistance of both the Albanian interim institutions and the Albanian population, which refuses to accept the return of displaced persons to their homes.
More than 150 Serbian churches and monasteries have been burned or torn down. In spite of UNMIK’s efforts, almost none of the offenders who committed the murders, the destruction of property, the burning of churches and monasteries and the attacks on children and civilians, have been arrested, tried or adequately punished.
The generally negative character of these post-war trends, in which the only positive elements were those pertaining to the Albanian majority, was aggravated by the March 17, 2004 riots. In only two days, more than 4,000 Serbs living in enclaves surrounded by Albanians were forced from their homes, while 35 churches were burned down, 14 in Prizren alone. Hundreds of houses, schools and hospitals were destroyed, or heavily damaged.
Quite simply, the extremists did everything they could to make it impossible for Serbs to remain in areas where they were in a minority, at the same time inappropriately justifying the surge of violence
By Dusan Batakovic
Kosovo is, beyond doubt, the most difficult problem that the Balkans and Europe face today. Ethnic tolerance has vanished, discrimination has become part of daily life and violence goes unpunished and is seen as politically legitimate.
The solution to the Kosovo problem requires an approach that is phased, unbiased and innovative, in congruence with the need to suppress growing anti-European trends in the province.
It is also necessary to introduce and establish what is still missing: political responsibility, the rule of law, functional democratic institutions and in consequence of all of those, the application of human, civil and property rights to all citizens, including Serbs.
For six years now, with minor exceptions, the Kosovo Serbs have been exposed to constant harassment, deprived of basic human rights, isolated inside enclaves and denied freedom of movement and the right to work or use their own property, most of which has been usurped, destroyed or burned down.
With the exception of the north of Mitrovica, where Serbs are the majority, Serb children in Kosovo lack the basic conditions for normal life. They are not free to move around and have to be escorted to school by KFOR soldiers, there to protect them from frequent attacks, insults and harassment not only from Albanian extremists but their very neighbours.
In spite of the significant international military presence, more than 1,300 Serbs have been killed in ethnically motivated crimes over the last six years and another 1,300 are listed as missing. More than 250,000 Serbs and other ethnic communities, mostly Roma, Bosniaks and Jews, live in other parts of Serbia or Montenegro as displaced persons without jobs and a secure future. Less than one per cent of those have returned over the past six years, owing to the quiet but efficient resistance of both the Albanian interim institutions and the Albanian population, which refuses to accept the return of displaced persons to their homes.
More than 150 Serbian churches and monasteries have been burned or torn down. In spite of UNMIK’s efforts, almost none of the offenders who committed the murders, the destruction of property, the burning of churches and monasteries and the attacks on children and civilians, have been arrested, tried or adequately punished.
The generally negative character of these post-war trends, in which the only positive elements were those pertaining to the Albanian majority, was aggravated by the March 17, 2004 riots. In only two days, more than 4,000 Serbs living in enclaves surrounded by Albanians were forced from their homes, while 35 churches were burned down, 14 in Prizren alone. Hundreds of houses, schools and hospitals were destroyed, or heavily damaged.
Quite simply, the extremists did everything they could to make it impossible for Serbs to remain in areas where they were in a minority, at the same time inappropriately justifying the surge of violence