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June 14-15,
2003
ERP KIM Newsletter
14-06-03
CONTENTS:
 STATEMENT
BY THE SERB-MONTENEGRIN AMBASSADOR AT THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING ON
KOSOVO AND METOHIJA, June 10
BELGRADE
- PRISTINA TALKS AFTER THESSALONICA
BELGRADE-PRISTINA
DIALOGUE TO BE PREPARED IN COOPERATION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
SERBIAN
PATRIARCH APPEALS TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL AND EU TO ENSURE HUMAN RIGHTS FOR
SERBS AND NON-ALBANIANS IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
SERB
AVOIDS DEATH AFTER ATTACK FROM ALBANIANS
COVIC
OFFERS VIRTUAL SELF-RULE TO KOSOVO SERBS
More News
Available on our:
KOSOVO DAILY
NEWS LIST (KDN)
KDN Archive
This newsletter is available on our
ERP KIM Web-site:
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UN Security Council meeting
on Kosovo and Metohija
New York, June 10, 2003 (photo FoNet)
STATEMENT
BY THE SERB-MONTENEGRIN AMBASSADOR AT THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL
MEETING ON KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
TOP
Security
Council
10 June 2003
As delivered
STATEMENT
by
H. E. Mr. Dejan Sahovic
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Permanent Representative of Serbia and Montenegro
to the United Nations
Mr. President,
Exactly four years ago, the Security Council passed Resolution 1244 to
chart the way towards durable peace in Kosovo and Metohija. At the time, a
future without the fear of persecution was envisaged through the
establishment of a multiethnic, democratic and lawful society in which
civil, political and human rights of all would be ensured.
While confirming the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the FRY, now
with the changed name Serbia and Montenegro, the Resolution aimed to
prevent new conflicts, create a secure environment for refugee and IDP
returns, demilitarize the KLA and establish substantial autonomy and
self-government.
What has been achieved, Mr. President?
There is peace in Kosovo and Metohija - if peace can be defined solely as
the absence of war. However, security exists selectively, for the majority
but not for the minorities. Again, freedom of movement is the privilege
only for the majority. The fate of more than a thousand missing Serbs has
not yet been resolved. There is little stability to speak of. Almost a
quarter million IDPs from minority communities cannot return, primarily
the Serbs that fled the Province at the time of UNMIK and KFOR arrival.
Although a senior official from the provisional institutions of Kosovo and
Metohija recently attempted to explain this failure by quoting high
unemployment rates, facts point in a different direction. A gruesome
example of the real cause for absence of returns was the bludgeoning to
death of two eighty-year-olds and their son in the town of Obilic on June
4. They were natives of Obilic, who had placed their trust in the
international administrators of the Province to ensure their safety.
My Government acknowledges the many expressions of condemnation and
outrage this atrocity has generated. We especially appreciate a quick
reaction of the Security Council to this gruesome crime. We also note, in
stark difference to previous murders of minority members, the formation of
a special police squad to investigate the killing and the offer of a cash
reward for information leading to the perpetrators. It has been stated
within the Council and outside it that acts such as the Stolic murder, are
directed against returns, against ethnic reconciliation and against the
creation of a multiethnic society. This is true. However, given the fact
that all forms of violence against minorities – including terrorist
attacks – have thus far garnered only verbal condemnation it is unclear
what arguments could be offered to 18 Serb families in Obilic to
reconsider their decision to leave the town forever? And whose ultimate
victory will that be?
Security, of course, cannot be achieved by words. The fact is that the
perpetrators of this atrocity have not been identified, much less brought
to justice. The fact is also that the investigation of the murder of a
mathematics professor, Zoran Markovic, in Vitina on May 17 has not made
any progress that we are aware of. The same is true of the cases of
90-year old Slavko Stamenkovic who was brutally beaten in his home in
Vitina on May 21, and the stoning of a bus driving Serb children near
Mitrovica on May 6.
If now the perpetrators are not speedily brought to justice, as they have
not been in previous cases of interethnic murder since 1999, this killing
will serve to strengthen the culture of impunity surrounding the violence
against minorities. It will offer further evidence that minorities,
particularly the Serbs, do not enjoy the basic human right to life, let
alone any other rights.
We therefore call on the Security Council to see to it that UNMIK, in
accordance with its responsibilities defined four years ago ensure that
violence is not, yet again, confirmed as a legitimate political means in
Kosovo and Metohija. In the absence of this outcome, the latest atrocity
will be a further setback in creating sufficient confidence for initiating
a dialogue on practical issues – a dialogue whose establishment my
Government has consistently supported and called for. So far Priština
rejected all initiatives in this connection.
Mr. President,
UNMIK, we are all aware, has its own list of achievements in implementing
SCR 1244. The wave of 1999 Kosovo Albanian refugees was reversed very
quickly, elections were held and the PISG established, leading to the
increasing transfer of responsibilities to local authorities.
However, these institutions have proven to be more efficient in insisting
on their right to decide on foreign policy and defense matters, on
ignoring minority rights – as witnessed by the Law on higher education -
on pressuring for independence, on creating ethnic divisiveness – as in
the most recent Assembly Resolution which called for regulating the
"status of the fighters for the freedom and independence of Kosovo".
As part of this trend, the KPC, officially designated a civilian emergency
organization, has retained and enhanced military capacities. It is engaged
in tireless efforts to preserve itself as a future army of an independent
Kosovo. The activities of ANA terrorists within the KPC were confirmed
without a shred of doubt in the April 12 railway attack in northern Kosovo
and Metohija. UNMIK and KFOR demands for data on ANA presence within the
KPC were met by the highly characteristic response of the Corps' commander
- within his limited powers, he said, he could offer no more information.
We fully expect prompt and visible results of the international Special
Investigative Civil Board formed on June 2 to investigate the current and
future members of the KPC who may be involved with proscribed
organizations or activities.
Mr. President,
In such overall conditions, UNMIK developed a strategy based on the
principle of standards before status, defining eight basic criteria for
assessing progress in achieving the standards. In each of these eight
areas (e.g. the rule of law), substantive achievements are almost
negligible. Yet UNMIK is speedily and systematically continuing to
transfer responsibilities to the PISGs.
We consider it absolutely necessary to make these benchmarks operational,
in line with repeated requests of SC members. If the aim is truly to
establish institutions functioning according to basic principles of
democracy, the transfer process should be firmly conditioned on the PISGs'
capacities to responsibly exercise the authority entrusted to them for the
benefit of all communities in the Province.
With regard to the benchmarks, in some cases UNMIK itself is actually not
contributing to their implementation. A stated UNMIK benchmark dealing
with property rights requires that "all property, including… land,
enterprises and other socially owned assets, will have a clear and
rightful owner". UNMIK Regulation 2003/13 is clearly not a step towards
fulfilling this benchmark. Rather, it creates additional confusion.
By promulgating Regulation 2003/13 on land use UNMIK has in fact taken
steps that exceed the authority conferred on it by the Security Council.
The regulation creates consequences of a structural and permanent
character. A 99-year land lease is brushed away as a "temporary measure"
that does not merit consultation with the land owners. That disregards the
basic fact that the measure will by far exceed the term of the UN
administration itself. We are speaking here of a permanent transfer of
socially-owned property and to a large extent the property of the Republic
of Serbia. The Regulation will also jeopardize the return of property
nationalized after the Second World War to their rightful owners.
On May 16, we requested an explanation of the legal basis for this
Regulation from the UN+ Legal Counsel. To date, we have received no
response. My Government is looking forward to the Counsel's response in
order to decide on the further course of action on this issue. In any
event, our firm view is that the term of land lease could not exceed the
term of UNMIK.
Mr. President,
It is the position of my Government, as stated in Foreign Minister
Svilanovic's May 20 letter to the President of the SC, that the necessity
for privatization in Kosovo and Metohija is undisputable. The method of
establishing a privatization model without the participation of the
Republic of Serbia as the largest creditor is, however, highly disputable.
According to the KTA model, the burden of privatization, primarily the
sovereign debt of close to 1.5 billion dollars, falls squarely upon the
budget of Serbia, on Serbian companies which are creditors or owners of
soon-to-be privatized enterprises in Kosovo and Mehohija, then on Serbian
banks-guarantors and finally on workers who are currently displaced.
Among other obvious consequences, this model is certain to adversely
affect the return of IDPs.
However, nothing but the loss of life is irreversible. We expect that
these legitimate concerns will be addressed prior to the full
implementation of the process of privatization. We stand ready to further
discuss these issues with UNMIK.
Mr. President,
My country has fully complied with the SCR 1244. In the last two and a
half years, we have consistently demonstrated the political will to
constructively participate in its implementation, as evidenced by our
support of the electoral process in 2001 and 2002 and our active
participation in formulating the Common document on cooperation with UNMIK
of November 2001.
Efforts to cooperate with UNMIK have, to a great extent, been a one-way
process. We expect channels of cooperation to be reestablished in the near
future. A constructive policy of transparency by UNMIK – including in the
privatization process - will be a necessary new element in future
communication between our Government and the UN interim administration.
There seems, Mr. President, to be common agreement that the work in Kosovo
and Metohija is far from done. Stability and prosperity is our shared aim.
However, as the Secretary-General stated on the occasion of the adoption
of Resolution 1244, what counts is not just the commitment to peace, but
the will to implement it. The will of my country to participate
constructively in this process is something I can assure the Council of.
Thank you Mr. President.
TOP
BELGRADE -
PRISTINA TALKS AFTER THESSALONICA
TOP
Radio
B92
June 13, 2003
Belgrade - Following his meeting with UNMIK chief Michael Steiner, Serbian
PM Zoran Zivkovic has announced that talks between the Belgrade government
and the Pristina administration are to be launched after this month's EU
summit in Thessalonica.
The PM said: "The Serbian Government's stance is that these talks should
begin any time, other than in Thessalonica, and I don't think there are
any differences of opinion concerning this matter.
"We agreed on this timing with Mr. Solana as well, and I expect these
talks to start after the Thessalonica meeting. We proposed that talks be
held in Belgrade, but we accept a different opinion that it doesn't have
to be Belgrade, and we leave it up to the European Commission to decide on
the location."
He continued: "We will once again inform the EU that we want this process
to start, but the Thessalonica meeting is no place for a soap opera or for
Hollywood, which would boil down to some handshakes. We want to talk about
serious things, not to get acquainted".
In addition to Belgrade-Pristina talks, Zivkovic and Steiner also
addressed the security situation in the province following the recent
Obilic triple murder.
Afterwards the PM insisted that an agreement had not been reached
regarding the security of minorities in the southern Serbian province,
saying:
"UNMIK still doesn't have concrete information on the killers of the
Stolic family from Obilic and I agreed with Steiner on closer cooperation
between the Serbian Interior Ministry and UNMIK and a daily exchange of
information".
Insisting that their top priority was to identify the perpetrators of the
crime, Steiner explained that a special investigative unit had been formed
following the Obilic murders.
He admitted that UNMIK still do not know who the killers are and are not
in a position to guess the outcome of the police investigation.
Agreeing with Zivkovic on the need to protect minorities, particularly
Serbs, Steiner promised that police protection would be increased wherever
necessary.
TOP
BELGRADE-PRISTINA DIALOGUE TO BE PREPARED IN COOPERATION WITH
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
TOP
SERBIAN GOVERNMENT
June 13, 2003
Belgrade, June 13, 2003 - Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic and Deputy
Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic sent a letter to the High Representative for
the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, saying that the
dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on issues such as return, safety
and decentralisation must be carefully prepared and launched after the
Thessaloniki summit.
The two officials said in the letter that the Serbian government is
determined to support the building of a democratic and multiethnic society
in Kosovo-Metohija, and that the international community should engage
itself in the preparation of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.
The Serbian government stated in the letter that the dialogue should be
launched after the Thessaloniki summit, and that the main issues should be
the return of refugees and displaced persons, safety and decentralisation.
Talks between representatives of the Serbian government and Kosovo's
interim institutions at the Thessaloniki summit will not lead to progress
in resolving the Kosovo crisis because it will be short and formal.
The role and support of the European Union is very important for the
preparation of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. For that reason, the
Serbian government has invited Mr Solana to visit Belgrade after the
summit, in light of his contribution to the establishment of the state
union of Serbia and Montenegro, and its integration into Europe.
TOP
SERBIAN
PATRIARCH APPEALS TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL AND EU TO ENSURE HUMAN RIGHTS FOR
SERBS AND NON-ALBANIANS IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
TOP
Radio
Yugoslavia
Belgrade, June 13, 2003
Serbian
Patriarch Pavle appealed to the UN Security Council and EU High
Representative Javier Solana to ensure basic human rights to Serbs and
other non-Albanians in Kosovo-metohija and to provide humanitarian aid to
those expelled from the Province.
Emphasizing that the state of Serbia has no possibility whatever to
control this part of its territory, as provisions of Resolution 1244,
which entitle it to do so, are nothing but a dead letter, Patriarch Pavle
says he cannot accept the fact that Serbs from Kosovo-Metohija have been
exluded from the law, which has been witnessed by the entire planet.
The refugees remained without basic life conditions, whereas those who
have stayed in Kosovo-Metohija are in constant fear for their lives,
Patriarch Pavle warns.
TOP
SERB
AVOIDS DEATH AFTER ATTACK FROM ALBANIANS
TOP
RADIO
KIM
June 13, Gnjilane,
2003
Two Albanian attacked a Serb from Pasjane. Dusan Ristic who was the victim
of this incident was attacked in the vicinity of the village while he was
tending his cows.
As Ristic told KIM Radio the assailants were wearing masks and had knifes
in their hands. Ristic managed to somehow escape the assailants. The
incident has been reported to the Kosovo Police (KPS).
TOP
COVIC
OFFERS VIRTUAL SELF-RULE TO KOSOVO SERBS
TOP
Beta
News Agency
Belgrade, June 13, 2003
BELGRADE -- Friday – Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic today
outlined plans ensuring Kosovo-Serbs would be institutionally connected to
the governments of the state union through regional, municipal and local
coordinators.
Following his Belgrade meeting with representatives of the Kosovo, Pec and
Prizren districts, the head of the Coordination Centre for Kosovo and
southern Serbia explained that he had relayed the details of how the
network of the Serb national community in Kosovo and displaced
Kosovo-Serbs would operate.
According to Covic, the regional municipal and local coordinators would
form genuine institutions within the Serb community's self-organising
system, which they are entitled to do in accordance with UN Resolution
1244 and the Constitutional Framework for Kosovo.
Covic said that the new system would be directly connected to the state
union governments and the Coordination Centre.
He added that future appointments of coordinators would be made by the
Kosovo Serb Return Coalition and other Serb political structures in the
province.
TOP
ERP KIM
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