|
26 July,
2003
ERP KIM Newsletter
26-07-03
FINLAND'S HARRI
HOLKERY NAMED UN GOVERNOR IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
CONTENTS:
  FINLAND'S
HARRI HOLKERY NAMED UN GOVERNOR IN KOSOVO
UN
POLICE HOLD TWO SUSPECTS IN DEADLY KOSOVO BLAST
RADA
TRAJKOVIC: SNC MOST RELEVANT FORCE AMONG KOSOVO SERBS
SERB
FROM KOSOVO POLJE BEATEN BY K/ALBANIAN POLICE OFFICERS
MACEDONIA:
BOMB EXPLOSION OUTSIDE THE HOUSE IN DOBROSTE, TETOVO
SERBIAN
MINISTRY OF RELIGIONS PROTESTS TO MACEDONIAN EMBASSY
More News Available on our:
KOSOVO DAILY
NEWS LIST (KDN)
KDN Archive
This newsletter is available on our
ERP KIM Web-site:
/erpkiminfo.html
PHOTO: Harri Holkery, new SRSG
FINLAND'S HARRI HOLKERY NAMED UN GOVERNOR IN KOSOVO
TOP
REUTERS
Fri July 25, 2003 02:38 PM ET
NEW YORK -- Friday – The UN has announced that Harri Holkeri, former
Finnish Prime Minister and one-time president of the UN General Assembly,
has today been appointed as the new chief of UNMIK.
The decision to appoint Holkeri, who has no experience in the Balkans, was
made by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan after interviewing around a dozen
candidates amid squabbles between the United States and the European
Union, which finances most of the operation.
Holkeri is to replace German Michael Steiner as the head of UNMIK after
Steiner resigned on 8 July after 18 months in the job. Steiner is now his
country's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.
Annan, after writing of his choice to the UN Security Council, said he
expected Holkeri to be in Kosovo within a month.
"The operations and our activities there have reached a critical stage and
to have a man of this experience, his calibre and his judgment in Kosovo
are going to be a great asset to this organisation and to the
international community," Annan told Reuters.
As the new governor of Kosovo, Holkeri faces the sensitive task of
supervising the commencement of negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade
on the final status of the province.
The European Union had put forth several names, beginning with Sweden's UN
ambassador, Pierre Schori, and Italy's roving ambassador, Antonio
Armellini. The United States campaigned against Schori because he
criticized the invasion of Iraq and the United Nations rejected Armellini
as lacking political weight.
Holkeri, who participated in the Northern Ireland peace process, was
president of the 191-nation General Assembly in 2000-2001, presiding over
its Millennium session.
He and retired Canadian Gen. John de Chastelain joined former US Senator
George Mitchell to help resolve problems in the Northern Ireland peace
process from 1995 to 1998.
Holkeri served from 1978 to 1997 on the board of the Bank of Finland and
has been a board member of a number of other companies and organizations,
including Finland's national airline Finnair.
He is president of the Finnish National Commission for the UN's
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO. Holkeri is a
married father of two and the grandfather of six.
TOP
HARRI HOLKERI -
SKILLED MEDIATOR AND CONCENSUS BUILDER
PHOTO: Harri Holkery,
new SRSG
 Mr.
Harri Holkeri, the former President of the fifty-fifth session of the
United Nations General Assembly —the Millennium Assembly 2000-2001, brings
to the post of Special Representative of the UN Secretary General a wealth
of political experience, as well as a reputation as a skilled mediator and
consensus builder. He was Finland's Prime Minister from 1987 to 1991, and
for over four decades has served his country and the international
community in several political and economic posts.
The most renowned and prestigious conservative political figure in Finland
over the last few decades, he served as Secretary of the National
Coalition Party from 1965 to 1971 and as Party Leader from 1971 to 1979.
From 1970 to 1978, he was a Member of the Parliament. He also served as a
Member of the Board of Governors of the Bank of Finland (central bank)
from 1978 to 1997. As Prime Minister, he headed a coalition formed by his
party and the Social Democrats.
Mr. Holkeri played a key role in developing the social consensus that led
to the creation of the coalition government in power from 1987 to 1991,
and of which he was Prime Minister. That government was based on
cooperation between the Conservative and the Social Democratic parties—a
cooperation that extended to international affairs as well. His political
philosophy—"You cannot make easy decisions unless you first commit
yourself to hard solutions"—has guided his political life.
His skills as a mediator and coalition builder have played an important
role in Finland's foreign relations. After the Second World War, Finland,
situated on the border between the East and the West, needed a workable
and trustful relationship with both the West and its eastern neighbours
and the former Soviet Union. The country's decision to pursue a policy of
military non-alignment and cooperation needed internal popular support, as
well as international acceptance. But the difficulties faced in
normalizing relations with the East were compounded by distrust of the
Finnish Right, both inside and outside the country. During Mr. Holkeri's
term as the Party Leader in the 1970s, Finnish Conservatives explicitly
pledged to support the national consensus foreign policy. This contributed
to the restoration of national harmony, helped to form broadly based
governmental coalitions and led to expanding international cooperation.
Mr. Holkeri has been a friend of three Presidents of Finland—Mr. Urho
Kekkonen, Mr. Mauno Koivisto and Mr. Martti Ahtisaari—all of whom used him
as their contact person in their relations with the political right. He
was a presidential candidate twice, in 1982 and 1988. Both times he ran
against Dr. Koivisto, with whom he had worked at the Bank of Finland and
with whom he had a close and personal relationship. In 1987, President
Koivisto appointed Mr. Holkeri Prime Minister.
Mr. Holkeri has also been active at the international level. He was a
member of the Finnish delegation to the United Nations General Assembly
from 1963 to 1965. During his career as a Member of Parliament he held
various international positions, including as a member of the Nordic
Council from 1975 to 1978, Vice-President of the European Free Trade
Association (EFTA) Parliamentarians from 1974 to 1975, and their President
in 1976.
From 1995 to 1998, Mr. Holkeri was a member of The International Body—a
group set up by the Governments of the United Kingdom and Ireland—on the
issue of the decommissioning of illegal weapons in Northern Ireland. He
was one of the three independent chairmen of the multi-party peace
negotiations, where his skills as a consensus builder contributed greatly
to furthering the peace process.
In 1999, Mr. Holkeri received an honorary British knighthood, Honorary
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for his achievements
in the Northern Ireland peace process. A year earlier, President Ahtisaari
had accorded him a Finnish honorary title, valtioneuvos, for his national
and international merits.
Mr. Holkeri was Chair of the Helsinki City Council from 1981 to 1987. He
is currently the Chairman of the Board of Finnair, Finland's national
airline, and sits on the boards of various Finnish industries and
organizations.
Mr. Holkeri was born on 6 January 1937. His upbringing in the small rural
city of Toijala, where his father was a police officer, formed the basis
of his personal values, which are centred on the family, love of one's
neighbour and love for and loyalty to one's own country. He has a Master
of Political Science degree from the University of Helsinki. His military
rank is major in the reserve.
He is very interested in sports, particularly long-distance cross-country
skiing and running. He has taken part in several marathons, including the
New York City Marathon. Golf has lately become one of his favourite
sports.
Mr. Holkeri is married, and has two children and six grandchildren.
TOP
UN POLICE
HOLD TWO SUSPECTS IN DEADLY KOSOVO BLAST
U.N. police
stepped up security after violence in the provincial capital, Pristina,
last weekend, in which a rocket-propelled grenade slammed into a
courthouse and a blast damaged a police car in near simultaneous attacks.
Local media speculated that that attack was linked to the first war crimes
conviction of former Kosovo Albanian rebels.
TOP
REUTERS
ALERTNET
25 Jul 2003 14:23:28 GMT
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Serbia and Montenegro, July 25 (Reuters) - United
Nations police in Kosovo said on Friday they had arrested two suspects in
connection with a grenade attack that killed one civilian and injured five
others near their headquarters in the flashpoint town of Kosovska
Mitrovica.
But they said the target for the attack on Thursday evening, in which two
hand grenades were thrown in front of the building in a busy area, was
probably not the U.N. police station, as officials initially indicated.
Locals said the man who died was a 32-year-old out walking with his wife
and children, apparently hit by accident. Of those hurt, two were
seriously injured and remained in hospital.
Kosovo was placed under U.N.-led administration in June 1999 after NATO's
bombing campaign to end Serbian repression of Kosovo's Albanian majority.
International officials are struggling to establish the rule of law in the
province.
Regional police chief Barry Pollin said the assailants had been targeting
an individual who escaped unhurt, but he did not identify the person. He
described it as a criminal attack.
"This individual wasn't a police officer," he told reporters in the
ethnically divided town, which has seen some of Kosovo's worst violence
since the United Nations took control of the province four years ago.
Four U.N. police vehicles were damaged in the blasts, which occurred in
Mitrovica's predominantly Albanian southern part.
"The preliminary investigation indicates that the UNMIK (U.N. Mission in
Kosovo) police HQ building was not the target," Pollin said.
U.N. police stepped up security after violence in the provincial capital,
Pristina, last weekend, in which a rocket-propelled grenade slammed into a
courthouse and a blast damaged a police car in near simultaneous attacks.
Local media speculated that that attack was linked to the first war crimes
conviction of former Kosovo Albanian rebels.
TOP
RADA
TRAJKOVIC: SERB NATIONAL COUNCIL MOST RELEVANT FORCE AMONG KOSOVO SERBS
TOP
KIM RADIO
July 24, 2003
24 Jul (KIM Radio) – On Wednesday, envoy of coalition Povratak, Rada
Trajkovic was a guest on radio KIM and she talked about clashes within the
Serbian coalition. Answering the question did the political coalition turn
from its principals which were expressed with oath in Pec Patriarch,
Trajkovic said that Serbian National Council is the most relevant force of
the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija."
SNV is the most relevant force of the Serbian people in this area
regarding the special moment of our unification with SNV from north Kosovo
and Metohija. Reasons for the clashes is because coalition "Povratak" had
people who protected principals of SNV, but I don't see reasons why we had
to be against something that is politic and strategy of the National
Council, said Rada Trajkovic. Trajkovic also stated that someone from
Belgrade could to negotiate for Kosovo and Metohija if there are three
items achieved.
"First, that Belgrade comes to a wide consensus regarding what Belgrade
wants in Kosovo and Metohija. Second, it is very important the person
elected in Belgrade has to have good contacts with the Serbs and also with
the Serbian leaders from Kosovo and Metohija, and third Rugova needs to
have political power regarding forces that he has between majority
Albanian community, and on the other side is Thaci who has a power that
comes from control of extreme, paramilitary, militant, terrorist groups
which are connected with him", said at the and Rada Trajkovic.
TOP
SERB FROM
KOSOVO POLJE BEATEN BY ALBANIAN POLICE OFFICERS
ERP KIM info service subarticle
TOP
KIM RADIO
Kosovo Polje, July 23, 2003
On Wednesday, 24 year old Nenad Obradovic was brutally beaten by Albanian
KPS (Kosovo Police Service) in front of his house in Kosovo Polje.|
"While pulling out his car onto the street Nenad noticed that some Kosovo
police officers were running thru our yard while chasing after two
unidentified persons. He then stopped the car in order to see what is
going on. When he got out of the car he was attacked by Albanian police
officers that first tied him and then started kicking him in the head,"
stated Zorica Obradovic, the sister of Nenad Obradovic. Nenad's mother and
some neighbors also witnessed the incident. Nenad received a concussion,
and was moved to the Kosovo Polje hospital where he is recuperating from
the injuries sustained.
KPS headquarters in Prishtina told KIM radio that they have not been
informed of this incident.
TOP
MACEDONIA:
BOMB EXPLOSION OUTSIDE HOUSE IN DOBROSTE NEAR TETOVO
TOP
MAKFAX
Skopje 7/24/03 12:22:03 PM
Bomb went off late Wednesday just outside the house owned by Kotevski
family, in Tetovo's nearby village of Dobroste.
No injuries or material damage have been reported as the bomb went off in
the garden behind the house.
Police sources say five members of Kotevski's family were inside the house
at the time of explosion. Based on initial findings of the investigation,
the explosive device was deliberately hurled by unidentified assailant.
Blagoja Kotevski said his family had good relations with the local
residents both of Macedonian and Albanian nationality. He had no idea why
the bomb was hurled in his garden and who might be the perpetrator.
Kotevski added that automatic weapons fire was heard before the explosion.
The village of Dobroste is populated with Macedonian and Albanian
nationals. The 2001 conflict in Macedonia had neither affected the
peaceful coexistence among Dobroste residents nor mounted inter-ethnic
tensions in this village. /end/
TOP
SERBIAN MINISTRY OF RELIGIONS PROTEST TO MACEDONIAN EMBASSY IN BELGRADE
TOP
Republic of Serbia
Ministry of Religions
July 25, 2003
Public communiqué
The Ministry of Religions of the Republic of Serbia sent a note to the
Embassy of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in Belgrade
expressing its sharpest protest against the unfounded detention and
prevention of all contact with His Eminence the Metropolitan of Veles and
Povardarje Kyr Jovan, the Exarch of the Serbian Patriarch for the
Archdiocese of Ohrid.
The protest also pertains to
barring entry into Macedonia of clerics and monastics, including several
bishops, of the Serbian Orthodox Church, or alternately, demanding that
they remove clerical robes and other characteristic insignia, despite the
fact that these persons are in possession of valid documents and meet all
requirements for unobstructed continuation of their travels across
Macedonian territory.
His Eminence Metropolitan
Jovan has done nothing to warrant any sort of sanctions against him.
Furthermore, the actions of Macedonian state officials represent a
continuation of the persecution churches and religious communities were
subjected to under Communism.
Such actions on the part of
Macedonian state officials, which have lasted for several years and
intensified in the last few weeks, represent acts of discrimination and
deep humiliation and endangerment of the integrity of the Bishop, priests
and congregations. It reflects the general stance of the Macedonian state
lending support to the canonically unrecognized "Macedonian Orthodox
Church." Such support is contrary to generally accepted standards in
international relations prohibiting the intervention of states in
religious and organizational issues of churches and religious communities.
As well, support is being carried out in a manner that violates the basic
human rights of members of a specific church organization, in this case,
the Serbian Orthodox Church. Taking into account the historical role of
the Serbian Orthodox Church in the preservation of the statehood of the
Republic of Serbia, as well as the fact that it represents the majority of
the citizens of Serbia, the above actions are inconducive to cooperation,
as well as to friendly and good-neighborly relations of the two countries.
The Ministry of Religions has
asked the Macedonian Government to immediately stop all discriminatory
acts toward church dignitaries, clerics and monastics, and believers of
the Serbian Orthodox Church; to order an investigation into the
discriminatory acts perpetrated so far and determine the responsibility of
persons who carried out those acts; and to immediately provide for the
immediate release of His Eminence Metropolitan Jovan from custody.
TOP
ERP KIM
Info-Service is the official Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox
Diocese of Raska and Prizren and works with the blessing of His Grace
Bishop Artemije.
Our Information Service is distributing news on Kosovo related issues. The
main focus of the Info-Service is the life of the Serbian Orthodox Church
and the Serbian community in the Province of Kosovo and Metohija. ERP KIM
Info Service works in cooperation with
www.serbian-translation.com as well as the
Kosovo
Daily News (KDN) News List
Disclaimer:
The views expressed by the authors of newspaper articles or other texts
which are not official communiqués or news reports by the Diocese are
their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Serbian
Orthodox Church
If you received this
message by error or you don`t want to receive our e-mails anymore, please
write to us: erpkim@kosovo.net
Our Newsletters are
available on our ERP KIM Info-service Web-Page:
/erpkiminfo.html
Additional
information on our Diocese and the life of the Kosovo Serb Community may
be found at:
Copyright 2003, ERP KIM Info-Service
|
