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December 02, 2004
ERP KiM Newsletter 02-12-04 NATO prepares Kosovo force for possible unrest The alliance struggled to deal with ethnic Albanian riots against Serbs and other minorities in March. It fears that the naming of an ex-guerrilla commander as prime minister of the U.N. protectorate and forthcoming talks on its status could spark more trouble. "The intelligence has been pumped up and the reserves have been pumped up. We are as ready as we can be," said a NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, after envoys to the 26-member alliance studied a review of the operation. 
BRUSSELS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - NATO agreed measures on Wednesday to better equip its 17,500 peacekeepers in the Serbian province of Kosovo for a feared outbreak of violence. The alliance struggled to deal with ethnic Albanian riots against Serbs and other minorities in March. It fears that the naming of an ex-guerrilla commander as prime minister of the U.N. protectorate and forthcoming talks on its status could spark more trouble. "The intelligence has been pumped up and the reserves have been pumped up. We are as ready as we can be," said a NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, after envoys to the 26-member alliance studied a review of the operation. Troop numbers will be held at 17,500, but envoys agreed to remove restrictions on how some contingents in the multinational KFOR force can be deployed. Commanders have complained these restrictions have crippled its ability to react to unrest. More contingents will also be equipped to deal with riots such as those seen in March, when 19 people were killed and hundreds of homes torched as mobs attacked Serb enclaves. Ramush Haradinaj, a former regional commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), is set to become Kosovo's prime minister under a coalition deal that parliament is expected to vote on this month, following an election in October. NATO TALKS NEXT WEEK Western diplomats warn of unrest if Haradinaj, who has been questioned twice by investigators from the Hague war crimes tribunal, is indicted for atrocities in the 1998-99 war against Serb forces. "We have got to be ahead of the curve ... This is a politically volatile situation," said a second NATO official, adding that the election had further whetted the appetite of Kosovo's overwhelmingly Albanian majority for independence. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Haradinaj would be an important subject of the alliance's two-day meeting of foreign ministers on Dec. 9-10. "We will discuss certainly the Balkans and Kosovo more in particular," he told reporters during a visit to Rome. "Because in Kosovo there is of course the situation at this very moment, there might be a prime minister who might be indicted by the ICTY (the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia), which is, to put it mildly, a complicated situation." The office of chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte says it is investigating the former KLA leadership, but has not given details.
NATO considers Haradinaj a problem RUSSELS, Beta December 1-- Wednesday - NATO representative Gunther Altenburg said that there are many problems that need to be solved in Kosovo in the coming year, one of them being Ramus Haradinaj. Altenburg said that the standards and status of Kosovo can all be greatly effected by the possibility that Haradinaj, who is seen to be the only real candidate for Kosovo Prime Minister, could be indicted by The Hague. He also said that Kosovo Albanians see the success in the October elections as a step towards independence. Altenburg said that the international community does not look at the election result in that way and that discussion will be necessary as the process moves on,
Concerned NATO agrees keep up strength of Kosovo force BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) By PAUL AMES - Concerned about the risk of renewed unrest in Kosovo, NATO allies agreed Wednesday to maintain the strength of their 17,500-strong peacekeeping force in the province over the months ahead. ``This is a politically volatile situation,'' said Guenther Altenburg, NATO's assistant secretary general for political affairs. ``You need to be prepared from the security point of view.'' NATO officials fear talks on Kosovo's future expected next year could re-ignite violence between the pro-independence ethnic Albanian majority and the Serb minority, which wants a return to Serbian rule. Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since a NATO air campaign drove out Serbian troops in 1999 following a crackdown on the ethnic Albanian separatists. In March, the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force was caught unawares by two-days of mob violence that targeted Serbs and left 19 people dead. Altenburg said, however, he did not think the alliance needed to send additional troops ahead of final status talks. He said the current force was now better prepared for any violence, since several nations had lifted restrictions that limited the movement of their troops around the country and prevented some soldiers being used for riot control. ``The mission will be in a pretty good shape to deal with the problem,'' Altenburg told reporters. NATO officials said their concern about the coming months has been exacerbated by a Serb boycott of October elections in the province and the prospect that former Albanian rebel leader Ramush Haradinaj could become prime minister as a result of those elections, despite a recent interrogation by U.N. war crimes investigators. Alliance foreign ministers are expected to confirm NATO's commitment to the peacekeeping mission during their year-end meeting in Brussels next week.
First parliamentary meeting, Serb-less PRISTINA -- Thursday, Dec 2, B92 - Serb representatives will not be participating in the inaugural meeting of the new Kosovo parliament. Representative Goran Bogdanovic said that the eight Serbian officials are intent on honoring Serbian President Boris Tadic's election-time demands that they will not participate in the parliament if in three months the international community does not fulfill his demands of establishing an internationally recognized Serb-led local government in areas where Serbs make up the majority of the population. Kosovo governor Soeren Jessen-Petersen met with Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova to make sure that the first meeting will function according to the rules of the Kosovo constitution. Petersen is demanding maximum responsibility from the new Kosovo institutions, so that talks regarding the final status of Kosovo can be set to begin by the middle of next year. After meeting with Rugova, Petersen met with potential Kosovo prime minister, Ramus Haradinaj, who expressed confidence in getting voted into the position. Haradinaj said that the government will work towards fulfilling its international obligations and establishing the foundation for standards in Kosovo.
Nis, 2 Dec (Tanjug) - Central Kosovo Serb National Council member Rada Trajkovic has said that Kosovo Albanians have their mechanism of exerting pressure on the Serb community, and that they are doing this all the time, hinting at some kind of "black Tuesdays or Fridays". "They continue to threaten Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija, they dig trenches with the excuse of holding military exercises, and this does not leave us Serbs indifferent," she told the Nis daily Narodne Novine.
17th Of March Re-run Belgrade, 02 Dec (B92) Nebojsa Covic says that "17 of March 2003 replaying back in Kosovo and in the south of Serbia." "We have an information that the 17th of March was just the first phase of the plan "Spring river" consisting of three phases. I do not exclude the possibilities of armed provocations in Kosovo, or in south of Serbia", said the President of the Coordination Center for Kosovo and Metohija and added that this is a job for the government security. Covic assessed that there is not a high level of trust of the ethnic communities for "demilitarization" of the southern part of Serbia, as some Albanian leaders have demanded. Every politician in Serbia who would agree to relocate the Joint Security Forces of Serbia and Montenegro would make a crucial mistake", warns Covic. While talking about Kosovo, Covic asked the question "How is it possible that division of Kosovo means changing of the borders, but recognizing Kosovo independence does not mean the same". (FoNet)
Nowicki: Kosovo Black Hole On European Map Of Human Rights Kosovska Mitrovica, 2 Dec (Tanjug) - Kosovo-Metohija Ombudsman Marek Nowicki said on Thursday that the Council of Europe was debating on the possibility that an international human rights court be set up, which would deal with the situation in Kosovo-Metohija, and announced that a corresponding proposal would be presented to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly in January.
ICG: Kosovo One Of World's Most Dangerous Hotbeds Brussels, 2 Dec (Tanjug) - Along with the Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine, Kosovo is today one of the most dangerous hotbeds of the world, which could even give rise to conflicts, the International Crisis Group (ICG) has said in a monthly bulletin, which is issued at the beginning of each month and which gives an analysis and estimations on the risks in particular countries or regions. In the part of the report which specifies reasons why some region is viewed as a risky one, Kosovo is said to have two factors which could give rise to new clashes or waves of violence similar to those which occurred in March 2004.
Six More Indictments By Year End 2 Dec (Radio Srbija I Crna Gora) - Hague Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte has announced that by the end of the year she would raise six more indictments for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, and that some of those indictments could relate to members of the former KLA. In an interview to the Brussels LE SOIR, del Ponte stated that by the end of next week she would complete the investigation regarding the activities of certain KLA leaders and that after this she would know against whom to raise indictments
UNMIK appoints special prosecutor for financial crimes UNMIK/PR/1277 PRISTINA Thursday, 2 December 2004 The DSRSG for Police and Justice, Mr. Jean-Christian Cady, today administered the oath of office to the new special prosecutor for financial crimes, Mr Andrea Stefano Venegoni. The special prosecutor will take over most of the current corruption cases. In certain cases, he will take the lead role in the prosecution, while one of the regional international prosecutors acts as the second prosecutor on a case. "Preventing and combating corruption remains part of an overall effort undertaken jointly by UNMIK and the PISG to create the foundation for democracy, development, justice and effective governance," DSRSG Cady said. "This appointment is directed at focusing prosecutorial resources on cases relating to corruption and financial crimes. The essential next step we are working on is to develop investigative and prosecutorial capacity among Kosovans to enable them to effectively address such sophisticated crimes," he added. Assigned to the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, the special prosecutor will be working closely with the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) to focus investigations on obtaining evidence useful for prosecution. Staffed by financial inspectors from the Italian Guardia di Finanza, the FIU is mandated to conduct random financial inspections of public bodies, public enterprises and any other enterprise or body that is in receipt of public funds from the Kosovo Consolidated Budget. The scope of such investigations was further enhanced with the establishment in November 2003 of the Investigation Task Force, which conducts administrative investigations to identify fraud and corruption involving UNMIK, PISG and other entities operating with public assets or utilising public funds. Mr Venegoni, a lawyer from Italy, has particular specialisation in fiscal law and economic crimes investigations and has, in the capacity of lawyer, judge and public prosecutor since 1987, dealt with cases involving bankruptcy, smuggling, tax fraud, fraud in incomes and other such crimes, including those involving international inquiries. His experience of working with the Guardia di Finanza in Italy would be particularly useful in his functions in Kosovo.
Ombudsperson resolved KEK billing quandary for the previously displaced OMBUDSPERSON INSTITUTION IN KOSOVO Press Release Pristina, December 2 - The Ombudsperson, Mr. Marek Antoni Nowicki, recently received a letter from the Supply Division of the Kosovo Electric Corporation (KEK) outlining a long-awaited policy of clarification towards Kosovans who are billed for the amount of electricity consumed by illegal occupants or persons placed in these apartments based on humanitarian grounds. Kosovans have repeatedly approached the Ombudsperson to complain about KEK bills which date back earlier than their residence in the apartment after their return. According to them, KEK is holding them responsible for debts which they accrued due to the non-payment of electricity bills by prior humanitarian placed or illegal residents. In this latest development, according to KEK management, consumers who have submitted requests for cancellation of debts to KEK and have in their possession documents from the Housing and Property Directorate or from the other competent authorities establishing the date in which the current residents returned to their homes, then "these consumers are not obliged to pay for debts produced by illegal owners". "This is the only reasonable solution that I expected KEK to implement. All persons in this situation harassed by KEK will no longer have billing problems in this respect. Everyone should pay electricity, as well as all other public utility bills, but only the amount that household consumed- not the bills of others. Under no other circumstances should anyone depart from these conditions. I am happy that the management of KEK has understood this bottom line," said Mr. Nowicki.
UNMIK Division of Public Information Belgrade Media Update, Dec 2 2005: Year of all Challenges in Kosovo, Warns NATO Official
NATO General Secretarys Assistant for political issues Guenter Altenburg warned in Brussels yesterday that a year full of challenges lies ahead for Kosovo because of the dangers relating to the issue of standard and status, and also of the proposed Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj being indicted by The Hague Tribunal. Commenting that the political situation is unstable in Kosovo, while expectations of the Kosovo Albanians had been for the recent elections to be a step towards independence, he further explains that this is how they understand things. The other factors on the international stage, as well as us, see this differently, this being that this must be a process through negotiations. He added that the approach of the international community to this issue depended on the UN Security Council Resolution 1244, and also on the expected realized achievement in the policy of standards before status. Asked to say how NATO viewed the statement by UNMIK Head Sřren Jessen-Petersen that Haradinaj, if indicted, would go to The Hague, Altenburg said that although NATO was in constant connection with Jessen-Petersen, it was necessary for KFOR to be cautious and ready so that there are no surprises, RTS reported. Eide: Issue of Kosovos status must not be pushed aside (RTS/Tanjug) Kai Eide has said in an interview to Tanjug that the issue of Kosovos final status is too dangerous in order to be pushed aside too long. "The international community has considered for a long time that the issue of Kosovos status is too dangerous to be launched. I, however, think that today most would agree with what I wrote in the report for the UNSG on the situation in Kosovo following the March unrest - that this issue is too dangerous in order to be pushed aside, said the Norwegian diplomat. He underlined that the issue of the final status of the southern province must be resolved until the international community has strong presence there. How should Kosovos final status look like the international community has a less clear vision, so it is nothing strange that the collocutor of the national agency was not specific in answering this question. "It is not up to me to decide on that, but it is important that several things should be considered in resolving Kosovos status. We must, first of all, adhere to the principle that we want a multi-ethnic Kosovo. We dont want divisions nor any lines of demarcation," said Eide. Altenburg on Kosovo (RTS) NATO official Gunter Altenburg has warned in Brussels that "a year full of challenges awaits Kosovo" because of the danger carried by the issue of Standards and status, as well as because the envisaged premier Ramush Haradinaj may be indicted by the ICTY. The assistant for political issues to the NATO secretary general has stated "the political situation is unstable in Kosovo, while expectations of Kosovo Albanians had been for the recent elections to be a step towards independence." This is how they understand things. The other factors on the international stage, as well as us, see this differently, this being that this must be a process through negotiations," said Altenburg. Asked by a journalist to say how NATO viewed the statement by UNMIK Head Sřren Jessen-Petersen that Haradinaj, if indicted, would go to the ICTY, he said that NATO was in constant connection with Jessen-Petersen, but that it was necessary that KFOR be cautious and ready so that there are "no surprises." Draskovic meets Hoon (RTS) The SCG Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic has talked with British Defence Minister Geoffrey Hoon. Regarding the resolution of the Kosovo issue, he stressed the necessity of the implementation of European principles in the field of protection of minorities, decentralization and character and quality of the state border of the SCG with Albania, stated the SCG Foreign Ministry. Draskovic underlined that every solution of Kosovos future status must respect the UN Charter. It is impossible to promote another sovereign state on the territory of a sovereign state. Within the framework of the UN Charter, the SCG is open for dialogue and compromise, along with the obligation of the respect of the rights of Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo, including the expelled members of the Serb people, said Draskovic. Kostunica meets Hoon (RTS) Kosovo ought to be a multi-ethnic society in which human rights are respected and a solution to the issue of the province must be functional and permanent, British Defence Minister Geoffrey Hoon said in talks with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica. As announced by the Serbian Government office for cooperation with the media, Hoon assessed that the issue of the safety of the Serb community in Kosovo was the most serious problem in Kosovo and called on that conditions be provided for the return of displaced Serbs. Kostunica reminded that two thirds of Kosovo Serbs were compelled to leave their homes and that those who have remained there were deprived of the right to live and of the freedom of movement. Marovic meets Fischer (RTS) Austria gives support to the SCG on its way towards European integrations, Austrian President Heinz Fischer said in Vienna, following talks with the SCG President Svetozar Marovic. He said he was in favour of a peaceful and just solution to the Kosovo crisis and added that the province needed a multi-ethnic society. A solution to the Kosovo problem ought to be reached through dialogue and agreement between Albanian and non-Albanian representatives, Marovic emphasized. Markovic, Karic, Ilic and Trajkovic on Kosovo (RTS) Serbian Parliament Speaker Predrag Markovic has positively assessed the joint proposal by SPOT, PSS and NS on establishing the Fund for Kosovo, said SPOT leader Momcilo Trajkovic. PSS leader Bogoljub Karic, NS leader Velimir Ilic and Trajkovic met with Markovic and acquainted him with the draft law on the fund for Kosovo and analyzed how much this project would cost and how would it be financed. The draft law envisages that the Funds assets, which would be received mainly from the budget and special taxes on goods that are sold to people from Kosovo, be used for the "Kosovo allowance" in the amount of 500 euros per family. Milosevics trial continues (RTS) The trial of Slobodan Milosevic before the ICTY continued with a statement by the defence witness Vukasin Jokanovic who said that, until the constitutional changes in 1989, Serbia did not have any competences in Kosovo. Jokanovic, who was Kosovo Assembly speaker at the time, underlined that Albanians asked for the province to become an independent state and that they still do. Jokanovic denied accusations that by adopting constitutional amendments in 1989, Serbia revoked Kosovos autonomy. Serbia was given back competences regarding national defence and security, stated Jokanovic. He denied that the Kosovo Assembly in March 1989 gave its approval to constitutional changes under pressure. TOP
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