Kosovo's Administrative Council bans demonstrations in Mitrovica
FEBRUARY 18 -- The Interim Administrative Council has said that while it recognized the democratic right to hold demonstrations, public demonstrations are currently banned from parts of the city of Mitrovica "for security reasons".In a statement issued at the close of its regular meeting today in Pristina, the Council said access to the city of Mitrovica will be denied to demonstrators who have planned to march from Pristina to Mitrovica on Monday.
The Council said, however, that a delegation of the demonstrators will be received at the Mitrovica headquarters of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
The Council urged political parties to "show responsibility and to contribute to stabilizing the security situation in Mitrovica".
Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that nearly 1,500 people, mainly ethnic Albanians but also Kosovo Bosniacs and ethnic Turks, have fled the predominantly Serb northern sector of Kosovo's divided city of Mitrovica since ethnic violence erupted there on 4 February.
Occupied apartments in the city have been attacked by grenades and other explosives and UNHCR staff on the ground have reported that property vacated by fleeing Albanians is often looted and sometimes occupied by ethnic Serbs.
UNHCR spokesman Ron Mr. Redmond said UNHCR and its partner agency CARE are working on a project to reinforce the doors of minority residents in Mitrovica to give them better protection against attacks. Fresh food is also being taken to the homes of minority families who are too terrified to venture out.
The Belgian chapter of Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) is organizing home medical visits.
First international prosecutor sworn in by UN to serve in Kosovo's troubled Mitrovica
FEBRUARY 17 -- The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) today appointed the first international prosecutor to serve in the northern city of Mitrovica.Mr. Jan Reint Johannes van Wijland of the Netherlands was sworn in by the head of UNMIK, Dr Bernard Kouchner, under a new regulation aimed at implementing emergency measures to restore security in Mitrovica, which erupted in ethnic violence two weeks ago.
The appointment follows that of Mr. Christer Karphammar from Sweden who was appointed the first international judge for Mitrovica on Tuesday. Appointments of some 25 additional local judges and prosecutors are pending.
UNMIK said the judicial appointments are aimed at easing pressure on the fledgling local judiciary in order to prosecute quickly those suspected of inflaming violence in Mitrovica. The jurists will work "in tandem" with the local judges and prosecutor.
In taking their oaths of office, both international jurists vowed to work independently and impartially, UNMIK said. They will use the applicable law of Kosovo "while upholding the highest internationally recognized standards of human rights".
Security Council holds private meeting on Kosovo
FEBRUARY 16 -- The United Nations Interim Administration in Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) continued to be preoccupied by the harassment, eviction and murder of minorities, a senior UN peacekeeping official told the Security Council today.Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi was briefing the Council on the latest developments in Kosovo in a private meeting -- an informal session that is closed to the press and the public. Council non-members may be invited to attend such meetings without the right to speak.
According to a UN spokeswoman, Mr. Annabi told the Council that even though the security situation in Kosovo had deteriorated in early February, UNMIK had made gradual progress in restoring the rule of law, including the first round of appointments of judges and prosecutors. By 11 February, there were 2,052 UN police in Kosovo.
The spokeswoman added that Mr. Annabi also drew attention to the humanitarian effort, saying that a humanitarian crisis in Kosovo has been avoided this winter. However, he said that more funding was needed, since the cash available for Kosovo's consolidated budget in 2000 would be exhausted by early March.
In a related development, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Balkans, Mr. Carl Bildt said in a statement released in Sarajevo today that for the international community, Kosovo remained a test of political will and financial resolve in the region.
He said the insecurity that plagued Kosovo would require not only creative solutions but also strong commitments in terms of financial and human resources. "To this day, UNMIK, has been provided by Member States with only about 2,000 out of the total pledged level of 4,000 international policemen. It is urgently necessary that this gap be met as soon as possible," he said.
First international judge appointed to serve in Mitrovica
FEBRUARY 16 -- The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) yesterday appointed the first international judge to serve in the northern city of Mitrovica, UNMIK said today.Mr. Christer Karphammar from Sweden was appointed following a new regulation signed yesterday authorizing the appointment of international judges and prosecutors, as part of the implementation of emergency measures for re-establishing security in Mitrovica.
Mr. Karphammar, who will work alongside his Kosovar counterpart in Mitrovica, will be fully independent "and not subject to instructions from anyone", UNMIK spokeswoman Nadia Younes said.
Mr. Karphammar, who left today for Mitrovica, has been the deputy head of the Prosecution Services and Court Administration Section of UNMIK's Department of Judicial Affairs.
The head of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, has also appointed a new police Regional Commandner for Mitrovica, Mr. Sven Erik Larsen of Denmark. His offices will be located within the headquarters of the international peacekeeping force (KFOR) Commander in Mitrovica, General Saqui de Sannes, to ensure total coordination of the operations of UNMIK and KFOR.
