Kosovo anticipates warmer weekend with planned start-up of power plants.
JANUARY 14 -- Kosovo is anticipating a warmer weekend with the planned start-up of Kosovo A power plant's Unit 3 which should start producing up to 110 megawatts of electricity sometime tonight, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said today.Unit 1 of Kosovo B is also expected to go on line tomorrow, producing another 230 megawatts of power.
"This should give us a total of some 450 megawatts of power, produced locally over the weekend, in addition to imported electricity, which runs to a little over 100 megawatts," UNMIK spokeswoman Nadia Younes told journalists in Pristina.
Kosovo was plunged into a power crisis on Monday when a fire shut down the main power plant, reducing the power available to 160 megawatts, less than a third of the minimum requirements.
Experts from Zagreb, Croatia were scheduled to arrive today to assess the damage caused by the fire at Kosovo B power plant's Unit 2. Preliminary estimates are that between three and five weeks will be needed to repair the plant.
Technical experts are also expected to arrive from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to work on the modalities of using its grid to transmit power made available by Greece to Kosovo.
Meanwhile, Norwegian deminers are clearing the ground between Orahovac and the Macedonian border so that repairs can continue on that vital line. Another team from Zimbabwe, Mintech, is demining areas around power lines and pylons using mine-sniffing dogs. They are expected to complete the task in the next two weeks, according UNHCR spokesman Peter Kessler.
Nearly 300 judges to be sworn in next week in Kosovo.
JANUARY 14 -- The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) will next week swear in 297 judges and prosecutors, as well as 238 lay assessors.A statement issued by UNMIK today said the first to be sworn in will be 44 judges and prosecutors in Gnjilane on 18 January. Others will follow in Prizren (48), Peja (58), Mitrovica (45) and Pristina (102).
The new judiciary in Pristina will include 10 Supreme Court justices and four officers of the High Court for minor offences.
A second round of recruitment for 100 more judges and prosecutors begins in March, UNMIK said. This will bring the total of appointed judges to 400.
The judiciary officials were appointed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, on 29 December after further screening by legal experts of those shortlisted by the Technical Advisory Commission on the Judiciary which is composed of Kosovar and international legal experts.
Kosovo Protection Corps to be formally established on 19 January.
JANUARY 14 -- The Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), created as a transformation of the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), will be formally established on 19 January when 43 senior Corps leaders will be sworn in, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said today in a statement.The leaders will make a pledge of honour to commit themselves to the betterment of their community. Other members of KPC will be appointed by the end of January.
KPC, with 3,000 active members and up to 2,000 reservists, is expected to be fully operational by September 2000.
KPC was created by UNMIK and the international peacekeeping force, KFOR, to provide the former combatants with opportunities to contribute to the well-being of Kosovo as well as for meaningful civilian employment.
The International Organization for Migration, which coordinated the process of KPC testing and recruitment, screened more than 18,500 KLA fighters and continues to work on creating and identifying private employment for former combatants.
KPC commander, Agim Ceku, along with UNMIK Head, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, and KFOR Commander, General Klaus Reinhardt, will speak at the inauguration ceremony.
Over one thousand refugees return to Kosovo in the last four days.
JANUARY 14 -- In the last four days 1,008 refugees have returned to Kosovo via flights into Skopje airport, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today.The agency said it has organized the repatriation of refugees to Kosovo from Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, which started on Monday with 144 persons from Switzerland.
"Over 125,000 refugees have taken part in organized repatriation since last year, some over land, but the vast majority by air, via Skopje and Pristina airports, " UNHCR spokesman Peter Kessler said in a press briefing in Pristina.
He said flights will resume on 18 January to Kosovo's Slatina Airport -- reopened to civilian aircraft on Tuesday -- with a German Government-chartered DC-9 flying in with an expected 102 returnees.
UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration expect some 5,200 returnees this month -- all refugees or asylum-seekers. Of the total, some 2,550 returnees are coming in from Switzerland and some 1,280 from Germany. Returnees from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, France, Finland, New Zealand, Austria, Spain are also expected this month.
Mr. Kessler also said this week a group of 45 refugee Kosovo are visiting from Sweden to look at the situation in Kosovo and then go back to Sweden to report to Kosovars there.
UN envoy, Kosovo Transitional Council, condemn murder of Bosniak family.
JANUARY 12 -- Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner and the Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC) today condemned the brutal murder of four members of a Bosniak family in Prizren on Monday.In a statement issued in Pristina, Dr. Kouchner described the attack as "an irreparable crime against a family, against the national community of the Bosniaks and against Kosovo itself".
He said if Kosovo is a land which tolerates violence "then we will fail in the eyes of the world", adding that everyone in Kosovo must unite to end this intolerance.
"Everyone must choose a less brutal path to resolve their differences. This is the only way that Kosovo can succeed," he said.
Expressing shock and outrage, members of the KTC strongly condemned the ruthless attack on the defenceless family in a statement issued after their meeting today in Pristina.
"The KTC uses this tragic occasion to renew its commitment to work to an end to violence in Kosovo and towards tolerance and the protection of minorities," the statement said.
The KTC called upon the people of Kosovo to act with tolerance and to assist the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) police and the international peacekeeping force, KFOR, in their investigation of the crime.
The Bosniak family was murdered when killers entered the family's home and shot everyone, including the husband and wife, their 20-year-old daughter and a 70-year-old grandmother. UNMIK Police are investigating.
Pristina airport reopens for civilian traffic.
JANUARY 12 -- Kosovo's Pristina Slatina airport reopened yesterday for civilian aircraft, nearly two months after it was closed following the crash of a UN chartered plane on 12 November killing all on board.The first plane to land yesterday was an Albanian Airline plane which returned to Tirana with some 20 passengers.
The airport, operated by the international peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR), was closed on 20 November as a precautionary measure. The French team investigating the crash recommended that a review of the procedures and terminology in use at the military airfield and how they differed from the civilian equivalent. A team from the International Civil Aviation Organization carried out a full survey of the airfield.
"The airfield is open initially as a strictly daytime visual flight rules operations," KFOR spokesman Lieutenant-Commander Philip Anido said in a press briefing in Pristina today. He added that all users will operate within the rules laid down by KFOR military authorities.
Lieutenant-Commander Anido said the re-opening of the airport will allow the flow of humanitarian aid to resume directly into the territory thereby relieving the pressure on the main road from Skopje and the Kosovo-Macedonia border crossing point at Blace.
Kosovo Transitional Council discusses expansion of its membership.
JANUARY 12 - The Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC) today discussed its own expansion to include additional minority members, representatives of smaller Kosovo Albanian political parties, as well as members of civil society including women.Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Bernard Kouchner informed the KTC members that he would submit for their approval at their next meeting a list of potential candidates for the enlarged Council. KTC is the highest level advisory body to UNMIK.
Noting the important role that the KTC will be called upon to play, Dr Kouchner described the enlarged Council as akin to an interim parliament without legislative powers, which will function until free, fair and internationally supervised elections are held.
The 15 December Agreement, signed by three political parties, which established the Joint Interim Administration Council (IAC), foresees the KTC's enlargement in order to "better reflect the pluralistic composition of Kosovo". IAC was established to share the administration of Kosovo with UNMIK.
The Agreement also foresees the KTC proposing alternative solutions to the Head of UNMIK if a majority of its members disagrees with a decision of the IAC.
UN mission in Kosovo takes emergency measures as fire shuts down main power plant.
JANUARY 11 -- The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) today began taking emergency measures to deal with a power shortage following a fire last night that shut down Kosovo's main power plant.UNMIK said in a statement issued today it was setting up emergency shelters and moving generators to key institutions, as the electricity available dropped to 160 megawatts, less than a third of the minimum needed to meet normal requirements.
Dr. Bernard Kouchner, Head of UNMIK, urged Kosovo residents to continue to conserve energy. In the face of continuing power-supply problems, UNMIK began operating an emergency energy situation centre on Saturday to act as an information-clearing house. The power company, KEK, had already drawn up plans for power rationing for when the electricity supply fell below 170 megawatts.
The energy crisis comes days after UNMIK began importing 100 megawatts of electricity from neighbouring countries to supplement power generated by Kosovo's two ailing power plants, Kosovo A and B, both of which have experienced frequent breakdowns following years of mismanagement and neglect. Before the fire, Kosovo B was producing 250 megawatts with only one unit working. Kosovo A has been shut down for repairs, although one of its units had been expected to restart later yesterday.
Kosovo council allocates administrative departments to political parties.
JANUARY 11 -- The Kosovo Interim Administration Council today allocated seven out of 19 proposed administrative departments to political parties which will co-head them with officials of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), as part of a joint interim administration.A statement issued by UNMIK in Pristina said the Kosovo Democratic League (LDK), represented on the Council by its president, Ibrahim Rugova, will co-head the two departments of Budget & Finance and Justice. The Democratic Progress Party of Kosovo (PPDK) led by Council member Hashim Thaci, will co-head Local Government and Trade & Industry. The United Democratic League (LBD), represented on the Council by Rexhep Qosja, will co-head Education & Science and Reconstruction. Democratization & Civil Society will go to an independent, while three of the remaining 12 departments will be co-headed by national communities.
The personnel who will head the allocated departments will be named by next week, UNMIK said. The departments will be operational by the end of this month.
The departments form part of the Joint Interim Administrative Structure, established on 15 December to enable Kosovars to share the administration of the territory with UNMIK until elections are held.
Head of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner said after the Council meeting that this was the first time in the history of the UN system "we are sharing the administration and working directly with the local people."
UNESCO donates 11 tonnes of toys and educational materials for Kosovo children.
JANUARY 11 -- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has donated 11 tonnes of toys, sport equipment and educational materials to children in Kosovo, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said today.Head of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, along with a group of children from the Centre for Traumatized Children of the Municipality of Glogovacin the Pristina region, received the gifts.
"These children of Glogovac represent all the children who were victims of different kinds of trauma during the war in Kosovo," said Marie-Josee Lallart, coordinator of UNESCO's Sport Development Programme.
Dr. Kouchner said the children represent the future and "they give us the joy to rebuild Kosovo." He said the children would share the material with all children from all communities in Kosovo.
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the international peacekeeping force, KFOR, will assist in the distribution of the materials to 4,000 children throughout Kosovo.
The materials were purchased by donations made by the people of Paris and collected by Monoprix supermarkets. Three hundred Monoprix supermarkets participated in the collection of money from 42,500 individuals, who earmarked their donations for the children of Kosovo.
