Dr. Bernard Kouchner was responding to press reports that the opposition candidate, Vojislav Kostunica, had today filed a formal complaint in Belgrade accusing President Milosevic of "stealing" 140,000 votes from Kosovo, thereby reducing the opposition leader's share of the total to under 50 per cent.

"I would like to make it very clear today that based on UNMIK's witnessing of the voting in Kosovo the figure of 140,000 Kosovo voters is absolutely a lie and a manipulation," he said. "The maximum number of people who visited the polling stations is less than 45,000 and in all probability the numbers of those who actually voted in Kosovo is much lower," he added in a statement.

At the close of the polling stations in Kosovo, Dr. Kouchner announced that 44,167 people had entered polling stations, all of them in predominantly Serb areas. In today's statement he also pointed out that he had said that any claim of massive participation by Kosovo Albanians in the FRY election was a fiction and a manipulation. "There were approximately five polling stations in predominantly Albanian areas, which were visited by at most some dozen potential voters," he said.

"Serbs and Roma, in particular, are often still excluded from daily life and are under great personal security risks," he said.

He said UNMIK has tried to counter "this truly deplorable situation" with a multitude of initiatives such as the "Agenda for Coexistence", which includes special assistance programmes for the Serbs and the establishment of specialized local community offices to facilitate the access to services for the minorities and to increase their protection.

Dr. Kouchner said the fate of the missing persons and detainees was another key problem that is "still very bad". He was "extremely concerned" that the remaining prisoners held in Serbia may be forgotten by the world during this time of political turbulence in Serbia proper.

Dr. Kouchner outlined the achievements of UNMIK since it was established 15 months ago, but admitted that it had also made some mistakes. One key mistake was that UNMIK often tried to implement unrealistic policy programs, "instead of taking the still existing conflict circumstances into account."

Dr. Kouchner said the non-participation of members of the Kosovo Serb minority in the coming municipal elections was a political mistake. However, the Kosovo Serbs are willing to participate in the elected municipal structures and that the Albanians have already accepted such a process.

He said ambiguous as the UN mandate in Kosovo is, it gives UNMIK a very clear line to take -- to develop interim institutions of self-government. Without such a roadmap, UNMIK cannot succeed in reducing ethnic violence, developing the economy, and fulfilling its mandate, he said, warning of some violent reactions in the future if UNMIK is perceived as an "occupation force".

Dr. Kouchner also underlined the need for UNMIK to develop an interim constitutional framework to define substantial autonomy and protect the rights of minority communities.

The "Rexhep Luci Regulation" also requires municipal permits for all building construction, including that begun after 10 June 1999. The law is named after Rexhep Luci, a well-known Kosovo architect recently murdered while working on a project to demolish illegal constructions.

The permits will specify the technical, safety and environmental requirements, as well as those for water, electricity and sewage connections for the proposed construction, UNMIK said in a statement issued today.

Applicants are required to provide municipal authorities with a construction plan, which will be reviewed for compliance with municipal urban plans. The regulation empowers municipal authorities to take such action as is necessary, including the demolition of a building or structure, to protect health, safety or security.

The team based its recommendation on new data supplied by the North Atlantic Treasty Organizatyion (NATO,) which led the bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The UN Balkans Task Force (BTF) -- set up in May 1999 to assess the environmental impacts of the Balkans conflict -- last year advised that there was insufficient data available to comprehensively address the issue. BTF is led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat).

"Now that we have better information on the location of DU sites, I will be consulting with out UN partners over the coming days to determine whether and how to proceed with a scientific field assessment of a representative sample of DU sites," UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said today.

Known as the Depleted Uranium Assessment Group, the team of scientific experts met in Geneva last week as part of the BTF. The meeting was attended by experts from a range of organizations including the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs, UNEP, the Royal Society of London, the UN Medical Service, the UN Mission in Kosovo, and the Swedish Radiation Protection Institute.

UN witnessing elections in Kosovo

There was no significant voting outside predominantly Serb areas, Dr. Kouchner added. "We know that the maximum number of voters as witnessed by UNMIK can be no more than 45,000. It may be less, " he said.

UNMIK mobilized close to 300 teams throughout the day to witness what happened at the 260 polling stations in Kosovo, all but five in Serb areas and well down on the 460 sites claimed by both Belgrade and Yugoslav opposition. UNMIK did not organize, support, assist or monitor the FRY elections "which failed to meet international standards in their preparation, " Dr. Kouchner emphasized.

"We acted in order to avoid any exaggerated claims or manipulation and to establish a maximum number of possible voters inside Kosovo or crossing from Kosovo today," he said.

"Our figures are neither scientific, nor completely exact figures. We were witnesses, not observes. We were not part of these particular so-called elections," he said.

The teams witnessed a total of 44,167 people visiting polling sites in Serb areas. Just under 2,700 people crossed out of Kosovo into Serbia or Montenegro. Dr. Kouchner stressed that this figure is the maxim possible, given UNMIK only witnessed people going in and out, not actual voting.

Dr. Kouchner said UNMIK police and the international peacekeeping force (KFOR) took full responsibility for providing security. "We can report that the day was calm with no major incidents," he said.

Visiting the two communities as part of his outreach activities, he told a town hall meeting Sunday that the people of Dragash symbolized the future of Kosovo. Despite the conflict, the two communities had kept their long tradition of tolerance, he said, adding that Dragash had remained a mixed town where children went to a mixed school and where both communities could speak their language and keep their traditional culture without fear.

Dr. Kouchner also visited the Goran village of Krushevo and the Albanian village of Pllava, where he met the mayor and other officials. In both villages, people expressed concern about severe under-employment, saying that most people who could work had been forced to go abroad to make their living.

In Pllava, Dr. Kouchner announced three projects for improving the sewerage, water and electrical systems worth nearly 600,000 deutsche marks ($268,512) for the village. He also promised to look into the medical needs of the people who were living in mountain villages where mobility becomes a problem during winter.