Wednesday, May 24, 2006

From todays UNMIK Press Release:

“I have noted with concern periodic statements from certain quarters that risk creating a
climate of fear and insecurity among the Kosovo Serbs,” the SRSG said, “All too often
ethnic motive is alleged for crimes merely because the victims happen to be from the Kosovo
Serb community. Whereas we always deplore any attack on any citizen, statements of
misleading nature are not helpful and are in fact contrary to the interests of the Kosovo Serbs.
This kind of misinformation not only erodes their confidence level, but has a cascading
negative impact on inter-ethnic relations.”
As compared to 72 incidents recorded during
January to March 2005, there were only 19 such incidents during the same period this year.
Of these incidents, 12 involved Kosovo Serb, six Kosovo Albanian and one Kosovo Croatian
victims. Among Kosovo Serb victims, one was a case of attempted murder, two assaults,
three intimidations and six cases of criminal damage.

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Section on Serbia and Montenegro (Kosova is discussed at the bottom of the page) from Amnesty International's 2005 report released yesterday. From the Kosova part:.
According to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), 426 people were charged with criminal offences in connection with the March 2004 violence in which 19 people died and 954 civilians and 184 police and security personnel were injured. As of November, some 209 people had been convicted and 12 acquitted, with 110 cases still pending and 95 charges dropped.

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Meanwhile Ceku government has come up with a plan today in which it asks UNMIK to give Prishtina and municipalities more authority in dealings with minorities. I applaud the move and hope that UNMIK will let them prove themselves.

Government in today’s meeting approved the changes to the returns and reintegration policies so that the competencies related to these issues can be transferred from UNMIK to the locals in order the institutions of Kosova to be able to provide full security to those willing to come back. (Kosovalive)
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British Council reopened its office in Prishtina yesterday while Skopje will open its office (future embassy?) for the first time there in a few weeks. Kosova will open its own office in Brussels with the blessing of the UN and EU.

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