By William M. Reilly
United Press InternationalJune 10, 2000
The U.N. chief in Kosovo, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, told the Security Council on the first anniversary of the operation Friday it would take years more, but he didn't expect to remain at the helm that long.
Kouchner, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative to Kosovo, told reporters after he briefed the council, there has been "thirteen centuries of confrontation between these two peoples and one year of peace," referring to the disparity between Serbs and Albanians in the Balkans.
"It was impossible to change for 13 centuries," he said, but "a lot of progress has been made" in one year. "We will need years," Kouchner said. "Everyone has admitted this. Ten years of a United Nations presence there and KFOR," the NATO-led Kosovo Force. "But that is not to say I will stay 10 years more," said the former French Minister of Health.
The head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, or UNMIK, said that while he could not declare a triumph for the U.N., the mission was able to make real advances as it worked hard in an inhospitable environment, Kouchner said. Health care had improved, housing units were being built, and infrastructure rehabilitated and created. "There is water and electricity."
He said 5,000 children are attending school, which they had not done for years, and universities and colleges are operating.
All parties, religions and minorities were represented in the Kosovo Transitional Council, Kouchner said. More than 400,000 people already have registered for the October municipal elections, although the Kosovo Serbs as well as Kosovars in Serbia must still be convinced to register.
Kouchner said Belgrade had not responded positively to requests for assistance with this process. Nor was Belgrade cooperating with UNMIK in the search for missing persons, estimated to be as many as 3,000. However, he said his mission was in regular contact with the Belgrade authorities and he has been meeting weekly with a Belgrade envoy. There was also a new joint consultative committee proposed to deal with issues of mutual interest.
As for large numbers of refugees returning to Kosovo, Kouchner said it was a positive trend but imposed a burden with unemployment so high.
He echoed many points made by Annan in his report to the council, which was reported Thursday by United Press International. UNMIK suffered a weak judiciary and crime rates were still high, particularly against the Serbs, he said.
Addressing the council, he repeatedly called for continuing support.
But Russia's Ambassador Sergei Lavrov told him, and his fellow ambassadors on the council, the U.N. mission and Belgrade were not doing enough. He wanted more cooperation between the two. He praised Yugoslavia for keeping peace along the administrative borders with its province of Kosovo.
"As for other participants in the settlement process that the Security Council gave specific responsibilities to, the situation is bad," Lavrov said. "This relates to the clear trend to separate Kosovo from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which is fraught with very dangerous destabilization throughout the Balkans region. Unfortunately some actions by the leadership of the UNMIK and KFOR provokes and encourages this dangerous trend."
Moscow's envoy, calling it an "extremely disturbing situation," said he was referring to "the absence of the necessary cooperation between the two sides of UNMIK and Belgrade. And even the Security Council of the United Nations." He complained of a lack of respect for "the sovereignty and integrity" of Yugoslavia, and the lack of equality among Kosovo's residents, referring to the Serb victims of Albanian violence.
Three Albanian leaders yesterday called for an end to violence directed against Serbs in Kosovo and pledged support for anti-violence efforts.
Lavrov called for a determination of the future status of Kosovo before the municipal elections in October.
Kouchner said the language in the resolution enabling his mission and concerning the future status of Kosovo needed explanation and that the resolution's phrase "substantial autonomy" lacked clarity.