UNMIK/PR/333
ISTOG/ISTOK-Continuing his outreach campaign around the Kosovo countryside, Bernard Kouchner, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, told a crowd of some 1,000 residents in Istog/Istok that the Kosovo-wide municipal elections scheduled for 28 October was the 'most important step facing you.'
This was the fourth stop in the UNMIK chief executive's tour begun on 12 August to explain developments at UNMIK, prepare the local population for municipal elections and solicit their input on the most crucial concerns facing them. Earlier this week, Dr. Kouchner and EU leader Javier Solana were cheered by huge crowds in the eastern Kosovo town of Ferizaj/Urosevac. Previously he visited Vushtrri/Vuciturn and Suhareke/Suva Reka.
At each stop, Dr. Kouchner has been stressing the importance of tolerance, saying the image of Kosovo abroad has been tarnished by violence, but that free and fair elections could reverse this impression.
"I propose a pact with you," he told the crowd. General elections could follow if the October polling is free, fair, open and democratic, "without any threats, killing or obstacles to democracy…A unique and undivided Kosovo can be the reward for ending violence."
Concerns raised by the local population included the prospect of Yugoslav elections being held in Kosovo, progress in the judiciary system and the need for economic development.
Regarding the issue of the 24 September FRY elections and the recent campaign visit by Socialist Party of Serbia officials to Kosovo, Dr. Kouchner warned the crowd not to 'jump into the trap' set by Slobodan Milosevic and react to "this provocation."
While all communities of Kosovo have the right to vote in Yugoslav elections under Security Council resolution 1244, Dr. Kouchner said, "it is unimaginable that a fair election could be organized in only three weeks….They have the right to vote, but the Milosevic machine has no right to spoil our elections in October."
Local officials told the SRSG they were concerned with the number of names apparently missing from voters' registration lists. Dr. Kouchner assured them that following this period of examination of the lists, missing names were to be restored. Also, any registered inhabitant of Kosovo could still vote with a receipt from registration.
In Istog/Istok, Dr. Kouchner also placed a wreath in a corner of the huge Dubrava penitentiary, where scores of Kosovo Albanians were massacred during the recent conflict. He also opened a new prison block built with funds provided by the United Kingdom.