UNMIK/PR/522
The Interim Administrative Council, meeting this morning, issued two statements on current developments: One statement followed SRSG Hans Haekkerup’s introduction to the Legal Framework working group, which met for the first time this afternoon.
“The members of the Interim Administrative Council (IAC) welcome the beginning of joint consultations on the legal framework and endorse the efforts of the Working Group. The legal framework will define the establishment of provisional self-government in Kosovo. Recognising that a date for Kosovo-wide elections cannot be set until the legal framework is defined, the IAC hopes for a swift completion of the consultations.”
The Working Group, composed for seven Kosovo experts and seven international members, is to be chaired by Johan Van Lamoen, a Dutch legal expert with experience in “transitional arrangements,” who has been working with the United Nations mission in East Timor and had done similar work in Bosnia, the SRSG said.
Mr. Haekkerup stressed that UNMIK had contributed an “input” to the working group, who would use that as a starting point from which to draft a final product. He encouraged members of the IAC to provide their political input into the ongoing consultations, with the understanding that the legal framework would establish “provisional self-government inside Resolution 1244,” and not a constitution.
On the subject of the tension in FYROM, the IAC was addressed by NATO envoy Daniel Speckhard who had been dispatched from Brussels to Skopje to assist with resolving the crisis. He communicated the concerns of the FYROM authorities over the developments, as well as NATO’s determination to find a solution, “as one of our highest priorities.”
COMKFOR General Carlo Cabigiosu told the IAC that KFOR had increased its presence in southern Kosovo to prevent any possible movement of armed groups across the border, something of which KFOR has had little evidence, he said.
SRSG Haekkerup expressed his concern that the problem in FYROM should not become a problem for Kosovo “either physically or politically,” and he endorsed the IAC’s statement:
“The members of the Interim Administrative Council (IAC) regret the killing of three members of the Macedonian Armed Forces on 4 March. The IAC denounces any extremist actions that destabilize the situation in FYROM. It welcomes COMKFOR’s efforts to reduce any destabilizing influence on Kosovo’s border with FYROM and prevent the risk of instability from spreading. The IAC offers its support to the FYROM Government in finding a peaceful resolution to the situation in northern FYROM and urges it to re-open the Blace and Globucica border crossings.”
DSRSG Tom Koenigs then briefed the IAC on preventative measures which UNMIK is taking to spare Kosovo from the foot and mouth crisis: All vehicles will be disinfected at border and boundary crossing points for the next 14 days, he said. Cars will be charged 1 DM for disinfect ion and trucks 15 DM. When or if a case of food and mouth is confirmed anywhere in continental Europe, all meat and milk imports to Kosovo would be stopped. Passengers landing at Pristina airport who have come from the UK are also being checked.
Finally the IAC discussed briefly the draft regulation, which would set up a Kosovo Judicial Council.