Memorandum submitted by the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office
KOSOVO
1. The Committee asked for an up-date on the
situation in Kosovo before their visit in early March. This memorandum
sets its description of recent events on the ground in the context
of our overall policy on Kosovo.
KOSOVO SINCE
JUNE 1999
2. It is important not to lose sight of
the scale of the challenge UNMIK and KFOR inherited in June 1999.
850,000 citizens had been expelled from Kosovo. Half a million
more were internally displaced within Kosovo. Following 10 years
of malign neglect and 18 months of increasingly ferocious violence,
Kosovo was a shattered society.
3. Nine months on, problems remain, as the
violence in Mitrovica has shown. But things have changed for the
better. Well over 90 per cent of the refugees have returned. The
Kosovo Albanians agreed In January to work with UNMIK in a joint
administration and to dissolve their own parallel structures.
The Kosovo Serbs have now indicated their readiness to do so.
The Kosovo Liberation Army has been demilitarised. The Kosovo
Police Service is producing a multi-ethnic local police force.
Most of Kosovo's 1,000 schools have re-opened. Hospitals and basic
health services are now functioning. 1.1 million square metres
of land has been demined or cleared of unexploded ordnance. Spring
will see the start of a house-building programme and the acceleration
of work on economic reconstruction. British police specialists
will return to continue their work of examination and detection
for the international War Crimes Tribunal.
4. Kosovo is a long way yet from being the
society we want to see flourish, at peace with itself and its
neighbours. That goal was never going to be achieved overnight.
But it has, with our help, already come a long way from the horror
story of last year and the affront to modern Europe it would have
become had we not intervened.
SECURITY SITUATION/MITROVICA
5. The northern city of Mitrovica had substantial
mixed Serb and Albanian communities before the conflict, as did
Northern Kosovo as a whole. The mass deportations and ethnic cleansing
in Spring 1999 included many ethnic Albanians forced out of Northern
Kosovo. Following the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces in June 1999
included many ethnic Albanians forced out of Northern Kosovo.
Following the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces in June 1999 many
Kosovo Serbs fled to Northern Kosovo where there was already a
substantial Serb presence. The result has been a polarisation,
with a predominantly Serb ethnic population in Northern Mitrovica
and between Mitrovica and Serbia itself. This has been a source
of tension, which erupted into violence early in February.
6. UNMIK and KFOR have responded to this
with a series of immediate security measures, including:
— the reinforcement of KFOR in Mitrovica
with troops from a wide range of national contingents elsewhere
in Kosovo; UNMIK has also reinforced its police numbers;
— the creation of a secure zone on
either side of the bridge over the Ibar river, which divides Mitrovica;
— house to house searches and confiscation
of illegal weapons throughout the city;
— protection for the Albanians in the
north of the city.
7. UNMIK's longer term goal is to promote
peaceful co-existence between the Serb and Albanian communities
across Kosovo as a whole. This recognises the need to strike a
balance between the principle of freedom of movement for all people
in Kosovo and the right of the Serbs and other minorities to live
in areas where they feel safe.
8. Although the UN International Police
remain under-resourced (see below) UNMIK and KFOR have made steady
process in improving security in Kosovo. Two people were murdered
in the week beginning 29 January, compared to nearly 40 in the
week beginning 19 June. Several hundred suspected criminals are
in detention awaiting trial. The decision by UNMIK to revert to
the legal base which applied before Milosevic stole Kosovo's autonomy
has facilitated the recruitment of three hundred local judges
and prosecutors, essential to creating an effective judicial system.
9. The challenge is also an economic one.
Mitrovica in particular and the North in general are underdeveloped
economically. UNMIK have plans to develop local factories; people
working together might learn to live together. The Mission is
developing a business plan for the now derelict Trepca complex,
which was one of the largest sources of employment in Kosovo.
UNMIK is giving priority to the development of new businesses,
with the EU pillar of the Mission implementing a strategy to promote
investment. There will also be an extensive programme of re-building
housing.
10. The longer-term challenge is as clear
as it is complex. To rebuild sufficient confidence between the
communities that they can live together in peace. This goes to
the heart of the mandate of UNMIK and KFOR and to the recent initiatives
taken by the UN Special Representative, Bernard Kouchner.
JOINT ADMINISTRATION
11. UNSCR 1244, which provides the mandate
and the framework for the action of UNMIK and KFOR, charges the
UN Mission with the establishment of provisional democratic institutions
and the transfer of responsibility to the people of Kosovo.
12. In December 1999 UNMIK secured agreement
form the Kosovo Albanian leadership to participate in a new Joint
Interim Administrative Structure (JIAS). This will harness the
energy and enthusiasm of Kosovars in rebuilding Kosovo's institutions,
while retaining ultimate authority with the UN.
13. The JIAS comprises an eight-person Interim
Administration Council (IAC), including UNMIK's four senior officials
and four Kosovars (three Albanian and one Serb). The Kosovo Serbs
have not yet joined, but Kouchner, with support from governments
including ours, has been urging them to do so and Bishop Artemije,
one of the Kosovo Serb leaders, has agreed.
14. The IAC will supervise 19 administrative
departments, each of which will be headed by two Co-Chairs, an
INMIK official and a Kosovar. Four of the 19 departments have
been established (Education and Science, Health and Social Welfare,
Local Administration and Finance). Four more (Agriculture, Labour,
Transport and Environment) are reserved for the Kosovo Serbs.
An important part of the Joint Administration agreement is that
the parties commit themselves to the dissolution of the "parallel
structures", such as the ex-KLA-led "Provisional Government
of Kosovo". UNMIK judge that this is progressing well, but
they remain vigilant to ensure it is carried through to completion.
15. The Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC)
which pre-dates the JIAC will remain as a consultative body to
UNMIK. It has been expanded to about 40 members to be more representative
of Kosovo's ethnic composition and includes more women.
ELECTIONS
16. Elections to provisional institutions
are provided for in SCR 1244. They are an important means of achieving
the goals of the resolution. UNMIK intend to hold municipal elections
this Autumn. They will require political leaders to focus on everyday
issues, rather than longer term goals. The people of Kosovo will
rightly expect practical proposals on jobs and public services.
This should favour moderates rather than radicals. It should also
produce more responsible and co-operative politicians as partners
for UNMIK, to replace the self-appointed Albanians at local level.
Kosovo Serb participation is equally important. UNMIK are preparing
regulations to set up the election law and administration.
POLICE
17. One of the most pressing shortfalls
remains the shortage of international police. Only just over 2,000
of the 4,700 officially required are present. Our 60 RUC officers
have put their experience of policing in difficult community situations
to excellent use and are widely regarded as among the most effective
of the international contributions. At UN request we plan to double
our police contribution over the next two months. We are also
in discussion with the UN about seconding specialist police officers
to strengthen UNMIK's capacity to tackle serious and organised
crime. We have increased by almost a third, to 40, the UK officers
training the future Kosovo police at the OSCE-run training school
in Kosovo. Some 350 officers have now graduated, including Serbs,
Roma and other minorities. Almost a quarter were women. A new
class of 250 trainees started on 21 February.
KFOR
18. We have some 3,500 troops in KFOR, currently
drawn from the Royal Green Jackets and the Scots Dragoon Guards.
Again, their Northern Ireland experience has proved invaluable.
They have pioneered the minority protection patrols run by KFOR,
referred to in our earlier memorandum (FCO/FAC/030/99) and have
been instrumental in promoting the concept of joint patrolling
with the UNMIK police.
RECONSTRUCTION
19. The main priority for the EU-led reconstruction
pillar of UNMIK, led by a British national Joly Dixon, has been
the establishment of a coherent, modern and macro-economical framework.
There is a lot of economic activity on the ground: re-starting
businesses and opening new ones. UNMIK is focussed on encouraging
the former in particular. This requires establishment of property
rights and business law, a banking framework, international support
for small and medium sized enterprises and foreign investment.
20. International pledges for reconstruction
amount to 780 million euro for the rest of this year, almost half
of it provided by the EU. The UK is committed to giving some $45
million in bilateral assistance, as well as our share of the EU
collective contribution. We have already given US$2 million to
UNMIK in urgent budgetary support, one of the first nations to
do so this year. Further details are in the Annex attached.
CONCLUSION
21. What the Committee will see next week
in Kosovo is a shattered society still in the early stages of
rebuilding. Reconciliation will take a long time. The international
effort will continue, but its success depends on co-operation
of the people of Kosovo. If the apparent readiness of the Kosovo
Serbs to join the joint administration with UNMIK and the Kosovo
Albanians is realised this will be a significant step forward
and should help to create the climate for successful local elections
later this year. The reconstruction effort will build on the progress
made by UNMIK in establishing a sound economic base. The security
situation remains a serious concern, with extremist activity the
main threat to the success of the joint efforts of UNMIK and KFOR.
The Committee could usefully reinforce in its contacts with Kosovo's
political leaders next week the need for them to show responsibility
in denouncing extremism on all sides and helping the international
presences tackle it.
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