Reconstruction and development
Kosovo Transitional Council condemns
brutal attack on Serb family: The Kosovo Transitional Council today
condemned the attack early Monday morning on a Serb family in which a man
was shot dead and his wife and mother-in-law brutally assaulted by a crowd
celebrating a Kosovar Albanian holiday. The Head of the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr. Bernard Kouchner, issued the statement today
in Pristina on behalf of the Council, as he laid a bouquet of flowers at
the scene of the attack in Pristina's Dardania neighbourhood.Reconstruction
and development.
The brutal attack "is a grave misuse of the liberty" awarded to the people of Kosovo by UNMIK and the international peacekeeping force, KFOR, to peacefully celebrate the Albanian Flag Day, the statement said. "The Kosovo Transitional Council calls again on all people of Kosovo to have tolerance for each other and thus lay the foundations for the establishment of a genuine multi-ethnic society," the statement continued.Reconstruction and development.
UNMIK takes full responsibility for its first prison: The UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) yesterday officially assumed full responsibility for its first prison, in Prizren. This is "the final link" in the emergency judiciary set up by UNMIK, a statement issued in Pristina today said. Sixty experienced local staff have been hired and trained and the first class of correctional service cadets began training on Monday at the OSCE police academy in Vucitm. The prison, a pre-trial detention facility overseen by three international staff, currently holds only 43 prisoners. This is expected to rise to 100 as other prisoners are transferred there. UNMIK will take responsibility for the entire correctional system, including the main penitentiary at Iskok, next year.
UNMIK appoints board for BPK: Last weekend the Head of the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr. Bernard Kouchner appointed a board of directors for the new Banking and Payments Authority of Kosovo (BPK), UNMIK said today in a statement issued in Pristina. The Board is chaired by the Kosovar economist, Mr. Ali Begu, and the Pillar IV (Reconstruction and Economic Development) banking expert, Mr. Nick Brentnall. The 400 employees of the former payments bureau become BPK staff, on temporary contracts and BPK will take over as its headquarters the building of the old payments authority known as the SDK.
Pristina central heating plant now running at 50 per cent capacity: The Pristina central heating plant is now running at 50 per cent of capacity, as it did last year during the winter, the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) said today. At full capacity, the plant provides heating equivalent to 145 megawatts of energy. The repairs continue through January when the plant should be working at 80 per cent of capacity. Alternative means of heating schools, not connected to the plant, are being arranged.
UNMIK Police report murders and arson: The UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) Police today said that in the past 24 hours two murders were reported in the Pristina Region, one in Pec and one in Mitrovica. On 29 November, police discovered the body of an Albanian male who was shot in the village of Lausa in the Pristina region, and another one in Podujevo. In the Prizren region, a shop owned by an Albanian, who did not display the Albanian flag to celebrate the "Albanian Flag Day", was set on fire on Sunday night. In the Mitrovica region, KFOR found the body of an unidentified Serb near the stadium. Also in Mitrovica, a bar belonging to a Serb was destroyed after being set on fire.
Democracy and institution building
Second group of police cadets start training: An intensive nine-week training for a second group of 175 police officers has started in Kosovo with students drawn from all over the province and representing Albanians, Serbs and other minorities. A statement issued by UNMIK in Pristina today said about 76 per cent of the students are Kosovo Albanians, 15 per cent Kosovo Serbs, 8 per cent from other minorities. Women constitute 17 per cent of the students.
More than 130 international police instructors from 13 countries and local legal specialists provide the training at the Kosovo Police Service School in Vucitm, 20 kilometres north of Pristina. The training, which consists of democratic policing and other aspects of police work, is organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission in Kosovo.