UNMIK to "adjust presence" in Kosovo

05/05/2008

UNMIK will stay on in Kosovo in accordance with UN Resolution 1244, but will rethink its competencies after a new constitution goes into force, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno said.

By Blerta Foniqi-Kabashi for Southeast European Times in Pristina -- 05/05/08

UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno arrived in Kosovo on Saturday (May 3rd). [Getty Images]

UN Undersecretary for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno arrived on Saturday (May 3rd) in Kosovo for a fact-finding visit. He met with Albanian and Kosovo Serb leaders in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica and urged respect for the law.

"Violence is not an instrument to solve problems," he said after a meeting with Mitrovica mayor Bajram Rexhepi. "Criminal acts should be punished regardless of their author."

He also said that UNMIK would adjust its presence in Kosovo after June 15th, when the Kosovo Constitution goes into force, though he declined to go into detail. "UNMIK wants to evolve, that is to face evolving circumstances," he said, while insisting the mission would remain in Kosovo under UN Resolution 1244.

UNMIK's competencies will be adjusted in accordance with circumstances, he said. "We have seen changes and transformations that happened very fast. However, we should take into consideration Resolution 1244 and its responsibilities," he said.

During his visit, Guehenno held talks with Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and UN mission Chief Joachim Ruecker. The focus was on the prospects for an international civilian presence and on the March 17th riots in northern Mitrovica.

"There shouldn't be a vacuum in the security situation and there shouldn't be a situation where people do not respect the law," he said.

Kosovo Serb leaders, however, told him the violence in Mitrovica -- which included attacks on UNMIK personnel -- was provoked by the international community.

The rioting stemmed from "an attempt by the international community and UNMIK to establish the institutions of independent Kosovo" and foist them on ethnic Serbs in Mitrovica, media reports quoted the mayor of Zubin Potok, Slavisa Ristic, as saying.