OSCE Chairman-in-Office: no premature discussion about final status of Kosovo
(OSCE)President of Serbia and Montenegro, Svetozar Marovic (right), and OSCE's Chairman-in-Office Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Belgrade, 22 April 2003. (OSCE) Photo details
THE HAGUE, 24 April 2003 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office (CiO), Netherlands Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, does not support the idea of starting a discussion now about the final status of Kosovo. "I believe such a discussion is premature at this moment and would not produce the desired results", said the OSCE CiO during his visit to Pristina on 23 April.
The Chairman of the OSCE spoke with the Kosovar leadership and various deputies of the Kosovo Assembly. "I think everybody agrees that much remains to be done in Kosovo. Both in the economic and in the political area, the international community needs to reconfirm its commitment to Kosovo."
The OSCE CiO, pointing at the complexity of the Kosovo issue, said that there is a need to continue working pragmatically to fight unemployment and improve the situation when it comes to health care, education, freedom of movement and the security situation so that there are better perspectives for displaced persons who wish to return to Kosovo.
"Economic reconstruction and political stability are closely related. On the basis of the provisional framework, we need to make headway with the transfer of competencies to empower the proper authorities to take matters into their own hands. The OSCE is well placed to assist in this process, because of its experience in the field of democracy and the rule of law and because of the contribution it can give to the strengthening of local institutions. This is illustrated by the success of the Kosovo Police Service School", said the OSCE CiO who visited the school personally during his visit.
The Chairman-in-Office's visit to Pristina was preceded by a visit to Belgrade and Podgorica, where the CiO, apart from Kosovo, also talked with key political leaders about the political developments concerning the new state union, the European vocation of the country and the ongoing progress made by the authorities in the field of restructuring of the armed forces.
The OSCE CiO expressed his satisfaction that the state of emergency, imposed in Serbia after the assassination of late Prime Minister Djindjic, was lifted on the day of his visit. "The state of emergency was justified because of the need to track down the assassins of the late Prime Minister and to successfully crack down on organized crime. However, it is important for any country that is rocked by a political crisis, to return to a normal situation as soon as possible."
Commenting the recent adoption of a law regulating pre-trial detention, minister de Hoop Scheffer said that specific laws were not discussed. "However, since the OSCE is a union of values, I am of the opinion that the laws of a country with a European vocation such as this one should reflect these values. I therefore hope that we will soon see a return to the European average for the maximum period of pre-trial detention."
Moreover, the Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs took positive note of the commitment of Serbia and Montenegro to co-operation with the war crimes tribunal. "It is important that Mr. Radic, another important ICTY indictee, has gone to The Hague. I am confident that the co-operation of the country with the tribunal is continuing and that we may expect, sooner or later, other 'big fish' in The Hague as well. The OSCE, for its part, has assisted and will continue to assist the country with strengthening the capacity of domestic courts to carry out war crimes trials".
Finally, during a working dinner in Podgorica, it was agreed that co-operation between the OSCE and the Montenegrin authorities has been successful overall and may be continued and intensified in areas of mutual interest, such as in the area of police reform and the fight against organized crime, including activities against trafficking in human beings, one of the Netherlands Chairmanship's main priorities.
The Chairman of the OSCE spoke with the Kosovar leadership and various deputies of the Kosovo Assembly. "I think everybody agrees that much remains to be done in Kosovo. Both in the economic and in the political area, the international community needs to reconfirm its commitment to Kosovo."
The OSCE CiO, pointing at the complexity of the Kosovo issue, said that there is a need to continue working pragmatically to fight unemployment and improve the situation when it comes to health care, education, freedom of movement and the security situation so that there are better perspectives for displaced persons who wish to return to Kosovo.
"Economic reconstruction and political stability are closely related. On the basis of the provisional framework, we need to make headway with the transfer of competencies to empower the proper authorities to take matters into their own hands. The OSCE is well placed to assist in this process, because of its experience in the field of democracy and the rule of law and because of the contribution it can give to the strengthening of local institutions. This is illustrated by the success of the Kosovo Police Service School", said the OSCE CiO who visited the school personally during his visit.
The Chairman-in-Office's visit to Pristina was preceded by a visit to Belgrade and Podgorica, where the CiO, apart from Kosovo, also talked with key political leaders about the political developments concerning the new state union, the European vocation of the country and the ongoing progress made by the authorities in the field of restructuring of the armed forces.
The OSCE CiO expressed his satisfaction that the state of emergency, imposed in Serbia after the assassination of late Prime Minister Djindjic, was lifted on the day of his visit. "The state of emergency was justified because of the need to track down the assassins of the late Prime Minister and to successfully crack down on organized crime. However, it is important for any country that is rocked by a political crisis, to return to a normal situation as soon as possible."
Commenting the recent adoption of a law regulating pre-trial detention, minister de Hoop Scheffer said that specific laws were not discussed. "However, since the OSCE is a union of values, I am of the opinion that the laws of a country with a European vocation such as this one should reflect these values. I therefore hope that we will soon see a return to the European average for the maximum period of pre-trial detention."
Moreover, the Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs took positive note of the commitment of Serbia and Montenegro to co-operation with the war crimes tribunal. "It is important that Mr. Radic, another important ICTY indictee, has gone to The Hague. I am confident that the co-operation of the country with the tribunal is continuing and that we may expect, sooner or later, other 'big fish' in The Hague as well. The OSCE, for its part, has assisted and will continue to assist the country with strengthening the capacity of domestic courts to carry out war crimes trials".
Finally, during a working dinner in Podgorica, it was agreed that co-operation between the OSCE and the Montenegrin authorities has been successful overall and may be continued and intensified in areas of mutual interest, such as in the area of police reform and the fight against organized crime, including activities against trafficking in human beings, one of the Netherlands Chairmanship's main priorities.