First multi-ethnic police training starts in southern Serbia
In Kosovo, the OSCE has gathered considerable experience in training professional police forces. (Lubomir Kotek/OSCE) Photo details
BELGRADE, 22 May 2001 (OSCE) - Yesterday began in Bujanovac the first phase of the multi-ethnic police training organized jointly by the OSCE Mission and the Serbian Ministry of Interior.
"The setting up of a multi-ethnic police-training course is an important step in the stabilization of the situation in Southern Serbia", said Ambassador Stefano Sannino, Head of the OSCE Mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, who travelled on this occasion to Bujanovac. "The joint Serb-Albanian participation in the police training is a clear sign that co-existence of different ethnic communities is possible. The patrols to be carried out jointly by Serb and Albanian police officers will contribute to the restoration of confidence among the people living in the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja", he stated.
This first phase of the training consists of a five-day refresher course for former ethnic Albanian police officers and reservists, and for Serbian police officers, designed to establish speedily an ethnically mixed police presence in the area of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja. A total of 12 students from both Serb and Albanian communities are the first to participate in this training programme, and it is hoped that, once the programme will be further developed and enlarged, their numbers will increase rapidly.
Within the framework of national police training, special emphasis is being put on issues which are at the core of the OSCE mandate, such as respect for human rights and dignity as well as police ethics. It is expected that the participants of the refresher course will start their joint patrols immediately following the end of the training. This will coincide with the time when the last sector of the Ground Safety Zone bordering the Kosovo province will be released to Yugoslav forces.
"For the citizens in southern Serbia to be able to resume their normal daily life, they need to know that security is provided by institutions that are accountable to civil authorities, not only on a central but also on a local level, functioning within the legal framework of the country", Mr. Sannino said.
The OSCE Mission to the FRY remains committed to the further development of the multi-ethnic police training and is working on the follow-up to this phase, including support to the republican authority for the establishment of a centre devoted to the training of multi-ethnic police elements.
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For further information, please contact Stella Ronner, Spokesperson, OSCE Mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Tel: +(381-11) 3672 425 or +(381-11) 3672 427; fax +(381-11) 3672 429
"The setting up of a multi-ethnic police-training course is an important step in the stabilization of the situation in Southern Serbia", said Ambassador Stefano Sannino, Head of the OSCE Mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, who travelled on this occasion to Bujanovac. "The joint Serb-Albanian participation in the police training is a clear sign that co-existence of different ethnic communities is possible. The patrols to be carried out jointly by Serb and Albanian police officers will contribute to the restoration of confidence among the people living in the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja", he stated.
This first phase of the training consists of a five-day refresher course for former ethnic Albanian police officers and reservists, and for Serbian police officers, designed to establish speedily an ethnically mixed police presence in the area of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja. A total of 12 students from both Serb and Albanian communities are the first to participate in this training programme, and it is hoped that, once the programme will be further developed and enlarged, their numbers will increase rapidly.
Within the framework of national police training, special emphasis is being put on issues which are at the core of the OSCE mandate, such as respect for human rights and dignity as well as police ethics. It is expected that the participants of the refresher course will start their joint patrols immediately following the end of the training. This will coincide with the time when the last sector of the Ground Safety Zone bordering the Kosovo province will be released to Yugoslav forces.
"For the citizens in southern Serbia to be able to resume their normal daily life, they need to know that security is provided by institutions that are accountable to civil authorities, not only on a central but also on a local level, functioning within the legal framework of the country", Mr. Sannino said.
The OSCE Mission to the FRY remains committed to the further development of the multi-ethnic police training and is working on the follow-up to this phase, including support to the republican authority for the establishment of a centre devoted to the training of multi-ethnic police elements.
--
For further information, please contact Stella Ronner, Spokesperson, OSCE Mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Tel: +(381-11) 3672 425 or +(381-11) 3672 427; fax +(381-11) 3672 429