[Kcc-News] 1,600 Kosovars still held by Serbs / U.N. Council Told 1,600 Kosovars Still Held By Serbs (UNHCR to name envoy for prisoners?) (February 18, 2000)

[Mentor Cana]

____________________________________________________________________
     RELEASE THE KOSOVAR POLITICAL PRISONERS FROM SERBIA NOW!
	             Sign the petition at:
          http://www.khao.org/appkosova/app_online.htm
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http://www.dailystarnews.com/200002/18/n0021813.htm#BODY8

The Daily Star - Volume 3 Number 174                 
Fri. February 18, 2000

1,600 Kosovars still held by Serbs

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 17: An estimated 1,600 people from Kosovo are still
being detained in other parts of Serbia while about 3,500 inhabitants of
the mainly ethnic Albanian Serb province are listed as missing, the
Security Council was told on Wednesday, reports Reuters.
     UN Assistant-Secretary-General for peacekeeping operations Hedi
Annabi, who gave these figures during a closed-door briefing for council
members, added that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, former
Irish President Mary Robinson, was considering appointing a special
envoy to deal with the issue of detainees and the missing.
     "The status of people from Kosovo detained in Serbia proper remains
a matter of concern," Annabi said, according to his briefing notes
obtained later.
     "The most accurate count of Kosovo detainees in Serbia proper is
approximately 1,600," he said, citing a survey by the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) of all civilian and some military
prisons.
     He also said there were "approximately 3,000 missing persons from
the NATO bombing period and 400 to 500 persons reported missing since
mid-June 1999."
     NATO conducted 11 weeks of air strikes against targets in
Yugoslavia, including Kosovo, from March to June last year to force
Belgrade to halt the oppression of ethnic Albanians.
     Hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians fled during this period,
mainly to Albania and Macedonia, though most returned after the bombing
ended and a UN administration backed by the NATO-led KFOR entered Kosovo
in June.
     "The appointment of a special envoy to deal with the issue of
detainees and the missing is being considered by the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights," Annabi said.
     Part of his briefing summerised a recent upsurge of violence in
Kosovo between ethnic Albanians and Serbs. Although centred on the mixed
city Mitrovica, "this has affected inter-ethnic relations in other
regions of Kosovo and has led to an increase in tension throughout the
province," he said.
     Annabi said the ability of the UN interim administration to
maintain the pace of its achievements largely depended on making good a
serious lack of financing for Kosovo's budget.
_______________________________________________________________________
Betreff:   UNHCR to name envoy for prisoners?
Datum:     Fri, 18 Feb 2000 12:00:26 -0500
Firma:     International Crisis Group

U.N. Council Told 1,600 Kosovars Still Held By Serbs

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 17, 2000 -- (Reuters) An estimated 1,600 people from
Kosovo are still being detained in other parts of Serbia while about
3,500 inhabitants of the mainly ethnic Albanian Serb province are listed
as missing, the Security Council was told on Wednesday.
     U.N. Assistant-Secretary-General for peacekeeping operations Hedi
Annabi, who gave these figures during a closed-door briefing for council
members, added that the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, former
Irish President Mary Robinson, was considering appointing a special
envoy to deal with the issue of detainees and the missing.
     "The status of people from Kosovo detained in Serbia proper remains
a matter of concern," Annabi said, according to his briefing notes
obtained later.
     "The most accurate count of Kosovo detainees in Serbia proper is
approximately 1,600," he said, citing a survey by the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) of all civilian and some military
prisons.
     He also said there were "approximately 3,000 missing persons from
the NATO bombing period and 400 to 500 persons reported missing since
mid-June 1999."
     NATO conducted 11 weeks of air strikes against targets in
Yugoslavia, including Kosovo, from March to June last year to force
Belgrade to halt the oppression of ethnic Albanians.
     Hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians fled during this period,
mainly to Albania and Macedonia, though most returned after the bombing
ended and a U.N. administration backed by the NATO-led KFOR entered
Kosovo in June.
     "The appointment of a special envoy to deal with the issue of
detainees and the missing is being considered by the U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights," Annabi said.
     Part of his briefing summarized a recent upsurge of violence in
Kosovo between ethnic Albanians and Serbs. Although centered on the
mixed city Mitrovica, "this has affected inter-ethnic relations in other
regions of Kosovo and has led to an increase in tension throughout the
province," he said.
     Annabi said the ability of the U.N. interim administration to
maintain the pace of its achievements largely depended on making good a
serious lack of financing for Kosovo's budget.
     "As it now stands, the cash available for the 2000 Kosovo
consolidated budget ... will be exhausted by early March, even after
allowing for revenue collection," he said.
     While DM 21.4 million ($10.8 million) had been received out of 28
million  ($14.1 million) needed for the Kosovo Protection Corps, an
emergency force established last month, and for a population
registration program, a 46 million mark ($23.2 million) deficit remained
for unspecified budget support.