Kosovo has made all the preparations to implement the new UNSC Resolution
EU mission completely dependant on adoption of Resolution, there is no plan B
The start of the transition period in Kosovo is waiting for the green light from a Resolution on Kosovo expected to be adopted at the Security Council. All the work so far by the locals and the internationals to prepare the infrastructure for the transfer of competencies has been based on this resolution. And if that fails, the EU Planning Team in Kosovo says that the result will be zero and that there is no plan B.
By Visar Fetaj, 12 June 2007, “Zëri”, Prishtina
If a new UNSC Resolution on Kosovo were to be adopted today the local and international institutions in Kosovo would be ready to start with the transition andtransfer of all the competences in the foreseen period of 120 days. Almost all the necessary preparations for this transition have been made, however, the exact time as to when this process will start is not yet clear, as it depends completely on the new resolution in New York. Even in the field of security, where according to the agreement, the future EU mission in Kosovo will maintain a part of competencies, almost all the responsibilities that will pass on from UNMIK to Kosovo institutions and to the future EU mission, have been defined. Based on the Ahtisaari proposal, the head of the EUPT for Kosovo, Casper Klynge says he is convinced that during the four months of transition, there will be nothing left unfinished in the process. However, all these preparations would fail if the Resolution is blocked in New York. “Our mission is completely dependant on theapproval of the Resolution at the UNSC in New York. On this issue, all the 27 EU member states have supported the Ahtisaari plan and they support a new resolution on Kosovo. We do not have a plan B and we expect and hope very much that in the end we will have a resolution. But what we would like the people of Kosovo to do is to focus more on the substance of this resolution and not on the time when it will be adopted, since you are very close to achieving the objective for which you have worked hard and waited for a long time,” said Casper Klynge for Zëri. Klynge said he is happy with the cooperation he has with the local authorities, including the Government, the opposition and the representatives of the non-majority communities in Kosovo, and according to him, they are all working hard to be ready for the transfer of competencies after the resolution.
Avni Arifi, advisor to Prime Minister Agim Çeku, who is also Government’s transition coordinator, measures success through the stage of their ongoingpreparations and the launch of the transition period. According to him, in some areas where the status does not pose a problem, the transition has already started – the implementation of the agreement, like humanitarian transport, civil administration, customs, etc and this is being done on daily basis. As part of thejoint efforts, Arifi says that they are in a good position too with regards to the implementation of the 18 priority laws that Ahtisaari has asked to implement in the 120 days after the resolution. Naim Maloku, another member of the Assembly Presidency, says that all the workof the Kosovo political and institutional factors is focused on the implementation of the obligations that derive from the Ahtisaari plan and that all of the work being done in Kosovo ‘corresponds’ with the adoption of the resolution, unchanged, as proposed by the US and EU. Maloku, who is also chairing the Assembly Security Committee, says that startingfrom the transfer of competencies in the area of security, adoption of law on police, law on intelligence service, on identification documents, passports and many other things, they are ready and they expect to implement them during the 120 transition days after the resolution. It is exactly because of this process, which will test local capacities to prepare and assume responsibilities, says Maloku, that there will be no summer holidays. He said that they have decided to shorten the time to review laws from two months into two or maximum four weeks. The European Union is almost ready to establish its civilian provisional mission inKosovo, and in this process too they will be supported by the US. It is expected that the deputy chief of the EU civilian mission in Kosovo will be an Americanlike it was the case with UNMIK. This mission is expected to have about 1,800 members, 1,400 of which will be police officers and most of them will not have executive positions, but will be sort of monitoring the KPS. There will be about 50 international judges and 20 prosecutors as part of the mission. Whereas the EU mission in the area of rule of law is expected to be led by the former KFORcommander French General Yves de Kermabon. He will have the authority toexercise executive powers about serious financial crimes, organized crime, warcrimes and other specific cases in the courts. International judges will deal withinterethnic cases in order to ensure impartial and fair decisions. And with this, says Casper Klynge, the goal is not to govern with Kosovo, because it will be governed by Kosovars themselves, but as he said ‘the goal is to guarantee that with the implementation of the document on Kosovo, everything moves properly so that there is no need for executive interventions by the internationals’. The local authorities will have all the competencies while the international community will look out and monitor only issues related to the implementation of the status settlement and basic human rights and rule of law principles,’ says Klynge. In brief, the EUPT chief says that there will no longer be international police commissioners in Kosovo and that the commissioner will be local and he will have all the responsibilities. During regular meetings they have had as part of the preparations for the transition period in the field of security, Naim Maloku claims to have raised it as an issue for the international police, that will serve as part of EU, to report to the Parliamentary Security Committee of the Assembly of Kosovo, in order for it not to remain a reserved competency as it has been so far with UNMIK. On this, Klynge confirmed that the future mission in Kosovo will inform the Kosovo institutions on any evidence it will have. “This is because the institutions and the people of Kosovo need to know what is happening and that the EU mission will be here to help improve mistakes in certain fields,” he said.
When it comes to security after the status, the Interior Ministry assesses that with the further transfer of competencies and with the implementation of Ahtisaari’s plan, the security sector in Kosovo will enter an even more advanced stage of its development. According to Burim Ramadani, political advisor to Interior Minister Blerim Kuçi, during and after the transition period, some new institutions that have not existed so far, will join the security mechanisms. To be more concrete, he says, it will be the Kosovo Security Force, namely the army and the Kosovo Intelligent Service. Both these two institutions have always proved the importance they have for a good functioning of the security sector. Klynge and Ramadani said that all the responsibility when it comes to creation and training of the future Kosovo Defense Force lies with NATO and its structures in Kosovo. NATO will continue to maintain overall security and control Kosovo borders. Based on the agreement deriving from the Ahtisaari proposal, Ramadani said that the KPS will completely pass on under the Interior Ministry and will develop further. “We believe and it is our vision that KPS will become one of the best police services not only in the region but also in Europe,” said Ramadani adding that this structure will be supported by the EU police mission. Regarding the Kosovo Intelligence Service, Ramadani said that its establishment will start right after the adoption of the resolution, while its functionality will be reached, as he said, in a longer period of time. “We cannot expect this agency to become functional or take over broader responsibilities right after its put together, so we expect the agency to be in the process of establishment at the first two or three years,” he said.
As a commander of KPS force, General Sheremet Ahmeti is convinced that the structure he is leading is now capable of assuming all the responsibilities to provide security in Kosovo. General Ahmeti too sees the future EU presence in Kosovo as helpful, saying he expects them to have more a monitoring and advising role and not an executive one. “I have known General Kermabon since the time when he was at the helm of KFOR command in Kosovo and we have had very good cooperation during his mission in Kosovo. He is well acquainted with the security situation and circumstances in Kosovo and he will be welcomed,” said the KPS chief.
www.eupt-kosovo.eu/new/euptmedia/docs/eng/Klynge_interview_to_Zeri%2520_2.pdf+burim+ramadani&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=13
EU mission completely dependant on adoption of Resolution, there is no plan B
The start of the transition period in Kosovo is waiting for the green light from a Resolution on Kosovo expected to be adopted at the Security Council. All the work so far by the locals and the internationals to prepare the infrastructure for the transfer of competencies has been based on this resolution. And if that fails, the EU Planning Team in Kosovo says that the result will be zero and that there is no plan B.
By Visar Fetaj, 12 June 2007, “Zëri”, Prishtina
If a new UNSC Resolution on Kosovo were to be adopted today the local and international institutions in Kosovo would be ready to start with the transition andtransfer of all the competences in the foreseen period of 120 days. Almost all the necessary preparations for this transition have been made, however, the exact time as to when this process will start is not yet clear, as it depends completely on the new resolution in New York. Even in the field of security, where according to the agreement, the future EU mission in Kosovo will maintain a part of competencies, almost all the responsibilities that will pass on from UNMIK to Kosovo institutions and to the future EU mission, have been defined. Based on the Ahtisaari proposal, the head of the EUPT for Kosovo, Casper Klynge says he is convinced that during the four months of transition, there will be nothing left unfinished in the process. However, all these preparations would fail if the Resolution is blocked in New York. “Our mission is completely dependant on theapproval of the Resolution at the UNSC in New York. On this issue, all the 27 EU member states have supported the Ahtisaari plan and they support a new resolution on Kosovo. We do not have a plan B and we expect and hope very much that in the end we will have a resolution. But what we would like the people of Kosovo to do is to focus more on the substance of this resolution and not on the time when it will be adopted, since you are very close to achieving the objective for which you have worked hard and waited for a long time,” said Casper Klynge for Zëri. Klynge said he is happy with the cooperation he has with the local authorities, including the Government, the opposition and the representatives of the non-majority communities in Kosovo, and according to him, they are all working hard to be ready for the transfer of competencies after the resolution.
Avni Arifi, advisor to Prime Minister Agim Çeku, who is also Government’s transition coordinator, measures success through the stage of their ongoingpreparations and the launch of the transition period. According to him, in some areas where the status does not pose a problem, the transition has already started – the implementation of the agreement, like humanitarian transport, civil administration, customs, etc and this is being done on daily basis. As part of thejoint efforts, Arifi says that they are in a good position too with regards to the implementation of the 18 priority laws that Ahtisaari has asked to implement in the 120 days after the resolution. Naim Maloku, another member of the Assembly Presidency, says that all the workof the Kosovo political and institutional factors is focused on the implementation of the obligations that derive from the Ahtisaari plan and that all of the work being done in Kosovo ‘corresponds’ with the adoption of the resolution, unchanged, as proposed by the US and EU. Maloku, who is also chairing the Assembly Security Committee, says that startingfrom the transfer of competencies in the area of security, adoption of law on police, law on intelligence service, on identification documents, passports and many other things, they are ready and they expect to implement them during the 120 transition days after the resolution. It is exactly because of this process, which will test local capacities to prepare and assume responsibilities, says Maloku, that there will be no summer holidays. He said that they have decided to shorten the time to review laws from two months into two or maximum four weeks. The European Union is almost ready to establish its civilian provisional mission inKosovo, and in this process too they will be supported by the US. It is expected that the deputy chief of the EU civilian mission in Kosovo will be an Americanlike it was the case with UNMIK. This mission is expected to have about 1,800 members, 1,400 of which will be police officers and most of them will not have executive positions, but will be sort of monitoring the KPS. There will be about 50 international judges and 20 prosecutors as part of the mission. Whereas the EU mission in the area of rule of law is expected to be led by the former KFORcommander French General Yves de Kermabon. He will have the authority toexercise executive powers about serious financial crimes, organized crime, warcrimes and other specific cases in the courts. International judges will deal withinterethnic cases in order to ensure impartial and fair decisions. And with this, says Casper Klynge, the goal is not to govern with Kosovo, because it will be governed by Kosovars themselves, but as he said ‘the goal is to guarantee that with the implementation of the document on Kosovo, everything moves properly so that there is no need for executive interventions by the internationals’. The local authorities will have all the competencies while the international community will look out and monitor only issues related to the implementation of the status settlement and basic human rights and rule of law principles,’ says Klynge. In brief, the EUPT chief says that there will no longer be international police commissioners in Kosovo and that the commissioner will be local and he will have all the responsibilities. During regular meetings they have had as part of the preparations for the transition period in the field of security, Naim Maloku claims to have raised it as an issue for the international police, that will serve as part of EU, to report to the Parliamentary Security Committee of the Assembly of Kosovo, in order for it not to remain a reserved competency as it has been so far with UNMIK. On this, Klynge confirmed that the future mission in Kosovo will inform the Kosovo institutions on any evidence it will have. “This is because the institutions and the people of Kosovo need to know what is happening and that the EU mission will be here to help improve mistakes in certain fields,” he said.
When it comes to security after the status, the Interior Ministry assesses that with the further transfer of competencies and with the implementation of Ahtisaari’s plan, the security sector in Kosovo will enter an even more advanced stage of its development. According to Burim Ramadani, political advisor to Interior Minister Blerim Kuçi, during and after the transition period, some new institutions that have not existed so far, will join the security mechanisms. To be more concrete, he says, it will be the Kosovo Security Force, namely the army and the Kosovo Intelligent Service. Both these two institutions have always proved the importance they have for a good functioning of the security sector. Klynge and Ramadani said that all the responsibility when it comes to creation and training of the future Kosovo Defense Force lies with NATO and its structures in Kosovo. NATO will continue to maintain overall security and control Kosovo borders. Based on the agreement deriving from the Ahtisaari proposal, Ramadani said that the KPS will completely pass on under the Interior Ministry and will develop further. “We believe and it is our vision that KPS will become one of the best police services not only in the region but also in Europe,” said Ramadani adding that this structure will be supported by the EU police mission. Regarding the Kosovo Intelligence Service, Ramadani said that its establishment will start right after the adoption of the resolution, while its functionality will be reached, as he said, in a longer period of time. “We cannot expect this agency to become functional or take over broader responsibilities right after its put together, so we expect the agency to be in the process of establishment at the first two or three years,” he said.
As a commander of KPS force, General Sheremet Ahmeti is convinced that the structure he is leading is now capable of assuming all the responsibilities to provide security in Kosovo. General Ahmeti too sees the future EU presence in Kosovo as helpful, saying he expects them to have more a monitoring and advising role and not an executive one. “I have known General Kermabon since the time when he was at the helm of KFOR command in Kosovo and we have had very good cooperation during his mission in Kosovo. He is well acquainted with the security situation and circumstances in Kosovo and he will be welcomed,” said the KPS chief.
www.eupt-kosovo.eu/new/euptmedia/docs/eng/Klynge_interview_to_Zeri%2520_2.pdf+burim+ramadani&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=13
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