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Report on Kosovo minorities: anyone can become a victim
PRISTINA 3 April 2001
PRISTINA, 3 April 2001 - The Organization for Security Co-operation in Europe and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees today release their seventh joint assessment of the situation of minority communities in Kosovo. The 30-page report covers the period from October 2000 to February 2001. It highlights the continued lack of adequate security for those who find themselves part of a minority ethnic group surrounded by a majority population of different ethnicity.
After a long period in which ethnically motivated violence appeared to be declining, the period covered by this latest report was marked by a clear deterioration in the overall security situation for minority communities. It began with the killing of four Ashkaelia returnees and ended with the brutal attack on the Nis Express bus carrying members of the Serb community on 16 February 2001.
Attacks against individuals from minority communities increased sharply and violence seems to have been of a far more organized nature. Attacks on property and illegal occupation continue all over Kosovo. No ethnic group has been left untouched. While many would recognize the right to return for all people to their homes, very few people in today's Kosovo have the courage to take a firm stance, speak out and back their words with action.
While the ongoing violence has shaken the confidence of the exposed minority populations, the frustration and uncertainty amongst the majority Kosovo Albanian population increases day by day. Efforts towards stabilization and improvement of the general security situation have been undermined by events of the past months; the number of arrests and successful prosecutions remains low.
Despite greater recognition of the issues and commitment to tackling them by many of the actors involved, the report shows that access to health services and employment remains difficult. The process of appointing crucial protection bodies at the municipal level, such as the Communities and Mediation Committees, is incomplete. Enhanced co-ordination and co-operation is required between the central authorities, the new municipal authorities, NGOs and the general population, including the minority communities themselves.
While the volatile situation in southern Serbia and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia could have a negative impact on minority communities in Kosovo if not stabilized, international efforts to promote the right of return for Albanians to return to neighbouring countries and territories might provide an opportunity for Kosovo's population to reflect on the right of return for the minority population. A democratic society after all is best judged by how it treats its minority and not its majority population.
For further information please contact:
Claire Trevena, Spokesperson, OSCE Mission in Kosovo - tel: +377-44-500-150
Astrid van Genderen Stort, Spokesperson, UNHCR Kosovo - tel: +381-38-501-509 / +377-44-128-020
After a long period in which ethnically motivated violence appeared to be declining, the period covered by this latest report was marked by a clear deterioration in the overall security situation for minority communities. It began with the killing of four Ashkaelia returnees and ended with the brutal attack on the Nis Express bus carrying members of the Serb community on 16 February 2001.
Attacks against individuals from minority communities increased sharply and violence seems to have been of a far more organized nature. Attacks on property and illegal occupation continue all over Kosovo. No ethnic group has been left untouched. While many would recognize the right to return for all people to their homes, very few people in today's Kosovo have the courage to take a firm stance, speak out and back their words with action.
While the ongoing violence has shaken the confidence of the exposed minority populations, the frustration and uncertainty amongst the majority Kosovo Albanian population increases day by day. Efforts towards stabilization and improvement of the general security situation have been undermined by events of the past months; the number of arrests and successful prosecutions remains low.
Despite greater recognition of the issues and commitment to tackling them by many of the actors involved, the report shows that access to health services and employment remains difficult. The process of appointing crucial protection bodies at the municipal level, such as the Communities and Mediation Committees, is incomplete. Enhanced co-ordination and co-operation is required between the central authorities, the new municipal authorities, NGOs and the general population, including the minority communities themselves.
While the volatile situation in southern Serbia and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia could have a negative impact on minority communities in Kosovo if not stabilized, international efforts to promote the right of return for Albanians to return to neighbouring countries and territories might provide an opportunity for Kosovo's population to reflect on the right of return for the minority population. A democratic society after all is best judged by how it treats its minority and not its majority population.
For further information please contact:
Claire Trevena, Spokesperson, OSCE Mission in Kosovo - tel: +377-44-500-150
Astrid van Genderen Stort, Spokesperson, UNHCR Kosovo - tel: +381-38-501-509 / +377-44-128-020