Head of OSCE Mission to Skopje welcomes progress in Matejce
Ambassador Craig Jenness heads the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission in Skopje since August 2001. (Marko Georgiev) Photo details
SKOPJE, 18 February 2002 - The conflict-torn village of Matejce, located some 40 km north of Skopje, took a major step towards reconciliation last Thursday, when the ethnically mixed local community council reconvened for the first time since the beginning of the crisis. Representatives of ethnic Albanian villagers, who make up the majority of the population, gathered with the three ethnic Serbs members of the council to discuss the reconstruction of the village and the return of displaced people to their homes.
The meeting, facilitated by the recent redeployment of ethnically mixed police patrols, supported by the OSCE monitors and police advisors, is a strong signal that life is gradually returning to normal and confidence is being restored among villagers.
To emphasize the importance of the event, the Head of the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Craig Jenness, visited Matejce together with Jozias Van Aartsen, the Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, which next year takes over the Chairmanship of the OSCE. The trip to Matejce was part of the official visit of Minister Van Aartsen to meet with Macedonian authorities and to assess first-hand progress in the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement. The two officials welcomed the meeting of the council and congratulated government officials, the local community leaders of Matejce, and the Kumanovo chief of police on the success of police redeployment in the village. They also met and paid tribute to the multi-ethnic police officers patrolling the village.
Ambassador Jenness marked the occasion by issuing the following statement: "We welcome the first gathering of the local community council of Matejce since the beginning of the crisis. We see it as a major step towards the return to normal life in a village that was seriously affected by last year's conflict.
"The OSCE monitors and police advisors, working closely with police and local community leaders, made a major contribution to this positive development. The confidence they worked hard to restore lays a solid foundation for the return of displaced people to their homes, the reconstruction of houses and the improvement of basic living conditions. The successful redeployment of police will facilitate these processes and will also help the life of this village get back to normal.
"Now it is time to heal the wounds of the conflict and start rebuilding the multi-ethnic community of the village. We are very grateful for the efforts of the Dutch Government in this direction and we are looking forward together to a better future for Matejce."
The meeting, facilitated by the recent redeployment of ethnically mixed police patrols, supported by the OSCE monitors and police advisors, is a strong signal that life is gradually returning to normal and confidence is being restored among villagers.
To emphasize the importance of the event, the Head of the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Craig Jenness, visited Matejce together with Jozias Van Aartsen, the Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, which next year takes over the Chairmanship of the OSCE. The trip to Matejce was part of the official visit of Minister Van Aartsen to meet with Macedonian authorities and to assess first-hand progress in the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement. The two officials welcomed the meeting of the council and congratulated government officials, the local community leaders of Matejce, and the Kumanovo chief of police on the success of police redeployment in the village. They also met and paid tribute to the multi-ethnic police officers patrolling the village.
Ambassador Jenness marked the occasion by issuing the following statement: "We welcome the first gathering of the local community council of Matejce since the beginning of the crisis. We see it as a major step towards the return to normal life in a village that was seriously affected by last year's conflict.
"The OSCE monitors and police advisors, working closely with police and local community leaders, made a major contribution to this positive development. The confidence they worked hard to restore lays a solid foundation for the return of displaced people to their homes, the reconstruction of houses and the improvement of basic living conditions. The successful redeployment of police will facilitate these processes and will also help the life of this village get back to normal.
"Now it is time to heal the wounds of the conflict and start rebuilding the multi-ethnic community of the village. We are very grateful for the efforts of the Dutch Government in this direction and we are looking forward together to a better future for Matejce."