Newsroom
OSCE's "unique police-training expertise" fulfils its role in former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
SKOPJE 30 July 2003
SKOPJE, 30 July 2003 - With the graduation today of 350 multi-ethnic police cadets at the Idrizovo Police Academy in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the OSCE has completed a key part of the task entrusted to it under the internationally-brokered Ohrid peace agreement, which sealed the end of a fighting in 2001.
Speaking from New York where he is attending a United Nations conference, the Secretary General of the OSCE, Jan Kubis, said "Today's fifth and final graduation class represents a major achievement for both the OSCE, the country and all its citizens, and one which deserves recognition by the entire international community.
"Using its unique police-training experience gained in other parts of the Balkans, such as Kosovo and southern Serbia, the Organization has been able to provide invaluable assistance to fulfil the objectives of the Ohrid Agreement. I am proud of the role played by the OSCE. I doubt if any other organization could have risen to this particular task so effectively."
A key target of the August 2001 Ohrid Agreement, which established a framework for peace and stability after a short but fierce conflict in the north of the country, was to recruit and train by July 2003 some 1,000 new police cadets, to be drawn from the non-majority sections of the population.
Today's ceremony near Skopje brings to 1,065 the number of cadets who have been jointly trained by the Interior Ministry and the Police Development Unit of the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje.
The Unit's Director, Bart D'Hooge, said a major step towards equitable representation had been taken. "To serve as a police officer is one of most important jobs in a democratic society. As professional officers, they must reflect, respond, and be accountable to the society they serve. Together, these men and women will demonstrate their commitment to securing the future of democracy and protecting the human rights of all citizens, following the principles of Community Based Policing".
Of this latest batch of 350 graduates to finish the three-month training, 251 are of Albanian ethnicity, while 52 are Macedonians, 20 Turks, 11 Bosniacs, 9 Serbs, 2 Roma, 2 Vlachs, 1 Macedonian Muslim, 1 Croat and 1 Slovenian. Fifty-one are women.
The cadets will now undertake six months of field training, which will prepare them for the final State Exam.
This afternoon's colourful graduation ceremony is being attended by representatives of the authorities, the international community and by relatives of the graduates.
Speaking from New York where he is attending a United Nations conference, the Secretary General of the OSCE, Jan Kubis, said "Today's fifth and final graduation class represents a major achievement for both the OSCE, the country and all its citizens, and one which deserves recognition by the entire international community.
"Using its unique police-training experience gained in other parts of the Balkans, such as Kosovo and southern Serbia, the Organization has been able to provide invaluable assistance to fulfil the objectives of the Ohrid Agreement. I am proud of the role played by the OSCE. I doubt if any other organization could have risen to this particular task so effectively."
A key target of the August 2001 Ohrid Agreement, which established a framework for peace and stability after a short but fierce conflict in the north of the country, was to recruit and train by July 2003 some 1,000 new police cadets, to be drawn from the non-majority sections of the population.
Today's ceremony near Skopje brings to 1,065 the number of cadets who have been jointly trained by the Interior Ministry and the Police Development Unit of the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje.
The Unit's Director, Bart D'Hooge, said a major step towards equitable representation had been taken. "To serve as a police officer is one of most important jobs in a democratic society. As professional officers, they must reflect, respond, and be accountable to the society they serve. Together, these men and women will demonstrate their commitment to securing the future of democracy and protecting the human rights of all citizens, following the principles of Community Based Policing".
Of this latest batch of 350 graduates to finish the three-month training, 251 are of Albanian ethnicity, while 52 are Macedonians, 20 Turks, 11 Bosniacs, 9 Serbs, 2 Roma, 2 Vlachs, 1 Macedonian Muslim, 1 Croat and 1 Slovenian. Fifty-one are women.
The cadets will now undertake six months of field training, which will prepare them for the final State Exam.
This afternoon's colourful graduation ceremony is being attended by representatives of the authorities, the international community and by relatives of the graduates.