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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

UNMIK fails to accomplish entrusted tasks in Kosovo-Metohija

Belgrade, 7 August 2008

Director of the Media Relations Office Milivoje Mihajlovic stated today that UNMIK has failed to accomplish the tasks in Kosovo-Metohija entrusted to this mission by the UN.

Mihajlovic told International Radio Serbia that these are not just his positions, but the official UN positions although the UN keeps insisting there has been some progress.

Progress, however, is established when you compare the present condition with a previous one, Mihajlovic said noting that none of the essential things were accomplished.

He said that the reason why the mission was sent to Kosovo was to establish peace, freedom of movement, return of refugees and displaced persons and return of property, and none of that has been done.

Mihajlovic quoted UNHCR data according to which there are 235,000 refugees from Kosovo, of which only 7,100 have returned to the province since 2000.

We cannot talk about UNMIK’s success if we know that freedom of movement is still limited and there is a great fear among the non-Albanian population, Mihajlovic said.

According to UNDP data, there are between 330,000 and 450,000 illegal rifles, which is an arsenal capable of setting the entire Balkans on fire, he said.

Every fifth student in primary and secondary schools in Albanian is armed, according to UNDP, Mihajlovic said.

He said that privatisation in the province is trivial as no ownership of the property has been established while some companies were sold for nothing.

The result of that is that there is no production while the main export item from Kosovo is waste, while two-thirds of the population live on 90 cents a day, Mihajlovic said.

He stressed that the government’s position on EULEX mission, which can operate in Kosovo only with the UN Security Council's permission, will not change.

For Serbia, Kosovo is part of Serbia under the international protectorate and we will act in the future in line with that, stressed Mihajlovic.

He noted that the government is trying to strengthen the position of the Serb community in the province by directing funds for sustainable survival of Serbs in the province and return of the displaced.

Speaking on the extradition of Radovan Karadzic to the Hague tribunal, Mihajlovic said that this shows the continuity of Serbia’s cooperation with the tribunal and resolve of the Serbian government.

He stressed that Serbia is not happy with the work of the tribunal especially because of the acquittals of Ramus Haradinaj and Naser Oric and some other defendants.

We, however, cannot influence the court’s work. Serbia’s cooperation with the tribunal comes down to the need of one state to face its past, that is the basis of this cooperation, said Mihajlovic.

He stressed that another direction of cooperation is that Serbia wants to meet its obligations to engage in European integration sooner and added that our country cannot develop without financial backup from Europe.