In his regular quarterly reports on Kosmet, to be submitted to the UN Security Council on August 21, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has severely criticized the work of the Kosovo police, due to several omissions in the past three months, and assessed that the lack of action brings into question their ability to deal with crisis situations and gain public trust. What are the possible effects of this report? More from Mladen Bijelic.
Ban has expressed serious concern over the reaction of the Kosovo police during the series of incidents that accompanied the celebration of Vidovdan, while directing serious criticism at the international community for the lack of a wide consensus. According to him, it greatly impedes the attaining of necessary compromises in the process of solving the problems between Belgrade and Pristina. Secretary General’s report was delivered to the ambassadors of the UN Security Council member-states only two weeks after his visit to Belgrade and Pristina.
Political analyst, editor of the “New Serbian Political Thought” Djordje Vukadinovic has assessed for our radio that the unusually harsh tone of Ban report is primarily meant to encourage the continuation of the Belgrade-Pristina dialog, and prepare the meeting of the two sides on the highest level.
“I see the report of the Secretary General as a gesture of good will and encouragement to Belgrade, especially the Government and President Tomislav Nikolic, to continue the dialog”, emphasized Vukadinovic. On the other side, in his view, it is sort of a warning to Pristina that it has to make some move, even if a symbolic effort, to improve the situation in the field. It is clear that the factual state of affairs differs from the rather embellished reports of various international representatives, in which there are only occasional particles of criticism towards Pristina authorities, points Vukadinovic, in attempt to reveal the background of it. Asked if the truth is finally becoming important and slowly coming to the light, he answers in the negative. “It would be very naïve to conclude that the western countries will give up on the support they have been giving to Pristina so far. Therefore, I am inclined to interpret this report of Ban Ki-moon mostly as an encouragement to the new authorities in Belgrade and preparation for the meeting between Nikolic and Jahjaga”, our collocutor specified.
In addition, according to some information, it is expected that at the UN Security Council session on August 21 Russia will ask for the explanation on the training of Libyan and Syrian rebels in the territory of Kosmet.
At the same time, the EULEX has communicated that the investigation is intensifying on the claims from the report of Swiss diplomat Dick Marty, relating to the trafficking in human organs of abducted Serbs during the conflict in Kosmet. Contacts with persons who have pertinent information on those heinous crimes are becoming more frequent, reads Ban’s report, as well as that head of the investigative team Clint Williamson has contacted several states, in order to realize the witness protection program.
The report of the UN Secretary General also warns of the serious crimes that the minority communities in Kosmet are facing, along with the fact that only a small number of expelled Serbs have returned to Kosmet in the period covered in the document.