http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L02141149.htm
Reuters
December 2, 2005
Courts in UN-run Kosovo weak on 2004 riots - OSCE
PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro - The weak judicial
response in U.N.-run Kosovo to mass Albanian attacks
on Serbs last year added to a sense of impunity in the
province for ethnically motivated crimes, the OSCE
said on Friday.
Nineteen people died and more than 4,000 fled their
homes in 48 hours of Albanian violence in March 2004
that thrust Serbia's southern province back onto the
international agenda.
Police estimated 51,000 people took part in torching
800 Serb homes and dozens of Orthodox churches across
Kosovo, where ethnic Albanians make up 90 percent of
the population.
Just 200 people have been convicted by courts manned
by international and local judges. Another 110 cases
are pending.
"The justice system failed to send out a clear message
to the population condemning this type of violence,"
said the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe.
"This relatively weak response ... not only
contributes to the impression of impunity among the
population for such kinds of ethnically motivated
crimes but may also be considered inadequate to
prevent similar acts of public disorder in the
future," it said.
The report highlighted a lack of diligence in pursuing
cases, poor cooperation between the courts and police,
undue leniency and frequent intimidation of witnesses.
Publication of the report comes as the U.N. mission
prepared to hand control over the judiciary to
Kosovo's interim institutions with the creation of
justice and police ministries.
Legally part of Serbia, Kosovo has been run by the
United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombing drove out
Serb forces....
Thousands of Serbs fled a wave of revenge attacks
[sic] after the war. The 100,000 who stayed have
become the target of sporadic violence that critics
say often goes unpunished.
Violence exploded last March under the watch of 17,000
NATO peacekeepers and exposed widespread anger and
frustration among 2 million Kosovo Albanians at years
of political and economic limbo.
The U.N. Security Council has since given the green
light to negotiations to decide between Albanian
demands for their own independent Kosovo state, and
Serbia's insistence the province remain within its
borders. A decision is expected in 2006.
Kosovo Albanian leaders argue they can guarantee the
security and rights of Serbs but are likely to be
shackled with an international supervisory mission for
years to come.
Serbian News Network - SNN
news@antic.org
http://www.antic.org/
