Minority Rights Protection and Human Rights Policies in ... - IFSH

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After his presentation the critical remark was given by Julie Chadbourne, representative for the “International Helsinki Federation” and the “Norwegian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights” in Kosovo, that although this “sports approach” of integration is respectable and supportable, the impression of some peaceful cooperating sports teams should nevertheless not cover that there are nowadays still huge existing barriers and violent conflicts between the members of the different communities, mainly the ethnic Albanians and the ethnic Serbs, in Kosovo. Saturday, 25 November 2007 Visit at „KFOR Headquarters Multinational Task Force (MNTF) South“ in Prizren Minutes taken by Matthias Kock Lieutenant Colonel Joachim Miller, Chief of German Staff The group was introduced with the mission and main tasks of the Multi-National Task Force South by Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Miller. The main goals of the KFOR commanders are at the moment the transformation process, civil sector matters, enhanced cooperation, SASE (safe and secure environment) and the mobility and flexibility of KFOR operations. The Multi-National Task Force South staff consists of three leading nations -- Germany, Switzerland and Austria -- and is responsible for the southern part of Kosovo, namely the area around Prizren to the southern border to Albania. The current commander is a German general, his deputy is Austrian. Until last year Italy and Germany were responsible for the whole southern area of Kosovo but it was split due to practical reasons. The area of responsibility (AOR) of the MNTF S is again split up into six municipalities: Maliseva, Orakovac, Buvareka, Prizren, Manusa and Dragash. A Turkish batallion is responsible for all northern municipalities, a German batallion for the central region, and the southern municipalities by an Austrian batallion. The overall population in the AOR of the MNTF S is about 155.000 in over 234 towns and villages. Some 1,400 Soldiers are currently living in the Prizren field camp. They come from several nations, such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey and Georgia. The camp is equipped to serve the material needs of the soldiers and also to provide social welfare and cultural goods. A field camp is very costly. The laundry for example costs about 125,000 € per month and personal costs (kraft services) are at about 165,000 €. The field camp has a hospital which will be handed over to the municipality of Prizren when KFOR pulls out of Kosovo. The 26
town of Prizren has a population of about 40,000. Ethnic differences are still problematic. Hence, there are only 268 Serbs living among 22,620 Bosnians, 13,770 Turks and 3,985 Roma. Resettlement efforts have been only slightly successful so far: in six years there were only some 2000 people resettled. There was one incident directly linked to these efforts in the last two months, a non-violent demonstration. The operations conducted by the MNTF S are mainly: securing special areas, road-checks, evacuation and presence (so-called „show our force“). A new step for a more peaceful appearance of KFOR is the LMT (Liaison Monitoring Team). It was developed by the current KFOR-Commander in Prishtina. The LMT's task is to avoid the pressure of the permanent presence of military units. They are not working with a lot of manpower or armored vehicles. These LMTs shall “feel the pulse of Kosovo“ and check the political, economic and social pressure through communication. They are thought to function as an early warning system. Another important sector of multinational work in Kosovo is the Civil-Military Cooperation Company. The CIMIC Coy was first considered less important but developed meanwhile into one of the main interfaces the relationship between civil society and the military. The mission of the CIMIC Coy is constructing and reconstructing, humanitarian aid, structural development and reconnaissance. They work together with all kinds of GOs, IOs and NGOs. Throughout Kosovo there are local CIMIC offices, run by soldiers to help the civilians. One of the main projects in the Prizren area is an outdoor facility school. The project is financed by the German Foreign Ministry with 28,000 €. It started in November 2005; the handover took place in November 2006. Another institution among German soldiers is called „Lachen Helfen“ (help laughing). The soldiers collect all kinds of things in Germany (clothing, toys, tools, etc.), transport them to Kosovo and distribute them among the civilians. Every year they have several trucks of goods coming from Germany. Lieutenant Colonel Miller stated that he likes his job and the fact that through it he is contributing every day a little bit to peace and to the idea that Kosovo is becoming a place worth living in. In the discussion, Lieutenant Colonel Miller was first asked how the sectors had been distributed and if the southern sector was the most dangerous part. His answer was that in the beginning there was no real plan for sharing or distributing the parts of the KFOR AORs. It was something like a multinational burden sharing. Only the Turkish contingent claimed control of a mission in the town of Dragash. The most dangerous part of the KFOR AOR is, according to Miller, the Mitrovica area. Another question 27
Page 1 and 2: Minority Rights Protection and Huma
Page 3 and 4: Programme of the Workshop 23. - 26.
Page 5 and 6: Thursday, 23 November 2006 Briefing
Page 7 and 8: Wolfgang Koeth, Political Advisor a
Page 9 and 10: The primary objectives of the Centr
Page 11 and 12: a witness in a small area like Koso
Page 13 and 14: Julie Chadbourne, International Hel
Page 15 and 16: started with the NGO panel. Represe
Page 17 and 18: Concerning nominal participation, D
Page 19 and 20: Denis Gratz missed a feeling of com
Page 21 and 22: towards the improvement of the inte
Page 23 and 24: Elena Kulipanova, M.P.S. candidate
Page 25: which it approves, by majority vote
Page 29 and 30: Captain Rauer, CIMIC Coy Orahovac C
Page 31 and 32: Following this briefing, the group
Page 33 and 34: Finally the group would like to tha
Page 35 and 36: Bec Neumann, Janja, Prof. PhD Natio
Page 37 and 38: Engelmann, Holger Nationality Germa
Page 39 and 40: Ivkovic, Marko Nationality Monteneg
Page 41 and 42: Kulipanowa, Elena Nationality Kazak
Page 43 and 44: Neziri, Jeton Nationality Macedonia
Page 45 and 46: Seferi, Mentor Nationality Kosovar
Page 47 and 48: Suljagic, Emir Nationality Bosnian

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