YouSaid · the spoken record

Citaku

lines on the record: 330
first: 2010-11-12
most recent: 2019-10-31
sittings or episodes: 17
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“They represent the best of us, and they will break the cycle of fragility and violence. They will write the new chapter of our history. It is because of them that I persist in being hopeful for the future of my country.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“That should come as no surprise, given the quality of our workforce and our highly skilled young people, who are eager to learn and compete in the global market. We are emboldened by the grit of our free media. Only days ago, three Kosovar journalists, all of whom happen to be women, were presented with awards by the European Union for their investigative journalism and work in exposing and combating corruption and crime. We are inspired by Fahrije Hoti and the brave women of Velika Krusa, who used the restorative power of freedom to turn misfortune into hope and strength. After suffering so much loss, these women rebuilt an entire village from the ashes of war. When confronted with tragedy, resilience was the only answer. These are the new heroes of our young republic.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Thanks to athletes like Majlinda Kelmendi, Nora Gjakova and Distria Krasniqi, the phrase "fight like a girl" has acquired a different meaning in Kosovo. We were overjoyed by the international success of our fantastic soccer team. Imagine - 20 years ago, English soldiers came to Kosovo, like saints marching in, to liberate our country. In November, we will be hosting Englishmen again, this time for a soccer match, and hopefully beating them in the European qualifiers. We are driven and defined by the expectations of our youth. Just last week, Open Data Kosovo published a report that shows that the number of information-technology companies in Kosovo has increased by no less than 187 per cent during the past 10 years.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Resolution is not synonymous with absolution. Those who committed these horrendous crimes must be held accountable by the court of justice and the court of conscience. In our lifetime we have had to grapple with moments of great crisis. Our lives have been marked by debate on monumental issues, issues of war and peace and prosperity and depression. But while we talk here about the past, young Kosovars are writing the future. They do not have time for pointless debates. They are out there, working hard, often against the odds, challenging the status quo and raising the bar for all of us. Kosovar children are growing up with new heroes, like the judoka Majlinda Kelmendi, who has raised our flag on the highest podium and continues to bring home an endless stream of gold medals.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“We want peace and we are prepared to continue a dialogue, but not at the expense of the truth. We are vigilant in defence of our hard-won freedom. It is an ideal that we were prepared to die for and will fight to preserve. Reconciliation must be both retrospective and proactive. There can be no peace without justice, and it is time to make justice a priority. We owe it to the victims - those who made the ultimate sacrifice and those who survived and have already suffered too much. Most importantly, we owe it to our children. We owe it to future generations to deliver peace not just in our lifetime, but in all lifetimes to come. We have to put an end to the culture of impunity. Is it too much to ask that the perpetrators of systematic rape and murder not remain at the helm of security institutions?”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Kosovo's right to exist as a State is not and never will be a subject for discussion. Kosovo is not a temporary project. It is here to stay. As the International Court of Justice has clearly stated, Kosovo was within its rights when it declared independence and did not break any international law by doing so. And there is no Greater Albania. That is a myth. There are ethnic Albanians who live in Kosovo, in Albania and elsewhere in the Western Balkans. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I will once again state that Kosovo's independence was indeed a product of decolonization. Serbia's only interest in Kosovo was to exploit our territory and resources while treating our people as inherently inferior, second-class citizens. Ifthat is not colonization, I would like to know what is.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“The only thing that these meetings are accomplishing is enabling Serbia to maintain its acute case of denial and reduce reality to sensational headlines. Let me make it crystal clear. Just because Serbia refuses to recognize us as a State does not make us any less of a State. That simply makes us a young republic that has to deal with an obnoxious neighbour. That is what makes dialogue with Serbia so important. But dialogue does not happen in a vacuum. How can we believe that Serbia is earnest in its intentions to participate in the process of reconciliation leading to mutual recognition when so far all it has done is fail to implement nearly everything that we agreed on in Brussels? Dialogue is not about leaders shaking hands in Brussels, Berlin or Paris. It is about accepting each other as equals.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Our police and judiciary are currently in the process of conducting an investigation into the matter. We will share the results with the Council as soon as it is completed. As we have stated many times before, we see no purpose whatever in congregating this often in this Chamber to discuss Kosovo. It is paradoxical that the Council gathers here more often to discuss Kosovo than it does to discuss Syria or other pressing issues that need its attention. UNMIK's mandate was overtaken long ago. Valuable resources that could be put to much better use elsewhere are being wasted to maintain a mission totally devoid of purpose. The bottom line is that Kosovo is a free, independent and sovereign country. That will never, ever change.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“What would happen if any of us tried to prevent an ongoing police operation against criminals here in New York or Washington or in Berlin or Moscow or Paris or anywhere else? The police operation was filmed and made available to the public in its entirety. The footage makes it clear that the UNMIK officers refused to show identification or cooperate with the police. In addition, we have information that the UNMIK leadership provided prior notice to United Nations employees in northern Kosovo about this operation and advised them to avoid certain areas that day. This particular employee nevertheless did the opposite. The question that arises is this: was this individual in that spot on that particular day on behalf of the United Nations or someone else?”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“In Kosovo there are cities where a Catholic church, an Orthodox church and a Muslim mosque all share the same backyard. There is no hierarchy of religions in Kosovo, and that is a value we cherish. I must touch on an issue that was debated ad nauseam the last time we gathered here (see S/PV.8541). I will be concise this time. The Kosovo police acted with the utmost professionalism when it decided to arrest an employee of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) who willingly decided to become a human shield for criminal gangs in the northern part of Kosovo and thereby prevent law- enforcement institutions from carrying out their duty. I asked the Council last time and will ask it again.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Our police and intelligence agencies have been part of operations that prevented several terrorist attacks, both in our region and beyond, and we are ready to do more. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the United States military forces on the successful operation that killed the notorious ISIS leader Al-Baghdadi. The world will be a safer place without him. However, that does not mean that our struggle against extremism is over. In Kosovo, we fight hard to preserve the secular nature of our State, Constitution and society, which affords the same rights to adherents of all religious and non-religious denominations. The religious tolerance and harmony that we have cultivated for centuries is a badge of honour that we wear proudly.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“I want to assure the Council that there will always be a Kosovar flag in the office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo. My Serbian colleague failed to mention one very important element of Mr. Kurti's biography, which is that he was a political prisoner in Serbia when Mr. Daeie was a Cabinet minister. Kosovo has already demonstrated its ability to make a smooth transition from a consumer of security to a contributor of it. Since its transformation, the Kosovo Security Force has already made enormous strides in capacity-building, modernization and harmonization with NATO standards. We are an active member of the Global Coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS).”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“It is unfortunate that as a result of our current domestic context we had to withdraw our bid for INTERPOL membership this year, but the Council can rest assured that we will be ready to apply again next year. Why would anyone have anything against our police force joining that organization? Who stands to win from Kosovo's absence from this police organization? The answer is criminals, terrorists and organized crime. Serbia is willingly adding itself to that list of beneficiaries. This Chamber is not a courtroom for our politicians or our political leaders. Mr. Kurti has won the elections in Kosovo. He has stated several times very clearly that he is committed to dialogue. I must say that I am amused that my Serbian colleague is defending the Kosovar flag.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“We must stop using false data to concoct false narratives that are beyond belief even for those who propagate them. There is something fundamentally wrong with a people so consumed by bitterness and hatred from the past that they cannot find peace in the present. It will take an act of will for them to escape this vicious cycle. I long to see the day when Serbia owns up to the brutal savagery that it perpetrated in the Balkans and denounces the monsters who slaughtered our women and children. One must know when enough is enough and realize that the time has come to make a reckoning. The fact of the matter is that Kosovo will never be deterred or dictated to by Serbia. But for a moment let us reflect on the level of resources and energy that Belgrade used for its smear campaign against Kosovo in order to prevent us from joining INTERPOL.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“I am using data from 1981 because it provides the highest possible estimate of the size of the Serbian community in Kosovo, since the census that Kosovo conducted in 2011 was purposely boycotted by the Serbian citizens of Kosovo, who were pressured to do so by the Government in Belgrade. If, as Serbia claims, 200,000 Serbs have left Kosovo, that would mean almost all of them. If that is the case, can anyone tell me who the 60,000 Serbs are who voted in the general elections in Kosovo two weeks ago? Where in the world did they come from? I would like to point out that this number refers to Kosovo Serbs who are over the age of 18 and who actually chose to vote in the elections. Despite Serbia's ambitions, we do not live in a post- truth world.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“The Kosovo police has since carried out a thorough investigation of his murder, questioning over 100 suspects and arresting several of them. Unfortunately, the main suspect remains in hiding. Can anybody guess where? He is hiding in Serbia. These kinds of practices must come to an end once and for all. I want to take this opportunity to shed light on a topic that has been misinterpreted for far too long by our Serbian colleagues, which is the number of Serbian citizens living in Kosovo. For over two decades, we have tolerated the creative accounting of the Serbian State. Over and over again, we have heard its claims that 200,000 Serbs fled Kosovo after the liberation in 1999. Now, allow me to do some basic math. According to the 1981 census, 209,798 Serbs lived in Kosovo at that time.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“The Government of Serbia is under the wrongful impression that Serbs in Kosovo are an instrument of its jingoistic foreign policy and not free citizens of Kosovo whose rights they are infringing on. These intimidation tactics are not a novelty. We see them being used every day on Serbian members of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF), who are constantly subjected to incredible levels of pressure and harassment. Their houses are attacked with grenades and their families are terrorized. Just last month, two Serbian KSF officers were unnecessarily detained for hours by Serbian authorities while travelling in Serbia with their families. I would also like to remind the Council of what happened to one local Serbian leader who dared to speak his mind independently from Belgrade. Mr. Oliver Ivanovic' was assassinated in January 2018.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Accordingly, the overall assessment is that the climate of the electoral process was one of a healthy competition of ideas, with one exception, the Serbian citizens of Kosovo. Unfortunately, members of the Serbian community were threatened, intimidated and pressured to vote for one particular Serbian party. These violations were documented and reported by international observer missions. On 8 October, the European Union Election Observation Mission warned that the campaign had been marred by intimidation targeting non-Srpska Lista candidates and supporters. Needless to say, there is only one Government that is perpetrating the disfranchisement of Serbs in Kosovo, and that is the Government sitting in Belgrade.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“However, considering the difficulties that these circumstances present, and especially given the complexity of the historical context, the truth is that extraordinary measures had to be taken. Nonetheless, Kosovo authorities made absolutely sure that every last vote was counted, no matter what. I am not suggesting that there is cause for self- satisfaction here, but there is cause for hope and faith in our democracy. The parties that received the most votes during the recent elections, Vetevendosje and the Democratic League of Kosovo, are currently in the process of negotiating the formation of a new coalition Government, which is on track to be concluded without delay.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“If that is not a sufficient testament to the maturity of our democracy, then the expeditious roll-out of the results and the manner in which the candidates greeted them should speak volumes. The humility of the winners' acceptance was paralleled only by the grace with which the losers conceded, without drama or contestation. During the electoral process, Kosovo's Central Election Commission took all the precautions necessary to ensure that each ballot box was treated with adequate care. However, the fact of the matter is that six commissioners had to be hospitalized because they exhibited worrisome symptoms after counting votes from a specific set of ballot boxes. We are not pointing fingers in any direction.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“To a large extent, this paradigm shift is a product of the efforts of the United Nations and its various agencies that helped us rebuild our country from the ashes and devastation of war. We will be forever grateful to all of them for being our voice when we did not have one. We will never forget the support that they lent us in our darkest hour of need. They should indeed take pride in how far Kosovo has come. Democracy is not easy. But Kosovo has consistently proved that it is up to the task. After a competitive and cordial campaign characterized by robust debate and a plurality of ideas, Kosovo held free and fair elections with record-high participation from all communities.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“My presence here today is not a sign of crisis but of confidence. While the long shadows of conflict continue to chase us, we meet today in an atmosphere of rising hope. On 6 October, Kosovo successfully held its fourth parliamentary elections since it declared independence. These elections were not extraordinary for their organization alone but were special in many ways. For the first time in our history, a new generation of citizens - children who were born in freedom and raised in an independent country, Kosovars who did not know war - had a chance to cast their ballots and elect their future representatives. Twenty years ago, 18-year-old Kosovars were refugees, subject to the most brutal of ethnic cleansing campaigns. Today, l8-year-old Kosovars are proud citizens of Kosovo and agents of change.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Ms. Citaku: It is a great honour to be in the Security Council Chamber once again on behalf of the youngest democracy in Europe, the Republic of Kosovo. Nevertheless, I must admit that it is neither pleasurable nor particularly productive to sit here and waste the Council's valuable time, listening to representatives of our northern neighbour tell their same old tales of a parallel universe. Therefore, as befits the importance of this occasion, I will share with the Council, as I always do, nothing but facts. I must say that I appreciate my Serbian colleagues' interest in Kosovar political figures, although I must also say it borders on the obsessive. I am proud of my heritage and my past. I am a proud ethnic Albanian and citizen of Kosovo. I am not sure that the same can be said about Mr. Daeie.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“One day the professionalism of our institutions will match the integrity of our media, the success of our artists and athletes, the strength of our women and the resilience of our civil society. On that day, we will have built an even better Republic - one that is independent, sovereign, integrated into the international community and at peace with its neighbours, including Serbia. The invitation stands. Come visit Kosovo, and the Council can witness with its own eyes the progress that it has made possible. As an extra treat, it will be able to see the beautiful mountains from which we are so proud to come, because as the famous expression by Ernest Hemingway goes: mountaineering is the one true sport; everything else is merely a game.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“Let them show us their crippling fear of the ammunition of democracy: words and thoughts - words that are spoken abroad and thoughts stirring up at home. The people of Kosovo will not be tamed. We will not be subjugated, and we will not be ruled by Serbia ever again. It is our hope that this Chamber will not lie abashed and distracted before triumphant assertions of ethnic hatred. The Republic of Kosovo will certainly never waiver in its quest for peace and justice. However dim the prospects may seem, we intend to fight. We will fight with the power of our ideas and the courage of our convictions, because surely that goal is sufficiently important to deserve our devotion.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“And only a few months ago, right here in this Chamber, the President of Serbia had the audacity to make a public plea to the Council for someone to tame those people (see S/PV.8427). Tame them, he said; tame them. Just last month, the Prime Minister of Serbia publicly stated, in reference to people of Kosovo, that those people literally just emerged from the woods. I would love to hear them repeat those unconscionable statements to the women and men of Kosovo who make us proud every day with their achievements in art, sports and innovation. Let them unleash their vitriol before the families of the martyrs who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect their loved ones from the Serbian aggression. Let them unmask their true motivation.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“Here we are, over a century later, listening to Serbian officials spewing hatred, continuing with the same baseless racist claims, attempting to rewrite history. Let me make a small digression. What Flora Brovina, a member of the Kosovo Parliament, did was condemned unanimously in Kosovo. I was one of those who condemned it. But, unlike in Serbia, our media and our judiciary do not become complicit in politics. It was our media, our judiciary that stated the fact that the photograph was false, but that does not take away from the truth. It was the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an American-based health organization, that conducted the survey and came up with the number of women that were raped in Kosovo. That was not my number.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“The combination ofa medieval mindset and modern propaganda adopted by the Serbian Government and State apparatus is a menace to peace. I cannot help but acknowledge their ongoing campaign to dehumanize the people of Kosovo, to portray us as inherently inferior, less than human and akin to savages. As despicable as that is, it is, unfortunately, no news to me. That happened in the 1980s and 1990s, and those are days that I remember well. But it also happened for centuries. In 1913, a former Prime Minister of Serbia, Vladan Bordevic', characterized Albanians as blood-thirsty animals that are so inconceivably ignorant that they could not tell the difference between sugar and snow. Among the Albanians, he said, there seemed to have been humans with tails as late as the nineteenth century.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“The only reason why the Association Agreement is not being implemented is because local Serbs in Kosovo, who are supposed to be part of the Working Group's drafting of the Association statute, are being controlled from Belgrade and told to abandon Kosovo institutions. I will not even mention the lack of implementation of the agreement on energy, school diplomas, among others. There is only one Government that exercises pressure against local Serbs in Kosovo, and that is the Government sitting in Belgrade. During just the past couple of months, we witnessed the detention of a member of the Kosovo Parliament, a Deputy Minister, and a Kosovo Government official of Serbian ethnicity by the Serbian Government. Their only crime was daring to speak their mind and act on their own free will.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“Judging from the statements that we have heard here today, it appears to us that law and order are an inconvenience for the authorities in Belgrade. What they desire is that chaos and fear will prevail. War-mongering is their preferred instrument for the manipulation of our citizens and the maintenance of control. We have seen it all: from character assassination to attempts at actual assassination. Allow me to remind the Security Council that the main suspect for the assassination of Mr. Oliver Ivanovie found safe haven in Serbia, of all places. We also heard the Council's references to the dialogue. Kosovo wants dialogue, but we do not want a conditioned process. It is Serbia that is conditioning the dialogue with Kosovo. We have also heard that Kosovo is not implementing the agreements. Kosovo has implemented every agreement.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“However, we do find it surprising that a United Nations international civil servant, who has undergone advanced training for security in the field - mandatory training that is provided to every deployed United Nations staff member - suddenly finds himself barricading local roads in Kosovo with his official United Nations-issued vehicle. Are we to understand that the United Nations mandate in Kosovo has been extended to include active engagement in obstructing local law enforcement and preventing it from fulfilling its constitutional mandates? A member of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo put the lives of our police officers at risk. Given the distressing nature of this incident, the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo demand a United Nations investigation into this unprecedented and dangerous behaviour.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“I would like to know what would happen if any of us - accredited ambassadors and United Nations diplomatic personnel alike, with full diplomatic immunity i attempted to prevent an ongoing police operation here in New York or in Moscow or in Berlin or anywhere else, for that matter. The Government of Kosovo and its agencies comply fully with all international legislation regulating the status of diplomats stationed in our territory and adhere to all existing standards in terms ofrespecting the privileges of diplomatic personnel.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“They have never been targeted with threats, violence or attacks of any kind. To hear claims that the Kosovo police or Government deliberately targeted United Nations employees in Kosovo is beyond comprehension to those of us who live in Kosovo. Mr. Krasnoshchekov obstructed law enforcement in Kosovo of his own volition, or, to put it frankly, he willingly became a shield to criminal gangs attempting to inhibit an ongoing police operation. Furthermore, UNMIK personnel in northern municipalities was warned with an instruction that advised them to work from home that day. This episode is unheard of. It has nothing to do with the mandate of Mr. Krasnoshchekov or the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“I must admit that, in the light of these events, we in Kosovo were appalled by the unending stream of statements made in Belgrade and certain capitals around the world with regard to this very successful operation - an operation whose sole purpose was to combat crime committed with remarkable coordination of ethnicities, notwithstanding the efforts to portray it as an operation with underlying ethnic motivations. The sole intention of the police was to ensure the safety and security of the people of Kosovo and protect them from the gangs and criminal groups that make daily living in our country very difficult. Kosovo has hosted a countless number of United Nations diplomats during the past two decades. They are our friends, our mentors and our family. No UNMIK employee has ever been in harm's way in Kosovo.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“1 have the report of the hospital in Mitrovica where he was treated, which shows nothing serious - nothing like what we have heard here today, In the subsequent days, the Kosovo authorities decided to deny Mr. Krasnoshchekov future entry into the country. Upon his request, Mr. Krasnoshchekov was released and transferred to Belgrade. The NATO military presence in Kosovo - the Kosovo Force - confirmed that the foregoing raids were part of an operation executed exclusively by Kosovo police and that all relevant authorities were informed. Three Kosovo police officers were injured during the efforts to remove the barricades used to obstruct this operation. Despite the obstacles, our officers were able to complete their mission.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“This chainsaw was used to cut down trees that were thrown onto the highway to prevent the passage of Kosovo police to Zubin Potok. Mr. Krasnoshchekov placed the United Nations vehicle in front of the trees to bolster the barricades. He indicated that he understood the request of Kosovo police to leave the place. He refused to cooperate or to provide identification. After Mr. Krasnoshchekov's repeated refusals to comply with the demands of the police and his continued attempts to impede their movement, the Kosovo police proceeded to detain this individual. Mr. Krasnoshchekov was subsequently escorted to the police station where he was held in custody and offered medical treatment before being transported to medical facilities.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“In Zubin Potok, police officers were met with armed resistance and gunfire and blocked by large barricades set up by violent gangs. During that phase of the action, Kosovo police officers apprehended seven civilians who were actively engaged in creating barricades and obstructing the operation. Among them was a United Nations diplomat of Russian nationality named Mikhail Krasnoshchekov. Mr. Krasnoshchekov used an official United Nations vehicle with UNMIK licence plates to erect a barricade for the sole purpose of preventing Kosovo police from carrying out their mission. Kosovo police found evidence that Mr. Krasnoshchekov used the United Nations vehicle to transport a chainsaw to the location where these events took place.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“The targets were located in Zubin Potok, Leposavie, Vushtrri, the city ofMitrovica, Skenderaj and Drenas. In accordance with the Court's request and under the direction of the Office of the Specialist Prosecutor, the Kosovo police raided 12 premises and arrested 19 Kosovo police employees and nine civilians with outstanding arrest warrants. The arrested suspects are all citizens of Kosovo and include 11 Kosovo-Serbs, four Kosovo-Albanians and four Kosovo-Bosnians. The group consists of one commander of a police station, three sergeants and seven police officers. All of them have since been suspended from duty. The Kosovo police did not encounter any resistance during the implementation of their action plan across the different municipalities, with one major exception.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“Since its inception, it has continuously proven to be a credible partner in global efforts to combat organized crime and terrorism by cooperating with international law enforcement mechanisms to curtail dangerous plots. On 28 May, the Kosovo police successfully conducted a large-scale operation aimed at tackling organized crime across several municipalities in the Republic of Kosovo. That operation followed a months-long investigation, which began in April 2018, and examined several criminal groups involved in the misuse of official position, smuggling, bribery and illegal trade. Based on the evidence collected by the Office of the Specialist Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo as part of that investigation, the Basic Court of Pristina authorized a request to raid a set of premises utilized by the suspected individuals.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“UNMIK is not a peacekeeping mission because Kosovo law enforcement mechanisms and the Kosovo Force guarantee the safety and security of our people. Can anyone in the Chamber tell me in all honesty what exactly the job of UNMIK in Kosovo is today? With so many issues plaguing people around the world at this very moment, I am certain that the resources that this institution allocates to Kosovo can be put to much better use elsewhere. As we reflect on the progress that Kosovo has made during the past two decades, there is one particular element I would like to highlight and that is the Kosovo police. The Kosovo police is an organization that operates to the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“Nevertheless, the situation in Kosovo in 2019 is strikingly different from what it was 20 years ago when the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) was first installed. Kosovo is no longer in a state of crisis. Our country has made enormous strides and is becoming increasingly integrated into the international community, in large part thanks to the efforts of the United Nations, which, in tandem with the European Union and NATO, has promoted security and stability in Kosovo and the region. While we are deeply grateful to UNMIK for the vital role that it played in the first decade of our liberation, we simply do not see any reason for its continued presence in our thriving Republic. UNMIK is not an administrative mission because Kosovo governs itself.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“And although the challenges were not in short supply or small in scale, the Organization stood by us when it mattered the most. Through all the ups and downs, the United Nations was our rock. It is only fitting that it was the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, the wise President Martti Ahtisaari, who, after years of negotiations, proposed that Kosovo declare its independence. As the International Court of Justice confirmed a and, might I add, upon Serbia's request - Kosovo was well within its rights when it declared independence and did not violate any international laws in doing so. Allow me to be clear on the following point: Kosovo's independence is not a product ofa secessionist movement. As members are all too keenly aware, Kosovo's independence is a product of decolonization.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“The wounds of war do not heal easily and they never truly disappear. But freedom has recuperative power - so slowly, but surely, we rebuilt. We drew strength from one another and had hope because we were not alone in our misfortune. Today and every day, we remember Sergio Vieira de Mello, the first Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kosovo, and all the women and men of the United Nations who have served in Kosovo during the past two decades. Much has been accomplished in Kosovo during the past 20 years and there is a lot the United Nations can be proud of. It may have been a laborious and undramatic task, but the Organization's contribution cannot be overstated. The United Nations helped build the youngest democracy in Europe and held our hand through multiple transitions.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“Ms. Citaku: Twenty years ago this day, on 10 June 1999, in this Chamber, the predecessors of today's representatives, sitting around this very table, voted in favour of resolution 1244 (1999) and established the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (see S/PV.4011). The people of Kosovo will never forget that, on that day, it was the Council that stood for humankind. We will not forget that it was the allied forces that stopped the ethnic cleansing and brutalization ofinnocent civilians in Kosovo by Serbian forces. More than 10,000 innocent people were killed, approximately 20,000 women were raped and thousands are still missing. We will never forget that when more than 1 million refugees came back to find their homes in ashes, we had United Nations personnel by our side, helping us to rebuild our homes and our lives.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“It is time for Serbia to liberate itself from Kosovo now, for the sake of peace and stability in the region. We all must show courage and end this conflict. Kosovo is ready.”
2019-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8459 (2019) · source
“Regardless of the roadblocks and despite all the obstacles that we face, we remain determined to do all that is in our power to achieve and cherish a stable and lasting peace for the sake of our children, our athletes, our artists and our scientists, who are undaunted by the temporary constraints of our current circumstance. They transcend the borders of prejudice and they scale the walls of politics to raise our flag all around the world. For the sake of our brave women who challenge the status quo to transform social norms and break glass ceilings and for the sake of the fallen, who made the ultimate sacrifice, we continue to strive for a better tomorrow. Even though we still have a long way to go, I am just as hopeful for our young republic today as I was on 12 June 1999, when Kosovo was liberated from Serbia.”
2019-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8459 (2019) · source
“The Kosovo police and other law enforcement mechanisms worked hard to bring the perpetrators of that crime to justice. Let me mention the attack on the Kosovo Special Police Unit to which my colleague from Serbia referred. Arrests were made, but look at the irony - the main suspect is in hiding in Serbia and Serbia refuses to hand him over to the Kosovar authorities. I will refrain from commenting any further on this matter and allow Council members to make up their own minds as to what that means. As we prepare to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the liberation of Kosovo, I cannot help but reflect on the future.”
2019-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8459 (2019) · source
“Any member of the Kosovo Serbian community who dares to think differently to or independently of the Government in Belgrade is subject to systematic intimidation. From hand grenades thrown at the homes of the Serbian members of the Kosovo security forces to the detention of Serbian Members of Parliament who dared to challenge the Government in Belgrade, Serbia has left no stone unturned in its attempts to obstruct the integration of the Serbian community in Kosovo. Belgrade does not view them as people who need its support. Belgrade views and uses Serbs in Kosovo as an instrument for its destabilizing foreign policy. We have seen similar scenarios in Bosnia, as well. Only recently when we gathered here, we all demanded progress on the investigation into the assassination of Oliver Ivanovic' (see S/PV.8399).”
2019-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8459 (2019) · source
“Belgrade's reaction to that decision revealed in the most blatant and brutal way the true neocolonial attitude that Serbia harbours towards Kosovo. Kosovo will not negotiate with Belgrade about Trepca or any other of our resources. They are in Kosovo and they belong to the people ofKosovo. The time when decisions regarding our resources were made in Belgrade ended a long time ago. Serbia needs to want peace. It needs to want an agreement. If it truly does, it needs to act on it. Our Serbian citizens in Kosovo are the ones that suffer the most in this situation. Let there be no mistake - there is only one Government that exercises pressure on them. That is the one that sits in Belgrade, not the one that sits in Pristina.”
2019-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8459 (2019) · source
“Instead of seizing this opportunity for redemption and peace, Serbia chooses obstruction. I urge the Council to remember that even if the Government of Kosovo were to suspend the tariffs today, Serbia would find some other excuse to inhibit the process. What is its excuse for the lack of implementation of almost everything that we have agreed to in Brussels? What is its excuse for the lack of implementation of the energy agreement or the agreement on the recognition of diplomas? What is its excuse? It has none. The truth is that until Serbia recognizes Kosovo as its equal, our part of the world will sadly keep producing endless and pointless drama and conflict. The most recent iteration was Belgrade's reaction to the legitimate and constitutional decision on the Trepca mines.”
2019-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8459 (2019) · source