In Kosovo, Privatizations May Include Ex-UN Officials Schook and Walker with Ramush

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/kpp1schook032309.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 23 -- The Kosovo Trust Agency has passed from the UN into Kosovar hands, Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni told the Press on March 23, and it will privatize the "vast majority" of the underlying socially and publicly owned enterprises. Waiting in line, sources tell Inner City Press, are Kosovar Ramush Haradinaj and with him, two American former UN officials in Kosovo, Steven Schook and William Walker. Inner City Press on Monday asked the current head of the UN Mission in Kosovo, Lamberto Zannier, if there are any rules concerning former UNMIK officials benefiting from the privatizations in Kosovo. Video here, from Minute 1:12.

Zannier said he wasn't aware of any UN rules, only "professional ethics." He said that while Schook is a private individual, "we'll also assess what he does based on that," referring to undefined professional ethics. The UN had claimed to have anti-revolving door safeguards.

This case goes beyond the usual conflicts of interest. The allegation is that Schook passed information to Haradinaj, including about witnesses before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Several ended up dead. Now, the sources say, comes pay back time, referring not only to the Kosovo Power Plant Project (and other political projects), but even further privatizations. And the UN has nothing to say. There was a previous quashed probe of Schook by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services; click here for one of Inner City Press' previous articles on Schook and on the KTA.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, after predicting Inner City Press would ask "hard questions," said he's heard of Schook's involvement as well, and that the European Union's EULEX Rule of Law mission as well as the UN should investigate. Video here, from Minute 5:25. But EULEX cannot even agree to let the UN attend its meetings in Belgrade, it emerged on Monday. Zannier said the UN would only attend if the "two parties" agreed. Surprisingly, this did not mean Serbia and Kosovo, but Serbia and EULEX.

Inner City Press asked Hyseni about Serbian President Boris Tadic's complaint that the Mayor of Belgrade was barred from carrying humanitarian aid into northern Kosovo. Hyseni replied that these were "provocations," and that permission had to be sought from protocol officials of the Republic of Kosovo. Jeremic used the word province with respect to Kosovo, and said all should be on hold pending the case before the International Court of Justice about the legality of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence.

Hyseni on the other hand said he plans to meet with at least 20 countries' representatives during the next two days in New York, with an emphasis on countries which have not recognized Kosovo's UDI. Watch this site.

Footnote: The disparate response to the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo and that of, for example, Western Sahara, Abkhazia and South Ossetia has previously been raised at the Security Council stakeout. More recently, a comparison that some have been has been to the situation of Tamils in northern Sri Lanka. There are many points on which to compare, from 1999 -- when as some said Monday in the Council, NATO bombed Serbia for its military acts in its province of Kosovo -- to 2008, when the UDI occurred and major Western powers strong armed smaller countries into granting recognition. Now even on the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka, these powers hardly push for a Council briefing, and others on the Council try to block even this. To be continued.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/kpp1schook032309.html

UN Split on Kosovo As Precedent, Russia Speaks of Shockwaves and China of Disaster; Schook Scandal Update

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
www.innercitypress.com/unserbia121907.html

UNITED NATIONS, December 19 -- At Wednesday's Kosovo meeting at the UN in New York, after all the weeks of build-up, it was just a routine theater in a room closed to the public. Outside, the proponents of independence for Kosovo spoke first. Fatmir Sejdiu emphasized "Kosovo's sui generis nature" as "not a case of ethnic secession." Inner City Press asked Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin if Kosovo presented a precedent. "Especially you who work in this building," Amb. Churkin said, "you can feel palpably the concern the possibility of the precedent of Kosovo is spreading throughout this building and throughout the UN... If things go in directly of unilateral [declaration of independence] it will send shockwaves through the international system." Video here, from Minute 6:35.

In order to gauge the level of concern about the precedent, Inner City Press asked Serbia's foreign minister Vuk Jeremic which of the 15 countries on the Security Council, beyond Russia, are supporting Serbia's position. Jeremic named China, Indonesia and "the Africans," without specifying if this meant Congo-Brazzaville and Ghana as well as South Africa. Afterward, a diplomat emerging from the Council told Inner City Press this list was wishful thinking on Serbia's part. Inner City Press asked China's Deputy Permanent Representative Liu Zhenmin about China's position. "They should continue to talk," he said, "to find a solution and... avoid disastrous effects." Amb. Liu added that "There are different view in the Council." And if a referendum were held in the General Assembly?

At the UN's noon briefing on Wednesday, Inner City Press asked about reports that UNMIK's Number Two, Steven Schook, has left the mission, and is in New York. Schook has previously acknowledged being under investigation by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services, in connection with irregularities in privatizations and, he said, for loving (certain) Kosovar woman too much. As reiterated on Pristina-based Koha Television, singer Nora Istrefi's name has come up. Spokesperson Michele Montas confirmed that Schook is out, his contracts ends on December 31 and will not be renewed. Inner City Press asked if Mr. Schook is in New York, and if so, whether a media availability could be arranged. Ms. Montas said she would look into it. For now we can report that Ms. Istrefi is singing in New York on December 24. Happy holidays...

And see, www.innercitypress.com/unserbia121907.html