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# UNMIK: Developments 17 September 1999
# UN Kosovo news reports 17 September 1999

UN INTERIM ADMINISTRATION MISSION IN KOSOVO (UNMIK)

Developments today, 17 September 1999
Updated 2:30 p.m. EST
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Civilian Administration

Utilities: At today's UNMIK briefing in Pristina, it was announced that UNMIK, KFOR and representatives of Kosovo's local power company have reached agreement on a strategy for maintaining electricity and heat supply over the winter. On Tuesday, 15 September, a seven-month contract was signed with British Trade International, a consortium of companies from the British energy sector, which will manage Kosovo's power sector through the winter.

Donors met today with UNMIK's Reconstruction Pillar on financing the plan. The strategy, as approved, provides for production to be restored at the terrritory's two coal mines to meet the needs of the two power stations, "Kosovo A" and "B". The two units of Kosovo A will be kept running all winter, while the two units of Kosovo B will go through major repairs at staggered times. Kosovar power workers and managers, with the help of KFOR, have managed to restart both plants since the conflict, however they are both in extreme states of disrepair. Currently, Kosovo A breaks down every few days. Kosovo B was restarted only in the past week and needs major work.

Repairs will be carried out on the three major transmission lines. The district heating plant in Pristina will be repaired and supplied with fuel. The international management team will work closely with the Kosovars at the power station, and will ultimately turn it over to Kosovar management, which will be accountable to a supervisory board that includes UNMIK and major donors. Arrangements for charging customers will be set up in January.

UNMIK Police: In the region of Gnjilane, police responded to reports that there had been 12 consecutive mortar explosions near the Serbian Orthodox Church. At the time of this report, no injuries or damage had been discovered. UNMIK Border police reported stopping two occupants of a Jeep Cherokee as they attempted to cross the border at Vrbnica. Both suspects were carrying fake Joint Implementation Council cards and were in possession of weapons and ammunition. The suspects were turned over to KFOR for further investigation. There are currently over 80 UNMIK border police at Kosovo's international border crossings.

Demilitarization: Also at the UNMIK briefing, KFOR Spokesman Roland Lavoie reported on the final Joint Implementation Council (JIC) meeting between the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) and KFOR held yesterday. General Agim Ceku submitted his report on UCK compliance to General Michael Jackson and announced that the UCK has handed in its weapons ahead of the deadline of Sunday, 19 September. There are now over 10,000 UCK weapons held in secured weapons storage sites in Kosovo. On Sunday there will be a final meeting between Generals Jackson and Ceku, where the latter will sign a declaration of the completion of demilitarization and support for the transformation process which will include the creation of the Kosovo Corps.

In response to questions, the KFOR Spokesman said that General Jackson has been satisfied by the cooperation shown by the UCK and that they have so far lived up to the demilitarization schedule. However, he conceded that there would still be considerable numbers of weapons in Kosovo and confiscating weapons would be a long-term task.

Humanitarian

Food aid: The Spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Mr. Peter Kessler, reported that food aid supplied by the World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners in the early stages of UNMIK deployment, served as many as 1.5 million people per month. This programme is undergoing a change, however, and it will now serve closer to 900,000 people across Kosovo due to decreased need and stabilization of the situation in the territory. Food aid will go to families without shelter or whose homes have been damaged, internally displaced persons and their host families, persons unable to generate income, single parent families without income, and similar cases. WFP warns that the supply of food might fluctuate at times and distribution will be prioritized according to needs.

For daily updates on activities of each UN entity in the field, you can access up-to-date information on the following websites:

               UNHCR - www.unhcr.ch
              UNICEF - www.unicef.org
   UN High Commissioner for Human Rights - www.unhchr.ch
               ICTY - www.un.org/icty
                WHO - www.who.org
             UNEP - www.grid.unep.ch/btf
                WFP - www.wfp.org
             OSCE - www.osce.org/kosovo/
______________________________________________________________________
For further information, contact the Spokesman's Office:
tel (212) 963-7161/2; fax (212) 963-7055.

UN Kosovo news reports

The United Nations in Kosovo to supply heat and electricity through winter.

SEPTEMBER 17 -- The United Nations in Kosovo has finalized arrangements to maintain the supply of heat and electricity to the territory throughout the winter, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said today.
     Under a deal agreed to Wednesday by UNMIK, the KFOR international security force, international donors and Kosovar energy experts, a consortium of British energy companies, known as British Trade International, will oversee the running and repair of Kosovo's energy sector throughout the winter.
     Production will resume at local coalmines, to feed the two power stations in Kosovo. While KFOR, working with local staff, has restored both plants to some degree, both require additional repair and renovation.
     In addition to managing those repairs, British Trade International will supervise restoration of the three major transmission lines in the territory. The district heating plant in Pristina will also be repaired and supplied with fuel.
     International staff will work closely with Kosovar staff at the power stations and, ultimately, will turn over operations to local management. A supervisory board comprised of representatives of UNMIK and major international donors, will oversee the work of local managers.

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