Nato’s mission in Kosovo is critical, not just for Nato but for the United Nations and the European Union, US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried told the house of representatives foreign affairs committee sub-committee on Europe on April 23.
In a statement of his prepared remarks on the state department website, Fried gave the sub-committee a summary of the April 2008 Nato summit in Bucharest.
Fried said that Nato had played a vital role in Kosovo’s security since Nato led the successful military campaign in 1999 to stop and reverse the ethnic cleansing, and then put in place the KFOR peacekeeping force under UN Security Council resolution 1244.
“Kosovo is now independent, but Nato will continue its mission there, and at Bucharest Nato renewed its commitment to doing its job: maintaining security and stability, and in so doing, contributing to freedom of movement and protection of minorities and religious sites,” Fried said.
He said that Nato had made it clear that it would continue to play a key role in the establishment of a new, multi-ethnic Kosovo Security Force and a Kosovo government civilian agency to oversee it.
“It is important to recognise that KFOR cannot succeed in these tasks alone. Other international organizations, in concert with local governing structures, must continue to be engaged and act responsibly.”
Fried said that the challenges seen recently in Kosovo primarily involved “Serb-instigated violence by a small number of radicals, supported in at least some instances by authorities – or some authority – in Belgrade”.
In the first instance, at present, it was the role of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the UN police to control the borders to Kosovo and provide for law and order throughout Kosovo, but KFOR was there to provide general security and back up the UN as needed, he said.
Nato had faced a major test for three days in March, when a small group of Serb extremists took over a courthouse complex in Mitrovica, Fried told the committee.
“Rightly understanding that mob violence can not be allowed to succeed, UNMIK, with KFOR’s extensive support, successfully retook the facility. KFOR troops – French soldiers mainly – managed this situation with great professionalism under fire, and KFOR’s actions here and throughout Kosovo in support of the UN and other international organisations, have been prompt, correct, and effective.
UNMIK had 42 wounded and one fatality, a Ukrainian police officer; KFOR had 22 soldiers wounded.
“We must maintain our collective resolve in the face of future provocations and attempts by outside actors to instigate violence. It is particularly important that the UN and EU continue to play a strong, stabilising role in Kosovo, and that the UNMIK presence gradually transition to an EU-led rule of law mission.”
Fried said that it was also important to note what had not occurred following Kosovo’s declaration of independence.
“There has not been the massive inter-communal violence that we had all feared. There have been no refugees, no internally displaced persons, and no trouble at patrimonial
sites.
“We are not yet past the point of dangerous threats to stability in Kosovo, especially in the north, but we are on the right track and making progress day by day. If we are steady in the face of pressure and provocations, time will be on our side, and on the side of the Kosovo government which has taken seriously its responsibilities following independence,” Fried said.
