NOTE: THIS IS ONLY A  selection of comments regarding UNMIK Police duties from UNMIK AND KFOR  Press Briefing (NOT THE WHOLE SUMMARY)

We have received information that there may be a danger of land mines and cluster bombs in the area known as Kojlovica, in the northeast side of Pristina. This area is a social gathering spot for picnics and leisure activities. We would like to advise all residents to avoid this area until it is properly checked and cleared.

From the police, on Friday at 2200hrs, a 19-year-old Albanian male was stabbed in the DARDANIA area, in Pristina. The victim was evacuated to the hospital but late died from his injuries. The incident occurred as a result of a fight between a group of youths. On the 18th March at 1100 hrs, a 16 year-old male Albanian surrendered himself to UNMIK police and confessed the offence. UNMIK Police arrested the suspect and confiscated the weapon used in the incident. The suspect is being held in the Detention Center. The investigation is ongoing.

On Saturday, at 2145 hrs, UNMIK Police patrol found a body of an Albanian male shot once in the head inside his vehicle near the gas station on VITINA in GNJILANE. The victim was a former police officer. UNMIK Police is investigating the murder.

In Mitrovica, a total of 566 police officers were deployed as of the end of February, as part of the special measures announced by the SRSG undertaken by UNMIK after the breakout of violence early February in Mitrovica. Five hundred and ten Police Officers are deployed today, due to regular rotation and training.

Finally, the next class of the Kosovo Police School is starting on 27 March at the Police School at Vucitrn. The lists of selected candidates will be displayed at all regional police HQs in Pristina, Prizren, Pec, Gnjilane and Mitrovica, as of yesterday. The selected applicants should collect their invitation letters from Regional Police HQs at Pristina, from 8 a.m. till noon, starting today until Friday. No applicants will be admitted to the Police School without the invitation letter.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I will give you four points today: the Exercise Dynamic response 2000; an update on Mitrovica; an arrest in Mitrovica; and weapons confiscation in Multinational Brigade (MNB) East.

In Mitrovica, KFOR soldiers have established the first stage of the confidence area in the vicinity of the Eastern Bridge. The zone will be expanded in the days and weeks ahead in a step by step process. Any people who are determined to threaten the public peace will be removed and prevented from entering the area. KFOR and UNMIK Police will maintain a very visible presence in the confidence area in order to provide the peaceful environment that will allow citizens of all ethnic groups who live and work in the neighbourhood to move freely and rebuild normal lives.

On Saturday evening, an Albanian man was arrested by KFOR troops and UNMIK Police in connection with the violent unrest that occurred in Mitrovica on 7 March. He is in UNMIK Police custody for questioning.

Yesterday in the MNB East, KFOR U.S. troops confiscated a significant cache of weapons during the search of an Albanian house in Cernica. One sub-machine gun, two magazines, a quantity of ammunition, UCK uniforms and maps were confiscated.

In Donja Livoc, KFOR U.S. troops searched three Albanian houses. One AK-47, three machine guns, seven full magazines with 30 rounds each, and a large quantity of ammunition were confiscated.

Q: There have been reports of some Serb special forces infiltrating into the northern Mitrovica. Is it still an ongoing process? Do you have any indications of that?

PA: As you know, the whole area of north Mitrovica, up to the boundary, is a Serb-dominated area, where Serbs live. People are allowed to move back and forth from Serbia into that area. If we had any indication that undesirable people, people who stir up unrest, were moving into that area, as individuals or in any numbers, we would apprehend them. But right now, if you are thinking that there have been any significant groups of military or other authorities, that’s not the case.

Q: The recreation area to the northeast of Mitrovica is the site where some 22 cluster bombs have to be removed from. What precautions are being taken to close that area? For how long are you going to keep it closed?

AW: UNMAC (UN Mine Action Clearance) officials came by our office on Saturday. They are going to start checking up the area for the cluster bombs and clearing them. I’ve made the announcement here, to put out in the press. We are trying to warn the population, and they will be closing off the site. As for the duration of this exercise, I will have to check it with UNMAC.

Q: When you announced the "confidence area", you said that only those people who lived in the area would be allowed access and others would be kept out. What I witnessed myself, when I went there the day after, was that nothing had changed. The bridge watchers were back in their place. What do you mean then by that "confidence area"?

PA: It depends where you were. If you were in the area of the Western Bridge, then that area looks pretty much the same. The first stage of the confidence area has been established near the Eastern Bridge. And we have confirmed that people are more comfortable, the boundary that has been established will be strictly maintained. As for the western area, the confidence zone will be established there during the days and weeks ahead. And you will find it similar to the one in the Eastern Bridge: the identifications will be required by KFOR and UNMIK Police, and UNMIK Police will be patrolling both sides of the Ibar River.

Q: Can you describe what are the rules in this "confidence area" and why is it different from other areas? What is it about?

PA: That central area around the bridge in Mitrovica has been an area of unrest, of provocation, an area where people were afraid to go out. We want to make it an area where the people who belong there, who work there, can be in that area and live in peace without violence and intimidation. That’s exactly what the establishment of the confidence area will enforce.

Q: When the Albanian man was arrested, was there any lawyer with KFOR or UNMIK Police--whoever was arresting him—to explain to him his basic rights? Do you have any information about the bridge watchers? I’ve heard that they are now in a shop of an Albanian… Are the Serbs allowed to make any arrests of KFOR in the buffer zone?

PA: On the arrest of the Albanian, there was a KFOR patrol, and the actual arrest was made by the UNMIK Police. I don’t know whether there was a lawyer present. In general, we are very respectful of an individual. He’s been arrested on suspicion, his rights will be respected, he is not guilty until proven so. I must assure you that the arrest was made with all due respect for his condition. The right to arrest throughout Kosovo rests with KFOR and UNMIK Police, and nobody else. As for the bridge watchers, I don’t know the case you are talking about. I don’t know anything about the Albanian shopper, I can’t comment on that… The Serb local police would be allowed to detain—the word "arrest" is too strong—KFOR troops in their area. We are not allowed to go into their area. It was very rugged, there were trees, it was hilly, and the boundary is not marked because it is just the provincial boundary. And, clearly, we intend to stay on the Kosovo side while conducting our patrols. We are strict about that, it was an error in location, and everyone understands that it was an unintentional error. But the Serbs had the right to detain us as intruders.

Q: But are the Serbian police allowed to detain KFOR soldiers in the 5-kilometre zone? Is it part of the Kumanovo Agreement?

PA: I will have to say yes, because the local police on the Serbian side are the authorities for law and order in that area. And it would be seen by them as an intrusion if KFOR went in there. We don’t mean to, we don’t intend to, and it’s not in our plans. You know that our area of operation is within Kosovo. So, I have to say that we were within their right, and they did it professionally and with all due respect.

Q: If in expanding the confidence zone in Mitrovica you will have to shut down the Dolce Vita and move the people from there, how are you going to deal with the Serbs, how will you explain it to them?

PA: I can tell you that we are going to do everything that is appropriate and required to maintain a peaceful and non-violent environment there. Obviously, the more we can achieve through agreement with the people on both sides, with their leaders… it would be ideal. If we need to use greater strength to enforce the confidence area, then we will have to use that. But there are discussions going on, the area will be established. But exactly how our men will do it, I can’t set that out right now. The feelings of the Serbs, as the feelings of everybody here, are extremely important. They have to be confident in that area. They have a system set up right now, which gives them a certain level of confidence. If that’s inappropriate to the larger plan of UNMIK and KFOR, then they will have to put aside the measures that they use—the bridge watchers are one of these measures. But we want all people to feel comfortable, to live cooperatively and move around cooperatively. That will definitely be our objective. And the sooner that happens, very much the better. But we will see what exactly will be vital to both communities, there will be appropriate agreements. But enforcing law and order is the most important thing there for now.

Q: The finding of the unexploded ordnance throughout Kosovo is obviously dependent on the information form NATO forces that had put it there in the first place. Are the UNMIK Mine Action Coordination Centre and UNMIK as a whole satisfied with the timing of the information that they are receiving from NATO forces about the whereabouts of air strikes inside Kosovo’s boundaries, particularly from the Americans?

AW: I think you have to ask the Mine Action Centre people specifically, if they are happy with that. But I can tell you that we have been receiving information on these sites in Kosovo, and I know that they have been receiving it in a reasonably timely manner.

Q: It’s now March. The strikes around those five hills to the northeast of Pristina happened in between last March and last May. It seems to have taken awfully long time to discover up to 22 cluster bombs within a couple of thousands metres from the city?

AW: As I am sure you are aware, there cannot be clearance during the winter months because of the danger to the clearers themselves. So once the cold weather started, once the snow started, once the ground started to freeze, it could not have been cleared.

Q: But the local population informed UNMIK and KFOR of the presence of these cluster bombs strike sites as early as last July and last August, and nothing since then has been done. And it’s very, very, very basic to mark up the sites with the red-and-white tape…

AW: As I am sure you are aware, there is a major problem with the cluster bombs and mines throughout Kosovo. Obviously, they are trying to make it a priority. And that’s why we are making this announcement today. We are doing the clearing as fast as we are capable of doing it.

Q: Last week you made a big point of announcing the "confidence zone", and General Reinhardt said that "we are making progress, it’s a step-by-step process, we are moving the bridge watchers"… And now you are totally back off. What kind of message do you think you’ve sent?