UN investigation: Unmik’s action on March 17 in Kosovska Mitrovica was “unwise”
The decision of Unmik to use force in order to “restore” order in the Serb, nothern part of Kosovska Mitrovica on March 17 – resulting in one death and hundreds of injured – was based on “unchecked intelligence” and was “unwise”, a special UN investigative team concluded in its report yet to be publicly disclosed.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Friday, August 01, 2008
"Unmik actions before March 17 were unbalanced", says the report of the three-member team led by Francis Sekandi, a diplomat from Uganda.
Russia's ambassador to the UN Vitaliy Churkin immediately strongly reacted to the report, asking for "personal responsibility" from former Unmik chiefs, the German head of the mission Joachim Ruecker and his US deputy Larry Rossin.
"Despite some washing up of the report, it is clear that the use of force was absolutely without a basis", Churkin said.
He pointed to the differences at the time between, on one side Ruecker and Rossin - who were strongly in favor of the action - and the Unmik regional administrator for northern Kosovo - Gerard Galluci - who was against it, warning about the possible violence.
In a series of incidents which followed Unmik's action, one Ukrainian policeman died and some 150 people were injured, including 64 Unmik policemen and 24 Kfor soldiers.
Following the incidents, Rucker, Rossin and Galluci all offered their resignations to the UN Secretary-General.
However, Galluci is the only official still to remain in office today.
