Harri Holkeri will take over as UN administrator in Kosovo
Holkeri said, however, that he believed he would be in a better position than his three predecessors. “The UNMIK has been in operation for several years, a lot of valuable work has been done and success has been made. On the other hand, the assistance of the UN and the peacekeeping force is still needed.”
Holkeri saw the building of trust between the parties in the region as his most important task. “Long-standing hatred will be hard to overcome, but I firmly believe that reconciliation between people is viable. Permanent solutions will never be achieved with violence. Nobody ever fires the last shot and there will always be somebody who will return fire”, said Holkeri.
Holkeri admitted he has no previous experience dealing with the Balkans issues. “But that only confirms my impartiality which I will cherish. There is a bundle of problems in Kosovo and trust is a key factor in resolving them.”
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan asked Holkeri to become the Kosovo administrator for the first time three weeks ago. Last Thursday he was nominated officially. According to Holkeri, his appointment tells of international confidence in the Finnish way of doing things and resolving problems, the tradition which he said he would carry on in Kosovo.
Holkeri said he hoped to assume his new task in a few weeks’ time. There is no deadline for his appointment, but Holkeri said he hoped to make himself redundant as soon as possible. Despite great difficulties within the interim administration he said it was vital to have local people take over their own administration as soon as the prerequisites were met.
The UN Security Council decided in June 1999 to place Kosovo under the UN interim civil administration. Kosovo is part of Serbia in the new federation of Serbia and Montenegro. The task of the interim administration is to establish and strengthen democratic institutions in Kosovo and prepare for extensive autonomy. UNMIK was previously headed by the German Michael Steiner, the French Bernard Koucher and the Danish Hans Häkkerup.
Statement by Foreign Minister Tuomioja on the appointment of Mr Holkeri