Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations

Serbia Questions France's Talk of Turbulence, Disappearance of  Funds from Kovovo

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

UNITED NATIONS, September 24 -- Serbia's foreign minister Vuk Jeremic told the Press on Wednesday that his country is confident of winning any General Assembly vote on its resolution to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice about the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence. Inner City Press asked him to respond to the comments by French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert on September 17 that the European Union, which France heads for this six months and which Serbia is trying to join, thinks that the Serbian resolution "creates some turmoil and some turbulences that are not very good for that." Video here, from Minute 11:58.

  Jeremic said that in the Balkan, "we know what real turbulence is," and that goes beyond seeking an advisory opinion from a court. Serbia is discussing with new General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann getting a vote on its resolution soon after the General Debate ends. Jeremic said that European countries should be hard-pressed to vote against the international legal review process.  This is what Finland's representative told Inner City Press on September 23, that they will never vote against Serbia's proposal because they support international justice. 

 French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, preening at the stakeout on Wednesday, came back to the microphone to say that he had met with International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo because France is a friend of international justice. But he did not stay to take the question of Kosovo, how this professed love of justice could be consistent with not supporting Serbia's right to seek a legal ruling.

Kouchner in the Council: loves int'l justice, except when turbulent

  Moreno-Ocampo, beyond meeting with France, also met with select journalists, telling them that he would not dignify the mounting criticism rising against him.  He has not consented, however, to hold a public press conference where the questions could be asked. Accountability for other, apparently, but not for the prosecutor.

  Inner City Press also asked Vuk Jeremic about the irregularities in the UN Mission in Kosovo's running of the Kosovo Trust Agency, which had the money for state-own enterprises privatized in Kosovo. Since some of that money clearly belongs to Serbia, Inner City Press asked Jeremic, where is the money? That's what was are askin the General Secretariat, he said.  What about the reports of KTA documents being destroyed? We're asking about that too, Jeremic said.  Mnay questions, few answers.

Watch this site, and this Sept. 18 (UN) debate.

* * *

These reports are usually also available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis.

Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund.  Video Analysis here

Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com

Search innercitypress.com  Search WWW (censored?)

Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

            Copyright 2006-08 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com -