UNMIK Has Heavily Impinged Free Movement of Citizens
The news of couple days ago that from May 1, 2005, Regulation No. 2005/16 on the movement of persons into and out of Kosovo signed by the SRSG will enter into force, anyhow has disquieted not only the ones that will rush into Kosovo, but also its own citizens. Entering into force of such a Regulation by the UNMIK part at a time where the entire democratic world is focused in creating of free areas for free and without obstacles, certainly ranks Kosovo among the countries, which are not in favor of removing the bureaucratic barriers, but among those countries that heavily impinge the basic human rights and in particular the freedom for people movement. This one in particular, when we take into account that Kosovo is administered by UNO Mission, whose documents recommend to countries to dim the administrative borders and providing relief for movement of not only people, but also of goods. It is the right of countries, and in this case Kosovo is not excluded either, disregard to its unresolved political status, but also obligation that for the overall security of citizens to control its borders (so, entries and exits), by registering all the ones that for different reasons enter it, but this by no way justifies the undertaken measures by UNMIK that foreign citizens, which rush into Kosovo are obliged to get entry visa. Kosovans, more than any others in the region have experienced and are experiencing in their back what it means to be isolated and unrecognized by other countries, facing with severe regimes for entry visas in other countries. It is very understandable the reaction and the displeasure of neighboring countries citizens after this measure undertaken by UNMIK, because they have hoped that UNMIK (Kosovo) will be very much an example for visa abolition also for other countries of the region. Controlling of entries and exits in Kosovo can be done also without a visa regime, just like the other countries do i.e. Macedonia, Albania, etc., therefore application of visa regime for entrance into Kosovo for the citizens of neighboring countries makes the greatest international failure for Europeanization of the Balkans. Furthermore, with this undertaken measure, UNMIK has made us known (not only to Kosovans) that we are not only far from Europe, but we are also far from each other in the region. As a Kosovo citizen by no means I could not understand why the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Kosovo, Mr. S. J. Petersen, has signed such a regulation, when it was him before he was appointed as the Special Representative of the UN SG in Kosovo that was one of the most open criticizers of limitation of free movement in the region. Furthermore, Mr. Petersen is one of the creators of “Right to Access” Program, a MARRI program, that has mobilized not only the government component in the region, but also the civilian one to establish mechanisms that would bring down the barriers that create obstacles in rights to access, including the free movement of citizens from one country to the other. UNMIK and Mr. Petersen should review once more their decision and harmonize it with the international standards, by eliminating obstacles for free movement of citizens in and out of Kosovo and, by doing so, to make aware all the countries that application of visa regime is in contradiction with the new concept of the Balkans and the joint Europe. |
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