First Government finally formed.

• Author: Rutsch, Horst
• Position: Peacewatch: Kosovo - Brief Article

Briefing an open meeting of the Security Council, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi on 27 March stressed that with the formation of the Government in Kosovo on 28 February, the transfer of authority from the UN Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK) had begun and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government "must now get down to business". He reported on the efforts of UNMIK chief Michael Steiner to encourage Kosovo Serb's engagement in the new government and the improvement in security and freedom of movement in the province. Noting the start of the second weapons amnesty programme, progress against organized crime and the return of refugees, Mr. Annabi also highlighted the return of the last 146 Kosovo Albanians held in Serbian prisons since June 1999, when Yugoslav forces moved approximately 2,000 detainees from Kosovo to other facilities in Serbia following the North Atlantic Treaty Organization air strikes. On 26 March, UNMIK announced that all known detainees in Serb ian prisons had been returned to Kosovo.

The Kosovo Assembly on 4 March voted the province's first President and government just days after the main political parties had broken a three-month-long deadlock. In a single, open ballot, the Assembly overwhelmingly elected Ibrahim Rugova, head of the Democratic League of Kosovo, as President of Kosovo, and Bajram Rexhepi of the Democratic Party of Kosovo as Prime Minister. The Assembly meeting, a continuation of the inaugural session of 10 December 2001, was convened by Assembly President Nexhat Daci. Welcoming the "long-awaited" agreement, Mr. Steiner said he was convinced it could be...