Where do we participate in the year 2002?
Slovene police currently participates in four missions, namely in:
- UNMIK/CIVPOL - UNO Mission in Kosovo
- OSCE KPSS in Kosovo - the OSCE Mission in Kosovo
- OSCE SMMS to Skopje - the OSCE Mission in Macedonia
- UNMISET (formerly UNTAET) - United nations Mission in East Timor
Based on the decree issued by the Government of the Republic of
Slovenia in August 1999, two police experts applied as candidates for
this mission. These candidates were to cooperate in training of Kosovo
policemen at the Police School in Vucitrn, headed by the OSCE within
the UNMIK Mission. Their application was rejected in November of the
same year with explanation that there was no need for such
personnel. After the repeated application the first candidate began
with his work in the mission in April 2000 and was joined in March
2001 by the second candidate. The management of the mission evaluated
their work as very successful and useful and addressed a request to
the Slovene Government to increase the number of Slovene police
officers in the mission. Based on the decree of Slovene Government
there are now 4 Slovene police officers working in the mission since
September 2001. All of them started their work in the mission as
lecturers and instructors, however, after first few months of work
they took over some more demanding functions, so that they perform the
following tasks today:
- the first one is the Head of the OSCE Section for recruiting and selection of
candidates for Kosovo Police Service (KPSS), at the same time he is also the Head
of Slovene police contingent in Kosovo;
- the second one is the Head of the Section for specialised training;
- the third one is the head of lecturers for the field of criminal investigation activities;
- the fourth one is the Head of the group for preparation and evaluation of school
programmes of the Police Academy.
All Slovene police officers hold the rank of senior police
officer. Their mandate lasts for 6 months with the possibility of
extension for additional 12 months (2 x 6 months).
The management of the Academy and foreign police experts have
expressed on many occasions their satisfaction with the
professionalism and expertness of Slovene police officers working in
this institution. Consequently this has increased a demand for Slovene
police officers for the work in this field of work. Upon request of
the OSCE Secretariat from Vienna two Slovene police officers from
Police Academy in Vucitrn were sent as lecturers to the seminar on
training and democratisation of Azarbajdjan police, held in December
2001 in Baku. Slovene policemen actively participated also in
monitoring of elections, held in Kosovo during their mandate there.
Experiences
Police Academy in Vucitrn represents a new approach in peacekeeping
operation of the so called type of "peace building". The
Peacekeeping operations gain in this way a new dimension, since they
are no longer dedicated only to "maintaining the peace" but
also to the establishment of new relations between the quarrelling
sides with their active participation. The school for multi-ethnical
police is one of the foundations for better and qualitative
cooperation between the quarrelling sides in Kosovo. This cooperation
means for Slovene Police a proof of the fact that our police knowledge
is on a very high level, since it was accepted as an integral part of
the international programmes of police training in Kosovo.
MACEDONIA (OSCE SMMS - OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje)
The OSCE Mission to Macedonia was established parallel with the
crisis in Kosovo at the time, when the Permanent Council of the OSCE
decided to increase the monitoring at the border with Kosovo. This
Mission soon increased its activities with additional monitors in four
sectors at the border with the FR Yugoslavia (border with Kosovo and
Republic of Serbia).
On July 9th, 2001 first Slovene policeman began with his work as
the OSCE observer in Macedonia, who was joined in November 2001 by
another policeman for implementation of the same task. The Government
of the Republic of Slovenia decided in November 2001 to increase the
number of Slovene policemen to the mission to four. Additional two
officers left to the mission on November 28th, 2001 and began their
work as instructors at the Police Academy in Macedonia.
The work of the OSCE Mission to Macedonia was based at the
beginning mostly on monitoring and following of the events in three
border sectors - West (area of Tetovo), Centre (area of Skopje) and
East (area of Kumanovo). The cell for operative support and
co-ordination was established in Skopje.
Following the outbreak of armed conflicts the monitoring of the
area has increased. After the signature of some agreements the task of
the mission became the monitoring and control of their
implementation. In order to normalise the situation and the
coexistence between the two major parts of Macedonian population the
OSCE leadership decided to establish a school for multi-ethnical
police, following the example from Kosovo, and participated also in
preparation and carrying out of elections in Macedonia.
It is not easy to carry out the tasks in Macedonia, since both
sides reject the presence of international organisations and reproach
them to be prejudiced.
Experiences
This was a new challenge for Slovene police since it did not
participate in monitoring missions until then. Therefore a great
attention was given to the selection of policemen for this work.
Monitoring in conditions prevailing in Macedonia requests an integral
person, an expert capable of a quick and sober estimation of the
situation.
KOSOVO (UNMIK - United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo)
The events in Kosovo, especially following the military
intervention of the USA and NATO forces in Yugoslavia in the year 1999
demanded an immediate engagement of broader international
community. This was reflected also by the establishment of the UNMIK
peacekeeping operation, within which operates also the international
civilian police force - CIVPOL.
Though the Slovene Police was already present in Kosovo with
policemen in the OSCE Mission it responded also to the participation
in the UNMIK-CIVPOL Mission and deployed the first contingent of 15
policemen to the mission on November 3rd, 2000. Policemen hold various
ranks (from policeman to senior inspector), profiles or specialities
(traffic police, policemen for work at the State border and with
aliens, general tasks policemen, crime investigators, etc.) and were
of various gender as well (first policewoman). In November 2001 the
first half of the contingent was replaced, while the second half was
replaced in May 2002. The mandate at the mission is of 12 months with
the possibility to extend it for additional 6 months.
The tasks performed in Kosovo by civilian policemen are similar by
nature to their tasks performed at home. However, the circumstances of
their work are very different, since the security situation in some
parts of Kosovo is still unstable and full of uncertainties.
Slovene police officers work in the areas of regions Mitrovica,
Prizren and Pristina in general, criminal and border police. The Head
of the contingent of Slovene police officers in UNMIK works at the
"Induction" centre, where they receive the newly arrived
police officers and prepare them for their work in the mission, and
perform the initial tests as well (knowledge of English language,
shooting, driving four wheel vehicles). The superiors and the
management of the mission are very satisfied with the work of Slovene
policemen and have recognised that they are very successful with the
operative work and that they are also very useful since they know the
mentality of both Albanian as Serbian population, Yugoslav legislation
and Serbian language.
The task performed by civilian policemen in Kosovo are by far not
easy. To this contribute also bad living conditions and daily long
reductions of electricity and water. Luckily the level of public
cleanness and communality order have increased lately, since this so
far was not the best part of the population in this area.
Aware of the dimensions of the so called "Kosovo problem"
it could be expected that the work of the mission will not be over
soon. This also means that the Slovene police will remain in Kosovo
for as long as needed.
EAST TIMOR (UNTAET - United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor)
The UNTAET peacekeeping mission in East Timor is the first
non-European mission with participation of Slovene police. Since March
27th, 2000 two Slovene police officers participated in it. In March
and July 2001 they received their regular replacements and in July
2002 the fifth Slovene policeman was deployed to the mission. Their
mandate in the mission is 12 months with the possibility to extend it
for additional 6 months.
Timor is one of the islands in the Indonesia archipelago. The
island is 265 km long and maximum 95 km wide. About 650.000 people
live in the Eastern part of the island, whereas there are about 1,3
million people living in its western part. The population is mixed
since they officially recognise 36 ethnical groups, which are speaking
different languages. Most of people in East Timor are able to speak
three languages fluently : domestic language (Tetum), Portuguese and
Bahasa Indonesian language. Differently from the West Timor they speak
nearly no English in the Eastern part.
East Timor appeared on the list of States of the ONU as a country
without its own government in 1960, since it belonged at that time
under the Portuguese government. In 1974 Portugal started to look for
a solution how to establish a temporary government and a parliament,
which would determine the status of the East Timor. This cause the
outbreak of a civil war between the defenders of independence and
those that defended the annexation to Indonesia. Portugal was unable
to control the situation and decided to pull out, while Indonesia
intervened with its army. Later on Indonesia annexed East Timor as its
27th province.
In June 1999 the UNAMET (United Nations Mission in East Timor)
Mission initiated with its work. Its task was to monitor the
implementation of the decision of people of East Timor to became
independent. Because of the outbreak of violence the UN Security
Council empowered the international forces (INTERFET) under the
leadership of Australia to reinstall peace and security in East Timor
and to support the UNAMET mission, in order to enable it undisturbed
work. After the outbreak of violence the Indonesia forces pulled out
and all administration left with them, so that the management of the
area was completely paralysed. The UNAMET filled in the empty place
in-between and the US Security Council established the peacekeeping
mission UNTAET with the resolution No. 1272 in October 1999, as an
integrated, multi- dimensional peacekeeping operation, entirely
responsible for the administration in East Timor during the period of
transition to independence. The handing over of tasks between the
UNTAET and the INTERFET and UNAMET was concluded at the end of
February 2000.
The work in the UNTAET Mission is somehow different from the work
in other peacekeeping missions since the Indonesia police left all
executive tasks to the UN (CIVPOL). This means that the civil police
of the UN works under the mandate of the UNO and performs police tasks
throughout the entire territory of the East Timor. CIVPOL actively
involves the local population in state administration, as one of the
foundations of the future of the independent East Timor after the
UNTAET mission has left the island.
After the start of their work the first two Slovene police officers
took over the tasks in the criminal police - investigation of criminal
offences , and in the judiciary police at the court in the capital
Dilli. Both officers incorporated themselves well in an environment in
which the Slovene police did not function until then. Because of their
professional approach and good results of their work they both
advanced very soon in their work. The third Slovene officer in East
Timor became the commander of a police station in Metinaro, the fourth
one became the commander of traffic police station in Dilli and the
fifth one replaced the fourth one in his work.
Experiences
The UNTAET Mission hold a special place among all the missions at
which the Slovene police participated, due both because of the
distance as because of different geographic conditions. The working
and living conditions are essentially different from the usual ones in
Slovenia, since this is a tropic area. This is reflected also through
local population, which differ in many things from us and all of this
simply extends the time needed for policemen to adapt themselves to
the environment.
Though the Slovene police most probably will never act in large
numbers under the conditions prevailing in East Timor, are the
experiences, forwarded by our policemen, more than welcome. Thus we
can upgrade the equipment and the uniform furnished to our officers
for overseas peacekeeping operations, we can obtain useful information
from that part of the world and all other things, which would have
been otherwise more difficult for us to obtain if hadn't been present
there.
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