OSCE seeks immediate release of detained OSCE Mission members

VIENNA, 3 August 2000 - The Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE, Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner expresses her great concern about the arrest Tuesday night by the Yugoslav Army in Montenegro of two British members of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo (part of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo - UNMIK), and of the two Canadian citizens travelling with them.

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office requests the government of FRY to grant immediate access to the detainees by the respective consular authorities, under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The Chairperson-in-Office also urges the government of FRY to grant access to OSCE representatives to their mission members.

The Chairperson-in-Office expresses her hope for their immediate release.

The two arrested Britons work for the OSCE Kosovo Police School, where hundreds of local police officers are being trained by experts from 20 countries. They are working in the community liaison section in Pristina where they are involved in community outreach projects to bring together local policemen and children. They have also been working with Kosovo communities to recruit candidates from minority groups for the police school.

The Chairperson furthermore requests the government of FRY to respect all its obligations under international law and to respect OSCE commitments.

For further information contact the Press and Public Information Section of the OSCE Secretariat, tel.: (+ 43-1) 514 36 180 or e-mail: info@osce.org