Albania condemns violence, calls for calm in Mitrovica

06/01/2009

TIRANA, Albania -- The foreign ministry on Monday (January 5th) urged ethnic Albanians in Kosovo to remain calm and "avoid provocations", following weekend violence in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo. In a statement, the ministry said it is confident that KFOR, the Kosovo Police Service and the EU's EULEX mission are "capable of responding to any threat to Kosovo's security". The main opposition Socialist Party (SP) also condemned the violence in Mitrovica. SP Secretary for Foreign Relations Arta Dade said "The Serb minority has to understand that its European future lies within the state of Kosovo."

Separately Monday, Serbian President Boris Tadic urged the UN and the EU to strengthen measures guaranteeing the security of Serbs living in Kosovo, describing them as the most "vulnerable" part of the population there. He also accused the international forces of failing to react adequately to the latest string of incidents in Kosovo's north. In his note to the UN Security Council, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Czech presidency of the EU, Tadic said "I insist that international community representatives should raise the level of security, which is their responsibility, and should prevent attacks against Serbs." (AFP, Klan, Alsat, Top Channel, Top News, RTS, Beta, B92 - 05/01/09)