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Serbia-Montenegro mission to UN charge d'affaires calls for territorial autonomy to protect Kosovo Serbs
New York - Belgrade,
14 April 2004
Belgrade, April 14, 2004 - Roksanda Nincic, the charge d'affaires of the Serbia-Montenegrin mission to the United Nations, told a Security Council session last night that KFOR and UNMIK have failed to fulfill their obligations in Kosovo-Metohija and stressed that territorial autonomy is the only way to protect the rights of Serbs in the province.
By witnessing ethnic cleansing, violence and intimidation orchestrated by ethnic Albanians from March 17 to 19, KFOR and UNMIK have failed to perform their duties stemming from UN Security Council Resolution 1244, said Nincic.
Nincic called for securing reliable institutional guarantees for Kosovo-Metohija Serb in the form of territorial autonomy.
Noting that the governments of Serbia-Montenegro and Serbia are opposed to the changing of borders in the Balkans, Nincic said she expects UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to give an assessment of the political background of the planned Kosovo violence in a report on Kosovo-Metohija which he is due to submit to the Council on April 23.
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno warned the Council that the recent ethnically-motivated violence could be followed by new violent attacks in the province.
Briefing the Council on the violence in Kosovo-Metohija, Guéhenno said that 19 persons were killed, 954 civilians injured and 700 houses and 30 Orthodox churches burned in two days. Over 4,000 of Serbs and other non-Albanians were forced to leave their homes, he added.
According to Guéhenno, "the onslaught in mid-march led by Kosovo Albanian extremists against minority Serb, Roma and Ashkali communities had been an organized, widespread and targeted campaign."
Welcoming the constructive role played by the Serbian government to prevent any extreme answer to the outbreak of violence in Kosovo, Guéhenno said that authorities in Pristina have failed to condemn the attacks against the Serb community and urged them to take measures against any official who was involved in the violence.
Nincic called for securing reliable institutional guarantees for Kosovo-Metohija Serb in the form of territorial autonomy.
Noting that the governments of Serbia-Montenegro and Serbia are opposed to the changing of borders in the Balkans, Nincic said she expects UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to give an assessment of the political background of the planned Kosovo violence in a report on Kosovo-Metohija which he is due to submit to the Council on April 23.
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno warned the Council that the recent ethnically-motivated violence could be followed by new violent attacks in the province.
Briefing the Council on the violence in Kosovo-Metohija, Guéhenno said that 19 persons were killed, 954 civilians injured and 700 houses and 30 Orthodox churches burned in two days. Over 4,000 of Serbs and other non-Albanians were forced to leave their homes, he added.
According to Guéhenno, "the onslaught in mid-march led by Kosovo Albanian extremists against minority Serb, Roma and Ashkali communities had been an organized, widespread and targeted campaign."
Welcoming the constructive role played by the Serbian government to prevent any extreme answer to the outbreak of violence in Kosovo, Guéhenno said that authorities in Pristina have failed to condemn the attacks against the Serb community and urged them to take measures against any official who was involved in the violence.
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