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A:
International administration responsible for riots in Kosovska Mitrovica
Belgrade,
18 March 2008
Director of the Office of Media Relations Milivoje Mihajlovic stated today that the international administration alone is to blame for the incident that took place yesterday in Kosovska Mitrovica.
Milivoje Mihajlovic
In an interview for RTV B92, Mihajlovic said that this was just one out of many activities that will probably be undertaken in order to force the Serbs to recognise Kosovo’s independence; however that is an overambitious aim and an unrealistic one, bearing in mind that three quarters of the world does not recognise the province’s independence.
He noted that a serious battle is being fought for northern Kosovo in which the international forces are wrongly trying to discipline that part of the province, and Serbs in the province do not want to fit into the entity currently known as independent Kosovo.
Mihajlovic also said that the international peacekeeping troops in the southern Serbian province used excessive force and that the incident was provoked by UNMIK and KFOR.
According to him, as a consequence of the incident, Serbs will once again lose faith in UNMIK and KFOR, which are, however, their only protection in the province.
Having stressed that the aim of the incident was to present Serbs as "the bad guys“, while the international forces would get additional impulse to recognise Kosovo’s independence, Mihajlovic emphasised that every incident is harmful, particularly to Serbs.
Serbs should avoid all incidents and they will face a long Gandhi-like resistance, whereas what awaits Serbia is extensive diplomatic and economic activity aimed at helping Kosovo and Serbs, as well as the search for a way to annul the province’s self-proclaimed independence, he said.
Mihajlovic believes that it would be best if the administration in Pristina talked with Serbian representatives about yesterday’s incident in order to conduct a joint investigation to find the persons who fired shots and bring them to justice. He added that not one incident which took place in Kosovo after 1999 has ever been fully investigated.
He also reiterated that Serbia will never recognise Kosovo’s independence and that the Serbian government rejects the partition of the province as an option, because that would be an equally poor solution as an independent Kosovo, both for Serbia and the future of the region.
Mihajlovic recalled Serbia’s efforts to annul the province’s independence, help Kosovo Serbs survive in the province and enable the return of IDPs, considering that 235,000 people, of whom 205.000 are Serbs, are still waiting to return to Kosovo.
He noted that a serious battle is being fought for northern Kosovo in which the international forces are wrongly trying to discipline that part of the province, and Serbs in the province do not want to fit into the entity currently known as independent Kosovo.
Mihajlovic also said that the international peacekeeping troops in the southern Serbian province used excessive force and that the incident was provoked by UNMIK and KFOR.
According to him, as a consequence of the incident, Serbs will once again lose faith in UNMIK and KFOR, which are, however, their only protection in the province.
Having stressed that the aim of the incident was to present Serbs as "the bad guys“, while the international forces would get additional impulse to recognise Kosovo’s independence, Mihajlovic emphasised that every incident is harmful, particularly to Serbs.
Serbs should avoid all incidents and they will face a long Gandhi-like resistance, whereas what awaits Serbia is extensive diplomatic and economic activity aimed at helping Kosovo and Serbs, as well as the search for a way to annul the province’s self-proclaimed independence, he said.
Mihajlovic believes that it would be best if the administration in Pristina talked with Serbian representatives about yesterday’s incident in order to conduct a joint investigation to find the persons who fired shots and bring them to justice. He added that not one incident which took place in Kosovo after 1999 has ever been fully investigated.
He also reiterated that Serbia will never recognise Kosovo’s independence and that the Serbian government rejects the partition of the province as an option, because that would be an equally poor solution as an independent Kosovo, both for Serbia and the future of the region.
Mihajlovic recalled Serbia’s efforts to annul the province’s independence, help Kosovo Serbs survive in the province and enable the return of IDPs, considering that 235,000 people, of whom 205.000 are Serbs, are still waiting to return to Kosovo.
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