NATO requests additional evaluation of situation in Kosovo

BRUSSELS, June 10 (Tanjug) - NATO ministers of defence requested Thursday additional evaluation of the political and defence situation in Kosovo before deciding whether to reduce the number of troops there to 5,000 and switch to a deterrent mission.

The situation in Kosovo is developing towards an increased level of security and stability with stronger local institutions despite occasional incidents, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stated.

The ministers stated clearly that KFOR would remain in Kosovo for as long as necessary, says an announcement posted on the NATO website.

Kosovo's Security remains vital for the security of the entire Balkans and Europe, said Rasmussen.

EULEX and KPS increase presence after Mitrovica incident

PRISTINA, June 10 (Tanjug) - The Kosovo Police Service (KPS) and EULEX have increased presence in Kosovska Mitrovica following an incident in which several Serb youths beat four underage Albanians, EULEX said in a statement Thursday.

In a statement sent to Tanjug, it is said that the investigation is ongoing and that EULEX sees no reason for the situation to deteriorate due to this incident.

The Kosovo police arrested two young men who were later released because there were under 18, EULEX said, commending the police on a professional operation which kept the situation under control.

The two Serbs were detained late Wednesday for beating four underage ethnic Albanians, together with another four identified men.

The young men, S.D. and V.D., both 17, were released after questioning, their lawyer Dejan Vasic told Tanjug.

KPS spokesman Besim Hoti said earlier that the Albanians sustained serious injuries and have been hospitalized.

EULEX set to arrest high Kosovo officials Thursday evening

PRISTINA, June 10 (Tanjug) - EULEX police will arrest a number of high Kosovo officials who are suspected of organized crime and corruption on Thursday evening, but Minister of Transport and Telecommunications Fatmir Ljimaj will not be one of them, according to Zeri, a Kosovo daily.

Ljimaj has been excluded from the group that might be arrested, which was decided in Brussels, an unidentified international representative told Zeri.

The newspaper quoted the said representative as saying that some officials of Ljimaj's ministry would be arrested, but not the minister himself, who is under investigation by EULEX.

Zeri states that more arrests are possible in the coming days, which will include officials from both the present and previous governments and managers of government companies and agencies.

Bogdanovic: Only KFOR can protect Serbian sanctities

BELGRADE, June 10 (Tanjug) - Serbian Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Goran Bogdanovic said Thursday that only KFOR can protect the Serbian holy sites in Kosovo and that the protection of monasteries cannot be put into the hands of the Kosovo Police Service (KPS), who silently watched their desecration and torching in the 2004 unrest.

It is absolutely unacceptable that KPS protect the Serbian holy places, as KFOR is the only armed force in the province that can prevent ethnic conflicts and preserve the Serbian monasteries and cultural-historical monuments, Bogdanovic said for the Radio and Television of Serbia.

According to him, the Diocese of Raska and Prizren has warned that KFOR is planning to entrust the care of the monasteries to KPS.

Recalling that in the past ten years, the so-called Albanian authorities are doing everything they can to present the cultural heritage of the Serbian people in Kosovo “as their very own,” Bogdanovic said that “the only ones we trust there (in Kosovo) is KFOR, which for the past 10 years proved to be an impartial armed force.”

“In the past few days, we had contacts with representatives of KFOR, and we agreed to continue the dialogue and come to a compromise solution, which should meet the needs of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija,” Bogdanovic said.

According to him, the recent announcement of a possible reduction of KFOR troops is yet another reason for concern, because the situation in Kosovo is still not working out the way the countries that have recognized Kosovo's independence wish to present it.

“We insist that the number of KFOR troops should remain the same as a year ago, because the situation in some parts of Kosovo and Metohija is still unsafe, especially in Metohija and the eastern part, where conflicts on ethnic grounds are still taking place, and we believe that KFOR is the only organization besides EULEX and UNMIK that can prevent this and contribute to reconciliation between (ethnic) Albanians and Serbs,” said Bogdanovic.

The defence ministers of NATO member countries will discuss in Brussels today the possibility that the number of KFOR soldiers in Kosovo be reduced from the present 10,000 to 5,000.

U.S. supports Tadic in EU pathway

WASHINGTON, June 10 (Tanjug) - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg has stated that the U.S. supports Serbian President Boris Tadic in the country's EU pathway and in taking the steps to fulfill obligations towards the ICTY.

Steinberg said that Tadic has shown strong interest in the construction of Serbia's European future.

It is not only in Serbia's interest, but also in everyone else's, that the country is firmly anchored to the European arena, and, should they decide so, to the Euroatlantic environment, Steinberg stated for the Voice of America. I believe that we have improved and strengthened our relations, he added.

Steinberg said that the Serbian president is conducting a positive policy towards Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH).

President Tadic has above all made it clear that Serbia supports the Dayton Accord and the territorial integrity of BiH, Steinberg pointed out. He does not support the division nor does he see the future of Republika Srpska in association with Serbia. That is a very strong signal to all leaders that they must work within Bosnia-Herzegovina state. I believe that Tadic has gained the trust of the Serbian leadership in BiH, which I consider to be important, he added.

When it comes to further U.S.-Europe engagement, Steinberg said that Brussels and Washington will remain present so that the region, as he said, would not feel as if it is left on its own.

The recently held regional conference in Sarajevo is a reflection of successful changes in the post-conflict territory of Southeast Europe, he underscored.

The concrete steps such as the acceptance of Serbs and Kosovo ethnic Albanians to sit at the same conference table, or the adoption of the action plan for BiH's NATO membership, are also encouraging, Steinberg pointed out.

Self-determination movement announces protests in Prizren

PRIZREN, June 10 (Tanjug) - Activists of the Self-determination Movement have announced that they will stage peaceful protests in Prizren Thursday, because of the changes in the municipal coat of arms, from which the authorities have removed the insignia of the League of Prizren.

By the decision of the Kosovo Constitutional Court, a building was removed from the Prizren coat of arms which symbolizes the house of the Prizren League, an organization established 132 years ago to help realize the national rights of all Albanians living in the Balkans and their unification into a Greater Albania.

The movement believes that the Prizren League is of great historical importance for Kosovo and qualified the decision as excessive and unacceptable.

Prizren marks Thursday the 132nd anniversary of the founding of the League of Prizren.

NATO defense ministers to discuss Kosovo mission reduction

BRUSSELS, June 10 (Tanjug) - Foreign ministers of NATO member states will discuss reduction of the mission in Kosovo and Metohija in Brussels today.

They will discuss the possibility of reducing the number of KFOR troops in Kosovo from the current 10,000 to 5,000 and a passing over to a “discouragement” phase.

The first step in transforming KFOR into a smaller and more mobile discouragement force has already been carried out successfully, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at a news conference in Brussels, ahead of the ministerial meeting.

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