KFOR: Security situation generally good

More than 20 incidents have happened in northern Kosovo in the past two months, and the target were mostly the Serbs who do not recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo. At the same time, several hundred headstones in Serb cemeteries were vandalized in extremist attacks. An efficient Kosovo police is needed, which can only be more successful with stronger support from the people, he told the network of Serb TV stations in Kosovo. He called on the local political leaders to be responsible in everything they say publicly, because their statements could cause the security situation to deteriorate rapidly. Halbauer named northern Kosovska Mitrovica as an example, where inflammatory speech is followed by reactions and, like everywhere else, there are those who use tension for personal gain. The situation needs to be kept in balance, instead of inviting people to new protests, he stated. As his second example, he pointed out the events related to Decani, a Serbian Orthodox Church monastery built in the 14th century and protected by UNESCO. Decani Monastery was targeted by Albanian extremists, who protested against the ruling of the Kosovo Supreme Court to return 23 hectares of land to the monastery, on February 8. Commenting on the statements of certain high officials of the Kosovo administration that KFOR in the north is not persistent enough, while certain Serbian leaders call it an occupation army, Halbauer said that KFOR is unbiased in its mission to secure safe and stable surrounding. He nevertheless refused to comment on the kind of role that KFOR should have in the new plan for north Kosovo by the Kosovo government. On the occasion of announcements by Kosovo Defence Minister Agim Ceku that this year the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) will be turned into the Kosovo Army, Halbauer said that the NATO Council in Brussels is currently discussing whether the KSF has reached full operational readiness. He qualified as positive the cooperation with the Serbian Armed Forces, which is realized at various levels based on the 1999 technical agreement. KFOR will continue this cooperation since it is important to have exchange of information on the current security situation, the KFOR commander concluded.