Tadic calls on UN and EU to protect Serbs in wake of incidents
Serbian President Boris Tadic on Monday sent a letter to the United Nations and the current EU presidency the Czech Republic, asking for their intervention to better protect Kosovo Serbs amid a growing number of violent incidents
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Wednesday, January 07, 2009
In his letter to UN Security Council member states and Secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon, as well as to the Czech Republic, Tadic said that the NATO-led peacekeeping force (KFOR), the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) had failed to act timely to prevent attacks on ethnic Serbs in the northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica, according to a statement released by Tadic's office.
"There was a lack of adequate reactions by the peacekeeping forces which are obligated to protect and secure the Serbs who are the most endangered in Kosovo and Metohija," said the president.
Tadic said that the real intention of the Kosovo government and Albanian extremists to use violence was "to provoke conflicts with Serbs" and "to stop the implementation of the six-point agreement reached between Serbia and the United Nations, which was confirmed by the Security Council."
"Such incidents can lead to the worsening of the overall security situation in Kosovo and I am therefore asking for officials of the international community to immediately increase the level of security and to prevent attacks against Kosovo Serbs," Tadic said in the letter.
