Kosovo Serbs protest KFOR's actions in north of province
A Serb leader from northern Kosovo Milan Ivanovic said Wednesday that the new disposition of U.S. and German forces of KFOR in the province "serves to pressure the Serbs living in the north" and to separate them from Serbia.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Thursday, November 29, 2007
"We believe that KFOR should place those forces along the line of ethnic division between the Serbs and Albanians and around the Serb enclaves, because that is where the violence of Albanian extremists lies. We told this to the KFOR commander for the northern sector, but we got no answer," Ivanovic said.
He also said that the arrival of 90 U.S. soldiers to the north of the province and a 550-soldier German battalion to the administrative border between Serbia proper and Kosovo was meant to put pressure on the remaining Serbs, not prevent potential violence.
"It is obvious that the ethnic cleansing of most of Kosovo and Metohija south of the Ibar River is done, now all that is left is the north, which harbors the strongest resistance to an independent Albanian state," Ivanovic said.
He added that the strengthening of KFOR forces in the north was motivated by political reasons, with the unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence as its goal. The media have recently reported, citing unnamed sources, that KFOR will up its activities in the north and aim to separate the north of Kosovo from Serbia in the face of the announced declaration of the province's independence, after December 10.
Meanwhile, the NATO commander in Kosovo, French General Xavier de Marnhac urged the international community on Wednesday to provide a clear guidance for his 16,000-strong force's future moves in a case that Kosovo Albanians declare independence after December 10 "Troika's" report to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
General De Marnhac expressed full confidence that his troops could contain the possible outbreak of violence, adding that NATO has already prepared additional brigades in a case Kosovo runs out of control.
"It's going to be tough and to expect to do that without breaking eggs, forget it. We will definitely break some eggs," De Marnhac said.
"We need, from a military perspective, to have a very clear understanding on what is the international community intent here in Kosovo."
De Marhac warned that Serbian-dominated northern Kosovo might turn out to be a serious trouble spot in a case Belgrade and Kosovo Serbs decide to reject the rule of Pristina government.
The other possible troublesome development could be a leadership vacuum within the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) during the transition from UNMIK-led administration to EU's civilian and security missions.
