Kosovo Serb leader suspects minor Albanian perpetrators "carefully chosen"
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - September 26, 2006, Tuesday

Text of report by Serbian independent news agency FoNet

Kosovska Mitrovica, 26 September: Serb List for Kosovo-Metohija [SLKM] leader Oliver Ivanovic today told FoNet that following last night's incident in Kosovska Mitrovica in which three [ethnic] Albanians in Bosnjacka Mahala district had attacked a Serb, it was clear to everyone that opening the bridge between the northern and southern part of town was premature.

With such and similar moves [opening bridges], the United Nations civilian mission (UNMIK) must stop concealing the real situation and it must rather solve the problem from its roots while punishing violent groups. The Kosovo Police Service [KPS], UNMIK and Kfor [NATO-led Kosovo Force] are strong enough and ready to ensure security for all who live in the northern part of town, but a question only remains as to whether there is goodwill for something like that, Ivanovic said.

Sixteen-year-old Adri Kadriju was arrested for attacking an ethnic Serb in Bosnjacka Mahala.

"I would not like to prejudge things, but the fact that one of the perpetrators of the attack - just like the one who lobbed a bomb into 'Dolce Vita' cafe [on 26 Aug] - is a 16-year-old boy can either mean that the whole general population was poisoned with violence or that they were carefully chosen, because their age would be taken as an attentuating circumstance," Ivanovic said.

He expressed expectation that the incident in Bosnjacka Mahala would "make UNMIK think twice before deciding when to reopen the bridge".

"This move should assume absolute peace and security, and controlling the situation, and UNMIK cannot really brag about it," Ivanovic assessed.

Source: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 0835 gmt 26 Sep 06

Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation
Posted for Fair Use only.