Covic and UNMIK trade accusations

"Covic holds Serbs from Kosovo as hostages" - Haselock
"Untruths, insinuations and shifting blame to others" - Covic
Tanjug - May 2, 2003

16:44 KOSOVSKA MITROVICA , May 2 (Tanjug) - The UN Mission in Kosovo's (UNMIK) spokesman Simon Haselock said on Friday that Head of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo-Metohija Nebojsa Covic is holding as hostages Serbs in northern Kosovo and that he often does the same with Serbs in the province's enclaves.
Haselock said in a live broadcast by the Zvecane TV Most that Covic does not want to sign an agreement on vehicle registration, prepared back in August 2002, "for purely political reasons".

Commenting on the accusations made against him Covic said that Haselock has been making untrue public statements for some time now, and that this is aimed at shifting the UNMIK's responsibility for mistakes to others. Covic said in a live broadcast by the Zvecane TV Most that "the gentleman in question has been telling lies for some time now".

"He lied about phenol, he did not know geography, and is now lying about the vehicle number plates. He wants to impose UNMIK's motor vehicle number plates on to Serbs, to impose UNMIK's passports and the rest of the documentation," said Covic.