EU, US Warn Kosovo Rebels against Violence

The European Union (EU) and the United States on Monday "strongly condemn extremist outrages" in Kosovo, giving a warning to ethnic Albanian separatists who recently committed several killings against Serbs.

In a joint statement issued in Brussels, the EU and US cited the violent cases "such as the February 16 vicious attack by unknown persons on a bus carrying innocent civilians near the town of Podujevo".

"A democratic Kosovo cannot be built upon intolerance, ethnic hatred, and terror against innocent people. Incidents of this kind gravely undermine our publics' and parliaments' political and financial support for Kosovo's democratic transition and economic recovery," the joint statement said.

The European Union and the United States call upon all organizations and political parties in Kosovo to condemn these heinous attacks in the strongest possible terms and to work with the authorities to bring these criminals to justice.

"We further call on the people of Kosovo to demonstrate that they will not tolerate this violence," the 15-nation bloc and the US said.

A EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels on Monday also " strongly condemned the latest attack against a convoy of buses carrying Kosovo Serbs close to Podujevo".

"This act of terrorism is a serious blow against the interests of the people of Kosovo. It will not be allowed to undermine the efforts of the international community to implement fully United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244," the 15 EU ministers said.

They also expressed concern at the level of tension and violence in Southeast Serbia and condemned actions by ethnic Albanian armed groups, which threaten to destabilize the region and hamper the free flow of transport and communications, in particular the Pan-European corridor.

The foreign ministers in their statement called on "all involved to isolate extremists, to promote reconciliation and multi-ethnic cooperation and work constructively toward a peaceful solution of the conflict, with full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia."






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