Reuters AlertNet Lite - Kosovo leader tells Albanians to shun protest

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Kosovo leader tells Albanians to shun protest

01 Mar 2007 20:44:23 GMT
Source: Reuters

PRISTINA, Serbia, March 1 (Reuters) - Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu appealed to ethnic Albanians on Thursday to stay away from a scheduled weekend protest against a Western-backed blueprint for the breakaway Serbian province.

His televised address reflected concern the protest on Saturday could escalate into a repeat of violent clashes between police and Albanians on Feb. 10, in which two protesters died after being shot in the head with police rubber bullets.

Leaders of Kosovo's 90 percent Albanian majority have accepted the U.N. plan for supervised independence, eight years since NATO went to war to drive out Serb forces.

But provisions for a powerful European overseer and self-government for the 100,000-strong Serb minority have angered some Albanians and brought 3,000 onto the streets of the capital last month.

"If these violent protests are repeated it will severely damage the process towards Kosovo independence," said Sejdiu.

"Anyone planning to use violence for political aims ... is working against the independence and prosperity of our country," he said. "I invite people to stay away from such things."

The plan's author, U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari, wraps up eight days of consultations in Vienna on Friday with mid-level Serb and Albanian officials. He hopes to bring leaders of the two sides together on March 10, before he makes his final recommendation to the U.N. Security Council.

Serbia has rejected the plan, and is relying on Russia to use its veto at the Security Council, a move the West fears would plunge the province into chaos.

Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombed for 11 weeks to drive out Serb forces which killed 10,000 Albanian civilians in a two-year war with guerrillas.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov said during talks with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica in Belgrade on Thursday that Moscow would only back a solution accepted by both sides, according to a statement from Kostunica's office.

The West sees no alternative to independence, supervised by the European Union. NATO allies heading a 16,500-strong peace force in Kosovo are concerned delay could lead to unrest.

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Last updated:Thu Mar 1 20:44:54 2007