|
UN:
TOP UN ENVOY CALLS FOR KOSOVO SERBS TO PARTICIPATE IN UPCOMING POLLS:
09/10/2007 (MaximsNews Network)
|
UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network /
- 09 October 2007 -
The Secretary-General’s Special
Representative in Kosovo today appealed for Serbs in the United
Nations-administered province to take part in next month’s elections, adding
that he has asked the Serbian prime minister to refrain from calling for a
boycott of the upcoming polls.
Speaking
to reporters after briefing the Security Council in a closed session, Joachim
Rücker said that it was “very reassuring for us on the ground that many
members of the Council stressed how important… it is that the Kosovo Serbs
participate in the elections.”
The
15-member body also underscored that “there should not be any direct or
indirect calls for [the] boycott of these elections” scheduled to take place
on 17 November, he noted.
In the
past, the envoy said that “it was our impression that Belgrade has actually
called for such boycotts directly or indirectly,” and in response has asked
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica to ensure that there will be no calls
to stay away from polls.
Mr. Rücker
said he also asked Mr. Kostunica to make sure that internally displaced persons
(IDPs) from Kosovo currently living in Serbia can vote in the November
elections.
In a
report made public earlier this month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that
“the status determination process continues to polarize the Kosovo Serb
political community into those who see a future in working with the
international community and the Provisional Institutions and those who do
not.”
He also
underscored that any delay in determining the future status of the province –
where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs and other minorities by about nine to one
– could threaten the gains made by the UN in Kosovo.
Mr. Ban
pledged the world body’s support for discussions between the two sides led by
the Troika, comprising the European Union, Russia and the United States.
“No
effort should be spared to reach an acceptable solution to the question of the
status of Kosovo in accordance with the guiding principles” of the Contact
Group of the US, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Russia, he said.
During
the 120-day period of Troika-led engagement, “the parties need to engage in
construction and genuine discussions,” Mr. Ban noted. “The sides should be
encouraged to make concrete and realistic proposals and be given ample
opportunities to do so.”
The UN
Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), which Mr. Rücker heads, has been
deployed since 1999, when Western forces drove Yugoslav troops out of the
province amid inter-ethnic fighting.
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
~~~~~
MaximsNews.com, An Independent Voice from the
U.N., provides commentary and analysis from
leading world figures: King Abdullah II
(Jordan), HRH Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein
(Jordan), Sir Brian Urquhart, Hans Blix, Amb.
Richard Holbrooke, Anwar Ibrahim, Bianca Jagger,
Dr. Nafis Sadik, Shashi Tharoor, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Noeleen Heyzer,
Masood Haider, Kerry
Kennedy, Ian Williams, Stephen Schlesinger, Sen.
Timothy E. Wirth, Marc Morial, Amb. Jayantha
Dhanapala (Sri Lanka), Amb. Pierre Schori
(Sweden), Amb. William H. Luers, Susan Roosevelt
Weld, Rory Kennedy, Mehri
Madarshahi, J. Michael Adams, Gloria Feldt,
Jeffrey Laurenti, Rodney D. Smith, Ashley
Bommer, Rory
O'Connor, Genevieve Stamper, Max Stamper and
others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MaximsNews®
LLC
NEWS NETWORK FOR THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
MaximsNews Network® LLC is a Global News Network reaching over 30,000 in the International Community. It is associated with MediaChannel.org and Globalvision News Network, global news and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 135 countries.
Established in 1999.
The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of MaximsNews®
LLC.
MaximsNews.com
U.N. ® LLC www.MaximsNews.com
| MaximsNews@MaximsNews.com |
Please
contact us about Republishing:
Syndication@MaximsNews.com ©Copyrights 1999 - 2007, MaximsNews® LLC. All rights
reserved.
|
