Prosecutors charge four over Kosovo rioting

 

Prosecutors charge four over Kosovo rioting 17 Jun 2004 15:19:48 GMT

(Releads with charges, previous SKOPJE) By Matthew Robinson PRISTINA, June 17 (Reuters) - International prosecutors have charged three Kosovo Albanians and one Serb with serious crimes during a wave of violence in the volatile province in mid-March, a United Nations police spokesman said on Thursday. The charges were the first "of a more serious nature" stemming from 48 hours of rioting in which 19 people died and more than 800 Serb homes were set on fire, Neeraj Singh told Reuters. Around 270 people have been arrested since the ethnic violence, the worst since the United Nations took control of the province in 1999 after NATO bombing drove out Serb troops. Serbia has complained frequently that the U.N. fails to enforce the law, especially where Albanian extremists are concerned. Singh said the Serb was charged with a grenade attack on NATO-led peacekeepers in the divided town of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo. The three Albanians were charged with arson, inciting riots and attacking police officers in a series of orchestrated attacks. News of the charges emerged as Kosovo's newly appointed U.N. governor said that major powers must not neglect the province, where NATO carried out its first major military intervention five years ago. FINAL STATUS DECISION LOOMS "There is a lot of attention these days on other priorities, like Iraq and Afghanistan, but turning our back on Kosovo at this stage would be a serious mistake," Soren Jessen-Petersen told a news conference in the Macedonian capital, Skopje. NATO allies bombed Serbia in 1999 to force its army out of Kosovo and end repression of the Albanian majority. In Albanian eyes, the NATO intervention legitimised their demands for independence. But big powers have shied away from a decision. Jessen-Petersen, a Danish diplomat and European Union envoy to Macedonia, was named by the United Nations in New York on Wednesday as Kosovo's fifth U.N. governor, replacing Finnish diplomat Harri Holkeri who resigned last month citing ill health. The Dane, who aims to take up the post in early August, is expected to play a key role in guiding the decision on whether Kosovo becomes independent, possibly some time in 2005, or formally remains part of Serbia and Montenegro. Kosovo's "final status" is tied to a series of democracy and human rights benchmarks set by the United Nations, with a view to assessing progress in 2005. But Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians are increasingly impatient, saying it is time for the U.N. to start handing real power to local institutions so the stagnant economy can grow and produce jobs for the thousands of unemployed young people. "The mission can be successful only if it starts transferring authority," Mimoza Kusari, spokeswoman for the Kosovo government, told Reuters of the appointment. The United Nations can veto legislation adopted by Kosovo's parliament.

Related...

[Moreover - Balkans news]