Wednesday, March 16, 2005

State Dep. Daily Press Briefing - Remarks on Kosovo

QUESTION:Â Your reaction to the assassination attempt today against Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo, which has been condemned by all the Balkan countries, including Greece?

MR. ERELI: Well, and we will add our name to that list by strongly condemning this incident and reiterating that violence in any form will not be tolerated and can only hurt Kosovo's future. We believe that the perpetrator or perpetrators of this cowardly act must be apprehended and tried as soon as possible.

For details about the attack and what happened, I obviously refer you to local authorities and the UN Mission in Kosovo. We are encouraging the leadership of Kosovo not to let this incident derail their commitment to forming a new government and continuing to implement the standards, and we will continue to support them as they prepare for the comprehensive review later this year.

QUESTION:Â Do you have anything that today's UN War Tribunal of Carla del Ponte indictment against the former Minister of Interior of Skopje, Ljube Boskovski, and the police officer Johan Tarculovski, accused of crimes during the ethnic Albanian rebellion in FYROM?

MR. ERELI:Â No, I don't have anything on that.

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