Serbian NGO says emergency measures in northern Kosovo dangerous for Serbs

Text of report by Serbian news agency Beta

Belgrade, 13 June: The Forum for Security and Democracy (FBD) today warned the authorities in Serb municipalities in northern Kosovo and Belgrade that unilateral decisions on introducing emergency measures could have unforeseeable consequences on Serbs in the province and on Serbia as a state.

The FBD advised the municipal authorities in Zubin Potok and other municipalities to re-examine whether they had overstepped their authority when they introduced emergency measures, specifically whether they had violated UN Security Council Resolution 1244 on Kosovo-Metohija.

The FBD argues that the municipality of Zubin Potok is not authorized to ban the presence of regional Kosovo police forces from its territory, or investigating units, which is precisely what the adopted measure says.

The FBD considers controversial and dangerous plans by the municipality to post an advertisement for the admission of 999 Serb policemen, invoking Resolution 1244.

"We particularly consider dangerous requests to the local population to cooperate with the municipality in the implementation of these measures, including 'self-organization,' that is Serb guards, as was decided yesterday," said the FBD.

The FBD recommended that they consider in particular the impact of the above measures on the security of Serbs south of northern Kosovo. The body called on Serbs, Serb parties and political representatives to assume a critical stance on Serb organized crime in northern Kosovo, which often masks its operations and declares them attacks by Albanian extremists.

Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1221 gmt 13 Jun 06