UNMIK/PR/1519
SRSG welcomes Prime Minister Ceku’s call for Kosovo Serbs
to integrate in Kosovo institutions
PRISTINA – Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG)
Søren Jessen-Petersen welcomed the call of Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku
yesterday, for Kosovo Serbs to join efforts of the Kosovo government and the
international community to build a multi-ethnic society, which would guarantee
them their rightful place in Kosovo.
The
SRSG said, “The Prime Minister’s appeal is yet another example of the
earnestness of the Kosovo leadership to fully integrate the Kosovo Serb
community in the current and future structures in Kosovo. It is now time for the
Kosovo Serbs to respond in kind, to take the hand that is reaching out to them
in a spirit of partnership, and work together with the Kosovo Albanian community
to build a common future in Kosovo.”
Taking
note of recent developments that serve to isolate Kosovo Serbs from legitimate
local institutions in Kosovo, the SRSG said, “I am concerned to learn about
moves which make it difficult for Kosovo Serbs to engage in the Provisional
Institutions of Self-Government. The Kosovo Serbs in question are entitled to
salaries from the Kosovo Consolidated Budget for the work they are doing. I have
brought this issue to the attention of the Contact Group and the Government in
“There
are extremely important issues pertaining to decentralisation that are being
discussed within the framework of the status talks and a lot of common ground
has been explored by the UN Status Envoy. It is very important in this critical
phase of the process that all parties refrain from any unilateral measures,” the
SRSG said.
