I was expecting more from the Serbs but they seem to think there can still be a peaceful settlement. I have no such hope. I think the theft of Kosovo will lead to genocide and the Serbs had best prepare themselves for war. Once the KLA calls “jihad” muslims will respond, they always do.
PRISTINA, Mar 16, 2008, AP
Hundreds of Serbs stormed a UN courthouse in northern Kosovo on Friday, taking control of the site and hoisting a Serbian flag to replace a UN one.
They broke through two gates at the front of the three-story building at about 8:30am and pushed aside UN riot police guarding the courthouse in the Serb-dominated city of Kosovska Mitrovica, a police spokesman said.
Dozens of UN police guards based there did not intervene.
By late afternoon the UN flag had been raised again, but about 100 of the Serbs remained in the compound or locked inside the courthouse, saying they would not leave until they reached a deal with UN officials, Kosovo police said.
“We tried to negotiate, but no one wanted to talk to us,” said Miodrag Ralic, one of the Serb protest leaders. “We could not wait any longer.”
“We have nothing against international judges,” said Nebojsa Jovic, another leader. “We want to cooperate with all non-Albanians and all those who do not recognize independent Kosovo.”
Some of the Serbs who took control of the building worked in Serbia’s justice system before Kosovo came under UN and NATO control in 1999 and have refused to work under the UN administration.
Following Kosovo’s declaration of independence, minority Serbs have threatened to set up parallel offices that report directly to Belgrade.
The attack on the courthouse was condemned by the EU and by NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who made a previously planned visit to Kosovo on Friday.
Joachim Ruecker, the top UN official in Kosovo, said on Friday that he had ordered the UN police to retake the court building. He pledged to defend his mandate as head of the UN mission known as UNMIK. (more…)
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