NATO: Serbs welcome in KSF

NATO spokesman James Appathurai says “no one can force the Serbs to participate in the Kosovo Security Forces.”

Izvor: Deutsche Welle

Wednesday, 28.01.2009.

15:30

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NATO spokesman James Appathurai says “no one can force the Serbs to participate in the Kosovo Security Forces.” “What can be done and has already been done is to reserve certain places for them, a proportional number of places,” said Appathurai, speaking to Deutsche Welle. NATO: Serbs welcome in KSF Appathurai said the plan was for the deputy commander of that force to be a Serb, and that KFOR and the Kosovo government would do everything possible to encourage minorities to participate in the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF). The NATO spokesman expressed satisfaction with the initial work of the KSF and repeated that they were not an army, that they did not have military objectives, and that the 2,500 members would be dealing exclusively with civil crisis situations and mine clearance. The civil Security Forces Ministry will command the regiment, and every member will pass through a process of examinations and tests that will be controlled by NATO and carried out by KFOR, said Appathurai. There are precise acceptance criteria set by the Kosovo government in compliance with international standards, related to the credentials, physical fitness and age of candidates, while what was most important, said the NATO spokesman, was that the forces should be multi-ethnic. Commenting on the calls from former Serbian Army Chief-of-Staff Zdravko Ponos and President Boris Tadic for a revision of the Kumanovo Agreement, Appathurai said that that had still to be discussed among the ambassadors of the military alliance since no official proposal had reached NATO headquarters. He added that NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer had said earlier he would discuss the topic with military alliance ambassadors if Belgrade had any specific proposals.

NATO: Serbs welcome in KSF

Appathurai said the plan was for the deputy commander of that force to be a Serb, and that KFOR and the Kosovo government would do everything possible to encourage minorities to participate in the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF).

The NATO spokesman expressed satisfaction with the initial work of the KSF and repeated that they were not an army, that they did not have military objectives, and that the 2,500 members would be dealing exclusively with civil crisis situations and mine clearance.

The civil Security Forces Ministry will command the regiment, and every member will pass through a process of examinations and tests that will be controlled by NATO and carried out by KFOR, said Appathurai.

There are precise acceptance criteria set by the Kosovo government in compliance with international standards, related to the credentials, physical fitness and age of candidates, while what was most important, said the NATO spokesman, was that the forces should be multi-ethnic.

Commenting on the calls from former Serbian Army Chief-of-Staff Zdravko Ponoš and President Boris Tadić for a revision of the Kumanovo Agreement, Appathurai said that that had still to be discussed among the ambassadors of the military alliance since no official proposal had reached NATO headquarters.

He added that NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer had said earlier he would discuss the topic with military alliance ambassadors if Belgrade had any specific proposals.

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