Minister's car attacked in Kosovo

Members of the ethnic Albanian radical Self-Determination Movement on Saturday afternoon attacked the car of Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic. The vehicle was pelted with stones as it was driving through the town of Decani in Kosovo. Minister's car attacked in Kosovo Reports said that "many activists of the Self-Determination were still gathered there". The town is located near the medieval Serb monastery of Visoki Decani, where Bogdanovic and President Boris Tadic spent Orthodox Christmas. The same ethnic Albanian group caused inscidents on Friday evening, when they stoned a convoy of vehicles in which Tadic was traveling. Bogdanovic told Tanjug that three stones, thrown by the roadside crowd, hit his car and cracked a window. Kosovo police (KPS) was securing the road, but the rocks came flying from the crowd gathered behind the police line, he explained. Self-Determination members are seen in Decani on Friday night (Tanjug) Security improved Also on Saturday in Decani, KFOR Commander Erhard Drews commented on Friday's stoning of a convoy of vehicles transporting Serbian President Boris Tadic, that KFOR was not in charge of security for the convoy, but was prepared to react if the need arose. Drews told Tanjug that the people who caused the incident in Decani do not represent the majority of the population, just as the extremists in norther Kosovo do not represent the majority. The KFOR commander, who attended the Christmas liturgy at the Visoki Decani monastery, wished happy Christmas and New Year's holidays to all Orthodox believers. The German general assessed the security situation at the start of this year as improved compared to mid 2011, but more complicated than at the beginning of last year. Drews denied media speculation that American troops in KFOR are planning to withdraw from Kosovo this year. The rumors that American soldiers are withdrawing this year are wrong and unfounded. It is true there is a longterm plan to scale back troops and, as a part of that, there is a possibility of closing down the Bondsteel base, Drews said. However, such a scale back requires a security situation that we do not have right now, added the KFOR commander. Drews said he would be happiest if the barricades in northern Kosovo were taken down, but, on the other hand, they are just a physical expression of protest, which is deeply ingrained in the psyche. We should try to remove this political and mental resistance through a reasonable approach to people, and deal less with the barricades, explained the German general. Tanjug

Minister's car attacked in Kosovo

Reports said that "many activists of the Self-Determination were still gathered there".

The town is located near the medieval Serb monastery of Visoki Dečani, where Bogdanović and President Boris Tadić spent Orthodox Christmas.

The same ethnic Albanian group caused inscidents on Friday evening, when they stoned a convoy of vehicles in which Tadić was traveling.

Bogdanović told Tanjug that three stones, thrown by the roadside crowd, hit his car and cracked a window.

Kosovo police (KPS) was securing the road, but the rocks came flying from the crowd gathered behind the police line, he explained.

Security improved

Also on Saturday in Dečani, KFOR Commander Erhard Drews commented on Friday's stoning of a convoy of vehicles transporting Serbian President Boris Tadić, that KFOR was not in charge of security for the convoy, but was prepared to react if the need arose.

Drews told Tanjug that the people who caused the incident in Dečani do not represent the majority of the population, just as the extremists in norther Kosovo do not represent the majority.

The KFOR commander, who attended the Christmas liturgy at the Visoki Dečani monastery, wished happy Christmas and New Year's holidays to all Orthodox believers.

The German general assessed the security situation at the start of this year as improved compared to mid 2011, but more complicated than at the beginning of last year.

Drews denied media speculation that American troops in KFOR are planning to withdraw from Kosovo this year.

The rumors that American soldiers are withdrawing this year are wrong and unfounded. It is true there is a longterm plan to scale back troops and, as a part of that, there is a possibility of closing down the Bondsteel base, Drews said.

However, such a scale back requires a security situation that we do not have right now, added the KFOR commander.

Drews said he would be happiest if the barricades in northern Kosovo were taken down, but, on the other hand, they are just a physical expression of protest, which is deeply ingrained in the psyche.

We should try to remove this political and mental resistance through a reasonable approach to people, and deal less with the barricades, explained the German general.