Biserko continues tour of Serb enclaves

Several NGOs continued their visit to the Serb enclaves in Kosovo Saturday The delegation, led by Sonja Biserko of the Helsinki Committee, met with local Serbs in the multiethnic village of Musnikovo near Prizren. Biserko continues tour of Serb enclaves The Serbs told the NGO representatives about the problems they face in isolated enclaves, but said they were determine to stay in their homes. Biserko, who came under attack in the enclave of Strpce on Friday, when local Serbs unhappy with the NGOs work in the past hurled stones and eggs, says the goal of the visit, ongoing for several weeks, is to "open up dialogue with the Albanian community". She added the NGO activists are "trying to minimize the influence of Belgrade, which is constantly attempting to use Serbs for its own agenda". As for the incident in Strpce, she said "various services" were putting hurdles in her activities in Kosovo, and accused Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica of "using Kosovo Serbs in the election campaign". Biserko told reporters that she will, "after recording the situation" in the enclaves, decide how to "help the Serbs overcome their dug-in position, which happened first and foremost because of Belgrade's policy which prevented their active participation in Kosovo's political community". Biserko also said she will present her findings to the "Serbian and Kosovo government, civil society and the international community". The representatives of the NGOs are traveling in Kosovo escorted by the Kosovo police, KPS. The Serb enclaves in Kosovo are guarded by international forces in the province in order to prevent outbreaks of ethnically-motivated violence against them by Kosovo's Albanians.

Biserko continues tour of Serb enclaves

The Serbs told the NGO representatives about the problems they face in isolated enclaves, but said they were determine to stay in their homes.

Biserko, who came under attack in the enclave of Štrpce on Friday, when local Serbs unhappy with the NGOs work in the past hurled stones and eggs, says the goal of the visit, ongoing for several weeks, is to "open up dialogue with the Albanian community".

She added the NGO activists are "trying to minimize the influence of Belgrade, which is constantly attempting to use Serbs for its own agenda".

As for the incident in Štrpce, she said "various services" were putting hurdles in her activities in Kosovo, and accused Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica of "using Kosovo Serbs in the election campaign".

Biserko told reporters that she will, "after recording the situation" in the enclaves, decide how to "help the Serbs overcome their dug-in position, which happened first and foremost because of Belgrade's policy which prevented their active participation in Kosovo's political community".

Biserko also said she will present her findings to the "Serbian and Kosovo government, civil society and the international community".

The representatives of the NGOs are traveling in Kosovo escorted by the Kosovo police, KPS.

The Serb enclaves in Kosovo are guarded by international forces in the province in order to prevent outbreaks of ethnically-motivated violence against them by Kosovo's Albanians.