KFOR commander on "removal of barricades"

The KFOR commander has said that there was no deadline for the removal of barricades in the north, and that this depended on the citizens "and their behavior". "A small number of people want conflicts in the north of Kosovo, but in that case KFOR should react regardless of whether the barricades exist or not," said Erhard Drews. KFOR commander on "removal of barricades" "There are certain red lines which cannot be crossed. If that happens, KFOR will have to interfere and establish peace," the German general asserted during at a press conference in Pristina on Friday - his first since he took over as the commander of the NATO forces in the province last month. Drews stated that KFOR "can remove all the barricades in the north at any moment", and that "a major KFOR unit is doing a military exercise and training for removal of the barricades with all available capacities". "To be clear: this situation with 16 barricades, which pushes KFOR troops into small pockets around the crossings, is not the situation we can bear for months," the German general warned. He stressed that KFOR "retains the right to remove the barricades when it deems it necessary, in case they jeopardize peace and safety", and there was "an urgent need for the freedom of movement of either KFOR or other international institutions". "But there is no deadline, so there are no guarantees that we will stand still, but also no guarantees that we will start with that tomorrow," Drews said. He reiterated that on September 27, "KFOR acted in self-defense" at the Jarinje administrative crossing, and that incident was "not a reason enough for it to start removing the barricades". Drews said that NATO was "not provoking World War III on the Serbian borders", and stressed that "criminal groups from the north of Kosovo caused this incident". "The people in the north are blocking themselves, and denying themselves the freedom of movement, more than they block KFOR," Drews believes. "The barricades do not represent a peaceful protest. They are unlawful, but I would like them removed as a result of the political agreement and solution, and not by force. If KFOR would do that, we would face the danger of injuring someone, of hurting innocent people. There is always the risk that the action aimed at removing barricades might jeopardize a peaceful and safe environment," the KFOR commander said. Reporters also heard that Drews is of the opinion that citizens should remove barricades, but if they fail to do that, "KFOR retains the right to remove them at the moment which it deems appropriate so as to fulfill its duty and back other international presence". The barricades in the north of Kosovo were put up in response to attempts of the Kosovo Albanian authorities to take control of administrative line checkpoints located between Kosovo and central Serbia. Serbs in the north do not recognize the authority of the government in Pristina, and also reject the unilateral proclamation of independence made by ethnic Albanians in early 2008. Erhard Drews (Tanjug)

KFOR commander on "removal of barricades"

"There are certain red lines which cannot be crossed. If that happens, KFOR will have to interfere and establish peace," the German general asserted during at a press conference in Priština on Friday - his first since he took over as the commander of the NATO forces in the province last month.

Drews stated that KFOR "can remove all the barricades in the north at any moment", and that "a major KFOR unit is doing a military exercise and training for removal of the barricades with all available capacities".

"To be clear: this situation with 16 barricades, which pushes KFOR troops into small pockets around the crossings, is not the situation we can bear for months," the German general warned.

He stressed that KFOR "retains the right to remove the barricades when it deems it necessary, in case they jeopardize peace and safety", and there was "an urgent need for the freedom of movement of either KFOR or other international institutions".

"But there is no deadline, so there are no guarantees that we will stand still, but also no guarantees that we will start with that tomorrow," Drews said.

He reiterated that on September 27, "KFOR acted in self-defense" at the Jarinje administrative crossing, and that incident was "not a reason enough for it to start removing the barricades".

Drews said that NATO was "not provoking World War III on the Serbian borders", and stressed that "criminal groups from the north of Kosovo caused this incident".

"The people in the north are blocking themselves, and denying themselves the freedom of movement, more than they block KFOR," Drews believes.

"The barricades do not represent a peaceful protest. They are unlawful, but I would like them removed as a result of the political agreement and solution, and not by force. If KFOR would do that, we would face the danger of injuring someone, of hurting innocent people. There is always the risk that the action aimed at removing barricades might jeopardize a peaceful and safe environment," the KFOR commander said.

Reporters also heard that Drews is of the opinion that citizens should remove barricades, but if they fail to do that, "KFOR retains the right to remove them at the moment which it deems appropriate so as to fulfill its duty and back other international presence".

The barricades in the north of Kosovo were put up in response to attempts of the Kosovo Albanian authorities to take control of administrative line checkpoints located between Kosovo and central Serbia.

Serbs in the north do not recognize the authority of the government in Priština, and also reject the unilateral proclamation of independence made by ethnic Albanians in early 2008.