"No MUP in Kosovo, UNMIK looks for excuses"

Ministry for Kosovo State Secretary Dusan Propokovic today denied that Serbian MUP has "offices" in Kosovo. He was attending a round table in Belgrade dedicated to Kosovo, when he commented on UNMIK's accusations yesterday that Serbian police, MUP, was active in the province. "No MUP in Kosovo, UNMIK looks for excuses" "It seems to me that by repeating these claims, and reprinting of the same articles in the Albanian language press, they are in fact looking for justification and excuse for a violent and brutal raid that was staged on March 17," Prorokovic, DSS, said, and added, "anyhow I have better things to do than deny what Alexander Ivanko says every other day". He reminded that official Belgrade insists on an international investigation into the March 17 events in Kosovska Mitrovica, when UNMIK and KFOR stormed a court building to arrest Serb judicial workers protesting there, which sparked riots that left one Ukrainian policeman dead, and one Serb seriously injured. Speaking about the approach to Kosovo taken by Russia, Prorokovic said: "On the one hand you see official Moscow sending humanitarian aid to solve some social, humanitarian, and economic problems, and on the other, you see official Washington sending weapons." He also warned that a problem of "dual interpretation of Resolution 1244" is plaguing the relations between UNMIK and Belgrade. "It is scandalous that some countries are even using it [1244] to recognize the self-declared independence of Kosovo and Metohija. We must discuss interpretations of 1244 in order to avoid this in the future," the state secretary said. In his words, Serbia should already have filed lawsuits at international tribunals against those countries that have recognized Kosovo Albanians' unilateral secession, and added that the citizens of those states can also sue their governments over this in domestic courts. "We must use all appropriate democratic means to defend our territorial integrity," Prorokovic explained. As for the latest incident when medicines sent to the Kosovo Serb enclaves were confiscated by UNMIK, he said Serbia will solve this "as it has done several weeks ago".

"No MUP in Kosovo, UNMIK looks for excuses"

"It seems to me that by repeating these claims, and reprinting of the same articles in the Albanian language press, they are in fact looking for justification and excuse for a violent and brutal raid that was staged on March 17," Proroković, DSS, said, and added, "anyhow I have better things to do than deny what Alexander Ivanko says every other day".

He reminded that official Belgrade insists on an international investigation into the March 17 events in Kosovska Mitrovica, when UNMIK and KFOR stormed a court building to arrest Serb judicial workers protesting there, which sparked riots that left one Ukrainian policeman dead, and one Serb seriously injured.

Speaking about the approach to Kosovo taken by Russia, Proroković said: "On the one hand you see official Moscow sending humanitarian aid to solve some social, humanitarian, and economic problems, and on the other, you see official Washington sending weapons."

He also warned that a problem of "dual interpretation of Resolution 1244" is plaguing the relations between UNMIK and Belgrade.

"It is scandalous that some countries are even using it [1244] to recognize the self-declared independence of Kosovo and Metohija. We must discuss interpretations of 1244 in order to avoid this in the future," the state secretary said.

In his words, Serbia should already have filed lawsuits at international tribunals against those countries that have recognized Kosovo Albanians' unilateral secession, and added that the citizens of those states can also sue their governments over this in domestic courts.

"We must use all appropriate democratic means to defend our territorial integrity," Proroković explained.

As for the latest incident when medicines sent to the Kosovo Serb enclaves were confiscated by UNMIK, he said Serbia will solve this "as it has done several weeks ago".