Blic, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
October 23, 2000

Momcilo Trajkovic, DOS coordinator for Kosmet

"No participation in elections under any circumstances"

PRISTINA - "Many representatives of international organizations, among
them the UN special envoy for human rights for the former Yugoslavia,
Jerzy Dienstbier, have warned on several occasions that conditions for
fair and honest elections in Kosovo do not exist and that holding
elections would mean a verification of ethnic cleansing. On the other
hand, OSCE and UNMIK seem determined to acknowledge the discouraging
results of the UN mission by the holding of elections in Kosmet. The
Serbian Resistance Movement (SPOT) once advises that it will not
recognize the elections with a warning to the Serb National Council of
Kosovo and Metohija that preparation of lists of Serb representatives to
be used by Kouchner to fill ten percent of positions in the new organs
of local government, means giving legitimacy to Albanian extremists,"
Momcilo Trajkovic, the president of SPOT and the DOS coordinator for
Kosmet, says for "Blic".

He claims that accepting this percentage of representation for Serbs
would leave them in the position of a national minority and consequently
SPOT is asking that elections be delayed until secure conditions are
ensured and Serb returns have been enabled.

"If elections take place, we will insist on separate local elections for
Serbs so that the people can choose their own representatives. In
addition, it is essential to carry out a new geographical organization
of municipalities because that is a preconditions for Serbs to have
local self-government, and at the same time it would initiate the issue
of cantonizaiton, which is the only alternative for both the remaining
Serbs and for those who should return," says Trajkovic.

The president of SPOT claims that accepting Kouchner's appointment of
Serb representatives in local self-government would further disappoint
the Serbs and reopen the process of further exodus. Consequently,
Trajkovic calls on advocates of participation in the elections to think
about what they are doing "because our problem is far too big to accept
the many lies of Kouchner". In conclusion, he states that for some time
already numerous international institutions as well are openly
expressing great disagreement with the policies of UNMIK in Kosovo.

Translated by S. Lazovic (Oct. 22, 2000)