http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1038000/1038087.stm

BBC WORLD NEW EUROPE
Friday, 24 November, 2000, 13:18 GMT

Kouchner: exclude Kosovo from Serb elections

The United Nations administrator in Kosovo,
Bernard Kouchner, has warned that extending
Serbia's end-of-the-year parliamentary
elections to Kosovo risks endangering the
already fragile peace process in the province.

Speaking at the Balkan summit in Zagreb, Mr
Kouchner said such a move could have Kosovo
sliding back into conflict.

Referring to the legacy of war and ethnic
hatred between the ethnic Albanians and the
Serbs, Mr Kouchner said it would take a
generation for what he described as the wall of
blood between them to come down.

Mr Kouchner's warning comes after a series of
violent incidents in the province earlier this
week. On Thursday, Mr Kouchner, warned that
enthusiasm about the change of government in
Yugoslavia should not cause the international
community to forget its obligations in Kosovo.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service