UNMIK/PR/1587
PRISTINA – PDSRSG Steven Schook visited local leaders in Mitrovica, Istog/Istok and Klina today to urge them to work more actively with their communities at this crucial time in Kosovo’s status process.
Together with Police Commissioner Stephen Curtis and KFOR Deputy Commander Gen. Roberto Bernardini, the PDSRSG met Kosovo Serb leaders in northern Mitrovica to discuss security concerns, particularly in relation to the Austerlitz Bridge that links the northern and southern parts of the town.
The PDSRSG thanked the local leaders for their responsible leadership with regard to the latest incidents and assured them that together with KFOR, UNMIK “will come up with a responsible way forward with respect to the bridge, as to how we open it and when we open it.”
The PDSRSG then met with the Municipal Assembly President and CEO of Mitrovica and gave the following message: “I want more involvement by the local leadership in all communities. The message is very clear and very simple: enough is enough.” He stressed that the involvement of the local leadership is critical to creating the conditions necessary to re-open the bridge.
“I am tired of having the Austerlitz Bridge as the focus of incidents. I am looking for more leadership on both sides to ensure people in their communities behave so that we can get the bridge re-opened as soon as possible,” he said.
The PDSRSG also travelled to Istog/Istok municipality to visit an urban returns site there together with the municipal CEO. The PDSRSG then went to Klina for a meeting with the Municipal Assembly President. The two discussed how to maximize resources available to determine who was responsible for two recent attacks on Kosovo Serb returnees in Klina.
Following the meeting, the PDSRSG told the media: “It is a critical time in Kosovo’s history, and it is still beyond my comprehension that we have people out there, be it for monetary gain or political gain or other reasons, that commit these despicable acts that do not help Kosovo during the final status process.”