Dienstbier: "I hope the negotiations will be successful..."

Prishtina, 18 September (ARTA) 1830CET --

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the former Yugoslavia, Jiri Dienstbier, within the framework of his ten-days visit in the region, stayed in Kosova on Friday.

During his stay in Prishtina, Dienstbier had a meeting with Ibrahim Rugova.

The topic of that one-hour meeting was the humanitarian crisis and the necessity of undertaking concrete steps to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, which threatens Kosova.

"We spoke about the present humanitarian circumstances in Kosova and necessity of undertaking preventive steps before the winter and cold weather prevail", claimed Rugova after the meeting with the Czech guest.

"Of course, we also spoke about some other important issues afterwards", he said.

"We discussed for the necessity of stopping this negative trend of events in Kosova", stated Rugova further.

Albeit, asking an immediate halt of operations undertaken by Serb security forces (which he evaluated as an excessive use of violence), the UN Special Rapporteur, Dienstbier said: "We had a very interesting talk. I was happy to see that Rugova still supports the talks and not the violent actions. I hope the negotiations will start soon and the war will end".

"I also hope that, the negotiations will be successful and will result into a genuine self-administration in local basis, a thorough self-administration in Kosova", stated the UN special reporter for human rights, Jiri Dienstbier.

"I think that every country will fight the rebellion, but destroying entire villages in the region (I said so to the representatives of the Serb government) according to my opinion, is too much", he claimed.

"Their aim is to expel the people from their villages. That is the main purpose of that strategy and that strategy could hardly be acceptable", declared the UN Special Rapporteur, Jiri Dienstbier.

"I appeal a stop to these actions immediately", said Dienstbier, at the end of his statement after the meeting in Prishtina.

During his visit in Prishtina, Dienstbier was accompanied by Henrik Stenman, responsible of UN Office for Human Rights in Belgrade and Roy Sullivan, assistant in the same office.