OSCE Chairman-in-Office condemns killing of civilian Serbs in Kosovo

VIENNA, 25 July 1999 - The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Foreign Minister Knut Vollebæk of Norway, strongly deplores the recent massacre of 14 Serbian men in the farming village of Gracko in Kosovo.

These killings demonstrate the urgent need for increased international protection of Serbs and other vulnerable ethnic groups in the Province. The Gracko killings represent an escalation of already unacceptable levels of violence against non-Albanians in Kosovo. This violence against Serbs and other non-Albanian groups in Kosovo must stop, and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo will continue to advise KFOR in its investigation of this deplorable crime. Foreign Minister Vollebæk underlines that these horrendous acts must not the derail the efforts of those living in Kosovo and of the international community to work together to restore peace, law and order and build ethnic tolerance. To do otherwise would vindicate and empower those criminals that committed this heinous crime.