OSCE Chairman-in-Office strongly condemns the death of a British soldier in former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

VIENNA, 27 August 2001 (OSCE) - The death of a British soldier, who was serving with the NATO forces sent to collect weapons from the armed group opposed to the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, was sharply condemned today by the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Mircea Geoana, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Romania.

Although it is unclear at this stage who was responsible for killing the soldier, Mr. Geoana said that the cowardly attack was mindless, totally unjustified and dangerous. "Such a provocative act is only designed to thwart the attempt by the international community to implement the agreement signed by both Macedonian and Albanian communities in the country on 13 August", said the OSCE Chairman-in-Office. "The attack should not be allowed, at any price, to derail peace efforts", he added.

Mr. Geoana expressed his deep sympathies to the family of the victim, whom, he said "was only doing his duty to help bring about a more stable situation in a country threatened by conflict."

At the same time, OSCE Chairman-in-Office appealed to the Macedonian authorities "to do everything in their power to identify and prosecute those responsible for the death of the British soldier"..

The OSCE has had a Mission based in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, since 1992. Its objective has been to monitor developments along the borders with Serbia and other areas which may suffer from spillover of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, in order to preserve territorial integrity, promote the maintenance of peace, stability and security, and also help prevent possible conflict in the region.

The Mission is also engaged in mediation efforts aimed at improving inter-ethnic relations in the country: it assists in the development of a civil society; it contributes in the fields of the economy and environment; and, when necessary, co-ordinates election monitoring activities. In recent months, the number of its staff has been doubled to improve its ability to carry out its mandate.

--

For further information, please contact Josue Anselmo, OSCE Spokesperson, mobile (+43) 664 325 3698, or the Press and Public Information Section of the OSCE Secretariat, tel.: (+ 43-1) 514 36 180, or e-mail: info@osce.org