OSCE Chairman urges Kosovo Serbs to take part in October elections

NEW YORK, 23 September 2004 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, urged Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica on Wednesday to encourage Kosovo Serbs to participate in next month's Kosovo Assembly Elections.

"It is essential that all sections of the community should be represented in the new parliament that will be elected on 23 October," the Chairman-in-Office said in a telephone call to Prime Minister Kostunica from New York, where Minister Passy is attending the United Nations General Assembly.

"The international community is trying to do its best to support the democratic process in Kosovo. But maybe we can do even more. I hope the authorities in Belgrade will encourage Kosovo's Serbian population, in particular, not to boycott these elections, which would be counter-productive."

The Chairman-in-Office said the OSCE remained fully committed to building a democratic, multi-ethnic Kosovo. The October elections were a vital part of this process and it was important that Serbian political representatives should launch their election campaigns in good time to mobilise their supporters.

Minister Passy also discussed with the Prime Minister the measures that had been taken to improve security for all sections of the population following the upsurge in violence in March.

"The concerns of the Serbian population about security and their representation in the political institutions of Kosovo are being energetically addressed by the international community and even more is going to be done," he said.