RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 8, No. 76, Part II, 23 April 2004

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

NATO CHIEF CALLS ON KOSOVA'S LEADERS TO SHOW MORE RESPONSIBILITY...
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, leading a delegation of
26 member-state ambassadors, said in Prishtina on 22 April that he is
"disappointed" with Kosova's leadership, Reuters reported. "I
expected to see more responsibility, rebuilding, stronger language,
and more ambitions. I must say that I'm disappointed," he said. De
Hoop Scheffer argued that there has been "no progress" since his
previous visit after the March violence. "We cannot accept a
wait-and-see approach by the leadership of the majority community....
Being a political leader means you have to lead, you have to take
decisions, you have to take responsibilities -- and I don't see that,
unfortunately," he noted (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 26 March, and 2
and 23 April 2004). In Belgrade, representatives of the United
States, EU, and NATO called for renewed and intensified dialogue
between Belgrade and Prishtina after meeting with Serbia and
Montenegro's Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic and Serbian Prime
Minister Vojislav Kostunica. In Vienna, OSCE media representative
Miklos Haraszti said that "reckless" and "sensationalist" reporting
by many Kosovar Albanian broadcasters was a major factor in the March
ethnic violence, according to a new OSCE report. In Prishtina,
several broadcasters denied the charges and criticized the study,
Reuters reported. PM

...WHILE ALBANIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR CLARIFICATION OF STATUS.
Speaking in Prishtina on 22 April, Albanian President Alfred Moisiu
warned that delays in defining Kosova's status will strengthen
extremists in the region, RFE/RL reported. Moisiu said Kosova's
status should be resolved in accordance with the will of the people
and help of the international community. All parties representing
Kosova's more than 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority favor
independence and seek a clear timetable to that end (see "RFE/RL
Balkan Report," 26 March, and 2 and 23 April 2004). PM