Rehabilitation sparks tension

By Vaiju Naravane

PARIS, MARCH 4. Despite violent protests from Serb inhabitants in the small town of Mitrovica, French peace keepers in the U.N. controlled province of Kosovo said they would move ahead with a plan to resettle expelled ethnic Albanians.

On Friday, French troops used tear gas to disperse a protesting mob, which tried to prevent the resettling of the Albanian families in their former homes in tall apartment blocks in the bitterly divided city of Mitrovica. Kosovska Mitrovica, 30 km north of Kosovo's capital Pristina, has been the scene of repeated ethnic unrest.

Gen. Pierre de Saqui de Sannes, who commands the northern sector of Kosovo where Mitrovica is located, said he was determined to re-house the expelled Albanians. ``What would you have us do, give up?''

A large Serb crowd pelted erected barricades and the peacekeeping troops with stones. Troops used teargas to force their way through the crowd. Danish troops provided cover for 41 ethnic Albanians who were returned to their homes here. They were brought in armoured cars and under heavy armed escort.

The decision by the French commander to go ahead with the resettlement of the ethnic Albanian families has been criticised by human rights organisations. A spokesperson for the U.N. High Commission for Refugees said the situation was too tense and resettling populations now would give rise to increased violence and more problems. The spokeswoman, Ms. Paula Ghedini, said: ``The events of today - the fact that they had to be moved with armoured personnel carriers, that there was barbed wire and tear gas - does not indicate conditions for safe return.''

However, Gen. Pierre de Saqui de Sennes rejected that saying, ``All initiatives create tension, but inaction would be worse. Time is playing against peace here. If we do nothing, we will head towards catastrophe.''

Peacekeepers will be stationed inside and outside the three high- rise towers where the Albanian families have been housed, the General said.

Five French soldiers have been injured in the clash with the Serbs with two soldiers requiring hospitalisation. The U.N. Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, said the level of violence in Kosovo was unacceptable. ``There is no tolerance, still less reconciliation.''

Clashes, this time between Serb police and ethnic Albanians were reported from the Serbian border town of Dobrosin. Some 200 ethnic Albanians fled into Kosovo from the Serb town across the border. The Serbian police said the Albanians were armed extremists but the villagers said they had formed patrol groups because they felt intimidated by the Serb police.

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Section  : International
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