Government "will not allow Trepca to be taken"

Government "will not allow Trepca to be taken"

BELGRADE -- The government "will not accept" a unilateral decision of Pristina to take over the ownership of the Mining, Metallurgical and Chemical Combine Trepca.

The reason is the fact the Republic of Serbia Development Fund owns a majority stake in the mines, Director of the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said on Sunday.

The government warned over the weekend that such a move "will jeopardize the negotiating process between Belgrade and Pristina."

On January 15, the government of Kosovo adopted amendments to the law on public enterprises to make taking over Trepca easier.

The presidency of the assembly of Kosovo decided to debate the amendments under urgent procedure at a meeting scheduled for January 19 to make sure that the Kosovo government could take over 100 percent of all ownership and management rights in Trepca on February 2.

The Serbian government today urged the international community to use its influence and react so that the issue could be resolved within the framework of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and not by unilateral moves and legal violence.

The government pointed out that about 4,000 Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija and about 20,000 members of their families depended on Trepca.

Speaking at a news conference, Djuric said that there was only one word for the seizure of Trepca - "theft."

"Keep your hands off our property!" Djuric told Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Hasim Taci, warning them that by seizing Trepca they would render the entire negotiating process in Brussels, which should be resumed on February 9, meaningless.

Djuric...