NATO&U.N. Accused of "catastrophically' Failing Minorities(Serbs)in Kosovo

[papau]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBT0QOQ4XD.html

NATO, U.N. Accused of "catastrophically' Failing Minorities(Serbs) in Kosovo
By Fisnik Abrashi
Associated Press Writer

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) - A leading human rights organization blamed NATO and U.N. police Monday for failing "catastrophically" to protect minorities in Kosovo during ethnic violence earlier this year.

Among other charges, the New York-based Human Rights Watch accused NATO-led peacekeepers of locking their gates and standing by as ethnic Albanians burned Serb houses just outside their bases during the mid-March riots that left 19 people dead and 900 injured.

"The NATO-led Kosovo Force and U.N. international police failed catastrophically to protect minorities during the widespread rioting," the group said in a 66-page report entitled "'Failure to Protect: Anti-Minority Violence in Kosovo, March 2004."

The report also accused the international community in Kosovo of being in "absolute denial about its own failures."

"While international actors have been universally and accurately critical of Kosovo Albanian leadership during and after the crisis, the dismal performance of the international community has escaped similar critical scrutiny," the report said. <snip>

[gottaB]

1. link to the report

Failure to Protect: Anti-Minority Violence in Kosovo, March 2004