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UN envoy to Kosovo condemns blast that damaged minister’s car

UN envoy to Kosovo condemns blast that damaged minister’s car

Joachim Rücker
The senior United Nations envoy to Kosovo strongly condemned an explosive attack today which damaged the car of the Minister of Internal Affairs but resulted in no injuries, saying the violence ran counter to the will of the province’s people, who are seeking peaceful change.

“I am outraged at this criminal act,” said Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative in Kosovo, Joachim Rücker, referring to the blast which damaged Fatmir Rexhepi’s private car while it was parked outside his apartment in Gjilan/Gnjilane.

“At this critical juncture in Kosovo’s history, whereas the large majority of the people and their political leadership are working on the positive agenda of the status process, there are obviously some persons out there who continue to espouse the path of violence,” he said.

“Their message is clearly the opposite of what Kosovo wishes to convey to the world today as it lays the foundations for its peaceful and democratic future. I am confident that Kosovo’s commitment to the rule of law will prevail.”

Mr. Rücker, who has requested a law enforcement probe, said he received assurances from officials “that the police will spare no efforts to get to the bottom of this.”