Hashim Thaci visits Kosovo Serbs to assure them
(5 Feb 2008) SHOTLIST
1. Various exteriors of Serb church
2. Serb farmer walking in street
3. Children in street
4. Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, shaking hands with local Serb living in central Kosovo
5. Crowd following Thaci into house
6. Various of Thaci sitting around table with a Serb family
7. Close up of a Serb mother holding her baby
8. SOUNDBITE: (Albanian) Hashim Thaci, Kosovo Prime Minister:
"I want Kosovo to be a homeland for all its citizens."
9. Various of Thaci drinking traditional Serb alcohol called 'Rakia'
10. Close-up of children
11. SOUNBDITE: (English) Hashim Thaci, Prime Minister of Kosovo:
"My message to Serbs of Kosovo is to stay in Kosovo. Kosovo is the country of everybody. We will respect them though affirmative action. I will stay with them, near them, for the best life to have in Kosovo for everybody. I will work with every citizen of Kosovo for better life in our country. Kosovo is a country of opportunities and I think everybody in Kosovo, Albanians, Serbs, Montenegrins, Bosnians, Turks can have very good life. My government and I personally, I will work closely with every citizen of Kosovo for better life for our citizens. I'm very proud that the children of Kosovo, everybody - Serbs, Albanian, they live and they grow up in security of Kosovo and I'm very proud that every children of Kosovo will like Kosovo with new status and new life, better life."
12. Various of Thaci shaking hands with local Serbs
13. SOUNDBITE: (Serbian) Slavica Slavkovic, a recent Kosovo Serb returnee:
"We were and we are worried about the safety of the Serb community here. But it's encouraging having Kosovo's Prime Minister here assuring us that Kosovo's institutions will protect us as all other citizens."
14. Local Serbs looking on
STORYLINE
The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci visited local Kosovo Serbs on Tuesday to encourage them to remain in the breakaway province as it prepares to declare independence from Serbia.
In the village of Rubovac, Thaci met a Serb family and drank a traditional brandy called 'rakia' before assuring them that he wanted "Kosovo to be a homeland for all its citizens".
After the meeting, he re-emphasised his inclusive vision of Kosovo.
"My message to Serbs of Kosovo is to stay in Kosovo. Kosovo is the country of everybody. We will respect them though affirmative action. I will stay with them, near them, for the best life to have in Kosovo for everybody," Thaci said.
Many Kosovo Serbs left the province when NATO troops arrived in 1999.
Slavica Slavkovic, one of those who recently returned to Kosovo, welcomed Thaci into his home and later told AP Television that he had felt reassured by Thaci's words.
"We were and we are worried about the safety of the Serb community here. But it's encouraging having Kosovo's Prime Minister here assuring us that Kosovo institutions will protect us as all other citizens", he said.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders said they would declare independence days after the Serbian election last Sunday, no matter who won, and they expected most EU countries and the US to follow up with quick recognition.
Despite opposition from Serbia and Russia, the United States and major European allies are expected to recognise Kosovo's independence following the failure of UN led efforts to negotiate an agreement between the two sides.
Other European Union nations, including Spain, Cyprus and Slovakia, also have misgivings about independence for Kosovo, fearing it could fuel separatist feeling elsewhere.
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