SLATINA, Yugoslavia, July 17 (AVN) - The KFOR headquarters has informed Lieutenant-General Valery Yevtukhovich, commander of the Russian military contingent (RMC) in Kosovo, that the municipal elections in the province will be held in October 2000 in accordance with UN mission head Bernard Kouchner's decision, a source in the RMC staff told the Military News Agency.
According to the KFOR headquarters order, all the Russian tactical groups are to complete rotation and be ready to provide security in their areas of responsibility during the forthcoming elections.
Over 350,000 Serbs left their homes in Kosovo and more than 1,000 were killed by what the RMC refers to as extremist forces for the past year, the source said. The Serbs living in Kosovo boycotted the UN sponsored census, which was completed by July 15. According to the census, Kosovo's population is 880,000 people, among which some 100,000 are Serbs. As many as 22 Kosovar parties are registered for the elections. At the same time Serb parties refused to participate in the polls.
Taking into account all the above mentioned facts Russia is against accelerating the elections, the Russian representative in the UN said last week. Nevertheless, even if the elections are held in October, Russian peacekeepers will do their best to ensure security, the source in the RMC said.