UNMIK/PR/429

PRESS RELEASE - 23rd November 2000

Outrage Over Killing of Kosovo Politician

PRISTINA - PDSRSG, Jock Covey, has expressed his outrage at the murder of a senior politician in central Pristina Thursday.

Xhemajl Mustafa, advisor to the LDK leader Ibrahim Rugova, was shot outside his apartment. His wife, who was with him, collapsed and was taken to hospital.

"This is a contemptible and cowardly act by extremists who want to undermine Kosovo's moves to democracy," said Mr Covey. "Every further act of violence stands in the way of this progress and of the aspirations of all the people of Kosovo.

"The murder of an LDK political advisor the day before a regional summit discussing cooperation is a dark sign for Kosovo. 

"Just last month, Kosovo demonstrated to the world that real progress is possible when hundreds of thousands of people went peacefully to the polls.  The light of that progress is darkened by this and other acts of violence that rail against the most basic principles of freedom and humanity"

Mustafa was a well known Kosovar politician who headed the LDK run Kosovo Information Centre. For some time he was Mr Rugova's spokesman.  Mustafa was a long time, and often outspoken, journalist. He spoke out against the killing of Pristina planner Rexhep Luci and the growth of organised crime in Kosovo.

UNMIK police have the description of a vehicle which they want to track down as part of their investigation into the shooting.  It is a yellow, or cream beige, Mercedes Benz with the license plate: 300-KS-116.