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BELGRADE, Yugoslavia, Oct. 29 (UPI) Representatives of Kosovo's beleaguered ethnic Serb community warned two top European Union officials Friday that something had to be done about security in Mitrovica or there could be a humanitarian crisis in the divided town.
The EU's high representative for external and security policies, Javier Solana, and the European commissioner for foreign relations, Chris Patten, met with representative of ethnic Serb and Albanian communities in Mitrovica Friday to hear about their bitter wrangling and mutual recrimination, the Belgrade news agency Beta reported.
The president of the Serbian national council executive in Mitrovica, Oliver Ivanovic, was quoted by Beta as telling the two officials efforts should be made to improve security in the town and warned that if nothing was done, Mitrovica would be faced with a humanitarian crisis.
He also told them that if the European Union wanted to help built a multi-ethnic environment, one way would be to develop small-scale industries requiring little investment that could employ workers from both the Albanian and Serb communities.
The leader of the ethnic Albanian delegation, Bayram Rexhepi, told Solana and Patten the situation on the Albanian-dominated south side of Mitrovica was relatively calm.
Solana and Patten later said in Pristina that Kosovo would be a priority for the 15 EU countries.
They said the EU would be engaged in the reconstruction of Kosovo and the development of a democratic society based on tolerance. They also said that Albanian leaders should direct their compatriots toward ending the spiral of violence in the province.
The establishment of separate ethnic Serb enclaves, known as cantons, is advocated by many ethnic Serb, but the EU officials said it was not a solution to the chronic intolerance in the province.
Meanwhile, a fire engulfed an apartment block in Pristina soon after midnight on Friday, leaving 24 families homeless. KFOR spokesman Ole Irgens was quoted by Belgrade radio B2-92 as saying there were no casualties, and that there were many fires in Kosovo overnight, but arson is not believed to be involved in all of them.