The latest protest of the FRY mission to the U.N.

New York, August 20 (Tanjug) - The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has filed a strong protest with the U.N. Security Council over the terrorist attack on the Yugoslav U.N. liaison office in Pristina two days ago, calling it a heinous crime and pointing out that the U.N. mission in Kosovo-Metohija has lost all meaning and should be terminated.

The protest note was delivered by the Yugoslav Ambassador to the U.N. Vladislav Jovanovic to Security Council President Agam Hasmy with a request that it be circulated to all members of the 15-member body and published as an official document since the attack on the Yugoslav U.N. liaison office in Pristina was further evidence of flagrant violation of U.N. Resolution 1244 and non-implementation of its mandate by KFOR.

"I have been instructed by my Government to lodge the strongest protest at the terrorist attack at the offices of the Committee of the Federal Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for Cooperation with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and Metohija, the autonomous province of the Yugoslav constituent Republic of Serbia, in Pristina, which amounts to a flagrant violation of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) of 10 June 1999 and the non-implementation of the mandate by the Kosovo Force (KFOR).

"On 18 August 2000 at about 9:30 a.m., ethnic Albanian terrorists planted an explosive device in the building housing the Committee of the Federal Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for Cooperation with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and Metohija in which, at the time of the attack, there were 20 Committee employees. The building, housing also the offices of UNMIK and allegedly provided security by KFOR round the clock, was severely damaged.

"The attack represents yet another act of aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and its sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as a heinous act of terror, the provenance of which is in the deliberate campaign of the United States Administration which has put the United Nations mission under its tutelage and outside the control of the Security Council. It is evident that the overt collaboration of the representatives of the international mission with terrorists and separatists continues.

"Only four days after the armed attack of over 1,000 heavily armed members of KFOR on the civilian population of Kosovska Mitrovica and the military occupation of "Trepca", as well as the vandal demolition and shutdown of the only remaining Serbian-language media in Kosovo and Metohija, the Pristina newspaper "Jedinstvo" and the Zvecan Radio "S", the ethnic Albanian terrorists continued their reign of terror. There is no doubt that they have understood the occupation of "Trepca" by KFOR and UNMIK as their victory and the defeat of Serbs and are now attempting to cut off all links of the remaining Serbs with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and its constituent Republic of Serbia."

"This crime provides also eloquent proof of the existence of the concept and strategy aimed at systematically violating Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and at ethnically cleansing the remaining Serbs, Muslims, Romanies, Goranians, Turks, Egyptians and other non-Albanians by rendering support to separatism and terrorism. I recall that 1,036 persons, primarily Serbs, were killed on the KFOR and UNMIK watch, 960 kidnapped and 360,000 expelled."

"As a consequence, the United Nations mission in Kosovo and Metohija has lost its purpose, wherefore it is necessary to call off its presence in southern Serbian province which is a part of the sovereign territory of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia."