KOSOVO: MITROVICA: HEAD OF UN PEACE MISSION VISIT

(22 Aug 1999) English/Nat Bernard Kouchner, the head of the international peace mission in Kosovo, has been visiting the divided Kosovar town of Mitrovica. Serbs and Albanians in the town have clashed in recent weeks in the aftermath of Slobodan Milosevic's oppression of the ethnic Albanians. Kouchner placed a hospital in the divided town under United Nations patronage, saying he hoped it would become a symbol of tolerance for Kosovars of all ethnic backgrounds. The man charged with implementing the United Nations' peace plan in Kosovo visited the divided town of Mitrovica on Sunday. Bernard Kouchner and his team flew into the town 22 miles (35 km) northwest of Pristina to see for himself how Serbs and ethnic Albanians were co-existing in the aftermath of the conflict. Serbs and gypsies in the town have accused the U-N of neglecting their security as thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees return to their homes. The Serbs fear ethnic Albanians are intent on avenging the treatment they received from Serb forces in the days before and during the NATO bombing campaign. French NATO troops deployed in Mitrovica have struggled to curb ethnic violence there and keep the two hostile communities apart. Kouchner spoke to those who feel they may be in danger, reassuring them that the U-N is acting to prevent ethnic violence in the province. During the visit, Kouchner visited the town's hospital, declaring that it was to be placed under the control of the United Nations. After touring the hospital he said that the move to place it under U-N patronage would create a symbol for what he hoped would be a harmonious future for the province. SOUNDBITE: (English) "This hospital must succeed. And for a hospital to succeed it's first of all to treat the patients. All the patients. Despite their nationalities, religious appurtenances, ethnic appurtenances, political appurtenances. This hospital here in Mitrovica must be the example, the symbol of the future of Kosovo." SUPER CAPTION: Bernard Kouchner, Head of UN international peace mission Earlier in the week, Kouchner, a doctor by profession, announced the U-N mission in Kosovo is to pay for the salaries of two thousand professionals, among them physicians and health workers in a hospital in Pristina. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...