PRISTINA, Serbia, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- The senior U.N. envoy in Kosovo urges all Serbs to vote in Saturday's elections so they can participate in rebuilding the troubled Serbia-Montenegro province.
"Only those who take action to overcome isolation can change the present to a better future," said Soren Jessen-Petersen, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special representative. Jessen-Petersen is also head of the U.N. Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo.
"Voting on Saturday means becoming an active part of the institutional life in Kosovo," he said in a statement issued in Pristina. "It means standing up for your interests, rights and concerns. Those urging Kosovo Serbs not to vote simply do not have in mind the interest of their own people."
The envoy's comments came in reaction to recent statements and actions aimed at persuading Serbs to stay away from the polls for the Kosovo Assembly, a legislative body which has power to pass laws in certain areas.
Jessen-Petersen also said that UNMIK and the multi-national Kosovo Force known as KFOR -- which is responsible for maintaining security in the province -- were working hard to ensure that Election Day is safe and quiet.
