Ex-Rebel chief is Kosovo's new premier

Pristina (Kosovo), March 11, 2006 (DPA) Agim Ceku, a former Yugoslav and Croatian army officer and ethnic Albanian guerrilla commander, became the new prime minister of Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province."The newly elected government that I will lead will focus on further strengthening institutions, employment and improving the economic position of all citizens of Kosovo," Ceku said upon his election Friday, giving the statement both in Albanian and Serbian."We will work to create a bridge of trust between the communities in Kosovo.

The time of hatred, discrimination and suffering of all citizens of Kosovo should belong to the past. The time of inter-ethnic reconciliation, integration and overall prosperity has come," he went on to say.Nominated as a non-partisan by the ruling coalition of the League for a Democratic Kosovo (LDK) and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ceku was backed by 65 of the 120 votes in the Kosovo assembly, while five deputies abstained from voting.....(continued)......