KOSOVO POLITICIANS COMMENT ON RUGOVA'S NEGOTIATING TEAM

( Editorial: --> 3648 ) PRISTINA, 14 Aug (Hina) - The Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova on Thursday announced the composition of a team for negotiations with Belgrade, following futile attempts of the international community for Albanians to form a single team for talks with the Yugoslav authorities, which lasted several weeks. Rugova's team consists of members of only three parties, whose programmes are similar to that of Rugova's Kosovo Democratic Alliance. Members of opposing parties have not been included in the team. Reactions to the establishment of the negotiating team differ. Rexep Qosja, president of the Albanian Democratic Movement and one of Rugova's strongest opponents, said Friday that the establishment of a joint negotiating team was a necessity. However, the team offered by Rugova is just another hopeless political step of the Kosovo Democratic Alliance leadership, he added. The new negotiating team will not have the support of a number of political subjects, the most important being the Albanian Democratic Movement, Parliamentary Party and UNIKOMB, a party for Kosovo's national unity, Qosja said. The team will also lack the support of students, and - what is especially important - of the Kosovo Liberation Army, he added. Fatmir Sediu, president of the Kosovo Parliament, who was chosen into the negotiating team, said that the appointment of the new negotiating team was an important step within preparations for serious talks. Adem Demaci, president of the Kosovo Parliamentary Party, who was invited yesterday by the Kosovo Liberation Army to be its main political representative, gave no comments as to whether he accepted the offer or not. Demaci has not appeared in public or given a statement since mid July. (hina) rml 141209 MET aug 98