Ex-Kosovo president banned from book promotion in Serbia

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) - Serbian authorities have banned a former Kosovo president from entering the country to participate in an event designed to boost dialogue between the former war foes, Atifete Jahjaga and a rights group said Friday.

Jahjaga was to attend the presentation in Belgrade, the Serbian capital, later Friday of a book containing testimonies from women tortured and raped during the 1998-99 Kosovo war.

Jahjaga said on her Facebook page that, although her visit was announced in advance, "my entrance to Serbia was made impossible based on an absurd reasoning." She didn't elaborate.

The Youth Initiative for Human Rights group said she will address the gathering via video link.

Serbian nationalists have protested against a festival in Belgrade organized by liberal groups from Serbia and Kosovo - a former province that declared independence in 2008 against Serbia's will.

The YIHR group says police have offered no explanation for stopping Jahjaga at the border on Thursday. Serbian police also haven't immediately responded to a request for a comment.

"The entry ban ... is the consequence of political decisions made at the highest levels," YIHR said in a statement, adding the incident has "only confirmed the importance and need for a more intense and meaningful cooperation."

Jahjaga said in her statement that "acknowledging the truth about war crimes in Kosovo is the only way both societies can move forward."

Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to participate in European Union-brokered talks as part of efforts to join the bloc, but tensions have persisted amid a surge in nationalism in the volatile Balkans.

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Associated Press writer Llazar Semini in Tirana, Albania, contributed to this report.