BELGRADE (AFP) - Serbia's reformist President Boris Tadic called on ethnic Serbs to vote in the elections in the UN-administered southern province of Kosovo later this month despite appeals for a boycott by the government in Belgrade.
"I call on Serbs from Kosovo to take part in these elections," Tadic said in a speech broadcast on Serbian state television.
However he made their participation conditional on establishing an internationally-recognized home rule in Kosovo's Serb enclave 90 days after the formation of a future Kosovo government.
The local authorities should control "police, justice, health and education system... in a three-month deadline," Tadic said.
"The only way these conditions can be met is to become a part of the democratic process and to take part in the elections," Tadic said.
If these conditions were not met in 90 days, "I will demand Serb deputies give back their mandates and walk out of a new Kosovo parliament," he added.
Kosovo is technically part of Serbia, although it has been under UN administration since the end of the 1998-99 war between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas.
Tadic's appeal came after the government of moderate nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica called on Serbs to boycott the parliamentary elections in protest over the UN's refusal to accept its plan for greater autonomy for Serb communities in Kosovo.
Kostunica's call for boycott was backed by the influential Serbian Orthodox Church and its Patriarch Pavle.
International officials have stepped up calls for Belgrade to encourage ethnic Serbs in Kosovo to cast ballots in the October 23 election.
Tadic's statement followed a visit Tuesday by the European Union's external affairs commissioner Chris Patten and foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who called on Kosovo Serbs to take part in the vote.
"I know that the situation of Kosovo Serbs is still very difficult, but we think that participation in elections is an important positive step for Serbs in Kosovo," Solana told reporters in Belgrade.
Solana warned that the situation for the province's Serbs would be "more difficult" if they were not represented in the Kosovo's institutions.
"They will not be isolated, but it would be easier if you (Kosovo Serbs) are part of the institutions where the issues are discussed," Solana said.
Kosovo's Serbian minority has said it will stay away from the polls, citing fears over security.
Anti-Serb riots by separatist ethnic Albanian mobs left 19 people dead in March and destroyed hundreds of Serb homes and churches, including some which dated back to the Middle Ages.
Tadic said that his decision has been made after a series of talks with top Serbian officials, including the delegation of Kosovo Serb politicians, as well as the representatives of the international community.
"We all agree that the international community has not done much... to provide normal life for Serbs in Kosovo," Tadic said.
But he insisted that his decision "takes into an account (Serbia's) state interest and, above all, the survival of our people in Kosovo."
"We must not give up while the game is on. This is just another round," Tadic said.