http://www.kosovo.com/news/archive/2005/November_22/1.html
November 22, 2005
KiM Info Newsletter 22-11-05
Serbian Parliament Adopts Resolution on Kosovo
Belgrade, Nov 21, 2005 Members of the Serbian parliament adopted
today the Resolution on the mandate for political talks on the future
status of Kosovo-Metohija, submitted to the parliament by the Serbian
government.Out of 234 members of the parliament in attendance, 205
voted in favour of the Resolution, and 29 witheld from voting.
Serbian PM says Kosovo must remain within Serbia
BELGRADE, Nov 21 (Reuters)
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica on Monday ruled out
independence for the U.N.-run province of Kosovo, saying talks about
to begin on its future must find a solution within the territorial
integrity of Serbia.
Addressing parliament at a session to adopt guidelines for the talks,
Kostunica said the 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority should have a
wide autonomy.
"Kosovo is part of Serbia, and not only part of its history but also
part of its present and future. Today we are deciding about Serbia
itself, about ourselves," Kostunica said.
U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari was due in Kosovo on Monday to start
shuttle diplomacy aimed at reconciling the mutually exclusive visions
-- Serb insistence on sovereignty and Albanian demands for outright
independence.
"We know there is a huge gap," Kosovo's U.N. governor Soren
Jessen-Petersen told reporters in Pristina, the capital.
"The very fact that the two sides are so far apart, and in my opinion
will remain quite far apart for a long, long time, would suggest that
prolonging this process for a long, long time will only maintain the
status quo. The two sides are far apart, will remain far apart," he
said.
Kostunica said the talks would be "complex and difficult". Serbia
would be guided by two principles -- readiness to find a compromise
and a just solution and rejection of any imposed solution which would
wrest away part of its territory.
VIOLENCE
Kosovo has been a de facto U.N. protectorate since 1999 when Serb
forces were driven out by 78 days of NATO bombing aimed at halting
their two-year counter-insurgency war against Albanian guerrillas in
which some 10,000 civilians were killed.
Kostunica said Albanian secessionists had shown their true colours in
the six years since the U.N. took over, by using all means to achieve
their final goal of an independent Kosovo.
"Since then, there has been a deliberate, planned and organised policy
of ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Kosovo, and not only Serbs but all
other non-Albanians," Kostunica said.
"An independent Kosovo for Albanian secessionists means a mono-ethnic,
and solely Albanian state," he said.
The 100,000 Serbs who stayed on in the province after about as many
fled in 1999 would also have to be given their own autonomy within an
autonomous Kosovo, the premier said.
The impatience for independence of the majority Albanian population of
some 2 million has fuelled sporadic, sometimes explosive violence
against the remaining Serbs. In March last year widespread rioting
took Kosovo's 17,000 NATO-led peacekeepers by surprise. Nineteen
people were killed.
"An independent Kosovo would mean that ... violence, violation of
human rights, ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide pay," Kostunica
said.
"It would put in question many widely accepted values and undermine
the foundations of the world order. No one should mistake the possible
consequences of such a precedent."
No official time limit has been placed on the talks, but the aim is
clearly to obtain a solution by mid-2006, say diplomats. The risk of
violence can also not be excluded.
"We know there are crazy people out there on both sides,
Jessen-Petersen said. "We know there will be provocations. We are well
equipped to respond to any provocations."
________________________________
Serbia rejects imposing solution and seizing part of its territory
Serbian Government
Belgrade, Nov 21, 2005 Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica
said today in his address to members of the Serbian parliament that
Serbia is ready, capable and determined to reach a compromise and
historically just solution to Kosovo-Metohija issue, and that it is
equally determined to unquestioningly and permanently reject any
attempt of imposing a solution to the Kosovo-Metohija issue and
seizing a part of its territory.
The Prime Minister addressed the parliament at today's session devoted
to the Draft resolution on a mandate for political talks on the future
status of Kosovo-Metohija.
Kostunica said that today's session of the Serbian parliament bears
historic significance, since it is devoted to the discussion on a
resolution that will determine the future of the country and all its
citizens.
He pointed out that Kosovo-Metohija is part of Serbia, not just of its
past, but its present and future as well. "What we are discussing here
today is Kosovo-Metohija, our people, our territory, our tradition and
culture in fact our very roots and identity", recalled the Prime
Minister. "Therefore, esteemed representatives of people, today we
discuss Serbia itself and our very lives. Such grave decisions are put
in front of the highest representative body of a country only in its
crucial moments. I have no doubt that we all understand the character
of this moment as well as the significance of the decision the
parliament needs to reach", said the Prime Minister.
"At the very beginning, esteemed members of parliament, it is of
crucial importance to put forward our position by adopting the
resolution, and that implies two key things. First, that Serbia is
ready, capable and determined to reach a compromise and historically
just solution to the Kosovo-Metohija issue, and second, that Serbia is
equally determined to reject, unquestioningly and permanently, any
attempt of imposing a solution and seizing a part of its territory.
"That means that Serbia firmly supports compromise, justice and
observance of international law and order. We strongly believe that
those principles are ironclad and superior to all kinds of legal
violence and use of force as argument in general. As legal violence
and use of force are not considered arguments at all, the principles
we rely on are, without exception, those that lie at the core of the
international order and that all democratic countries in the world
consistently abide by and uncompromisingly defend when their existence
is at stake", Kostunica stressed.
The Prime Minister pointed out that Serbia's task in the upcoming
talks on the future status of Kosovo-Metohija will be manifold and
added that the existence of independent Kosovo would deprive of sense
and invalidate basic principles upon which Serbia and whole
international order rest.
"Independent Kosovo would actually show that violence, ruthless
violation of human rights, ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide are
acceptable means of achieving one-sided and exclusive aims", warned
the Prime Minister and added that the existence of independent Kosovo
would challenge many common values and undermine the very roots of
international order.
According to the Prime Minister, in the framework of an existing
international order, independent Kosovo would openly challenge the
principles that lie in its core. He pointed out that it would not only
represent the violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of
states, but basic principles of human and minority rights as well.
The Prime Minister stressed that Serbia with due right insists on the
highest possible form of autonomy for Kosovo as the only form that
promises a compromise, permanent and peaceful solution, and that a
policy of Serbia, regardless of the use of different terminology, is
summarised in the position that the Serbian community must have
autonomy within the essential autonomy of Kosovo-Metohija.
Kostunica recalled that the UN Security Council, at its session held
on October 24, reached a decision to start talks on the future status
of Kosovo-Metohija, respecting Resolution 1244, and added that there
is not a single word in the text of the resolution that would even
hint at the possibility of Kosovo independence, either conditional or
unconditional.
In the Prime Minister's opinion, Resolution 1244 undeniably represents
the basis for resolving the issue of Kosovo's future status and
therefore it is of crucial importance that the document, on one hand,
explicitly confirms sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia in
Kosovo-Metohija and on the other, does not hint at the possibility of
self-determination.
The Prime Minister recalled the exile of more than 200,000 Serbs and
non-ethnic Albanians from the province following the arrival of
international forces, the killings of non-ethnic Albanians in the last
six and a half years, the devastation of orthodox objects of worship
and seizure and destruction of properties of Kosovo Serbs.
"It is clear that all this is the result of violence of ethnic
Albanian secessionists and their intention to sever the territory of
Kosovo-Metohija from Serbia and the State Union of Serbia-Montenegro
by applying constant terror", stressed Kostunica and added that Serbia
stands witness of ethnic cleansing of Serbs in the name of creating
independent Kosovo.
Kostunica expressed conviction that through the position enshrined in
the resolution on Kosovo-Metohija, Serbia defends not only its
national and state interests, but principles and values on which
peace, stability and security of the modern world rests.
________________________________
Serbian Parliament Adopts Resolution on Kosovo and Metohija
Belgrade, 21 Nov (RTS) With a large majority of votes
representatives in the Serbian parliament adopted the government
suggested resolution on the mandate for the political negotiations on
the future status of Kosovo and Metohija.
Two hundred and five representatives voted in favor of the resolution,
while 29 abstaining votes came from the Democratic Party and the
Social-Democratic party.
Before the vote of confidence on the resolution, parliament was
addressed by Vojislav Kostunica, premier of Serbia, after what
followed a five hour discussion by parliament representatives.
Tomislav Nikolic, chief of the parliamentary group of the Serbian
Radical Party, stated there cannot be Kosovo and Metohija
independence, announcing that members of his political party will vote
in favor of the suggested resolution even though this document should
have had much harsher stances.
Nikolic announced that the 82 representatives of the Radical party
will help the governing structures keep Kosovo and Metohija part of
Serbia. He warned that Serbia can continue living only if it fights
for Kosovo on which a decision is being made right now and that there
can be "no running away from it, no withdrawal from it, or no getting
away from it" which is something all of those who took power after the
5th of October including the current representatives of the governing
structures should have in mind.
Right now Kosovo and Metohija is more or less in the hands of the
Albanians, evaluated Nikolic, at the same time asking the government,
does it have friends in the world, and which it can relay and who can
guarantee fulfillment of the documents that they sign. Nikolic also
warned that success of the negotiations is something of which the
government president will be held accountable in front of the
parliament and all of Serbia, regardless of who is part of the
negotiation team.
Dusan Petrovic, chief of the parliamentarian club of the Democratic
Party, stated this political party will not vote against the
resolution on the mandate for the political talks on the future status
of Kosovo and Metohija because this party is fighting for the future
of the seven million citizens of Serbia.
Petrovic said that the idea for dividing of Kosovo into two entities
within Serbia represents a starting negotiation point of Serbian
president Boris Tadic.
"This is a starting negotiation position which Tadic put on the table
and expects that once parliament gives the government the mandate for
the negotiations, for the president of the government to come out with
clear stances on this option, so that Serbia could have starting
political concept for the negotiations," said Petrovic.
Serbian president who is at the same time president of the Democratic
Party, does not need parliament approval, stated Petrovic, and
explained that Serbian president is "restricted by the constitution,
and that through elections he won his right to lead the politics with
in his jurisdiction".
Both Serbian and Albanian entities would have joint and separate
institutions and would allow both entities to live their lives in
accordance with international standards, said Petrovic.
When it comes to areas such as education, health, to certain extent
safety, Serbian entity would have institutional ties with Belgrade,
said Petrovic, feeling convinced "citizens of Serbia are ready to
enter process of reaching decision on Kosovo and Metohija".
Ivica Dacic, chief of the parliamentary group of the Serbian Socialist
Party, said this party will support the government resolution
regarding Kosovo and Metohija, because its starting points lies in the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia.
"If we back down from these rules and principals, our state has a
fully legitimate and moral right to ask that these principals do not
apply on other territories as well. If this principal is not being
followed our state should raise the issue of Republic of Srpska," said
Dacic, addressing parliament from the parliament speaking post.
Dacic evaluated that the resolution is acceptable because it has
foundations in the essential autonomy and essential self governing of
Kosovo and Metohija as a "form of political solution which has
foundation in different resolutions of the UN Security Council".
Veroljub Stevanovic, chief of the parliamentary group of "Nova Serbia"
and "nine plus nine" which is the group of independent parliamentary
representatives, stated representative of the Serbian Orthodox church
should be part of the Belgrade team for the negotiation on the Kosovo
status.
Asking parliament representatives that starting right now they stand
by stances proclaimed by the resolution, Stevanovic said that if they
act like this they will send the general public a message these are
united stances and frames.
Miroljub Labus, vice president of the government, said that the G17
plus political party supports the Kosovo and Metohija resolution which
is being put under discussion in the parliament, emphasizing that this
is an "agreement inside the governing coalition which has a joint
supplement".
He emphasized that the resolution has two key principals, one is
territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia and the other is
protection of the human rights, adding that both are equally
important.
Labus said that after a solution for Kosovo is reached there will
certainly be a referendum in Serbia, adding that Serbs living in the
province will also vote in their own way. "Then they will stay and
peacefully live and sleep or they will start up their tractors and
head out to Serbia. We have to have this in mind and enable them a
peaceful life in the province," pointed out Labus.
Labus sent Kosovo Albanians a message saying "the road to Brussels
does not go through Tirana but through Belgrade".
Natasha Micic, an independent representative, left the parliament
session saying "what is going on in the parliament right now is just a
show".
Meho Omerovic, a representative of the Social-Democratic party, stated
this party "will not participate in giving legitimacy to a document
which would only be a political coverage for the leading coalition".
________________________________
Ahtisaari Arrives in Pristina
Belgrade, 21 Nov (B92) - The first phase of negotiations on the status
of Kosovo begins today with the arrival of former Finnish president
Martti Ahtisaari in Pristina.
"Ahtisaari will certainly use shuttle diplomacy at first," said the
head of the UN Mission in Kosovo, Sřren Jessen-Petersen, after a
meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi.
Petersen told journalists that Ahtisaari would travel to Pristina and
also visit Belgrade and other places.
"I think that he will probably work like that for the first few
months," he said.
Ahtisaari had said earlier that the goal of his visit would be to
gather information and because of that he also planned to visit
Podgorica, Tirana and Skopje.
________________________________
Marti Ahtisaari Arrived In Pristina
Pristina, 20 Nov (KIM Radio)
On Monday, Martti Ahtisaari, special UN envoy for the negotiations on
the status of Kosovo, arrived in Prishtina for a two day visit.
Right before his arrival members of the "Self-determination movement"
which is headed by Albin Kurti, wrote graffiti "no to negotiations" on
the walls of the buildings situated in the vicinity of the main UNMIK
headquarters. Members of the Kosovo police service reacted quickly in
breaking up the group of around twenty people.
Ahtisaari arrived in Prishtina around 1630 hrs. Escorted by UN police
right after his arrival he immediately met Sřren Jessen Petersen, the
UNMIK chief. Meeting was closed for the public, and Martti Ahtisaari
did not want to address the reporters.
KIM Radio unofficially reveals that on Tuesday, Ahtisaari will meet
with representatives of the Albanian negotiation team, while on
Wednesday he will meet with political representatives of the Kosovo
Serbs. According to earlier announcements goal of his visit is to get
familiar with the arguments with which all sides participating in the
negotiations want to defend their positions. After his visit to
Kosovo, the UN special envoy for negotiations on the province status
is traveling to Belgrade.
________________________________
UN envoy takes on Europe's Kosovo conundrum
PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro, Nov 20 (Reuters)
United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari on Monday begins his mission to
negotiate a way out of Europe's biggest diplomatic predicament -- the
fate of Kosovo.
The veteran mediator arrives in Serbia's breakaway southern province
to lay the ground for direct talks in 2006 on whether the 90 percent
Albanian majority wins independence, or Belgrade retains sovereignty
over land it treats as the cradle of Serb heritage.
The United States and European Union want to end more than six years
of political and economic limbo since NATO bombed in 1999 to drive out
Serb forces and the United Nations made the province of 2 million
people a de facto protectorate.
The former Finnish president must steer a course between mutually
exclusive visions of Kosovo's future "held with deep conviction and
infused with nearly 1,000 years of history," U.S. Under Secretary of
State Nicholas Burns said this month.
Harbouring few illusions about the task in hand, Ahtisaari -- who has
set up base in Vienna -- says the chances of brokering a deal are
"better than buying a lottery ticket."
Officially, he has no deadline. But since summer an uptick in small
bomb blasts and shootings, targeting the U.N. as well as the Serb
minority, has injected a fresh sense of urgency.
Ahtisaari, 68, was the EU envoy who presented terms in 1999 to former
Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic to end 11 weeks of NATO bombing, in a
war to drive out Serb forces who killed 10,000 Albanian civilians in a
two-year conflict with separatist rebels.
NON-NEGOTIABLE
Since then, Albanian impatience with the status quo has fuelled
niggling, sometimes explosive violence against the 100,000 Serbs who
stayed while about as many fled after the war.
The Albanian majority, which already enjoys elements of statehood,
insists independence is "non-negotiable". They say Serbia lost the
moral right to rule Kosovo through years of discrimination and violent
repression.
Serbia is offering broad autonomy. Carving a new state from its
recognised borders would violate international law and ripple
dangerously through a region of ethnic fault lines in which Albanians
co-exist uneasily in Macedonia and southern Serbia.
According to polls, however, most Serbs think Kosovo is already lost.
To Belgrade's dismay, two former Yugoslav republics -- Slovenia and
Macedonia -- have come out and said so recently, stressing they would
support independence in the interests of regional stability, a crucial
factor guiding Western thinking.
Serbia's influential Orthodox Church insists Kosovo should be declared
"occupied territory" if this happens, while the ultranationalist
Radical Party -- Serbia's largest -- is threatening to "lead the
people into the streets".
Diplomats say Western powers are willing to risk the political fallout
and push for independence under a years-long EU supervisory mission,
with special provisions for Serbs and their scores of centuries-old
religious sites.
To mitigate the trauma, Brussels and Washington are offering a joint
future for Serbia and its neighbours inside the EU and NATO within the
next decade.
Finding a Serb leader ready to strike a deal will not be easy. In
Russia this week to court the support of Serbia's traditional ally in
the U.N. Security Council, President Boris Tadic told one newspaper:
"Kosovo is not an object for sale."
________________________________
Who will lead the Kosovo talks?
BELGRADE -- Monday, November 21, B92 Sanda Raskovic-Ivic said that
Serbia's team of negotiators in the Kosovo status talks must be
appointed through cooperation between the Serbian president's and
prime minister's cabinet members.
The Kosovo Coordination Centre President said that she expects that
the team of negotiators will be announced "in the coming days," and
that the appointments should be made by President Boris Tadic and
Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica.
She said that the appointment of the team is not related to the
arrival of UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, stating that "he makes
his own agenda."
Raskovic-Ivic said that Ahtisaari will definitely be meeting with
representatives from both Tadic's and Kostunica's cabinet, as well as
with Kosovo Serb officials, representatives of the Coordination
Centre, and Albanian officials within the Kosovo Government.
There will be no problems with having former Yugoslav ambassador to
Rome Miodrag Lekic become a part of the negotiation team,
Raskovic-Ivic said, adding that this proposal was handled by the
Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Affairs Ministry and should be confirmed by
the executive council shortly.
Asked whether Montenegro will have a representative in the team,
Raskovic-Ivic said, "In a way, indirectly, yes."
Kostunica will form the team
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus assured reporters that,
since the Serbian Parliament will adopt the resolution for the Kosovo
status discussions, it is only fitting that Prime Minister Kostunica
will appoint the team of negotiators.
Labus said that the adoption of the resolution is the first step which
will allow the Prime Minister further authority to appoint a team for
the discussions, after consulting with President Tadic and other
senior officials.
The Deputy Prime Minister expects that he will be consulted as well.
He said that the goal of the discussions is to make sure that the
people of Kosovo can leave peacefully, and added that the adoption of
the
Serbian News Network - SNN
news@antic.org
http://www.antic.org/
