Koštunica calls for urgent parliament session
5 February 2008 | 12:12 | Source: B92, and news agencies
BELGRADE -- Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica has today in Belgrade
requested an urgent session of the parliament.
In his words, the lawmakers must meet "before Kosovo unilaterally
declares independence", news agencies report.
The parliament must convene in order to endorse necessary decisions on a
planned European Union mission and the agreement offered by the EU to
Serbia.
Koštunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) is against the signing of
the document in case Brussels goes ahead with its Kosovo mission plans;
but freshly re-elected President Boris Tadić and his Democrats (DS) say
they will force the cabinet to approve the deal, set to be signed on
Feb.7, irrelevant of the mission decision.
This has put the ruling coalition, made up of the DS, DSS, NS and G17
Plus, to the most serious test since it was put together at the eleventh
hour last May. Read more about it in a separate article.
Today, the prime minister, who found himself in a difficult position
after withholding support for Tadić in a re-election race that the
incumbent eventually won Sunday, has formally requested that the
parliament, rather than the cabinet, where he has no majority, make the
decision.
"The EU decision to illegally send a mission to Kosovo and Metohija in
order to implement the rejected Ahtisaari's plan on independent Kosovo
is a certain indication that Albanian separatists will very soon declare
the province's independence unilaterally," Koštunica said in a statement
carried by Tanjug.
Such a move would directly threatened the sovereignty, territorial
integrity and constitutional order of Serbia, he added.
"The decision to illegally send a mission means that, together with
Albanian separatists, the EU creates, contrary to all principles of
international law, a false Albanian state in the territory of Serbia,"
underscored Koštunica.
"That is why the EU's proposal to sign a political agreement with Serbia
while sending a mission to disintegrate our state is a deception aimed
at getting Serbia's signature on the agreement with the EU, which, in
fact, would mean that it agrees with Kosovo's independence, and it would
make it the first state to directly recognize independent Kosovo," he
warned.
For this reason, Koštunica continued, the parliament must convene
immediately, before unilateral independence of Kosovo is declared, to
adopt necessary decisions on the EU mission and the agreement offered by
Brussels.
Serbian News Network - SNN
news@antic.org
http://www.antic.org/
