Kosovo: Serbia vows to bring fight to UN
Belgrade, 23 July (AKI) - After initial shock by the ruling of the International Court of Justice that proclamation of Kosovo independence by majority ethnic Albanians didn’t breach international law, Serbian officials on Friday said that the battle wasn’t over and vowed to carry it to the UN General Assembly. President Boris Tadic told media that Thursday’s ruling was “a difficult decision for Serbia”, but reiterated his earlier position that "Serbia will never recognise the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo”. Tadic and foreign minister Vuk Jeremic played down the court's non-binding decision, saying the it “only in technical sense” took a position on Kosovo declaration of independence, but “evaded the essential question” whether Kosovo Albanians had the right to secede from Serbia. They vowed the issue will be cleared up in a debate in the UN General Assembly in September and expressed the hope that Serbian position against independence and on inviolability of its borders will be upheld. But Kosovo ethnic Albanian president Fatmir Sejdiu Thursday ruling was “a blessed day for the Republic of Kosovo” whose independence, declared two years, ago was “irreversible”. He used the opportunity to encourage all countries which haven’t recognized Kosovo, including Serbia, to do so. Kosovo has been recognized so far by 69 countries, including the United States and 22 members of the European Union. Sejdiu got a strong backing from the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton who called on “all states which haven’t done it, to recognized Kosovo.” Similar reactions came from other western powers which had spearheaded Kosovo independence drive. Serbian opposition leaders and some analysts said the ruling was a result of Tadic and his government’s incompetence and wrong policies and called for his resignation. “This is not the end of the world, but it is the end of one policy,” said prominent political analyst Dusan Janjic. Hundreds of commentators on Serbian web sites agreed that the ruling has opened a Pandora box, which will give momentum to separatist movements throughout the world. Milorad Dodik, prime minister of Bosnian Serb entity Republika Srpska (RS) said ironically that ruling was a “good guide for the RS and its future struggle regarding its status and the future”. “We in the RS have been for long time unhappy that we are in Bosnia-Herzegovina,” Dodik said. Bosnian Serbs “will not exclude additional political struggle for the status which is not contrary to the international law as defined in this opinion,” Dodik added http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Politics/?id=3.1.725311617
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