Friday, May 13, 2005

UNMIK chief "disappointed" with Serbs not joining Kosovo bodies

Prishtina [Pristina], 12 May: The head of UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo], Soeren Jessen-Petersen, said that he is disappointed with the stance of Belgrade senior authorities, who are discouraging the Kosova [Kosovo] Serbs political representatives to join the Kosova institutions.

"I am very disappointed to learn from the media that Belgrade has once again discouraged the Kosovo Serbs from being part of the dialogue here, from being part of the institutions here in Kosovo. I think that we all - the PISG [Provisional Institutions of Self-Government], Kosovo Serbs, UNMIK and Belgrade - are loosing some very important time now by not having the Kosovo Serbs participating at this very important moment," said Jessen-Petersen.

At Tuesday's [12 May] meeting in Belgrade, Serbian National Council for Kosovo and Metohija, which consists of the offices of the Serbian president, prime minister, and Coordinating Centre for Kosova, have decided that Kosova Serbs should not join Kosova institutions, saying that the circumstances for that have not been ripened yet.

The main political entity of the Kosova Serbs, the Serb List for Kosova and Metohija [SLKM], has been boycotting the highest local institutions, parliament and the Kosova government for one year and a half at the request of the official Belgrade.

The last decision of Belgrade was not "enthusiastic" for the SLKM representatives either. They said that they will respect this decision, but this is not the right way to protect the interests of the Serb community in Kosova.

Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 12 May 05

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am not surprised at the destructive behavior they display. It is only unfortunate that their neighboors have to be dragged into it, whoever it is, Croatians, Bosnians, Albanians.
This goes to show that nothing in Serbia has changed, destructive was, destructive is, destructive will be.

Anonymous said...

It's sad that Serbs are isolating themselves like this. However clear it is that they are trying to

keep the train from leaving the station, it is also clear, to those who want to see, that they are

failing.
Belgrade's and Kosovo Serbs' interest diverge widely. While Belgrade will probably fail in realizing

its own interest, terretorial integrity, Kosovo Serbs have no reason to give up their right to live

in their homes just because the first can'dt be accomplished.