Pristina, 7 July: Croatian President Stjepan Mesic on Thursday [7 July] arrived in Pristina where he held talks with the first deputy of the UN Civil Administrator of Kosovo, Lawrence Rossin, who was his host given that Administrator Soeren Jessen Petersen was on an official leave.
After the talks, the Croatian head of state said that citizens of Kosovo and its institutions should be those that would decide on the status of Kosovo. [Passage omitted]
Mesic told reporters that he would like to see that his visit would contribute to better understanding in the region, which is, he added, in the interest of Croatia, too.
"An unstable Kosovo means the unstable region, but we want the region to turn towards Europe," he said.
The Croatian head of state said that citizens and institutions of Kosovo should be those that would decide on Kosovo's status, and that a solution should be sought in negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade with the assistance of the international community.
Asked by a reporter whether he supported the independence of Kosovo, Mesic said that citizens of Kosovo should give an answer to this question.
In this context he stressed that no solution should be imposed by force. [Passage omitted]
Source: HINA news agency, Zagreb, in English 1100 gmt 7 Jul 05
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6 comments:
Not only nice but the right thing for all the citizins of Kosova, Chris. :) I believe that the more Kosovar Serbs follow Belgrade ideology the more they lose. Ok, Kosovar Serbs! be smart and don't mess it up for your selves.
We are not messing it up. What Mesic said is cited by an Albanian newspaper, and this is not exactly what I have heard. The truth can be manipulated, as you know. We, Serbs, have been manipulated many years by our former leaders. You are being manipulated right now by some of your leaders. Never forget, the coin has two sides. I have many Albanian friends. (I think about 20). Not so many from Kosovo, maybe 3-4, but from Tirana. And many of them say straight out that many, not all of course, but many Kosovo albanians are hooked up in criminality. And surprisingly, many of them say that the Kosovo albanians want independence to show Albania that they can succeed in something. Many of them dont believe that independence would bring Kosovo forward. Also, some of them thinks that the best solution for Kosovo would be to be run by the International community since there will never be 100% peace everywhere and this is a real obstacle for foreign investors, who are a must to get a country running. If UN should leave, about 100000 Euro per day will disappear in form of salaries for locally employed personell, shopping, rent for internationals etc etc. This is a lot of money for a small and fragile community. Also, good or bad, many countries are, and will continue to repatriate a lot of people to Kosovo. Last week it was 135 people sent back from Denmark, Germany and France. And those people have of course beforesent home money to their relatives. Now, when Kosovo wants independence, I have followed news around Europe and there are about 27000 K Alb in Europe, that will be sent back in 2005/2006. Also many Romas will be sent back and they have also helped Kosovo economy by sending money home. Well, we will see what will happen. I will neither be surprised or specially happy if Kosovo dont get independence. In any case, Im sure it will take many decades before everyone had said their thing about it.
Europe News
Croatian president expresses support for will of Kosovo citizens
Jul 7, 2005, 17:15 GMT
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Pristina - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic said on Thursday that the citizens of Kosovo and provincial institutions should be the ones to determine the future status of the ethnically troubled province.
"The decision should be made by Kosovo's citizens and institutions. However, the final solution should be a product of negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina, with international mediation," Mesic told reporters in Pristina.
The start of talks on the fragile issue of Kosovo's final status could begin as early as October, western diplomats in Kosovo said.
Mesic, however, warned that no solution to the political status should be imposed by force, adding that "an unstable Kosovo unavoidably leads to an unstable region".
The start of talks largely depends on United Nations comprehensive assessment of province's democratic accomplishments, which will be finished by mid-September.
The international community warned Kosovo Albanian leaders that security conditions for minorities and the overall rule of law have to be significantly improved before the start of negotiations.
The ethnically troubled province has been run by an U.N. administration since the end of conflict in 1999.
© dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
))))))JULY 07, 2005 02:29
Western Kosovo has been a UN protectorate for over 6 years. Majority ethnic Albanians and minority Serbs lived together in this region before it was ravaged by the civil war in 1998 and by NATO’s attack in 1999. Afterwards, this region was reconstructed with the help of the international community.
Serbs who had fled to nearby Serbia or Bosnia have returned to their homes one by one and started rebuilding their homes and farming under the protection of UN peacekeeping forces.
However, few have returned. Over 200,000 Serbs have not yet returned. The infamous ethnic cleansing of Serbs and the retaliation by Bosnians after the NATO attack caused a deep hatred between the two peoples that is still very much alive. UN administrator Anthony Thompson said, “Now it is safe enough for Serbs to freely walk by, but we do not know how long it lasts.”
Northern Kosovo is still ripe with clashes between the two peoples. Last year, a riot went on for three days all across Kosovo.
Mitrovica, a town near Serbia, is strictly divided by the river Ibar with the Serbs living in the north and ethnic Albanians in the South. Even UN vehicle drivers need to switch to someone “appropriate” for the region they drive to when they cross the river bridge.
“Kosovans say that they always dream the same dream every night of Serb forces marching into Kosovo. That’s a good dream for Serbs but for ethnic Albanians, it’s a nightmare,” says a UNHCR worker.
Pristina, the capital, is no exception. On July 2, a series of three bombings erupted in the middle of the city. Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) correspondent Veton Rugova (30) questioned, “[The explosions] took place two days prior to former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s visit. What does this mean?” He was saying that it could have been a terror attack by the Serbs intended to hinder the work of American heavyweights who supported Kosovo.
Indeed, the U.S. is the only hope for ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Former U.S. president Bill Clinton became a hero of Kosovans for attacking Kosovo. The large road that leads to the center of Pristina was named “Bill Clinton Road” after the former president and a large picture of Clinton hangs on the outer wall of high-rise buildings.
Wherever you go in Kosovo, you will see stickers that say, “Independence of Kosovo, the only way toward peace in the Balkans.” For ethnic Albanians who were persecuted and discriminated against by Serbs, making such claims could seem well founded.
However, most of their neighbors hold different views. Above all, there is no way Serbia will give up the land. A worker for a German government organization, says, “They can’t even make a living without outside help. How can they run a government on their own?”
Kosovo has an unemployment rate of 62 percent and is plagued by human trafficking and organized crimes, something all western intelligence agencies knows about. Kosovo is now home to 2.2 million people, nearly half of which, or one million, are searching for a job in other countries. Is independence the answer to the problems of Kosovo? This is no easy task that the international community faces and not many think this will be reality in the end.(((((
~100,000 left, ~100,000 remain, these are the actual numbers (UNHCR)
Poster 3 "but many Kosovo albanians are hooked up in criminality. And surprisingly, many of them say that the Kosovo albanians want independence to show Albania that they can succeed in something"
The first line is a plain lie. If you assume that as true then you have to accept that most Serbs are hooked on murder/rape.
As for the second, it proves there is no such thing as "Greater Albania". You, a Serb, have proven yourself this by providing very indepth information about how Albanians in Albania feel about Kosovars (a thing I myself have experienced as a Kosovar)
As the serb poster above clears the air with his detailed information on Albanian issues I would like to add that contrary to the growing Albanian population in the Balkans, the Serb/Slavic population is a dying one. Maybe that is what hurts our blogger more than anything. He looks at Albanian data wishing his population had those numbers.
Enjoy the future my sebr friend, because it is not looking good for you.
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