PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) - Kosovo's sunflower oil producer, a brick maker, a pipe factory and two hotels were among 15 state firms put up for sale Wednesday in hopes of boosting the economy in the disputed province.
The Kosovo Trust Agency launched the 11th round of privatization in an effort to sell the companies, which were once owned by their workers and managers under a system set up during communist-era Yugoslavia.
The privatization agency, which has advertised the companies on its Web site, is hoping 16 new firms will be created when the sales are completed.
Privatization is among the most sensitive issues in Kosovo, which was placed under U.N. administration in 1999 following NATO air strikes that ended a Serb crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians.
The process of privatization in Kosovo is complex in part because it is unclear whether Kosovo will become independent or remain part of Serbia-Montenegro, the successor state of Yugoslavia. Serbia's authorities have fiercely opposed the privatizations.
The Kosovo Trust Agency, the U.N. entity responsible for privatizing the enterprises and putting them on solid legal footing, wants private entrepreneurs to assume the risk of modernizing the industries.
The companies are considered inefficient and dilapidated after years of neglect.
___
On the Net:
Kosovo Trust Agency: http://www.kta-kosovo.org
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
UN court acquits two ex-Kosovo rebels
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Hague war crimes tribunal acquitted two former rebel Kosovo Albanians of war crimes on Wednesday, one of them -- Fatmir Limaj -- a key figure in the Kosovo Liberation Army, but jailed a third for 13 years.
The acquittals in the tribunal's first judgment on war crimes in Kosovo during the 1998-99 fighting between Serbian forces and the rebel KLA, were greeted with celebrations on the streets of Pristina, the provincial capital.
Limaj, 34, was a senior figure in the KLA and a key ally of ex-KLA commander Hashim Thaci in his Democratic Party of Kosovo, now the main opposition party in the province.
"This is great news," senior government minister Ardian Gjini said of Limaj's release. "Most importantly the court proved that the KLA did not commit systematic crimes against civilians as Serbian forces did," he told Reuters.
Acquitted alongside Limaj was Isak Musliu, also a former member of the now disbanded KLA. The court found Haradin Bala guilty of murder, torture and cruel treatment and sentenced him to 13 years in prison.
The arrest of the three former rebels in early 2003 sparked protests among Kosovo's majority Albanians, who see them as freedom fighters against Serb rule. Violence was feared in Kosovo in the event of guilty verdicts.
Presiding judge Kevin Parker said the prosecution was unable to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Limaj had any role in a prison camp in Lapusnik or that he was criminally responsible for the offences with which he was charged.
There was also little evidence that Musliu, 35, a former KLA guard, had any kind of involvement in the camp, Parker said.
But Parker said the prosecution had proved that Bala, 48, participated in the murder of nine prisoners outside the camp in the Berisa mountains.
He was also found guilty of mistreating three prisoners and aiding in the mistreatment and torture of another prisoner.
(Additional reporting by Shaban Buza in Pristina)
The acquittals in the tribunal's first judgment on war crimes in Kosovo during the 1998-99 fighting between Serbian forces and the rebel KLA, were greeted with celebrations on the streets of Pristina, the provincial capital.
Limaj, 34, was a senior figure in the KLA and a key ally of ex-KLA commander Hashim Thaci in his Democratic Party of Kosovo, now the main opposition party in the province.
"This is great news," senior government minister Ardian Gjini said of Limaj's release. "Most importantly the court proved that the KLA did not commit systematic crimes against civilians as Serbian forces did," he told Reuters.
Acquitted alongside Limaj was Isak Musliu, also a former member of the now disbanded KLA. The court found Haradin Bala guilty of murder, torture and cruel treatment and sentenced him to 13 years in prison.
The arrest of the three former rebels in early 2003 sparked protests among Kosovo's majority Albanians, who see them as freedom fighters against Serb rule. Violence was feared in Kosovo in the event of guilty verdicts.
Presiding judge Kevin Parker said the prosecution was unable to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Limaj had any role in a prison camp in Lapusnik or that he was criminally responsible for the offences with which he was charged.
There was also little evidence that Musliu, 35, a former KLA guard, had any kind of involvement in the camp, Parker said.
But Parker said the prosecution had proved that Bala, 48, participated in the murder of nine prisoners outside the camp in the Berisa mountains.
He was also found guilty of mistreating three prisoners and aiding in the mistreatment and torture of another prisoner.
(Additional reporting by Shaban Buza in Pristina)
PDSRSG and COMKFOR joint statement following the judgement delivered by ICTY in the Fatmir Limaj et al. case
PRISTINA – Principal Deputy SRSG Larry Rossin and COMKFOR Lieutenant-General Giuseppe Valotto this afternoon issued the following statement after learning of the judgement by the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Fatmir Limaj et al. case:
“UNMIK and KFOR have taken note of the judgement delivered today by the ICTY in the Fatmir Limaj et al. case. The ICTY is an independent judicial body and UNMIK and KFOR cannot comment on judicial decisions.”
A judgement had been expected in the normal course of court proceedings and as such it is appropriate that there should be public interest in the Tribunal’s decision. PDSRSG Rossin and Lt.-Gen. Valotto expressed their confidence that the people of Kosovo would display their characteristic dignity in response to this development.
“UNMIK and KFOR have taken note of the judgement delivered today by the ICTY in the Fatmir Limaj et al. case. The ICTY is an independent judicial body and UNMIK and KFOR cannot comment on judicial decisions.”
A judgement had been expected in the normal course of court proceedings and as such it is appropriate that there should be public interest in the Tribunal’s decision. PDSRSG Rossin and Lt.-Gen. Valotto expressed their confidence that the people of Kosovo would display their characteristic dignity in response to this development.
U.N. war crimes tribunal acquits chief Kosovo Albanian suspect
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal on Wednesday acquitted the chief suspect in the trial of three Kosovo Albanian separatists, Fatmir Limaj, of allegations of torturing and murdering Serbian and Albanian civilians at a prison camp during the 1998-1999 war.
A second defendant, Isak Musliu, was also acquitted, while the third, Haradin Bala, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for executing nine prisoners in the woods in July 1999.
An audience of several dozen friends, family and supporters applauded and roared in approval as Limaj's acquittel was announced.
In Kosovo, where Limaj is considered a hero by some, celebratory gunfire echoed through the Serbian provionce's capital Pristina and people honked their car horns.
It was the first trial of members of the NATO-backed Kosovo Liberation Army, which fought for independence from the Serbian state led by President Slobodan Milosevic.
The chief suspect Limaj, 34, a former KLA commander, was sccused of running the Lapusnik prison camp, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Kosovo's capital, Pristina.
"The chamber finds it has not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused Fatmir Limaj had any role in the prison camp or in the execution in the Berishe mountains or that he has criminal responsibility for any offenses for which he is charged," Presiding Judge Kevin parker said.
Parker said the prosecution had proven the existence of the camp, but had failed to link Limaj to beatings, inhumane treatment, torture and murder.
A second defendant, Isak Musliu, was also acquitted, while the third, Haradin Bala, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for executing nine prisoners in the woods in July 1999.
An audience of several dozen friends, family and supporters applauded and roared in approval as Limaj's acquittel was announced.
In Kosovo, where Limaj is considered a hero by some, celebratory gunfire echoed through the Serbian provionce's capital Pristina and people honked their car horns.
It was the first trial of members of the NATO-backed Kosovo Liberation Army, which fought for independence from the Serbian state led by President Slobodan Milosevic.
The chief suspect Limaj, 34, a former KLA commander, was sccused of running the Lapusnik prison camp, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Kosovo's capital, Pristina.
"The chamber finds it has not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused Fatmir Limaj had any role in the prison camp or in the execution in the Berishe mountains or that he has criminal responsibility for any offenses for which he is charged," Presiding Judge Kevin parker said.
Parker said the prosecution had proven the existence of the camp, but had failed to link Limaj to beatings, inhumane treatment, torture and murder.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Rumsfeld to Host Southeastern Europe Defense Ministerial
Department of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld will host defense ministers from thirteen southeast European nations in connection with the 10th meeting of the Southeastern Europe Defense Ministerial (SEDM) process. The conference, to be held in Washington, D.C., Dec 5-6, 2005, is an annual forum for ministers to discuss a wide range of mutual regional security issues.
The SEDM ministerial will provide the ministers an opportunity to discuss topics including counterproliferation; border security; peacekeeping; regional defense industry exchange and technology sharing; 2006 regional exercises; and the deployment of the Southeastern Europe Brigade in support of peace operations as part of the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) in 2006. In addition, Kosovo Force (KFOR) reorganization and preparations to ensure security during status talks will also be addressed.
The conference will mark the accession of Ukraine as a full member of SEDM, bringing membership to eleven countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States. Three other nations will be invited: Moldova as an observer, and Serbia-Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina as guests.
The SEDM process began in 1996 as a regional initiative to serve as a bridge to Euro-Atlantic institutions, particularly NATO. Its stated objectives are to:
- Promote peace and stability in the region
- Enhance cooperation and regional security
- Support NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) programs.
Media are invited to cover the following events on Dec. 6:
- Plenary session opening comments at 8:30 a.m.
- Minsters group photo at 12:30 p.m.
- Press conference at 3 p.m.
The SEDM ministerial will provide the ministers an opportunity to discuss topics including counterproliferation; border security; peacekeeping; regional defense industry exchange and technology sharing; 2006 regional exercises; and the deployment of the Southeastern Europe Brigade in support of peace operations as part of the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) in 2006. In addition, Kosovo Force (KFOR) reorganization and preparations to ensure security during status talks will also be addressed.
The conference will mark the accession of Ukraine as a full member of SEDM, bringing membership to eleven countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States. Three other nations will be invited: Moldova as an observer, and Serbia-Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina as guests.
The SEDM process began in 1996 as a regional initiative to serve as a bridge to Euro-Atlantic institutions, particularly NATO. Its stated objectives are to:
- Promote peace and stability in the region
- Enhance cooperation and regional security
- Support NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) programs.
Media are invited to cover the following events on Dec. 6:
- Plenary session opening comments at 8:30 a.m.
- Minsters group photo at 12:30 p.m.
- Press conference at 3 p.m.
EU Visas and the Western Balkans
Brussels, 29 November 2005: EU visa policy towards the Western Balkans contributes to the ghettoisation of the region and undermines Balkan efforts for reform and stability.
EU Visas and the Western Balkans,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the current visa regime with regard to Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro including Kosovo. It highlights the policy’s sclerotic deficiencies that jeopardise the objective of enhanced European integration and damage the countries’ European outlook and hopes of eventual EU candidate status.
“This is not about emigration, permanent residence or threats to EU jobs. This is about liberalising the limited-term visa regime, primarily for students, business people and tourists, and making the application process simpler, faster and less painful for all”, says Nicholas Whyte, Crisis Group’s Europe Program Director. “The current system is breeding resentment by making the majority pay a high price for a criminal minority”.
At the June 2003 Thessaloniki Summit, the EU assured the peoples of the Western Balkans region that Brussels would not regard the map of the Union as complete until those countries had joined. The EU committed itself to a more liberal visa regime, with the warning however that any progress toward this end depended upon the implementation of major reforms in areas of law, crime, administration and border controls.
But the very real efforts of Western Balkan governments to reform are not paying off as expected, and their populations seem to be increasingly frustrated by the fact they have seen few tangible rewards for their labours. The EU has not moved on implementing the commitments it took in Thessaloniki.
The EU and its member states should refocus on how to help this region make its way towards further integration. In particular the European Commission should put negotiating mandates to the Council of Ministers on visa liberalisation and facilitation for the countries of the region and should set out a road map for each country so that they have a clear picture of the steps they need to take to get an improved visa regime from the EU. The EU Member states should begin negotiations with the relevant countries on a selective Schengen visa liberalisation regime for certain segments of the population and on facilitating visa applications for all their citizens.
The EU must not forget that the citizens of the former Yugoslavia enjoyed visa-free contact with Western Europe before the wars of the 1990s. It must also remember that the new post-Milosevic generation of young Balkan Europeans has sadly never set foot inside the Union.
“The new Balkans generation, responsible for taking the region out of narrow-minded nationalism and conflict towards a European future, is not being given the necessary tools”, says Neil Campbell, a Research Analyst at Crisis Group. “A visa policy that inevitably fosters resentment towards the EU is certainly no way to make progress – neither in the region, nor in Europe overall”.
EU Visas and the Western Balkans,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the current visa regime with regard to Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro including Kosovo. It highlights the policy’s sclerotic deficiencies that jeopardise the objective of enhanced European integration and damage the countries’ European outlook and hopes of eventual EU candidate status.
“This is not about emigration, permanent residence or threats to EU jobs. This is about liberalising the limited-term visa regime, primarily for students, business people and tourists, and making the application process simpler, faster and less painful for all”, says Nicholas Whyte, Crisis Group’s Europe Program Director. “The current system is breeding resentment by making the majority pay a high price for a criminal minority”.
At the June 2003 Thessaloniki Summit, the EU assured the peoples of the Western Balkans region that Brussels would not regard the map of the Union as complete until those countries had joined. The EU committed itself to a more liberal visa regime, with the warning however that any progress toward this end depended upon the implementation of major reforms in areas of law, crime, administration and border controls.
But the very real efforts of Western Balkan governments to reform are not paying off as expected, and their populations seem to be increasingly frustrated by the fact they have seen few tangible rewards for their labours. The EU has not moved on implementing the commitments it took in Thessaloniki.
The EU and its member states should refocus on how to help this region make its way towards further integration. In particular the European Commission should put negotiating mandates to the Council of Ministers on visa liberalisation and facilitation for the countries of the region and should set out a road map for each country so that they have a clear picture of the steps they need to take to get an improved visa regime from the EU. The EU Member states should begin negotiations with the relevant countries on a selective Schengen visa liberalisation regime for certain segments of the population and on facilitating visa applications for all their citizens.
The EU must not forget that the citizens of the former Yugoslavia enjoyed visa-free contact with Western Europe before the wars of the 1990s. It must also remember that the new post-Milosevic generation of young Balkan Europeans has sadly never set foot inside the Union.
“The new Balkans generation, responsible for taking the region out of narrow-minded nationalism and conflict towards a European future, is not being given the necessary tools”, says Neil Campbell, a Research Analyst at Crisis Group. “A visa policy that inevitably fosters resentment towards the EU is certainly no way to make progress – neither in the region, nor in Europe overall”.
EU divided over future status of Kosovo
29.11.2005 - 18:02 CET | By Mark Beunderman
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU member states are signalling disagreement on the final status of Kosovo, just as UN-led talks on the future of the territory get under way.
Diplomats indicate that several states - including the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Greece and Italy - are publicly or privately promoting their own ideas, which in some cases go beyond the EU's common position.
EU member states in June agreed that the exact future status of Kosovo should be decided in UN-led negotiations between Serbs and Kosovan Albanians, while setting out some clear EU principles that any outcome must meet.
The EU conditions include the protection of the Serb minority, no return to the pre-March 1999 status (when Kosovo was directly governed from Belgrade), and, notably, no partitioning of the territory.
However, just after UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari started his initial talks with Belgrade and Pristina last week, Czech prime minister Jiri Paroubek suggested that partitioning Kosovo could be the best solution.
"A solution could be dividing the territory on ethnic lines. The northern part of the region would belong to Serbia, and the majority of the southern part could be given the status of an independent nation", the Czech politician said, according to press reports.
Cacophony of opinions
The Czech move - clearly in breach of EU principles - ran contrary to a previous initiative by Slovene president Janez Drnovsek, who presented earlier this month a plan promoting full independence for an unpartitioned Kosovo.
Mr Drnovsek's plan caused a row in Slovenia itself, with the country's foreign ministry publicly declaring that the president's action did "not reflect" the Slovenian government's position.
An EU diplomat said the Czech and Slovene moves were "worrying", as the EU seemed "incapable of sticking to a common position" over the issue.
Another diplomat described the Czech plea for a partition as "very dangerous".
On top of this, the president of EU candidate state Romania, Traian Basescu, last week while visiting Paris presented a proposal pleading for a type of Kosovan autonomy that falls short of independence from Serbia, which was well received in Belgrade but not in Pristina.
An EU source described the different statements coming out of European capitals as a "cacaphony of opinions."
Wariness about independence
Although most other member states have so far cautiously stuck to the EU´s guiding principles, in public at least, they have privately voiced their own views over the issue.
Italy, Spain and Greece in particular are said to be worried about what will happen if the territory is given fully-fledged independence, having been under the administration of the United Nations since the 1999 war.
Sources said Spain is "nervous" about an independent Kosovo setting a precedent for its own autonomous Basque region, something a Spanish spokesman did not want to comment on.
Both Italy and Greece are reportedly wary about endangering their close political and economic ties with Serbia, with Rome particularly fearful of a future "failed" state in Kosovo which could produce large numbers of refugees.
A Greek spokesman did not confirm Athens' particular worry about Kosovo's independence, but did highlight that Athens as a "powerful" player in the region would play an active "mediating role" between Belgrade and Pristina.
The EU has to pay the bill
The direct influence of the EU on the final status talks is likely to be limited, though not irrelevant.
UN envoy Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president, will lead the talks, probably assisted by diplomats of the Kosovo Contact Group, which is viewed by diplomats as being very influential.
A representative from the EU has a seat in this group, but its six-nation core consists of the US and Russia as well as the UK, France, Germany and Italy.
"EU members who do not have a seat in the contact group are envious about those who do", one insider said.
But an EU diplomat argued that in the end, the view of the EU as a whole can hardly be ignored, as "we will have to pay the bill", referring to a probable Brussels role in administration and military stabilisation of the territory.
Mr Ahtisaari's efforts to broker a deal will initially be limited to shuttle diplomacy between Belgrade and Pristina, with direct talks between Serbs and Kosovan Albanians not expected to start before February.
Diplomats estimate that the negotiations will last at least six months, possibly more than a year.
Politicians representing the Kosovan Albanian majority have pleaded for full independence for Kosovo, but Serbia is opposed to granting Kosovo sovereign nation status.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU member states are signalling disagreement on the final status of Kosovo, just as UN-led talks on the future of the territory get under way.
Diplomats indicate that several states - including the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Greece and Italy - are publicly or privately promoting their own ideas, which in some cases go beyond the EU's common position.
EU member states in June agreed that the exact future status of Kosovo should be decided in UN-led negotiations between Serbs and Kosovan Albanians, while setting out some clear EU principles that any outcome must meet.
The EU conditions include the protection of the Serb minority, no return to the pre-March 1999 status (when Kosovo was directly governed from Belgrade), and, notably, no partitioning of the territory.
However, just after UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari started his initial talks with Belgrade and Pristina last week, Czech prime minister Jiri Paroubek suggested that partitioning Kosovo could be the best solution.
"A solution could be dividing the territory on ethnic lines. The northern part of the region would belong to Serbia, and the majority of the southern part could be given the status of an independent nation", the Czech politician said, according to press reports.
Cacophony of opinions
The Czech move - clearly in breach of EU principles - ran contrary to a previous initiative by Slovene president Janez Drnovsek, who presented earlier this month a plan promoting full independence for an unpartitioned Kosovo.
Mr Drnovsek's plan caused a row in Slovenia itself, with the country's foreign ministry publicly declaring that the president's action did "not reflect" the Slovenian government's position.
An EU diplomat said the Czech and Slovene moves were "worrying", as the EU seemed "incapable of sticking to a common position" over the issue.
Another diplomat described the Czech plea for a partition as "very dangerous".
On top of this, the president of EU candidate state Romania, Traian Basescu, last week while visiting Paris presented a proposal pleading for a type of Kosovan autonomy that falls short of independence from Serbia, which was well received in Belgrade but not in Pristina.
An EU source described the different statements coming out of European capitals as a "cacaphony of opinions."
Wariness about independence
Although most other member states have so far cautiously stuck to the EU´s guiding principles, in public at least, they have privately voiced their own views over the issue.
Italy, Spain and Greece in particular are said to be worried about what will happen if the territory is given fully-fledged independence, having been under the administration of the United Nations since the 1999 war.
Sources said Spain is "nervous" about an independent Kosovo setting a precedent for its own autonomous Basque region, something a Spanish spokesman did not want to comment on.
Both Italy and Greece are reportedly wary about endangering their close political and economic ties with Serbia, with Rome particularly fearful of a future "failed" state in Kosovo which could produce large numbers of refugees.
A Greek spokesman did not confirm Athens' particular worry about Kosovo's independence, but did highlight that Athens as a "powerful" player in the region would play an active "mediating role" between Belgrade and Pristina.
The EU has to pay the bill
The direct influence of the EU on the final status talks is likely to be limited, though not irrelevant.
UN envoy Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president, will lead the talks, probably assisted by diplomats of the Kosovo Contact Group, which is viewed by diplomats as being very influential.
A representative from the EU has a seat in this group, but its six-nation core consists of the US and Russia as well as the UK, France, Germany and Italy.
"EU members who do not have a seat in the contact group are envious about those who do", one insider said.
But an EU diplomat argued that in the end, the view of the EU as a whole can hardly be ignored, as "we will have to pay the bill", referring to a probable Brussels role in administration and military stabilisation of the territory.
Mr Ahtisaari's efforts to broker a deal will initially be limited to shuttle diplomacy between Belgrade and Pristina, with direct talks between Serbs and Kosovan Albanians not expected to start before February.
Diplomats estimate that the negotiations will last at least six months, possibly more than a year.
Politicians representing the Kosovan Albanian majority have pleaded for full independence for Kosovo, but Serbia is opposed to granting Kosovo sovereign nation status.
Clarity needed for Kosovo's future
By Marc Grossman
Originally published November 28, 2005
WASHINGTON // Kosovo is the biggest remaining Balkan challenge.
For the past three years, America and its allies have hoped that an undefined future status for Kosovo would be the incentive needed to encourage best practices and best behavior from Kosovo Albanians and Serbs.
This policy - right for its time - has run its course. The incentives need to change because only a clear path to earned independence for Kosovo will produce stability in the Balkans. There will be no further progress on the key issues in Kosovo until there is clarity about Kosovo's future.
The U.N. Security Council launched the effort to define Kosovo's final status Oct. 24. Even though Washington does not support a specific outcome at this point, the Bush administration, building on the work of its predecessors and with solid congressional support, has been both active and effective in pressing for a new way forward. Some of the pieces that can make this new way of thinking about the Balkans a reality are in place.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has chosen the outstanding former Finnish president, Martti Ahtisaari, as the U.N. special envoy to lead the process to define Kosovo's future status. He arrived in the region last week to start the talks. Because so many U.S. interests are involved, a high-level senior American envoy should quickly be named to support Mr. Ahtisaari.
There are at least three questions to be resolved:
· Will Kosovo's Albanian leaders put aside their personal differences and work together for a positive outcome? We know they want independence, but we do not know whether that strong desire will drive them to govern in ways that promote democracy, the rights of minorities and regional stability.
· How will Serbs in both Belgrade and Kosovo react to Mr. Ahtisaari's new approach? Serbia's policy of encouraging Kosovo Serbs to boycott elections and to refuse participation in the Kosovo Assembly is counter-productive. Kosovo Serb leaders need to shape their future, not shun it.
· Will the European Union act strategically? One of the EU's greatest accomplishments has been its ability to promote stability and democracy in Europe's east and south. The EU's Oct. 3 decision to open membership negotiations with Turkey is an important new step in that effort. The next big decision will be setting the right structure for a solution in Kosovo - a "grand bargain" that the United States should support and Mr. Ahtisaari could negotiate.
The "grand bargain" would look like this: In exchange for Belgrade's agreeing to Kosovo's independence, the European Union should offer Serbia a rapid path to EU membership. Kosovo should then also be put on the road to EU membership, though that road will be a longer one. It must have clear milestones for the protection of minorities and their property and the promotion of democracy.
The EU should assume responsibility for administering Kosovo and, as has happened in Bosnia, EU forces should replace NATO military forces in Kosovo. Such an outcome would guarantee democratic rights for all of the people of Kosovo, very much including minorities, and would further the integration of the region within the Euro-Atlantic community.
Allies should also be open to future NATO membership once the three indicted war criminals, Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and Ante Gotovina, still at large, face justice in The Hague.
We have a new way to think about the remaining challenge in the Balkans. A stable, peaceful Europe is within sight. We now need the will and the perseverance to make the larger dream a reality.
Marc Grossman, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2001-2005, is vice chairman of The Cohen Group, a strategic advisory firm. His e-mail is mgrossman@cohengroup.net.
Copyright © 2005, The Baltimore Sun | Get Sun home delivery
Originally published November 28, 2005
WASHINGTON // Kosovo is the biggest remaining Balkan challenge.
For the past three years, America and its allies have hoped that an undefined future status for Kosovo would be the incentive needed to encourage best practices and best behavior from Kosovo Albanians and Serbs.
This policy - right for its time - has run its course. The incentives need to change because only a clear path to earned independence for Kosovo will produce stability in the Balkans. There will be no further progress on the key issues in Kosovo until there is clarity about Kosovo's future.
The U.N. Security Council launched the effort to define Kosovo's final status Oct. 24. Even though Washington does not support a specific outcome at this point, the Bush administration, building on the work of its predecessors and with solid congressional support, has been both active and effective in pressing for a new way forward. Some of the pieces that can make this new way of thinking about the Balkans a reality are in place.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has chosen the outstanding former Finnish president, Martti Ahtisaari, as the U.N. special envoy to lead the process to define Kosovo's future status. He arrived in the region last week to start the talks. Because so many U.S. interests are involved, a high-level senior American envoy should quickly be named to support Mr. Ahtisaari.
There are at least three questions to be resolved:
· Will Kosovo's Albanian leaders put aside their personal differences and work together for a positive outcome? We know they want independence, but we do not know whether that strong desire will drive them to govern in ways that promote democracy, the rights of minorities and regional stability.
· How will Serbs in both Belgrade and Kosovo react to Mr. Ahtisaari's new approach? Serbia's policy of encouraging Kosovo Serbs to boycott elections and to refuse participation in the Kosovo Assembly is counter-productive. Kosovo Serb leaders need to shape their future, not shun it.
· Will the European Union act strategically? One of the EU's greatest accomplishments has been its ability to promote stability and democracy in Europe's east and south. The EU's Oct. 3 decision to open membership negotiations with Turkey is an important new step in that effort. The next big decision will be setting the right structure for a solution in Kosovo - a "grand bargain" that the United States should support and Mr. Ahtisaari could negotiate.
The "grand bargain" would look like this: In exchange for Belgrade's agreeing to Kosovo's independence, the European Union should offer Serbia a rapid path to EU membership. Kosovo should then also be put on the road to EU membership, though that road will be a longer one. It must have clear milestones for the protection of minorities and their property and the promotion of democracy.
The EU should assume responsibility for administering Kosovo and, as has happened in Bosnia, EU forces should replace NATO military forces in Kosovo. Such an outcome would guarantee democratic rights for all of the people of Kosovo, very much including minorities, and would further the integration of the region within the Euro-Atlantic community.
Allies should also be open to future NATO membership once the three indicted war criminals, Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and Ante Gotovina, still at large, face justice in The Hague.
We have a new way to think about the remaining challenge in the Balkans. A stable, peaceful Europe is within sight. We now need the will and the perseverance to make the larger dream a reality.
Marc Grossman, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2001-2005, is vice chairman of The Cohen Group, a strategic advisory firm. His e-mail is mgrossman@cohengroup.net.
Copyright © 2005, The Baltimore Sun | Get Sun home delivery
Monday, November 28, 2005
Europe's banlieue - The Economist
Like France's troubled suburbs, the Balkan war zones cannot be sealed off—or safely ignored
THE Balkans, said Otto von Bismarck, are not worth the healthy bones of a single Pomeranian grenadier. A century and a quarter after that famous brush-off, Europe's richer, smugger parts are still tempted to turn their backs on their continent's most unstable and wildest corner.
To a European Union that views itself as part of the world's elite—a huge, if rather sluggish, economic power that can be rather choosy about who it deals with—its squalid Balkan backyard is an embarrassment. Indeed, there are questions about whether it is part of Europe at all. Serious politicians in France, Germany and Austria were saying, only a decade ago, that countries with an Ottoman or Byzantine heritage—such as Romania, Bulgaria and most of ex-Yugoslavia—weren't really heirs to the glories of European civilisation.
If west Europeans feels uneasy about the Balkans, that is partly because of the blunders they have made. For all his detachment, Bismarck was a master of Balkan diplomacy, but modern Europe has lacked his touch. When old Yugoslavia broke up, it was initially seen, absurdly, as a little local difficulty which Europe could handle with no help from anyone else. Then, when the horrors began, they were dismissed as too intractable to stop.
In fact, as became clear in the final chapters of the conflicts in Bosnia—which ended in a peace agreement exactly a decade ago—and then Kosovo, Balkan wars are as easy to control as people want them to be; but they stop only when America and all the main European powers act together, instead of scoring points off one another. Now, the Balkan guns have mostly fallen silent, and the region and its queasy European friends are at another crossroads (see article). In a year's time, Kosovo may be independent. Bosnia is gradually turning into a functioning state. Montenegro may vote in a referendum to break with Serbia. The accord that saved Macedonia from civil war seems to be holding. An era of intensive care, in which Kosovo was run by Finns or Danes, and Bosnia by Austrians and Brits, may be ending.
So what does rich Europe do now? For a half-exhausted, introverted EU with many problems nearer home to worry about, it is tempting to walk away altogether, at least from the places which seem incorrigible. The Union has proved good at teaching governance to countries like Bulgaria and Romania where politicians want to learn and will get a nice prize—early membership—in return. Among the six republics of old Yugoslavia, there is only one European super-star, Slovenia; and Croatia is back on a European track after wobbling off it.
But as for the other countries of the region—all scarred by war, anarchy or criminal nationalism—a sceptic could make a decent case for writing them off. In Albania and much of ex-Yugoslavia, the forces ranged against the state—crime syndicates and armed nationalists—are often more than a match for legitimate business and politics. Government, in so far as its writ runs at all, is frequently worse than useless: customs barriers and regulations simply obstruct legal business, offer bribe opportunities for bureaucrats and abet crime.
Given that the total population of the Balkans' most problematic parts is barely 20m, and their per head income is barely a fifth of the EU average, why not just quarantine them until they start behaving like potential members of a rich, respectable club? That, in a way, is what Europe managed to do during Bosnia's horrors: the Vienna stock exchange hardly flickered as massacres occurred a couple of hours' drive away.
To find out why that is not an option, ask the British police who, with help from the UN police in Kosovo and several other countries, have just cracked a people-smuggling ring that originated in Turkey and may have spirited as many as 200,000 desperate folk (mostly from eastern Turkey) into the Union's richer places. Or consult a report by Europol, the European police agency, which has traced the activities of Balkan-based crime syndicates. Albanian gangs spirit people into Britain and Germany; guns are reaching Britain from Croatia and points south; the stolen-vehicle trade in the Netherlands is dominated by Serbs; and Chinese syndicates based in ex-Yugoslavia send illegal migrants to Finland. It was once said of the Balkans that they produce more history than can be consumed locally; it is even more true that the region is a big net exporter of crime.
Hard as things are now, they would be worse if rich Europeans tried—and inevitably failed—to seal the Balkans off. The less access the people of south-eastern Europe have to EU markets for goods and labour, the easier it will be for organised crime to tighten its grip on the region and spread mayhem elsewhere. Especially in places like Kosovo where the population is rising fast and underemployed, there is huge unspent energy which will find malign outlets unless a healthy, outward-looking economy can put idle hands to work. Putting a wall round the Balkans will have the opposite effect.
In need of a better future to bury the past
That is one reason why Europe's fate is intertwined with the Balkans. Rich Europeans cannot ignore the region, any more than wealthy citizens of France (or any other European country) can shrug off the problems of compatriots whose poverty and alien speech or faith makes them awkward neighbours.
Another reason to avoid a massive turning of backs on the Balkans is that events there can have repercussions in unexpected places, in part because of religious solidarity. Neither the French riots nor the Balkan wars were mainly the result of clashing faiths. But in this ultra-sensitive area, actions (or non-actions) by European governments send ripples round the world. Just as French mishandling of immigrant youths reverberates in Jakarta and Algiers, so the fate of Bosnia's Muslims caused rage in Malaysia and Pakistan. The effects of any new failures in the Balkans will be felt well beyond the region.
Like it or not, west Europeans must remain engaged in their squalid south-east, offering advice, money and the ultimate prize of admission to the EU club. Otherwise the woes of the Balkans will come to them, just as the French slum-dwellers have rattled nerves in the smart districts of Paris.
THE Balkans, said Otto von Bismarck, are not worth the healthy bones of a single Pomeranian grenadier. A century and a quarter after that famous brush-off, Europe's richer, smugger parts are still tempted to turn their backs on their continent's most unstable and wildest corner.
To a European Union that views itself as part of the world's elite—a huge, if rather sluggish, economic power that can be rather choosy about who it deals with—its squalid Balkan backyard is an embarrassment. Indeed, there are questions about whether it is part of Europe at all. Serious politicians in France, Germany and Austria were saying, only a decade ago, that countries with an Ottoman or Byzantine heritage—such as Romania, Bulgaria and most of ex-Yugoslavia—weren't really heirs to the glories of European civilisation.
If west Europeans feels uneasy about the Balkans, that is partly because of the blunders they have made. For all his detachment, Bismarck was a master of Balkan diplomacy, but modern Europe has lacked his touch. When old Yugoslavia broke up, it was initially seen, absurdly, as a little local difficulty which Europe could handle with no help from anyone else. Then, when the horrors began, they were dismissed as too intractable to stop.
In fact, as became clear in the final chapters of the conflicts in Bosnia—which ended in a peace agreement exactly a decade ago—and then Kosovo, Balkan wars are as easy to control as people want them to be; but they stop only when America and all the main European powers act together, instead of scoring points off one another. Now, the Balkan guns have mostly fallen silent, and the region and its queasy European friends are at another crossroads (see article). In a year's time, Kosovo may be independent. Bosnia is gradually turning into a functioning state. Montenegro may vote in a referendum to break with Serbia. The accord that saved Macedonia from civil war seems to be holding. An era of intensive care, in which Kosovo was run by Finns or Danes, and Bosnia by Austrians and Brits, may be ending.
So what does rich Europe do now? For a half-exhausted, introverted EU with many problems nearer home to worry about, it is tempting to walk away altogether, at least from the places which seem incorrigible. The Union has proved good at teaching governance to countries like Bulgaria and Romania where politicians want to learn and will get a nice prize—early membership—in return. Among the six republics of old Yugoslavia, there is only one European super-star, Slovenia; and Croatia is back on a European track after wobbling off it.
But as for the other countries of the region—all scarred by war, anarchy or criminal nationalism—a sceptic could make a decent case for writing them off. In Albania and much of ex-Yugoslavia, the forces ranged against the state—crime syndicates and armed nationalists—are often more than a match for legitimate business and politics. Government, in so far as its writ runs at all, is frequently worse than useless: customs barriers and regulations simply obstruct legal business, offer bribe opportunities for bureaucrats and abet crime.
Given that the total population of the Balkans' most problematic parts is barely 20m, and their per head income is barely a fifth of the EU average, why not just quarantine them until they start behaving like potential members of a rich, respectable club? That, in a way, is what Europe managed to do during Bosnia's horrors: the Vienna stock exchange hardly flickered as massacres occurred a couple of hours' drive away.
To find out why that is not an option, ask the British police who, with help from the UN police in Kosovo and several other countries, have just cracked a people-smuggling ring that originated in Turkey and may have spirited as many as 200,000 desperate folk (mostly from eastern Turkey) into the Union's richer places. Or consult a report by Europol, the European police agency, which has traced the activities of Balkan-based crime syndicates. Albanian gangs spirit people into Britain and Germany; guns are reaching Britain from Croatia and points south; the stolen-vehicle trade in the Netherlands is dominated by Serbs; and Chinese syndicates based in ex-Yugoslavia send illegal migrants to Finland. It was once said of the Balkans that they produce more history than can be consumed locally; it is even more true that the region is a big net exporter of crime.
Hard as things are now, they would be worse if rich Europeans tried—and inevitably failed—to seal the Balkans off. The less access the people of south-eastern Europe have to EU markets for goods and labour, the easier it will be for organised crime to tighten its grip on the region and spread mayhem elsewhere. Especially in places like Kosovo where the population is rising fast and underemployed, there is huge unspent energy which will find malign outlets unless a healthy, outward-looking economy can put idle hands to work. Putting a wall round the Balkans will have the opposite effect.
In need of a better future to bury the past
That is one reason why Europe's fate is intertwined with the Balkans. Rich Europeans cannot ignore the region, any more than wealthy citizens of France (or any other European country) can shrug off the problems of compatriots whose poverty and alien speech or faith makes them awkward neighbours.
Another reason to avoid a massive turning of backs on the Balkans is that events there can have repercussions in unexpected places, in part because of religious solidarity. Neither the French riots nor the Balkan wars were mainly the result of clashing faiths. But in this ultra-sensitive area, actions (or non-actions) by European governments send ripples round the world. Just as French mishandling of immigrant youths reverberates in Jakarta and Algiers, so the fate of Bosnia's Muslims caused rage in Malaysia and Pakistan. The effects of any new failures in the Balkans will be felt well beyond the region.
Like it or not, west Europeans must remain engaged in their squalid south-east, offering advice, money and the ultimate prize of admission to the EU club. Otherwise the woes of the Balkans will come to them, just as the French slum-dwellers have rattled nerves in the smart districts of Paris.
Swiss FM Expresses Backing for Kosovo Independence
Ljubljana, 28 November (STA) - Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey
said her country supports the formal independence of Kosovo as she
addressed a press conference in Ljubljana on Monday.
Speaking after meeting Slovenian counterpart Dimitrij Rupel, Calmy-Rey
said that Kosovo's lack of status is cause for many problems, both
political and economic.
Switzerland would like to see Kosovo's status settled first and then its
implementation of standards checked instead of the other way around, she
said.
Kosovo is a very important issue for Switzerland, Calmy-Rey said, adding
that Switzerland is home to 10% of immigrants from Kosovo.
Solving Kosovo's status could resolve many issues, including those of
doing business and investing in the province, she added.
The question of standards is important, although it can be dealt with
after that of Kosovo's status, she said.
Rupel said that he and Calmy-Rey talked about the situation in Western
Balkans in general and that they did not discuss Slovenian President Janez
Drnovsek's nine-point Kosovo status plan at today's meeting.
Yet they agreed that the unresolved status of Kosovo is a potential source
of instability in Southeast Europe, and that the negotiating process should
be broadly supported by the entire international community.
Rupel and Calmy-Rey also discussed bilateral cooperation, with Rupel
thanking Switzerland for its donations to the Slovenia-run International
Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF).
Additionally, Calmy-Rey stressed the importance of the bilateral agreement
on the protection of mutual investments, as Switzerland is the second
largest source of foreign direct investment in Slovenia.
said her country supports the formal independence of Kosovo as she
addressed a press conference in Ljubljana on Monday.
Speaking after meeting Slovenian counterpart Dimitrij Rupel, Calmy-Rey
said that Kosovo's lack of status is cause for many problems, both
political and economic.
Switzerland would like to see Kosovo's status settled first and then its
implementation of standards checked instead of the other way around, she
said.
Kosovo is a very important issue for Switzerland, Calmy-Rey said, adding
that Switzerland is home to 10% of immigrants from Kosovo.
Solving Kosovo's status could resolve many issues, including those of
doing business and investing in the province, she added.
The question of standards is important, although it can be dealt with
after that of Kosovo's status, she said.
Rupel said that he and Calmy-Rey talked about the situation in Western
Balkans in general and that they did not discuss Slovenian President Janez
Drnovsek's nine-point Kosovo status plan at today's meeting.
Yet they agreed that the unresolved status of Kosovo is a potential source
of instability in Southeast Europe, and that the negotiating process should
be broadly supported by the entire international community.
Rupel and Calmy-Rey also discussed bilateral cooperation, with Rupel
thanking Switzerland for its donations to the Slovenia-run International
Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF).
Additionally, Calmy-Rey stressed the importance of the bilateral agreement
on the protection of mutual investments, as Switzerland is the second
largest source of foreign direct investment in Slovenia.
Drnovsek in Favour of Union of Independent Serbia, Montenegro
Podgorica, 28 November (STA) - President Janez Drnovsek has reiterated his
advocacy of a union of two independent countries in place of the current
Serbia-Montenegro in talks with Montenegrin PM Milo Djukanovic and
Parliament Speaker Ranko Krivokapic.
It would make sense to revive this idea, Drnovsek said, reiterating the
stance that he took in talks earlier on Monday with Montenegrin President
Filip Vujanovic, according to sources in the Slovenian delegation.
This process could have a beneficial impact on the situation in
Montenegro, Drnovsek told Djukanovic. In talks with Speaker Krivokapic,
Drnovsek said this is a possible step towards a stable and long-term
solution.
Meanwhile, Krivokapic is reported as having said that the development of
democracy in Montenegro is connected with the path towards independence.
He also drew parallels with the situation in Slovenia prior to its
declaration of independence.
Drnovsek's talks also touched on Kosovo, as the president's visit provoked
protests in Podgorica today against his endorsement of Kosovo independence.
His visit moreover received a lukewarm response from PM Janez Jansa, who
said that after talks with Serbia-Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic,
"I do not expect any negative consequences to arise from this visit."
"Marovic told me his side would also try to draw the most positive results
from it," PM Jansa said. He also stressed that positive solutions are being
considered upon the referendum on the status of Montenegro, most likely to
take place next year.
advocacy of a union of two independent countries in place of the current
Serbia-Montenegro in talks with Montenegrin PM Milo Djukanovic and
Parliament Speaker Ranko Krivokapic.
It would make sense to revive this idea, Drnovsek said, reiterating the
stance that he took in talks earlier on Monday with Montenegrin President
Filip Vujanovic, according to sources in the Slovenian delegation.
This process could have a beneficial impact on the situation in
Montenegro, Drnovsek told Djukanovic. In talks with Speaker Krivokapic,
Drnovsek said this is a possible step towards a stable and long-term
solution.
Meanwhile, Krivokapic is reported as having said that the development of
democracy in Montenegro is connected with the path towards independence.
He also drew parallels with the situation in Slovenia prior to its
declaration of independence.
Drnovsek's talks also touched on Kosovo, as the president's visit provoked
protests in Podgorica today against his endorsement of Kosovo independence.
His visit moreover received a lukewarm response from PM Janez Jansa, who
said that after talks with Serbia-Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic,
"I do not expect any negative consequences to arise from this visit."
"Marovic told me his side would also try to draw the most positive results
from it," PM Jansa said. He also stressed that positive solutions are being
considered upon the referendum on the status of Montenegro, most likely to
take place next year.
Kosovo protesters demand ex-KLA commander's release from Hague custody
Pristina, 28 November: Around 1,000 former members of the OVK [or KLA - Kosovo Liberation Army, UCK in Albanian] protested today in the centre of [the capital city of] Pristina, demanding that the Hague tribunal release from custody [ex-]KLA rebel commander Fatmir Limaj.
Following a peaceful protest march through the centre of Pristina, ex-members of the KLA gathered outside the Philology Faculty to read a letter addressed to the international community and the Hague tribunal, in which they demand Limaj's release.
The protest march passed without incidents. A strong international police force secured all entrances to UNMIK [UN Interim Administration in Kosovo] institutions and the building of the Kosovo Assembly, which also houses the government seat.
The Hague tribunal has saccused Limaj, together with Isak Musliu and Haradin Bala, of war crimes in the Lapusnik prison camp in Kosovo.
Source: SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 1224 gmt 28 Nov 05
Following a peaceful protest march through the centre of Pristina, ex-members of the KLA gathered outside the Philology Faculty to read a letter addressed to the international community and the Hague tribunal, in which they demand Limaj's release.
The protest march passed without incidents. A strong international police force secured all entrances to UNMIK [UN Interim Administration in Kosovo] institutions and the building of the Kosovo Assembly, which also houses the government seat.
The Hague tribunal has saccused Limaj, together with Isak Musliu and Haradin Bala, of war crimes in the Lapusnik prison camp in Kosovo.
Source: SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 1224 gmt 28 Nov 05
Slovenian president in Montenegro; pro-Serb opposition protests his support for Kosovo independence
PODGORICA, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) - Slovenian President Janez Drnovsek visited Montenegro on Monday as several hundred pro-Serb opposition supporters rallied in protest against his stance for independence for Serbia's southern province of Kosovo.
Drnovsek was greeted by Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic and was to talk later with Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, both of whom are campaigners for Montenegro's independence from Serbia.
Police held protesters, gathered outside the Montenegrin parliament, away from the entrance, while they chanted: "Go Home, Drnovsek, Kosovo is Serbian."
Andrija Mandic, from the Serbian National Party which called the rally, accused Drnovsek of "going hand-in-hand with (ethnic) Albanian extremists" in his recent comments that independence was the "only realistic option" for Kosovo, currently run by the U.N. and NATO.
Belgrade last month canceled a planned visit by Drnovsek to the Serbian capital, accusing him of "interference" that could prejudice the U.N.-mediated talks on Kosovo's final status.
Kosovo has been run by a U.N. mission and NATO peacekeepers since a 1999 air war halted Serbia's crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians, but its status remains deeply contested, with the province's majority ethnic Albanians demanding full independence while Belgrade insists it remain within Serbia. The province's future is to be decided after U.N.-mediated negotiations between Belgrade and Kosovo Albanian leaders, expected to start early next year.
Slovenia declared independence from the old Yugoslav federation in 1991, while Montenegro stayed in a loose union with Serbia. But relations deteriorated, with Montenegrin leaders pushing for independence.
The EU has tried to talk Montenegro out of opting for secession, fearing new Balkan tensions, but Vujanovic and Djukanovic are committed to holding the independence referendum in April 2006.
While touring the Montenegrin medieval statehood seat of Cetinje with Vujanovic, Drnovsek said that Montenegro "has a right to self-determination but the decision must be made in a democratic way."
Drnovsek also tried to tone down his comments on Kosovo, saying he had proposed a "conditional independence for a five-year trial period," after which the international community would judge whether the province had made enough progress to stand alone.
Drnovsek was greeted by Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic and was to talk later with Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, both of whom are campaigners for Montenegro's independence from Serbia.
Police held protesters, gathered outside the Montenegrin parliament, away from the entrance, while they chanted: "Go Home, Drnovsek, Kosovo is Serbian."
Andrija Mandic, from the Serbian National Party which called the rally, accused Drnovsek of "going hand-in-hand with (ethnic) Albanian extremists" in his recent comments that independence was the "only realistic option" for Kosovo, currently run by the U.N. and NATO.
Belgrade last month canceled a planned visit by Drnovsek to the Serbian capital, accusing him of "interference" that could prejudice the U.N.-mediated talks on Kosovo's final status.
Kosovo has been run by a U.N. mission and NATO peacekeepers since a 1999 air war halted Serbia's crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians, but its status remains deeply contested, with the province's majority ethnic Albanians demanding full independence while Belgrade insists it remain within Serbia. The province's future is to be decided after U.N.-mediated negotiations between Belgrade and Kosovo Albanian leaders, expected to start early next year.
Slovenia declared independence from the old Yugoslav federation in 1991, while Montenegro stayed in a loose union with Serbia. But relations deteriorated, with Montenegrin leaders pushing for independence.
The EU has tried to talk Montenegro out of opting for secession, fearing new Balkan tensions, but Vujanovic and Djukanovic are committed to holding the independence referendum in April 2006.
While touring the Montenegrin medieval statehood seat of Cetinje with Vujanovic, Drnovsek said that Montenegro "has a right to self-determination but the decision must be made in a democratic way."
Drnovsek also tried to tone down his comments on Kosovo, saying he had proposed a "conditional independence for a five-year trial period," after which the international community would judge whether the province had made enough progress to stand alone.
UN envoy praises Albanian government's stance on Kosovo status talks
Excerpt from report by Ylber Drazhi, "UN envoy for Kosovo praises Albanian government's position", published by Albanian newspaper Rilindja Demokratike on 27 November
Martti Ahtisaari, the special envoy of the UN secretary-general on the status of Kosova [Kosovo], has said he is pleased with the stance taken by the Albanian government on the question of the settlement of Kosova's final status. He described the behaviour of the Albanian government as the best possible and said he was pleased to see that Tirana is actively following this process and has expressed its readiness to put itself at the disposal of the international community, which is engaged in resolving this problem.
Ahtisaari said that the involvement of other actors in this question would only complicate the work of his group. "I think that the role the Albanian government is playing is very appropriate and I appreciate it. I think that the Albanian government is dealing with this issue in the best possible manner. It is following the situation actively and is ready to place itself at our disposal; I appreciate this very much. Their involvement would have created an impossible situation, because many sides would have asked to become actors in this process. This would have complicated the situation for us a great deal," declared Ahtisaari. [Passage omitted]
Source: Rilindja Demokratike, Tirana, in Albanian 27 Nov 05 pp 2, 3
Martti Ahtisaari, the special envoy of the UN secretary-general on the status of Kosova [Kosovo], has said he is pleased with the stance taken by the Albanian government on the question of the settlement of Kosova's final status. He described the behaviour of the Albanian government as the best possible and said he was pleased to see that Tirana is actively following this process and has expressed its readiness to put itself at the disposal of the international community, which is engaged in resolving this problem.
Ahtisaari said that the involvement of other actors in this question would only complicate the work of his group. "I think that the role the Albanian government is playing is very appropriate and I appreciate it. I think that the Albanian government is dealing with this issue in the best possible manner. It is following the situation actively and is ready to place itself at our disposal; I appreciate this very much. Their involvement would have created an impossible situation, because many sides would have asked to become actors in this process. This would have complicated the situation for us a great deal," declared Ahtisaari. [Passage omitted]
Source: Rilindja Demokratike, Tirana, in Albanian 27 Nov 05 pp 2, 3
Kosovo story ended with arrival of international forces - Slovene president
ort by Slovene television website on 26 November; subheadings as received:
President Janez Drnovsek has said for Tanjug [agency] that the Kosovo story ended with the arrival of international forces.
In his opinion, it is time for solving the legal aspects of the Kosovo situation. Serbia lost Kosovo in the time of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's authority when force was used in an attempt to solve this problem, Drnovsek said.
The international community reacted then and Serbia has lost it sovereignty in Kosovo, he stressed. Serbia has no sovereignty there because it cannot send its army to Kosovo, he explained. If Serbia sent its army to Kosovo, a war would start, Drnovsek added.
A wrong interpretation
According to some interpretations, Drnovsek is in favour of Kosovo's temporary independence. He rejected this interpretation, saying that he was talking about independence only conditionally.
An emotional reaction from the Serb side
He compared reactions to his stances to the reaction he had experienced in the time of Milosevic's rule. These reactions are mostly full of strong emotions and this has in the past resulted in a war, he added. These emotions influenced the politics which resulted in a war, he said.
Kosovo - a mythical stone around Serbia's neck
In Drnovsek's opinion, such policies continue today. They focus on the past and deal with emotions and not with reality, he believes.
According to Drnovsek, former Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic said to him in 2001: "The worst thing that can happen to us is that the international community gives us Kosovo back because this will become a mythical stone around Serbia's neck." The president agrees.
Source: Television Slovenia website, Ljubljana, in Slovene 1448 gmt 26 Nov 05
President Janez Drnovsek has said for Tanjug [agency] that the Kosovo story ended with the arrival of international forces.
In his opinion, it is time for solving the legal aspects of the Kosovo situation. Serbia lost Kosovo in the time of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's authority when force was used in an attempt to solve this problem, Drnovsek said.
The international community reacted then and Serbia has lost it sovereignty in Kosovo, he stressed. Serbia has no sovereignty there because it cannot send its army to Kosovo, he explained. If Serbia sent its army to Kosovo, a war would start, Drnovsek added.
A wrong interpretation
According to some interpretations, Drnovsek is in favour of Kosovo's temporary independence. He rejected this interpretation, saying that he was talking about independence only conditionally.
An emotional reaction from the Serb side
He compared reactions to his stances to the reaction he had experienced in the time of Milosevic's rule. These reactions are mostly full of strong emotions and this has in the past resulted in a war, he added. These emotions influenced the politics which resulted in a war, he said.
Kosovo - a mythical stone around Serbia's neck
In Drnovsek's opinion, such policies continue today. They focus on the past and deal with emotions and not with reality, he believes.
According to Drnovsek, former Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic said to him in 2001: "The worst thing that can happen to us is that the international community gives us Kosovo back because this will become a mythical stone around Serbia's neck." The president agrees.
Source: Television Slovenia website, Ljubljana, in Slovene 1448 gmt 26 Nov 05
President Rugova congratulates people on Flag Day (Bota Sot)
Bota Sot carries a message Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova addressed the people of Kosovo on the Flag Day, 28 November.
“I express my sincerest congratulations on the Flag Day – 28 November”, Rugova said in his address.
God willing may we enjoy the recognition of the independence of Kosovo from our friends, which would calm the people of Kosovo and this part of Europe and the world.
“I express my sincerest congratulations on the Flag Day – 28 November”, Rugova said in his address.
God willing may we enjoy the recognition of the independence of Kosovo from our friends, which would calm the people of Kosovo and this part of Europe and the world.
Kosumi: People of Kosovo have the right to determine their fate
Bota Sot carries an interview with Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi.
Kosovo cannot go back. In fact Kosovo has been independent for six years now. Serbia, during this period, has not had any influence, except in some violent and illegal ways. But, legally, it has no impact on developments in Kosovo. Kosovo de facto is independent and it will be de jure, are some points the paper highlights from the interview.
Kosumi further said that the process of the status talks will not be delayed, as it would endanger the core of the process.
PM Kosumi also said that direct recognition of Kosovo’s independence would be the best solution.
Bota Sot carries a message Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova addressed the people of Kosovo on the Flag Day, 28 November.
“I express my sincerest congratulations on the Flag Day – 28 November”, Rugova said in his address.
God willing may we enjoy the recognition of the independence of Kosovo from our friends, which would calm the people of Kosovo and this part of Europe and the world.
Kosovo cannot go back. In fact Kosovo has been independent for six years now. Serbia, during this period, has not had any influence, except in some violent and illegal ways. But, legally, it has no impact on developments in Kosovo. Kosovo de facto is independent and it will be de jure, are some points the paper highlights from the interview.
Kosumi further said that the process of the status talks will not be delayed, as it would endanger the core of the process.
PM Kosumi also said that direct recognition of Kosovo’s independence would be the best solution.
Bota Sot carries a message Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova addressed the people of Kosovo on the Flag Day, 28 November.
“I express my sincerest congratulations on the Flag Day – 28 November”, Rugova said in his address.
God willing may we enjoy the recognition of the independence of Kosovo from our friends, which would calm the people of Kosovo and this part of Europe and the world.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Montenegrin premier tells Serbia to drop its "mythomanic" policy
Text of report by Montenegrin TV on 26 November
[Presenter] Montenegro supports international community's decision to begin the process of defining Kosovo's final status, Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic has told Pink TV, adding that it was time for Serbia to give up irrational policy imposed by nationalists. On the eve of [Slovene President] Janez Drnovsek's visit to Montenegro, the prime minister said that the Slovene president was welcome.
[Reporter] Assessing that it was about time to solve the status of Kosovo and that a further postponing would not be productive, Prime Minister Djukanovic said that Montenegro would offer to help with this process.
[Djukanovic] We support international community's decision to begin the process of defining the final status of Kosovo by the end of this year, under the conductor's baton of an experienced European statesman such as Martti Ahtisaari - on behalf of the United Nations and the Contact Group - with an ambition to end this process some time in mid-2006.
[Reporter] The prime minister assessed that it was time for Serbia to give up irrational and mythomanic policy.
[Djukanovic] This is why I think that it is now crucially important that the Serbian president and the prime minister of Serbia - as heads of the Serbian negotiation team - realize that there is this realistic political room [for manoeuvre], and simply say thanks to the people who exert unrealistic political and nationalistic pressure on them. They should then take up the steering wheel in a responsible manner and attempt to reach the best possible solution.
[Reporter] The prime minister is not expecting the relations with Serbia to cool down, following the visit by the Slovene president to Montenegro.
[Djukanovic] I wish to say, with a fully peaceful conscience, really, that it is a great honour not only for the president of the [Montenegrin] republic [Filip Vujanovic] but for myself personally, that Montenegro is visited by the president of a friendly country, and also a member of the European Union, which is Slovenia, and - Janez Drnovsek.
[Reporter] The prime minister reiterated that the referendum on the legal status of Montenegro as a state would be held in spring, adding that there were no concrete demands on part of European officials to postpone the declaration of referendum results, although this possibility was mentioned.
[Djukanovic] There might possibly be a talk about postponing this for a month or two, I do not believe longer than that.
[Reporter] Djukanovic reiterated that the doors for the opposition to discuss conditions of the referendum were opened
Source: TV Crna Gora, Podgorica, in Serbian 1830 gmt 26 Nov 05
[Presenter] Montenegro supports international community's decision to begin the process of defining Kosovo's final status, Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic has told Pink TV, adding that it was time for Serbia to give up irrational policy imposed by nationalists. On the eve of [Slovene President] Janez Drnovsek's visit to Montenegro, the prime minister said that the Slovene president was welcome.
[Reporter] Assessing that it was about time to solve the status of Kosovo and that a further postponing would not be productive, Prime Minister Djukanovic said that Montenegro would offer to help with this process.
[Djukanovic] We support international community's decision to begin the process of defining the final status of Kosovo by the end of this year, under the conductor's baton of an experienced European statesman such as Martti Ahtisaari - on behalf of the United Nations and the Contact Group - with an ambition to end this process some time in mid-2006.
[Reporter] The prime minister assessed that it was time for Serbia to give up irrational and mythomanic policy.
[Djukanovic] This is why I think that it is now crucially important that the Serbian president and the prime minister of Serbia - as heads of the Serbian negotiation team - realize that there is this realistic political room [for manoeuvre], and simply say thanks to the people who exert unrealistic political and nationalistic pressure on them. They should then take up the steering wheel in a responsible manner and attempt to reach the best possible solution.
[Reporter] The prime minister is not expecting the relations with Serbia to cool down, following the visit by the Slovene president to Montenegro.
[Djukanovic] I wish to say, with a fully peaceful conscience, really, that it is a great honour not only for the president of the [Montenegrin] republic [Filip Vujanovic] but for myself personally, that Montenegro is visited by the president of a friendly country, and also a member of the European Union, which is Slovenia, and - Janez Drnovsek.
[Reporter] The prime minister reiterated that the referendum on the legal status of Montenegro as a state would be held in spring, adding that there were no concrete demands on part of European officials to postpone the declaration of referendum results, although this possibility was mentioned.
[Djukanovic] There might possibly be a talk about postponing this for a month or two, I do not believe longer than that.
[Reporter] Djukanovic reiterated that the doors for the opposition to discuss conditions of the referendum were opened
Source: TV Crna Gora, Podgorica, in Serbian 1830 gmt 26 Nov 05
KOSOVARS WAKE UP TO THE NEED FOR A NEW FLAG
If Kosovo Albanians get their own state, it will need its own flag. The problem is, many Albanians don't want one
By: Jeta Xharra and Zana Limani in Pristina
Less than a month away from the start of negotiations on Kosovo's final status, its majority Albanians have yet to agree on a flag or coat of arms for the state they hope will emerge from these crucial talks.
So far Kosovo Albanians have flown the flag and symbols of neighbouring Albania, which became independent in 1912.
Now seeking independence from Serbia and a state of their own, they are reluctant to jettison the emblems they are familiar with.
An attempt by Kosovo's President, Ibrahim Rugova, to introduce a new Kosovo flag a few years back was unsuccessful and it was never made official.
This issue of identity and symbols was the subject of much discussion after it was raised on November 9 in a televised debate organised by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Kosovo. Over 120 public letters and numerous news reports followed the show, which was broadcast on Radio Television Kosova, RTK.
Migjen Kelmendi, editor of the weekly Java magazine, says people shy away from accepting a specifically Kosovar identity, fearing it might be used to keep Kosovo inside Serbia.
"As an Albanian, I want my flag to be red and black. I don't want to change my identity," said Rexhep Selimi, a former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, which fought the Serbian army in the 1990s.
Selimi reflects most people's sentiments when he says the flag of the future state of Kosovo should look just like the one they fought under in the Nineties.
That was the black two-headed eagle on a red background - the national symbol of all Albanians in the Balkans for at least a century.
Genc Prelvukaj, a pop musician in Kosovo, says all Albanians cherish the old flag as a symbol of unity.
His last number-one hit, "Proud to be an Albanian", underscores how conscious young Kosovars remain of their Albanian identity.
"Red and black here and red and black there [in Albania]," Prelvukaj said during BIRN's televised debate. "I don't want to be called a Kosovar, I'm an Albanian."
Emrush Xhemajli, head of the nationalist National Movement of Kosovo, LPK, agreed. Any move to foist a specifically Kosovar identity on Kosovo Albanians will fail, he predicted.
"There were many attempts during Tito's rule to create a Kosovar identity separate from the Albanian one but they were all unsuccessful," Xhemajli said. "They will be this time, also."
Xhemajli and Prelvukaj represent mainstream opinion in Kosovo. But some intellectuals - and a few politicians - take a different line.
They feel that a separate Kosovo state must develop its own separate identity, which means new flags and symbols, too.
Nexhmedin Spahiu, author of a recent book, "Towards a Kosovar Identity", says Kosovo Albanians are edging towards a new identity, though they haven't realised it.
"Our identity is Albanian but in the process of creating our state we have to create a Kosovar nation," he said.
"This Kosovar nation does not exist yet but we are heading towards it, as you can't create a state without creating a nation," he added.
Linda Gusia, a sociology professor at Pristina University, feels the process may have gone even further than Spahiu realises.
Whereas Spahiu says a new identity should exist, she says a Kosovar identity exists already - forged by the different historic experiences of Albanians in Albania and Albanians in Kosovo over past decades.
"The fact that many people in Kosovo feel and perceive themselves as Kosovars indicates that this identity exists," Gusia said. "It is an emotion and a reality."
Nazim Rashidi, a BBC correspondent in Albania, also believes Albanians and Kosovars are now essentially separate peoples.
"Kosovars differ from the rest of Albanians as they have lived a different reality from ours," he said. "That's why they already have a different identity. The Kosovar identity already exists."
There is some support on the street for this idea, even if it is a minority stand point.
Krenar Gashi, a sociology student in his twenties, said he was happy with the notion that a Kosovar identity was still in the process of evolution.
"We are ethnically Albanian and are still part of the Albanian nation but soon we will have to start changing that," he said.
Kujtim Salihu, a 29-year-old from Pristina, is also not fussed about the symbols of statehood - having lived already in two different states.
"Today I am an Albanian citizen of Kosovo but before I was an Albanian citizen of Yugoslavia and in the future I will be an Albanian citizen of Albania," Salihu said.
"It could be just like with the Germans in Switzerland," said Betim Hashani, aged 20, taking a different tack. "They identify as Germans but they have their own flag."
Kosovo's politicians are slowly travelling in the same direction, albeit for pragmatic reasons.
Less interested in the question of Albanian identity, they admit it will be difficult for two states to share flags and symbols without creating confusion.
Eqrem Kryeziu, of the Kosovo Democratic League, LDK, said a Kosovo state will need its own emblems, though he is hardly enthusiastic about it.
"Kosovo Albanians are emotionally attached to the national Albanian flag," said Kryeziu. "But we will have to have a separate state flag, although we don't have to love it".
While local politicians, intellectuals and members of the public leisurely ponder the various options, some international observers feel the debate has started too late.
If Kosovars do not get a move on and agree on their emblems, then the international community will do it for them, they say.
Alex Anderson, head of the International Crisis Group in Kosovo, says Kosovo Albanians are under an illusion if they think they can simply transfer their own ethnic symbols onto a state that is supposed to be multi-ethnic and represent a variety of communities.
"Many Kosovo Albanians have not woken up to that yet," he said. "Kosovo's debate on its symbols is starting very late," he added.
Anderson says the need to find a new, completely different, flag, will come as a shock to many people, though it may have long-term benefits.
"The need for a new and different flag may have positive side-effects, as the imagery will compel people to see that an ethnic Albanian identity and a future Kosovo state identity are two different things," he said.
Jeta Xharra is BIRN Kosovo director and Balkan Insight editor in Kosovo. Zana Limani is BIRN Kosovo project coordinator and a regular contributor to Balkan Insight.
By: Jeta Xharra and Zana Limani in Pristina
Less than a month away from the start of negotiations on Kosovo's final status, its majority Albanians have yet to agree on a flag or coat of arms for the state they hope will emerge from these crucial talks.
So far Kosovo Albanians have flown the flag and symbols of neighbouring Albania, which became independent in 1912.
Now seeking independence from Serbia and a state of their own, they are reluctant to jettison the emblems they are familiar with.
An attempt by Kosovo's President, Ibrahim Rugova, to introduce a new Kosovo flag a few years back was unsuccessful and it was never made official.
This issue of identity and symbols was the subject of much discussion after it was raised on November 9 in a televised debate organised by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Kosovo. Over 120 public letters and numerous news reports followed the show, which was broadcast on Radio Television Kosova, RTK.
Migjen Kelmendi, editor of the weekly Java magazine, says people shy away from accepting a specifically Kosovar identity, fearing it might be used to keep Kosovo inside Serbia.
"As an Albanian, I want my flag to be red and black. I don't want to change my identity," said Rexhep Selimi, a former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, which fought the Serbian army in the 1990s.
Selimi reflects most people's sentiments when he says the flag of the future state of Kosovo should look just like the one they fought under in the Nineties.
That was the black two-headed eagle on a red background - the national symbol of all Albanians in the Balkans for at least a century.
Genc Prelvukaj, a pop musician in Kosovo, says all Albanians cherish the old flag as a symbol of unity.
His last number-one hit, "Proud to be an Albanian", underscores how conscious young Kosovars remain of their Albanian identity.
"Red and black here and red and black there [in Albania]," Prelvukaj said during BIRN's televised debate. "I don't want to be called a Kosovar, I'm an Albanian."
Emrush Xhemajli, head of the nationalist National Movement of Kosovo, LPK, agreed. Any move to foist a specifically Kosovar identity on Kosovo Albanians will fail, he predicted.
"There were many attempts during Tito's rule to create a Kosovar identity separate from the Albanian one but they were all unsuccessful," Xhemajli said. "They will be this time, also."
Xhemajli and Prelvukaj represent mainstream opinion in Kosovo. But some intellectuals - and a few politicians - take a different line.
They feel that a separate Kosovo state must develop its own separate identity, which means new flags and symbols, too.
Nexhmedin Spahiu, author of a recent book, "Towards a Kosovar Identity", says Kosovo Albanians are edging towards a new identity, though they haven't realised it.
"Our identity is Albanian but in the process of creating our state we have to create a Kosovar nation," he said.
"This Kosovar nation does not exist yet but we are heading towards it, as you can't create a state without creating a nation," he added.
Linda Gusia, a sociology professor at Pristina University, feels the process may have gone even further than Spahiu realises.
Whereas Spahiu says a new identity should exist, she says a Kosovar identity exists already - forged by the different historic experiences of Albanians in Albania and Albanians in Kosovo over past decades.
"The fact that many people in Kosovo feel and perceive themselves as Kosovars indicates that this identity exists," Gusia said. "It is an emotion and a reality."
Nazim Rashidi, a BBC correspondent in Albania, also believes Albanians and Kosovars are now essentially separate peoples.
"Kosovars differ from the rest of Albanians as they have lived a different reality from ours," he said. "That's why they already have a different identity. The Kosovar identity already exists."
There is some support on the street for this idea, even if it is a minority stand point.
Krenar Gashi, a sociology student in his twenties, said he was happy with the notion that a Kosovar identity was still in the process of evolution.
"We are ethnically Albanian and are still part of the Albanian nation but soon we will have to start changing that," he said.
Kujtim Salihu, a 29-year-old from Pristina, is also not fussed about the symbols of statehood - having lived already in two different states.
"Today I am an Albanian citizen of Kosovo but before I was an Albanian citizen of Yugoslavia and in the future I will be an Albanian citizen of Albania," Salihu said.
"It could be just like with the Germans in Switzerland," said Betim Hashani, aged 20, taking a different tack. "They identify as Germans but they have their own flag."
Kosovo's politicians are slowly travelling in the same direction, albeit for pragmatic reasons.
Less interested in the question of Albanian identity, they admit it will be difficult for two states to share flags and symbols without creating confusion.
Eqrem Kryeziu, of the Kosovo Democratic League, LDK, said a Kosovo state will need its own emblems, though he is hardly enthusiastic about it.
"Kosovo Albanians are emotionally attached to the national Albanian flag," said Kryeziu. "But we will have to have a separate state flag, although we don't have to love it".
While local politicians, intellectuals and members of the public leisurely ponder the various options, some international observers feel the debate has started too late.
If Kosovars do not get a move on and agree on their emblems, then the international community will do it for them, they say.
Alex Anderson, head of the International Crisis Group in Kosovo, says Kosovo Albanians are under an illusion if they think they can simply transfer their own ethnic symbols onto a state that is supposed to be multi-ethnic and represent a variety of communities.
"Many Kosovo Albanians have not woken up to that yet," he said. "Kosovo's debate on its symbols is starting very late," he added.
Anderson says the need to find a new, completely different, flag, will come as a shock to many people, though it may have long-term benefits.
"The need for a new and different flag may have positive side-effects, as the imagery will compel people to see that an ethnic Albanian identity and a future Kosovo state identity are two different things," he said.
Jeta Xharra is BIRN Kosovo director and Balkan Insight editor in Kosovo. Zana Limani is BIRN Kosovo project coordinator and a regular contributor to Balkan Insight.
US denies mini-Guantanamo in Kosovo, EU fumes over CIA flights
PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro - The US military on Saturday denied that it was running a Guantanamo-style prison for terror suspects in Kosovo, as tensions continued to simmer over reports of secret CIA flights across Europe.
“There are no secret detention facilities located on Camp Bondsteel (eastern Kosovo),” Major Michael Wunn, US military spokesman in Kosovo, told AFP in reference to the US base as part of NATO forces in the Balkan province.
Major Wunn said it was “common knowledge” that Camp Bondsteel included a detention facility used to house people detained during NATO peacekeeping operations in the UN-administered southern Serbian province.
But he said it was currently empty and it was not used as a secret prison by the Central Intelligence Agency.
“The facility is operated by US Military Police Soldiers fully trained in Detention Center Operations. Currently, no one is detained in this facility,” he said.
“The facility is subject to inspection by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and is regularly inspected by the United States Army, Europe.”
The denial came as Washington felt mounting European pressure to reveal the routes and activities of its CIA prisoner flights amid concerns about human rights abuses and torture on European territory.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana told Spanish radio on Saturday that Europeans found any suggestion of torture ”intolerable” and insisted that such reports be investigated.
“I have no doubt that this will be the object of an investigation... It must be investigated and those responsible must pay,” he told Cadena Ser radio.
Meanwhile Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim confirmed that a CIA plane had “put down” at the Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul last week in order to refuel.
“There was a landing requested for technical reasons. It’s landing was authorised. It was not carrying any passengers -- only equipment was on board,” the minister was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.
“It filled its tanks with fuel and continued in its way,” he said, adding that when planes requested landings to refuel it was difficult to refuse them.
“There are no secret detention facilities located on Camp Bondsteel (eastern Kosovo),” Major Michael Wunn, US military spokesman in Kosovo, told AFP in reference to the US base as part of NATO forces in the Balkan province.
Major Wunn said it was “common knowledge” that Camp Bondsteel included a detention facility used to house people detained during NATO peacekeeping operations in the UN-administered southern Serbian province.
But he said it was currently empty and it was not used as a secret prison by the Central Intelligence Agency.
“The facility is operated by US Military Police Soldiers fully trained in Detention Center Operations. Currently, no one is detained in this facility,” he said.
“The facility is subject to inspection by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and is regularly inspected by the United States Army, Europe.”
The denial came as Washington felt mounting European pressure to reveal the routes and activities of its CIA prisoner flights amid concerns about human rights abuses and torture on European territory.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana told Spanish radio on Saturday that Europeans found any suggestion of torture ”intolerable” and insisted that such reports be investigated.
“I have no doubt that this will be the object of an investigation... It must be investigated and those responsible must pay,” he told Cadena Ser radio.
Meanwhile Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim confirmed that a CIA plane had “put down” at the Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul last week in order to refuel.
“There was a landing requested for technical reasons. It’s landing was authorised. It was not carrying any passengers -- only equipment was on board,” the minister was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.
“It filled its tanks with fuel and continued in its way,” he said, adding that when planes requested landings to refuel it was difficult to refuse them.
In Meeting With Rival Factions, U.N. Envoy Paves Way for Kosovo Talks
By NICHOLAS WOOD
BELGRADE, Serbia and Montenegro, Nov. 23 - The United Nations took a step closer to starting talks on the future of Kosovo, perhaps the most intractable issue remaining from the Balkan wars of the 1990's, with a visit by its chief negotiator to the region this week.
The envoy, Martti Ahtissari, a former president of Finland and recently appointed as the United Nations' negotiator, met Tuesday and Wednesday with the leaders of Kosovo's two factions, ethnic Albanians and Serbs, in Pristina, Kosovo's capital, to prepare for possible face-to-face negotiations between the sides early next year.
His tour paves the way for negotiations that are expected to end six years of legal limbo for Kosovo, during which uncertainty over that Serbian province's future has frustrated both its populations and the threatened the chances for long-term stability in the region.
Kosovo has been under the control of a United Nations interim administration since it was wrested from Serbia's control in June 1999 after a 78-day NATO-led bombing campaign. The air campaign came after Serbia sent troops into the province against an ethnic Albanian rebel movement, and evidence emerged of widespread atrocities by the troops against the Albanian majority.
Since then the United Nations has established a regional government with substantial local control. But the mission's role in the province is seen by international officials as increasingly untenable because of the failure to resolve its future status.
Officially Kosovo remains a part of Serbia, contrary to the wishes of the Albanians, who make up 90 percent of the estimated two million people and who want independence. Last year 50,000 ethnic Albanians rioted in the region, forcing 4,000 Serbs and others to flee their homes and killing 19 people.
The difficulty of Mr. Ahtissari's task was underlined just before his visit as Serbian and Albanian political leaders reiterated their diametrically opposing views. On Monday, Serbia's Parliament passed a resolution agreeing to the negotiation process, but rejecting any solution that would remove Kosovo from Serbia. On Tuesday, Kosovo's Albanian leaders told Mr. Ahtissari that they would not accept anything less than independence.
"I insist on the direct recognition of Kosovo's independence that will calm down the region," Kosovo's president, Ibrahim Rugova, said after meeting in his home in Pristina with Mr. Ahtissari. "The time has come to wrap up this business."
Much of the negotiations are expected to focus on how Kosovo's Serbian population, which numbers up to 130,000, can best be protected and have a degree of autonomy from Albanian-dominated institutions.
While the United Nations officials say the final agreement will be the result of negotiation, senior Western diplomats across the region concede it will be difficult to defy Kosovo Albanian demands for independence, despite their failure to prevent attacks on minorities. Forcing Kosovo to remain within Serbia would run the risk of provoking an Albanian insurgency and destabilizing the region, they said.
But some politicians warn that insufficient consideration is being given to what impact Kosovo's independence would have on Serbia.
"Everyone seems to be concerned about the future status of Kosovo; that it will be more or less independent, conditional independence or independence with international supervision," Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenia's foreign minister and current chairman in the office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said in a recent interview. "But they haven't thought thoroughly about what might happen in Serbia."
The negotiations come at difficult time for Serbia. Next year Montenegro is expected to hold a referendum that could also lead to it breaking away from Serbia and becoming an independent state.
Serbia's democratic parties also remain weak, despite five years of democratic government since the fall of the former Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, Mr. Rupel said.
Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's coalition government has introduced difficult economic and political changes that have yet to bear fruit. Public enterprises are being restructured with job losses, social security payments have been scaled back, and public expenditures have been cut to ensure economic stability.
This environment, especially if Kosovo and Montenegro were to become independent, could be exploited by the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party, which holds the largest number of seats in Parliament, said Vuk Jeremic, the foreign affairs adviser to the reformist president, Boris Tadic.
"We may experience a nationalist wave," Mr. Jeremic said in a telephone interview. "The Radicals will say, what have five years of democracy brought us? The improvements may not be very obvious at this stage." If Kosovo were lost, he said, "I think there will be little we can use to contain them."
Mr. Rupel said he had urged other European foreign ministers at a recent meeting in Brussels to consider how Serbia might be compensated for any possible losses in Kosovo. "I think part of the solution will be finding something attractive for the Serbs," he said. Asked what the response of his counterparts had been to his proposal he said, "They didn't have an answer."
Membership in the European Union some time in the future "isn't really a carrot," he said. Aid or compensation, financial or political would have to be sufficient to strengthen democratic forces enough to make people overlook the loss of Kosovo.
Mr. Jeremic said the whole region needed an additional aid package, to ensure stability after a decision on Kosovo. "There has to be a new initiative for the Balkans within the European Union," he said.
But he emphasized that Serbia could not be bought off on Kosovo. "No matter how high a price you pay for Kosovo, it would still be a sellout," he said. "The compensation has to be found within Kosovo. The compensation will have to be at the expense of Albanians' maximalist platform."
BELGRADE, Serbia and Montenegro, Nov. 23 - The United Nations took a step closer to starting talks on the future of Kosovo, perhaps the most intractable issue remaining from the Balkan wars of the 1990's, with a visit by its chief negotiator to the region this week.
The envoy, Martti Ahtissari, a former president of Finland and recently appointed as the United Nations' negotiator, met Tuesday and Wednesday with the leaders of Kosovo's two factions, ethnic Albanians and Serbs, in Pristina, Kosovo's capital, to prepare for possible face-to-face negotiations between the sides early next year.
His tour paves the way for negotiations that are expected to end six years of legal limbo for Kosovo, during which uncertainty over that Serbian province's future has frustrated both its populations and the threatened the chances for long-term stability in the region.
Kosovo has been under the control of a United Nations interim administration since it was wrested from Serbia's control in June 1999 after a 78-day NATO-led bombing campaign. The air campaign came after Serbia sent troops into the province against an ethnic Albanian rebel movement, and evidence emerged of widespread atrocities by the troops against the Albanian majority.
Since then the United Nations has established a regional government with substantial local control. But the mission's role in the province is seen by international officials as increasingly untenable because of the failure to resolve its future status.
Officially Kosovo remains a part of Serbia, contrary to the wishes of the Albanians, who make up 90 percent of the estimated two million people and who want independence. Last year 50,000 ethnic Albanians rioted in the region, forcing 4,000 Serbs and others to flee their homes and killing 19 people.
The difficulty of Mr. Ahtissari's task was underlined just before his visit as Serbian and Albanian political leaders reiterated their diametrically opposing views. On Monday, Serbia's Parliament passed a resolution agreeing to the negotiation process, but rejecting any solution that would remove Kosovo from Serbia. On Tuesday, Kosovo's Albanian leaders told Mr. Ahtissari that they would not accept anything less than independence.
"I insist on the direct recognition of Kosovo's independence that will calm down the region," Kosovo's president, Ibrahim Rugova, said after meeting in his home in Pristina with Mr. Ahtissari. "The time has come to wrap up this business."
Much of the negotiations are expected to focus on how Kosovo's Serbian population, which numbers up to 130,000, can best be protected and have a degree of autonomy from Albanian-dominated institutions.
While the United Nations officials say the final agreement will be the result of negotiation, senior Western diplomats across the region concede it will be difficult to defy Kosovo Albanian demands for independence, despite their failure to prevent attacks on minorities. Forcing Kosovo to remain within Serbia would run the risk of provoking an Albanian insurgency and destabilizing the region, they said.
But some politicians warn that insufficient consideration is being given to what impact Kosovo's independence would have on Serbia.
"Everyone seems to be concerned about the future status of Kosovo; that it will be more or less independent, conditional independence or independence with international supervision," Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenia's foreign minister and current chairman in the office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said in a recent interview. "But they haven't thought thoroughly about what might happen in Serbia."
The negotiations come at difficult time for Serbia. Next year Montenegro is expected to hold a referendum that could also lead to it breaking away from Serbia and becoming an independent state.
Serbia's democratic parties also remain weak, despite five years of democratic government since the fall of the former Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, Mr. Rupel said.
Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's coalition government has introduced difficult economic and political changes that have yet to bear fruit. Public enterprises are being restructured with job losses, social security payments have been scaled back, and public expenditures have been cut to ensure economic stability.
This environment, especially if Kosovo and Montenegro were to become independent, could be exploited by the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party, which holds the largest number of seats in Parliament, said Vuk Jeremic, the foreign affairs adviser to the reformist president, Boris Tadic.
"We may experience a nationalist wave," Mr. Jeremic said in a telephone interview. "The Radicals will say, what have five years of democracy brought us? The improvements may not be very obvious at this stage." If Kosovo were lost, he said, "I think there will be little we can use to contain them."
Mr. Rupel said he had urged other European foreign ministers at a recent meeting in Brussels to consider how Serbia might be compensated for any possible losses in Kosovo. "I think part of the solution will be finding something attractive for the Serbs," he said. Asked what the response of his counterparts had been to his proposal he said, "They didn't have an answer."
Membership in the European Union some time in the future "isn't really a carrot," he said. Aid or compensation, financial or political would have to be sufficient to strengthen democratic forces enough to make people overlook the loss of Kosovo.
Mr. Jeremic said the whole region needed an additional aid package, to ensure stability after a decision on Kosovo. "There has to be a new initiative for the Balkans within the European Union," he said.
But he emphasized that Serbia could not be bought off on Kosovo. "No matter how high a price you pay for Kosovo, it would still be a sellout," he said. "The compensation has to be found within Kosovo. The compensation will have to be at the expense of Albanians' maximalist platform."
Friday, November 25, 2005
My people deserve their independence - The International Herald Tribune
Hashim Thaci International Herald Tribune
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2005
PRISTINA, Kosovo Talks on Kosovo's future status will begin soon. The central issue in these talks will be "sovereignty" and little else. Belgrade has already said that ethnic Albanians can run their own affairs, but that ethnic Serbs must run theirs. What Belgrade has said it will not negotiate is the issue of sovereignty. It is this issue that will be the most contentious.
The people of Kosovo have earned their right to sovereignty. Like the oppressed people of Iraq and Afghanistan after their liberation, the new century saw us breathe the air of a free people for the first time, hold our first free and fair elections, install democratically elected leaders and write a new set of laws and a constitutional framework that set the standard for the region. We are not finished, but much has been achieved.
The people of Kosovo deserve independence. We lived under the control of Belgrade much too long. Whether under Serbian kings, Communists or nationalists, Albanians suffered purges, expulsions, and ethnic cleansing - three times in the 20th century alone. Why should we think a democratically elected government will be any different when the same old nationalism continues to be a force in Serbian politics?
The Serbian state and the Serbian people have lost their moral right to continued sovereignty over the land and people of Kosovo, but not their right to live there as free and equal citizens. However, the Albanian people of Kosovo will never again risk living under Belgrade's rule.
We understand very well the international community's concern for minority groups in Kosovo, especially the Serbs; after all, we share those same concerns for minority communities in Serbia and Macedonia. But let's be clear about one thing. Kosovo is overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian, at least 90 percent by any reasonable estimate.
There is certainly an element of prejudice in our society toward ethnic Serbs, just as hostility to ethnic Albanians remains in Serbian society. But keep in mind that every single Albanian family, as well as those of other ethnic communities, experienced murder, beatings, expulsion and property damage, as well as years of humiliation and brutality from the Serbian government throughout the decade of the 1990s. We know of many war criminals still active in the Serbian police and military who have not been brought to justice.
Yet, in spite of all this, the Kosovo government did the right thing after the ethnic clashes of March 2004 that left hundreds homeless and 30 churches destroyed or damaged. Ethnic Albanian political and religious leaders condemned the violence, the government moved quickly to allocate funds to repair the damaged homes and churches, and reconstruction was under way within weeks.
In contrast, up to now the Serbian government in Belgrade has not offered to compensate a single Albanian family for property destroyed by Serbian government forces, nor offered to pay to rebuild any of almost 200 mosques that were damaged or destroyed, even though all of this was done by their own forces or paramilitaries they controlled. What clearer proof is there that Pristina has earned the right to sovereignty over the territory of Kosovo while Belgrade has lost it?
Belgrade talks of "more than autonomy but less than independence," but we had autonomy before. In 1974, we had the highest degree of autonomy imaginable, and Belgrade has already made it clear they are not willing to let us have even that level, not that we would want it at this point, anyway. Because of Belgrade's sovereignty over Kosovo, that autonomy was lost at Belgrade's whim. It could happen again.
It is simply not in the interest of the international community to set the people of Kosovo back 30 years or more after what we have endured and the efforts we have made to meet the standards of the world community.
Perhaps the best incentive for all of us is for the European Union to admit Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro as three independent countries who have implemented the same standards of democratic development, minority protections and economic safeguards, under the umbrella of NATO. In this way, the entire region can be demilitarized with open borders, a free flow of people, goods and services, strong rule of law, and a vibrant economy with a common currency that unites our various communities. Then and only then will the hatreds and conflicts of the past be truly consigned to collective memory and not resurrected in the experience of each successive generation.
(Hashim Thaci is president of the Democratic Party of Kosovo and former political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army.)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2005
PRISTINA, Kosovo Talks on Kosovo's future status will begin soon. The central issue in these talks will be "sovereignty" and little else. Belgrade has already said that ethnic Albanians can run their own affairs, but that ethnic Serbs must run theirs. What Belgrade has said it will not negotiate is the issue of sovereignty. It is this issue that will be the most contentious.
The people of Kosovo have earned their right to sovereignty. Like the oppressed people of Iraq and Afghanistan after their liberation, the new century saw us breathe the air of a free people for the first time, hold our first free and fair elections, install democratically elected leaders and write a new set of laws and a constitutional framework that set the standard for the region. We are not finished, but much has been achieved.
The people of Kosovo deserve independence. We lived under the control of Belgrade much too long. Whether under Serbian kings, Communists or nationalists, Albanians suffered purges, expulsions, and ethnic cleansing - three times in the 20th century alone. Why should we think a democratically elected government will be any different when the same old nationalism continues to be a force in Serbian politics?
The Serbian state and the Serbian people have lost their moral right to continued sovereignty over the land and people of Kosovo, but not their right to live there as free and equal citizens. However, the Albanian people of Kosovo will never again risk living under Belgrade's rule.
We understand very well the international community's concern for minority groups in Kosovo, especially the Serbs; after all, we share those same concerns for minority communities in Serbia and Macedonia. But let's be clear about one thing. Kosovo is overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian, at least 90 percent by any reasonable estimate.
There is certainly an element of prejudice in our society toward ethnic Serbs, just as hostility to ethnic Albanians remains in Serbian society. But keep in mind that every single Albanian family, as well as those of other ethnic communities, experienced murder, beatings, expulsion and property damage, as well as years of humiliation and brutality from the Serbian government throughout the decade of the 1990s. We know of many war criminals still active in the Serbian police and military who have not been brought to justice.
Yet, in spite of all this, the Kosovo government did the right thing after the ethnic clashes of March 2004 that left hundreds homeless and 30 churches destroyed or damaged. Ethnic Albanian political and religious leaders condemned the violence, the government moved quickly to allocate funds to repair the damaged homes and churches, and reconstruction was under way within weeks.
In contrast, up to now the Serbian government in Belgrade has not offered to compensate a single Albanian family for property destroyed by Serbian government forces, nor offered to pay to rebuild any of almost 200 mosques that were damaged or destroyed, even though all of this was done by their own forces or paramilitaries they controlled. What clearer proof is there that Pristina has earned the right to sovereignty over the territory of Kosovo while Belgrade has lost it?
Belgrade talks of "more than autonomy but less than independence," but we had autonomy before. In 1974, we had the highest degree of autonomy imaginable, and Belgrade has already made it clear they are not willing to let us have even that level, not that we would want it at this point, anyway. Because of Belgrade's sovereignty over Kosovo, that autonomy was lost at Belgrade's whim. It could happen again.
It is simply not in the interest of the international community to set the people of Kosovo back 30 years or more after what we have endured and the efforts we have made to meet the standards of the world community.
Perhaps the best incentive for all of us is for the European Union to admit Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro as three independent countries who have implemented the same standards of democratic development, minority protections and economic safeguards, under the umbrella of NATO. In this way, the entire region can be demilitarized with open borders, a free flow of people, goods and services, strong rule of law, and a vibrant economy with a common currency that unites our various communities. Then and only then will the hatreds and conflicts of the past be truly consigned to collective memory and not resurrected in the experience of each successive generation.
(Hashim Thaci is president of the Democratic Party of Kosovo and former political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army.)
Surroi: We see borders as symbols not as walls (Koha Ditore)
ORA leader Veton Surroi has said that there will be no compromise with the independence of Kosovo.
“If there will be changes in the ethnic borders, partition of Kosovo’s territory, then we will ask for changes in the FYROM and in Presevo Valley, meaning we will ask for national unification.” Surroi made these comments in a meeting with party officials, citizens and representatives from Medvedja and Bujanoc in Gjilan/Gnjilane on Wednesday night.
Surroi called the process of status negotiations as the most important challenge in the history of Kosovo. “The importance of historical decisions obliges us to take part in the Negotiations Team building a consensus despite our political differences.”
Talking about post-status challenges, Surroi said challenges to come after the solution of the status are education, health and the economy which have not been an issue so far because of the status of Kosovo.
Surroi said the status of Kosovo was going to be “independence plus”, meaning that Kosovo will be involved in international structures, especially the EU.
“If there will be changes in the ethnic borders, partition of Kosovo’s territory, then we will ask for changes in the FYROM and in Presevo Valley, meaning we will ask for national unification.” Surroi made these comments in a meeting with party officials, citizens and representatives from Medvedja and Bujanoc in Gjilan/Gnjilane on Wednesday night.
Surroi called the process of status negotiations as the most important challenge in the history of Kosovo. “The importance of historical decisions obliges us to take part in the Negotiations Team building a consensus despite our political differences.”
Talking about post-status challenges, Surroi said challenges to come after the solution of the status are education, health and the economy which have not been an issue so far because of the status of Kosovo.
Surroi said the status of Kosovo was going to be “independence plus”, meaning that Kosovo will be involved in international structures, especially the EU.
US ran Guantanamo-style prison in Kosovo: European rights envoy
PARIS, Nov 25 (AFP) -
The United States ran a detention centre in Kosovo that resembled "a smaller version of Guantanamo", the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner charged Friday in an interview with France's Le Monde newspaper.
Alvaro Gil-Robles told the daily that he had inspected the centre, located within the US military Camp Bondsteel, in 2002 to investigate reports of extrajudicial arrests by NATO-led peacekeepers.
The conditions there "shocked" him, he said.
He described the facility as "small wooden huts ringed by tall barbed wire", each housing "between 15 and 20 prisoners ... wearing orange boiler-suits like the ones worn by Guantanamo inmates."
President George W. Bush's government has been under fire from human rights organisations and lawyers for keeping suspects detained in the US "war on terror" locked up without charges and without access to lawyers for years in a military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Most recently, the United States has also been accused of maintaining a network of so-called "black sites" -- CIA detention centres in foreign countries, notably in Asia and in eastern Europe -- where suspects are subjected to vigorous interrogation techniques that some say amount to torture.
Gil-Robles said he had no evidence that Camp Bondsteel was linked to the alleged secret CIA operations.
"But I do believe that an explanation should be given for this base in Kosovo, as for other potentially suspect sites" in Europe, he told the paper.
The United States ran a detention centre in Kosovo that resembled "a smaller version of Guantanamo", the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner charged Friday in an interview with France's Le Monde newspaper.
Alvaro Gil-Robles told the daily that he had inspected the centre, located within the US military Camp Bondsteel, in 2002 to investigate reports of extrajudicial arrests by NATO-led peacekeepers.
The conditions there "shocked" him, he said.
He described the facility as "small wooden huts ringed by tall barbed wire", each housing "between 15 and 20 prisoners ... wearing orange boiler-suits like the ones worn by Guantanamo inmates."
President George W. Bush's government has been under fire from human rights organisations and lawyers for keeping suspects detained in the US "war on terror" locked up without charges and without access to lawyers for years in a military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Most recently, the United States has also been accused of maintaining a network of so-called "black sites" -- CIA detention centres in foreign countries, notably in Asia and in eastern Europe -- where suspects are subjected to vigorous interrogation techniques that some say amount to torture.
Gil-Robles said he had no evidence that Camp Bondsteel was linked to the alleged secret CIA operations.
"But I do believe that an explanation should be given for this base in Kosovo, as for other potentially suspect sites" in Europe, he told the paper.
Serbia hands over remains of 41 Kosovo Albanians found in mass graves
Text of report in English by independent internet news agency KosovaLive
Prishtina [Pristina], 25 November: The mortal remains of 41 Kosova [Kosovo] Albanians killed by Serb forces during the war in Kosova and found in mass graves in Serbia will be handed over this afternoon, the government's information office has announced.
The Kosova Government Commission on Missing Persons announced that the mortal remains were exhumed from mass graves in Batajnica and Bajina Basta, Serbia.
The head of the Commission on Missing Persons, Nysrete Kumnova said that their handover is expected to take place this afternoon at Merdare border crossing point.
She told KosovaLive that they are the mortal remains of Albanians from Gjakove [Djakovica] and Suhareke [Suva Reka].
Kumnova said that neither local nor the international representatives are working enough to resolve this issue.
Kumnova said that it is absurd for the relatives to come every time at the border crossing point and not to find their loved ones. "The mortal remains should be handed over all at once," she said.
She believes that the issue of missing should necessarily be included during the status talks process.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 25 Nov 05
Prishtina [Pristina], 25 November: The mortal remains of 41 Kosova [Kosovo] Albanians killed by Serb forces during the war in Kosova and found in mass graves in Serbia will be handed over this afternoon, the government's information office has announced.
The Kosova Government Commission on Missing Persons announced that the mortal remains were exhumed from mass graves in Batajnica and Bajina Basta, Serbia.
The head of the Commission on Missing Persons, Nysrete Kumnova said that their handover is expected to take place this afternoon at Merdare border crossing point.
She told KosovaLive that they are the mortal remains of Albanians from Gjakove [Djakovica] and Suhareke [Suva Reka].
Kumnova said that neither local nor the international representatives are working enough to resolve this issue.
Kumnova said that it is absurd for the relatives to come every time at the border crossing point and not to find their loved ones. "The mortal remains should be handed over all at once," she said.
She believes that the issue of missing should necessarily be included during the status talks process.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 25 Nov 05
UNMIK chief assures Kosovo citizens there will be no division on ethnic lines
Text of report in English by independent internet news agency KosovaLive
Prishtina [Pristina], 25 November: The head of UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo], Soeren Jessen-Petersen, assured once again the Kosovars that there will be no division on ethnic lines.
Jessen-Petersen made those comments following a regular meeting with Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi.
He said that the most influential international institutions have expressed several times against division, "and most recently Ahtisaari has also confirmed it to me during his visit here," he added.
"We can assure the people of Kosova [Kosovo] that one of the guiding principles of the Contact Group is that there will be no division. The Contact Group has not changed its principles, neither it is going to change them," he said.
Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi voiced also convinction that there will no division, and that Kosova is one and indivisible.
He also said that all possibilities to reintegrate that part of Kosova into the lawful institutions and to dismantle the illegal structure should be sought during the status talks.
As far as the role of UNMIK during the status talks, Jessen-Petersen said that UNMIK during this time will work closely with the PISG [Provisional Institutions of Self-Government] and political parties and will support implementation of standards, decentralization and all important areas, without prejudging status talks outcome.
He also said that the institutions of Kosova have expressed readiness for a continuance of the international presence in Kosova, "not because UNMIK mandate will end but because of some other disagreements".
Kosumi and Jessen-Petersen will also discuss about establishment of an agency on property to replace the Housing and Property Directorate, which ends its mission in the end of December.
"We believe that this agency will be established and will facilitate resolving of those issues, which are among Kosova's biggest problems," Kosumi said.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 25 Nov 05
Prishtina [Pristina], 25 November: The head of UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo], Soeren Jessen-Petersen, assured once again the Kosovars that there will be no division on ethnic lines.
Jessen-Petersen made those comments following a regular meeting with Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi.
He said that the most influential international institutions have expressed several times against division, "and most recently Ahtisaari has also confirmed it to me during his visit here," he added.
"We can assure the people of Kosova [Kosovo] that one of the guiding principles of the Contact Group is that there will be no division. The Contact Group has not changed its principles, neither it is going to change them," he said.
Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi voiced also convinction that there will no division, and that Kosova is one and indivisible.
He also said that all possibilities to reintegrate that part of Kosova into the lawful institutions and to dismantle the illegal structure should be sought during the status talks.
As far as the role of UNMIK during the status talks, Jessen-Petersen said that UNMIK during this time will work closely with the PISG [Provisional Institutions of Self-Government] and political parties and will support implementation of standards, decentralization and all important areas, without prejudging status talks outcome.
He also said that the institutions of Kosova have expressed readiness for a continuance of the international presence in Kosova, "not because UNMIK mandate will end but because of some other disagreements".
Kosumi and Jessen-Petersen will also discuss about establishment of an agency on property to replace the Housing and Property Directorate, which ends its mission in the end of December.
"We believe that this agency will be established and will facilitate resolving of those issues, which are among Kosova's biggest problems," Kosumi said.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 25 Nov 05
1st Kosovo Albanian-Serbian leaders dialogue set for early 2006
Martti Ahtisaari, special U.N. envoy on Kosovo future status, said Friday he hopes the first direct talks between leaders of Serbia and of the Kosovo Albanians could be organized at the beginning of next year.
At a press conference in Belgrade ending his two-day visit after talks with top Serbian leaders, Ahtisaari said his headquarters in Vienna would be fully operational at the beginning of next year.
''Hopefully in the beginning of the New Year we can get both parties together,'' Ahtisaari said.
The former president of Finland has been appointed by the United Nations as special envoy for defining the future of Kosovo, formally province of Serbia and part of the Serbia and Montenegro Union, but for the last over six years under the U.N. administration and control of some 17,500-strong NATO-led troops.
Ahtisari and his team have a rather difficult task in mediating between the extreme demands of the majority Albanians on Kosovo, will accept nothing less than full independence and even hinting possible renewed armed actions, and the Serbs insisting that the sovereignty over the province should remain intact.
The envoy on his first fact-finding mission in the region since he was appointed by the United Nations said that he was satisfied with the talks he had so far in Pristine and Belgrade. He added he had collected a lot of information which was a ''good basis'' to follow up the mission.
Ahead of the current trip, the U.N. envoy had asked all the involved parties to present their positions on the future of Kosovo in written form.
Just before his arrival in the region the ethnic Albanian-dominated Parliament of Kosovo approved a resolution insisting on secession of the province and its complete independence.
The Serbian Parliament responded with a resolution asking Kosovo to remain part of Serbia, with a possibility of getting the highest autonomy. Serbia and Montenegro's Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic explained the concept would mean all the powers for Kosovo to be concentrated in Pristine and the province to be deprived only from having a seat in the United Nations and having foreign minister.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led KFOR troops were deployed on Kosovo and the province was put under U.N. rule in mid-1999after the ethnic Albanian rebellion and the fierce clashes with Belgrade forces which led to a humanitarian crisis in the province.
Kosovo has a population of roughly 2 million people, presumably 90 percent of that ethnic Albanians. However, over 250,000 inhabitants, most of them Serbs, fled from the province in the past several years mainly to Serbia proper.
From Belgrade, Ahtisaari is continuing his tour to Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia.
At a press conference in Belgrade ending his two-day visit after talks with top Serbian leaders, Ahtisaari said his headquarters in Vienna would be fully operational at the beginning of next year.
''Hopefully in the beginning of the New Year we can get both parties together,'' Ahtisaari said.
The former president of Finland has been appointed by the United Nations as special envoy for defining the future of Kosovo, formally province of Serbia and part of the Serbia and Montenegro Union, but for the last over six years under the U.N. administration and control of some 17,500-strong NATO-led troops.
Ahtisari and his team have a rather difficult task in mediating between the extreme demands of the majority Albanians on Kosovo, will accept nothing less than full independence and even hinting possible renewed armed actions, and the Serbs insisting that the sovereignty over the province should remain intact.
The envoy on his first fact-finding mission in the region since he was appointed by the United Nations said that he was satisfied with the talks he had so far in Pristine and Belgrade. He added he had collected a lot of information which was a ''good basis'' to follow up the mission.
Ahead of the current trip, the U.N. envoy had asked all the involved parties to present their positions on the future of Kosovo in written form.
Just before his arrival in the region the ethnic Albanian-dominated Parliament of Kosovo approved a resolution insisting on secession of the province and its complete independence.
The Serbian Parliament responded with a resolution asking Kosovo to remain part of Serbia, with a possibility of getting the highest autonomy. Serbia and Montenegro's Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic explained the concept would mean all the powers for Kosovo to be concentrated in Pristine and the province to be deprived only from having a seat in the United Nations and having foreign minister.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led KFOR troops were deployed on Kosovo and the province was put under U.N. rule in mid-1999after the ethnic Albanian rebellion and the fierce clashes with Belgrade forces which led to a humanitarian crisis in the province.
Kosovo has a population of roughly 2 million people, presumably 90 percent of that ethnic Albanians. However, over 250,000 inhabitants, most of them Serbs, fled from the province in the past several years mainly to Serbia proper.
From Belgrade, Ahtisaari is continuing his tour to Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
US Copper Giant to Invest in Kosovo
Pristina, Kosovo (ANTARA News) - The world`s biggest copper producer, Phelps Dodge, has won a license to dig in Kosovo, the first such project in the UN-run Serbian province, the UN Mission (UNMIK) said Thursday.
Phelps was granted the exploration license for northeastern Kosovo by the Independent Commission for Mines and Minerals (ICMM), which is jointly run by international and local officials in the southern Serbian province.
Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since the end of 1998-99 war between Serbian troops and ethnic Albanian guerillas seeking independence of Kosovo.
Until now, no companies have mined for copper in Kosovo, but authorities have issued about 60 licenses since April, and the province is believed to contain a minimum of 13.5 billion euros (16 billion dollars) worth of minerals and metals, including copper, zinc and lead.
Phelps Dodge and its two divisions, Phelps Dodge Mining and Phelps Dodge Industries employ more than 15,500 people worldwide, said it was "prepared to directly invest some 500 million euros in Kosovo, should the deposit reveal itself substantial enough to warrant a mega-mine."
UNMIK noted that "the exploration license specifies that work must be started within 90 days."
ICMM official Alexander Valenta called the contract a "major development and the first of its kind in Kosovo.
"For years, we have suspected that the region was rich in copper resources," Valenta said.
He added that several other major mining firms "have expressed definite interest in Kosovo`s copper and other resources and more interest is expected over coming months."
Still technically part of Serbia, Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since a NATO bombing campaign ended a Serbian crackdown on separatists in 1999.
The UNMIK announcement came three days after UN special envoy Martti Ahtisari, charged with leading negotiations on the status of Kosovo, launched initial talks and shuttle diplomacy between Belgrade and Pristina, AFP reported.(*)
Phelps was granted the exploration license for northeastern Kosovo by the Independent Commission for Mines and Minerals (ICMM), which is jointly run by international and local officials in the southern Serbian province.
Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since the end of 1998-99 war between Serbian troops and ethnic Albanian guerillas seeking independence of Kosovo.
Until now, no companies have mined for copper in Kosovo, but authorities have issued about 60 licenses since April, and the province is believed to contain a minimum of 13.5 billion euros (16 billion dollars) worth of minerals and metals, including copper, zinc and lead.
Phelps Dodge and its two divisions, Phelps Dodge Mining and Phelps Dodge Industries employ more than 15,500 people worldwide, said it was "prepared to directly invest some 500 million euros in Kosovo, should the deposit reveal itself substantial enough to warrant a mega-mine."
UNMIK noted that "the exploration license specifies that work must be started within 90 days."
ICMM official Alexander Valenta called the contract a "major development and the first of its kind in Kosovo.
"For years, we have suspected that the region was rich in copper resources," Valenta said.
He added that several other major mining firms "have expressed definite interest in Kosovo`s copper and other resources and more interest is expected over coming months."
Still technically part of Serbia, Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since a NATO bombing campaign ended a Serbian crackdown on separatists in 1999.
The UNMIK announcement came three days after UN special envoy Martti Ahtisari, charged with leading negotiations on the status of Kosovo, launched initial talks and shuttle diplomacy between Belgrade and Pristina, AFP reported.(*)
Mining Opportunities May Abound in the New Kosovo
By Stephen Clayson
24 Nov 2005 at 02:48 PM EST
LONDON (ResourceInvestor.com) -- The uncertain political status of the Serbian province of Kosovo has left a variety of possibly interesting mineral assets in a state of suspension. Now however, the powers that be in Kosovo are organising the sale of these assets, and concurrently offering assurances on the long-term political stability of the province.
Following the NATO lead occupation of Kosovo in 1999, the province was established as a UN protectorate whilst technically remaining part of Serbia. Although no long term political settlement has yet been established between Serbia, Kosovo and the UN, the interim UN administration, the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), feels that a sound enough political basis has been established for province’s war ravaged economy to return to some sort of normality.
Part of the way in which UNMIK intends to engineer this is by privatising some of the province’s mineral resources, which are fairly extensive and range in stages of development from the pure green field to the developed but requiring restoration. The resources include bauxite, lead-zinc, nickel laterites, and a highly significant proportion of Europe’s lignite coal deposits. The latter might provide an opportunity for the construction of an associated power station with a ready market for its output.
The privatisation of mineral assets has already begun; last week saw a deal signed between UNMIK and a company called International Mineral Resources for the purchase by the latter of Ferronikeli, a complex in Kosovo of nickel mining, processing and smelting facilities. International Mineral Resources is a subsidiary of Eurasian Mineral Resources, a sizable private mining and metals firm. The Ferronikeli assets are expected to be sold for 30.5 million euros, which given the strength of today’s nickel market could prove a bargain if they can be expeditiously and economically returned to production by their new owners.
The mineral assets intended for privatisation in Kosovo have been deemed socially owned and are held by in trusteeship UNMIK, thus giving it authority to privatise them. Privatisations may be special or regular, the difference being that special assets may have conditions or obligations attached to their sale. According to Dr Joachim Ruecker, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General United Nations in Kosovo, some mining assets are likely to be classed as special privatisations. However, the conditions imposed by UNMIK are not intended to be too onerous, and may be limited to stipulations such as undertaking a certain amount of mineral processing work within Kosovo or employing a certain number of local staff.
A key issue for those considering the purchase of assets being privatised in Kosovo has to be future security of title. On this issue Ruecker offers the assurances of UNMIK that there are likely to be few instances of ongoing title disputes, and that even if this were to be the case, physical restitution to plaintiffs would not be a legal option.
A further pivotal question for investors will be that of when an ostensibly permanent political settlement can be reached, both to resolve Kosovo’s international status and the ethnic tensions within the province. This will probably be in large part determined by the UN Security Council, and could happen as early as 2007. Whatever settlement is reached however, foreign troops are likely to remain in the province to maintain order for some time afterwards.
Kosovo has a number of points somewhat in its favour as a new mining location. It is located on the edge of Europe - entail logistical benefits for exports and imports. The official currency of the province is and is likely to remain the euro, lessening the currency risk to any operation. Labour costs in the province are low, being estimated on average at around 200 euros per month, while levels of education remain fairly high and labour relations are reportedly generally cordial. Most crucially, Kosovo’s new economy is being conceived as free market in its orientation.
Kosovo’s physical infrastructure undoubtedly requires repair and improvement, but this is being undertaken by the administration, and standards in any case remain higher than in many comparable extra-European mining locations. Access to sea cargo facilities in neighbouring Albania and Montenegro is practicable, and a railway running south from Kosovo to Thessaloníki in Greece could feasibly be employed if the necessary line improvements can be made within the province.
In the final analysis, although political risks remain somewhat high in the longer term for mining investors in Kosovo, the acquisition of assets in the province now might represent good value when global market conditions and local economic and geological factors are taken into account.
24 Nov 2005 at 02:48 PM EST
LONDON (ResourceInvestor.com) -- The uncertain political status of the Serbian province of Kosovo has left a variety of possibly interesting mineral assets in a state of suspension. Now however, the powers that be in Kosovo are organising the sale of these assets, and concurrently offering assurances on the long-term political stability of the province.
Following the NATO lead occupation of Kosovo in 1999, the province was established as a UN protectorate whilst technically remaining part of Serbia. Although no long term political settlement has yet been established between Serbia, Kosovo and the UN, the interim UN administration, the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), feels that a sound enough political basis has been established for province’s war ravaged economy to return to some sort of normality.
Part of the way in which UNMIK intends to engineer this is by privatising some of the province’s mineral resources, which are fairly extensive and range in stages of development from the pure green field to the developed but requiring restoration. The resources include bauxite, lead-zinc, nickel laterites, and a highly significant proportion of Europe’s lignite coal deposits. The latter might provide an opportunity for the construction of an associated power station with a ready market for its output.
The privatisation of mineral assets has already begun; last week saw a deal signed between UNMIK and a company called International Mineral Resources for the purchase by the latter of Ferronikeli, a complex in Kosovo of nickel mining, processing and smelting facilities. International Mineral Resources is a subsidiary of Eurasian Mineral Resources, a sizable private mining and metals firm. The Ferronikeli assets are expected to be sold for 30.5 million euros, which given the strength of today’s nickel market could prove a bargain if they can be expeditiously and economically returned to production by their new owners.
The mineral assets intended for privatisation in Kosovo have been deemed socially owned and are held by in trusteeship UNMIK, thus giving it authority to privatise them. Privatisations may be special or regular, the difference being that special assets may have conditions or obligations attached to their sale. According to Dr Joachim Ruecker, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General United Nations in Kosovo, some mining assets are likely to be classed as special privatisations. However, the conditions imposed by UNMIK are not intended to be too onerous, and may be limited to stipulations such as undertaking a certain amount of mineral processing work within Kosovo or employing a certain number of local staff.
A key issue for those considering the purchase of assets being privatised in Kosovo has to be future security of title. On this issue Ruecker offers the assurances of UNMIK that there are likely to be few instances of ongoing title disputes, and that even if this were to be the case, physical restitution to plaintiffs would not be a legal option.
A further pivotal question for investors will be that of when an ostensibly permanent political settlement can be reached, both to resolve Kosovo’s international status and the ethnic tensions within the province. This will probably be in large part determined by the UN Security Council, and could happen as early as 2007. Whatever settlement is reached however, foreign troops are likely to remain in the province to maintain order for some time afterwards.
Kosovo has a number of points somewhat in its favour as a new mining location. It is located on the edge of Europe - entail logistical benefits for exports and imports. The official currency of the province is and is likely to remain the euro, lessening the currency risk to any operation. Labour costs in the province are low, being estimated on average at around 200 euros per month, while levels of education remain fairly high and labour relations are reportedly generally cordial. Most crucially, Kosovo’s new economy is being conceived as free market in its orientation.
Kosovo’s physical infrastructure undoubtedly requires repair and improvement, but this is being undertaken by the administration, and standards in any case remain higher than in many comparable extra-European mining locations. Access to sea cargo facilities in neighbouring Albania and Montenegro is practicable, and a railway running south from Kosovo to Thessaloníki in Greece could feasibly be employed if the necessary line improvements can be made within the province.
In the final analysis, although political risks remain somewhat high in the longer term for mining investors in Kosovo, the acquisition of assets in the province now might represent good value when global market conditions and local economic and geological factors are taken into account.
Serbian Cabinet Names Kosovo Talks Team
Belgrade. The Serbian Government has formed its team of negotiators for the Kosovo status talks, the Serbian B92 reports.
The team will be headed by Serbian President Boris Tadic, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, and Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Affairs Minister Vuk Draskovic. Kostunica and Tadic will be the co-presidents of the team.
Other members of the delegation include Tadic's advisors Dusan Batkovic and Leon Kojen, Kostunica's advisors Aleksandar Simic and Slobodan Samardzic, Kosovo Coordination Centre President Sanda Raskovic-Ivic, and Kosovo Serb representatives Marko Jaksic and Goran Bogdanovic.
The team will have additional advisors, as well as four work groups.
The media informs that meanwhile, the UN special envoy for the negotiations, Martti Ahtisaari, has arrived in Belgrade where he will spend two days in talks with officials of Serbia and Serbia-Montenegro.
He is scheduled to meet Kostunica and federal Foreign Affairs Minister Vuk Draskovic today and President Boris Tadic tomorrow.
The team will be headed by Serbian President Boris Tadic, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, and Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Affairs Minister Vuk Draskovic. Kostunica and Tadic will be the co-presidents of the team.
Other members of the delegation include Tadic's advisors Dusan Batkovic and Leon Kojen, Kostunica's advisors Aleksandar Simic and Slobodan Samardzic, Kosovo Coordination Centre President Sanda Raskovic-Ivic, and Kosovo Serb representatives Marko Jaksic and Goran Bogdanovic.
The team will have additional advisors, as well as four work groups.
The media informs that meanwhile, the UN special envoy for the negotiations, Martti Ahtisaari, has arrived in Belgrade where he will spend two days in talks with officials of Serbia and Serbia-Montenegro.
He is scheduled to meet Kostunica and federal Foreign Affairs Minister Vuk Draskovic today and President Boris Tadic tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
UN envoy prepares for talks on Kosovo
By Nicholas Wood International Herald Tribune
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2005
BELGRADE The United Nations moved closer to starting talks on the future of Kosovo, perhaps the most intractable issue remaining from the Balkan wars of the 1990s, with a visit by the its chief negotiator to the region this week.
Martti Ahtissari, formerly president of Finland and now the UN envoy to the region, met with Albanian and Serbian leaders of Kosovo on Tuesday and Wednesday in a round of shuttle diplomacy before possible face-to-face negotiations between the two sides early next year. From Pristina, in Kosovo, he was expected to travel to Belgrade on Thursday for meetings with senior government officials and then to Macedonia and Albania.
His tour is to pave the way for negotiations intended to end six years of legal limbo. Uncertainty during that period over the province's future has frustrated its population and jeopardized the region's chances of establishing long-term stability.
Kosovo has been under the control of a UN interim administration since it was wrested from Serbia's control in June 1999 after a 78-day bombing campaign led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO began the air campaign after widespread atrocities against the region's majority Albanian population.
Since then the United Nations has established a regional government with substantial local control. But the UN mission's role in the province is seen by international officials as increasingly untenable because of the failure to resolve the area's future status.
Officially, Kosovo remains a part of Serbia, contrary to the wishes of ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of the province's population, an estimated two million people.
The ethnic Albanians want independence. Last year 50,000 of them rioted in the region, and 19 people were killed.
The difficulty of Ahtissari's task was underlined just before his visit as Serb and Albanian political leaders reiterated opposing views.
On Monday, Serbia's Parliament passed a resolution agreeing to the negotiation process, but rejecting any solution that would remove Kosovo from Serbia. On Tuesday, Kosovo's Albanian leaders told Ahtissari that they would accept nothing less than independence.
"I insist on the direct recognition of Kosovo's independence that will calm down the region," Kosovo's president, Ibrahim Rugova, said after meeting Ahtissari. "The time has come to wrap up this business."
While the UN officials say the final agreement will be the result of negotiation, senior Western diplomats across the region concede it will be difficult to defy the demands of Kosovo's Albanian population for independence, despite Albanians' failure to prevent attacks on minorities. Forcing Kosovo to remain within Serbia would run the risk of provoking an Albanian insurgency, they said.
But while these fears are foremost in the minds of many Western officials, some politicians in the region warn that insufficient consideration is being given to what effect Kosovo's independence would have on Serbia.
"Everyone seems to be concerned about the future status of Kosovo; that it will be more or less independent - conditional independence or independence with international supervision," Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenia's foreign minister and chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said in a recent interview. "But they haven't thought thoroughly about what might happen in Serbia."
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2005
BELGRADE The United Nations moved closer to starting talks on the future of Kosovo, perhaps the most intractable issue remaining from the Balkan wars of the 1990s, with a visit by the its chief negotiator to the region this week.
Martti Ahtissari, formerly president of Finland and now the UN envoy to the region, met with Albanian and Serbian leaders of Kosovo on Tuesday and Wednesday in a round of shuttle diplomacy before possible face-to-face negotiations between the two sides early next year. From Pristina, in Kosovo, he was expected to travel to Belgrade on Thursday for meetings with senior government officials and then to Macedonia and Albania.
His tour is to pave the way for negotiations intended to end six years of legal limbo. Uncertainty during that period over the province's future has frustrated its population and jeopardized the region's chances of establishing long-term stability.
Kosovo has been under the control of a UN interim administration since it was wrested from Serbia's control in June 1999 after a 78-day bombing campaign led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO began the air campaign after widespread atrocities against the region's majority Albanian population.
Since then the United Nations has established a regional government with substantial local control. But the UN mission's role in the province is seen by international officials as increasingly untenable because of the failure to resolve the area's future status.
Officially, Kosovo remains a part of Serbia, contrary to the wishes of ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of the province's population, an estimated two million people.
The ethnic Albanians want independence. Last year 50,000 of them rioted in the region, and 19 people were killed.
The difficulty of Ahtissari's task was underlined just before his visit as Serb and Albanian political leaders reiterated opposing views.
On Monday, Serbia's Parliament passed a resolution agreeing to the negotiation process, but rejecting any solution that would remove Kosovo from Serbia. On Tuesday, Kosovo's Albanian leaders told Ahtissari that they would accept nothing less than independence.
"I insist on the direct recognition of Kosovo's independence that will calm down the region," Kosovo's president, Ibrahim Rugova, said after meeting Ahtissari. "The time has come to wrap up this business."
While the UN officials say the final agreement will be the result of negotiation, senior Western diplomats across the region concede it will be difficult to defy the demands of Kosovo's Albanian population for independence, despite Albanians' failure to prevent attacks on minorities. Forcing Kosovo to remain within Serbia would run the risk of provoking an Albanian insurgency, they said.
But while these fears are foremost in the minds of many Western officials, some politicians in the region warn that insufficient consideration is being given to what effect Kosovo's independence would have on Serbia.
"Everyone seems to be concerned about the future status of Kosovo; that it will be more or less independent - conditional independence or independence with international supervision," Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenia's foreign minister and chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said in a recent interview. "But they haven't thought thoroughly about what might happen in Serbia."
Kosovo: Annan's envoy on final status for UN-run province meets with Serbs
23 November 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy leading the process to decide the future status of Kosovo today met with Serb political leaders in the Serbian province, which the UN has run since Western forces drove out Yugoslav troops amid grave human rights abuses in fighting between majority Albanians and Serbs in 1999.
Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, a veteran UN trouble-shooter appointed earlier this month to lead the talks, which Mr. Annan has said could include the options of independence or autonomy for Kosovo where Albanians outnumber Serbs and others by 9 to 1, met with ethnic Albanian leaders yesterday.
Tomorrow he will visit the Serbian capital of Belgrade, where officials have declared their opposition to the province's independence.
Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, a veteran UN trouble-shooter appointed earlier this month to lead the talks, which Mr. Annan has said could include the options of independence or autonomy for Kosovo where Albanians outnumber Serbs and others by 9 to 1, met with ethnic Albanian leaders yesterday.
Tomorrow he will visit the Serbian capital of Belgrade, where officials have declared their opposition to the province's independence.
Jovanovic: Kosovo’s independent ‘thinkable’ (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports that the Serbian politician Cedomir Jovanovic, said in an interview to “Der Standard” that a condition for Kosovo’s independence is that an agreement that guarantees Kosovo Serbs all civic rights and a normal life and the return of Serb refugees. “It would be catastrophic if Belgrade because of a possible independence for Kosovo to enter again a conflict with the entire world”, Jovanovic is quoted as saying.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Kosovo statehood is indispensable for Balkan stability
By Agron Bajrami
EUOBSERVER / COMMENT - There are, as some say, a myriad of solutions for Kosovo. But only one has the power to make the final push of the whole Balkans region towards Europe. And that one is an independent Kosovo.
This week, Martti Ahtisaari, the UN envoy for the Kosovo status talks, starts meeting political representatives in Pristina and Belgrade in what is expected to be the final stage of putting in place the last jigsaw piece in the political mosaic of south-eastern Europe.
The reputable Finn will be opening the series of hauntingly difficult discussions that are expected to result in a viable solution that will justify the international community's engagement since 1999, when NATO led an air campaign against Belgrade to end years of Serb repression against the Albanian majority in Kosovo.
With the time ticking away for the fruitless status quo of the last six years of the UN protectorate, there are more and more voices being drawn into the debate over the most desirable and viable solution for Kosovo.
Different analysis and perspectives are being thrown into the debate, and most of them are insisting that some form of independence is indeed the best solution for Kosovo.
While Serbia, and a dropping number of its allies still maintain that Kosovo must remain under Belgrade's rule and within the borders of Serbia, the facts on the ground are mercilessly straightforward: Kosovo is de facto independent from Serbia - what remains is to make the settlement legal.
Therefore, the best possible, realistic solution, and the only one that can guarantee long-term stability in the Balkans, is precisely granting independence for Kosovo.
Apart from being the only just solution, this can also be turned into the first true long-term success story of the West's involvement in the Balkan crisis, since only through independence can Kosovo's multi-ethnic character be preserved.
There are several factors and arguments that weigh heavily on the side of an independent Kosovo with its current borders.
Justice
First of all, this is the only just solution. Serbia, as a state, has engaged in systematic discrimination and massive repression against the Albanians in Kosovo for years.
The 1999 NATO air campaign came after 10 years of apartheid that culminated with ethnic cleansing and war crimes against the majority population. During 1998 alone, Serb police and military forces killed more than 2,000 people and 400,000 were displaced.
During the spring of 1999, forces under Belgrade's command, in their campaign of planned ethnic cleansing, killed more than 10,000 Albanians and forcibly deported around one million. More than 120,000 houses were burned, cities emptied, and an entire population traumatized.
For these reasons, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, has brought war crimes charges against several of the highest-ranking Serb and Yugoslav officials of that time: Slobodan Milosevic, then president of Yugoslavia, Milan Milutinovic, then president of Serbia, Nikola Sainovic, then deputy prime-minister of Yugoslavia, Nebojsa Pavkovic, then Serb army general with command authority in Kosovo, Sreten Lukiq, then Serb police general with command authority in Kosovo.
Accordingly, it is the state which carried out war crimes in Kosovo that has had the irreversible effect of depriving Serbia of its right to have a say in Kosovo's future.
Of course, there were grave mistakes during the last six years in governing Kosovo. But for those failures - like the March 2004 violence - the blame is not only on the Albanian side, but should be shared, since the UN mission here has been the highest administrative authority. And, those failures cannot in any way eclipse the systematic terror of the Serbian state against the Albanian majority in Kosovo since the 1980s.
Serbia today - even five years after Slobodan Milosevic is removed from power - is still pursuing its policy of territorial conquest, which derives from the Serb nationalist platform of the 19th century.
Even though the current officials in Belgrade try to put the whole blame on Milosevic, they themselves have constantly pursued the same nationalistic policy. Even today their statements are about territories, not people; their policy is based on historical myths, not programmes for good governance.
Last week, Serbian president Boris Tadic, while visiting Russia, publicly proposed dividing Kosovo between Serbs and Albanians by creating two separate entities.
This formula is not working in Bosnia and can bring only new segregation. Also last week, in several statements, Serb foreign minister Vuk Draskovic claimed that Serbia does not want to rule over the Albanian citizens of Kosovo, which effectively means that Belgrade wants the territory but not the people living there.
Therefore, Belgrade's offer for "more than autonomy, less than independence," apart from being insincere, is also too little too late.
Righting the wrongs
There is, of course, a lot left undone. Human rights records in Kosovo are worthy of blame. The treatment of minorities, especially the Serbs, has been shameful.
The majority, also, has not achieved a better standard of living. The economy is in ruins, unemployment is high, and poverty is widespread. Governance is awkward, politics is dirty, corruption is on the rise, and the system of values is distorted.
All this, and much more, is hurting Kosovars of all ethnic and religious backgrounds.
But, Kosovo is not the only one with these problems. The whole region, from Serbia, through Bosnia and Herzegovina to Macedonia, is engulfed in the same problems.
The four wars, initiated by Serbia in the 1990s, have left deep scars in most of these societies. The healing is a process and will take time. Some wounds might never heal completely.
Functionality, stability and security
Therefore, for Europe, and the international community in general, there is an imperative to treat the Kosovo status issue in a way that will guarantee functionality, political stability and regional security.
In Kosovo, the six post-war years have been a time of learning difficult lessons. Just as democracy is not only about having fair and free elections, also functionality is not only about having democratic institutions and international aid.
Creating a functional society in Kosovo - just as throughout the rest of the Balkans - has turned out to be a very difficult task, but not an impossible one.
One other lesson learned since 1999 is that lack of status is the best recipe for instability and unpredictability.
Under independence, Kosovo's main source of political instability - its unclear status - would be gone, while the security threats should be far easier to deal with. Only then would the Kosovars be fully accountable.
Kosovo, as part of Serbia, can deliver none of this. Quite the opposite: while the absolute majority of Kosovars are completely unwilling to live under Belgrade's rule, Serbia itself has never shown interest in treating these 2 million as something more than unwanted second-class citizens.
Such a combination will produce anything but functionality, stability and security.
On the other hand, after liberation Kosovo and Serbia have become accustomed to living separately. Linking them back again will certainly cause more short-term trouble and long-term problems than independence.
In addition to this, the whole arrangement will significantly affect the wider neighbourhood.
Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and the Preshevo valley are going to be directly touched by the status of Kosovo, with ethnic Albanian populations living there. Only a multi-ethnic Kosovo, with a status reflecting the will of the majority, can be a guarantor of long-term stability and security in the region.
Denying Kosovo independence is the best way to bring the whole southern flank of the Balkans back into the 1990s.
Future international presence and European integration
It is clear that any solution to Kosovo's status is going to require additional and continuous Western presence and support.
Chances are that NATO will have to continue its role as the sole military structure in Kosovo for several more years.
Also, the UN mission will transform into some sort of EU-led presence, whose mission is still to be decided.
But this international presence can serve as guarantor of a status agreement only if the majority accepts the solution.
Otherwise, the EU mission would be effectively administering a Gaza Strip or West Bank rather than a Kosovo. Turning Kosovo into a Palestine would, of course, also mean that Kosovo and Serbia would move away from European integration as well. But not only them: Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro would face trouble and pain as well.
There are of course, as some say, a myriad of solutions for Kosovo. But only one has the power to make the final push of the region towards Europe. And that one is an independent Kosovo.
The author is editor in chief of Koha Ditore, Kosovo's biggest daily newspaper
EUOBSERVER / COMMENT - There are, as some say, a myriad of solutions for Kosovo. But only one has the power to make the final push of the whole Balkans region towards Europe. And that one is an independent Kosovo.
This week, Martti Ahtisaari, the UN envoy for the Kosovo status talks, starts meeting political representatives in Pristina and Belgrade in what is expected to be the final stage of putting in place the last jigsaw piece in the political mosaic of south-eastern Europe.
The reputable Finn will be opening the series of hauntingly difficult discussions that are expected to result in a viable solution that will justify the international community's engagement since 1999, when NATO led an air campaign against Belgrade to end years of Serb repression against the Albanian majority in Kosovo.
With the time ticking away for the fruitless status quo of the last six years of the UN protectorate, there are more and more voices being drawn into the debate over the most desirable and viable solution for Kosovo.
Different analysis and perspectives are being thrown into the debate, and most of them are insisting that some form of independence is indeed the best solution for Kosovo.
While Serbia, and a dropping number of its allies still maintain that Kosovo must remain under Belgrade's rule and within the borders of Serbia, the facts on the ground are mercilessly straightforward: Kosovo is de facto independent from Serbia - what remains is to make the settlement legal.
Therefore, the best possible, realistic solution, and the only one that can guarantee long-term stability in the Balkans, is precisely granting independence for Kosovo.
Apart from being the only just solution, this can also be turned into the first true long-term success story of the West's involvement in the Balkan crisis, since only through independence can Kosovo's multi-ethnic character be preserved.
There are several factors and arguments that weigh heavily on the side of an independent Kosovo with its current borders.
Justice
First of all, this is the only just solution. Serbia, as a state, has engaged in systematic discrimination and massive repression against the Albanians in Kosovo for years.
The 1999 NATO air campaign came after 10 years of apartheid that culminated with ethnic cleansing and war crimes against the majority population. During 1998 alone, Serb police and military forces killed more than 2,000 people and 400,000 were displaced.
During the spring of 1999, forces under Belgrade's command, in their campaign of planned ethnic cleansing, killed more than 10,000 Albanians and forcibly deported around one million. More than 120,000 houses were burned, cities emptied, and an entire population traumatized.
For these reasons, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, has brought war crimes charges against several of the highest-ranking Serb and Yugoslav officials of that time: Slobodan Milosevic, then president of Yugoslavia, Milan Milutinovic, then president of Serbia, Nikola Sainovic, then deputy prime-minister of Yugoslavia, Nebojsa Pavkovic, then Serb army general with command authority in Kosovo, Sreten Lukiq, then Serb police general with command authority in Kosovo.
Accordingly, it is the state which carried out war crimes in Kosovo that has had the irreversible effect of depriving Serbia of its right to have a say in Kosovo's future.
Of course, there were grave mistakes during the last six years in governing Kosovo. But for those failures - like the March 2004 violence - the blame is not only on the Albanian side, but should be shared, since the UN mission here has been the highest administrative authority. And, those failures cannot in any way eclipse the systematic terror of the Serbian state against the Albanian majority in Kosovo since the 1980s.
Serbia today - even five years after Slobodan Milosevic is removed from power - is still pursuing its policy of territorial conquest, which derives from the Serb nationalist platform of the 19th century.
Even though the current officials in Belgrade try to put the whole blame on Milosevic, they themselves have constantly pursued the same nationalistic policy. Even today their statements are about territories, not people; their policy is based on historical myths, not programmes for good governance.
Last week, Serbian president Boris Tadic, while visiting Russia, publicly proposed dividing Kosovo between Serbs and Albanians by creating two separate entities.
This formula is not working in Bosnia and can bring only new segregation. Also last week, in several statements, Serb foreign minister Vuk Draskovic claimed that Serbia does not want to rule over the Albanian citizens of Kosovo, which effectively means that Belgrade wants the territory but not the people living there.
Therefore, Belgrade's offer for "more than autonomy, less than independence," apart from being insincere, is also too little too late.
Righting the wrongs
There is, of course, a lot left undone. Human rights records in Kosovo are worthy of blame. The treatment of minorities, especially the Serbs, has been shameful.
The majority, also, has not achieved a better standard of living. The economy is in ruins, unemployment is high, and poverty is widespread. Governance is awkward, politics is dirty, corruption is on the rise, and the system of values is distorted.
All this, and much more, is hurting Kosovars of all ethnic and religious backgrounds.
But, Kosovo is not the only one with these problems. The whole region, from Serbia, through Bosnia and Herzegovina to Macedonia, is engulfed in the same problems.
The four wars, initiated by Serbia in the 1990s, have left deep scars in most of these societies. The healing is a process and will take time. Some wounds might never heal completely.
Functionality, stability and security
Therefore, for Europe, and the international community in general, there is an imperative to treat the Kosovo status issue in a way that will guarantee functionality, political stability and regional security.
In Kosovo, the six post-war years have been a time of learning difficult lessons. Just as democracy is not only about having fair and free elections, also functionality is not only about having democratic institutions and international aid.
Creating a functional society in Kosovo - just as throughout the rest of the Balkans - has turned out to be a very difficult task, but not an impossible one.
One other lesson learned since 1999 is that lack of status is the best recipe for instability and unpredictability.
Under independence, Kosovo's main source of political instability - its unclear status - would be gone, while the security threats should be far easier to deal with. Only then would the Kosovars be fully accountable.
Kosovo, as part of Serbia, can deliver none of this. Quite the opposite: while the absolute majority of Kosovars are completely unwilling to live under Belgrade's rule, Serbia itself has never shown interest in treating these 2 million as something more than unwanted second-class citizens.
Such a combination will produce anything but functionality, stability and security.
On the other hand, after liberation Kosovo and Serbia have become accustomed to living separately. Linking them back again will certainly cause more short-term trouble and long-term problems than independence.
In addition to this, the whole arrangement will significantly affect the wider neighbourhood.
Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and the Preshevo valley are going to be directly touched by the status of Kosovo, with ethnic Albanian populations living there. Only a multi-ethnic Kosovo, with a status reflecting the will of the majority, can be a guarantor of long-term stability and security in the region.
Denying Kosovo independence is the best way to bring the whole southern flank of the Balkans back into the 1990s.
Future international presence and European integration
It is clear that any solution to Kosovo's status is going to require additional and continuous Western presence and support.
Chances are that NATO will have to continue its role as the sole military structure in Kosovo for several more years.
Also, the UN mission will transform into some sort of EU-led presence, whose mission is still to be decided.
But this international presence can serve as guarantor of a status agreement only if the majority accepts the solution.
Otherwise, the EU mission would be effectively administering a Gaza Strip or West Bank rather than a Kosovo. Turning Kosovo into a Palestine would, of course, also mean that Kosovo and Serbia would move away from European integration as well. But not only them: Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro would face trouble and pain as well.
There are of course, as some say, a myriad of solutions for Kosovo. But only one has the power to make the final push of the region towards Europe. And that one is an independent Kosovo.
The author is editor in chief of Koha Ditore, Kosovo's biggest daily newspaper
Six years in transition, Kosovo eyes final status talks
UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari, who helped end the last of the Balkan conflicts, is touring the war-torn region this week.
By Beth Kampschror | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
PRISTINA, KOSOVO – Albanian politicians here say they're more than ready to start negotiating their way out of the six-year limbo as a UN-administered province of Serbia.
"This is the final piece of the puzzle," says Blerim Shala, who coordinates the Albanian negotiators' expert groups. "Everybody's fed up with these transitional periods. Nobody wants to see Kosovo as a failed state."
Determining the final status of this province, roughly the size of greater Los Angeles, is seen as the key to wider stability in the Balkans. Talks will probably begin before the end of the year, and UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president who helped negotiate an end to the Kosovo conflict six years ago, arrived in the region this week to lay the groundwork for his shuttle diplomacy between Pristina and the Serbian capital Belgrade.
Mr. Shala says the bickering that disrupted the Albanians' negotiating team this fall is over. But no one says the negotiations will be easy. While the ethnic Albanian majority here has hankered for independence since a US-led NATO bombing drove Serbian police and military out of the province in 1999, Serbs have always wanted to remain part of Serbia.
The northern town of Kosovska Mitrovica, divided since 1999 into an Albanian-dominated south and a Serb-dominated north, typifies the rifts between the two sides. In March 2004, ethnic Albanian riots targeting Serbs left more than a dozen people dead and hundreds of Serb houses burned, and turned the bridge that connects north and south into a no-man's land.
Today, people and cars are again crossing the bridge, though Serb minivans taking people south switch their Serbian license plates for Kosovo ones before crossing the bridge - in fear of drive-by shooting attacks.
Serbs recently polled by a UN agency said that their biggest problem was public and personal security. Some Albanians say those fears are exaggerated.
"What (the Serbs) want, they have," says Sylejman Klinaku, who is visiting south Mitrovica on business. "They want more and more and more, but they have enough. They can go everywhere in Kosovo, but they don't want to because of politics. This way they have the advantage."
But a different story is heard on the other side of the river. "There's no water, there's no power, there's no freedom of movement," says Dragana Nerandzic, a young Serb.
"I have a plan to try to go to Graz [in Austria] to do post-diplomatic work," says Ms. Nerandzic. "If that doesn't work out, I'll go to Belgrade."
Kosovo is also troubled by constant power outages, an unemployment rate of up to 60 percent,and estimated average monthly wages of 150 to 200 euros. Albanian insiders say status is the only way to solve the problems.
"Status will calm the region and help the economy - many investors hesitate while Kosovo remains unsolved," says Avni Arifi, senior political adviser to Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi. "And it would be a huge attack on extremists on all sides. Kosovar extremists wouldn't have any reason to exist."
Fears of such extremists were renewed last month when a group calling itself the Kosovo Independence Army began issuing threatening communiqués. At the same time, reports surfaced of masked, armed men stopping cars at night in western Kosovo. The UN and other organizations warned their staffs not to travel there after dark. Representatives of the 18,000-strong NATO peacekeeping force here, KFOR, say they have no indication that the groups are organized. Kosovo's fledgling police force has also increased patrols out of the western hub of Pec in the past month.
"Some people are scared and not going out at night," says Naser Humaj, who owns a car repair shop near Gjakova. "You have many people who want to take advantage of the situation, but they don't have support of the people. This is an army that nobody wants. We elected the people we want to do this for us in Pristina."
While ethnic Albanians look to Pristina, Kosovo's Serbs look to Belgrade for answers.
This tendency on Serbs' part has been the "most serious setback" in the past six years of UN administration, says the head of the UN Mission to Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen.
"We have not been good enough in engaging them, but I also believe Belgrade must share a lot of the blame," he says.
"There has basically been a policy of boycotts, in that the Kosovo Serbs have never received the green light from Belgrade to engage in institutions here and to engage with us."
By Beth Kampschror | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
PRISTINA, KOSOVO – Albanian politicians here say they're more than ready to start negotiating their way out of the six-year limbo as a UN-administered province of Serbia.
"This is the final piece of the puzzle," says Blerim Shala, who coordinates the Albanian negotiators' expert groups. "Everybody's fed up with these transitional periods. Nobody wants to see Kosovo as a failed state."
Determining the final status of this province, roughly the size of greater Los Angeles, is seen as the key to wider stability in the Balkans. Talks will probably begin before the end of the year, and UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president who helped negotiate an end to the Kosovo conflict six years ago, arrived in the region this week to lay the groundwork for his shuttle diplomacy between Pristina and the Serbian capital Belgrade.
Mr. Shala says the bickering that disrupted the Albanians' negotiating team this fall is over. But no one says the negotiations will be easy. While the ethnic Albanian majority here has hankered for independence since a US-led NATO bombing drove Serbian police and military out of the province in 1999, Serbs have always wanted to remain part of Serbia.
The northern town of Kosovska Mitrovica, divided since 1999 into an Albanian-dominated south and a Serb-dominated north, typifies the rifts between the two sides. In March 2004, ethnic Albanian riots targeting Serbs left more than a dozen people dead and hundreds of Serb houses burned, and turned the bridge that connects north and south into a no-man's land.
Today, people and cars are again crossing the bridge, though Serb minivans taking people south switch their Serbian license plates for Kosovo ones before crossing the bridge - in fear of drive-by shooting attacks.
Serbs recently polled by a UN agency said that their biggest problem was public and personal security. Some Albanians say those fears are exaggerated.
"What (the Serbs) want, they have," says Sylejman Klinaku, who is visiting south Mitrovica on business. "They want more and more and more, but they have enough. They can go everywhere in Kosovo, but they don't want to because of politics. This way they have the advantage."
But a different story is heard on the other side of the river. "There's no water, there's no power, there's no freedom of movement," says Dragana Nerandzic, a young Serb.
"I have a plan to try to go to Graz [in Austria] to do post-diplomatic work," says Ms. Nerandzic. "If that doesn't work out, I'll go to Belgrade."
Kosovo is also troubled by constant power outages, an unemployment rate of up to 60 percent,and estimated average monthly wages of 150 to 200 euros. Albanian insiders say status is the only way to solve the problems.
"Status will calm the region and help the economy - many investors hesitate while Kosovo remains unsolved," says Avni Arifi, senior political adviser to Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi. "And it would be a huge attack on extremists on all sides. Kosovar extremists wouldn't have any reason to exist."
Fears of such extremists were renewed last month when a group calling itself the Kosovo Independence Army began issuing threatening communiqués. At the same time, reports surfaced of masked, armed men stopping cars at night in western Kosovo. The UN and other organizations warned their staffs not to travel there after dark. Representatives of the 18,000-strong NATO peacekeeping force here, KFOR, say they have no indication that the groups are organized. Kosovo's fledgling police force has also increased patrols out of the western hub of Pec in the past month.
"Some people are scared and not going out at night," says Naser Humaj, who owns a car repair shop near Gjakova. "You have many people who want to take advantage of the situation, but they don't have support of the people. This is an army that nobody wants. We elected the people we want to do this for us in Pristina."
While ethnic Albanians look to Pristina, Kosovo's Serbs look to Belgrade for answers.
This tendency on Serbs' part has been the "most serious setback" in the past six years of UN administration, says the head of the UN Mission to Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen.
"We have not been good enough in engaging them, but I also believe Belgrade must share a lot of the blame," he says.
"There has basically been a policy of boycotts, in that the Kosovo Serbs have never received the green light from Belgrade to engage in institutions here and to engage with us."
Kosovo Albanians give UN envoy independence plans
PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro (AFP) - Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders called for international "goodwill" after giving UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari their plans for making the province independent of Serbia.
Ahtisaari, who arrived in Kosovo on Monday, met the five-member team that will represent ethnic Albanians in the delicate talks on Kosovo's future status, including President Ibrahim Rugova and Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi.
The negotiations are set to determine whether Kosovo can break away from Belgrade, as demanded by its Albanian majority, or will remain within Serbia, whose people consider the province the birthplace of their civilisation.
"Our delegation presented Mr. Ahtisaari with a document on our plans for independence," Kosovo President Rugova told reporters after the meeting. "We expect goodwill from Mr. Ahtisaari and the international community over the question of Kosovo."
Earlier during the meeting, a group of up to 30 protestors from the Albanian pressure group Self-Determination staged a demonstration near Rugova's heavily guarded home in the provincial capital Pristina, where the gathering was being held.
The group, which opposes any negotiations with Serbia over Kosovo's future status, daubed blood-red paint and wrote "crime scene" on two maps they drew on either side of the residence in suburban Velanija.
The images were apparently meant to symbolise alleged atrocities committed by forces of then Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic during the province's 1998-99 war.
Milosevic is on trial in The Hague for crimes against humanity and violations of war customs for his part in the conflict.
The conflict between the Belgrade-controlled forces and Albanian separatist guerrillas was brought to an end six and a half years ago by a 78-day NATO bombing campaign against Serbian military positions and infrastructure.
Later Tuesday, Ahtisaari is to meet with the province's Serbian Orthodox Church leaders, who will, according to Serbian media, call on the UN envoy to resolve Kosovo's status in line with international law.
They are also expected to demand special protection of ancient Orthodox churches and monasteries in the province, many of which have been damaged by Albanian extremists since NATO entered the territory in June 1999.
In March 2004, dozens of Kosovo's churches were attacked during three days of violence in which 19 people were killed, nearly 900 were injured and an estimated 4,500 -- mostly Serbs -- were forced from their homes.
On Monday, Ahtisaari met with Kosovo's UN administrator Soren Jessen-Petersen and Giuseppe Valotto, who heads the NATO-led forces that have kept the peace in the province since June 1999.
"I am delighted we are here so soon after my appointment to lead the talks on Kosovo's future status," Ahtisaari told reporters after landing at Pristina airport along with his assistant, Austrian diplomat Albert Rohan.
Kosovo newspapers said Tuesday the initial negotiations -- expected to be held in the form of shuttle diplomacy between Pristina, Belgrade and other Balkan cities -- would last at least a month.
After the first phase, Ahtisaari was expected to arrange a direct meeting between Kosovo Albanian and Serbian leaders, likely in Vienna at the beginning of next year, media reports in Pristina said.
Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president, was appointed to head the talks on Kosovo's future status on November 1. It is the 68-year-old's second mission concerning Kosovo after he helped to convince Milosevic to withdraw Serbian forces from the province in June 1999.
Ahtisaari, who arrived in Kosovo on Monday, met the five-member team that will represent ethnic Albanians in the delicate talks on Kosovo's future status, including President Ibrahim Rugova and Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi.
The negotiations are set to determine whether Kosovo can break away from Belgrade, as demanded by its Albanian majority, or will remain within Serbia, whose people consider the province the birthplace of their civilisation.
"Our delegation presented Mr. Ahtisaari with a document on our plans for independence," Kosovo President Rugova told reporters after the meeting. "We expect goodwill from Mr. Ahtisaari and the international community over the question of Kosovo."
Earlier during the meeting, a group of up to 30 protestors from the Albanian pressure group Self-Determination staged a demonstration near Rugova's heavily guarded home in the provincial capital Pristina, where the gathering was being held.
The group, which opposes any negotiations with Serbia over Kosovo's future status, daubed blood-red paint and wrote "crime scene" on two maps they drew on either side of the residence in suburban Velanija.
The images were apparently meant to symbolise alleged atrocities committed by forces of then Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic during the province's 1998-99 war.
Milosevic is on trial in The Hague for crimes against humanity and violations of war customs for his part in the conflict.
The conflict between the Belgrade-controlled forces and Albanian separatist guerrillas was brought to an end six and a half years ago by a 78-day NATO bombing campaign against Serbian military positions and infrastructure.
Later Tuesday, Ahtisaari is to meet with the province's Serbian Orthodox Church leaders, who will, according to Serbian media, call on the UN envoy to resolve Kosovo's status in line with international law.
They are also expected to demand special protection of ancient Orthodox churches and monasteries in the province, many of which have been damaged by Albanian extremists since NATO entered the territory in June 1999.
In March 2004, dozens of Kosovo's churches were attacked during three days of violence in which 19 people were killed, nearly 900 were injured and an estimated 4,500 -- mostly Serbs -- were forced from their homes.
On Monday, Ahtisaari met with Kosovo's UN administrator Soren Jessen-Petersen and Giuseppe Valotto, who heads the NATO-led forces that have kept the peace in the province since June 1999.
"I am delighted we are here so soon after my appointment to lead the talks on Kosovo's future status," Ahtisaari told reporters after landing at Pristina airport along with his assistant, Austrian diplomat Albert Rohan.
Kosovo newspapers said Tuesday the initial negotiations -- expected to be held in the form of shuttle diplomacy between Pristina, Belgrade and other Balkan cities -- would last at least a month.
After the first phase, Ahtisaari was expected to arrange a direct meeting between Kosovo Albanian and Serbian leaders, likely in Vienna at the beginning of next year, media reports in Pristina said.
Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president, was appointed to head the talks on Kosovo's future status on November 1. It is the 68-year-old's second mission concerning Kosovo after he helped to convince Milosevic to withdraw Serbian forces from the province in June 1999.
InKosovo, Two Peoples Look Across Bitter Divide
Talks Address Future Of U.N.-Run Region
By Daniel Williams
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; A22
PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro -- Six years after the end of warfare here, fear and suspicion still enforce a strict separation of Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo, but for the first time both sides are beginning to picture a future in which they might -- just might -- live together.
Talks began Monday in Pristina on the future legal status of an area that has been under the administration of the United Nations since U.S.-led bombing forced out Serbian forces in 1999. Anti-Serb riots in March 2004 stoked fear here and in foreign capitals of new violence between the two populations, and possibly even between Serbia and Kosovo, prompting the U.S. and European governments to endorse the talks.
"This is about ending a dispute of more than a century," said Avni Arifi, an adviser to Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi. "The only way to move forward is to talk. Otherwise anything can happen, mostly bad."
"It's time to show some political maturity and do something about this conflict," said Sanda Raskovic, an official in Belgrade who will be part of the Serbian negotiating team.
Martti Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president who was appointed by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to mediate the talks, arrived by air Monday in Pristina, Kosovo's capital, to open a round of shuttle diplomacy aimed at finding common ground. Officials in Pristina and Belgrade, the Serbian capital, say they will eventually sit down and speak directly.
NATO began its bombing campaign in 1999 in response to the killing of Albanian civilians during a Serb crackdown on Albanian separatist guerrillas. Despite six years of U.N. administration, Kosovo remains officially a province of Serbia.
The Albanian majority demands full independence. Serbia wants to keep Kosovo within its territorial bounds, albeit with substantial autonomy. "Kosovo is part of Serbia, and not only part of its history but also part of its present and future," Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica told parliament in Belgrade on Monday.
The United States and European governments will wield strong influence in the negotiations. Many analysts predict they will eventually pressure and cajole the two sides into accepting a status being called "conditional independence."
Under such a framework, Kosovo would formally separate from Serbia, but would remain for an extended period under some type of international supervision, with foreign peacekeeping troops continuing their patrols, as in nearby Bosnia, where a U.S.-brokered peace deal initialed 10 years ago ended another of the Balkans' ethnic wars.
The talks represent a dramatic shift in course for the outside powers. After 1999, they told the Albanians that talks on final status would begin only if they improved the rule of law and the protection of Serbs in Kosovo. But after the riots of 2004, in which Albanian mobs torched close to a thousand Serb houses, foreign officials concluded that the current framework was untenable. They authorized talks while continuing to pressure the Albanians to rein in lawlessness.
A visit to Kosovo shows how stagnant and yet volatile the situation is. The majority population of 2 million Albanians and the minority Serbs, now numbering about 100,000, live in separate, mutually hostile worlds. A bridge over a river that separates Serb and Albanian parts of the northern city of Kosovska Mitrovica carries little traffic. Sharp-eyed men on both sides warily look over anyone who crosses.
The Serb population of Pristina is down to 120 from about 40,000 in 1999. Serbs' homes have been occupied by Albanians. The few Serbs who dare come into town complain of harassment.
In the countryside, a few Serb enclaves remain, surrounded by Albanian villages and subject to the whims of illegal Albanian militias. Few refugees have returned. Recently, a shadowy armed group called the Army for the Independence of Kosovo ordered Kosovo politicians to declare independence or face a "difficult situation," which people here took to mean death. Another group opposes talks altogether and has spray-painted the slogan "No negotiations. Self-determination" all across Pristina.
Still, the decision to talk has forced contemplation among Serbs and Albanians about what a new Kosovo would be like.
Nikola Bejovic, an artist and one of the few Serbs who still lives in Pristina, said, "They will talk and talk, but anyone who thinks this will be over in a year is dreaming."
Bejovic lives in a suburb and has not been downtown for a year. The last time he visited, he recalled, he spoke Serbian and someone clubbed him on the head. He ended up in a hospital.
People at the talks "will try to come up with something that will satisfy everyone," he predicted. "It will be like a magic trick. When the Albanians look at the solution, it will look like independence. When Serbia looks at it, it will seem like something else."
Bejovic, 56, moved to Pristina 33 years ago after meeting his future wife, Armi, now 51, an Albanian who was born in Pristina. She said Serbs and Albanians both consider her a freak: "When I am in Serbia, they call me names. When I am here, they call me names. This is a stupid place."
In downtown Pristina, Ehup Ahmeti, an 18-year-old Albanian, sells cigarettes out of a crate. He says independence is on the way and wonders where that will leave him. "These cigarettes are going to be the same whether we're free or not," he said. "The real reason we need independence is because we cannot live with the Serbs."
Ahmeti's family came to Pristina from central Kosovo after the war "because our house was burned down and there were plenty of Serb apartments here."
He had expected Kosovo to be independent long ago. "I thought that's what the war was about," he said. "There's no way there can be any other solution. Really, the Serbs ought to go back to Serbia. . . . A few can stay, but really, there was a lot of killing. They should not come back."
Independence is one topic that is not supposed to come up when Serbs and Albanians address each other directly during the talks, both sides say, though for entirely opposing reasons.
"This we only discuss with the international community," said Arifi, the adviser to Kosovo's prime minister. "We have trust that the solution is obvious."
The Kosovo negotiating team intends to talk about practical issues: war reparations, pensions to Albanians dating to before the war, land records held in Belgrade, border controls, rights to fly commercial planes through Serbian airspace and the treatment of the Serb minority within Kosovo. "We recognize they have an interest in Serbs living here, as we do for Albanians living there," Arifi said.
Arifi said Kosovo was prepared to offer compromises to smooth the way to independence. It would agree to international peacekeeping troops remaining within its borders and to foreign monitoring of human rights. It would pledge never to unify with either Albania or the Albanian communities in Macedonia to the south. "This is not something we wanted to do anyway," Arifi said.
Independence for Kosovo is also not on Serbia's agenda because in Belgrade's view, it would violate international law and roil the Balkans. At the war's end, the Serbs point out, U.N. Security Council Resolution 1422 said that Kosovo was legally part of the former Yugoslavia.
The Serbian government is willing to agree to "substantial autonomy" for Kosovo to run its own affairs and for Serbs there to have autonomy within the province. "The schools must be local, the sheriff must be local," said Sanda Raskovic, a member of the Serbian negotiating team.
Foreign governments that help oversee Kosovo have good reason to reject independence, she conjectures. Declaring Kosovo a sovereign state would set an example for other conflictive places, notably Bosnia, where the central government insists that the country's semi-autonomous Serb Republic eventually integrate fully into the Bosnian state.
"If Kosovo walks off, why will the Serb Republic stay put?" said Raskovic. Serbian officials raise the specter of a domino effect worldwide: Chechnya, parts of Macedonia, Taiwan, all breaking their moorings.
There's yet another party to the talks, self-declared, the Serbs of Kosovo, who officially form part of the Belgrade delegation.
"It is our future they're talking about, yet somehow we are not quite at the center of things," said Oliver Ivanovic, a Serb leader in Mitrovica. "In any case, we do not just want to be puppets of Belgrade. . . . We don't really trust Belgrade. We think the Albanians want to get rid of us and the internationals don't care.
"We're the orphans here," he said. "But we have to participate."
By Daniel Williams
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; A22
PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro -- Six years after the end of warfare here, fear and suspicion still enforce a strict separation of Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo, but for the first time both sides are beginning to picture a future in which they might -- just might -- live together.
Talks began Monday in Pristina on the future legal status of an area that has been under the administration of the United Nations since U.S.-led bombing forced out Serbian forces in 1999. Anti-Serb riots in March 2004 stoked fear here and in foreign capitals of new violence between the two populations, and possibly even between Serbia and Kosovo, prompting the U.S. and European governments to endorse the talks.
"This is about ending a dispute of more than a century," said Avni Arifi, an adviser to Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi. "The only way to move forward is to talk. Otherwise anything can happen, mostly bad."
"It's time to show some political maturity and do something about this conflict," said Sanda Raskovic, an official in Belgrade who will be part of the Serbian negotiating team.
Martti Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president who was appointed by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to mediate the talks, arrived by air Monday in Pristina, Kosovo's capital, to open a round of shuttle diplomacy aimed at finding common ground. Officials in Pristina and Belgrade, the Serbian capital, say they will eventually sit down and speak directly.
NATO began its bombing campaign in 1999 in response to the killing of Albanian civilians during a Serb crackdown on Albanian separatist guerrillas. Despite six years of U.N. administration, Kosovo remains officially a province of Serbia.
The Albanian majority demands full independence. Serbia wants to keep Kosovo within its territorial bounds, albeit with substantial autonomy. "Kosovo is part of Serbia, and not only part of its history but also part of its present and future," Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica told parliament in Belgrade on Monday.
The United States and European governments will wield strong influence in the negotiations. Many analysts predict they will eventually pressure and cajole the two sides into accepting a status being called "conditional independence."
Under such a framework, Kosovo would formally separate from Serbia, but would remain for an extended period under some type of international supervision, with foreign peacekeeping troops continuing their patrols, as in nearby Bosnia, where a U.S.-brokered peace deal initialed 10 years ago ended another of the Balkans' ethnic wars.
The talks represent a dramatic shift in course for the outside powers. After 1999, they told the Albanians that talks on final status would begin only if they improved the rule of law and the protection of Serbs in Kosovo. But after the riots of 2004, in which Albanian mobs torched close to a thousand Serb houses, foreign officials concluded that the current framework was untenable. They authorized talks while continuing to pressure the Albanians to rein in lawlessness.
A visit to Kosovo shows how stagnant and yet volatile the situation is. The majority population of 2 million Albanians and the minority Serbs, now numbering about 100,000, live in separate, mutually hostile worlds. A bridge over a river that separates Serb and Albanian parts of the northern city of Kosovska Mitrovica carries little traffic. Sharp-eyed men on both sides warily look over anyone who crosses.
The Serb population of Pristina is down to 120 from about 40,000 in 1999. Serbs' homes have been occupied by Albanians. The few Serbs who dare come into town complain of harassment.
In the countryside, a few Serb enclaves remain, surrounded by Albanian villages and subject to the whims of illegal Albanian militias. Few refugees have returned. Recently, a shadowy armed group called the Army for the Independence of Kosovo ordered Kosovo politicians to declare independence or face a "difficult situation," which people here took to mean death. Another group opposes talks altogether and has spray-painted the slogan "No negotiations. Self-determination" all across Pristina.
Still, the decision to talk has forced contemplation among Serbs and Albanians about what a new Kosovo would be like.
Nikola Bejovic, an artist and one of the few Serbs who still lives in Pristina, said, "They will talk and talk, but anyone who thinks this will be over in a year is dreaming."
Bejovic lives in a suburb and has not been downtown for a year. The last time he visited, he recalled, he spoke Serbian and someone clubbed him on the head. He ended up in a hospital.
People at the talks "will try to come up with something that will satisfy everyone," he predicted. "It will be like a magic trick. When the Albanians look at the solution, it will look like independence. When Serbia looks at it, it will seem like something else."
Bejovic, 56, moved to Pristina 33 years ago after meeting his future wife, Armi, now 51, an Albanian who was born in Pristina. She said Serbs and Albanians both consider her a freak: "When I am in Serbia, they call me names. When I am here, they call me names. This is a stupid place."
In downtown Pristina, Ehup Ahmeti, an 18-year-old Albanian, sells cigarettes out of a crate. He says independence is on the way and wonders where that will leave him. "These cigarettes are going to be the same whether we're free or not," he said. "The real reason we need independence is because we cannot live with the Serbs."
Ahmeti's family came to Pristina from central Kosovo after the war "because our house was burned down and there were plenty of Serb apartments here."
He had expected Kosovo to be independent long ago. "I thought that's what the war was about," he said. "There's no way there can be any other solution. Really, the Serbs ought to go back to Serbia. . . . A few can stay, but really, there was a lot of killing. They should not come back."
Independence is one topic that is not supposed to come up when Serbs and Albanians address each other directly during the talks, both sides say, though for entirely opposing reasons.
"This we only discuss with the international community," said Arifi, the adviser to Kosovo's prime minister. "We have trust that the solution is obvious."
The Kosovo negotiating team intends to talk about practical issues: war reparations, pensions to Albanians dating to before the war, land records held in Belgrade, border controls, rights to fly commercial planes through Serbian airspace and the treatment of the Serb minority within Kosovo. "We recognize they have an interest in Serbs living here, as we do for Albanians living there," Arifi said.
Arifi said Kosovo was prepared to offer compromises to smooth the way to independence. It would agree to international peacekeeping troops remaining within its borders and to foreign monitoring of human rights. It would pledge never to unify with either Albania or the Albanian communities in Macedonia to the south. "This is not something we wanted to do anyway," Arifi said.
Independence for Kosovo is also not on Serbia's agenda because in Belgrade's view, it would violate international law and roil the Balkans. At the war's end, the Serbs point out, U.N. Security Council Resolution 1422 said that Kosovo was legally part of the former Yugoslavia.
The Serbian government is willing to agree to "substantial autonomy" for Kosovo to run its own affairs and for Serbs there to have autonomy within the province. "The schools must be local, the sheriff must be local," said Sanda Raskovic, a member of the Serbian negotiating team.
Foreign governments that help oversee Kosovo have good reason to reject independence, she conjectures. Declaring Kosovo a sovereign state would set an example for other conflictive places, notably Bosnia, where the central government insists that the country's semi-autonomous Serb Republic eventually integrate fully into the Bosnian state.
"If Kosovo walks off, why will the Serb Republic stay put?" said Raskovic. Serbian officials raise the specter of a domino effect worldwide: Chechnya, parts of Macedonia, Taiwan, all breaking their moorings.
There's yet another party to the talks, self-declared, the Serbs of Kosovo, who officially form part of the Belgrade delegation.
"It is our future they're talking about, yet somehow we are not quite at the center of things," said Oliver Ivanovic, a Serb leader in Mitrovica. "In any case, we do not just want to be puppets of Belgrade. . . . We don't really trust Belgrade. We think the Albanians want to get rid of us and the internationals don't care.
"We're the orphans here," he said. "But we have to participate."
Ethnic Albanian Leaders Insist On Independence For Kosovo
PRISTINA (AP)--Ethnic Albanian leaders told the chief U.N. negotiator Tuesday they won't back down from their demands for full independence for Kosovo, even as they prepare for crucial talks on the province's political future.
The leaders presented Martti Ahtisaari with a document outlining their positions ahead of the status negotiations, setting independence as the ultimate goal but also outlining their willingness to cooperate with the international community and eventually join the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Kosovo, legally part of Serbia-Montenegro, has been administered by the U.N. since 1999, when NATO's aerial bombardment of Yugoslavia halted a Serb military crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in the province.
Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president, is mediating between Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority, which wants independence, and the Serb minority, which insists the province remain part of Serbia-Montenegro, the union that replaced Yugoslavia. About 100,000 Serbs remain in Kosovo, in a population of about 2 million people.
"I insist on the direct recognition of Kosovo's independence that will calm down the region," Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova said after Tuesday's meeting. "The time has come to wrap up this business."
The talks are likely to increase tensions in the deeply polarized region and there are fears extremists could try to disrupt the U.N.-sponsored process.
The meeting, held in Rugova's residence, was also attended by Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi, two opposition leaders and the parliamentary speaker.
The document presented to Ahtisaari also speaks of securing guarantees for minority rights and reforming local government in order to guarantee minorities can have a say over their affairs, Rugova said.
Ahtisaari, who is to end his visit to Kosovo on Wednesday, is also scheduled to meet Serb religious leaders in the province later Tuesday at the 14th century Orthodox monastery in Decani, a World Heritage Site and one of the best preserved Serb religious monuments.
He also plans to travel to the Serbian capital, Belgrade, and neighboring Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro in the coming days.
Ahtisaari, appointed by the U.N. earlier this month, has been tasked to mediate the process that is expected to close the final chapter on the ethnic and sectarian wars that shook the region following the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia in 1991.
So far, no timeline has been set for the talks. Ahtisaari will set up an office in Vienna by January to administer the peace process, which will involve shuttle diplomacy between Pristina and Belgrade, before he attempts to bring the two sides together around the same table.
A handful of protesters from an ethnic Albanian youth group opposed to the talks with Serbia spilled fake blood outside the entrance of Rugova's residence and surrounded it with yellow "crime scene" tape, implying that a crime was taking place by negotiating Kosovo's future.
The red paint was meant to represent the blood of the ethnic Albanians who died in the 1998-99 war with Serbia.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
The leaders presented Martti Ahtisaari with a document outlining their positions ahead of the status negotiations, setting independence as the ultimate goal but also outlining their willingness to cooperate with the international community and eventually join the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Kosovo, legally part of Serbia-Montenegro, has been administered by the U.N. since 1999, when NATO's aerial bombardment of Yugoslavia halted a Serb military crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in the province.
Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president, is mediating between Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority, which wants independence, and the Serb minority, which insists the province remain part of Serbia-Montenegro, the union that replaced Yugoslavia. About 100,000 Serbs remain in Kosovo, in a population of about 2 million people.
"I insist on the direct recognition of Kosovo's independence that will calm down the region," Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova said after Tuesday's meeting. "The time has come to wrap up this business."
The talks are likely to increase tensions in the deeply polarized region and there are fears extremists could try to disrupt the U.N.-sponsored process.
The meeting, held in Rugova's residence, was also attended by Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi, two opposition leaders and the parliamentary speaker.
The document presented to Ahtisaari also speaks of securing guarantees for minority rights and reforming local government in order to guarantee minorities can have a say over their affairs, Rugova said.
Ahtisaari, who is to end his visit to Kosovo on Wednesday, is also scheduled to meet Serb religious leaders in the province later Tuesday at the 14th century Orthodox monastery in Decani, a World Heritage Site and one of the best preserved Serb religious monuments.
He also plans to travel to the Serbian capital, Belgrade, and neighboring Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro in the coming days.
Ahtisaari, appointed by the U.N. earlier this month, has been tasked to mediate the process that is expected to close the final chapter on the ethnic and sectarian wars that shook the region following the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia in 1991.
So far, no timeline has been set for the talks. Ahtisaari will set up an office in Vienna by January to administer the peace process, which will involve shuttle diplomacy between Pristina and Belgrade, before he attempts to bring the two sides together around the same table.
A handful of protesters from an ethnic Albanian youth group opposed to the talks with Serbia spilled fake blood outside the entrance of Rugova's residence and surrounded it with yellow "crime scene" tape, implying that a crime was taking place by negotiating Kosovo's future.
The red paint was meant to represent the blood of the ethnic Albanians who died in the 1998-99 war with Serbia.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
UN mediator begins Kosovo mission
The United Nations special envoy on Kosovo has met ethnic Albanian leaders at the start of his mission to mediate a deal on the province's future.
The ethnic Albanian team gave Martti Ahtisaari a document outlining their insistence on independence.
"The time has come to wrap up this business," Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova said after the meeting.
Kosovo has been administered by the UN since Nato-led troops expelled Serb forces in 1999 to end the war there.
It is legally still a part of Serbia and Montenegro.
The UN Security Council appointed Mr Ahtisaari - a former Finnish president - to lead the talks process.
He made no comment after Tuesday's talks at Mr Rugova's residence.
Mr Ahtisaari was due to meet Serb religious leaders in the province later on Tuesday - as well as travelling to Belgrade and neighbouring countries.
Lengthy process?
He is expected to spend months shuttling between the Kosovo capital, Pristina, and Belgrade to reconcile their positions.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority wants independence, but Serbia wants to maintain sovereignty over the province.
Before his arrival in Pristina on Monday, Mr Ahtisaari played down speculation that a deal might be reached in just three or four months.
However, he has also echoed the views of other UN officials who have said that the talks cannot be prolonged indefinitely.
The ethnic Albanian team gave Martti Ahtisaari a document outlining their insistence on independence.
"The time has come to wrap up this business," Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova said after the meeting.
Kosovo has been administered by the UN since Nato-led troops expelled Serb forces in 1999 to end the war there.
It is legally still a part of Serbia and Montenegro.
The UN Security Council appointed Mr Ahtisaari - a former Finnish president - to lead the talks process.
He made no comment after Tuesday's talks at Mr Rugova's residence.
Mr Ahtisaari was due to meet Serb religious leaders in the province later on Tuesday - as well as travelling to Belgrade and neighbouring countries.
Lengthy process?
He is expected to spend months shuttling between the Kosovo capital, Pristina, and Belgrade to reconcile their positions.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority wants independence, but Serbia wants to maintain sovereignty over the province.
Before his arrival in Pristina on Monday, Mr Ahtisaari played down speculation that a deal might be reached in just three or four months.
However, he has also echoed the views of other UN officials who have said that the talks cannot be prolonged indefinitely.
Monday, November 21, 2005
UN gets tough in pursuit of Kosovo deal as talks begin
By Vesna Peric Zimonjic in Belgrade
Published: 22 November 2005
The United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari has arrived in Kosovo for the first phase of shuttle diplomacy aimed at agreeing the final status of the disputed Balkan province.
The scale of the task facing the former Finnish president was underlined by the Serbian Prime Minister, who ruled out independence for the UN-run province in a speech timed to coincide with Mr Ahtisaari's arrival.
Vojislav Kostunica said that the 90 per cent ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo should be given wide autonomy within the Serbian federation but warned that granting them full independence on sovereign Serbian land would "undermine the foundations of the world order".
Pristina is just the first leg of Mr Ahtisaari's visit to the region. After two days of talks with the Kosovan negotiating team, President Ibrahim Rugova and Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi, he is due in Belgrade tomorrow to meet the Serbian leaders. Between them, the parties must thrash out a deal to decide whether the breakaway Serbian province and its two million ethnic Albanian inhabitants should gain independence.
Mr Ahtisaari said his first intention was to "listen to the parties and collect impressions". But diplomatic sources say the former premier is confident he can get the job done.
Unlike his predecessors, the Finn has a strong mandate, which includes detailed conditions for both sides. No party has the power of veto over any decisions or documents discussed in the talks, and parties can not leave the talks once they are underway. If one of them refuses to sign any of the proposed documents and abandons the talks, this will be regarded as acceptance of the documents under discussion.
Mr Ahtisaari, 68, is no stranger to tough negotiations with Serbs. Together with the Russian envoy, Victor Chernomyrdin, he brokered the deal with Slobodan Milosevic on the withdrawal of the latter's security forces from Kosovo in 1999. The deal ended an 11-week Nato bombing campaign aimed at stopping the Milosevic regime's repression of ethnic Albanians in the province. Sources at the historic negotiations said that Mr Milosevic only capitulated after Mr Ahtisaari pointed to the table between them and told him the bombs would keep falling until Serbia was equally flat.
Since 1999, Kosovo has been under UN administration, working with a locally elected assembly. Nato-led peacekeepers remain in the province.
Five years after the ousting of Milosevic, giving up on Kosovo remains politically unpalatable in Belgrade, as witnessed by a fiery parliamentary session yesterday. "Today we decide on Serbia and on ourselves," Mr Kostunica told MPs. Serbia was ready for compromise, but not for any "abduction of its territory", he added. Belgrade will concede autonomy but not independence, citing historical ties to an area it claims as the cradle of the medieval Serbian state.
Belgrade is also concerned that carving a new state out of its recognised borders would set a dangerous precedent in international law. Most analysts have called on Serbia to recognise the reality on the ground, where control over Kosovo was effectively lost in 1999. Fewer than 100,000 Serbs still live there; a similar number fled in 1999, fearing reprisals by ethnic Albanians.
Published: 22 November 2005
The United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari has arrived in Kosovo for the first phase of shuttle diplomacy aimed at agreeing the final status of the disputed Balkan province.
The scale of the task facing the former Finnish president was underlined by the Serbian Prime Minister, who ruled out independence for the UN-run province in a speech timed to coincide with Mr Ahtisaari's arrival.
Vojislav Kostunica said that the 90 per cent ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo should be given wide autonomy within the Serbian federation but warned that granting them full independence on sovereign Serbian land would "undermine the foundations of the world order".
Pristina is just the first leg of Mr Ahtisaari's visit to the region. After two days of talks with the Kosovan negotiating team, President Ibrahim Rugova and Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi, he is due in Belgrade tomorrow to meet the Serbian leaders. Between them, the parties must thrash out a deal to decide whether the breakaway Serbian province and its two million ethnic Albanian inhabitants should gain independence.
Mr Ahtisaari said his first intention was to "listen to the parties and collect impressions". But diplomatic sources say the former premier is confident he can get the job done.
Unlike his predecessors, the Finn has a strong mandate, which includes detailed conditions for both sides. No party has the power of veto over any decisions or documents discussed in the talks, and parties can not leave the talks once they are underway. If one of them refuses to sign any of the proposed documents and abandons the talks, this will be regarded as acceptance of the documents under discussion.
Mr Ahtisaari, 68, is no stranger to tough negotiations with Serbs. Together with the Russian envoy, Victor Chernomyrdin, he brokered the deal with Slobodan Milosevic on the withdrawal of the latter's security forces from Kosovo in 1999. The deal ended an 11-week Nato bombing campaign aimed at stopping the Milosevic regime's repression of ethnic Albanians in the province. Sources at the historic negotiations said that Mr Milosevic only capitulated after Mr Ahtisaari pointed to the table between them and told him the bombs would keep falling until Serbia was equally flat.
Since 1999, Kosovo has been under UN administration, working with a locally elected assembly. Nato-led peacekeepers remain in the province.
Five years after the ousting of Milosevic, giving up on Kosovo remains politically unpalatable in Belgrade, as witnessed by a fiery parliamentary session yesterday. "Today we decide on Serbia and on ourselves," Mr Kostunica told MPs. Serbia was ready for compromise, but not for any "abduction of its territory", he added. Belgrade will concede autonomy but not independence, citing historical ties to an area it claims as the cradle of the medieval Serbian state.
Belgrade is also concerned that carving a new state out of its recognised borders would set a dangerous precedent in international law. Most analysts have called on Serbia to recognise the reality on the ground, where control over Kosovo was effectively lost in 1999. Fewer than 100,000 Serbs still live there; a similar number fled in 1999, fearing reprisals by ethnic Albanians.
U.N. envoy arrives in a mission to find a status for disputed Kosovo
PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) - U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari arrived in Kosovo Monday on a fact-finding mission before crucial talks that will determine whether Kosovo becomes an independent nation or a self-governing region within Serbia.
The former Finnish president, appointed by the U.N. earlier this month, is to mediate the process that is expected to close the final chapter on the ethnic and sectarian wars that shook the region following the disintegration of former Yugoslavia in 1991.
He will also visit the Serbian capital, Belgrade, and Kosovo's neighbors Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro.
"I am happy that we have been able to come to Kosovo soon after our appointment to lead discussions and negotiations on the future status of Kosovo," Ahtisaari said after he landed in Kosovo's main airport.
After Ahtisaari entered the U.N. mission headquarters in Kosovo's capital Pristina, several Albanian protesters from a group rejecting the talks spray-painted "No negotiations" onto a blast barrier shielding the building in city's center.
"We cannot negotiate our freedom with anyone," said Albin Kurti, leader of the group calling itself "Self-determination."
During his stay, Ahtisaari will also hold talks with the ethnic Albanian negotiating team.
With no set timeline for the talks, but with an understanding that the process cannot be further delayed, the 68-year-old envoy faces a difficult task -- the two former foes have diametrically opposing views on what the future should hold for Kosovo. Ethnic Albanians seek independence for the province, while Belgrade wants the region of 2 million people formally to remain part of Serbia.
Ethnic Albanians account for 90 percent of Kosovo's population. About 100,000 Serbs remain in Kosovo.
The upcoming talks are likely to increase tensions in the deeply polarized region and there are fears extremists could try to disrupt the U.N.-sponsored process.
Ahtisaari, however, is no stranger to the dispute. In 1999, he negotiated a deal with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic that ended the NATO bombing of Serb forces -- a campaign aimed at stopping the crackdown on the ethnic Albanians.
That deal put Kosovo under U.N. administration, backed up by a 17,500-strong NATO-led force.
Ahtisaari also has acted as a U.N. peace broker in Namibia, and earlier this year he mediated talks between the Indonesian government and separatist rebels in Aceh province that ended one of the longest wars in modern history.
Ahtisaari has said he will set up an office in Vienna by January to administer the peace process, which will involve shuttle diplomacy between Pristina and Belgrade.
In a related development, Serbia's parliament passed a resolution Monday rejecting independence for Kosovo. The document says that "any imposed solution will be considered illegitimate and unacceptable" by Belgrade.
The resolution leaves open the possibility that a national referendum be held in Serbia to approve the outcome of negotiations on the breakaway province. The resolution was backed with 205 votes in the 250-member assembly.
Kosovo Albanian lawmakers last Thursday approved their own resolution stating that they will accept nothing less than independence in the talks, which are to start next month.
"Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia," Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said as he outlined the resolution in the parliament Monday. "Serbia is ready for a compromise, but it firmly rejects the severance of a part of its territory," Kostunica said.
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Associated Press correspondent Dusan Stojanovic contributed to this report from Belgrade.
The former Finnish president, appointed by the U.N. earlier this month, is to mediate the process that is expected to close the final chapter on the ethnic and sectarian wars that shook the region following the disintegration of former Yugoslavia in 1991.
He will also visit the Serbian capital, Belgrade, and Kosovo's neighbors Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro.
"I am happy that we have been able to come to Kosovo soon after our appointment to lead discussions and negotiations on the future status of Kosovo," Ahtisaari said after he landed in Kosovo's main airport.
After Ahtisaari entered the U.N. mission headquarters in Kosovo's capital Pristina, several Albanian protesters from a group rejecting the talks spray-painted "No negotiations" onto a blast barrier shielding the building in city's center.
"We cannot negotiate our freedom with anyone," said Albin Kurti, leader of the group calling itself "Self-determination."
During his stay, Ahtisaari will also hold talks with the ethnic Albanian negotiating team.
With no set timeline for the talks, but with an understanding that the process cannot be further delayed, the 68-year-old envoy faces a difficult task -- the two former foes have diametrically opposing views on what the future should hold for Kosovo. Ethnic Albanians seek independence for the province, while Belgrade wants the region of 2 million people formally to remain part of Serbia.
Ethnic Albanians account for 90 percent of Kosovo's population. About 100,000 Serbs remain in Kosovo.
The upcoming talks are likely to increase tensions in the deeply polarized region and there are fears extremists could try to disrupt the U.N.-sponsored process.
Ahtisaari, however, is no stranger to the dispute. In 1999, he negotiated a deal with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic that ended the NATO bombing of Serb forces -- a campaign aimed at stopping the crackdown on the ethnic Albanians.
That deal put Kosovo under U.N. administration, backed up by a 17,500-strong NATO-led force.
Ahtisaari also has acted as a U.N. peace broker in Namibia, and earlier this year he mediated talks between the Indonesian government and separatist rebels in Aceh province that ended one of the longest wars in modern history.
Ahtisaari has said he will set up an office in Vienna by January to administer the peace process, which will involve shuttle diplomacy between Pristina and Belgrade.
In a related development, Serbia's parliament passed a resolution Monday rejecting independence for Kosovo. The document says that "any imposed solution will be considered illegitimate and unacceptable" by Belgrade.
The resolution leaves open the possibility that a national referendum be held in Serbia to approve the outcome of negotiations on the breakaway province. The resolution was backed with 205 votes in the 250-member assembly.
Kosovo Albanian lawmakers last Thursday approved their own resolution stating that they will accept nothing less than independence in the talks, which are to start next month.
"Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia," Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said as he outlined the resolution in the parliament Monday. "Serbia is ready for a compromise, but it firmly rejects the severance of a part of its territory," Kostunica said.
------
Associated Press correspondent Dusan Stojanovic contributed to this report from Belgrade.
Serbian parliament adopts resolution on Kosovo
BELGRADE, Nov 21 (Hina) - The Serbian parliament on Monday adopted a resolution on Kosovo and Metohija, which reads that solutions for Kosovo's future status must be sought within efforts to preserve the sovereignty of Serbia and Montenegro and ensure "substantial autonomy" for Kosovo Albanians.
The resolution was supported by 205 of 250 MPs, with deputies of the Democratic Party of Serbian President Boris Tadic and the Social Democratic Party of Nebojsa Covic abstaining.
Introducing the resolution, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said that along with "substantial autonomy" for Kosovo Albanians, autonomy had to be ensured for the Kosovo Serbs as well. He added that national minorities in European countries did not have the right to self-determination.
According to previous interpretations of "substantial autonomy" by Serbian officials, the term means more than autonomy and less than independence, including international guarantees which none of the sides will be able to change unilaterally.
Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the G17 Plus party, Miroljub Labus, said that Serbia wanted a "historical agreement with the Albanians" on Kosovo's status, adding that Kosovo's road to Brussels did not go via Tirana but via Belgrade.
A vice-president of the Serb Radical Party, which voted for the resolution, said that the debate on the resolution should have been much tougher and that the government was responsible for negotiations on Kosovo's status, regardless of the composition of the negotiating team.
The head of the Democratic Party club of deputies, Dusan Petrovic, said that Serbian President Boris Tadic's position on the division of Kosovo into two entities, one for the Serbs and the other for the Albanians, each having its own institutions, was acceptable.
President Boris Tadic, who was not invited to the session, said in a statement that he was ready for the negotiations and that the proposal on two entities was a realistic and tenable solution regulating relations between Kosovo's Serb and Albanian communities in the most appropriate way.
The resolution was supported by 205 of 250 MPs, with deputies of the Democratic Party of Serbian President Boris Tadic and the Social Democratic Party of Nebojsa Covic abstaining.
Introducing the resolution, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said that along with "substantial autonomy" for Kosovo Albanians, autonomy had to be ensured for the Kosovo Serbs as well. He added that national minorities in European countries did not have the right to self-determination.
According to previous interpretations of "substantial autonomy" by Serbian officials, the term means more than autonomy and less than independence, including international guarantees which none of the sides will be able to change unilaterally.
Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the G17 Plus party, Miroljub Labus, said that Serbia wanted a "historical agreement with the Albanians" on Kosovo's status, adding that Kosovo's road to Brussels did not go via Tirana but via Belgrade.
A vice-president of the Serb Radical Party, which voted for the resolution, said that the debate on the resolution should have been much tougher and that the government was responsible for negotiations on Kosovo's status, regardless of the composition of the negotiating team.
The head of the Democratic Party club of deputies, Dusan Petrovic, said that Serbian President Boris Tadic's position on the division of Kosovo into two entities, one for the Serbs and the other for the Albanians, each having its own institutions, was acceptable.
President Boris Tadic, who was not invited to the session, said in a statement that he was ready for the negotiations and that the proposal on two entities was a realistic and tenable solution regulating relations between Kosovo's Serb and Albanian communities in the most appropriate way.
UNMIK chief says Dayton accord "cannot be applied" in Kosovo
Text of report in English by independent internet news agency KosovaLive
Prishtina [Pristina], 21 November: The head of UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] Soeren Jessen-Petersen said today in Prishtina that there will be neither division of Kosova [Kosovo] nor its unification with another state or union of the region.
He emphasized that the negotiations are being held in order to eliminate Albanians' fear of returning in the past and Serbs' fear for their future.
Speaking at the press conference in Prishtina just few hours prior to arrival of [UN envoy Martti] Ahtisaari, Jessen-Petersen said that "the negotiations for solving Balkan's enigma begin today".
Jessen-Petersen expressed his optimism that Kosovar side will be prepared for the process.
Jessen-Petersen said that while the process for determining the status of Kosova continues, Kosovar institutions "should work continuously in implementation of the standards of decentralization and integration of minorities".
Jessen-Petersen said that the situation of security in Kosova during the negotiations will be under control, adding that there may be provocations as well.
He said that the international community has delayed the resolution of Kosova's political status due to its overwhelmed agenda with Afghanistan, Macedonia and Iraq. "The Oher [Ohrid] Agreement and the Dayton conference are two different things," Jessen-Petersen said. "It is sure that the Dayton Agreement for Bosnia and Hercegovina [B-H] cannot be applied in Kosova."
Jessen-Petersen said that solving the political status would also solve the issue of Mitrovice [Kosovska Mitrovica], admitting that UNMIK and the international community have failed in addressing this issue.
He ruled out every possibility of holding a referendum that may prejudge the status, adding that Serbia cannot do such a thing either.
Jessen-Petersen said that the Kosova Assembly Resolution approved on Thursday [17 November] has not violated UN resolution, and it will serve as platform for Kosovar delegations during the negotiations.
Jessen-Petersen criticized leaders in Prishtina of not doing enough for integration of the Serbs. He said that an obstacle for Serbs' integration in Kosova society was Belgrade.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 21 Nov 05
Prishtina [Pristina], 21 November: The head of UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] Soeren Jessen-Petersen said today in Prishtina that there will be neither division of Kosova [Kosovo] nor its unification with another state or union of the region.
He emphasized that the negotiations are being held in order to eliminate Albanians' fear of returning in the past and Serbs' fear for their future.
Speaking at the press conference in Prishtina just few hours prior to arrival of [UN envoy Martti] Ahtisaari, Jessen-Petersen said that "the negotiations for solving Balkan's enigma begin today".
Jessen-Petersen expressed his optimism that Kosovar side will be prepared for the process.
Jessen-Petersen said that while the process for determining the status of Kosova continues, Kosovar institutions "should work continuously in implementation of the standards of decentralization and integration of minorities".
Jessen-Petersen said that the situation of security in Kosova during the negotiations will be under control, adding that there may be provocations as well.
He said that the international community has delayed the resolution of Kosova's political status due to its overwhelmed agenda with Afghanistan, Macedonia and Iraq. "The Oher [Ohrid] Agreement and the Dayton conference are two different things," Jessen-Petersen said. "It is sure that the Dayton Agreement for Bosnia and Hercegovina [B-H] cannot be applied in Kosova."
Jessen-Petersen said that solving the political status would also solve the issue of Mitrovice [Kosovska Mitrovica], admitting that UNMIK and the international community have failed in addressing this issue.
He ruled out every possibility of holding a referendum that may prejudge the status, adding that Serbia cannot do such a thing either.
Jessen-Petersen said that the Kosova Assembly Resolution approved on Thursday [17 November] has not violated UN resolution, and it will serve as platform for Kosovar delegations during the negotiations.
Jessen-Petersen criticized leaders in Prishtina of not doing enough for integration of the Serbs. He said that an obstacle for Serbs' integration in Kosova society was Belgrade.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 21 Nov 05
Ahtisaari "delighted" to start working on Kosovo status
[Announcer] Special envoy of the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for Kosova [Kosovo] status talks Martti Ahtisaari arrived in Kosovo today. He is expected to meet UNMIK [United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] chief Soeren Jessen-Petersen this afternoon and Kosova institution and party leaders on Wednesday [22 November].
[Reporter Hamza Rexha] The UN special envoy for talks on Kosova's future status Martti Ahtisaari started work today. In a short statement for the media upon his arrival in Prishtina, Ahtisaari expressed his satisfaction that the time had come for him to begin work.
[Ahtisaari in English with Albanian voice-over] I am delighted that we have been able to come so soon after my nomination to head the negotiations for the future status of Kosova.
[Reporter] A few minutes before Ahtisaari entered the UNMIK headquarters, members of the Vetvendosja movement wrote slogans "No negotiations Self-determination" on the concrete walls surrounding the building. The chief negotiator had his first meeting with UNMIK chief Soeren Jessen-Petersen. The UNMIK chief on many occasions expressed his readiness to offer the mission's support to Ahtisaari in the negotiating process. Ahtisaari will meet the negotiating team tomorrow. The Kosova negotiating team adopted a document on Kosova's position on status in a meeting today. They will pass on the document to Ahtisaari in tomorrow's meeting. Ahtisaari is expected to meet Kfor [NATO-led Kosovo Force], political parties' representatives and representatives of minorities.
After Pristina, Ahtisaari is expected to visit Belgrade, Podgorica, Shkup [Skopje] and Tirana. He will be accompanied by his deputy, Austrian senior diplomat Albert Rohan. His mission will be carried out in the form of shuttle diplomacy. The initial phase will enable him to hear the views of all parties involved in the talks and their views on the resolution of Kosova's status. The 68-year-old Marti Ahtisaari was appointed to chair the Kosova status talks on behalf of the UN following the UN Security Council's green light for this process to begin on 28 October.
Source: KohaVision TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1800 gmt 21 Nov 05
[Reporter Hamza Rexha] The UN special envoy for talks on Kosova's future status Martti Ahtisaari started work today. In a short statement for the media upon his arrival in Prishtina, Ahtisaari expressed his satisfaction that the time had come for him to begin work.
[Ahtisaari in English with Albanian voice-over] I am delighted that we have been able to come so soon after my nomination to head the negotiations for the future status of Kosova.
[Reporter] A few minutes before Ahtisaari entered the UNMIK headquarters, members of the Vetvendosja movement wrote slogans "No negotiations Self-determination" on the concrete walls surrounding the building. The chief negotiator had his first meeting with UNMIK chief Soeren Jessen-Petersen. The UNMIK chief on many occasions expressed his readiness to offer the mission's support to Ahtisaari in the negotiating process. Ahtisaari will meet the negotiating team tomorrow. The Kosova negotiating team adopted a document on Kosova's position on status in a meeting today. They will pass on the document to Ahtisaari in tomorrow's meeting. Ahtisaari is expected to meet Kfor [NATO-led Kosovo Force], political parties' representatives and representatives of minorities.
After Pristina, Ahtisaari is expected to visit Belgrade, Podgorica, Shkup [Skopje] and Tirana. He will be accompanied by his deputy, Austrian senior diplomat Albert Rohan. His mission will be carried out in the form of shuttle diplomacy. The initial phase will enable him to hear the views of all parties involved in the talks and their views on the resolution of Kosova's status. The 68-year-old Marti Ahtisaari was appointed to chair the Kosova status talks on behalf of the UN following the UN Security Council's green light for this process to begin on 28 October.
Source: KohaVision TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1800 gmt 21 Nov 05
SPECIAL STATE DEPARTMENT BRIEFING WITH UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE NICHOLAS BURNS TOPIC: BOSNIA-HERCEGOVINA
MODERATOR: Afternoon, everyone. Welcome to briefing two on the day.
As you know, we have Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns here with us. He'll be talking to you today about the ongoing activities commemorating the 10th anniversary of signing the Dayton accords. It's a very significant moment for that country and for the region as a whole.
Mr. Undersecretary.
MR. BURNS: Thank you.
Good afternoon. As you know, Secretary Rice will be hosting the Bosnian tri-presidency tomorrow, the three presidents of Bosnia- Hercegovina, as well as the political party leaders. She will start tomorrow morning with a ceremony in the C Street lobby to honor our three colleagues who were killed on Mount Igman on August 19th, 1995: Bob Frasure, Nelson Drew and Joe Kruzel. And their wives and children will be there for that ceremony.
And then she will also sign several agreements with the Bosnian leadership. She will have a meeting with them about their efforts to proceed with constitutional reform.
And then she's hosting a major lunch for the entire Bosnian delegation that's come here, which is quite large; the Bosnian- American community; members of Congress; members of the Clinton team that put this agreement together.
And the objective of these two days is to both look forward -- look back -- excuse me -- at what was accomplished at the Dayton accords 10 years ago today, but also look forward to see how this country can be -- can modernize its constitution and take its place in NATO and the EU in the future.
In addition to those activities that Secretary Rice will participate in, tomorrow morning we're also convening a conference of religious leaders from the region, under the chairmanship of Rabbi Arthur Schneier of New York.
He is someone who has, along with Cardinal McCarrick, the archbishop of Washington, the Diocese of Washington, has been involved for a decade in working with religious leaders to try to promote tolerance and inter-religious communication in the Balkans. Cardinal McCarrick, unfortunately, could not make this meeting. He's out of the country, but he very much supports this initiative, and we're very pleased that Rabbi Schneier will be here to lead this discussion of the Balkan religious leaders tomorrow.
Today, there was a conference at the U.S. Institute of Peace to mark the 10th anniversary. I think we've put the remarks on the website, so I won't belabor them, but I made some remarks on behalf of the United States government about the significance of Dayton and the significance of looking towards the future, and many other people, Paddy Ashdown -- Lord Ashdown, the high representative, the three leaders themselves and others spoke, so I think you've got all that on the record. I won't go into that.
I would just say this. In addition to our hope to use the 10th anniversary of Dayton to promote further reconciliation and further progress in Bosnia-Hercegovina, this week also represents the beginning of the final status talks in Dayton. President Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president, arrived in Pristina today to begin the first round of talks with the Kosovar leadership. He'll be talking to the Serb leadership in Belgrade as well.
And these two initiatives are designed, we think, to make 2006 a year of decision on both of these questions: on Kosovo, to produce a final outcome for the future of the country; on Bosnia- Hercegovina, to modernize the institutions of the state, so that on the 10th anniversary of Dayton, they can decide to modernize Dayton.
And I think at the meeting tomorrow with Secretary Rice, I'm confident that the political party leaders will agree that this process of constitutional reform is important, and they will say they are dedicated to it.
I just hosted a lunch for the leaders. We were at a long lunch where we worked through all these issues, and we're not there yet. We don't have an agreement yet. They're still consulting with some of the other Bosnian leaders who did not make the trip from Bosnia itself, but I'm confident that they are all heading in that direction. But the final discussions will be held with Secretary Rice tomorrow, and she will be the one hopefully to make this agreement with them. So I wanted to mention those two issues to you. I'll be happy to take your questions.
Q Are you just looking for an agreement that says -- that dedicates the constitutional reform, which is a rather vague concept, or are you looking for a commitment to scrapping the tri-presidency and then having a goal of an institution with just one president?
MR. BURNS: Actually, the concept of constitutional reform is quite specific; it's not vague. And when I was in Sarajevo six weeks ago, they had just completed defense reform -- the process of taking the two armies, two defense ministers, two chiefs of staff, forming one military. They had just agreed on a partial reform of the police services. And when I proposed six weeks ago that they ought to agree to constitutional reform, that was considered a rather radical notion because constitutional reform implies that the Dayton Accords are not immutable.
It implies, specifically to the Bosnian Serbs, that there has to be a process of strengthening the state and not just the entities that, of course, received most of the power at the Dayton negotiations. And it assumes -- constitutional reform -- that there will be a narrowing from three presidents to one. And it assumes the development of a strong prime minister. And it assumes the development of a strong speaker of the parliament and strong parliament. So it's very specific in that sense.
What we hope they'll agree to tomorrow is, as political party leaders in the country, that they will dedicate themselves to this process of constitutional reform; that they will pursue that over the coming months in advance of the 2006 elections. We would hope that that's what they would propose -- commit themselves to tomorrow.
I don't think you'll find specific language in the agreement about the elements -- the type of presidency, the type of prime ministership, the type of parliament -- because that has to be worked out subsequent to any agreement tomorrow; that would have to be worked out in the parliament of Bosnia-Hercegovina, we hope, over the next few months. But when they say they're agreeing to constitutional reform and to agree on the elements of it in the next few months, that is a very specific process, it's not vague at all.
I just wanted to make that note.
As you know, we have Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns here with us. He'll be talking to you today about the ongoing activities commemorating the 10th anniversary of signing the Dayton accords. It's a very significant moment for that country and for the region as a whole.
Mr. Undersecretary.
MR. BURNS: Thank you.
Good afternoon. As you know, Secretary Rice will be hosting the Bosnian tri-presidency tomorrow, the three presidents of Bosnia- Hercegovina, as well as the political party leaders. She will start tomorrow morning with a ceremony in the C Street lobby to honor our three colleagues who were killed on Mount Igman on August 19th, 1995: Bob Frasure, Nelson Drew and Joe Kruzel. And their wives and children will be there for that ceremony.
And then she will also sign several agreements with the Bosnian leadership. She will have a meeting with them about their efforts to proceed with constitutional reform.
And then she's hosting a major lunch for the entire Bosnian delegation that's come here, which is quite large; the Bosnian- American community; members of Congress; members of the Clinton team that put this agreement together.
And the objective of these two days is to both look forward -- look back -- excuse me -- at what was accomplished at the Dayton accords 10 years ago today, but also look forward to see how this country can be -- can modernize its constitution and take its place in NATO and the EU in the future.
In addition to those activities that Secretary Rice will participate in, tomorrow morning we're also convening a conference of religious leaders from the region, under the chairmanship of Rabbi Arthur Schneier of New York.
He is someone who has, along with Cardinal McCarrick, the archbishop of Washington, the Diocese of Washington, has been involved for a decade in working with religious leaders to try to promote tolerance and inter-religious communication in the Balkans. Cardinal McCarrick, unfortunately, could not make this meeting. He's out of the country, but he very much supports this initiative, and we're very pleased that Rabbi Schneier will be here to lead this discussion of the Balkan religious leaders tomorrow.
Today, there was a conference at the U.S. Institute of Peace to mark the 10th anniversary. I think we've put the remarks on the website, so I won't belabor them, but I made some remarks on behalf of the United States government about the significance of Dayton and the significance of looking towards the future, and many other people, Paddy Ashdown -- Lord Ashdown, the high representative, the three leaders themselves and others spoke, so I think you've got all that on the record. I won't go into that.
I would just say this. In addition to our hope to use the 10th anniversary of Dayton to promote further reconciliation and further progress in Bosnia-Hercegovina, this week also represents the beginning of the final status talks in Dayton. President Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president, arrived in Pristina today to begin the first round of talks with the Kosovar leadership. He'll be talking to the Serb leadership in Belgrade as well.
And these two initiatives are designed, we think, to make 2006 a year of decision on both of these questions: on Kosovo, to produce a final outcome for the future of the country; on Bosnia- Hercegovina, to modernize the institutions of the state, so that on the 10th anniversary of Dayton, they can decide to modernize Dayton.
And I think at the meeting tomorrow with Secretary Rice, I'm confident that the political party leaders will agree that this process of constitutional reform is important, and they will say they are dedicated to it.
I just hosted a lunch for the leaders. We were at a long lunch where we worked through all these issues, and we're not there yet. We don't have an agreement yet. They're still consulting with some of the other Bosnian leaders who did not make the trip from Bosnia itself, but I'm confident that they are all heading in that direction. But the final discussions will be held with Secretary Rice tomorrow, and she will be the one hopefully to make this agreement with them. So I wanted to mention those two issues to you. I'll be happy to take your questions.
Q Are you just looking for an agreement that says -- that dedicates the constitutional reform, which is a rather vague concept, or are you looking for a commitment to scrapping the tri-presidency and then having a goal of an institution with just one president?
MR. BURNS: Actually, the concept of constitutional reform is quite specific; it's not vague. And when I was in Sarajevo six weeks ago, they had just completed defense reform -- the process of taking the two armies, two defense ministers, two chiefs of staff, forming one military. They had just agreed on a partial reform of the police services. And when I proposed six weeks ago that they ought to agree to constitutional reform, that was considered a rather radical notion because constitutional reform implies that the Dayton Accords are not immutable.
It implies, specifically to the Bosnian Serbs, that there has to be a process of strengthening the state and not just the entities that, of course, received most of the power at the Dayton negotiations. And it assumes -- constitutional reform -- that there will be a narrowing from three presidents to one. And it assumes the development of a strong prime minister. And it assumes the development of a strong speaker of the parliament and strong parliament. So it's very specific in that sense.
What we hope they'll agree to tomorrow is, as political party leaders in the country, that they will dedicate themselves to this process of constitutional reform; that they will pursue that over the coming months in advance of the 2006 elections. We would hope that that's what they would propose -- commit themselves to tomorrow.
I don't think you'll find specific language in the agreement about the elements -- the type of presidency, the type of prime ministership, the type of parliament -- because that has to be worked out subsequent to any agreement tomorrow; that would have to be worked out in the parliament of Bosnia-Hercegovina, we hope, over the next few months. But when they say they're agreeing to constitutional reform and to agree on the elements of it in the next few months, that is a very specific process, it's not vague at all.
I just wanted to make that note.
Analysis: The Balkans, 10 years after the Dayton Accords - NPR
LIANE HANSEN, co-host:
This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Liane Hansen.
NEAL CONAN, co-host:
And I'm Neal Conan in Washington.
Ten years ago today, a peace accord signed in a hotel ballroom in Dayton, Ohio, brought an end to the long and bloody civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the years of fighting that followed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, almost 300,000 Bosnians were killed and more than a million driven from their homes. The agreement divided the country along ethnic lines: a separate area for Serbs and a Muslim-Croat federation. While many acknowledged the agreement was less than perfect and often Byzantine--among other things, there are three presidents--it did stop the carnage. American and European troops entered the country to enforce the peace; some remain to this day. A decade later, the peace still holds, but the situation remains fragile.
Today on the program, we'll talk about what happened in Dayton 10 years ago and the challenges that lie ahead.
HANSEN: Later in the show, NPR puzzlemaster Will Shortz will join us, and we have an e-mail challenge for you. If you have a puzzle for him, zap it along to us. The address is totn@npr.org. Again, if you have a puzzle for the puzzlemaster, e-mail us at totn@npr.org.
CONAN: But first, Dayton 10 years on. If you have questions about happened during the negotiations or about the lessons of Dayton, our number is (800) 989-8255. That's (800) 989-TALK. The e-mail address is that same one: totn@npr.org. We'd especially like to hear from those of you who served in Bosnia.
Joining us now from our bureau in New York is Laura Silber. She covered the Balkan Wars for The Financial Times in the 1990s and co-wrote a book called "Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation." She frequently returns to the region as a senior policy adviser at the Open Society Institute.
Thanks very much for joining us today.
Ms. LAURA SILBER (Co-author, "Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation"): Thank you for having me.
CONAN: Remind us, if you would. After so many years of civil war, what was it that brought these three parties to Dayton?
Ms. SILBER: Well, I think it was a combination of, A, exhaustion from fighting the war and, B, the consistent and constant pressure led by the United States and Europe that really forced the parties to the negotiating table.
CONAN: Forced the parties how?
Ms. SILBER: Well, a combination of threats, of cajoling, of coaxing, and I think that's what it took to get them all and, finally, frankly, to sequester them in Dayton, where they couldn't go away, where they couldn't just go home, and it was pretty much that which really--it took to get them really to concentrate and actually endorse the peace agreement.
CONAN: Yeah, we talk about the signing ceremony at the hotel ballroom, but really, it was three weeks on an Air force base that provided this agreement.
Ms. SILBER: That's right.
CONAN: Now you have an OP-ED in today's New York Times in which you write, `Dayton won the grudging endorsement of rival leaders by embodying contradiction, most significantly within the constitutional structure of the new state.' Explain what you mean by that.
Ms. SILBER: Well, I think in many ways, Dayton was all things to all people. For the Serbs, which at that time controlled the majority of the territory, it gave them a chance to have two separate entities, that they had what they proclaimed as the Srpska Republika, Republika Srpska, an independent--what they chose to see really as an independent part of a whole of Bosnia. Now, obviously, for the vast majority of the outside world, as well as for the Muslims and the Croats in Bosnia, they didn't want this. They didn't want Serbia to have an indep--for Srpska--the Bosnian Serbs to have an independent entity. And what they got, though, was a unified country, and at least in name, at the time, a central government.
HANSEN: So what do you think, Laura, was Dayton's biggest achievement?
Ms. SILBER: I think it was stopping the war. I think it was--actually, you look at it, there was not a single American killed by enemy fire in that intervention, in that whole years of the peacekeeping. And I think it was really in getting the people to start the long and slow process of living together, at least in the same state, and of, you know, starting about the business of rebuilding a state.
CONAN: Before, the war, Bosnia, and certainly the city of Sarajevo, its capital, was a multiethnic society. Is it today?
Ms. SILBER: That's what I think is the biggest loss of the war, in addition, obviously, to the lost lives and the millions of people who were displaced by the war. It was a loss of the cosmopolitan nature of what was Sarajevo and Bosnia. The idea that it didn't matter whether someone was Serbian or Croat or Muslim; it was a mixed and common heritage of being Bosnian. And I think to many, to a great extent, that is lost today. There still--it still lives on in individuals, and it still lives on in Sarajevo, perhaps, but it's not the same strong sense of what Sarajevo was with basically a Bosnia in miniature, as well as a former Yugoslavia in miniature.
CONAN: And today it is?
Ms. SILBER: It's a city where you have people who are cosmopolitan, you have people who are obviously from mixed marriages or just identify themselves as Bosnian rather than as Serbs, Croats or Muslims. But it's also a city that, for four years, was under a siege, a city where many people--no one's life was untouched by the war. And I think you have a residue of that and a city that's not--it's not quite the proud centerpiece of Bosnia that it once was.
HANSEN: Laura, you've been back quite frequently. What's it like economically there today?
Ms. SILBER: It's made, obviously, a vast improvement from the end of the war, so we have to be careful. When we look at it, we have to also realize it takes a long time to rebuild from nothing. But today many people who have the option of leaving Bosnia or Sarajevo will leave; people who can vote with their feet, so to say, people who can go--who have a better chance of building a life elsewhere, they will leave. You have a Bosnia where it's very, very complicated to rebuild an economy because of the--frankly, of the very complicated construct of the Dayton Agreement, the agreement that was done 10 years ago today. Everything has to be negotiated. It's very complicated to do, say, any kind of simple economic reform, which may not even be so simple, becomes even more complicated in Bosnia-Herzegovina today.
CONAN: If you have questions about what happened 10 years ago or about the future of Bosnia, give us a call, (800) 989-8255. That's (800) 989-TALK. The e-mail address is totn@npr.org.
And let's get a call in from Jacob. Jacob's calling us from Minneapolis.
JACOB (Caller): Yes, hello. Thanks for taking the call.
CONAN: Sure.
JACOB: My question is that why did not the NATO peacekeeper put enough effort to arrest Ratko Mladic and his master, Radovan Karadzic, for the war crimes they committed? I mean, they were in the area at the time when they got in and I am very pessimistic, if those guys stay on the loose, that the peace would unravel if anything happened, and I'm afraid the reason they did not do that, because they don't want to antagonize the Serb population who think that they are ...(unintelligible)...
CONAN: Mladic and...
JACOB: ...war criminals.
CONAN: Mladic and Karadzic are the indicted war criminals. Laura Silber.
Ms. SILBER: I think you raise a very important point. I think that the fact that 10 years later, these two men are free and at liberty is actually a constant reminder and an impediment to rebuilding some sort of Bosnia, because these men are free, because despite the fact that tens of thousands of thousands of international forces have been deployed there, they still have not been captured. I hope that these men are obviously captured within the next year, because it--really, we have a relatively short window of when there's still an international military presence there that might do that. And even perhaps if you have local armed forces ultimately making the arrests, it's very complicated, and the fact that it hasn't been done, when there was such a huge presence, I think is a huge problem, and obviously, this is one of the major failings, I think, of the people that implemented the peace, the fact that they're not arrested yet.
CONAN: Jacob, thanks very much for the call.
HANSEN: We turn now to someone who was directly involved with the negotiations at the Dayton peace conference. Carl Bildt is the former prime minister of Sweden, and he was the European Union co-chairman of the Dayton peace conference. He also served as the EU's first international high representative in Bosnia from 1996 to 1997. He joins us on the line from Stockholm, Sweden. Welcome to the program, sir.
Former Prime Minister CARL BILDT (Sweden): Thank you.
HANSEN: What do you consider to be the breakthrough point at Dayton?
Mr. BILDT: Well, I think the breakthrough point was rather earlier. I think the key thing that was done was the agreement in early September, where the foreign ministers from Zagreb, from Sarajevo and Belgrade were brought together, and there was an agreement on really the broad outlines of what then later became the Dayton Agreement. Dayton was then--the details, difficult as they were, and there was a serious risk of the entire thing breaking down. But that was exactly where you had the so-called ...(unintelligible) boundary line. It was a lot of the implementation issues. It was just certainly constitutional issues.
The breakthrough in political terms, of course, was when, from my European perspective, when Washington decided to get serious. Prior to that, there hadn't been that serious engagement from Washington on the political side. But late summer, there was a change of emphasis in Washington, and it was possible to get very quickly then agreement between the Europeans and the Americans on what needs to be done, and then from then on, we had a peace process worthy of the name, which we hadn't had, I would say, for three years. We prolonged the war for a long time, but when we got serious, we were able to close down the war within a couple of months.
HANSEN: What was it like on that Air Force base for those three weeks? Were people talking to each other like in the hallways or was it always formal negotiations?
Mr. BILDT: No, I would say it was more talking in the hallways than it was formal negotiations. I mean, for a long time, I remember the first week, we spent doing virtually nothing. Just having round--and there were talks on rather sort of marginal issues, but it was very difficult to get to the grips on the core issues. I mean, the atmosphere was fairly relaxed. Everyone was talking to everyone, but there was also serious disagreement within the different delegations. I mean, it's easy to see to sort of the Muslims vs. Serbs, for example, but there were very serious disagreements within the Bosnian-Muslim delegation that created a lot of problems. And on the Serb side, there was Milosevic, who was fairly easy to deal with because he wanted an agreement. And then there was the Bosnian Serbs, who were kept in the dark, to a very large extent, by Milosevic, and then there was President Tudjman, who was primarily interested in settling the problems of eastern Slavonia in Croatia. So it was very much up and down. It was a strange experience, those three weeks.
CONAN: Stay with us if you would, Carl Bildt, and also Laura Silber. We're talking today Dayton Accords, which happened--were signed 10 years ago today. If you'd like to join the conversation, our number is (800) 989-8255, (800) 989-TALK. Our e-mail address is totn@npr.org. Later in the program, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke will join us.
I'm Neal Conan. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
(Soundbite of music)
CONAN: This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan.
HANSEN: And I'm Liane Hansen.
Ten years ago, the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords ended a bloody war in what was then Yugoslavia. Today we're talking about what's happened in Bosnia since the end of that war. Our guests are Laura Silber, author of "Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation" and who covered the war for The Financial Times, and Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden and European Union co-chairman of the Dayton peace conference.
You're also invited to join the discussion. Give us a call at (800) 989-TALK. That's (800) 989-8255. And our e-mail address is TOTN--T-O-T-N--@npr.org.
CONAN: And let's get another caller on the line, and this is Bill. Bill's calling us from Chapel Hill in North Carolina.
BILL (Caller): Good afternoon, everyone.
CONAN: Good afternoon.
BILL: My question is the way you have spoken of the people dividing themselves, and by that I mean you speak of Serbs from Serbia and Croats--the same--Croatia--and Muslims. And that's--my question is two names are place names. I'm from here or there. I could be any religion in the world, but I'm from one of these two places. The third one is religion, the most of whom--most people who are Muslim are from Indonesia. So why not like people identifying themselves as Christians, Jews and Muslim or Buddhists, or Serbians and Croats and Romanians or, it doesn't matter, Chinese?
CONAN: Carl Bildt, how did--did those self-identifications enter into this--how did those self-identifications enter into this?
Mr. BILDT: It has a long history, but I think it's a very valid point. This is--goes to the crux of what Bosnia is. You can say that what divides these people is not that they are ethnically different. They are all Slavs, no different, virtually same language. But they are divided through history by three different religions, three difficult cultural traditions. They are Christian Orthodox, they are Muslim, Ottomans I would call them, and they are Catholics. And the Catholics happen to be Croats and the Orthodox happens to be Serb in general terms. And historically speaking, there was a rise during the '50s and the '60s and '70s and the '80s in Bosnia, often attempt to get the Muslims recognized as Muslims. I mean, that was President Izetbegovic's big thing throughout his political career, that he wanted to have the Muslim nationality recognized as such. And that's why we ended up this--I agree with that--not entirely correct way of saying Croats, Muslims and Serbs. We could also say Catholics, Muslim and Orthodox, or we can say Bosnians about them all.
CONAN: Bill, thanks for the call.
BILL: Well, thank you. Bye-bye.
CONAN: Prime Minister Bildt, after 10 years, do you regard Dayton as a success and what do you think needs to be done now?
Mr. BILDT: Well, I think Dayton was distinctly a success in closing down the war and undertaking quite a number of measures in terms of state-building; that is making virtually certain that the war is not going to come back in Bosnia. I'm fairly confident about that. Then state-building is a long-term process, and I think there was a tendency in Dayton--immediately after Dayton to think of this as a fairly quick, easy thing. It's not. It's a long-term, very demanding thing to build a state where we have, as we just discussed, really three different nationalities of three different cultural and political traditions that needs to be coming together. So Dayton was a success in ending the war.
Whether Bosnia has been a success in them is more debatable. I'm very worried by the economic and social situation in the country. I think the politicians of Bosnia have been failing in the last few years and coming to grips with the real long-term issues that are facing them. I mean, it's been easy for them, to a certain extent, to blame the international authority, because that's been so overpowering in Bosnia in the last few years, and it's also been fairly easy for them to involve or devolve or descend into different constitutional squabbles and refit some of the issues of the war and, thus, avoid responsibility for an economy and a social situation that is fairly desperate. I think Laura Silber alluded to that.
HANSEN: Laura Silber, what do you think about that? What do you consider to be the successes of Dayton?
Ms. SILBER: Well, I agree with Carl Bildt completely in that I think the success was obviously in ending the war, and I am very worried about the fact of the real absence of a development of any kind of real democratic political culture among the politicians, and I think it was kind of a paradox in that there was a very strong international presence which was needed, a very robust presence that had fought wide-ranging powers, and that was needed, because otherwise, there was no way to knock together the heads of all these rival sides so that they could actually get about the business of passing laws and do all that.
At the same time, it's somehow, I think, stunted the growth of the Bosnian politicians, and so--and as much as the Bosnian politicians like to blame the outside world and the international administrators for the failures of Bosnia, it's also their fault, because they really have refused and even impeded progress by their rivalry, by their petty political struggles that they are waging now; they're not fighting, but they're really waging them in the parliament. So that I think we have a lot of the issues still unresolved and a lot of the problems that could ostensibly really be addressed by a responsible political leadership, regardless of, say, party affiliation that we really haven't seen yet, and I hope that as Bosnia moves in the future, in the very near future, obviously, into a much more European context, that somehow, the politicians in Bosnia can see what's at stake and say, `We need to address these, and we really need to live up to the task at hand,' and they haven't been able to do that so far.
CONAN: Let's get another caller on the line, and we'll go to Peter. Peter calling us from Corvallis, Oregon.
PETER (Caller): Hi there. My question regards Balkanization. You're talking about these groups of people with different backgrounds seemingly unable to rectify their differences and, you know, that seems to be happening in lots of places, and people use the term Balkanization. I'm wondering what lessons we can take from this conflict in preventing these different groups of people becoming more and more disparate in their interests and just scrabbling for power and then resorting to this horrible violence? And I'm thinking in particular in Iraq; obviously, we have similar sorts of problems. But I also feel like within the United States, our differences are becoming more and more acute, and it just really hurts to feel--that direction.
CONAN: Carl Bildt, I wonder if you had thought about that?
Mr. BILDT: Well, I haven't really thought about it in terms of the United States, but I've thought about it relation to a lot of other issues that were mentioned. It is true. I mean, we have in--what I sometimes refer to the post-Ottoman space, the entire area that was once occupied by the Ottoman Empire. We have a mosaic of different nationalities and people. And we've tried to get them together in more or less functioning states. It's worked sometimes and it's failed in other cases. I mean, Yugoslavia is a spectacular failure. We've succeeded, to a certain extent, in Bosnia in keeping a state, which includes then the different groups that we mentioned previously.
We have a big problem in Kosovo, where we did an intervention in 1999. We failed to get a peace agreement with Kosovo, by the way, and after that failure, there was a military intervention, and we tried to build a multiethnic society. We have utterly failed in that. We are now trying to set up an independent state. That might be the least bad of the bad solutions available, but, I mean, we should recognize that that is failing in that respect. We've had great difficulties getting Cyprus together. We have immense difficulties now, as you know, in Iraq trying to get sort of the Kurds and the Arabs primarily to be together. I think the main lesson is that prevent these wars before they start.
I mean, the irony--the tragic irony of the Bosnian situation is that we had really an agreement in, I think, it was February or March of 1992. That is prior to the outbreak of the Bosnian War. There was an agreement that was signed--initialed at least--on the future of Bosnia, which was in principle very much like Dayton. But there was not the willingness to go down that particular road at that particular time. And then instead, we got more than three years of war, hundred thousand dead, a million people displaced, because we did not have a sufficiently forceful and foresighted diplomacy to prevent the war from happening. And once a war has started, it is very difficult to repair such a nation.
CONAN: Carl Bildt, thank you very much for taking the time to be with us today.
Mr. BILDT: Thank you.
CONAN: Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, the European Union co-chair at the Dayton peace conference, and he joined us from Stockholm, Sweden. And, Laura Silber, thank you so much for your time today as well.
Ms. SILBER: Thank you.
CONAN: Laura Silber covered the Balkan Wars for The Financial Times and is co-author of the book, "Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation."
Joining us now is Richard Holbrooke. Richard Holbrooke was the chief negotiator for the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia. And he joins us now on the line from here in Washington, DC. And, Ambassador Holbrooke, very good of you to join us today.
Former Ambassador RICHARD HOLBROOKE: Well, it's my pleasure.
CONAN: Looking back on the 10 years since Dayton, what are the lessons do you think we should draw from this?
Mr. HOLBROOKE: Well, the biggest lessons for me is that the United States has a role to play in these issues. It should take the lead. And when it engages, it makes a difference. We got into the Bosnian situation much too slowly. 1991, the Bush administration disengaged. Clinton, after campaigning that he would get involved, was slow to get involved. When we finally got involved in August of '95 in a serious way with an all-out negotiating effort and bombing--and, by the way, I should note that three of my four initial negotiating team members were killed trying to get into Sarajevo; Bob Frasure, Joe Kruzel and Nelson Drew, on that terrible road that Carl Bildt knows so well.
When we finally got involved, including NATO bombing, we got them to the table, got them to the Wright-Patterson Air Base outside Dayton, Ohio, and forged the Dayton peace agreement. That was American leadership. The second point I'd make is that Dayton worked. It achieved all our initial objectives. It ended the war, and not one American or NATO soldier has been killed or wounded in the 10 years since then; 60,000 NATO troops went in, of which 20,000 were American. Now we're down to about 7,000 total, of which under 200 are American, and I repeat, no American or NATO killed or wounded. We wrote a peace agreement, unlike Iraq, which was full and complete. Everyone signed on to it. And the agreement worked. Now Dayton wasn't perfect, but it achieved our objectives, and I think it stands as perhaps the most successful peace negotiation of the last quarter century anywhere in the world.
HANSEN: Ambassador Holbrooke, what do you think then are the challenges that lie ahead for the country?
Mr. HOLBROOKE: For Bosnia?
HANSEN: Yes.
Mr. HOLBROOKE: Well, the Dayton Agreement had plenty of flaws in it; some of them are now being corrected. We allowed three armies to remain. You can't have three armies in a single country. And that was because NATO refused the mission of integrating them. But now they have military integration that has finally been agreed to. There were two ethnically based police forces. That was no good. That's being reformed. And today, in Washington, Secretary of State Rice and Undersecretary of State Burns are heavily working on trying to fix some of the constitutional problems. This should have been done years ago, but quite frankly, in the four years leading up to the last few weeks, the US government did absolutely nothing in the region of any consequence, and I'm including Kosovo in this, because I heard your last discussion with Carl Bildt on Kosovo.
Kosovo's going to be a much harder problem. Condoleezza Rice assigned the undersecretary of State, Nick Burns, to this issue. Burns, who was a veteran of Dayton--10 years ago today, he was at my side as we negotiated the final drama there, exactly 10 years ago, almost to the hour. We pulled a negotiation out of a failure, a success out of a failure. Burns knows the area. He's engaged, and so they're trying to fix Dayton. It's belated, but it's the right thing to do. I want to echo something that I hard Carl Bildt say a minute ago. In Bosnia's case, we're trying to improve on a success to fix some of the flaws, but in Kosovo, we're dealing--we're going to have to deal with a situation that was ignored for the last four and a half years and that has gotten progressively more tense and for which the solutions are going to be far, far more difficult.
CONAN: We're talking about the lessons of the Dayton Peace Accords which were signed 10 years ago today.
And you're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
Let's get another caller on the line. This is Katerina. Katerina's calling us from Ann Arbor in Michigan.
KATERINA (Caller): Good afternoon, gentlemen. I'd like to know, of those people who fled, especially in those last days before the war began in '92, how many actually came back to Bosnia, particularly in Sarajevo? I wondered if you know that?
Amb. HOLBROOKE: I'm so glad you asked that question. The statistics on the war are pretty staggering: 300,000 killed, two and a half million homeless. Of the two and a half million refugees, homeless, well over half have now returned to the country, and most amazingly of all, many of them, many, many of them--statistics are a little weak here--have returned to minority areas. Let's take the worst place in the whole region, Srebrenica, the famous killing field where one of the great war crimes in the 20th century took place, where the Bosnian Serbs killed 7,700 Muslim men and young men in the soccer field. I was there in that soccer field, in that mud field on its 10th anniversary a few months ago as a member of an official delegation, and two my utter amazement, 4,000 Muslims had returned to the valley. When I was there five years ago, the number was 10 Muslim families. Now 4,000 had returned. The Serbs who had come there from Sarajevo had begun to leave. They were down from 12,000 to 8,000. And I believe that when we come back there in five years, the valley will once again be a Muslim valley.
That doesn't bring back the dead and it doesn't bring justice to the people who lost their loved ones, but this is an amazing turn of events. The people want peace. It is the thuggish leaders, many of whom are just plain old Mafioso crooks masquerading as nationalists who prevent it. But the return of minorities, even to the most difficult areas--Banja Luka, Srebrenica, Focce(ph)--is well under way.
As for your question about Sarajevo, do not forget that it was the Bosnian Serbs themselves, the Serbs themselves who drove their own people out of Sarajevo after Dayton. We had agreed they would stay, and the thugs who run the--who ran the separatist effort of the Serbs went in there, told Serb families who had lived there for generations, centuries to burn their furniture, light up the gas ovens, explode their apartments and leave. That was a terrible day, and I regret to say a day in which our own implementing forces, the NATO forces, stood by and did nothing. March 15, 1996, a day I really think was the worst day of the last 10 years. But even there the Serbs are coming back now. Progress is slow, slower than I want, but by God it's happening.
CONAN: Katerina, thanks very much for the phone call. We appreciate it.
KATERINA: Thank you.
CONAN: And, Ambassador Holbrooke, we know you're extremely busy today on this 10th anniversary. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us.
Amb. HOLBROOKE: It's my pleasure.
CONAN: Richard Holbrooke, former chief negotiator at the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords on Bosnia and former ambassador to the United Nations. He joined us by phone from here in Washington, DC.
We're going to take a short break. When we return, the puzzlemaster of "Weekend Edition Sunday" and the puzzle editor of The New York Times, Will Shortz, will join us. If you've always wanted to challenge the puzzlemaster, send him a puzzle. The address: totn@npr.org. That's totn@npr.org. If you've ever suffered at his hands trying to solve those devilish puzzles on "Weekend Edition Sunday," you could just put `payback' in the subject line. Again, totn@npr.org.
I'm Neal Conan. We'll be back after the break. It's TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Liane Hansen.
NEAL CONAN, co-host:
And I'm Neal Conan in Washington.
Ten years ago today, a peace accord signed in a hotel ballroom in Dayton, Ohio, brought an end to the long and bloody civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the years of fighting that followed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, almost 300,000 Bosnians were killed and more than a million driven from their homes. The agreement divided the country along ethnic lines: a separate area for Serbs and a Muslim-Croat federation. While many acknowledged the agreement was less than perfect and often Byzantine--among other things, there are three presidents--it did stop the carnage. American and European troops entered the country to enforce the peace; some remain to this day. A decade later, the peace still holds, but the situation remains fragile.
Today on the program, we'll talk about what happened in Dayton 10 years ago and the challenges that lie ahead.
HANSEN: Later in the show, NPR puzzlemaster Will Shortz will join us, and we have an e-mail challenge for you. If you have a puzzle for him, zap it along to us. The address is totn@npr.org. Again, if you have a puzzle for the puzzlemaster, e-mail us at totn@npr.org.
CONAN: But first, Dayton 10 years on. If you have questions about happened during the negotiations or about the lessons of Dayton, our number is (800) 989-8255. That's (800) 989-TALK. The e-mail address is that same one: totn@npr.org. We'd especially like to hear from those of you who served in Bosnia.
Joining us now from our bureau in New York is Laura Silber. She covered the Balkan Wars for The Financial Times in the 1990s and co-wrote a book called "Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation." She frequently returns to the region as a senior policy adviser at the Open Society Institute.
Thanks very much for joining us today.
Ms. LAURA SILBER (Co-author, "Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation"): Thank you for having me.
CONAN: Remind us, if you would. After so many years of civil war, what was it that brought these three parties to Dayton?
Ms. SILBER: Well, I think it was a combination of, A, exhaustion from fighting the war and, B, the consistent and constant pressure led by the United States and Europe that really forced the parties to the negotiating table.
CONAN: Forced the parties how?
Ms. SILBER: Well, a combination of threats, of cajoling, of coaxing, and I think that's what it took to get them all and, finally, frankly, to sequester them in Dayton, where they couldn't go away, where they couldn't just go home, and it was pretty much that which really--it took to get them really to concentrate and actually endorse the peace agreement.
CONAN: Yeah, we talk about the signing ceremony at the hotel ballroom, but really, it was three weeks on an Air force base that provided this agreement.
Ms. SILBER: That's right.
CONAN: Now you have an OP-ED in today's New York Times in which you write, `Dayton won the grudging endorsement of rival leaders by embodying contradiction, most significantly within the constitutional structure of the new state.' Explain what you mean by that.
Ms. SILBER: Well, I think in many ways, Dayton was all things to all people. For the Serbs, which at that time controlled the majority of the territory, it gave them a chance to have two separate entities, that they had what they proclaimed as the Srpska Republika, Republika Srpska, an independent--what they chose to see really as an independent part of a whole of Bosnia. Now, obviously, for the vast majority of the outside world, as well as for the Muslims and the Croats in Bosnia, they didn't want this. They didn't want Serbia to have an indep--for Srpska--the Bosnian Serbs to have an independent entity. And what they got, though, was a unified country, and at least in name, at the time, a central government.
HANSEN: So what do you think, Laura, was Dayton's biggest achievement?
Ms. SILBER: I think it was stopping the war. I think it was--actually, you look at it, there was not a single American killed by enemy fire in that intervention, in that whole years of the peacekeeping. And I think it was really in getting the people to start the long and slow process of living together, at least in the same state, and of, you know, starting about the business of rebuilding a state.
CONAN: Before, the war, Bosnia, and certainly the city of Sarajevo, its capital, was a multiethnic society. Is it today?
Ms. SILBER: That's what I think is the biggest loss of the war, in addition, obviously, to the lost lives and the millions of people who were displaced by the war. It was a loss of the cosmopolitan nature of what was Sarajevo and Bosnia. The idea that it didn't matter whether someone was Serbian or Croat or Muslim; it was a mixed and common heritage of being Bosnian. And I think to many, to a great extent, that is lost today. There still--it still lives on in individuals, and it still lives on in Sarajevo, perhaps, but it's not the same strong sense of what Sarajevo was with basically a Bosnia in miniature, as well as a former Yugoslavia in miniature.
CONAN: And today it is?
Ms. SILBER: It's a city where you have people who are cosmopolitan, you have people who are obviously from mixed marriages or just identify themselves as Bosnian rather than as Serbs, Croats or Muslims. But it's also a city that, for four years, was under a siege, a city where many people--no one's life was untouched by the war. And I think you have a residue of that and a city that's not--it's not quite the proud centerpiece of Bosnia that it once was.
HANSEN: Laura, you've been back quite frequently. What's it like economically there today?
Ms. SILBER: It's made, obviously, a vast improvement from the end of the war, so we have to be careful. When we look at it, we have to also realize it takes a long time to rebuild from nothing. But today many people who have the option of leaving Bosnia or Sarajevo will leave; people who can vote with their feet, so to say, people who can go--who have a better chance of building a life elsewhere, they will leave. You have a Bosnia where it's very, very complicated to rebuild an economy because of the--frankly, of the very complicated construct of the Dayton Agreement, the agreement that was done 10 years ago today. Everything has to be negotiated. It's very complicated to do, say, any kind of simple economic reform, which may not even be so simple, becomes even more complicated in Bosnia-Herzegovina today.
CONAN: If you have questions about what happened 10 years ago or about the future of Bosnia, give us a call, (800) 989-8255. That's (800) 989-TALK. The e-mail address is totn@npr.org.
And let's get a call in from Jacob. Jacob's calling us from Minneapolis.
JACOB (Caller): Yes, hello. Thanks for taking the call.
CONAN: Sure.
JACOB: My question is that why did not the NATO peacekeeper put enough effort to arrest Ratko Mladic and his master, Radovan Karadzic, for the war crimes they committed? I mean, they were in the area at the time when they got in and I am very pessimistic, if those guys stay on the loose, that the peace would unravel if anything happened, and I'm afraid the reason they did not do that, because they don't want to antagonize the Serb population who think that they are ...(unintelligible)...
CONAN: Mladic and...
JACOB: ...war criminals.
CONAN: Mladic and Karadzic are the indicted war criminals. Laura Silber.
Ms. SILBER: I think you raise a very important point. I think that the fact that 10 years later, these two men are free and at liberty is actually a constant reminder and an impediment to rebuilding some sort of Bosnia, because these men are free, because despite the fact that tens of thousands of thousands of international forces have been deployed there, they still have not been captured. I hope that these men are obviously captured within the next year, because it--really, we have a relatively short window of when there's still an international military presence there that might do that. And even perhaps if you have local armed forces ultimately making the arrests, it's very complicated, and the fact that it hasn't been done, when there was such a huge presence, I think is a huge problem, and obviously, this is one of the major failings, I think, of the people that implemented the peace, the fact that they're not arrested yet.
CONAN: Jacob, thanks very much for the call.
HANSEN: We turn now to someone who was directly involved with the negotiations at the Dayton peace conference. Carl Bildt is the former prime minister of Sweden, and he was the European Union co-chairman of the Dayton peace conference. He also served as the EU's first international high representative in Bosnia from 1996 to 1997. He joins us on the line from Stockholm, Sweden. Welcome to the program, sir.
Former Prime Minister CARL BILDT (Sweden): Thank you.
HANSEN: What do you consider to be the breakthrough point at Dayton?
Mr. BILDT: Well, I think the breakthrough point was rather earlier. I think the key thing that was done was the agreement in early September, where the foreign ministers from Zagreb, from Sarajevo and Belgrade were brought together, and there was an agreement on really the broad outlines of what then later became the Dayton Agreement. Dayton was then--the details, difficult as they were, and there was a serious risk of the entire thing breaking down. But that was exactly where you had the so-called ...(unintelligible) boundary line. It was a lot of the implementation issues. It was just certainly constitutional issues.
The breakthrough in political terms, of course, was when, from my European perspective, when Washington decided to get serious. Prior to that, there hadn't been that serious engagement from Washington on the political side. But late summer, there was a change of emphasis in Washington, and it was possible to get very quickly then agreement between the Europeans and the Americans on what needs to be done, and then from then on, we had a peace process worthy of the name, which we hadn't had, I would say, for three years. We prolonged the war for a long time, but when we got serious, we were able to close down the war within a couple of months.
HANSEN: What was it like on that Air Force base for those three weeks? Were people talking to each other like in the hallways or was it always formal negotiations?
Mr. BILDT: No, I would say it was more talking in the hallways than it was formal negotiations. I mean, for a long time, I remember the first week, we spent doing virtually nothing. Just having round--and there were talks on rather sort of marginal issues, but it was very difficult to get to the grips on the core issues. I mean, the atmosphere was fairly relaxed. Everyone was talking to everyone, but there was also serious disagreement within the different delegations. I mean, it's easy to see to sort of the Muslims vs. Serbs, for example, but there were very serious disagreements within the Bosnian-Muslim delegation that created a lot of problems. And on the Serb side, there was Milosevic, who was fairly easy to deal with because he wanted an agreement. And then there was the Bosnian Serbs, who were kept in the dark, to a very large extent, by Milosevic, and then there was President Tudjman, who was primarily interested in settling the problems of eastern Slavonia in Croatia. So it was very much up and down. It was a strange experience, those three weeks.
CONAN: Stay with us if you would, Carl Bildt, and also Laura Silber. We're talking today Dayton Accords, which happened--were signed 10 years ago today. If you'd like to join the conversation, our number is (800) 989-8255, (800) 989-TALK. Our e-mail address is totn@npr.org. Later in the program, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke will join us.
I'm Neal Conan. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
(Soundbite of music)
CONAN: This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan.
HANSEN: And I'm Liane Hansen.
Ten years ago, the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords ended a bloody war in what was then Yugoslavia. Today we're talking about what's happened in Bosnia since the end of that war. Our guests are Laura Silber, author of "Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation" and who covered the war for The Financial Times, and Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden and European Union co-chairman of the Dayton peace conference.
You're also invited to join the discussion. Give us a call at (800) 989-TALK. That's (800) 989-8255. And our e-mail address is TOTN--T-O-T-N--@npr.org.
CONAN: And let's get another caller on the line, and this is Bill. Bill's calling us from Chapel Hill in North Carolina.
BILL (Caller): Good afternoon, everyone.
CONAN: Good afternoon.
BILL: My question is the way you have spoken of the people dividing themselves, and by that I mean you speak of Serbs from Serbia and Croats--the same--Croatia--and Muslims. And that's--my question is two names are place names. I'm from here or there. I could be any religion in the world, but I'm from one of these two places. The third one is religion, the most of whom--most people who are Muslim are from Indonesia. So why not like people identifying themselves as Christians, Jews and Muslim or Buddhists, or Serbians and Croats and Romanians or, it doesn't matter, Chinese?
CONAN: Carl Bildt, how did--did those self-identifications enter into this--how did those self-identifications enter into this?
Mr. BILDT: It has a long history, but I think it's a very valid point. This is--goes to the crux of what Bosnia is. You can say that what divides these people is not that they are ethnically different. They are all Slavs, no different, virtually same language. But they are divided through history by three different religions, three difficult cultural traditions. They are Christian Orthodox, they are Muslim, Ottomans I would call them, and they are Catholics. And the Catholics happen to be Croats and the Orthodox happens to be Serb in general terms. And historically speaking, there was a rise during the '50s and the '60s and '70s and the '80s in Bosnia, often attempt to get the Muslims recognized as Muslims. I mean, that was President Izetbegovic's big thing throughout his political career, that he wanted to have the Muslim nationality recognized as such. And that's why we ended up this--I agree with that--not entirely correct way of saying Croats, Muslims and Serbs. We could also say Catholics, Muslim and Orthodox, or we can say Bosnians about them all.
CONAN: Bill, thanks for the call.
BILL: Well, thank you. Bye-bye.
CONAN: Prime Minister Bildt, after 10 years, do you regard Dayton as a success and what do you think needs to be done now?
Mr. BILDT: Well, I think Dayton was distinctly a success in closing down the war and undertaking quite a number of measures in terms of state-building; that is making virtually certain that the war is not going to come back in Bosnia. I'm fairly confident about that. Then state-building is a long-term process, and I think there was a tendency in Dayton--immediately after Dayton to think of this as a fairly quick, easy thing. It's not. It's a long-term, very demanding thing to build a state where we have, as we just discussed, really three different nationalities of three different cultural and political traditions that needs to be coming together. So Dayton was a success in ending the war.
Whether Bosnia has been a success in them is more debatable. I'm very worried by the economic and social situation in the country. I think the politicians of Bosnia have been failing in the last few years and coming to grips with the real long-term issues that are facing them. I mean, it's been easy for them, to a certain extent, to blame the international authority, because that's been so overpowering in Bosnia in the last few years, and it's also been fairly easy for them to involve or devolve or descend into different constitutional squabbles and refit some of the issues of the war and, thus, avoid responsibility for an economy and a social situation that is fairly desperate. I think Laura Silber alluded to that.
HANSEN: Laura Silber, what do you think about that? What do you consider to be the successes of Dayton?
Ms. SILBER: Well, I agree with Carl Bildt completely in that I think the success was obviously in ending the war, and I am very worried about the fact of the real absence of a development of any kind of real democratic political culture among the politicians, and I think it was kind of a paradox in that there was a very strong international presence which was needed, a very robust presence that had fought wide-ranging powers, and that was needed, because otherwise, there was no way to knock together the heads of all these rival sides so that they could actually get about the business of passing laws and do all that.
At the same time, it's somehow, I think, stunted the growth of the Bosnian politicians, and so--and as much as the Bosnian politicians like to blame the outside world and the international administrators for the failures of Bosnia, it's also their fault, because they really have refused and even impeded progress by their rivalry, by their petty political struggles that they are waging now; they're not fighting, but they're really waging them in the parliament. So that I think we have a lot of the issues still unresolved and a lot of the problems that could ostensibly really be addressed by a responsible political leadership, regardless of, say, party affiliation that we really haven't seen yet, and I hope that as Bosnia moves in the future, in the very near future, obviously, into a much more European context, that somehow, the politicians in Bosnia can see what's at stake and say, `We need to address these, and we really need to live up to the task at hand,' and they haven't been able to do that so far.
CONAN: Let's get another caller on the line, and we'll go to Peter. Peter calling us from Corvallis, Oregon.
PETER (Caller): Hi there. My question regards Balkanization. You're talking about these groups of people with different backgrounds seemingly unable to rectify their differences and, you know, that seems to be happening in lots of places, and people use the term Balkanization. I'm wondering what lessons we can take from this conflict in preventing these different groups of people becoming more and more disparate in their interests and just scrabbling for power and then resorting to this horrible violence? And I'm thinking in particular in Iraq; obviously, we have similar sorts of problems. But I also feel like within the United States, our differences are becoming more and more acute, and it just really hurts to feel--that direction.
CONAN: Carl Bildt, I wonder if you had thought about that?
Mr. BILDT: Well, I haven't really thought about it in terms of the United States, but I've thought about it relation to a lot of other issues that were mentioned. It is true. I mean, we have in--what I sometimes refer to the post-Ottoman space, the entire area that was once occupied by the Ottoman Empire. We have a mosaic of different nationalities and people. And we've tried to get them together in more or less functioning states. It's worked sometimes and it's failed in other cases. I mean, Yugoslavia is a spectacular failure. We've succeeded, to a certain extent, in Bosnia in keeping a state, which includes then the different groups that we mentioned previously.
We have a big problem in Kosovo, where we did an intervention in 1999. We failed to get a peace agreement with Kosovo, by the way, and after that failure, there was a military intervention, and we tried to build a multiethnic society. We have utterly failed in that. We are now trying to set up an independent state. That might be the least bad of the bad solutions available, but, I mean, we should recognize that that is failing in that respect. We've had great difficulties getting Cyprus together. We have immense difficulties now, as you know, in Iraq trying to get sort of the Kurds and the Arabs primarily to be together. I think the main lesson is that prevent these wars before they start.
I mean, the irony--the tragic irony of the Bosnian situation is that we had really an agreement in, I think, it was February or March of 1992. That is prior to the outbreak of the Bosnian War. There was an agreement that was signed--initialed at least--on the future of Bosnia, which was in principle very much like Dayton. But there was not the willingness to go down that particular road at that particular time. And then instead, we got more than three years of war, hundred thousand dead, a million people displaced, because we did not have a sufficiently forceful and foresighted diplomacy to prevent the war from happening. And once a war has started, it is very difficult to repair such a nation.
CONAN: Carl Bildt, thank you very much for taking the time to be with us today.
Mr. BILDT: Thank you.
CONAN: Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, the European Union co-chair at the Dayton peace conference, and he joined us from Stockholm, Sweden. And, Laura Silber, thank you so much for your time today as well.
Ms. SILBER: Thank you.
CONAN: Laura Silber covered the Balkan Wars for The Financial Times and is co-author of the book, "Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation."
Joining us now is Richard Holbrooke. Richard Holbrooke was the chief negotiator for the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia. And he joins us now on the line from here in Washington, DC. And, Ambassador Holbrooke, very good of you to join us today.
Former Ambassador RICHARD HOLBROOKE: Well, it's my pleasure.
CONAN: Looking back on the 10 years since Dayton, what are the lessons do you think we should draw from this?
Mr. HOLBROOKE: Well, the biggest lessons for me is that the United States has a role to play in these issues. It should take the lead. And when it engages, it makes a difference. We got into the Bosnian situation much too slowly. 1991, the Bush administration disengaged. Clinton, after campaigning that he would get involved, was slow to get involved. When we finally got involved in August of '95 in a serious way with an all-out negotiating effort and bombing--and, by the way, I should note that three of my four initial negotiating team members were killed trying to get into Sarajevo; Bob Frasure, Joe Kruzel and Nelson Drew, on that terrible road that Carl Bildt knows so well.
When we finally got involved, including NATO bombing, we got them to the table, got them to the Wright-Patterson Air Base outside Dayton, Ohio, and forged the Dayton peace agreement. That was American leadership. The second point I'd make is that Dayton worked. It achieved all our initial objectives. It ended the war, and not one American or NATO soldier has been killed or wounded in the 10 years since then; 60,000 NATO troops went in, of which 20,000 were American. Now we're down to about 7,000 total, of which under 200 are American, and I repeat, no American or NATO killed or wounded. We wrote a peace agreement, unlike Iraq, which was full and complete. Everyone signed on to it. And the agreement worked. Now Dayton wasn't perfect, but it achieved our objectives, and I think it stands as perhaps the most successful peace negotiation of the last quarter century anywhere in the world.
HANSEN: Ambassador Holbrooke, what do you think then are the challenges that lie ahead for the country?
Mr. HOLBROOKE: For Bosnia?
HANSEN: Yes.
Mr. HOLBROOKE: Well, the Dayton Agreement had plenty of flaws in it; some of them are now being corrected. We allowed three armies to remain. You can't have three armies in a single country. And that was because NATO refused the mission of integrating them. But now they have military integration that has finally been agreed to. There were two ethnically based police forces. That was no good. That's being reformed. And today, in Washington, Secretary of State Rice and Undersecretary of State Burns are heavily working on trying to fix some of the constitutional problems. This should have been done years ago, but quite frankly, in the four years leading up to the last few weeks, the US government did absolutely nothing in the region of any consequence, and I'm including Kosovo in this, because I heard your last discussion with Carl Bildt on Kosovo.
Kosovo's going to be a much harder problem. Condoleezza Rice assigned the undersecretary of State, Nick Burns, to this issue. Burns, who was a veteran of Dayton--10 years ago today, he was at my side as we negotiated the final drama there, exactly 10 years ago, almost to the hour. We pulled a negotiation out of a failure, a success out of a failure. Burns knows the area. He's engaged, and so they're trying to fix Dayton. It's belated, but it's the right thing to do. I want to echo something that I hard Carl Bildt say a minute ago. In Bosnia's case, we're trying to improve on a success to fix some of the flaws, but in Kosovo, we're dealing--we're going to have to deal with a situation that was ignored for the last four and a half years and that has gotten progressively more tense and for which the solutions are going to be far, far more difficult.
CONAN: We're talking about the lessons of the Dayton Peace Accords which were signed 10 years ago today.
And you're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
Let's get another caller on the line. This is Katerina. Katerina's calling us from Ann Arbor in Michigan.
KATERINA (Caller): Good afternoon, gentlemen. I'd like to know, of those people who fled, especially in those last days before the war began in '92, how many actually came back to Bosnia, particularly in Sarajevo? I wondered if you know that?
Amb. HOLBROOKE: I'm so glad you asked that question. The statistics on the war are pretty staggering: 300,000 killed, two and a half million homeless. Of the two and a half million refugees, homeless, well over half have now returned to the country, and most amazingly of all, many of them, many, many of them--statistics are a little weak here--have returned to minority areas. Let's take the worst place in the whole region, Srebrenica, the famous killing field where one of the great war crimes in the 20th century took place, where the Bosnian Serbs killed 7,700 Muslim men and young men in the soccer field. I was there in that soccer field, in that mud field on its 10th anniversary a few months ago as a member of an official delegation, and two my utter amazement, 4,000 Muslims had returned to the valley. When I was there five years ago, the number was 10 Muslim families. Now 4,000 had returned. The Serbs who had come there from Sarajevo had begun to leave. They were down from 12,000 to 8,000. And I believe that when we come back there in five years, the valley will once again be a Muslim valley.
That doesn't bring back the dead and it doesn't bring justice to the people who lost their loved ones, but this is an amazing turn of events. The people want peace. It is the thuggish leaders, many of whom are just plain old Mafioso crooks masquerading as nationalists who prevent it. But the return of minorities, even to the most difficult areas--Banja Luka, Srebrenica, Focce(ph)--is well under way.
As for your question about Sarajevo, do not forget that it was the Bosnian Serbs themselves, the Serbs themselves who drove their own people out of Sarajevo after Dayton. We had agreed they would stay, and the thugs who run the--who ran the separatist effort of the Serbs went in there, told Serb families who had lived there for generations, centuries to burn their furniture, light up the gas ovens, explode their apartments and leave. That was a terrible day, and I regret to say a day in which our own implementing forces, the NATO forces, stood by and did nothing. March 15, 1996, a day I really think was the worst day of the last 10 years. But even there the Serbs are coming back now. Progress is slow, slower than I want, but by God it's happening.
CONAN: Katerina, thanks very much for the phone call. We appreciate it.
KATERINA: Thank you.
CONAN: And, Ambassador Holbrooke, we know you're extremely busy today on this 10th anniversary. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us.
Amb. HOLBROOKE: It's my pleasure.
CONAN: Richard Holbrooke, former chief negotiator at the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords on Bosnia and former ambassador to the United Nations. He joined us by phone from here in Washington, DC.
We're going to take a short break. When we return, the puzzlemaster of "Weekend Edition Sunday" and the puzzle editor of The New York Times, Will Shortz, will join us. If you've always wanted to challenge the puzzlemaster, send him a puzzle. The address: totn@npr.org. That's totn@npr.org. If you've ever suffered at his hands trying to solve those devilish puzzles on "Weekend Edition Sunday," you could just put `payback' in the subject line. Again, totn@npr.org.
I'm Neal Conan. We'll be back after the break. It's TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
US Financier Soros Says Kosovo Should Be Independent
TIRANA, Albania (AP)--U.S. billionaire philanthropist George Soros on Saturday said there was no alternative other than independence for Serbia's province of Kosovo, but it should also ensure the future and the status of its minorities.
Soros was on a three-day visit to Albania during which he was also awarded Tirana city hall's "Honored Citizen" medal for his contribution to improving Albania's education and infrastructure.
"It is really high time to settle the status of Kosovo. My personal opinion is there's no alternative but to give Kosovo independence. But there have to be conditions to ensure the future and the status of the minorities in Kosovo," Soros said at a news conference.
Kosovo, considered by the Serb minority to be the cradle of their statehood and religion, has been run by the U.N. since 1999, when NATO bombing halted a Serb crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians.
The province is entering a delicate phase with talks on its future political status, U.N.-sponsored negotiations on whether the province becomes independent or remains a self-governing part of Serbia.
The U.N. envoy to mediate talks on Kosovo's future, Finland's former President Martti Ahtisaari, was expected to visit Kosovo and Belgrade next week and move to Austria next month to start the talks.
"I think it would be difficult to find a better man for the purpose," Soros said of Ahtisaari.
Soros also was optimistic about Albania's future and its institutional development, though fighting organized crime and corruption were among its top priorities.
"There's always the danger of political interference in the judiciary and that needs to be resisted and needs to be very carefully watched," he said.
Since its opening in 1992, the Soros Open Society Foundation has spent some $48 million on projects in Albania aimed at improving governance, reforming institutions, enhancing opportunities for youth and fostering a better environment for business development.
Separately, Soros has earmarked $57 million for projects specifically for improving education in Albania. [ 19-11-05 1600GMT ]
Soros was on a three-day visit to Albania during which he was also awarded Tirana city hall's "Honored Citizen" medal for his contribution to improving Albania's education and infrastructure.
"It is really high time to settle the status of Kosovo. My personal opinion is there's no alternative but to give Kosovo independence. But there have to be conditions to ensure the future and the status of the minorities in Kosovo," Soros said at a news conference.
Kosovo, considered by the Serb minority to be the cradle of their statehood and religion, has been run by the U.N. since 1999, when NATO bombing halted a Serb crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians.
The province is entering a delicate phase with talks on its future political status, U.N.-sponsored negotiations on whether the province becomes independent or remains a self-governing part of Serbia.
The U.N. envoy to mediate talks on Kosovo's future, Finland's former President Martti Ahtisaari, was expected to visit Kosovo and Belgrade next week and move to Austria next month to start the talks.
"I think it would be difficult to find a better man for the purpose," Soros said of Ahtisaari.
Soros also was optimistic about Albania's future and its institutional development, though fighting organized crime and corruption were among its top priorities.
"There's always the danger of political interference in the judiciary and that needs to be resisted and needs to be very carefully watched," he said.
Since its opening in 1992, the Soros Open Society Foundation has spent some $48 million on projects in Albania aimed at improving governance, reforming institutions, enhancing opportunities for youth and fostering a better environment for business development.
Separately, Soros has earmarked $57 million for projects specifically for improving education in Albania. [ 19-11-05 1600GMT ]
UK-based company buys Kosovo nickel industrial complex
Text of report in English by independent internet news agency KosovaLive
Prishtina [Pristina], 18 November: The British company, IMR/Alferon, has become the owner of Ferronikel [Feronikl], one of Europe's largest nickel processing mines/plants, after signing the purchase agreement worth 30.5 million euros with UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] Pillar IV.
The contract was signed between the head of UNMIK Pillar IV, Joachim Ruecker, and IMR/Alferon Chairman Johannes Sittard.
Now, Alferon has sixteen days to obtain the required license, enter into contract for power supply, and reach some other agreements with the government.
Ruecker said at the signing ceremony that this is a good deal for the workers, surrounding community, and for the people of Kosova [Kosovo]. "Experience suggests that when Ferronikel is fully operational, it will not only employ at least 1,000 workers directly, but there will be an additional 2,000 to 3,000 jobs outside of the direct Ferronikel workforce in the regional/wider economy. The successful and harmonious conclusion of the privatization of Ferronikel will send a very strong signal to international investors that Kosova is a stable and mature society, which welcomes international investment and partnership," he said.
IMR's Chairman Sittard said that today's signing is a major step forward towards a long and successful partnership between Ferronikel, IMR/Alferon, workers, and the surrounding community. "Naturally, having spent 30.5 million euros to purchase Ferronikel and at least another 20 million euros to renovate it, IMR/Alferon will want to operate it for as long as possible. We have the financial means, long-term vision, and the management skills to deliver on our commitments. We have a proven track record in this business and intend to use all of our expertise in making Ferronikel a success," he said.
He also added that they are having discussions with the Kosova Energy Corporation [KEK] for regular supply of Ferronikel with power.
Alferon is an independent management company for international mineral resources headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. The IMR is part of the Eurasian Natural Resources Group, which is among the world's largest private mining and metals groups.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 18 Nov 05
Prishtina [Pristina], 18 November: The British company, IMR/Alferon, has become the owner of Ferronikel [Feronikl], one of Europe's largest nickel processing mines/plants, after signing the purchase agreement worth 30.5 million euros with UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] Pillar IV.
The contract was signed between the head of UNMIK Pillar IV, Joachim Ruecker, and IMR/Alferon Chairman Johannes Sittard.
Now, Alferon has sixteen days to obtain the required license, enter into contract for power supply, and reach some other agreements with the government.
Ruecker said at the signing ceremony that this is a good deal for the workers, surrounding community, and for the people of Kosova [Kosovo]. "Experience suggests that when Ferronikel is fully operational, it will not only employ at least 1,000 workers directly, but there will be an additional 2,000 to 3,000 jobs outside of the direct Ferronikel workforce in the regional/wider economy. The successful and harmonious conclusion of the privatization of Ferronikel will send a very strong signal to international investors that Kosova is a stable and mature society, which welcomes international investment and partnership," he said.
IMR's Chairman Sittard said that today's signing is a major step forward towards a long and successful partnership between Ferronikel, IMR/Alferon, workers, and the surrounding community. "Naturally, having spent 30.5 million euros to purchase Ferronikel and at least another 20 million euros to renovate it, IMR/Alferon will want to operate it for as long as possible. We have the financial means, long-term vision, and the management skills to deliver on our commitments. We have a proven track record in this business and intend to use all of our expertise in making Ferronikel a success," he said.
He also added that they are having discussions with the Kosova Energy Corporation [KEK] for regular supply of Ferronikel with power.
Alferon is an independent management company for international mineral resources headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. The IMR is part of the Eurasian Natural Resources Group, which is among the world's largest private mining and metals groups.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 18 Nov 05
Kosovo status talks to confirm independence: PM
PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro, Nov 20 (AFP) -
Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi says he is sure talks on the status of the UN-run province starting with shuttle diplomacy on Monday will confirm its independence from Serbia.
"Practically, Kosovo has been functioning independently for six years and, with regard to relations with Serbia, it is already 100 percent independent," Kosumi said in an interview with AFP.
"Kosovo's legal status is still not defined and the negotiations are meant to define legally, together with the international community, Kosovo's independence," he said.
The UN-sponsored talks are aimed at resolving the status of Kosovo, which Belgrade lost authority over after a bombing campaign by NATO ended a crackdown by then Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic's forces against ethnic Albanian rebels in June 1999.
Ethnic Albanians, who make up more than 90 percent of Kosovo's population, are demanding independence from Belgrade, which Serbs strongly oppose.
The recently appointed chief UN mediator for the talks, former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, is to visit Pristina on Monday, marking the start of the negotiations.
Ahtisaari's return to the Balkans comes six and a half years after he played an important role in convincing Milosevic to accept the presence of international authorities in the province after 78 days of NATO air strikes.
Kosumi, elected prime minister in March 2005 to replace Ramush Haradinaj who resigned after he was indicted for war crimes, told AFP that Belgrade and Pristina would have to find common ground on many things -- excluding independence.
"If it was left to Belgrade and Pristina to find common ground on Kosovo's final status, (the problem) would have been resolved 100 years ago. But this was impossible because of the political circumstances in Belgrade and it remains impossible," he said.
Kosumi said the two sides would "have to find a common language for many open questions; from the position of the Serb minority in Kosovo and its cultural and religious heritage to many problems in our relations generated in the past and which still influence our relations".
As there is no clear schedule for the talks, many analysts believe they will last long enough, with an intention to provide negotiators an opportunity to find a common solution on Kosovo's future.
But Ahtisaari's new mission in the Balkans is expected to be more complicated than it was last time around.
The Finn will attempt to reconcile ethnic Albanians, who were oppressed during the Milosevic years, and Serbs, who say their claim to the province is based on historic and cultural roots dating back to the middle ages when few Albanians lived in the area.
But Kosumi said Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica was "in a difficult position," although he insisted the solution for disputed Kosovo was "very easy."
"Belgrade has a chance to distance itself finally from the radical politics and the approach that over recent decades has pushed Serbia into endless wars and led to bloodshed all over the former Yugoslavia," he said.
Kostunica had to end this trend "in a revolutionary way, to free his nation from the burden of the past and offer a new opportunity to Serbia, Kosovo and all nations in the region that had suffered from Serbian politics," said Kosumi.
He insisted Kosovo Serbs should engage in the political life of Kosovo, saying their boycott of institutions and political processes "damages their interests."
"I call on Kosovo Serb politicians to think about their responsibilities towards their voters," Kosumi said.
Kosovo Serb politicians describe the situation in the province as insecure and dangerous for their community, notably since riots 18 months ago that seriously damaged their confidence with NATO-led security forces (KFOR) and the Albanian population.
During three days of violence in March 2004, 19 people were killed, nearly 900 were injured and an estimated 4,500 -- most of them Serbs -- were forced from their homes.
The violence, in which dozens of ancient Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries were also demolished, was denounced by KFOR at the time as an attempt at "ethnic cleansing" by ethnic Albanians.
But Kosumi said: "Kosovo Serbs have no other future except the one in Kosovo. Wherever they go, to Serbia or somewhere else, they will have a tougher time than here. Kosovo is their home and their future."
Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi says he is sure talks on the status of the UN-run province starting with shuttle diplomacy on Monday will confirm its independence from Serbia.
"Practically, Kosovo has been functioning independently for six years and, with regard to relations with Serbia, it is already 100 percent independent," Kosumi said in an interview with AFP.
"Kosovo's legal status is still not defined and the negotiations are meant to define legally, together with the international community, Kosovo's independence," he said.
The UN-sponsored talks are aimed at resolving the status of Kosovo, which Belgrade lost authority over after a bombing campaign by NATO ended a crackdown by then Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic's forces against ethnic Albanian rebels in June 1999.
Ethnic Albanians, who make up more than 90 percent of Kosovo's population, are demanding independence from Belgrade, which Serbs strongly oppose.
The recently appointed chief UN mediator for the talks, former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, is to visit Pristina on Monday, marking the start of the negotiations.
Ahtisaari's return to the Balkans comes six and a half years after he played an important role in convincing Milosevic to accept the presence of international authorities in the province after 78 days of NATO air strikes.
Kosumi, elected prime minister in March 2005 to replace Ramush Haradinaj who resigned after he was indicted for war crimes, told AFP that Belgrade and Pristina would have to find common ground on many things -- excluding independence.
"If it was left to Belgrade and Pristina to find common ground on Kosovo's final status, (the problem) would have been resolved 100 years ago. But this was impossible because of the political circumstances in Belgrade and it remains impossible," he said.
Kosumi said the two sides would "have to find a common language for many open questions; from the position of the Serb minority in Kosovo and its cultural and religious heritage to many problems in our relations generated in the past and which still influence our relations".
As there is no clear schedule for the talks, many analysts believe they will last long enough, with an intention to provide negotiators an opportunity to find a common solution on Kosovo's future.
But Ahtisaari's new mission in the Balkans is expected to be more complicated than it was last time around.
The Finn will attempt to reconcile ethnic Albanians, who were oppressed during the Milosevic years, and Serbs, who say their claim to the province is based on historic and cultural roots dating back to the middle ages when few Albanians lived in the area.
But Kosumi said Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica was "in a difficult position," although he insisted the solution for disputed Kosovo was "very easy."
"Belgrade has a chance to distance itself finally from the radical politics and the approach that over recent decades has pushed Serbia into endless wars and led to bloodshed all over the former Yugoslavia," he said.
Kostunica had to end this trend "in a revolutionary way, to free his nation from the burden of the past and offer a new opportunity to Serbia, Kosovo and all nations in the region that had suffered from Serbian politics," said Kosumi.
He insisted Kosovo Serbs should engage in the political life of Kosovo, saying their boycott of institutions and political processes "damages their interests."
"I call on Kosovo Serb politicians to think about their responsibilities towards their voters," Kosumi said.
Kosovo Serb politicians describe the situation in the province as insecure and dangerous for their community, notably since riots 18 months ago that seriously damaged their confidence with NATO-led security forces (KFOR) and the Albanian population.
During three days of violence in March 2004, 19 people were killed, nearly 900 were injured and an estimated 4,500 -- most of them Serbs -- were forced from their homes.
The violence, in which dozens of ancient Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries were also demolished, was denounced by KFOR at the time as an attempt at "ethnic cleansing" by ethnic Albanians.
But Kosumi said: "Kosovo Serbs have no other future except the one in Kosovo. Wherever they go, to Serbia or somewhere else, they will have a tougher time than here. Kosovo is their home and their future."
Friday, November 18, 2005
Kosovo: Casualty count in Strpce market bombing rises to four
Text of report by Radio-Television Kosovo TV on 17 November
[Announcer] Four persons were wounded by an explosion today at Shterpce [Strpce] market. There are no suspects, and the police are continuing investigations.
[Reporter] The explosion of a device placed under a truck here at Shterpce market left four persons wounded. A large number of Kosova [Kosovo] Police Service officers and Kfor [Kosovo Force] forces are at the scene and are conducting a detailed investigation. The explosive device was placed under the truck of an Albanian merchant who was working here and the other three were Serbs, innocent bystanders. The health of the four injured is stable.
[Kosovo Protection Corps Lt Stojan Donic in Serbian with Albanian voiceover] The names of the wounded cannot be revealed because of the ongoing investigation. All I can say is that their lives are not in danger, their wounds do not present a threat to their lives. I have to stress that it still unknown what kind of explosive device we are dealing with here.
[Reporter] The town's municipal president, Stanko Rakovljevic, said that schools and all other institutions are not going to work tomorrow to give time to the investigative units to clarify the case. On Monday [21 November] they will request official reports on the security situation.
[Shterpce deputy president Hamdi Aliu] One thing is known: that there are groups and men in uniform and different services that are illegally operating in many parts of Kosova and especially in Shterpce.
Source: RTK TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1830 gmt 17 Nov 05
[Announcer] Four persons were wounded by an explosion today at Shterpce [Strpce] market. There are no suspects, and the police are continuing investigations.
[Reporter] The explosion of a device placed under a truck here at Shterpce market left four persons wounded. A large number of Kosova [Kosovo] Police Service officers and Kfor [Kosovo Force] forces are at the scene and are conducting a detailed investigation. The explosive device was placed under the truck of an Albanian merchant who was working here and the other three were Serbs, innocent bystanders. The health of the four injured is stable.
[Kosovo Protection Corps Lt Stojan Donic in Serbian with Albanian voiceover] The names of the wounded cannot be revealed because of the ongoing investigation. All I can say is that their lives are not in danger, their wounds do not present a threat to their lives. I have to stress that it still unknown what kind of explosive device we are dealing with here.
[Reporter] The town's municipal president, Stanko Rakovljevic, said that schools and all other institutions are not going to work tomorrow to give time to the investigative units to clarify the case. On Monday [21 November] they will request official reports on the security situation.
[Shterpce deputy president Hamdi Aliu] One thing is known: that there are groups and men in uniform and different services that are illegally operating in many parts of Kosova and especially in Shterpce.
Source: RTK TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1830 gmt 17 Nov 05
War crimes trial against Kosovo Albanian opens in Belgrade
BELGRADE, Nob 18 (AFP) -
A war crimes trial against a Kosovo Albanian accused of atrocities against civilians in 1999 opened in a special Serbian court here Friday, a report said.
The Beta news agency reported that Anton Lekaj pleaded not guilty to the charges of murdering four non-Albanians and abusing 13 others, mostly Roma, during the 1998-1999 war in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo.
"I do not recognise the accusations that have been made against me. I have at no time raped, injured or killed anyone," he told the special war crimes tribunal in the Serbian capital.
Lekaj, 25, was allegedly a member of a hardline ethnic Albanian separatist militia group which was fighting Serbian security forces to create an independent state in the tiny, mainly ethnic Albanian province.
His former commander, Ramush Haradinaj, stood down as prime minister of Kosovo in March this year to face charges at the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague.
Lekaj was arrested for car theft in Montenegro in August and was transfered to Belgrade at the request of Serbia's war crimes prosecutor.
A war crimes trial against a Kosovo Albanian accused of atrocities against civilians in 1999 opened in a special Serbian court here Friday, a report said.
The Beta news agency reported that Anton Lekaj pleaded not guilty to the charges of murdering four non-Albanians and abusing 13 others, mostly Roma, during the 1998-1999 war in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo.
"I do not recognise the accusations that have been made against me. I have at no time raped, injured or killed anyone," he told the special war crimes tribunal in the Serbian capital.
Lekaj, 25, was allegedly a member of a hardline ethnic Albanian separatist militia group which was fighting Serbian security forces to create an independent state in the tiny, mainly ethnic Albanian province.
His former commander, Ramush Haradinaj, stood down as prime minister of Kosovo in March this year to face charges at the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague.
Lekaj was arrested for car theft in Montenegro in August and was transfered to Belgrade at the request of Serbia's war crimes prosecutor.
Kosovo armed group threatens attacks against UN
PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro, Nov 18 (AFP) -
An armed Kosovo separatist group has threatened to attack UN institutions next week in the run-up to talks on the future of the province, local media reported Friday.
The self-styled Army for Kosovo Independence (UPK) said in a press release that "everything is ready for such an operation" directed at the "modern occupation" of the United Nations Mission (UNMIK).
The Kosovo parliament Thursday adopted a resolution backing autonomy for the southern Serbian province but stopped short of voting through a declaration of independence after strong pressure from the international community.
"The citizens of Kosovo have to stay calm," the UPK statement said. "UNMIK's forces will not have the possibility to resist."
Police spokesman Refki Morina declined to comment on the statement as police had not received a copy. He said: "The KPS (Kosovo Police Service) will continue to keep control over the security situation in the capital with the same rhythm."
Kosovo, which remains a part of Serbia, has been a UN protectorate since NATO intervention six and a half years ago halted a war between forces under the command of then Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and Albanian separatists.
An armed Kosovo separatist group has threatened to attack UN institutions next week in the run-up to talks on the future of the province, local media reported Friday.
The self-styled Army for Kosovo Independence (UPK) said in a press release that "everything is ready for such an operation" directed at the "modern occupation" of the United Nations Mission (UNMIK).
The Kosovo parliament Thursday adopted a resolution backing autonomy for the southern Serbian province but stopped short of voting through a declaration of independence after strong pressure from the international community.
"The citizens of Kosovo have to stay calm," the UPK statement said. "UNMIK's forces will not have the possibility to resist."
Police spokesman Refki Morina declined to comment on the statement as police had not received a copy. He said: "The KPS (Kosovo Police Service) will continue to keep control over the security situation in the capital with the same rhythm."
Kosovo, which remains a part of Serbia, has been a UN protectorate since NATO intervention six and a half years ago halted a war between forces under the command of then Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and Albanian separatists.
Montenegro says ready to postpone declaration of independence until end of June 2006
PODGORICA, Nov 18 (Hina) - Montenegro is ready to consider postponing the declaration of independence until the end of June 2006 if so asked by the European Union, the Government Public Relations Office said in a statement on Friday.
"If so requested by the EU, Montenegro is ready to consider the idea of postponing the implementation of the referendum, assuming that it might be important that no new solutions should be implemented before the deadline given for defining the status of Kosovo," the statement said.
The statement reaffirmed the determination of Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and his government to organise a referendum on independence in April next year, saying that depending on the results of the vote Montenegro would be willing to postpone declaring independence until the end of June in order to accommodate the international community.
"If so requested by the EU, Montenegro is ready to consider the idea of postponing the implementation of the referendum, assuming that it might be important that no new solutions should be implemented before the deadline given for defining the status of Kosovo," the statement said.
The statement reaffirmed the determination of Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and his government to organise a referendum on independence in April next year, saying that depending on the results of the vote Montenegro would be willing to postpone declaring independence until the end of June in order to accommodate the international community.
UNMIK chief slams Serbian president's Kosovo partition proposal
Prishtina [Pristina], 18 November: If Serbian President Boris Tadic said that Kosova [Kosovo] could be divided, then he made a statement that is in contradiction with the entire world, the head of UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo], Soeren Jessen-Petersen, said.
He reconfirmed the stance of the international community that there will be no division of Kosova. "I do not know exactly what Tadic said in Moscow. But if media reports are accurate, because they are not always accurate, then he gave a statement which is in contradiction with the clear stance of the UN Security Council, Contact Group, and the European Union because everyone keeps saying that there will be no division of Kosova," Jessen-Petersen emphasized.
Jessen-Petersen's statement comes only one day after the Kosova media cited Tadic as saying that if the status talks lead Kosova towards independence, then Serbia will have a new plan - the plan for the division of Kosova.
Speaking on the resolution passed yesterday by the parliament, Jessen-Petersen evaluated it as a responsible decision of the parliament. "I said yesterday that the Assembly has shown responsible. It has provided a mandate to the delegation of Kosova as the basis for its platform for the upcoming status talks. This is the role of the Assembly and, what is more important, the Assembly has acted in accordance with its mandate and responsibilities," he said, adding that it does not belong to him to comment on the resolution's content.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 18 Nov 05
He reconfirmed the stance of the international community that there will be no division of Kosova. "I do not know exactly what Tadic said in Moscow. But if media reports are accurate, because they are not always accurate, then he gave a statement which is in contradiction with the clear stance of the UN Security Council, Contact Group, and the European Union because everyone keeps saying that there will be no division of Kosova," Jessen-Petersen emphasized.
Jessen-Petersen's statement comes only one day after the Kosova media cited Tadic as saying that if the status talks lead Kosova towards independence, then Serbia will have a new plan - the plan for the division of Kosova.
Speaking on the resolution passed yesterday by the parliament, Jessen-Petersen evaluated it as a responsible decision of the parliament. "I said yesterday that the Assembly has shown responsible. It has provided a mandate to the delegation of Kosova as the basis for its platform for the upcoming status talks. This is the role of the Assembly and, what is more important, the Assembly has acted in accordance with its mandate and responsibilities," he said, adding that it does not belong to him to comment on the resolution's content.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 18 Nov 05
Kosovo Sells Ferro-nickel Plant Ferronikeli to British Alferon
PRISTINA (Serbia and Montenegro), November 18 (SeeNews) - The Kosovo Trust Agency (KTA), charged with the sale of hundreds of state-owned companies in the U.N.-run Serbian province, signed on Friday the final contract for the sale of the ferro-nickel plant Ferronikeli to UK-based Alferon, KTA official said.
"The share sale and purchase agreement (SPA) has been signed on Friday," KTA's spokeswoman Erdelina Dula told SeeNews.
"The contracts is an "umbrella" document, with a number of attached documents," KTA said in a statement, adding that Alferon would have sixty days to obtain the necessary licences and supply contracts for the future operation of the ferro-nickel mines.
Alferon, which expects to begin production within four to six months, paid 33 million euro ($38.76 million) for the plant. The company is to invest at least 20 million euro in the first three years and to employ 1,000 at the end of the first year.
The sale of Ferronikeli was one of the most tangled privatisations in the province.
KTA revised in July its choice of buyer and picked the second-highest bid made by Alferon. The highest bidder - the Albanian-based firm Adi Nikel, which offered 49.447 million euro, was disqualified because it "was not a valid consortium anymore," KTA spokeswoman Renate Schmidt said in July.
Ferronikeli workers have protested the sale since early July, alleging the decision to pursue Alferon was politically motivated.
Ferronikeli ore mining and metallurgical complex was set up in 1984 to produce ferro-nickel for exports. It produced and exported 6,800 tonnes a year of nickel, in ferro-nickel ingots, before the 1990s but since 1998 it has been idle.
Ferronikeli has three open pit mines: the Dushkaja mine with estimated reserves of 6.2 million tones; the Suka mine - 0.8 million tonnes and the Gllavica with 6.8 million tones.
All the mines in the complex were covered early this year with exploration and exploitation licence by the Ministry of Energy and Mining of Kosovo.
Kosovo has been a U.N. protectorate since 1999 when NATO bombings drove Serbian forces out of the province to halt Serb repression of the ethnic Albanian majority there.
"The share sale and purchase agreement (SPA) has been signed on Friday," KTA's spokeswoman Erdelina Dula told SeeNews.
"The contracts is an "umbrella" document, with a number of attached documents," KTA said in a statement, adding that Alferon would have sixty days to obtain the necessary licences and supply contracts for the future operation of the ferro-nickel mines.
Alferon, which expects to begin production within four to six months, paid 33 million euro ($38.76 million) for the plant. The company is to invest at least 20 million euro in the first three years and to employ 1,000 at the end of the first year.
The sale of Ferronikeli was one of the most tangled privatisations in the province.
KTA revised in July its choice of buyer and picked the second-highest bid made by Alferon. The highest bidder - the Albanian-based firm Adi Nikel, which offered 49.447 million euro, was disqualified because it "was not a valid consortium anymore," KTA spokeswoman Renate Schmidt said in July.
Ferronikeli workers have protested the sale since early July, alleging the decision to pursue Alferon was politically motivated.
Ferronikeli ore mining and metallurgical complex was set up in 1984 to produce ferro-nickel for exports. It produced and exported 6,800 tonnes a year of nickel, in ferro-nickel ingots, before the 1990s but since 1998 it has been idle.
Ferronikeli has three open pit mines: the Dushkaja mine with estimated reserves of 6.2 million tones; the Suka mine - 0.8 million tonnes and the Gllavica with 6.8 million tones.
All the mines in the complex were covered early this year with exploration and exploitation licence by the Ministry of Energy and Mining of Kosovo.
Kosovo has been a U.N. protectorate since 1999 when NATO bombings drove Serbian forces out of the province to halt Serb repression of the ethnic Albanian majority there.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Kosovo's parliament sets independence as ultimate goal for talks with Serbia
PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) - Kosovo lawmakers on Thursday adopted a resolution stating that they will accept nothing less than independence in the U.N.-mediated talks on the future of the province.
The lawmakers, under pressure from U.S. and European diplomats, backed down from an earlier intention to unilaterally declare independence as they discussed their position in upcoming talks on the province's long-term future.
The 10-point resolution set the stage for a bitter political fight in the talks with Serbia, which insists the province should not gain independence but rather enjoy broad autonomy within the current union that replaced Yugoslavia.
The approved resolution stated that the province will accept nothing less than full independence and sovereignty for Kosovo, which has been run by the U.N. since mid-1999.
"The will of the people of Kosovo for independence is not negotiable," the resolution said.
The resolution, which will serve as the basis of the political platform for the ethnic Albanians in the talks, also welcomes the future international involvement demands that every move by Kosovo's negotiators be approved in the parliament or by referendum.
The Serbian government on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution rejecting independence for Kosovo in the U.N.-mediated talks expected to begin next month.
Sabri Hamiti, a senior member of the ruling Democratic League of Kosovo, said the toning down of the Kosovo position came after "immense pressure" from Western diplomats.
U.S. and European diplomats had warned ethnic Albanian leaders that they would consider a declaration of independence unilateral and would not accept it. The top U.N. official in Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen, has the power to declare such a declaration illegal.
Serbian representatives in the province's assembly continued their boycott.
However, in Kosovo's northern, ethnically divided city of Kosovksa Mitrovica, some 200 Serb representatives of a self-styled council of Kosovo Serb municipalities adopted their own declaration warning that if the province became independent, that would be the "final stage in the cleansing of Serbs" from the province.
It will constitute the "greatest pogrom of Serbs in history," the declaration said.
Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since the end of the NATO air war that halted Serb forces' crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians.
The U.N. envoy to mediate talks on Kosovo's future, Finland's former President Martti Ahtisaari, was expected to visit Kosovo and Belgrade next week and move to Vienna, Austria, in December to start the negotiations.
The lawmakers, under pressure from U.S. and European diplomats, backed down from an earlier intention to unilaterally declare independence as they discussed their position in upcoming talks on the province's long-term future.
The 10-point resolution set the stage for a bitter political fight in the talks with Serbia, which insists the province should not gain independence but rather enjoy broad autonomy within the current union that replaced Yugoslavia.
The approved resolution stated that the province will accept nothing less than full independence and sovereignty for Kosovo, which has been run by the U.N. since mid-1999.
"The will of the people of Kosovo for independence is not negotiable," the resolution said.
The resolution, which will serve as the basis of the political platform for the ethnic Albanians in the talks, also welcomes the future international involvement demands that every move by Kosovo's negotiators be approved in the parliament or by referendum.
The Serbian government on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution rejecting independence for Kosovo in the U.N.-mediated talks expected to begin next month.
Sabri Hamiti, a senior member of the ruling Democratic League of Kosovo, said the toning down of the Kosovo position came after "immense pressure" from Western diplomats.
U.S. and European diplomats had warned ethnic Albanian leaders that they would consider a declaration of independence unilateral and would not accept it. The top U.N. official in Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen, has the power to declare such a declaration illegal.
Serbian representatives in the province's assembly continued their boycott.
However, in Kosovo's northern, ethnically divided city of Kosovksa Mitrovica, some 200 Serb representatives of a self-styled council of Kosovo Serb municipalities adopted their own declaration warning that if the province became independent, that would be the "final stage in the cleansing of Serbs" from the province.
It will constitute the "greatest pogrom of Serbs in history," the declaration said.
Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since the end of the NATO air war that halted Serb forces' crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians.
The U.N. envoy to mediate talks on Kosovo's future, Finland's former President Martti Ahtisaari, was expected to visit Kosovo and Belgrade next week and move to Vienna, Austria, in December to start the negotiations.
Kosovo Sets Independence As Goal For Talks With Serbia
PRISTINA (AP)--Kosovo lawmakers Thursday adopted a resolution stating that they will accept nothing less than independence in the U.N.-mediated talks on the future of the province.
The lawmakers, under pressure from U.S. and European diplomats, backed down from an earlier intention to unilaterally declare independence as they discussed their position in upcoming talks on the province's long-term future.
The 10-point resolution set the stage for a bitter political fight in the talks with Serbia, which insists the province shouldn't gain independence but rather enjoy broad autonomy within the current union that replaced Yugoslavia.
The approved resolution stated the province will accept nothing less than full independence and sovereignty for Kosovo, which has been run by the U.N. since mid-1999.
"The will of the people of Kosovo for independence is not negotiable," the resolution said.
The resolution, which will serve as the basis of the political platform for the ethnic Albanians in the talks, also welcomes the future international involvement demands that every move by Kosovo's negotiators be approved in the parliament or by referendum.
The Serbian government Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution rejecting independence for Kosovo in the U.N.-mediated talks expected to begin next month.
Sabri Hamiti, a senior member of the ruling Democratic League of Kosovo, said the toning down of the Kosovo position came after "immense pressure" from Western diplomats.
U.S. and European diplomats had warned ethnic Albanian leaders that they would consider a declaration of independence unilateral and wouldn't accept it. The top U.N. official in Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen, has the power to declare such a declaration illegal.
Serbian representatives in the province's assembly continued their boycott.
However, in Kosovo's northern, ethnically divided city of Kosovksa Mitrovica, some 200 Serb representatives of a self-styled council of Kosovo Serb municipalities adopted their own declaration warning that if the province became independent, that would be the "final stage in the cleansing of Serbs" from the province.
It will constitute the "greatest pogrom of Serbs in history," the declaration said.
Kosovo has been run by the U.N. since the end of the NATO air war that halted Serb forces' crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians.
The lawmakers, under pressure from U.S. and European diplomats, backed down from an earlier intention to unilaterally declare independence as they discussed their position in upcoming talks on the province's long-term future.
The 10-point resolution set the stage for a bitter political fight in the talks with Serbia, which insists the province shouldn't gain independence but rather enjoy broad autonomy within the current union that replaced Yugoslavia.
The approved resolution stated the province will accept nothing less than full independence and sovereignty for Kosovo, which has been run by the U.N. since mid-1999.
"The will of the people of Kosovo for independence is not negotiable," the resolution said.
The resolution, which will serve as the basis of the political platform for the ethnic Albanians in the talks, also welcomes the future international involvement demands that every move by Kosovo's negotiators be approved in the parliament or by referendum.
The Serbian government Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution rejecting independence for Kosovo in the U.N.-mediated talks expected to begin next month.
Sabri Hamiti, a senior member of the ruling Democratic League of Kosovo, said the toning down of the Kosovo position came after "immense pressure" from Western diplomats.
U.S. and European diplomats had warned ethnic Albanian leaders that they would consider a declaration of independence unilateral and wouldn't accept it. The top U.N. official in Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen, has the power to declare such a declaration illegal.
Serbian representatives in the province's assembly continued their boycott.
However, in Kosovo's northern, ethnically divided city of Kosovksa Mitrovica, some 200 Serb representatives of a self-styled council of Kosovo Serb municipalities adopted their own declaration warning that if the province became independent, that would be the "final stage in the cleansing of Serbs" from the province.
It will constitute the "greatest pogrom of Serbs in history," the declaration said.
Kosovo has been run by the U.N. since the end of the NATO air war that halted Serb forces' crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Secessionist Kosovo, Montenegro Test Serbia's Politics - VOAIn Serbia, the reformist coalition of Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica clings to power be
In Serbia, the reformist coalition of Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica clings to power because it has the informal support of the Socialist Party of indicted war criminal Slobodan Milosevic. But the government will soon face critical tests as it grapples with Serbia's evolving relationship with Kosovo and Montenegro.
With United Nations sponsored negotiations on Kosovo's future status about to begin, Prime Minister Kostunica is in the process of formulating his government's position. Parliament is gearing up to debate the Kosovo question as well.
Still nominally part of Serbia, Kosovo has for six years been administered by the United Nations, ever since NATO forces drove Serbian troops out of the province. Kosovo's 95 percent ethnic Albanian majority demands independence and the major powers have moved closer to accepting that possibility.
But, in Serbia, Kosovo it is an explosive political issue. None of Serbia's many political parties is willing to even discuss the possible loss of the province that is the cradle of Serbia's orthodox Christianity. Privately, however, some Serbian politicians accept that Kosovo will likely split from Serbia. The western powers most involved in the upcoming negotiations insist that the Kosovar Albanians guarantee minority rights and provide access to Serbian religious shrines.
Montenegro is also a problem for Mr. Kostunica. This small and sparsely populated territory is currently loosely linked to Serbia, but it prints its own money and enjoys widespread autonomy. The government wants full independence for the mountainous coastal republic and Montenegro is expected to hold a referendum on independence early next year.
Political analyst James Lyon, the Belgrade representative of the International Crisis Group, says Montenegro will likely separate from Serbia. He agrees with most analysts who predict that Kosovo will also achieve some kind of independence.
Political and economic analyst Miroslav Prokopijevic predicts the loss of both territories may well strengthen the nationalist element in Serbia's politics. He says when elections are held in Serbia, probably sometime in 2006, the extreme nationalist Radical Party will come to power.
"That's for sure. Because according to all polls they enjoy now 35 percent popularity," he said. "And since with our system of proportional representation, with a turnout of 45 percent or lower [in the election], they [the Radicals] will be able to form a government alone. This means they would have at least 126 seats out of 250."
The Radicals, whose leader Vojislav Sesej is awaiting trial for war crimes in The Hague, has long been an ally of discredited former President Milosevic.
Mr. Kostunica, a constitutional lawyer, has presided over a fractious multi-party coalition. Like most reformist politicians, he wants Serbia to be part of the European Union some day.
Preliminary negotiations have begun but Europe and the United States have conditioned further progress on integration into western institutions on the extradition by the end of this year of Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander who has been indicted for war crimes. Mr. Mladic is believed to be hiding in Serbia.
With United Nations sponsored negotiations on Kosovo's future status about to begin, Prime Minister Kostunica is in the process of formulating his government's position. Parliament is gearing up to debate the Kosovo question as well.
Still nominally part of Serbia, Kosovo has for six years been administered by the United Nations, ever since NATO forces drove Serbian troops out of the province. Kosovo's 95 percent ethnic Albanian majority demands independence and the major powers have moved closer to accepting that possibility.
But, in Serbia, Kosovo it is an explosive political issue. None of Serbia's many political parties is willing to even discuss the possible loss of the province that is the cradle of Serbia's orthodox Christianity. Privately, however, some Serbian politicians accept that Kosovo will likely split from Serbia. The western powers most involved in the upcoming negotiations insist that the Kosovar Albanians guarantee minority rights and provide access to Serbian religious shrines.
Montenegro is also a problem for Mr. Kostunica. This small and sparsely populated territory is currently loosely linked to Serbia, but it prints its own money and enjoys widespread autonomy. The government wants full independence for the mountainous coastal republic and Montenegro is expected to hold a referendum on independence early next year.
Political analyst James Lyon, the Belgrade representative of the International Crisis Group, says Montenegro will likely separate from Serbia. He agrees with most analysts who predict that Kosovo will also achieve some kind of independence.
Political and economic analyst Miroslav Prokopijevic predicts the loss of both territories may well strengthen the nationalist element in Serbia's politics. He says when elections are held in Serbia, probably sometime in 2006, the extreme nationalist Radical Party will come to power.
"That's for sure. Because according to all polls they enjoy now 35 percent popularity," he said. "And since with our system of proportional representation, with a turnout of 45 percent or lower [in the election], they [the Radicals] will be able to form a government alone. This means they would have at least 126 seats out of 250."
The Radicals, whose leader Vojislav Sesej is awaiting trial for war crimes in The Hague, has long been an ally of discredited former President Milosevic.
Mr. Kostunica, a constitutional lawyer, has presided over a fractious multi-party coalition. Like most reformist politicians, he wants Serbia to be part of the European Union some day.
Preliminary negotiations have begun but Europe and the United States have conditioned further progress on integration into western institutions on the extradition by the end of this year of Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander who has been indicted for war crimes. Mr. Mladic is believed to be hiding in Serbia.
Surroi: Kosovo can become symbol of EU Foreign Policy (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore covers a speech ORA leader Veton Surroi delivered at the Harvard University.
Surroi said since the war, until now the EU has been part of the UN non-functional system and “it is time to change the philosophy from managing to conditioning”.
The EU needs to prove it can transform states with its mild conditioning power. To do this, “countries like Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia should initially be independent, so they could be EU partners,” Surroi said.
Surroi said since the war, until now the EU has been part of the UN non-functional system and “it is time to change the philosophy from managing to conditioning”.
The EU needs to prove it can transform states with its mild conditioning power. To do this, “countries like Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia should initially be independent, so they could be EU partners,” Surroi said.
Rohan: A negotiations conference on Kosovo would immediately fail (Zëri)
Zëri quotes unnamed diplomats as saying that UN status envoy Martti Ahtisaari and his deputy Albert Rohan will visit Pristina on Monday. “It still has not been confirmed whether they will stay in Pristina for two or three days,” added the diplomat. During the visit, Ahtisaari will meet the Kosovo Negotiations Team, the head of UNMIK, the COMKFOR and political representatives of Kosovo Serbs.
In an interview for Deutsche Welle, Albert Rohan was quoted as saying, “For a complex problem such as Kosovo it is meaningless to hold a conference of negotiations that would fail in the first two hours. This is why the first round of talks will consist of a round of visits to the Balkans, not only to Belgrade and Pristina, but also Tirana, Skopje and Podgorica… In the beginning we will listen to their positions and then call on them not to insist on their demands
In an interview for Deutsche Welle, Albert Rohan was quoted as saying, “For a complex problem such as Kosovo it is meaningless to hold a conference of negotiations that would fail in the first two hours. This is why the first round of talks will consist of a round of visits to the Balkans, not only to Belgrade and Pristina, but also Tirana, Skopje and Podgorica… In the beginning we will listen to their positions and then call on them not to insist on their demands
Goldberg: Resolution on Independence unilateral, US against it (Dailies)
All daily newspapers cover yesterday’s meeting between the US Head of Office Philip Goldberg and Kosovo Assembly Speaker Nexhat Daci. The meeting focussed on the Resolution for Independence. According to the press, Goldberg said the Resolution was a unilateral step, unacceptable to the US and that it would question the entire negotiations process.
“As it now stands this resolution, in my opinion, as well at that of my Government, presents a unilateral step at a time when we are entering a multilateral process that will determine the future status of Kosovo,” Goldberg is quoted as saying on the front page of Zëri.
Zëri also quotes UNMIK DPI Director Hua Jiang as saying, “The Assembly has democratic rights to adopt the resolution, but the decision on status will be made in the process of talks by the international community, Pristina and Belgrade.”
Express says on the front page that Daci agrees that we must not break relations with the international community.
Will the Kosovo Assembly violate the will of its people? asks Epoka e Re on its front page.
“As it now stands this resolution, in my opinion, as well at that of my Government, presents a unilateral step at a time when we are entering a multilateral process that will determine the future status of Kosovo,” Goldberg is quoted as saying on the front page of Zëri.
Zëri also quotes UNMIK DPI Director Hua Jiang as saying, “The Assembly has democratic rights to adopt the resolution, but the decision on status will be made in the process of talks by the international community, Pristina and Belgrade.”
Express says on the front page that Daci agrees that we must not break relations with the international community.
Will the Kosovo Assembly violate the will of its people? asks Epoka e Re on its front page.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Kosovo warned against declaration of independence
PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro, Nov 15 (AFP) -
International peace brokers Tuesday warned Kosovo deputies against a brazen declaration of independence following media reports that the parliament will debate a motion on breaking away from Serbia.
The four main parties representing Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority had agreed to vote in favour of a measure spelling out their intention to declare the territory independent, local media said.
The resolution was put together before long-awaited talks on the future status of Kosovo, whose ethnic Albanians, comprising almost 90 percent of the province's two million population, are demanding independence from Serbia, which Belgrade strongly opposes.
But foreign powers in the United Nations-administered province said they were pressuring the party leaders to drop the motion.
"The Contact Group will not support any unilateral decision ahead of the talks," Philip Goldberg, the head of the United States mission in Kosovo, told reporters after meeting parliamentary speaker Nexhat Daci.
The so-called Contact Group of foreign powers has overseen peace efforts in the former Yugoslavia since the communist federation collapsed in the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
"I have been telling them clearly... that if they adopt a text as a guidance to the negotiating team, that's fine," said Soren Jessen-Petersen, the chief of the UN mission in Kosovo.
"If they adopt a text which is not in the form of a guidance, calling for let's say independence, that is a unilateral declaration that goes against the Security Council resolution 1244, and also goes against the principles adopted by the Contact Group," he told AFP.
Resolution 1244 refers to the Security Council decision defining Kosovo as a UN protectorate after a NATO bombing campaign ended a crackdown by Serbian forces against Albanian separatists in June 1999.
The parliamentary resolution was "not valid because the Security Council resolution is the one that right now provides the mandate here," Jessen-Petersen added.
But Daci told journalists the province's parliament was "obliged to respect the will of the Kosovo people."
The resolution was initiated by Kosovo's leading opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and was backed by the Democratic League of Kosovo, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and the Ora Party.
"The PDK insists that Kosovo's assembly institutionalises the will of Kosovo citizens for an independent and sovereign state as soon as possible," said PDK spokeswoman Vlora Citaku.
"For the PDK, the approval of this resolution is very important because it serves as a guidance to the Kosovo negotiating team in the status talks," she said.
International peace brokers Tuesday warned Kosovo deputies against a brazen declaration of independence following media reports that the parliament will debate a motion on breaking away from Serbia.
The four main parties representing Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority had agreed to vote in favour of a measure spelling out their intention to declare the territory independent, local media said.
The resolution was put together before long-awaited talks on the future status of Kosovo, whose ethnic Albanians, comprising almost 90 percent of the province's two million population, are demanding independence from Serbia, which Belgrade strongly opposes.
But foreign powers in the United Nations-administered province said they were pressuring the party leaders to drop the motion.
"The Contact Group will not support any unilateral decision ahead of the talks," Philip Goldberg, the head of the United States mission in Kosovo, told reporters after meeting parliamentary speaker Nexhat Daci.
The so-called Contact Group of foreign powers has overseen peace efforts in the former Yugoslavia since the communist federation collapsed in the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
"I have been telling them clearly... that if they adopt a text as a guidance to the negotiating team, that's fine," said Soren Jessen-Petersen, the chief of the UN mission in Kosovo.
"If they adopt a text which is not in the form of a guidance, calling for let's say independence, that is a unilateral declaration that goes against the Security Council resolution 1244, and also goes against the principles adopted by the Contact Group," he told AFP.
Resolution 1244 refers to the Security Council decision defining Kosovo as a UN protectorate after a NATO bombing campaign ended a crackdown by Serbian forces against Albanian separatists in June 1999.
The parliamentary resolution was "not valid because the Security Council resolution is the one that right now provides the mandate here," Jessen-Petersen added.
But Daci told journalists the province's parliament was "obliged to respect the will of the Kosovo people."
The resolution was initiated by Kosovo's leading opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and was backed by the Democratic League of Kosovo, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and the Ora Party.
"The PDK insists that Kosovo's assembly institutionalises the will of Kosovo citizens for an independent and sovereign state as soon as possible," said PDK spokeswoman Vlora Citaku.
"For the PDK, the approval of this resolution is very important because it serves as a guidance to the Kosovo negotiating team in the status talks," she said.
Serbia Set To Reject Kosovo Independence At Talks Next Month
BELGRADE (AP)--The Serbian government Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution that rejects independence for Kosovo ahead of U.N.-mediated talks starting next month on the future of the breakaway province.
The text of the platform - drafted as a 10-point resolution - calls for unequivocal support for a compromise on Kosovo's future status yet warns that the province's "territory is an inalienable part" of Serbia and that "any imposed solution will be considered illegitimate and unacceptable" by Belgrade.
"The future status of Kosovo can only be defined within the norms and standards of the United Nations and other international organizations, at the same time fully respecting...the constitution of Serbia," the draft reads.
The resolution was posted on the government Web site after the Cabinet adopted it Tuesday. It also needs the approval of the Serbian parliament, tentatively set to meet over the weekend.
In Moscow Tuesday, Serbia's President Boris Tadic said that conflict could erupt if Kosovo's Albanians seek an independent state.
"I am absolutely against destabilization of the Balkan peninsula," Tadic said at the start of a Kremlin meeting with President Vladimir Putin during a three- day visit to Russia.
The draft leaves open the possibility that a national referendum be held in Serbia to approve the outcome of the U.N.-mediated talks with independence- seeking Kosovo Albanians.
Those negotiations are expected to start in December and end within a year.
The resolution offers Kosovo "essential" political and judicial autonomy and highlights that the Belgrade government is "determined that a concrete, reasonable, long-term and stable solution be found for Kosovo, taking into full consideration the legitimate interests of the (ethnic) Albanians in the province."
The draft also urged "direct negotiations" between the Serb side and the Kosovo Albanians.
Kosovo, considered by the Serbs to be the cradle of their statehood and religion, has been run by the U.N. since 1999, when North Atlantic Treaty Organization bombing halted a Serb crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians.
The U.N. envoy to mediate talks on Kosovo's future, Finland's former President Martti Ahtisaari, was expected to visit Kosovo and Belgrade later this month and move to Vienna in December to start the negotiations.
The format of the talks still has to be determined but Ahtisaari, appointed by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, faces a difficult task with the two sides diametrically opposed - Kosovo's ethnic Albanians insisting on full independence while Belgrade contending this would constitute "unlawful secession." On the Web site: www.srbija.sr.gov.yu
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
The text of the platform - drafted as a 10-point resolution - calls for unequivocal support for a compromise on Kosovo's future status yet warns that the province's "territory is an inalienable part" of Serbia and that "any imposed solution will be considered illegitimate and unacceptable" by Belgrade.
"The future status of Kosovo can only be defined within the norms and standards of the United Nations and other international organizations, at the same time fully respecting...the constitution of Serbia," the draft reads.
The resolution was posted on the government Web site after the Cabinet adopted it Tuesday. It also needs the approval of the Serbian parliament, tentatively set to meet over the weekend.
In Moscow Tuesday, Serbia's President Boris Tadic said that conflict could erupt if Kosovo's Albanians seek an independent state.
"I am absolutely against destabilization of the Balkan peninsula," Tadic said at the start of a Kremlin meeting with President Vladimir Putin during a three- day visit to Russia.
The draft leaves open the possibility that a national referendum be held in Serbia to approve the outcome of the U.N.-mediated talks with independence- seeking Kosovo Albanians.
Those negotiations are expected to start in December and end within a year.
The resolution offers Kosovo "essential" political and judicial autonomy and highlights that the Belgrade government is "determined that a concrete, reasonable, long-term and stable solution be found for Kosovo, taking into full consideration the legitimate interests of the (ethnic) Albanians in the province."
The draft also urged "direct negotiations" between the Serb side and the Kosovo Albanians.
Kosovo, considered by the Serbs to be the cradle of their statehood and religion, has been run by the U.N. since 1999, when North Atlantic Treaty Organization bombing halted a Serb crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians.
The U.N. envoy to mediate talks on Kosovo's future, Finland's former President Martti Ahtisaari, was expected to visit Kosovo and Belgrade later this month and move to Vienna in December to start the negotiations.
The format of the talks still has to be determined but Ahtisaari, appointed by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, faces a difficult task with the two sides diametrically opposed - Kosovo's ethnic Albanians insisting on full independence while Belgrade contending this would constitute "unlawful secession." On the Web site: www.srbija.sr.gov.yu
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Serbia: To Adopt Platform Rejecting Kosovo Independence
BELGRADE (AP)--The Serbian government said it planned on Tuesday to adopt a platform rejecting independence for Kosovo in U.N.-mediated talks on the future of the breakaway province.
The nine-point resolution, published Tuesday by the local news media, needs the approval of Serbia's parliament, which is tentatively scheduled to meet over the next weekend.
The resolution also leaves open the possibility that a national referendum be held in Serbia to approve the outcome of the talks with independence-seeking Kosovo Albanians, which are likely to start in December and end within a year.
Kosovo, considered by the Serbs to be the cradle of their statehood and religion, has been run by the U.N. since 1999, when North Atlantic Treaty Organization bombing halted a Serb crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians.
Serbia is hoping to retain at least formal control over Kosovo, but the province's ethnic Albanian majority is insisting on full independence.
The Serbian government resolution calls for Kosovo to remain within Serbia's borders, but gives it "essential" political and judicial autonomy.
The U.N. envoy to mediate talks on Kosovo's future, Finland's former President Martii Ahtisaari, was expected to visit Kosovo and Belgrade later this month and move to Vienna in December to start the negotiations.
The nine-point resolution, published Tuesday by the local news media, needs the approval of Serbia's parliament, which is tentatively scheduled to meet over the next weekend.
The resolution also leaves open the possibility that a national referendum be held in Serbia to approve the outcome of the talks with independence-seeking Kosovo Albanians, which are likely to start in December and end within a year.
Kosovo, considered by the Serbs to be the cradle of their statehood and religion, has been run by the U.N. since 1999, when North Atlantic Treaty Organization bombing halted a Serb crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians.
Serbia is hoping to retain at least formal control over Kosovo, but the province's ethnic Albanian majority is insisting on full independence.
The Serbian government resolution calls for Kosovo to remain within Serbia's borders, but gives it "essential" political and judicial autonomy.
The U.N. envoy to mediate talks on Kosovo's future, Finland's former President Martii Ahtisaari, was expected to visit Kosovo and Belgrade later this month and move to Vienna in December to start the negotiations.
Serbia President Warns Of Strife If Kosovo Seeks Independence
MOSCOW (AP)--Serbian President Boris Tadic warned Tuesday of the risk of renewed conflict if Kosovo's ethnic Albanians seek an independent state.
"I am absolutely against destabilization of the Balkan peninsula," Tadic said at the start of a Kremlin meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
The Serbian president was on a three-day visit to Russia for talks on bilateral relations as well as the prickly issue of the future of Kosovo.
The U.N. has administered Kosovo since the 1999 North Atlantic Treaty Organization air war that halted ex-president Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists there. Negotiations over the enclave's status are to start later this month under the direction of a U.N. mediator.
Belgrade, which has close historical ties with mostly Slavic, Orthodox Christian Russia, is hoping Moscow might help keep Kosovo within Serbia- Montenegro. But the province's ethnic Albanians want full independence.
Putin asked Tadic how many of Kosovo's Serbs were driven out of their homes by the 1999 conflict, and Tadic said it was about 200,000.
Putin responded that when ethnic Albanians fled their homes in 1999 "it was seen as a great humanitarian catastrophe...now everybody is silent."
His comments were in line with statements by Russian diplomats who have supported the Serbian perspective on the situation.
"I am absolutely against destabilization of the Balkan peninsula," Tadic said at the start of a Kremlin meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
The Serbian president was on a three-day visit to Russia for talks on bilateral relations as well as the prickly issue of the future of Kosovo.
The U.N. has administered Kosovo since the 1999 North Atlantic Treaty Organization air war that halted ex-president Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists there. Negotiations over the enclave's status are to start later this month under the direction of a U.N. mediator.
Belgrade, which has close historical ties with mostly Slavic, Orthodox Christian Russia, is hoping Moscow might help keep Kosovo within Serbia- Montenegro. But the province's ethnic Albanians want full independence.
Putin asked Tadic how many of Kosovo's Serbs were driven out of their homes by the 1999 conflict, and Tadic said it was about 200,000.
Putin responded that when ethnic Albanians fled their homes in 1999 "it was seen as a great humanitarian catastrophe...now everybody is silent."
His comments were in line with statements by Russian diplomats who have supported the Serbian perspective on the situation.
Main political forces say they will vote pro independence resolution (Zëri)
Zëri reports on the front page that the representatives of the four main political parties in Kosovo Assembly, LDK, PDK, AAK and ORA implied yesterday that unless there is a change in the next two days, they are going to vote for the Resolution on Independence that confirms declaring Kosovo an independent and sovereign state and calls for international recognition of Kosovo’s independence.
Despite suggestions by the international factors on various occasions that the Resolution harmonized by the parliamentary groups could contradict the competencies of the Kosovo Assembly, according to the Constitutional Framework, and the announcements of the SRSG that he would like to see a resolution that would ‘support the Negotiations Team’, the representatives of the four political parties have not changed anything so far in what the chiefs of the parliamentary groups agreed, and have said they will vote for the Resolution on Thursday.
Despite suggestions by the international factors on various occasions that the Resolution harmonized by the parliamentary groups could contradict the competencies of the Kosovo Assembly, according to the Constitutional Framework, and the announcements of the SRSG that he would like to see a resolution that would ‘support the Negotiations Team’, the representatives of the four political parties have not changed anything so far in what the chiefs of the parliamentary groups agreed, and have said they will vote for the Resolution on Thursday.
Political Group adopts three documents on Kosovo stance
All dailies cover the second meeting of the Political/Strategic Group of Kosovo and report that it managed to draft three documents they will send to the Negotiations Team to approve.
“Political Group adopts main points of Kosovo’s position for talks”, says Zëri’s headline on the front page.
A press release issued by coordinator, Blerim Shala reads that these documents set up the main points of the Kosovo delegation’s position on the process of the solution of the final status, then they determine organizational structures of the working groups of experts and the logical segment of the organizational work of the Political/Strategic Group and working groups, dailies report.
“Political Group adopts main points of Kosovo’s position for talks”, says Zëri’s headline on the front page.
A press release issued by coordinator, Blerim Shala reads that these documents set up the main points of the Kosovo delegation’s position on the process of the solution of the final status, then they determine organizational structures of the working groups of experts and the logical segment of the organizational work of the Political/Strategic Group and working groups, dailies report.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Kosovo accord chances "Better than buying a lottery ticket"
This is how the newly appointed UN envoy for the final status talks on Kosovo has described the chances of an agreement between the two sides.
But Martti Ahtisaari won't estimate any timeframe for resolving the dispute over the Serbian province.
He will want to hear the opinions of Serbs, Albanians and several international organisations before forming an opinion.
The Finnish former president has made his first public comments on the job since his formal appointment as the mediator.
"I think that everyone understands that the process can't go on for ever. And we have to go forward as fast as we can."
Kosovo has been a U.N. protectorate since 1999.
NATO air bombardment forced thenformer President Slobodan Milosevic to end a two-year campaign against an ethnic Albanian guerrilla insurgency.
Kosovo's 90-percent Albanian majority are demanding independence.
Serbia is offering far-reaching autonomy.
But Martti Ahtisaari won't estimate any timeframe for resolving the dispute over the Serbian province.
He will want to hear the opinions of Serbs, Albanians and several international organisations before forming an opinion.
The Finnish former president has made his first public comments on the job since his formal appointment as the mediator.
"I think that everyone understands that the process can't go on for ever. And we have to go forward as fast as we can."
Kosovo has been a U.N. protectorate since 1999.
NATO air bombardment forced thenformer President Slobodan Milosevic to end a two-year campaign against an ethnic Albanian guerrilla insurgency.
Kosovo's 90-percent Albanian majority are demanding independence.
Serbia is offering far-reaching autonomy.
Kosovo TV reports on debate over new statehood symbols
Text of report by Kosovo Albanian television KohaVision TV on 13 November
[Announcer] Kosova [Kosovo] needs to have new symbols in order to be represented internationally. The officials of the political parties admit they are aware of this and that it is the assembly that will have a final say on this. Citizens, on the other hand, do not like the idea of changing the flag, whereas historians see it as a political issue.
[Reporter Xhemajl Rexha] In future the black eagle on red background may not be the symbol most Kosova citizens proudly identify themselves with. The establishment of Kosova as a country and its eventual membership in European and world institutions means that Kosova should have its own state symbols. The first to have thought of this is President Ibrahim Rugova. In all gatherings organized by Democratic League of Kosova [LDK] or the president's office the Dardania anthem, titled "When the call in Kosova was heard", is sang alongside the national anthem. At the same time it was said that the president's seal, which bears the old name for Kosova - Dardania, may be the future flag of Kosova. Officials of the president's office and the LDK prefer not to speak about it much, yet they have often said that it was one of the possible proposals. Officials from other parties say they are aware that the flag should change and it is the Kosova Assembly that will decide on this.
[Jakup Krasniqi, Secretary, Democratic Party of Kosova] It is an issue that we will have to deal with. Kosova, as an independent country, as a place that will have its seat at the UN and its own flag will be the 92nd flag among the flags of independent states at the UN. It should have its own symbol. This needs to be done by professionals.
[Ernest Luma, Alliance for the future of Kosova spokesperson] Kosova as an independent country will have its symbols and they will be presented and agreed upon at the Kosova Assembly.
[Reporter] Ora party officials are of the opinion that state building is more important.
[Ylli Hoxha, Ora party spokesperson] We consider that Kosova's statehood should not be built on the motives of waving a flag, but on the basis of managing people's needs. We consider that it is important to have a country to which we would assign a flag.
[Reporter] Hakif Bajrami, a historian, sees this problem to be of political nature.
[Hakif Bajrami] For sure Albanians would not give up their national flag. Kosova should have a different flag. How this flag would look like, for the time being, is not an academic issue, it is not an issue that falls under the responsibility of some institution, but it is a political issue. How the anthem will be, how it will be composed, is also a very sensitive issue, very delicate, but it should be composed because if Kosova wishes to become a country and a member of the UN then it should fulfil all the criteria of a country.
[Reporter] Most of the citizens insist the existing flag should be preserved. Should the flag be changed?
[Citizen 1] No way! Are they normal, those who want to change the flag?
[Citizen 2] I think that the flag should not change. We have a flag and no changes to it are needed.
[Citizen 3] No! The flag is our national symbol and there is no reason. We are an old people with this flag, we would die.
[Citizen 4] No! We fought for this flag. How many Albanians have shed blood, went to prison to protect the flag. Perhaps in 10 years, we cannot do it today, but in 10 years I am convinced we will unify.
[Citizen 5] No! We have our flag. It is a pan-Albanian flag.
[Citizen 6] I don't know. We should change it. We cannot have a similar flag, Albania and Kosova.
[Reporter] Even sports have not been able to avoid the issue of symbols. The Kosova football team, who wore black and red colours, used the president's flag during a tour to Turkish Cyprus. According to ministry officials this was recommended by Minister Astrit Haracia.
Besides Kosova liberation day 12 June the biggest events take place on 28 November, the Flag Day. There are loads of proposals about the future Kosova flag on the Internet. Like our American friends, the future Kosova flag may look like this, with stripes but no stars and would keep Kosovars close to their symbol, the eagle.
Source: KohaVision TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1800 gmt 13 Nov 05
[Announcer] Kosova [Kosovo] needs to have new symbols in order to be represented internationally. The officials of the political parties admit they are aware of this and that it is the assembly that will have a final say on this. Citizens, on the other hand, do not like the idea of changing the flag, whereas historians see it as a political issue.
[Reporter Xhemajl Rexha] In future the black eagle on red background may not be the symbol most Kosova citizens proudly identify themselves with. The establishment of Kosova as a country and its eventual membership in European and world institutions means that Kosova should have its own state symbols. The first to have thought of this is President Ibrahim Rugova. In all gatherings organized by Democratic League of Kosova [LDK] or the president's office the Dardania anthem, titled "When the call in Kosova was heard", is sang alongside the national anthem. At the same time it was said that the president's seal, which bears the old name for Kosova - Dardania, may be the future flag of Kosova. Officials of the president's office and the LDK prefer not to speak about it much, yet they have often said that it was one of the possible proposals. Officials from other parties say they are aware that the flag should change and it is the Kosova Assembly that will decide on this.
[Jakup Krasniqi, Secretary, Democratic Party of Kosova] It is an issue that we will have to deal with. Kosova, as an independent country, as a place that will have its seat at the UN and its own flag will be the 92nd flag among the flags of independent states at the UN. It should have its own symbol. This needs to be done by professionals.
[Ernest Luma, Alliance for the future of Kosova spokesperson] Kosova as an independent country will have its symbols and they will be presented and agreed upon at the Kosova Assembly.
[Reporter] Ora party officials are of the opinion that state building is more important.
[Ylli Hoxha, Ora party spokesperson] We consider that Kosova's statehood should not be built on the motives of waving a flag, but on the basis of managing people's needs. We consider that it is important to have a country to which we would assign a flag.
[Reporter] Hakif Bajrami, a historian, sees this problem to be of political nature.
[Hakif Bajrami] For sure Albanians would not give up their national flag. Kosova should have a different flag. How this flag would look like, for the time being, is not an academic issue, it is not an issue that falls under the responsibility of some institution, but it is a political issue. How the anthem will be, how it will be composed, is also a very sensitive issue, very delicate, but it should be composed because if Kosova wishes to become a country and a member of the UN then it should fulfil all the criteria of a country.
[Reporter] Most of the citizens insist the existing flag should be preserved. Should the flag be changed?
[Citizen 1] No way! Are they normal, those who want to change the flag?
[Citizen 2] I think that the flag should not change. We have a flag and no changes to it are needed.
[Citizen 3] No! The flag is our national symbol and there is no reason. We are an old people with this flag, we would die.
[Citizen 4] No! We fought for this flag. How many Albanians have shed blood, went to prison to protect the flag. Perhaps in 10 years, we cannot do it today, but in 10 years I am convinced we will unify.
[Citizen 5] No! We have our flag. It is a pan-Albanian flag.
[Citizen 6] I don't know. We should change it. We cannot have a similar flag, Albania and Kosova.
[Reporter] Even sports have not been able to avoid the issue of symbols. The Kosova football team, who wore black and red colours, used the president's flag during a tour to Turkish Cyprus. According to ministry officials this was recommended by Minister Astrit Haracia.
Besides Kosova liberation day 12 June the biggest events take place on 28 November, the Flag Day. There are loads of proposals about the future Kosova flag on the Internet. Like our American friends, the future Kosova flag may look like this, with stripes but no stars and would keep Kosovars close to their symbol, the eagle.
Source: KohaVision TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1800 gmt 13 Nov 05
U.N.'s Kosovo envoy appeals to EU to take bigger role in future of Kosovo
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Martii Ahtisaari, the U.N. envoy to lead talks on Kosovo's future, called on the 25-nation European Union on Monday to step up aid and involvement in the reconstruction of the troubled Balkan province.
Speaking to an EU seminar on crisis management, the former Finnish president said the EU should "shoulder an even bigger share of responsibility of the peace and stability in Kosovo." He said the EU had to look at taking over policing and judicial reforms and administration in Kosovo once the future of the province, which is still part of Serbia-Montenegro, is settled.
"The member states have to start preparing for this undertaking both in terms of financial resources and the significant number of personnel," he said.
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the EU "can make a huge contribution" in the years ahead. The EU has given euro60 million (US$70 million) in reconstruction aid to Kosovo this year, aiming to back political and economic reforms there.
Ahtisaari was picked by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to oversee status talks for Kosovo. The Finn faces a difficult task, as Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians want independence, while Serbia wants to retain some formal control over the province.
Ahtisaari told reporters he would go to the Balkans later this month and move to Vienna by January to start the negotiations. His talks next week would be with officials in Kosovo, Serbia-Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania, he said.
He refused to set a deadline by which an agreement on the future of Kosovo was expected.
"Everyone understands that this process can't go on forever and we have to go forward as fast as we can," Ahtisaari said, adding he welcomed all the proposals being put forward.
There are three possible outcomes to the talks: independence for Kosovo with some international oversight for years to come; partition along ethnic lines; or some form of status that preserves Serbia's sovereignty over the territory.
Kosovo, which now is a province of Serbia, has been administered by the United Nations and patrolled by NATO peacekeepers since mid-1999, when NATO launched an air war to halt a crackdown by Yugoslav government troops against separatist ethnic Albanian rebels.
He said the talks will involve a contact group with representatives from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States, and stressed that the EU has a key role to play in reaching a solution.
The EU appointed Stefan Lehne as its representative to help Ahtisaari in the talks. The Austrian currently serves as director for southeastern Europe at EU headquarters and is a senior adviser to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Ahtisaari recently oversaw the successful negotiations between the Indonesian government and Aceh separatist rebels, which has led to the decommissioning of rebel forces in the Indonesian province and the withdrawal of Indonesian troops from the province.
Speaking to an EU seminar on crisis management, the former Finnish president said the EU should "shoulder an even bigger share of responsibility of the peace and stability in Kosovo." He said the EU had to look at taking over policing and judicial reforms and administration in Kosovo once the future of the province, which is still part of Serbia-Montenegro, is settled.
"The member states have to start preparing for this undertaking both in terms of financial resources and the significant number of personnel," he said.
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the EU "can make a huge contribution" in the years ahead. The EU has given euro60 million (US$70 million) in reconstruction aid to Kosovo this year, aiming to back political and economic reforms there.
Ahtisaari was picked by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to oversee status talks for Kosovo. The Finn faces a difficult task, as Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians want independence, while Serbia wants to retain some formal control over the province.
Ahtisaari told reporters he would go to the Balkans later this month and move to Vienna by January to start the negotiations. His talks next week would be with officials in Kosovo, Serbia-Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania, he said.
He refused to set a deadline by which an agreement on the future of Kosovo was expected.
"Everyone understands that this process can't go on forever and we have to go forward as fast as we can," Ahtisaari said, adding he welcomed all the proposals being put forward.
There are three possible outcomes to the talks: independence for Kosovo with some international oversight for years to come; partition along ethnic lines; or some form of status that preserves Serbia's sovereignty over the territory.
Kosovo, which now is a province of Serbia, has been administered by the United Nations and patrolled by NATO peacekeepers since mid-1999, when NATO launched an air war to halt a crackdown by Yugoslav government troops against separatist ethnic Albanian rebels.
He said the talks will involve a contact group with representatives from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States, and stressed that the EU has a key role to play in reaching a solution.
The EU appointed Stefan Lehne as its representative to help Ahtisaari in the talks. The Austrian currently serves as director for southeastern Europe at EU headquarters and is a senior adviser to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Ahtisaari recently oversaw the successful negotiations between the Indonesian government and Aceh separatist rebels, which has led to the decommissioning of rebel forces in the Indonesian province and the withdrawal of Indonesian troops from the province.
Rugova would like Havel to be mediator of talks on Kosovo
PRISTINA, Nov 14 (CTK) - Kosovar President Ibrahim Rugova would welcome if former Czech president Vaclav Havel became the mediator of the talks on the future of Kosovo, he told journalists today after meeting Czech Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek who is on an official visit to the country.
Rugova said that Havel could help Kosovo as a personality, after Paroubek offered him that Czech diplomats or politicians could help solve the problems of Kosovo.
Havel told CTK he is not sure whether he would be able to accept such a task.
"I am of course pleased when somebody has such a suggestion. However, I am not sure whether I would be able to cope with such a task," Havel said.
Paroubek presented a similar offer in Belgrade on Sunday. He said that Serbian representatives welcomed it.
Paroubek did not release who exactly the Czech negotiators could be. According to some information, diplomat Sasa Vondra is among the candidates.
Paroubek is on a four-day visit to the West Balkans. He inquired about the opinions of Serbian, Montenegrin and Kosovar politicians about the future political organisation of Serbia and Montenegro. During his visit in Sarajevo, Belgrade and Pristina he repeatedly said that the Czech Republic will play a more important role in the region.
The Serbian government wants the autonomous Kosovo to remain a part of Serbia in the future, while the Kosovar inhabitants, most of them being ethnic Albanians, call for autonomy. Rugova said today he wants his country to be a part of the EU and NATO.
Apart from political initiative, Paroubek offered local politicians Czech investment, mainly in the area of insurance, power industry and chemical industry.
Seminars on the transformation of Czech economy will be opened for representatives from the former Yugoslavia in Prague. Paroubek said that Serbian students will have easier access to Czech universities thanks to a new cultural agreement.
Rugova said that Havel could help Kosovo as a personality, after Paroubek offered him that Czech diplomats or politicians could help solve the problems of Kosovo.
Havel told CTK he is not sure whether he would be able to accept such a task.
"I am of course pleased when somebody has such a suggestion. However, I am not sure whether I would be able to cope with such a task," Havel said.
Paroubek presented a similar offer in Belgrade on Sunday. He said that Serbian representatives welcomed it.
Paroubek did not release who exactly the Czech negotiators could be. According to some information, diplomat Sasa Vondra is among the candidates.
Paroubek is on a four-day visit to the West Balkans. He inquired about the opinions of Serbian, Montenegrin and Kosovar politicians about the future political organisation of Serbia and Montenegro. During his visit in Sarajevo, Belgrade and Pristina he repeatedly said that the Czech Republic will play a more important role in the region.
The Serbian government wants the autonomous Kosovo to remain a part of Serbia in the future, while the Kosovar inhabitants, most of them being ethnic Albanians, call for autonomy. Rugova said today he wants his country to be a part of the EU and NATO.
Apart from political initiative, Paroubek offered local politicians Czech investment, mainly in the area of insurance, power industry and chemical industry.
Seminars on the transformation of Czech economy will be opened for representatives from the former Yugoslavia in Prague. Paroubek said that Serbian students will have easier access to Czech universities thanks to a new cultural agreement.
UN Envoy Urges EU To Take Bigger Role In Future Of Kosovo
BRUSSELS (AP)--Martii Ahtisaari, the U.N. envoy to lead talks on Kosovo's future, called on the 25-nation European Union on Monday to step up aid and involvement in the reconstruction of the province.
Speaking to an E.U. seminar on crisis management, the former Finnish president said the E.U. should "shoulder an even bigger share of responsibility of the peace and stability in Kosovo." He said the E.U. had to look at taking over policing and judicial reforms and administration in Kosovo once the future of the province, which is still part of Serbia-Montenegro, is settled.
"The member states have to start preparing for this undertaking both in terms of financial resources and the significant number of personnel," he said.
E.U. External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the E.U. "can make a huge contribution" in the years ahead. The E.U. has given EUR60 million in reconstruction aid to Kosovo this year, aiming to back political and economic reforms there.
Ahtisaari was picked by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to oversee status talks for Kosovo. The Finn faces a difficult task, as Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians want independence, while Serbia wants to retain some formal control over the province.
Ahtisaari told reporters he would go to the Balkans later this month and move to Vienna by January to start the negotiations. His talks next week would be with officials in Kosovo, Serbia-Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania, he said.
He refused to set a deadline by which an agreement on the future of Kosovo was expected.
"Everyone understands that this process can't go on forever and we have to go forward as fast as we can," Ahtisaari said, adding he welcomed all the proposals being put forward.
There are three possible outcomes to the talks: independence for Kosovo with some international oversight for years to come; partition along ethnic lines; or some form of status that preserves Serbia's sovereignty over the territory.
Kosovo, which now is a province of Serbia, has been administered by the United Nations and patrolled by NATO peacekeepers since mid-1999, when NATO launched an air war to halt a crackdown by Yugoslav government troops against separatist ethnic Albanian rebels.
He said the talks will involve a contact group with representatives from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States, and stressed that the E.U. has a key role to play in reaching a solution.
The E.U. appointed Stefan Lehne as its representative to help Ahtisaari in the talks. The Austrian currently serves as director for southeastern Europe at E.U. headquarters and is a senior adviser to E.U. foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Ahtisaari recently oversaw the successful negotiations between the Indonesian government and Aceh separatist rebels, which has led to the decommissioning of rebel forces in the Indonesian province and the withdrawal of Indonesian troops from the province.
Speaking to an E.U. seminar on crisis management, the former Finnish president said the E.U. should "shoulder an even bigger share of responsibility of the peace and stability in Kosovo." He said the E.U. had to look at taking over policing and judicial reforms and administration in Kosovo once the future of the province, which is still part of Serbia-Montenegro, is settled.
"The member states have to start preparing for this undertaking both in terms of financial resources and the significant number of personnel," he said.
E.U. External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the E.U. "can make a huge contribution" in the years ahead. The E.U. has given EUR60 million in reconstruction aid to Kosovo this year, aiming to back political and economic reforms there.
Ahtisaari was picked by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to oversee status talks for Kosovo. The Finn faces a difficult task, as Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians want independence, while Serbia wants to retain some formal control over the province.
Ahtisaari told reporters he would go to the Balkans later this month and move to Vienna by January to start the negotiations. His talks next week would be with officials in Kosovo, Serbia-Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania, he said.
He refused to set a deadline by which an agreement on the future of Kosovo was expected.
"Everyone understands that this process can't go on forever and we have to go forward as fast as we can," Ahtisaari said, adding he welcomed all the proposals being put forward.
There are three possible outcomes to the talks: independence for Kosovo with some international oversight for years to come; partition along ethnic lines; or some form of status that preserves Serbia's sovereignty over the territory.
Kosovo, which now is a province of Serbia, has been administered by the United Nations and patrolled by NATO peacekeepers since mid-1999, when NATO launched an air war to halt a crackdown by Yugoslav government troops against separatist ethnic Albanian rebels.
He said the talks will involve a contact group with representatives from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States, and stressed that the E.U. has a key role to play in reaching a solution.
The E.U. appointed Stefan Lehne as its representative to help Ahtisaari in the talks. The Austrian currently serves as director for southeastern Europe at E.U. headquarters and is a senior adviser to E.U. foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Ahtisaari recently oversaw the successful negotiations between the Indonesian government and Aceh separatist rebels, which has led to the decommissioning of rebel forces in the Indonesian province and the withdrawal of Indonesian troops from the province.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Kosovo effectively independent, Slovene president tells paper
Text of report in English by Slovene news agency STA
Maribor, 12 November: The resolution of the Kosovo issue requires a clear and easy-to-understand solution, which is what my plan is about, President Janez Drnovsek has told a Slovene paper in reference to his nine-point Kosovo status plan.
Defending his plan in an interview published in Saturday's [12 November] Vecer, Drnovsek said that the situation on the ground in Kosovo is that of an independent state.
International forces have been stationed in the province for six years now, but the province is effectively independent, he said, adding that there was no Serb police or army stationed there.
According to him, Serbian claims that Kosovo is still part of Serbia run contrary to the situation on the ground. If Serbian officials think that they bring Kosovo under its control again, it will result in another war, Drnovsek is convinced.
"Serbian politicians have been unable to come clean to the Serbian public," Drnovsek said in a reference to the state of affairs in Kosovo.
Moreover, Drnovsek rejected suggestions coming from Serbia that he has been influenced by the Albanian lobby in drawing up his plan. He said that these allegations are nothing new, as they were tossed around back in 1989, when he first tried to solve the Kosovo issue.
The fact is that 16 years have passed since then and that Serbian politicians have been unable to solve the problem, while the international community has been very slow in acting, Drnovsek told Vecer.
Drnovsek would not confirm or deny claims that Brussels and Washington are behind his plan for Kosovo, saying only that he was in touch with many politicians who wish to see a final solution for Kosovo.
The Slovene president is convinced that negotiations on Kosovo could be wrapped up quickly. "Maybe sooner than in six months if we don't go in circles too much," he said, adding that his plan contains elements for which both sides know will have to be part of a final solution.
Asked about whether his plan will lead to a deterioration in relations between Slovenia and Serbia-Montenegro, Drnovsek said that relations should improve if Serbia gets out of the current routine and starts focusing on its European aspirations.
Meanwhile, Drnovsek said there was a great air of defeatism in the international community in general, with few people willing to come up with solutions to the challenges faced by the world.
"This is one of the reasons why I have started to tackle global issues. Not only Kosovo, which is more of a regional issue; I have also come up with proposals for the EU and WTO and have warned about the current state in the UN," he said.
Source: STA news agency, Ljubljana, in English 1215 gmt 12 Nov 05
Maribor, 12 November: The resolution of the Kosovo issue requires a clear and easy-to-understand solution, which is what my plan is about, President Janez Drnovsek has told a Slovene paper in reference to his nine-point Kosovo status plan.
Defending his plan in an interview published in Saturday's [12 November] Vecer, Drnovsek said that the situation on the ground in Kosovo is that of an independent state.
International forces have been stationed in the province for six years now, but the province is effectively independent, he said, adding that there was no Serb police or army stationed there.
According to him, Serbian claims that Kosovo is still part of Serbia run contrary to the situation on the ground. If Serbian officials think that they bring Kosovo under its control again, it will result in another war, Drnovsek is convinced.
"Serbian politicians have been unable to come clean to the Serbian public," Drnovsek said in a reference to the state of affairs in Kosovo.
Moreover, Drnovsek rejected suggestions coming from Serbia that he has been influenced by the Albanian lobby in drawing up his plan. He said that these allegations are nothing new, as they were tossed around back in 1989, when he first tried to solve the Kosovo issue.
The fact is that 16 years have passed since then and that Serbian politicians have been unable to solve the problem, while the international community has been very slow in acting, Drnovsek told Vecer.
Drnovsek would not confirm or deny claims that Brussels and Washington are behind his plan for Kosovo, saying only that he was in touch with many politicians who wish to see a final solution for Kosovo.
The Slovene president is convinced that negotiations on Kosovo could be wrapped up quickly. "Maybe sooner than in six months if we don't go in circles too much," he said, adding that his plan contains elements for which both sides know will have to be part of a final solution.
Asked about whether his plan will lead to a deterioration in relations between Slovenia and Serbia-Montenegro, Drnovsek said that relations should improve if Serbia gets out of the current routine and starts focusing on its European aspirations.
Meanwhile, Drnovsek said there was a great air of defeatism in the international community in general, with few people willing to come up with solutions to the challenges faced by the world.
"This is one of the reasons why I have started to tackle global issues. Not only Kosovo, which is more of a regional issue; I have also come up with proposals for the EU and WTO and have warned about the current state in the UN," he said.
Source: STA news agency, Ljubljana, in English 1215 gmt 12 Nov 05
Slovene president presents his status plan in Kosovo
Text of report in English by Slovene news agency STA
Pristina, 12 November: Slovenian President Janez Drnovsek outlined his Kosovo status plan during a visit to the restive province on Saturday [12 November]. Drnovsek met representatives of the UN Mission to Kosovo (UNMIK) and Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova, while also visiting several Serb Orthodox monasteries.
Kicking off the visit in Pristina, Drnovsek met senior UNMIK representative Jean Dussord and his team to present the details of the nine-point plan for the future of Kosovo, which envisages independence for the province given that certain conditions are met.
According to Drnovsek's foreign policy adviser Ivo Vajgl, who accompanied Drnovsek on the visit, UNMIK representatives stressed that they value Slovenia's contribution to international efforts to ensure stability in Kosovo.
Vajgl said that UNMIK officials believe negotiations on the future status of Kosovo will demand a high degree of willingness from both Serbian and Kosovo officials to compromise, as well as a need for all parties who are familiar with the situation to contribute to a final solution.
UNMIK officials believe that maintaining status quo would be the worst solution for Kosovo, as it would only lead to greater problems, Vajgl told STA.
Meeting Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova, Drnovsek stressed the importance of protecting the Serb minority in the province and giving it sufficient autonomy. Part of this includes the protection of sacred Serb sites, he said.
Drnovsek pointed to his proposal that a number of key Serb sites be given ex-territorial status and provided international protection as part of the efforts to settle the status of Kosovo.
Continuing his visit, which came at the invitation of the Serb Orthodox Church, Drnovsek visited the 14th century Orthodox monastery at Gracanica, as well as Orthodox monasteries at Pec and Decani, which are earmarked for ex-territorial status under his plan.
Drnovsek's visit comes just two weeks after his official visit to Serbia was cancelled by the Serbian authorities in the aftermath of his unveiling of a plan for the status of Kosovo.
While Serbian leaders were angered at his statement that independence was the only realistic option for the province, Kosovo Albanians said his proposal was less than what they demand.
Drnovsek went on the visit despite advice from the Slovenian Foreign Ministry against it. The ministry, which has distanced itself from Drnovsek's plan, said on Friday that the visit should not go ahead because the head of the UN Mission to Kosovo (UNMIK) Soeren Jessen-Petersen is not expected to be in the province.
Source: STA news agency, Ljubljana, in English 1525 gmt 12 Nov 05
Pristina, 12 November: Slovenian President Janez Drnovsek outlined his Kosovo status plan during a visit to the restive province on Saturday [12 November]. Drnovsek met representatives of the UN Mission to Kosovo (UNMIK) and Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova, while also visiting several Serb Orthodox monasteries.
Kicking off the visit in Pristina, Drnovsek met senior UNMIK representative Jean Dussord and his team to present the details of the nine-point plan for the future of Kosovo, which envisages independence for the province given that certain conditions are met.
According to Drnovsek's foreign policy adviser Ivo Vajgl, who accompanied Drnovsek on the visit, UNMIK representatives stressed that they value Slovenia's contribution to international efforts to ensure stability in Kosovo.
Vajgl said that UNMIK officials believe negotiations on the future status of Kosovo will demand a high degree of willingness from both Serbian and Kosovo officials to compromise, as well as a need for all parties who are familiar with the situation to contribute to a final solution.
UNMIK officials believe that maintaining status quo would be the worst solution for Kosovo, as it would only lead to greater problems, Vajgl told STA.
Meeting Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova, Drnovsek stressed the importance of protecting the Serb minority in the province and giving it sufficient autonomy. Part of this includes the protection of sacred Serb sites, he said.
Drnovsek pointed to his proposal that a number of key Serb sites be given ex-territorial status and provided international protection as part of the efforts to settle the status of Kosovo.
Continuing his visit, which came at the invitation of the Serb Orthodox Church, Drnovsek visited the 14th century Orthodox monastery at Gracanica, as well as Orthodox monasteries at Pec and Decani, which are earmarked for ex-territorial status under his plan.
Drnovsek's visit comes just two weeks after his official visit to Serbia was cancelled by the Serbian authorities in the aftermath of his unveiling of a plan for the status of Kosovo.
While Serbian leaders were angered at his statement that independence was the only realistic option for the province, Kosovo Albanians said his proposal was less than what they demand.
Drnovsek went on the visit despite advice from the Slovenian Foreign Ministry against it. The ministry, which has distanced itself from Drnovsek's plan, said on Friday that the visit should not go ahead because the head of the UN Mission to Kosovo (UNMIK) Soeren Jessen-Petersen is not expected to be in the province.
Source: STA news agency, Ljubljana, in English 1525 gmt 12 Nov 05
Continued US presence in Kosovo "vital": UN
COPENHAGEN, Nov 12 (AFP) -
The continued presence of the United States in Kosovo is "vital" to ensuring stability and determining the final status of the region, Kai Eide, the United Nations Secretary General's special envoy to Kosovo, said on Saturday.
In an address to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly being held in Copenhagen, Eide presented a report on the fragile situation in the province, calling for the US to remain involved.
"To the US delegate in this assembly, I want to say the US must continue to be engaged in Kosovo as long as necessary," he said.
"A United States contribution to the Kosovo Force (KFOR) is essential in order to provide a visible expression of continued engagement," he said.
The international KFOR force has been responsible for establishing and maintaining security in Kosovo ever since the UN and NATO took over control of the region in June 1999.
The move followed a NATO air war against Yugoslavia that forced then president Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw his troops from the Albanian-dominated province.
Tensions have remained high with Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders eager for talks leading to independence, while Belgrade and the Kosovo Serbs want the territory to remain part of Serbia and Montenegro.
On Saturday, Eide emphasized the importance of a continued NATO presence in the province.
"Nato will also have to continue its presence. No other organization can currently provide the same basis of stability," he said.
The continued presence of the United States in Kosovo is "vital" to ensuring stability and determining the final status of the region, Kai Eide, the United Nations Secretary General's special envoy to Kosovo, said on Saturday.
In an address to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly being held in Copenhagen, Eide presented a report on the fragile situation in the province, calling for the US to remain involved.
"To the US delegate in this assembly, I want to say the US must continue to be engaged in Kosovo as long as necessary," he said.
"A United States contribution to the Kosovo Force (KFOR) is essential in order to provide a visible expression of continued engagement," he said.
The international KFOR force has been responsible for establishing and maintaining security in Kosovo ever since the UN and NATO took over control of the region in June 1999.
The move followed a NATO air war against Yugoslavia that forced then president Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw his troops from the Albanian-dominated province.
Tensions have remained high with Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders eager for talks leading to independence, while Belgrade and the Kosovo Serbs want the territory to remain part of Serbia and Montenegro.
On Saturday, Eide emphasized the importance of a continued NATO presence in the province.
"Nato will also have to continue its presence. No other organization can currently provide the same basis of stability," he said.
Friday, November 11, 2005
Hague gives Serbia 7-week deadline for Mladic
BELGRADE, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The Hague war crimes tribunal turned up the heat on Serbia on Friday, telling it to deliver top fugitive Ratko Mladic by the end of this year or face "excommunication", Defence Minister Zoran Stankovic said.
The seven-week deadline to hand over the former Bosnian Serb military commander was issued on a visit to Belgrade by United Nations war crimes tribunal president Theodor Meron.
It tightens the screws on Serbia as it faces talks that could lead to the loss of Kosovo, the Albanian-dominated province which has been under U.N. control since 1999.
"Unless Mladic is in The Hague by a certain deadline, we will be excommunicated from Euro-Atlantic integration," Stankovic said after talks with Meron.
"If we do not fulfil this obligation by the end of this year, the citizens of this country will see some very difficult moments," the minister told Serbian state television.
Cooperation with The Hague is vital to Serbia's bids to join NATO and the European Union in the next decade, closing a 15-year chapter of war and sanctions following the breakup of former Yugoslavia.
Mladic and wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic are both indicted for genocide in the 1992-95 siege of Sarajevo and the massacre of up to 8,000 Muslims in the town of Srebrenica during Bosnia's ethnic war.
The court's certification that Belgrade is sincerely committed to Mladic's arrest has in the past been central to EU and NATO assessment of its worthiness to progress in these membership bids, the country's top priority.
Meron told reporters after talks with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica that "the international community is truly impatient about the endless delays in the fulfilment by Serbia of its remaining international obligations."
"This is especially so regarding failure to deliver Ratko Mladic ... and the lack of visible and full support for efforts to capture and transfer Radovan Karadzic and other fugitives who are within reach of the authorities in Belgrade," Meron added.
NO ARMY RENEGADES, MINISTER SAYS
Meron's subsequent meeting with Stankovic was regarded as highly significant by Serbian media, raising speculation that a desperate effort may be under way to arrest Mladic.
Stankovic was once close to Mladic and his recent appointment was seen in Serbia as a sign that the government may be making serious efforts to bring him in.
Karadzic is believed to be hiding somewhere in Bosnia or his native Montenegro. Mladic is rumoured to be somewhere in Serbia, possibly being protected by renegade elements in the Serbian military or intelligence apparatus.
Stankovic said he had told Meron there was no evidence that hardline nationalist elements of the military were sheltering the general, as the Hague prosecutors suspect.
"If there is a part of the army that was hiding him, it would not be good news for us," Stankovic said.
"In fact, that would mean that we do not know what's going on in our army and that a part of our army had broken away, which is not true as far as we know and as far as we have checked the reports that they gave us."
Meron said Kostunica had assured him "in unequivocal terms, in fact he spoke of 100 percent commitment" that Serbia would abide by its obligations.
Serbia has delivered 13 suspects to The Hague in the past year, winning praise from the tribunal and major powers.
It got a break in the unrelenting pressure it has faced on the issue last month, when the EU decided to start talks with Belgrade leading to eventual membership, even though Mladic is still at large.
But the brief respite was never official, and on Friday Meron noted that the last handover was six months ago.
Now the major powers, at the same time as signalling to Serbia that Kosovo is lost, are pushing the Serbs to deliver one or both of the top two fugitives before the anniversary of the peace accord which ended the Bosnia war 10 years ago on Nov. 21.
Western powers intervened belatedly to stop the war after more than 200,000 people died.
The likelihood that Mladic and Karadzic may still not be behind bars before the 10th anniversary of the Dayton accords is seen as a further embarrassment for them.
The seven-week deadline to hand over the former Bosnian Serb military commander was issued on a visit to Belgrade by United Nations war crimes tribunal president Theodor Meron.
It tightens the screws on Serbia as it faces talks that could lead to the loss of Kosovo, the Albanian-dominated province which has been under U.N. control since 1999.
"Unless Mladic is in The Hague by a certain deadline, we will be excommunicated from Euro-Atlantic integration," Stankovic said after talks with Meron.
"If we do not fulfil this obligation by the end of this year, the citizens of this country will see some very difficult moments," the minister told Serbian state television.
Cooperation with The Hague is vital to Serbia's bids to join NATO and the European Union in the next decade, closing a 15-year chapter of war and sanctions following the breakup of former Yugoslavia.
Mladic and wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic are both indicted for genocide in the 1992-95 siege of Sarajevo and the massacre of up to 8,000 Muslims in the town of Srebrenica during Bosnia's ethnic war.
The court's certification that Belgrade is sincerely committed to Mladic's arrest has in the past been central to EU and NATO assessment of its worthiness to progress in these membership bids, the country's top priority.
Meron told reporters after talks with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica that "the international community is truly impatient about the endless delays in the fulfilment by Serbia of its remaining international obligations."
"This is especially so regarding failure to deliver Ratko Mladic ... and the lack of visible and full support for efforts to capture and transfer Radovan Karadzic and other fugitives who are within reach of the authorities in Belgrade," Meron added.
NO ARMY RENEGADES, MINISTER SAYS
Meron's subsequent meeting with Stankovic was regarded as highly significant by Serbian media, raising speculation that a desperate effort may be under way to arrest Mladic.
Stankovic was once close to Mladic and his recent appointment was seen in Serbia as a sign that the government may be making serious efforts to bring him in.
Karadzic is believed to be hiding somewhere in Bosnia or his native Montenegro. Mladic is rumoured to be somewhere in Serbia, possibly being protected by renegade elements in the Serbian military or intelligence apparatus.
Stankovic said he had told Meron there was no evidence that hardline nationalist elements of the military were sheltering the general, as the Hague prosecutors suspect.
"If there is a part of the army that was hiding him, it would not be good news for us," Stankovic said.
"In fact, that would mean that we do not know what's going on in our army and that a part of our army had broken away, which is not true as far as we know and as far as we have checked the reports that they gave us."
Meron said Kostunica had assured him "in unequivocal terms, in fact he spoke of 100 percent commitment" that Serbia would abide by its obligations.
Serbia has delivered 13 suspects to The Hague in the past year, winning praise from the tribunal and major powers.
It got a break in the unrelenting pressure it has faced on the issue last month, when the EU decided to start talks with Belgrade leading to eventual membership, even though Mladic is still at large.
But the brief respite was never official, and on Friday Meron noted that the last handover was six months ago.
Now the major powers, at the same time as signalling to Serbia that Kosovo is lost, are pushing the Serbs to deliver one or both of the top two fugitives before the anniversary of the peace accord which ended the Bosnia war 10 years ago on Nov. 21.
Western powers intervened belatedly to stop the war after more than 200,000 people died.
The likelihood that Mladic and Karadzic may still not be behind bars before the 10th anniversary of the Dayton accords is seen as a further embarrassment for them.
Ahtisaari: no set timeline on Kosovo talks, EU's role vital in negotiations
HELSINKI, Finland (AP) - The U.N.'s newly appointed envoy to lead talks on Kosovo's future status on Friday declined to set a timeline for the negotiations and stressed the role of the European Union in the disputed Balkan region.
Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish President who will oversee the talks, said he plans to visit the region at the end of this month "to listen to the parties and collect impressions."
Ahtisaari told reporters in Helsinki it would be "totally irresponsible" for him set a timeline for the negotiations. "It's pretty much the parties that will decide how fast or slowly we will move," he said.
However, he said "everybody understands that this sort of situation we have at the moment cannot continue forever."
Ahtisaari faces a difficult task as Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians want independence, while Serbia wants to retain some formal control over the province. The United Nations has administered Kosovo since NATO's 1999 air war against Yugoslavia, launched to halt a crackdown by government troops against separatist ethnic Albanian rebels.
Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic acknowledged that Serbia must be "realistic" about Kosovo's future, but said Belgrade will oppose independence for the province during the negotiations.
It is a "harsh reality" that Serbia has had no authority over its southern province since 1999, Draskovic said. "But if we are wise and realistic, we could wrap up the talks successfully."
On the other side, Albania's parliament issued a resolution Friday saying it hoped the negotiations would end in independence for Kosovo.
"(Parliament) strongly believes that a stable result would come out of the negotiating process reflecting the aspirations and the free will of the Kosovo citizens for an independent, democratic and European state," the resolution said.
In Helsinki, Ahtisaari said the talks will involve a contact group with representatives from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States, and stressed that the EU has a key role to play in reaching a solution.
The 25-nation bloc "is an important partner in this exercise because (the) EU is a major donor and political stake holder in Balkans in general and in Kosovo in particular," Ahtisaari said.
Earlier this week, the EU appointed one of its top Balkan specialists, Stefan Lehne, as its representative for the negotiations. The Austrian currently serves as director for southeastern Europe in the secretariat of the EU's council and is a senior adviser to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Ahtisaari said he will start on working on his assignment immediately by setting up office in Vienna, from where the mission will be administrated, and then visiting the Balkan region, including Kosovo, Serbia, Albania and Macedonia.
Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish President who will oversee the talks, said he plans to visit the region at the end of this month "to listen to the parties and collect impressions."
Ahtisaari told reporters in Helsinki it would be "totally irresponsible" for him set a timeline for the negotiations. "It's pretty much the parties that will decide how fast or slowly we will move," he said.
However, he said "everybody understands that this sort of situation we have at the moment cannot continue forever."
Ahtisaari faces a difficult task as Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians want independence, while Serbia wants to retain some formal control over the province. The United Nations has administered Kosovo since NATO's 1999 air war against Yugoslavia, launched to halt a crackdown by government troops against separatist ethnic Albanian rebels.
Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic acknowledged that Serbia must be "realistic" about Kosovo's future, but said Belgrade will oppose independence for the province during the negotiations.
It is a "harsh reality" that Serbia has had no authority over its southern province since 1999, Draskovic said. "But if we are wise and realistic, we could wrap up the talks successfully."
On the other side, Albania's parliament issued a resolution Friday saying it hoped the negotiations would end in independence for Kosovo.
"(Parliament) strongly believes that a stable result would come out of the negotiating process reflecting the aspirations and the free will of the Kosovo citizens for an independent, democratic and European state," the resolution said.
In Helsinki, Ahtisaari said the talks will involve a contact group with representatives from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States, and stressed that the EU has a key role to play in reaching a solution.
The 25-nation bloc "is an important partner in this exercise because (the) EU is a major donor and political stake holder in Balkans in general and in Kosovo in particular," Ahtisaari said.
Earlier this week, the EU appointed one of its top Balkan specialists, Stefan Lehne, as its representative for the negotiations. The Austrian currently serves as director for southeastern Europe in the secretariat of the EU's council and is a senior adviser to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Ahtisaari said he will start on working on his assignment immediately by setting up office in Vienna, from where the mission will be administrated, and then visiting the Balkan region, including Kosovo, Serbia, Albania and Macedonia.
Macedonia says independence likely for Kosovo
SKOPJE, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Serbia's disputed southern province of Kosovo is likely heading for a form of independence in U.N.-mediated negotiations about to begin, the prime minister of neighbouring Macedonia said on Friday.
In a fresh blow to Serbian hopes of keeping hold of the majority-Albanian province, Vlado Buckovski said he saw "conditional independence" as the likely outcome of talks. Talks are expected by the end of this month, but no date has been set.
"Kosovars want independence, not today but yesterday," he told Reuters.
"Belgrade has taken a major step forward by saying it is ready to negotiate on something more than autonomy but less than independence. Conditionally speaking, I translate that as conditional independence."
He said Albanians would have to earn it by guaranteeing the security and rights of the Serb minority.
"How will it be reached? If you ask me, through a very hard process, where some standards will have to be met."
Macedonia is the second former Yugoslav republic to predict independence for Kosovo, legally part of Serbia but run by the United Nations since the 1998-99 war.
ONE STEP FURTHER
Slovenian President Janez Drnovsek went one step further last month by advocating independence.
Belgrade promptly cancelled his scheduled visit the next day, in a sign of the diplomatic minefield awaiting U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari, who is expected to begin a first round of shuttle diplomacy before the end of November.
The United Nations took control of the province of 2 million people in 1999, after NATO bombing drove out Serb forces accused of killing 10,000 Albanian civilians in a two-year war with separatist guerrillas.
Albanians account for 90 percent of the population and reject any return to Serb rule. Serbia, which considers Kosovo its religious heartland, says they can have full autonomy, but not their own state.
Serb leaders warn of a domino effect across the Balkans if Kosovo Albanians get independence, not least among Albanians in Macedonia and Serbs in Bosnia.
But Buckovski said any solution that respected Macedonia's borders could not destabilise the country.
"For Macedonia, a stable Kosovo definitively means the stabilisation of the region."
His comments were in line with Western diplomats, who say a form of independence under international supervision is the most realistic option on the table.
(Additional reporting by Kole Casule)
In a fresh blow to Serbian hopes of keeping hold of the majority-Albanian province, Vlado Buckovski said he saw "conditional independence" as the likely outcome of talks. Talks are expected by the end of this month, but no date has been set.
"Kosovars want independence, not today but yesterday," he told Reuters.
"Belgrade has taken a major step forward by saying it is ready to negotiate on something more than autonomy but less than independence. Conditionally speaking, I translate that as conditional independence."
He said Albanians would have to earn it by guaranteeing the security and rights of the Serb minority.
"How will it be reached? If you ask me, through a very hard process, where some standards will have to be met."
Macedonia is the second former Yugoslav republic to predict independence for Kosovo, legally part of Serbia but run by the United Nations since the 1998-99 war.
ONE STEP FURTHER
Slovenian President Janez Drnovsek went one step further last month by advocating independence.
Belgrade promptly cancelled his scheduled visit the next day, in a sign of the diplomatic minefield awaiting U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari, who is expected to begin a first round of shuttle diplomacy before the end of November.
The United Nations took control of the province of 2 million people in 1999, after NATO bombing drove out Serb forces accused of killing 10,000 Albanian civilians in a two-year war with separatist guerrillas.
Albanians account for 90 percent of the population and reject any return to Serb rule. Serbia, which considers Kosovo its religious heartland, says they can have full autonomy, but not their own state.
Serb leaders warn of a domino effect across the Balkans if Kosovo Albanians get independence, not least among Albanians in Macedonia and Serbs in Bosnia.
But Buckovski said any solution that respected Macedonia's borders could not destabilise the country.
"For Macedonia, a stable Kosovo definitively means the stabilisation of the region."
His comments were in line with Western diplomats, who say a form of independence under international supervision is the most realistic option on the table.
(Additional reporting by Kole Casule)
Slovene Foreign Ministry advises president against Kosovo visit
Text of report in English by Slovene news agency STA
Ljubljana, 11 November: The Foreign Ministry has advised President Janez Drnovsek against visiting Kosovo on Saturday [12 November]. However, the president says his visit will go ahead nonetheless.
The Foreign Ministry advised against the visit because the head of the UN Mission to Kosovo (UNMIK) Soeren Jessen-Petersen is not expected to be in the province on Saturday, the ministry told STA.
According to the ministry, the president's foreign policy adviser Ivo Vajgl asked the ministry to give its opinion on the visit.
Meanwhile, Drnovsek has already said he intends to visit the province in spite of the ministry's advice.
Drnovsek is expected to visit several Orthodox monasteries in the predominantly Albanian province as part of his visit.
According to the president's office, Drnovsek will visit those religious and historical sites that would be granted special protection under his Kosovo status plan. The visit has been arranged in cooperation with the leadership of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
"After all, I will be the guest of the Serb Orthodox Church and I think this in itself is a gesture that, I hope, will lead to positive things," Drnovsek told public broadcaster TV Slovenija.
President Drnovsek, who will be accompanied by his foreign policy adviser Ivo Vajgl, is also scheduled to hold talks with high representatives of the UNMIK.
Source: STA news agency, Ljubljana, in English 1905 gmt 11 Nov 05
Ljubljana, 11 November: The Foreign Ministry has advised President Janez Drnovsek against visiting Kosovo on Saturday [12 November]. However, the president says his visit will go ahead nonetheless.
The Foreign Ministry advised against the visit because the head of the UN Mission to Kosovo (UNMIK) Soeren Jessen-Petersen is not expected to be in the province on Saturday, the ministry told STA.
According to the ministry, the president's foreign policy adviser Ivo Vajgl asked the ministry to give its opinion on the visit.
Meanwhile, Drnovsek has already said he intends to visit the province in spite of the ministry's advice.
Drnovsek is expected to visit several Orthodox monasteries in the predominantly Albanian province as part of his visit.
According to the president's office, Drnovsek will visit those religious and historical sites that would be granted special protection under his Kosovo status plan. The visit has been arranged in cooperation with the leadership of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
"After all, I will be the guest of the Serb Orthodox Church and I think this in itself is a gesture that, I hope, will lead to positive things," Drnovsek told public broadcaster TV Slovenija.
President Drnovsek, who will be accompanied by his foreign policy adviser Ivo Vajgl, is also scheduled to hold talks with high representatives of the UNMIK.
Source: STA news agency, Ljubljana, in English 1905 gmt 11 Nov 05
Situation in Kosovo critical, must be solved carefully -Clinton
PRAGUE, Nov 11 (CTK) - The situation in the south Serbian province of Kosovo is critical and must be solved very carefully, former U.S. president Bill Clinton said at the conference of the Club of Madrid in Prague today.
Clinton said that he has always supported the freedom of Kosovo.
He said that it is necessary to maintain two things in the province - the peace and respect for legitimate rights of the citizens, including the minorities.
He said that what the Serbs did to Kosovar Albanians was horrible but that the Albanians should not do the same in revenge.
Clinton was U.S. president from 1993 to 2001. Under his presidency, the Allies headed by the USA waged a war against former Yugoslavia in 1999 that resulted in the departure of Yugoslav troops from Kosovo which has now been under the administration of the United Nations.
Clinton said that mutual respect is necessary also in other parts of the world, for example between Christians and Muslims. Turkey should definitely join the EU because of this to become a defence wall against Islamic fundamentalism and terror, he added.
The Club of Madrid was established by former heads of state and government in Madrid in October 2001 at the end of an international conference on the transition to democracy. The present conference is its first event held outside of Spain.
Clinton said that he has always supported the freedom of Kosovo.
He said that it is necessary to maintain two things in the province - the peace and respect for legitimate rights of the citizens, including the minorities.
He said that what the Serbs did to Kosovar Albanians was horrible but that the Albanians should not do the same in revenge.
Clinton was U.S. president from 1993 to 2001. Under his presidency, the Allies headed by the USA waged a war against former Yugoslavia in 1999 that resulted in the departure of Yugoslav troops from Kosovo which has now been under the administration of the United Nations.
Clinton said that mutual respect is necessary also in other parts of the world, for example between Christians and Muslims. Turkey should definitely join the EU because of this to become a defence wall against Islamic fundamentalism and terror, he added.
The Club of Madrid was established by former heads of state and government in Madrid in October 2001 at the end of an international conference on the transition to democracy. The present conference is its first event held outside of Spain.
ISSR Consultative Group holds inaugural meeting in Pristina (dailies)
Several daily newspapers cover yesterday’s inaugural meeting of the Consultative Group of the Internal Security Sector in Pristina. Zëri says that Kosovo has finally started to set up its security architecture, “which it will days after the resolution of its final status”.
The paper quotes SRSG Søren Jessen-Petersen as saying that as the process of resolving Kosovo’s political status has commenced, “it is important for local institutions to continue standards implementation and reforms in local government”.
Prime Minister Kosumi was quoted as saying, “Kosovo has a special place in regional security, therefore, it needs to build security structures in cooperation with the international community”. The PM has suggested that within the process of reviewing security in Kosovo one should evaluate the role of the Kosovo Protection Corps, which according to him, would contribute to these processes alongside NATO.
The paper quotes SRSG Søren Jessen-Petersen as saying that as the process of resolving Kosovo’s political status has commenced, “it is important for local institutions to continue standards implementation and reforms in local government”.
Prime Minister Kosumi was quoted as saying, “Kosovo has a special place in regional security, therefore, it needs to build security structures in cooperation with the international community”. The PM has suggested that within the process of reviewing security in Kosovo one should evaluate the role of the Kosovo Protection Corps, which according to him, would contribute to these processes alongside NATO.
Resolution on independence at the Assembly on 17 November (Dailies)
Dailies report that the Assembly of Kosovo is going to raise the Resolution on Independence for endorsement in its session on 17 November. Dailies also report that PDK senior official Hydajet Hyseni has offered his resignation from the post of head of the Assembly Committee for Legal Issues, because his suggestions have not been included in the Resolution text.
Express reports that the parliamentary groups have agreed to declare once again the independence of Kosovo. The writes that according to UNMIK Information Director, Hua Jiang, the SRSG has said on several occasions that the resolution should serve as a guide for the Negotiations Team during the process of status talks. However, says the paper, the preamble of the Resolution has not a single word on the explanation that the SRSG had asked for. Jiang further said that she believed there will be more work on the draft resolution.
Zëri writes that the yesterday’s developments about the Resolution have raised concern among foreign offices in Kosovo.
Express reports that the parliamentary groups have agreed to declare once again the independence of Kosovo. The writes that according to UNMIK Information Director, Hua Jiang, the SRSG has said on several occasions that the resolution should serve as a guide for the Negotiations Team during the process of status talks. However, says the paper, the preamble of the Resolution has not a single word on the explanation that the SRSG had asked for. Jiang further said that she believed there will be more work on the draft resolution.
Zëri writes that the yesterday’s developments about the Resolution have raised concern among foreign offices in Kosovo.
Former Finland President Confirmed As UN Envoy In Kosovo Talks
HELSINKI (AP)--The United Nations Security Council has approved the appointment of former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari as the U.N.'s chief envoy to oversee talks on Kosovo's status, the Finnish Foreign Ministry said Friday.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan last week appointed Ahtisaari to lead the talks, which are expected to start soon.
He faces a difficult task as ethnic Albanians want independence for Kosovo, while Serbia wants to retain some formal control over the province.
The U.N. has administered Kosovo since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's 1999 air war against Yugoslavia.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan last week appointed Ahtisaari to lead the talks, which are expected to start soon.
He faces a difficult task as ethnic Albanians want independence for Kosovo, while Serbia wants to retain some formal control over the province.
The U.N. has administered Kosovo since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's 1999 air war against Yugoslavia.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Burns is right, say Kosovans (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports on reactions from Kosovo after the statement to the US Senate by Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns that independence has to be deserved.
The paper quotes local politicians and analysts as saying that Kosovan leaders must put in more serious work and show their muscles not to each other, but to the other side so that independence can be guaranteed.
The paper quotes local politicians and analysts as saying that Kosovan leaders must put in more serious work and show their muscles not to each other, but to the other side so that independence can be guaranteed.
European Commission drafts special annual report on Kosovo (Koha)
Koha Ditore reports on the front page that the European Commission has for the first time drafted a special annual report on Kosovo. The paper says the EC has seen little progress in Kosovo and lots of shortcomings.
The European Commission has underscored that the Kosovo institutions in general have demonstrated growing dedication for implementation of the Standards, however there are democratic shortages.
The European Commission has underscored that the Kosovo institutions in general have demonstrated growing dedication for implementation of the Standards, however there are democratic shortages.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
U.S., Europe Reject Partitioning Kosovo, State's Burns Says
Under secretary of state outlines final-status talks in press conference
The United States and Europe agree that final-status talks for Kosovo cannot lead to partitioning the province into separate ethnic enclaves or redrawing international boundaries with neighboring Albania or Macedonia, a senior U.S. diplomat says.
“There’s absolutely no international support for it whatsoever,” Nicholas Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, said in a news conference in Washington November 8. “I haven’t heard a single country support the view that somehow partition would be a good way to resolve this problem.”
Burns said that a successful resolution to Kosovo’s international status also should strengthen Serbia-Montenegro both economically and politically, paving the way for closer relations with the European Union and NATO.
“One of the primary factors that concerns us going into these negotiations is that, at the end of them, neither side emerges as a loser in the process,” Burns said.
“Serbia and Montenegro to us is the keystone state in the Balkans. If the Balkans is going to be an area of increasing prosperity and stability, Serbia has to be a successful country,” he said.
The Kosovo province of Serbia-Montenegro has been administered by the United Nations since NATO’s 1999 air war drove out Yugoslav Serb forces following widespread human-rights abuses. On October 24, the U.N. Security Council endorsed final-status talks, which could lead either to independence or greater autonomy for Kosovo, according to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
The United States does not endorse either possible outcome of the talks. Initial meetings are to begin within weeks, and formal negotiations are expected to begin in January 2005. Martti Ahtissari, former president of Finland, has been nominated to be the United Nations’ envoy for the talks.
Burns met with reporters at the State Department several hours after testifying on Kosovo’s status before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (See related article).
“It’s a perilous exercise … for foreigners to begin to draw lines,” Burns told reporters when asked about the possibility of partitioning Kosovo into separate ethnic enclaves. “It’s the view of all of our European allies that it would be a mistake to say that one of the options for the final-status talks in Kosovo would simply to be redefine the borders.”
Burns said the United States and its European partners also oppose any discussions that would lead to merging parts of Kosovo with neighboring Albania. “We don’t support any kind of greater Albania or irredentist Albanian state,” Burns said.
Kosovo’s southern neighbor, Macedonia, also has a significant ethnic Albanian population. Burns said that Macedonia “actually is a very positive symbol for the Kosovars because it’s a multiethnic country.”
Following is a transcript of the briefing:
(begin transcript)
U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
November 9, 2005
ON-THE-RECORD BRIEFING
UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS R. NICHOLAS BURNS
ON U.S. STRATEGY FOR KOSOVO
November 8, 2005
Washington, D.C.
(4:10 p.m. EST)
MR. ERELI: Our briefer needs no introduction, but in the interest of those who aren't here and for the record, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Nick Burns will brief on the record on the Kosovo work plan and I'm happy to welcome Ambassador Burns.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Thank you very much. I testified this morning before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Kosovo and our preparation for the final status talks, so I'm very happy to answer any questions you have on that.
I just wanted to say in beginning that what you're seeing is a renewed and I think very energetic attempt by the United States to be very active in the Balkans, to complete in Bosnia what we began at Dayton ten years ago, which is the creation of a modern, single state that can take its place in the EU and NATO in the future. And in two weeks time, the Secretary is going to be hosting the Bosnian Tri-Presidency here, the three members of the Presidency, along with many of the other political party leaders in Bosnia to do two things:
One is to commemorate the Dayton Accords. It'll be the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Accords.
And the second is to look ahead and to see how they can modernize the Dayton Accords and create a more unified state.
And she will also be engaged in other events that day that we'll be letting you know about to honor some of our colleagues who died during the Bosnia negotiations and also to sign some agreements with the Bosnian Government that would indicate that a closer relationship with the United States.
Second, we continue our diplomatic efforts to convince the Serb Government in Belgrade and the Republika Srpska Government in Banja Luka in Bosnia-Herzegovina to give up the two indicted war criminals who are responsible for the massacres of ten years ago, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. And I spoke this morning in the Senate about our withholding of a normal relationship with Serbia and Montenegro, specifically, until Mladic is turned over to The Hague.
Third, we are now initiating the Kosovo final status talks and we had here at the State Department last week the former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari and he is just about to be nominated by Secretary General Kofi Annan to be the final status envoy for the United Nations. I believe he'll be going out to the region in a couple of weeks time and the United States is fully supporting his mission. We will be naming an American envoy to these negotiations very soon and we intend to be fundamentally engaged. These are going to be very difficult negotiations, but they're necessary because the time has come to change the status quo and to give the people, the Albanians and the Serb populations of Kosovo, a chance to define their own future. They haven't had that opportunity in seven years.
So these are three elements of an American policy in the Balkans that is important, that is, I think, more vigorous than it has been in some time. And I'd be happy to talk about any aspect of this.
QUESTION: You said (inaudible) the outcome today. What of the outcome of the status talks? There will still be for a period of time a role for NATO to provide security for the United States -- for the United Nations to provide some kind of civil administration? That second aspect, what would that entail? Are they to supervise Kosovars?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: There is an assumption that underlies at least the approach of the United States, but I believe the approach of all other interested countries, about the result of these negotiations, and that is that whatever the parties decide -- whether they decide to create an independent state or whether they decide to continue, perhaps, with expanded autonomy, to have Kosovo continue as part of Serbia and Montenegro -- there's an assumption that that new entity is going to require continued international support. There's hardly anyone who believes that the creation, for instance, of an indigenous military force, a true army, armed force, would be the right move as part of these final status talks. And that speaks to the need for continued NATO or international presence.
On the civilian side, there are several options. It could be a continued United Nations presence. It could be a European Union presence. There could be the development of what we've done so successfully in Bosnia, which is the High Representative's office. But clearly, no matter what the solution is that the parties decide, there has to be some kind of -- there will have to be some kind of transitional phase during which the international community will remain involved, perhaps not in the same way or shape or size of the international presence over the last six and half years, but this is a given in these negotiations and it's not something that's really being disputed by any of the parties.
QUESTION: If I can, you also talked about how the talks need to involve incentives because, obviously, the senators were worried that you have these diametrically opposed positions. So you were saying, well, we can build incentives into it. On the Serb side, that was that Serbia could be integrated into EU and NATO, but that appeared to clash with your other condition, which is they can't go ahead with the integration into NATO unless they capture the war criminals.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: They have to make a choice. If the Serb Government wants to be part -- fully part of NATO and the EU, they have to then act like it. There is no country in NATO or the EU that would allow an indicted war criminal to roam at large in a territory of that state. And in fact, Mladic has been at large for ten years and for eight of those years was protected fully by the Serb state, by the Serb military, by their own admission.
And so if they want to be treated by the United States, by NATO, as a country that is worthy of future membership or even a partnership, then they have to act like it and they have to arrest Mladic or convince him to surrender voluntarily. But that is an absolute prior condition to any Serb admission into the Partnership for Peace. I gave that message directly to Prime Minister Kostunica as well as President Tadic when I was in Belgrade three weeks ago.
QUESTION: Excuse me. Maybe I missed it while I was away, but where do we stand on the decertification or that whole issue in terms of if they don't hand them forward? Are we any further advanced on that?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, you know, certification is a rolling process and back in June we did certify that over the course of the first five months of 2005 Serbia had turned, I think, by that time, ten individuals indicted for war crimes over to the tribunal in The Hague. And I think subsequent to that, they've turned three over.
We have other certification decisions to make ahead of us in the next half year. I don't want to anticipate what decisions Secretary Rice would make, but I would note that the continuing freedom of Mladic is a heavy factor and I would not think it would be an easy decision to make to certify as long as Mladic is at large. I wouldn't want to prejudge that decision because it's not mine to make; it's the Secretary of State's decision. But we have very strong feelings about this. We have very strong views about this here at the State Department and in our government. And that is that the Serbs need to take this decisive action to bring him to justice. The same is true of Karadzic, by the way, for the Bosnian Serbs.
QUESTION: Right. Just to follow up on that, I mean, this is what you've been saying for a while. I mean, we've been hearing this for a couple of months now. I mean --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: We're very consistent here.
QUESTION: That's true. You are very consistent.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: And there is virtue in consistency.
QUESTION: And I remember a couple of months ago you were very angry because you felt you were almost personally, you know, either betrayed or lied to, whatever, misled about, you know, the possibility.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: No, I didn't say that. I didn't say I'd been lied to.
QUESTION: Okay.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I just said that a very strong expectation was created by the Serb Government back in June that Mladic would be -- his arrest was imminent. It didn't happen. And so I went to Belgrade and I told them how disappointed I was.
QUESTION: That's right. Okay. So my question is is that after months of this now, isn't -- why you seem to be so circumspect right now and just keep moving the date of reckoning further down the track?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I didn't think I was being circumspect, really. Maybe I've surprised myself. We think we're being very clear. We -- the United States has consistently taken the hardest position on this issue of any country in the NATO alliance and will continue in that vein because we simply believe that it's fundamentally inconsistent to begin to welcome a country onto the NATO membership track, and Partnership for Peace would be a first initial step, if that country hasn't complied with the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal in a celebrated case and if the object of that concern is a person who is responsible for a massacre that occurred ten years ago, 8,000 people killed. So we have strong views and we're going to keep to them. And I don't think we're being circumspect, but I think we're being very open and clear about it.
QUESTION: I guess I was referring in terms of the certification. Is it a statutory thing in terms of the dates or the time or --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Oh, yes, it's statutory.
QUESTION: Oh, okay.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yeah. And it will come up on the calendar and we'll let you know what decision the Secretary makes. But right now it's not heading in a very positive direction because there's this very large issue out there called Ratko Mladic.
QUESTION: Do you know, ballpark, about when it should come up or?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I think it's at the end of the year.
QUESTION: At the end of the year.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yeah, I can check.
QUESTION: Okay.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Charlie.
QUESTION: I mean, the previous question referred to a few months ago and you've been saying this for a while. Well, you know and I know you've been saying this for years. And I'm not trying to be funny. I mean, the U.S. can be as hard as it wants. It sounds like a broken record. And while it sounds good and while the aim is good, why isn't something happening or why aren't you doing more to put pressure on to make more happen? It seems like you say something and it rolls off like water off a duck's back.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I don't think so. For most of the last ten years, the Serbs obviously were not interested in bringing these people to justice. They didn't make any attempt to do that. But in the last year or two, the Serbs now see that they have -- the Serb Government has an opportunity to begin a membership track with the European Union and with NATO. And so now we've seen over the last year -- the last ten months -- action by the Serb Government on the 13 individuals that I talked about, transferred to The Hague.
We need to see action now on the biggest prize, which is Mladic, and we hope the same will be true of Karadzic. So there is leverage here. The Serbs are responding to it. It's very important that the United States and our other allies not weaken and not give into those who say that we should just forget about this and look to the future and bring Serbia into Partnership for Peace. That's not our view.
So I think the leverage is actually working if you look at the actions of the Serb Government. They just now need to get to the toughest question of all, which Mladic.
QUESTION: What are our allies doing or what are they not doing? And who could do more to help you get your -- reach your aim?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Our allies -- this is NATO policy actually, so we have a unified NATO position that Mladic should be turned over to the War Crimes Tribunal.
Yes.
QUESTION: On Kosovo, I don't quite understand why, in your opening position, is there such a forthright opposition to the possibility of partition. I mean, there are plenty of other precedents flying around at the moment where the Bush Administration is willing to recognize redrawing borders. I mean, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict readily springs to mind. And if the two sides were to agree on a way of partitioning Kosovo, and there's an obvious way that one might do that -- plenty of people have drawn up maps in the past -- would that -- why do you have to rule that out that from the beginning?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: It's a perilous exercise to begin drawing -- for foreigners to begin to draw lines and redefine other people's reality, their borders.
QUESTION: We have done just that with Israel-Palestine.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: And in the Balkans especially. And so it's not just the view of the United States. It's the view of all of our European allies that it would be a mistake to say that one of the options for the final status talks in Kosovo would simply to be redefine the borders, especially in a region where if you look south, there is a new country called Macedonia that actually is a very positive symbol for the Kosovars because it's a multiethnic country. There's another country called Albania.
We don't support any kind of greater Albania or irredentist Albanian state. There are people in that region who, you know, support that objective historically and we would not want to see that view materialize into one of the options that was considered at the negotiations. It would be a bad precedent. It would be a very bad way to begin these negotiations. There's absolutely no international support for it whatsoever. I haven't heard a single country support the view that somehow partition would be a good way to resolve this problem.
Mr. Lambros.
QUESTION: Secretary Burns, how do you assess the role of Greece in the Balkans, and particularly in the case of Kosovo?
AMBASSADOR HANFORD: Well, as I said this morning to the Senate in response to some of the questions being asked by Senator Sabanes, that the neighbors of Kosovo are going to have to play a concerted role in these negotiations because all of them will have a stake in the future of Kosovo. All of them can contribute, either politically or economically, to the ultimate solution.
Greece has a major responsibility because Greece, as you know, is the largest investor and largest trade partner with those close Southeast Europe Balkan neighbors, with Macedonia, Albania and with Kosovo. And one of the challenges to build a future Kosovo, whether it's independent or whether it's part of Serbia, will be to create jobs and to overhaul the economy which has been fractured by the events of the last 15 years. And Greek investment is going to be fundamental to that. Fundamental. So we see Greece as having a very important role and we've been in touch with the highest levels of the Greek Government on this. I've discussed this issue several times recently, this issue of the Kosovo talks, with Foreign Minister Molyviatis. And we're counting on Greece to play a very active and very constructive role.
QUESTION: In other words, do you consider Greece a strategic partner in the Balkan, as it was said by President Bush many, many times?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Of course we do. Yes, Greece is our -- Greece is one of our most important strategic partners in the Balkans.
Yes. Saul.
QUESTION: No one behind me. If Serbia can get into NATO ultimately by handing over Mladic and if ultimately Serbia can also enter the European Union similarly, what does it actually get or what can be the incentive for Serbia to give up Kosovo?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well --
QUESTION: How do you persuade Serbia that this is in their interests? I mean, you talked openly in your testimony this morning about an independent Kosovo and how they can earn it. You clearly think it could be a viable state. What does Serbia get out of it?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Let's start with the fundamentals. It was Secretary General Kofi Annan who two weeks ago framed the Kosovo negotiations by saying that there were two plausible outcomes: either independence or continued and greater autonomy of Kosovo within Serbia and Montenegro.
I said this morning very clearly that the United States is not supporting either of those options. We're not a champion of either one. We believe that the proper way to resolve this is to have the parties to the conflict make this decision as to what their future is and then we'll support that outcome -- if it's a credible outcome, obviously. And that's an important principle that we not try to chart the future of these negotiations before they start.
Did I answer your question fully?
QUESTION: Well, not really.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Really? How would you like to follow up?
QUESTION: A follow-up on this. One -- you know, one can see how Kosovo can be induced to possibly accept greater autonomy because they would still be part of Europe and presumably could also be part of NATO through going to Serbia. But I don't see, on the other side of the equation, how independence produces anything that is desirable for Serbia.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Without --
QUESTION: And if you're going to be involved in this process that has two possible outcomes, how will you be, you know, lending your advice to this?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Without forecasting what we think the outcome is going to be or should be, I would answer your question by saying that one of the things that concerns us, one of the primary factors that concerns us going in these negotiations, is that at the end of them neither side emerges as a loser in the process.
Serbia and Montenegro to us is the keystone state in the Balkans. If the Balkans is going to be an area of increasing prosperity and stability, Serbia has to be a successful country. And this is going to be a extremely difficult negotiation for the Serbs because they -- a lot of their history, as you know, over the last 1,000 years, is tied up in Kosovo. A lot of their most important Serb Orthodox religious sites and churches and monasteries are in Kosovo.
And so paying attention to those issues -- churches, Patrimonial sites, religious symbols -- is going to be an important part of these negotiations. And giving Serbia the very clear sense that a successful outcome of these talks will actually add to the possibility of their future involvement with the EU and NATO is also going to be an important part of these negotiations.
You asked about incentives. I would say that those are the incentives. Those are among the incentives for the Serbs. And the other would be that -- and this is very much an outsider's perspective, obviously. We're not Serbs. We're Americans. But the Serbs have been at war or internal chaos or internal challenge for 15 years and they should -- they obviously -- if you go to Belgrade and talk to people, they want that period to end. They want to move forward. They want to finish with the end of Yugoslavia and get on with building a modern state.
Dealing with the Kosovo problem is a necessity, where you have a situation now where 90 percent of the people who live there are Albanians -- Muslims -- and that's a dramatic change from March of 1999 when the war began. So those are some of the incentives and realities that underline the issue for the Serbs as we see them.
QUESTION: Sir, can I just clarify that? Are you saying that a successful outcome to the Kosovo problem is a condition for Serbia to gain eventual NATO membership?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: No. I said, actually, something very different.
QUESTION: You said it's an incentive.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I said that we think that a successful Kosovo final status talks should be the emergence of a stronger, healthier Serbia and Montenegro that has the prospect of future involvement with EU and NATO. That's different than what you just said I said.
QUESTION: Do you not see you're, turning it the other way around, saying if these talks are not successful because one or two of the parties will not agree, then Serbia cannot proceed to eventual NATO membership?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, I said what I said and I framed it the way I wanted to frame it because it represents our views. But I would also say that, you know, if on a hypothetical basis -- you don't want to go down this road too far -- but if the negotiations were not successful and if there were further turmoil in Kosovo, that's not going to help. That would not help the aspirations in any of the countries of the region for a future association with NATO and the EU, I would think.
But we have to present that these will be successful talks and it's going to be a more -- a positive outcome for all sides. That's our hope.
QUESTION: You're saying that to make it successful you want to have a clear sense that the talks are successful and will actually add to the possibility of Serbia entering into NATO and the EU.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yes.
QUESTION: Okay. That's the way you did frame it. But couldn't they get into NATO and EU anyway without doing anything on Kosovo?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I think not because admission into NATO -- I can just speak about NATO, we belong to NATO, we don't belong with the EU -- would have to be by the consensus. All the countries would have to agree, including the United States. And I don't think anyone would take a country into NATO that had a major territorial dispute within it, in the heart of it, that had not resolved this huge question of the future of Kosovo. I don't think there's any possibility of that happening.
QUESTION: So it does sound like it's a condition for --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: No. I framed it the way I wanted to frame it. And I framed it the way that we talk about it in real life, in real diplomatic terms. We tend to try to frame things positively when we talk to other governments.
QUESTION: Right. So how about this? If they hand over the war criminals that you want them to but don't sort out the Kosovo problem, can they get into NATO?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: You know, Charlie taught me long ago, never to answer a hypothetical question like that.
QUESTION: But you --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: He'd be disappointed. He'd be disappointed. And I --
QUESTION: You were --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I'd rather --
QUESTION: I tried --
QUESTION: You were asked by a senator, weren't you, is that the only condition? And I think you said yes.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, wait a minute. For Partnership for Peace. We've told the Serbs -- Partnership for Peace is not NATO membership. It's entry into a partnership program. It's short of membership. We've told the Serbs, if you would succeed in getting Mladic to The Hague, we'll support you the next day for Partnership for Peace. Membership is a much higher challenge that requires much greater efforts. So you have to distinguish between the two, and I answered the senator's question on Partnership for Peace.
Mr. Lambros, then I've got to take off.
QUESTION: Secretary Burns, you stated only today in the Senate, talking about the Kosovars you met in Pristina the other day, "I made clear to them that the independence must be earned." I am wondering why independence must be earned but not a compromise solution. May we assume that independence of Kosovo is the only solution, according to the U.S. policy?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: No, you know what I said today and I think you have my written testimony. I said there are two fundamental options and we support neither. But I did say that independence has to be earned because it's true, because if there is to be an independent state -- and I don't know if there will be or not -- then the people who would run that, the Kosovar Albanians and the Kosovar Serbs, need to demonstrate that they could manage the affairs adequately, that they have sufficient political unity, that they respect minority rights, that they would respect democratic freedoms -- all the other principles that are embedded in the guiding principles which we have sent to the parties at the start of these talks.
QUESTION: Sir, a follow-up. It is very important for the boundaries. You also said that, "There should be no change in the existing boundaries of Kosovo and no partition."
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yes.
QUESTION: But the second (inaudible) you mentioned by the Kosovars means clearly the opposite and secession from Serbia. Could you please clarify this unclear status?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: No, it's not -- that's not contradictory. That's the position of the Contact Group and has been for six and a half years: There shall be no change in the internationally recognized borders of any of the states in the region and certainly no change to the borders of Kosovo itself. That is a different question than whether Kosovo remains as an autonomous province of Serbia and Montenegro or whether it become independent.
QUESTION: One more on Montenegro?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Sure.
QUESTION: Well, Holbrooke said, you know, your testimony was dramatic, what you'd said about Montenegro and, you know, I'm not really --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I missed that.
QUESTION: Yeah, well, I'm not really understanding why.
QUESTION: Did you say something dramatic about Montenegro?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Do you want me to say something dramatic about Montenegro?
QUESTION: Is it that your sort of acceptance of a referendum that the Montenegrins want would be a referendum only on --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I heard him say -- I missed most of his testimony, but I was there out of respect for him at the beginning, obviously. And but I heard him say that he felt that there hadn't been high-level U.S. involvement with President Djukanovic in a number of years and that he was struck by the fact that we had had a meeting with Djukanovic. I had had a meeting and our Ambassador, Mike Polt, has had several meetings with him. He is the President of Montenegro.
And so that's what I took away from Ambassador Holbrooke's comments. It was the fact of the meeting, which was meant to recognize -- to recognize -- to convey respect. But the message in that meeting was that it's not our decision as to whether or not there is a referendum -- that's built into the constitutional charter of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro -- but that if a referendum is to be held, it has to be held following elementary democratic practices so that it could be seen to be a viable referendum. And that's the message that I brought to my meeting with President Djukanovic.
QUESTION: But a referendum that only involves Montenegrins? That would be okay with you? Or would it have to be --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: If you look at the constitutional charter for the state union, both Serbia and Montenegro have the right to hold separate referendums, or a referendum in one part of the state union on the question of independence. There's no argument about that. The only discussion that I was involved in with President Djukanovic -- and really this is consistent with a lot of what the European allies have told him, the EU has told him -- and that is you've got to -- if you're going to hold it, you have to hold it in a democratic way, transparent, so the people know who the voters are and then people know how this vote was conducted so that people can have confidence that it was an unassailably democratic process.
Thank you.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
The United States and Europe agree that final-status talks for Kosovo cannot lead to partitioning the province into separate ethnic enclaves or redrawing international boundaries with neighboring Albania or Macedonia, a senior U.S. diplomat says.
“There’s absolutely no international support for it whatsoever,” Nicholas Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, said in a news conference in Washington November 8. “I haven’t heard a single country support the view that somehow partition would be a good way to resolve this problem.”
Burns said that a successful resolution to Kosovo’s international status also should strengthen Serbia-Montenegro both economically and politically, paving the way for closer relations with the European Union and NATO.
“One of the primary factors that concerns us going into these negotiations is that, at the end of them, neither side emerges as a loser in the process,” Burns said.
“Serbia and Montenegro to us is the keystone state in the Balkans. If the Balkans is going to be an area of increasing prosperity and stability, Serbia has to be a successful country,” he said.
The Kosovo province of Serbia-Montenegro has been administered by the United Nations since NATO’s 1999 air war drove out Yugoslav Serb forces following widespread human-rights abuses. On October 24, the U.N. Security Council endorsed final-status talks, which could lead either to independence or greater autonomy for Kosovo, according to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
The United States does not endorse either possible outcome of the talks. Initial meetings are to begin within weeks, and formal negotiations are expected to begin in January 2005. Martti Ahtissari, former president of Finland, has been nominated to be the United Nations’ envoy for the talks.
Burns met with reporters at the State Department several hours after testifying on Kosovo’s status before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (See related article).
“It’s a perilous exercise … for foreigners to begin to draw lines,” Burns told reporters when asked about the possibility of partitioning Kosovo into separate ethnic enclaves. “It’s the view of all of our European allies that it would be a mistake to say that one of the options for the final-status talks in Kosovo would simply to be redefine the borders.”
Burns said the United States and its European partners also oppose any discussions that would lead to merging parts of Kosovo with neighboring Albania. “We don’t support any kind of greater Albania or irredentist Albanian state,” Burns said.
Kosovo’s southern neighbor, Macedonia, also has a significant ethnic Albanian population. Burns said that Macedonia “actually is a very positive symbol for the Kosovars because it’s a multiethnic country.”
Following is a transcript of the briefing:
(begin transcript)
U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
November 9, 2005
ON-THE-RECORD BRIEFING
UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS R. NICHOLAS BURNS
ON U.S. STRATEGY FOR KOSOVO
November 8, 2005
Washington, D.C.
(4:10 p.m. EST)
MR. ERELI: Our briefer needs no introduction, but in the interest of those who aren't here and for the record, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Nick Burns will brief on the record on the Kosovo work plan and I'm happy to welcome Ambassador Burns.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Thank you very much. I testified this morning before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Kosovo and our preparation for the final status talks, so I'm very happy to answer any questions you have on that.
I just wanted to say in beginning that what you're seeing is a renewed and I think very energetic attempt by the United States to be very active in the Balkans, to complete in Bosnia what we began at Dayton ten years ago, which is the creation of a modern, single state that can take its place in the EU and NATO in the future. And in two weeks time, the Secretary is going to be hosting the Bosnian Tri-Presidency here, the three members of the Presidency, along with many of the other political party leaders in Bosnia to do two things:
One is to commemorate the Dayton Accords. It'll be the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Accords.
And the second is to look ahead and to see how they can modernize the Dayton Accords and create a more unified state.
And she will also be engaged in other events that day that we'll be letting you know about to honor some of our colleagues who died during the Bosnia negotiations and also to sign some agreements with the Bosnian Government that would indicate that a closer relationship with the United States.
Second, we continue our diplomatic efforts to convince the Serb Government in Belgrade and the Republika Srpska Government in Banja Luka in Bosnia-Herzegovina to give up the two indicted war criminals who are responsible for the massacres of ten years ago, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. And I spoke this morning in the Senate about our withholding of a normal relationship with Serbia and Montenegro, specifically, until Mladic is turned over to The Hague.
Third, we are now initiating the Kosovo final status talks and we had here at the State Department last week the former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari and he is just about to be nominated by Secretary General Kofi Annan to be the final status envoy for the United Nations. I believe he'll be going out to the region in a couple of weeks time and the United States is fully supporting his mission. We will be naming an American envoy to these negotiations very soon and we intend to be fundamentally engaged. These are going to be very difficult negotiations, but they're necessary because the time has come to change the status quo and to give the people, the Albanians and the Serb populations of Kosovo, a chance to define their own future. They haven't had that opportunity in seven years.
So these are three elements of an American policy in the Balkans that is important, that is, I think, more vigorous than it has been in some time. And I'd be happy to talk about any aspect of this.
QUESTION: You said (inaudible) the outcome today. What of the outcome of the status talks? There will still be for a period of time a role for NATO to provide security for the United States -- for the United Nations to provide some kind of civil administration? That second aspect, what would that entail? Are they to supervise Kosovars?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: There is an assumption that underlies at least the approach of the United States, but I believe the approach of all other interested countries, about the result of these negotiations, and that is that whatever the parties decide -- whether they decide to create an independent state or whether they decide to continue, perhaps, with expanded autonomy, to have Kosovo continue as part of Serbia and Montenegro -- there's an assumption that that new entity is going to require continued international support. There's hardly anyone who believes that the creation, for instance, of an indigenous military force, a true army, armed force, would be the right move as part of these final status talks. And that speaks to the need for continued NATO or international presence.
On the civilian side, there are several options. It could be a continued United Nations presence. It could be a European Union presence. There could be the development of what we've done so successfully in Bosnia, which is the High Representative's office. But clearly, no matter what the solution is that the parties decide, there has to be some kind of -- there will have to be some kind of transitional phase during which the international community will remain involved, perhaps not in the same way or shape or size of the international presence over the last six and half years, but this is a given in these negotiations and it's not something that's really being disputed by any of the parties.
QUESTION: If I can, you also talked about how the talks need to involve incentives because, obviously, the senators were worried that you have these diametrically opposed positions. So you were saying, well, we can build incentives into it. On the Serb side, that was that Serbia could be integrated into EU and NATO, but that appeared to clash with your other condition, which is they can't go ahead with the integration into NATO unless they capture the war criminals.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: They have to make a choice. If the Serb Government wants to be part -- fully part of NATO and the EU, they have to then act like it. There is no country in NATO or the EU that would allow an indicted war criminal to roam at large in a territory of that state. And in fact, Mladic has been at large for ten years and for eight of those years was protected fully by the Serb state, by the Serb military, by their own admission.
And so if they want to be treated by the United States, by NATO, as a country that is worthy of future membership or even a partnership, then they have to act like it and they have to arrest Mladic or convince him to surrender voluntarily. But that is an absolute prior condition to any Serb admission into the Partnership for Peace. I gave that message directly to Prime Minister Kostunica as well as President Tadic when I was in Belgrade three weeks ago.
QUESTION: Excuse me. Maybe I missed it while I was away, but where do we stand on the decertification or that whole issue in terms of if they don't hand them forward? Are we any further advanced on that?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, you know, certification is a rolling process and back in June we did certify that over the course of the first five months of 2005 Serbia had turned, I think, by that time, ten individuals indicted for war crimes over to the tribunal in The Hague. And I think subsequent to that, they've turned three over.
We have other certification decisions to make ahead of us in the next half year. I don't want to anticipate what decisions Secretary Rice would make, but I would note that the continuing freedom of Mladic is a heavy factor and I would not think it would be an easy decision to make to certify as long as Mladic is at large. I wouldn't want to prejudge that decision because it's not mine to make; it's the Secretary of State's decision. But we have very strong feelings about this. We have very strong views about this here at the State Department and in our government. And that is that the Serbs need to take this decisive action to bring him to justice. The same is true of Karadzic, by the way, for the Bosnian Serbs.
QUESTION: Right. Just to follow up on that, I mean, this is what you've been saying for a while. I mean, we've been hearing this for a couple of months now. I mean --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: We're very consistent here.
QUESTION: That's true. You are very consistent.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: And there is virtue in consistency.
QUESTION: And I remember a couple of months ago you were very angry because you felt you were almost personally, you know, either betrayed or lied to, whatever, misled about, you know, the possibility.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: No, I didn't say that. I didn't say I'd been lied to.
QUESTION: Okay.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I just said that a very strong expectation was created by the Serb Government back in June that Mladic would be -- his arrest was imminent. It didn't happen. And so I went to Belgrade and I told them how disappointed I was.
QUESTION: That's right. Okay. So my question is is that after months of this now, isn't -- why you seem to be so circumspect right now and just keep moving the date of reckoning further down the track?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I didn't think I was being circumspect, really. Maybe I've surprised myself. We think we're being very clear. We -- the United States has consistently taken the hardest position on this issue of any country in the NATO alliance and will continue in that vein because we simply believe that it's fundamentally inconsistent to begin to welcome a country onto the NATO membership track, and Partnership for Peace would be a first initial step, if that country hasn't complied with the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal in a celebrated case and if the object of that concern is a person who is responsible for a massacre that occurred ten years ago, 8,000 people killed. So we have strong views and we're going to keep to them. And I don't think we're being circumspect, but I think we're being very open and clear about it.
QUESTION: I guess I was referring in terms of the certification. Is it a statutory thing in terms of the dates or the time or --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Oh, yes, it's statutory.
QUESTION: Oh, okay.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yeah. And it will come up on the calendar and we'll let you know what decision the Secretary makes. But right now it's not heading in a very positive direction because there's this very large issue out there called Ratko Mladic.
QUESTION: Do you know, ballpark, about when it should come up or?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I think it's at the end of the year.
QUESTION: At the end of the year.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yeah, I can check.
QUESTION: Okay.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Charlie.
QUESTION: I mean, the previous question referred to a few months ago and you've been saying this for a while. Well, you know and I know you've been saying this for years. And I'm not trying to be funny. I mean, the U.S. can be as hard as it wants. It sounds like a broken record. And while it sounds good and while the aim is good, why isn't something happening or why aren't you doing more to put pressure on to make more happen? It seems like you say something and it rolls off like water off a duck's back.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I don't think so. For most of the last ten years, the Serbs obviously were not interested in bringing these people to justice. They didn't make any attempt to do that. But in the last year or two, the Serbs now see that they have -- the Serb Government has an opportunity to begin a membership track with the European Union and with NATO. And so now we've seen over the last year -- the last ten months -- action by the Serb Government on the 13 individuals that I talked about, transferred to The Hague.
We need to see action now on the biggest prize, which is Mladic, and we hope the same will be true of Karadzic. So there is leverage here. The Serbs are responding to it. It's very important that the United States and our other allies not weaken and not give into those who say that we should just forget about this and look to the future and bring Serbia into Partnership for Peace. That's not our view.
So I think the leverage is actually working if you look at the actions of the Serb Government. They just now need to get to the toughest question of all, which Mladic.
QUESTION: What are our allies doing or what are they not doing? And who could do more to help you get your -- reach your aim?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Our allies -- this is NATO policy actually, so we have a unified NATO position that Mladic should be turned over to the War Crimes Tribunal.
Yes.
QUESTION: On Kosovo, I don't quite understand why, in your opening position, is there such a forthright opposition to the possibility of partition. I mean, there are plenty of other precedents flying around at the moment where the Bush Administration is willing to recognize redrawing borders. I mean, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict readily springs to mind. And if the two sides were to agree on a way of partitioning Kosovo, and there's an obvious way that one might do that -- plenty of people have drawn up maps in the past -- would that -- why do you have to rule that out that from the beginning?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: It's a perilous exercise to begin drawing -- for foreigners to begin to draw lines and redefine other people's reality, their borders.
QUESTION: We have done just that with Israel-Palestine.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: And in the Balkans especially. And so it's not just the view of the United States. It's the view of all of our European allies that it would be a mistake to say that one of the options for the final status talks in Kosovo would simply to be redefine the borders, especially in a region where if you look south, there is a new country called Macedonia that actually is a very positive symbol for the Kosovars because it's a multiethnic country. There's another country called Albania.
We don't support any kind of greater Albania or irredentist Albanian state. There are people in that region who, you know, support that objective historically and we would not want to see that view materialize into one of the options that was considered at the negotiations. It would be a bad precedent. It would be a very bad way to begin these negotiations. There's absolutely no international support for it whatsoever. I haven't heard a single country support the view that somehow partition would be a good way to resolve this problem.
Mr. Lambros.
QUESTION: Secretary Burns, how do you assess the role of Greece in the Balkans, and particularly in the case of Kosovo?
AMBASSADOR HANFORD: Well, as I said this morning to the Senate in response to some of the questions being asked by Senator Sabanes, that the neighbors of Kosovo are going to have to play a concerted role in these negotiations because all of them will have a stake in the future of Kosovo. All of them can contribute, either politically or economically, to the ultimate solution.
Greece has a major responsibility because Greece, as you know, is the largest investor and largest trade partner with those close Southeast Europe Balkan neighbors, with Macedonia, Albania and with Kosovo. And one of the challenges to build a future Kosovo, whether it's independent or whether it's part of Serbia, will be to create jobs and to overhaul the economy which has been fractured by the events of the last 15 years. And Greek investment is going to be fundamental to that. Fundamental. So we see Greece as having a very important role and we've been in touch with the highest levels of the Greek Government on this. I've discussed this issue several times recently, this issue of the Kosovo talks, with Foreign Minister Molyviatis. And we're counting on Greece to play a very active and very constructive role.
QUESTION: In other words, do you consider Greece a strategic partner in the Balkan, as it was said by President Bush many, many times?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Of course we do. Yes, Greece is our -- Greece is one of our most important strategic partners in the Balkans.
Yes. Saul.
QUESTION: No one behind me. If Serbia can get into NATO ultimately by handing over Mladic and if ultimately Serbia can also enter the European Union similarly, what does it actually get or what can be the incentive for Serbia to give up Kosovo?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well --
QUESTION: How do you persuade Serbia that this is in their interests? I mean, you talked openly in your testimony this morning about an independent Kosovo and how they can earn it. You clearly think it could be a viable state. What does Serbia get out of it?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Let's start with the fundamentals. It was Secretary General Kofi Annan who two weeks ago framed the Kosovo negotiations by saying that there were two plausible outcomes: either independence or continued and greater autonomy of Kosovo within Serbia and Montenegro.
I said this morning very clearly that the United States is not supporting either of those options. We're not a champion of either one. We believe that the proper way to resolve this is to have the parties to the conflict make this decision as to what their future is and then we'll support that outcome -- if it's a credible outcome, obviously. And that's an important principle that we not try to chart the future of these negotiations before they start.
Did I answer your question fully?
QUESTION: Well, not really.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Really? How would you like to follow up?
QUESTION: A follow-up on this. One -- you know, one can see how Kosovo can be induced to possibly accept greater autonomy because they would still be part of Europe and presumably could also be part of NATO through going to Serbia. But I don't see, on the other side of the equation, how independence produces anything that is desirable for Serbia.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Without --
QUESTION: And if you're going to be involved in this process that has two possible outcomes, how will you be, you know, lending your advice to this?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Without forecasting what we think the outcome is going to be or should be, I would answer your question by saying that one of the things that concerns us, one of the primary factors that concerns us going in these negotiations, is that at the end of them neither side emerges as a loser in the process.
Serbia and Montenegro to us is the keystone state in the Balkans. If the Balkans is going to be an area of increasing prosperity and stability, Serbia has to be a successful country. And this is going to be a extremely difficult negotiation for the Serbs because they -- a lot of their history, as you know, over the last 1,000 years, is tied up in Kosovo. A lot of their most important Serb Orthodox religious sites and churches and monasteries are in Kosovo.
And so paying attention to those issues -- churches, Patrimonial sites, religious symbols -- is going to be an important part of these negotiations. And giving Serbia the very clear sense that a successful outcome of these talks will actually add to the possibility of their future involvement with the EU and NATO is also going to be an important part of these negotiations.
You asked about incentives. I would say that those are the incentives. Those are among the incentives for the Serbs. And the other would be that -- and this is very much an outsider's perspective, obviously. We're not Serbs. We're Americans. But the Serbs have been at war or internal chaos or internal challenge for 15 years and they should -- they obviously -- if you go to Belgrade and talk to people, they want that period to end. They want to move forward. They want to finish with the end of Yugoslavia and get on with building a modern state.
Dealing with the Kosovo problem is a necessity, where you have a situation now where 90 percent of the people who live there are Albanians -- Muslims -- and that's a dramatic change from March of 1999 when the war began. So those are some of the incentives and realities that underline the issue for the Serbs as we see them.
QUESTION: Sir, can I just clarify that? Are you saying that a successful outcome to the Kosovo problem is a condition for Serbia to gain eventual NATO membership?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: No. I said, actually, something very different.
QUESTION: You said it's an incentive.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I said that we think that a successful Kosovo final status talks should be the emergence of a stronger, healthier Serbia and Montenegro that has the prospect of future involvement with EU and NATO. That's different than what you just said I said.
QUESTION: Do you not see you're, turning it the other way around, saying if these talks are not successful because one or two of the parties will not agree, then Serbia cannot proceed to eventual NATO membership?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, I said what I said and I framed it the way I wanted to frame it because it represents our views. But I would also say that, you know, if on a hypothetical basis -- you don't want to go down this road too far -- but if the negotiations were not successful and if there were further turmoil in Kosovo, that's not going to help. That would not help the aspirations in any of the countries of the region for a future association with NATO and the EU, I would think.
But we have to present that these will be successful talks and it's going to be a more -- a positive outcome for all sides. That's our hope.
QUESTION: You're saying that to make it successful you want to have a clear sense that the talks are successful and will actually add to the possibility of Serbia entering into NATO and the EU.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yes.
QUESTION: Okay. That's the way you did frame it. But couldn't they get into NATO and EU anyway without doing anything on Kosovo?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I think not because admission into NATO -- I can just speak about NATO, we belong to NATO, we don't belong with the EU -- would have to be by the consensus. All the countries would have to agree, including the United States. And I don't think anyone would take a country into NATO that had a major territorial dispute within it, in the heart of it, that had not resolved this huge question of the future of Kosovo. I don't think there's any possibility of that happening.
QUESTION: So it does sound like it's a condition for --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: No. I framed it the way I wanted to frame it. And I framed it the way that we talk about it in real life, in real diplomatic terms. We tend to try to frame things positively when we talk to other governments.
QUESTION: Right. So how about this? If they hand over the war criminals that you want them to but don't sort out the Kosovo problem, can they get into NATO?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: You know, Charlie taught me long ago, never to answer a hypothetical question like that.
QUESTION: But you --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: He'd be disappointed. He'd be disappointed. And I --
QUESTION: You were --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I'd rather --
QUESTION: I tried --
QUESTION: You were asked by a senator, weren't you, is that the only condition? And I think you said yes.
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, wait a minute. For Partnership for Peace. We've told the Serbs -- Partnership for Peace is not NATO membership. It's entry into a partnership program. It's short of membership. We've told the Serbs, if you would succeed in getting Mladic to The Hague, we'll support you the next day for Partnership for Peace. Membership is a much higher challenge that requires much greater efforts. So you have to distinguish between the two, and I answered the senator's question on Partnership for Peace.
Mr. Lambros, then I've got to take off.
QUESTION: Secretary Burns, you stated only today in the Senate, talking about the Kosovars you met in Pristina the other day, "I made clear to them that the independence must be earned." I am wondering why independence must be earned but not a compromise solution. May we assume that independence of Kosovo is the only solution, according to the U.S. policy?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: No, you know what I said today and I think you have my written testimony. I said there are two fundamental options and we support neither. But I did say that independence has to be earned because it's true, because if there is to be an independent state -- and I don't know if there will be or not -- then the people who would run that, the Kosovar Albanians and the Kosovar Serbs, need to demonstrate that they could manage the affairs adequately, that they have sufficient political unity, that they respect minority rights, that they would respect democratic freedoms -- all the other principles that are embedded in the guiding principles which we have sent to the parties at the start of these talks.
QUESTION: Sir, a follow-up. It is very important for the boundaries. You also said that, "There should be no change in the existing boundaries of Kosovo and no partition."
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yes.
QUESTION: But the second (inaudible) you mentioned by the Kosovars means clearly the opposite and secession from Serbia. Could you please clarify this unclear status?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: No, it's not -- that's not contradictory. That's the position of the Contact Group and has been for six and a half years: There shall be no change in the internationally recognized borders of any of the states in the region and certainly no change to the borders of Kosovo itself. That is a different question than whether Kosovo remains as an autonomous province of Serbia and Montenegro or whether it become independent.
QUESTION: One more on Montenegro?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Sure.
QUESTION: Well, Holbrooke said, you know, your testimony was dramatic, what you'd said about Montenegro and, you know, I'm not really --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I missed that.
QUESTION: Yeah, well, I'm not really understanding why.
QUESTION: Did you say something dramatic about Montenegro?
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Do you want me to say something dramatic about Montenegro?
QUESTION: Is it that your sort of acceptance of a referendum that the Montenegrins want would be a referendum only on --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I heard him say -- I missed most of his testimony, but I was there out of respect for him at the beginning, obviously. And but I heard him say that he felt that there hadn't been high-level U.S. involvement with President Djukanovic in a number of years and that he was struck by the fact that we had had a meeting with Djukanovic. I had had a meeting and our Ambassador, Mike Polt, has had several meetings with him. He is the President of Montenegro.
And so that's what I took away from Ambassador Holbrooke's comments. It was the fact of the meeting, which was meant to recognize -- to recognize -- to convey respect. But the message in that meeting was that it's not our decision as to whether or not there is a referendum -- that's built into the constitutional charter of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro -- but that if a referendum is to be held, it has to be held following elementary democratic practices so that it could be seen to be a viable referendum. And that's the message that I brought to my meeting with President Djukanovic.
QUESTION: But a referendum that only involves Montenegrins? That would be okay with you? Or would it have to be --
UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: If you look at the constitutional charter for the state union, both Serbia and Montenegro have the right to hold separate referendums, or a referendum in one part of the state union on the question of independence. There's no argument about that. The only discussion that I was involved in with President Djukanovic -- and really this is consistent with a lot of what the European allies have told him, the EU has told him -- and that is you've got to -- if you're going to hold it, you have to hold it in a democratic way, transparent, so the people know who the voters are and then people know how this vote was conducted so that people can have confidence that it was an unassailably democratic process.
Thank you.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
EU sees long road for Balkan membership hopefuls
By Marcin Grajewski
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Western Balkan countries face a long and bumpy road towards joining the European Union, with corruption, fluid politics, weak courts and opaque economic rules among major challenges, EU reports showed on Wednesday.
The executive European Commission recommended that the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, which came close to civil war four years ago, be declared a candidate for EU membership.
Its annual progress reports on other Balkan states confirmed that the EU would keep its door open to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia and Montenegro as long as they keep on reforming their political systems and economies.
The EU, which expanded into ex-communist eastern Europe last year, has long used the prospect of enlargement to encourage stability, free market reforms and respect for human rights.
"The accession process is a tool for enhancing security and stability in that region which has suffered so many wars and ethnic conflicts in the last decade," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told a news conference.
Slovenia joined the EU in 2004, Croatia opened accession talks last month and Macedonia is next in line, although it is not expected to join before 2012 and the Commission proposed no date for membership negotiations in its recommendation.
But the majority of mini-states in the region, which was torn by three major wars during the 1990s, have not yet achieved even the first level of integration with the 25-nation EU, which is the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.
The EU executive said Albania, which suffered from decades of a particularly harsh brand of communism, was now ready to sign such an agreement, which offers trade privileges, financial aid and strong political ties.
PROGRESS IN ALBANIA, SERBIA
Rehn said Albania's general elections this year were "reasonably free and fair", adding he would travel to Tirana this week to assess the new government's reform drive.
The report on Serbia and Montenegro said the country should boost its cooperation with an international war crimes tribunal, overhaul its judicial system, fight corruption, and ensure democratic control over the military.
Belgrade started talks on an association agreement with the EU on October 10, five years after the overthrow of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, who is on trial at the Hague-based tribunal on charges of genocide.
Rehn said talks on the agreement could be concluded within a year, but the report made it clear the country had much to do.
"As regards justice, freedom and security, no visible progress has taken place in areas such as visas, border control, asylum and migration," it said.
It urged Belgrade to do more to hunt the top two indicted Bosnian Serb war crimes suspects, former military commander Ratko Mladic and his political master, Radovan Karadzic.
The Commission also urged Serbia to help solve the problems of Kosovo, which remains a United Nations protectorate six years after NATO waged an air war to stop Serbian forces persecuting the ethnic Albanian majority.
The EU executive published a separate report on Kosovo for the first time, but Rehn dismissed suggestions the move had political significance for talks on the province's final status.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, which Rehn said would start talks on an association agreement this year, needs to thoroughly overhaul state institutions, cooperate more with the war crimes tribunal, fight corruption and launch many free market reforms.
"The country and its reforms suffer from complex government structures, fragmented policy-making and a lack resources and qualified staff," the report said.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Western Balkan countries face a long and bumpy road towards joining the European Union, with corruption, fluid politics, weak courts and opaque economic rules among major challenges, EU reports showed on Wednesday.
The executive European Commission recommended that the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, which came close to civil war four years ago, be declared a candidate for EU membership.
Its annual progress reports on other Balkan states confirmed that the EU would keep its door open to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia and Montenegro as long as they keep on reforming their political systems and economies.
The EU, which expanded into ex-communist eastern Europe last year, has long used the prospect of enlargement to encourage stability, free market reforms and respect for human rights.
"The accession process is a tool for enhancing security and stability in that region which has suffered so many wars and ethnic conflicts in the last decade," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told a news conference.
Slovenia joined the EU in 2004, Croatia opened accession talks last month and Macedonia is next in line, although it is not expected to join before 2012 and the Commission proposed no date for membership negotiations in its recommendation.
But the majority of mini-states in the region, which was torn by three major wars during the 1990s, have not yet achieved even the first level of integration with the 25-nation EU, which is the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.
The EU executive said Albania, which suffered from decades of a particularly harsh brand of communism, was now ready to sign such an agreement, which offers trade privileges, financial aid and strong political ties.
PROGRESS IN ALBANIA, SERBIA
Rehn said Albania's general elections this year were "reasonably free and fair", adding he would travel to Tirana this week to assess the new government's reform drive.
The report on Serbia and Montenegro said the country should boost its cooperation with an international war crimes tribunal, overhaul its judicial system, fight corruption, and ensure democratic control over the military.
Belgrade started talks on an association agreement with the EU on October 10, five years after the overthrow of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, who is on trial at the Hague-based tribunal on charges of genocide.
Rehn said talks on the agreement could be concluded within a year, but the report made it clear the country had much to do.
"As regards justice, freedom and security, no visible progress has taken place in areas such as visas, border control, asylum and migration," it said.
It urged Belgrade to do more to hunt the top two indicted Bosnian Serb war crimes suspects, former military commander Ratko Mladic and his political master, Radovan Karadzic.
The Commission also urged Serbia to help solve the problems of Kosovo, which remains a United Nations protectorate six years after NATO waged an air war to stop Serbian forces persecuting the ethnic Albanian majority.
The EU executive published a separate report on Kosovo for the first time, but Rehn dismissed suggestions the move had political significance for talks on the province's final status.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, which Rehn said would start talks on an association agreement this year, needs to thoroughly overhaul state institutions, cooperate more with the war crimes tribunal, fight corruption and launch many free market reforms.
"The country and its reforms suffer from complex government structures, fragmented policy-making and a lack resources and qualified staff," the report said.
U.S. deports illegal mom and U.S.-citizen kids to Kosovo
Wednesday, November 9, 2005
Kosovo.
The mention of this blasted enclave of the former Yugoslavia brings to mind the slaughter of thousands of civilians and a U.S. bombing campaign in 1999 to end the horror of "ethnic cleansing."
It now also makes us wonder what has become of a deported illegal immigrant from Sanilac County and her three American-born children.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent 45-year-old Marije Berishaj and her children, Geta, 13; Lazer, 12; and Clinton, 5, back to Kosovo, a war-torn country where United Nations troops, including those from the U.S., still are needed to keep an uneasy peace.
Justice in this case was far too blind.
But the law, after all, is the law. Marije Berishaj arrived in the U.S. in 1991. Her passport expired in 1995. She was unemployed here, collected government benefits, and didn't have a visa or a green card for work that would have allowed her to stay here legally.
An immigration law judge ordered her deported on Oct. 21.
Wanting to keep the family together, she took her three children with her.
That's what is really sad about this family's saga.
The three kids, by all legal and cultural definitions born citizens of this country, were sent to a war-torn and dangerous place where most children end their schooling in the fifth grade.
No matter what mom and dad did or didn't do to earn deportation, these children surely didn't deserve the fate they got.
Doesn't the Department of Homeland Security have bigger fish to fry?
And how does the department's new get-tough stance on illegal immigrants square with estimates that there are 10 million or more illegal aliens among us right now?
We sure don't see trainloads of aliens heading to our borders so they can be booted out of our country.
But then, such a massive action probably would have a huge impact on the underground market for cheap labor.
So we allow our federal agents to kick underage American citizens' moms out of the country while everybody winks at the gardeners, the housekeepers and the sweatshop workers who'll gladly work for low pay and no benefits if it means at crack at the American Dream.
However illegal that may be.
Marije Berishaj's real crime appears to be unemployment.
That, and the boneheaded comment her husband, Martin Berishaj, apparently made when demanding more Social Security money for his disability. He allegedly told a federal worker she should have been in the World Trade Center when terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001.
He was kicked out of the country in 2002.
Now, tragically, the family may be back together.
In Dakovico, Kosovo.
Two former illegal immigrants who didn't bother to fly under Department of Homeland Security radar.
And their three little U.S. citizens.
The Homeland Security apparatus worked perfectly.
Lady Justice was truly blind.
But nobody has an answer for the one stinging question that remains.
What about the children?
- Our View is the editorial opinion of The Bay City Times, as determined by the newspaper's editorial board, which includes the editorial page editor, the editor and the publisher.
Kosovo.
The mention of this blasted enclave of the former Yugoslavia brings to mind the slaughter of thousands of civilians and a U.S. bombing campaign in 1999 to end the horror of "ethnic cleansing."
It now also makes us wonder what has become of a deported illegal immigrant from Sanilac County and her three American-born children.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent 45-year-old Marije Berishaj and her children, Geta, 13; Lazer, 12; and Clinton, 5, back to Kosovo, a war-torn country where United Nations troops, including those from the U.S., still are needed to keep an uneasy peace.
Justice in this case was far too blind.
But the law, after all, is the law. Marije Berishaj arrived in the U.S. in 1991. Her passport expired in 1995. She was unemployed here, collected government benefits, and didn't have a visa or a green card for work that would have allowed her to stay here legally.
An immigration law judge ordered her deported on Oct. 21.
Wanting to keep the family together, she took her three children with her.
That's what is really sad about this family's saga.
The three kids, by all legal and cultural definitions born citizens of this country, were sent to a war-torn and dangerous place where most children end their schooling in the fifth grade.
No matter what mom and dad did or didn't do to earn deportation, these children surely didn't deserve the fate they got.
Doesn't the Department of Homeland Security have bigger fish to fry?
And how does the department's new get-tough stance on illegal immigrants square with estimates that there are 10 million or more illegal aliens among us right now?
We sure don't see trainloads of aliens heading to our borders so they can be booted out of our country.
But then, such a massive action probably would have a huge impact on the underground market for cheap labor.
So we allow our federal agents to kick underage American citizens' moms out of the country while everybody winks at the gardeners, the housekeepers and the sweatshop workers who'll gladly work for low pay and no benefits if it means at crack at the American Dream.
However illegal that may be.
Marije Berishaj's real crime appears to be unemployment.
That, and the boneheaded comment her husband, Martin Berishaj, apparently made when demanding more Social Security money for his disability. He allegedly told a federal worker she should have been in the World Trade Center when terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001.
He was kicked out of the country in 2002.
Now, tragically, the family may be back together.
In Dakovico, Kosovo.
Two former illegal immigrants who didn't bother to fly under Department of Homeland Security radar.
And their three little U.S. citizens.
The Homeland Security apparatus worked perfectly.
Lady Justice was truly blind.
But nobody has an answer for the one stinging question that remains.
What about the children?
- Our View is the editorial opinion of The Bay City Times, as determined by the newspaper's editorial board, which includes the editorial page editor, the editor and the publisher.
US backs Kosovo incentives for Serbs
By Guy Dinmore in Washington
Published: November 9 2005 02:00 | Last updated: November 9 2005 02:00
The US yesterday made the case for offering Serbia incentives to reach agreement in negotiations over the final status of Kosovo, while setting out the possibility of independence for the province if the ethnic Albanian majority accepted compromises to accommodate its Serbian minority.
Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state, told a Senate hearing the US was neither championing independence nor autonomy for Kosovo. But diplomats said his testimony was a clear signal the US looked favourably on independence, under certain conditions. In what diplomats also called a significant policy statement, Mr Burns made clear the US had no objection to independence for Montenegro if it chose to abandon its union with Serbia through a referendum, whose terms have yet to be agreed.
Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, last week selected Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president, as his special envoy to lead talks on the status of Kosovo. The UN has administered Kosovo since Nato occupied the province in 1999.
"They [Kosovo Albanians] want independence. They have to prove they are worthy of it," Mr Burns told the Senate foreign relations committee.
Mr Burns said he had recently told the Kosovo Albanian negotiating team that they could not attain their objective without compromise. "They have to assure the minority population there's a future for that minority population," he said. That included guarantees that Serbian churches and historic sites would be respected.
Asked what incentives could be offered to Serbia, Mr Burns said a successful outcome would help the prospects of eventual membership of Nato and the European Union. Serbia would not be able to contemplate joining Nato as long as it was involved in a territorial dispute, he said.
Mr Burns reiterated that as a first stage, to join Nato's partnership for peace programme, Serbia had to make sure that Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander, had surrendered to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
Mr Burns said partition of Kosovo was not an option. He also advocated a continued Nato presence, with US troops, even after the settlement of status.
Published: November 9 2005 02:00 | Last updated: November 9 2005 02:00
The US yesterday made the case for offering Serbia incentives to reach agreement in negotiations over the final status of Kosovo, while setting out the possibility of independence for the province if the ethnic Albanian majority accepted compromises to accommodate its Serbian minority.
Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state, told a Senate hearing the US was neither championing independence nor autonomy for Kosovo. But diplomats said his testimony was a clear signal the US looked favourably on independence, under certain conditions. In what diplomats also called a significant policy statement, Mr Burns made clear the US had no objection to independence for Montenegro if it chose to abandon its union with Serbia through a referendum, whose terms have yet to be agreed.
Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, last week selected Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president, as his special envoy to lead talks on the status of Kosovo. The UN has administered Kosovo since Nato occupied the province in 1999.
"They [Kosovo Albanians] want independence. They have to prove they are worthy of it," Mr Burns told the Senate foreign relations committee.
Mr Burns said he had recently told the Kosovo Albanian negotiating team that they could not attain their objective without compromise. "They have to assure the minority population there's a future for that minority population," he said. That included guarantees that Serbian churches and historic sites would be respected.
Asked what incentives could be offered to Serbia, Mr Burns said a successful outcome would help the prospects of eventual membership of Nato and the European Union. Serbia would not be able to contemplate joining Nato as long as it was involved in a territorial dispute, he said.
Mr Burns reiterated that as a first stage, to join Nato's partnership for peace programme, Serbia had to make sure that Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander, had surrendered to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
Mr Burns said partition of Kosovo was not an option. He also advocated a continued Nato presence, with US troops, even after the settlement of status.
Macedonia backed as EU candidate
The European Commission has recommended that Macedonia become a candidate country for EU membership.
Macedonia will be the third ex-Yugoslav republic to gain candidate status, after Slovenia - an EU member since 2004 - and Croatia.
The Commission did not set a date for starting entry talks with Macedonia, leaving that to December's EU summit.
It said Turkey could now be termed a functioning market economy but said it had to do more to respect human rights.
EU officials say that politically, Macedonia is an incredibly positive story, but that it still has a long way to go in terms of the economy and the public administration.
Weak and divided
The country stepped back from the brink of civil war in 2001, after the EU and Nato helped broker an agreement between ethnic Albanian rebels and the majority Slav population.
Guide to EU candidates
"Only a few years after a major security crisis, the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia today is a stable democracy and a functioning multi-ethnic state," a Commission statement said.
"This is a remarkable achievement. The country has also made important progress towards European integration. The Commission welcomes this progress and recommends that the Council should grant candidate status to the country."
The Commission's annual progress reports on applicant countries, released on Wednesday, describe the Balkans as a particular challenge for the EU, a region where states are weak and societies divided.
All of them have been promised eventual EU membership, but the Commission makes clear they can only join once they have met the criteria in full.
It also admits that any further expansion will have to be better explained to the people of Europe.
Turkey challenged
Accession talks with Turkey, which began last month, are described as a long-term process.
Turkey's acquisition of market economy status is a vital stage on the path to EU membership.
The Commission said: "Turkey can be regarded as a functioning market economy, as long as it firmly maintains its recent stabilisation and reform achievements."
But the Commission warns that the pace of change has slowed down this year and sets Turkey almost 150 things to do in the next two years if it wants to keep membership talks on track.
The long list includes implementing a policy of zero tolerance against torture, strengthening the fight against corruption, and limiting the political influence of the armed forces.
Turkey must also improve freedom of expression, women's rights and grant more religious freedom and more cultural rights to the Kurdish community.
Macedonia will be the third ex-Yugoslav republic to gain candidate status, after Slovenia - an EU member since 2004 - and Croatia.
The Commission did not set a date for starting entry talks with Macedonia, leaving that to December's EU summit.
It said Turkey could now be termed a functioning market economy but said it had to do more to respect human rights.
EU officials say that politically, Macedonia is an incredibly positive story, but that it still has a long way to go in terms of the economy and the public administration.
Weak and divided
The country stepped back from the brink of civil war in 2001, after the EU and Nato helped broker an agreement between ethnic Albanian rebels and the majority Slav population.
Guide to EU candidates
"Only a few years after a major security crisis, the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia today is a stable democracy and a functioning multi-ethnic state," a Commission statement said.
"This is a remarkable achievement. The country has also made important progress towards European integration. The Commission welcomes this progress and recommends that the Council should grant candidate status to the country."
The Commission's annual progress reports on applicant countries, released on Wednesday, describe the Balkans as a particular challenge for the EU, a region where states are weak and societies divided.
All of them have been promised eventual EU membership, but the Commission makes clear they can only join once they have met the criteria in full.
It also admits that any further expansion will have to be better explained to the people of Europe.
Turkey challenged
Accession talks with Turkey, which began last month, are described as a long-term process.
Turkey's acquisition of market economy status is a vital stage on the path to EU membership.
The Commission said: "Turkey can be regarded as a functioning market economy, as long as it firmly maintains its recent stabilisation and reform achievements."
But the Commission warns that the pace of change has slowed down this year and sets Turkey almost 150 things to do in the next two years if it wants to keep membership talks on track.
The long list includes implementing a policy of zero tolerance against torture, strengthening the fight against corruption, and limiting the political influence of the armed forces.
Turkey must also improve freedom of expression, women's rights and grant more religious freedom and more cultural rights to the Kurdish community.
Independence only way forward for Kosovo: Holbrooke
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A top State Department official on firmly linked the prospect of Serbia's entry into NATO with resolution of the fate of the mainly ethnic Albanian province of Kosovo.
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Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs and the US pointman on Kosovo, said the hope of NATO membership was one of the biggest incentives for Serbia to grant the province more autonomy or independence.
He told reporters a goal of UN-sponsored talks on Kosovo "should be the emergence of a stronger, a healthier Serbia Montenegro that has the prospect of future involvement in the EU and NATO."
Burns refused to say a settlement in Kosovo, which has been run by the United Nations since a NATO bombing campaign forced Serbian troops to withdraw in 1999, was a pre-condition for Belgrade's entry into the military alliance.
But he said, "If the negotiations were not successful and if there were further turmoil in Kosovo, that would not help the aspirations of any of the countries in the region for future association with NATO and the EU."
The 26-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization operates by consensus and Serbia would have a tough time mustering support before the tensions over Kosovo were laid to rest, Burns said.
"I don't think anyone would take a country into NATO that had a major territorial dispute within it," he said. "I don't think there's any possibility of that happening."
Burns reiterated the US offer to support Serbian membership in NATO's Partnership for Peace cooperation program if Belgrade turned over fugitive Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic.
But he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that full NATO membership "is a much higher challenge. It requires much greater efforts. So you have to distinguish between the two."
Burns spoke after testifying before Congress on the Kosovo negotiations, which he said were "as difficult a set of talks as you can imagine." He predicted 2006 would be a crucial year for the Balkans.
Also testifying was veteran US diplomat Richard Holbrooke, the architect of the 1995 Bosnian peace deal, who said that independence was the only way forward for Kosovo and its mainly Muslim Albanians.
"I cannot see any final status for Kosovo other than independence," said Holbrooke, who forged the Dayton Peace Accords that ended Bosnia's 1992-95 war.
"But at the same time ... this cannot be achieved without ironclad guarantees for the safety, security, and protection of the rights of the Serbs who live in Kosovo and the protection of their magnificent monuments," he said.
The comments came as the United Nations was set to launch talks on the final status of Kosovo, where NATO forces six years ago halted a a Serbian campaign against ethnic Albanian separatists.
Holbrooke also stressed the international community had to hold out the prospect of European Union and NATO membership to the Serbs in Belgrade to convince them to abandon their claim to Kosovo, a province that played a central role in their history.
"We have to give the Serb leadership enough incentives so that they don't appear to have given away 1,000 years of Serb tradition," Holbrooke said.
"In the end, the Serbs in Belgrade will have to choose between Brussels and Kosovo, it's as brutal as that," he added.
Holbrooke said the United States needed to maintain troops in the region as "history has shown that when Europeans go there and muck around, bad things happen."
US Senator Joseph Biden said it was important for the United States and Europe that the upcoming talks on Kosovo be successful as that would send an important message to the Muslim world.
"Pristina is one of the few Muslim cities in the world where the United States is not only respected, but revered," Biden said.
"If we get Kosovo right, Muslims around the world will be reminded how the United States came to the aid of Kosovo's Muslim population and helped them build a strong, independent, multi-ethnic democracy."
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Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs and the US pointman on Kosovo, said the hope of NATO membership was one of the biggest incentives for Serbia to grant the province more autonomy or independence.
He told reporters a goal of UN-sponsored talks on Kosovo "should be the emergence of a stronger, a healthier Serbia Montenegro that has the prospect of future involvement in the EU and NATO."
Burns refused to say a settlement in Kosovo, which has been run by the United Nations since a NATO bombing campaign forced Serbian troops to withdraw in 1999, was a pre-condition for Belgrade's entry into the military alliance.
But he said, "If the negotiations were not successful and if there were further turmoil in Kosovo, that would not help the aspirations of any of the countries in the region for future association with NATO and the EU."
The 26-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization operates by consensus and Serbia would have a tough time mustering support before the tensions over Kosovo were laid to rest, Burns said.
"I don't think anyone would take a country into NATO that had a major territorial dispute within it," he said. "I don't think there's any possibility of that happening."
Burns reiterated the US offer to support Serbian membership in NATO's Partnership for Peace cooperation program if Belgrade turned over fugitive Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic.
But he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that full NATO membership "is a much higher challenge. It requires much greater efforts. So you have to distinguish between the two."
Burns spoke after testifying before Congress on the Kosovo negotiations, which he said were "as difficult a set of talks as you can imagine." He predicted 2006 would be a crucial year for the Balkans.
Also testifying was veteran US diplomat Richard Holbrooke, the architect of the 1995 Bosnian peace deal, who said that independence was the only way forward for Kosovo and its mainly Muslim Albanians.
"I cannot see any final status for Kosovo other than independence," said Holbrooke, who forged the Dayton Peace Accords that ended Bosnia's 1992-95 war.
"But at the same time ... this cannot be achieved without ironclad guarantees for the safety, security, and protection of the rights of the Serbs who live in Kosovo and the protection of their magnificent monuments," he said.
The comments came as the United Nations was set to launch talks on the final status of Kosovo, where NATO forces six years ago halted a a Serbian campaign against ethnic Albanian separatists.
Holbrooke also stressed the international community had to hold out the prospect of European Union and NATO membership to the Serbs in Belgrade to convince them to abandon their claim to Kosovo, a province that played a central role in their history.
"We have to give the Serb leadership enough incentives so that they don't appear to have given away 1,000 years of Serb tradition," Holbrooke said.
"In the end, the Serbs in Belgrade will have to choose between Brussels and Kosovo, it's as brutal as that," he added.
Holbrooke said the United States needed to maintain troops in the region as "history has shown that when Europeans go there and muck around, bad things happen."
US Senator Joseph Biden said it was important for the United States and Europe that the upcoming talks on Kosovo be successful as that would send an important message to the Muslim world.
"Pristina is one of the few Muslim cities in the world where the United States is not only respected, but revered," Biden said.
"If we get Kosovo right, Muslims around the world will be reminded how the United States came to the aid of Kosovo's Muslim population and helped them build a strong, independent, multi-ethnic democracy."
Bomb Blast Damages Car In Kosovo's Capital; Nobody Hurt
PRISTINA (AP)--A bomb exploded inside a car in Kosovo's capital Wednesday, damaging the vehicle but causing no injuries, police said.
The blast occurred in a central neighborhood in Pristina shortly after midnight. The bomb had been placed inside a car, said Sabrije Kamberi, a police spokeswoman.
Police had no motive for the blast. North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led peacekeepers inspected the area after the explosion and police units were investigating.
Kosovo has been administered by the U.N. and patrolled by NATO peacekeepers since mid-1999.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
The blast occurred in a central neighborhood in Pristina shortly after midnight. The bomb had been placed inside a car, said Sabrije Kamberi, a police spokeswoman.
Police had no motive for the blast. North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led peacekeepers inspected the area after the explosion and police units were investigating.
Kosovo has been administered by the U.N. and patrolled by NATO peacekeepers since mid-1999.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
US: Serbia can't join NATO without Kosovo solution
By Saul Hudson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will block Serbia from joining NATO unless it resolves a territorial dispute over volatile Kosovo, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday in what was a new U.S. demand on Belgrade.
Nicholas Burns, the No. 3 State Department official, outlined the U.S. condition to persuade Serbia to seek a settlement, even though Belgrade can only lose authority over the province if it reaches an accord.
Previously, the United States has said Serbia had to capture two high-profile war criminals before it could enter into negotiations as a first step toward membership in the transatlantic alliance.
But on Tuesday, Burns said that even if Serbia met that demand the United States would still block its entry into an organization it dominates if Belgrade does not move on Kosovo.
"I don't think anyone would take a country into NATO that had a major territorial dispute within it, in the heart of it, that had not resolved this huge question on the future of Kosovo," Burns told reporters. "I don't think there's any possibility of that happening."
The former ambassador to NATO also said the Kosovo talks should involve offering Serbia the incentive that a settlement would further its ambition of joining the European Union.
"Final status" talks to determine whether Kosovo wins either independence or greater autonomy are due to start later this month, conducted by newly appointed U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari.
Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombing forced then-President Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw his forces. Some 10,000 civilians were killed during his two-year crackdown on an Albanian guerrilla insurgency.
Kosovo's 90-percent Albanian majority has been clamoring for independence ever since.
Serbia, which has ambitions to eventually join NATO and the European Union, rejects independence for Kosovo but has offered far-reaching autonomy.
Whatever the outcome, NATO forces would need to stay in the province to prevent a repeat of attacks last year on Serb homes and religious sites, Burns said.
Criticized for neglecting the Balkans, the Bush administration has refocused this year on the region, with Burns leading the diplomacy.
While the United States refuses to state its preference for Kosovo's future status, a congressional hearing with Burns earlier on Tuesday focused mainly on how independence would be achieved.
Diplomats, who asked not to be named because Western governments have not announced their goals for the talks, said Washington favors a compromise that it terms "supervised independence," with an international body overseeing its treatment of the Serb minority.
"They want independence. They have to prove they are worthy of it," Burns said, adding Kosovars needed to show they would respect minority rights.
Richard Holbrooke, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who negotiated peace accords in the Balkans a decade ago, said Serbia had to choose between Kosovo or membership in Western institutions.
"They will have to figure out a way of letting Kosovo go," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
But he also warned independence for Kosovo would lead inevitably to the breakup of Serbia-Montenegro.
And Burns, who said he supported the idea of Montenegrins holding a referendum on becoming independent from Serbia, acknowledged the Kosovo talks could create instability in the increasingly ethnically splintered region.
"Serbia and Montenegro, the state union, may face a political crisis of sorts," he said.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will block Serbia from joining NATO unless it resolves a territorial dispute over volatile Kosovo, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday in what was a new U.S. demand on Belgrade.
Nicholas Burns, the No. 3 State Department official, outlined the U.S. condition to persuade Serbia to seek a settlement, even though Belgrade can only lose authority over the province if it reaches an accord.
Previously, the United States has said Serbia had to capture two high-profile war criminals before it could enter into negotiations as a first step toward membership in the transatlantic alliance.
But on Tuesday, Burns said that even if Serbia met that demand the United States would still block its entry into an organization it dominates if Belgrade does not move on Kosovo.
"I don't think anyone would take a country into NATO that had a major territorial dispute within it, in the heart of it, that had not resolved this huge question on the future of Kosovo," Burns told reporters. "I don't think there's any possibility of that happening."
The former ambassador to NATO also said the Kosovo talks should involve offering Serbia the incentive that a settlement would further its ambition of joining the European Union.
"Final status" talks to determine whether Kosovo wins either independence or greater autonomy are due to start later this month, conducted by newly appointed U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari.
Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombing forced then-President Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw his forces. Some 10,000 civilians were killed during his two-year crackdown on an Albanian guerrilla insurgency.
Kosovo's 90-percent Albanian majority has been clamoring for independence ever since.
Serbia, which has ambitions to eventually join NATO and the European Union, rejects independence for Kosovo but has offered far-reaching autonomy.
Whatever the outcome, NATO forces would need to stay in the province to prevent a repeat of attacks last year on Serb homes and religious sites, Burns said.
Criticized for neglecting the Balkans, the Bush administration has refocused this year on the region, with Burns leading the diplomacy.
While the United States refuses to state its preference for Kosovo's future status, a congressional hearing with Burns earlier on Tuesday focused mainly on how independence would be achieved.
Diplomats, who asked not to be named because Western governments have not announced their goals for the talks, said Washington favors a compromise that it terms "supervised independence," with an international body overseeing its treatment of the Serb minority.
"They want independence. They have to prove they are worthy of it," Burns said, adding Kosovars needed to show they would respect minority rights.
Richard Holbrooke, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who negotiated peace accords in the Balkans a decade ago, said Serbia had to choose between Kosovo or membership in Western institutions.
"They will have to figure out a way of letting Kosovo go," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
But he also warned independence for Kosovo would lead inevitably to the breakup of Serbia-Montenegro.
And Burns, who said he supported the idea of Montenegrins holding a referendum on becoming independent from Serbia, acknowledged the Kosovo talks could create instability in the increasingly ethnically splintered region.
"Serbia and Montenegro, the state union, may face a political crisis of sorts," he said.
Nicholas Burns: Hearing on Kosovo- A Way Forward?
Wednesday, 9 November 2005, 12:42 pm
Press Release: US State Department
Hearing on Kosovo: A Way Forward?
R. Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs
Remarks as prepared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Washington, DC
November 8, 2005
Introduction
Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Senators, it is a great pleasure for me to appear before you once again today to speak about our hope for a final peace in Kosovo and our broader American policy in the Balkans region. I addressed the House of Representatives on these issues in May of this year, and I am pleased to have another opportunity to discuss this important subject with Congress.
President Bush and Secretary Rice have directed a renewed and energetic U.S. effort to bring peace and security to this troubled region. After a decade of conflicts which had a devastating impact on every part of the former Yugoslavia, after hundreds of thousands killed and left homeless, we are at last seeing real progress on undoing the evils of the 1990s. United States policy is designed to point the countries of Southeast Europe toward a democratic future as part of NATO and the European Union.
Since the end of the Cold War, three American Presidents have had one overarching strategic ambition in Europe to seek a democratic peace by unifying the Continent in freedom. The Balkans are the finishing piece to this puzzle. That is why we must use 2006 to attain a final status for the long-suffering people of Kosovo, and to help Bosnia-Herzegovina modernize the Dayton Accords by building a more integrated state with a stronger central government. It is why we must send the despicable war criminals Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and Ante Gotovina to the Hague, as they are responsible for Europe's worst human rights abuses since the Nazis. It is why what happens in the Balkans matters to our country and why we must use our diplomatic power and ingenuity to help the people of the region chart a new future.
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As the history of the last 15 years has demonstrated, the U.S. has an abiding interest in the Balkans. Thousands of our finest diplomats and soldiers have spent years trying to build a peaceful future there. America and Europe have worked well together in the 1990s, we ended the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, and our troops have since kept the peace in both places. In 2004, NATO successfully concluded its historic peacekeeping mission in Bosnia. We have also worked intensively with all the countries of the former Yugoslavia to prepare them for eventual NATO and EU membership. Without stability in the Balkans, we will never see a united, peaceful Europe that can be a true partner for the U.S. in promoting democracy throughout the world. It is now time to finish the job.
The Balkans region will not be stable, however, as long as Kosovo remains in a state of political suspended animation. The history of the past decade tells us that the United States is indispensable to stability in the Balkans. We must continue to play this key role as we look to support the process that will determine Kosovo's future status. We also look forward to continued coordination with Members of Congress, noting the valuable support Senators and Representatives, including most notably members of this committee, have given to our efforts.
2006 will be a crucial year of decision for Kosovo and the Balkans. The UN-sponsored Final Status Talks will begin in a few weeks time, and after more than six years of UN rule, it is time for the people of Kosovo -- Albanian and Serb alike -- to be given a chance to define their future. Our partners in the Contact Group -- the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United Kingdom -- agree with us that the status quo in Kosovo is neither sustainable nor desirable. Earlier this year, the U.S. led the way to convince the UN to initiate a review of its Standards, conducted this summer by Norway's able Ambassador to NATO, Kai Eide. The report concluded that further progress on these issues is unlikely until there is greater clarity about Kosovo's future status. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended beginning negotiations to determine Kosovo's future status, a recommendation the Security Council endorsed on October 24. Secretary-General Annan has announced his intention to nominate former Finnish President Marti Ahtisaari as the UN Special Envoy to lead the process. He is, in our view, a superb choice: an experienced and resourceful diplomat who commands broad respect in the international community.
The Secretary-General's actions have begun the process that will lead to an internationally recognized future status for Kosovo. I hosted a meeting of the Contact Group with President Ahtisaari in Washington last week to kick off these efforts. We expect President Ahtisaari will begin his work as soon as the Security Council endorses his nomination this week. The U.S. will very soon name a senior American envoy to assist in the negotiations and be ready to bring U.S. credibility and influence to bear when and where it can help to promote a settlement.
We understand that diplomatically, this will be tough going. The parties to the talks the Kosovar Albanians, Kosovar Serbs and the government of Serbia-Montenegro will see their vital interests at stake. We expect them to participate constructively and to restrain more extreme groups from using violence to gain political ends. Although we will be working for a peaceful settlement, NATO troops will have to be ready to defuse potentially violent situations.
Elements of a Settlement
After NATO fought and won the three-month Kosovo war in 1999, we then passed UN Security Council Resolution 1244 which called for "facilitating a political process designed to determine Kosovo's future status." That resolution left open the question of what that status would be. Nearly seven years later, it is time to answer that question: will Kosovo in the future be independent or will it continue under Serb rule with a greater measure of autonomy?
The United States will not support a specific outcome at this stage. It is important that we and our allies remain neutral, because the future of the province is the sole responsibility of the Albanian and Serb people of Kosovo and the Government of Serbia and Montenegro. But the final result should respect the basic facts of Kosovo today 90 percent of the people are ethnic Albanians who were treated cruelly, even viciously, by the government of Slobodan Milosevic. They deserve to live in security and peace. The Kosovo Serb population also needs to be assured that they have a future there and that their churches and patrimonial sites will be respected.
The negotiations will be difficult. Serb and Albanian positions are likely to be mutually exclusive, held with deep conviction and infused with nearly 1,000 years of history. Kosovo Albanians insist that they can only be secure if they are independent of Serbia. Serbs have promoted a future of "more than autonomy, but less than independence" as the most they could support.
There is, however, potential for common ground. The aspirations of Serbs, Albanians and Kosovo's other ethnic groups are alike in that they all want a future in which they can live secure lives, participate in democratic government and enjoy economic opportunity. There is already agreement that Kosovo will be self-governing in some form, that it will also remain multi-ethnic and will protect the cultural heritage of all its inhabitants. The U.S. will continue to work to ensure these concepts are incorporated into Kosovo's future status, because to make a political determination without these principles would leave the door open to future conflict and put at risk the war we fought to prevent ethnic cleansing and the strenuous efforts our diplomats and soldiers have made to keep the peace.
As with any process of negotiation, neither side will get everything it wants. To reach a lasting result, both will sometimes be required to make compromises that may seem to violate important interests in the cause of peace. In Kosovo, we face an unprecedented challenge of trying to build stability after a NATO intervention led to the end of government structures that had served to repress, rather than protect, the majority of the population. For six years, the UN has exercised the functions of a government, but, as foreseen by UN Resolution 1244 in 1999, the time has come to enable Kosovo's people to govern themselves consistent with the outcome of the status process to come.
Mr. Chairman, the U.S. and its European allies have decided on several guiding principles that must shape the process of determining a future status for Kosovo and guide the work of the Special Envoy. We have made clear that a return to the situation before 1999 is unacceptable and that there should be no change in existing boundaries of Kosovo, and no partition. Other principles for a settlement include full respect of human rights, the right of refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes, the protection of cultural and religious heritage and the promotion of effective means to fight organized crime and terrorism. The Contact Group agreed to exclude those who advocate violence and that, once begun, the status process must continue without interruption.
We will ensure that the result of the process meets three key criteria:
* First, it must promote stability not only in Kosovo, but throughout Southeast Europe. * It must also provide full democratic rights for all people, especially minorities. * Finally, it must further the integration of the region with the Euro-Atlantic mainstream.
The U.S. must remain committed to continued involvement in Kosovo as a status agreement is negotiated, because we have too much invested in Kosovo and the Balkans to risk failure by withdrawing prematurely. This is where the U.S., through its participation in the NATO forces in Kosovo, has made a great contribution. U.S. forces, including National Guard contingents from several states, have been essential in deterring conflict, and they have made extraordinary contributions to the communities in which they serve. Our troops have maintained security in a tense and sometimes violent environment. They have volunteered to help build schools, establish clinics and have cemented strong ties between the people of Kosovo and America. Even after a determination of Kosovo's future status is made, we will remain committed to peace and stability there. As long as a NATO force is required, the U.S. plans to be part of it.
The U.S. currently has 1700 troops in KFOR down from a high of nearly 6,000 in 1999. During the past few years, we have been able to decrease gradually the level of NATO forces and we hope to make further reductions in 2006 as NATO shifts to a Task Force organization championed by Supreme Allied Commander General Jones.
Our Message to Kosovo Albanians
The U.S. has high expectations for both Serbs and Albanians as we begin the status process. I want to use this opportunity to repeat our messages to them.
In October I met with the Kosovo Albanian Team of Unity, established by President Rugova to lead talks. The challenge for the Kosovo Albanian community is for this team to live up to its name. As late as last week, there were troubling signs that Kosovo Albanian leaders are anything but unified. In my two trips to the region since June, my strong and repeated advice to them has been to put aside their political and personal differences. If Kosovo Albanians aspire to independence, this is their greatest opportunity to make the case to the world that, should they become independent, they will be able to govern effectively and in a way that promotes stability in the region.
I made clear to them that independence must be earned. First, Kosovo must continue to develop a functional, democratic government that can safeguard the rule of law. Second, there must be generous provisions for the security of minorities, including decentralized authority. Finally, Kosovo must be able to assure its neighbors that it will not export instability. The UN standards define the goals Kosovo should achieve in preparing for self government. Kosovo's progress in implementing these standards will be the ultimate measure of how well it makes its case.
I also urged the Kosovo Albanian leaders to be ready to compromise. Finding the right balance between majority rule and minority rights is never easy, but it must be done. To the south, Kosovo's Macedonian neighbors have made important progress in addressing the concerns of their Albanian minority -- progress that could provide some useful examples as Kosovo deals with the similar concerns of Serbs and other minorities.
Kosovo leaders should act now to create a positive environment for the status talks and make a convincing case that there would be a secure future for minorities should Kosovo become independent. They should announce that decentralization of government will be pursued throughout Kosovo, and that ethnic interests will be given consideration in drawing municipal boundaries. NATO acted in 1999 to prevent the ethnic cleansing of more than one million Kosovo Albanians and it would be a tragic irony if Albanians themselves now tried to inflict a policy of retribution and intimidation against their Serb minority. The U.S. and its allies will simply not tolerate such an outcome. They should also apprehend and punish those responsible for hate crimes committed against minorities in March 2004. They should state publicly that the independence they seek is only for Kosovo, without any changes to its present boundaries. No country, including the U.S. is prepared to support an irredentist "Greater Albania" or an independent Kosovo that aspires to exceed its present borders.
If Kosovo leaders want to present themselves as worthy of independence, they must stop all acts of violence and intimidation against minorities. Those responsible for such acts must understand that they are actually undermining the goals which they profess to support.
I warned them that an attempt by either side to use violence as a political tactic during the negotiation will be put down swiftly and firmly by NATO. Whatever the settlement of Kosovo's political status, it must remain multi-ethnic, and Serbs and Albanians need to work to create conditions under which they will be able to live together peacefully.
In June, I visited a Kosovo Serb family near Pristina. They had recently returned after being forced to flee and having their home destroyed in the March 2004 violence. This brave Serb family continues to have concerns for security and their future prosperity in Kosovo. Though their home had been rebuilt, their situation was still difficult. The Kosovar Albanians must make Serb families like this feel welcome and secure as a result of the settlement.
Our Messages to the Serbs
The Kosovo Serb community, and indeed the government of Serbia and Montenegro, must also assume a heavy share of responsibility for successful negotiations. When I met with Kosovar Serb leaders in October, I urged them to become more involved politically in Kosovo itself. Serbs have told me they would prefer local autonomy for themselves in Kosovo. If this is so, it is in their own interest to participate in the institutions of local government that will be responsible for a future Kosovo. By refusing to participate in elections and in the Kosovo Assembly, Kosovo Serbs are missing a chance to have a say in Kosovo's future.
Belgrade must also help Kosovo's Serbs ensure that they will have a place in whatever political structure emerges. I told Prime Minister Kostunica that his government's policy of having Serbs boycott elections and participation in the Kosovo Assembly has been a major miscalculation. The Serb community is losing political influence in Kosovo and there is now a net outflow of Serbs. As Kosovo will remain multi-ethnic, it will retain important connections with Serbia regardless of its political status. Many Kosovo Serbs will remain citizens of Serbia in any case and will need access to Serbian government services. Many important Serbian cultural sites, including some of the most historic Serbian Orthodox churches, are located in Kosovo. The Serb government will have to look for means to cooperate with a future Kosovo to preserve these cultural treasures. Belgrade will also want to engage in a discussion of security issues to ensure that settlement of Kosovo's status does not undermine the fragile stability of the region. Whatever Kosovo's future will be, Belgrade can best protect the interests of Serbs by encouraging them to participate in politics and begin to integrate themselves with their Kosovo Albanian neighbors.
Overall American Engagement in the Balkans
Mr. Chairman, while Kosovo's future status is the most serious issue to be resolved in Southeast Europe in 2006, there are three other issues that will also be important to building the stability and peace we seek for the region:
First, there will be no real peace in the Balkans until the countries of the region bring the most notorious war criminals to justice. Ten years after the massacre at Srebrenica, the two Serb leaders directly responsible remain at large. In Belgrade, I emphasized that those of us who are friends of Serbia want to see it shake off the remaining burden of the Milosevic era and take its rightful place as a European country, and keystone of stability and prosperity in the Balkans. The U.S. has been clear that Belgrade must comply with its obligations to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Until the government turns over indicted mass murderer Ratko Mladic to the Hague, the U.S. will not agree to Serbia and Montenegro's participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace. The Serbs are making efforts to hold those accountable for crimes, but they must do more. Of course, the United States also remains determined to see Radovan Karadzic and Ante Gotovina brought to justice in the Hague, and we will continue pressing all concerned parties to see justice done.
Beyond a settlement in Kosovo and the arrest of the remaining war criminals, there is another diplomatic hurdle to a peaceful stable Balkans region in the future: a more unified Bosnia-Herzegovina. Ten years ago this month in Dayton, Ohio, the United States negotiated an end to the brutal war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was a remarkable diplomatic achievement by President Clinton, Secretary of State Christopher and its principal architect and negotiator, Richard Holbrooke. The Dayton Peace Accords have provided the foundation upon which the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina have rebuilt their country and their lives. The Accords have allowed over a million people to return to their pre-war homes. On November 21-22, Secretary Rice and the Bosnia-Herzegovina leadership will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Dayton Accords in Washington, D.C. Secretary Rice will note the extraordinary progress that has been made but also focus on the efforts that still need to be made for Bosnia and Herzegovina to become a fully democratic country.
The Dayton Accords were never meant to be set in stone. The people of Bosnia and Herzegovina have already recognized the need for reform if they are to join NATO and the EU. Just before my visit to Sarajevo in October, the Bosnian parliament voted overwhelming to create a single, unified army and defense ministry -- for the 10 years since Dayton, there have been two of each. They also agreed on the need to reform their police institutions consistent with EU standards, which has enabled the European Union to recommend launching negotiations on a Stabilization and Association Agreement with Bosnia-Herzegovina this year.
When the Bosnian leadership comes to Washington in two weeks, we will be asking them to embrace an even more ambitious vision erasing major political divisions by agreeing to a single Presidency, a stronger Prime Ministership and a reformed Parliament. When the Bosnian war stopped in November 1995, the ethnic divisions in the country were frozen in place. It is now time to remove the Berlin wall of separation between Bosnians and strengthen the institutions that will make Bosnia a true unified state in the future.
There is another issue that demands our attention in the Balkans, the status of Montenegro. The United States supports the Belgrade Agreement and the Serbia and Montenegro Constitutional Charter: documents that present the opportunity for either republic to hold a referendum on leaving the state union. The United States will support whatever solution the two republics agree on through democratic means, whether that is union or independence. Montenegrin officials have indicated their desire to hold a referendum in 2006 on independence. I told President Djukanovic last month that any referendum must be held peacefully, and as the result of a process that all sides accept as legitimate. The overarching U.S. goal is reform and progress toward Europe for both Serbia and Montenegro, in or outside the state union.
Conclusion
The people of the former Yugoslavia suffered through a decade of conflicts brought on by corrupt and cynical leaders who put their own power, greed and ethnic hatreds ahead of the interests of the people. From the ashes of the wars of the 1990s there is now new hope emerging. In my October visit to Sarajevo, Pristina and Belgrade, I made a point of meeting with students in each city who will soon be the leaders of their countries and I found these meetings to be extraordinarily encouraging. In Sarajevo, we met with young Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks who are working together to break down remaining ethnic differences. In Kosovo, I met with extraordinarily courageous high school students from Mitrovica. These Serbs and Albanians, separated by the physical bridge dividing their communities, are trying to create a virtual bridge of computer networks to unite them. I met with young Serbs at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade who did not hesitate to express their commitment to justice, peace and democracy for Serbia and the region. I was struck by the fact that in each of these three meetings, in three different places, these students, of all the people we met, were the most courageous in putting forward the proposition that people of different faiths and nationalities should be able to live together in the Balkans of the 21st century. I didn't hear this message from the political leaders, but I heard it loud and clear from the younger people. I hope that their voice and their vision of a more just and peaceful region will come to represent the future for Kosovo, for Bosnia-Herzegovina and for Serbia and Montenegro.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I look forward to taking your questions.
Released on November 8, 2005
Press Release: US State Department
Hearing on Kosovo: A Way Forward?
R. Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs
Remarks as prepared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Washington, DC
November 8, 2005
Introduction
Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Senators, it is a great pleasure for me to appear before you once again today to speak about our hope for a final peace in Kosovo and our broader American policy in the Balkans region. I addressed the House of Representatives on these issues in May of this year, and I am pleased to have another opportunity to discuss this important subject with Congress.
President Bush and Secretary Rice have directed a renewed and energetic U.S. effort to bring peace and security to this troubled region. After a decade of conflicts which had a devastating impact on every part of the former Yugoslavia, after hundreds of thousands killed and left homeless, we are at last seeing real progress on undoing the evils of the 1990s. United States policy is designed to point the countries of Southeast Europe toward a democratic future as part of NATO and the European Union.
Since the end of the Cold War, three American Presidents have had one overarching strategic ambition in Europe to seek a democratic peace by unifying the Continent in freedom. The Balkans are the finishing piece to this puzzle. That is why we must use 2006 to attain a final status for the long-suffering people of Kosovo, and to help Bosnia-Herzegovina modernize the Dayton Accords by building a more integrated state with a stronger central government. It is why we must send the despicable war criminals Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and Ante Gotovina to the Hague, as they are responsible for Europe's worst human rights abuses since the Nazis. It is why what happens in the Balkans matters to our country and why we must use our diplomatic power and ingenuity to help the people of the region chart a new future.
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As the history of the last 15 years has demonstrated, the U.S. has an abiding interest in the Balkans. Thousands of our finest diplomats and soldiers have spent years trying to build a peaceful future there. America and Europe have worked well together in the 1990s, we ended the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, and our troops have since kept the peace in both places. In 2004, NATO successfully concluded its historic peacekeeping mission in Bosnia. We have also worked intensively with all the countries of the former Yugoslavia to prepare them for eventual NATO and EU membership. Without stability in the Balkans, we will never see a united, peaceful Europe that can be a true partner for the U.S. in promoting democracy throughout the world. It is now time to finish the job.
The Balkans region will not be stable, however, as long as Kosovo remains in a state of political suspended animation. The history of the past decade tells us that the United States is indispensable to stability in the Balkans. We must continue to play this key role as we look to support the process that will determine Kosovo's future status. We also look forward to continued coordination with Members of Congress, noting the valuable support Senators and Representatives, including most notably members of this committee, have given to our efforts.
2006 will be a crucial year of decision for Kosovo and the Balkans. The UN-sponsored Final Status Talks will begin in a few weeks time, and after more than six years of UN rule, it is time for the people of Kosovo -- Albanian and Serb alike -- to be given a chance to define their future. Our partners in the Contact Group -- the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United Kingdom -- agree with us that the status quo in Kosovo is neither sustainable nor desirable. Earlier this year, the U.S. led the way to convince the UN to initiate a review of its Standards, conducted this summer by Norway's able Ambassador to NATO, Kai Eide. The report concluded that further progress on these issues is unlikely until there is greater clarity about Kosovo's future status. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended beginning negotiations to determine Kosovo's future status, a recommendation the Security Council endorsed on October 24. Secretary-General Annan has announced his intention to nominate former Finnish President Marti Ahtisaari as the UN Special Envoy to lead the process. He is, in our view, a superb choice: an experienced and resourceful diplomat who commands broad respect in the international community.
The Secretary-General's actions have begun the process that will lead to an internationally recognized future status for Kosovo. I hosted a meeting of the Contact Group with President Ahtisaari in Washington last week to kick off these efforts. We expect President Ahtisaari will begin his work as soon as the Security Council endorses his nomination this week. The U.S. will very soon name a senior American envoy to assist in the negotiations and be ready to bring U.S. credibility and influence to bear when and where it can help to promote a settlement.
We understand that diplomatically, this will be tough going. The parties to the talks the Kosovar Albanians, Kosovar Serbs and the government of Serbia-Montenegro will see their vital interests at stake. We expect them to participate constructively and to restrain more extreme groups from using violence to gain political ends. Although we will be working for a peaceful settlement, NATO troops will have to be ready to defuse potentially violent situations.
Elements of a Settlement
After NATO fought and won the three-month Kosovo war in 1999, we then passed UN Security Council Resolution 1244 which called for "facilitating a political process designed to determine Kosovo's future status." That resolution left open the question of what that status would be. Nearly seven years later, it is time to answer that question: will Kosovo in the future be independent or will it continue under Serb rule with a greater measure of autonomy?
The United States will not support a specific outcome at this stage. It is important that we and our allies remain neutral, because the future of the province is the sole responsibility of the Albanian and Serb people of Kosovo and the Government of Serbia and Montenegro. But the final result should respect the basic facts of Kosovo today 90 percent of the people are ethnic Albanians who were treated cruelly, even viciously, by the government of Slobodan Milosevic. They deserve to live in security and peace. The Kosovo Serb population also needs to be assured that they have a future there and that their churches and patrimonial sites will be respected.
The negotiations will be difficult. Serb and Albanian positions are likely to be mutually exclusive, held with deep conviction and infused with nearly 1,000 years of history. Kosovo Albanians insist that they can only be secure if they are independent of Serbia. Serbs have promoted a future of "more than autonomy, but less than independence" as the most they could support.
There is, however, potential for common ground. The aspirations of Serbs, Albanians and Kosovo's other ethnic groups are alike in that they all want a future in which they can live secure lives, participate in democratic government and enjoy economic opportunity. There is already agreement that Kosovo will be self-governing in some form, that it will also remain multi-ethnic and will protect the cultural heritage of all its inhabitants. The U.S. will continue to work to ensure these concepts are incorporated into Kosovo's future status, because to make a political determination without these principles would leave the door open to future conflict and put at risk the war we fought to prevent ethnic cleansing and the strenuous efforts our diplomats and soldiers have made to keep the peace.
As with any process of negotiation, neither side will get everything it wants. To reach a lasting result, both will sometimes be required to make compromises that may seem to violate important interests in the cause of peace. In Kosovo, we face an unprecedented challenge of trying to build stability after a NATO intervention led to the end of government structures that had served to repress, rather than protect, the majority of the population. For six years, the UN has exercised the functions of a government, but, as foreseen by UN Resolution 1244 in 1999, the time has come to enable Kosovo's people to govern themselves consistent with the outcome of the status process to come.
Mr. Chairman, the U.S. and its European allies have decided on several guiding principles that must shape the process of determining a future status for Kosovo and guide the work of the Special Envoy. We have made clear that a return to the situation before 1999 is unacceptable and that there should be no change in existing boundaries of Kosovo, and no partition. Other principles for a settlement include full respect of human rights, the right of refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes, the protection of cultural and religious heritage and the promotion of effective means to fight organized crime and terrorism. The Contact Group agreed to exclude those who advocate violence and that, once begun, the status process must continue without interruption.
We will ensure that the result of the process meets three key criteria:
* First, it must promote stability not only in Kosovo, but throughout Southeast Europe. * It must also provide full democratic rights for all people, especially minorities. * Finally, it must further the integration of the region with the Euro-Atlantic mainstream.
The U.S. must remain committed to continued involvement in Kosovo as a status agreement is negotiated, because we have too much invested in Kosovo and the Balkans to risk failure by withdrawing prematurely. This is where the U.S., through its participation in the NATO forces in Kosovo, has made a great contribution. U.S. forces, including National Guard contingents from several states, have been essential in deterring conflict, and they have made extraordinary contributions to the communities in which they serve. Our troops have maintained security in a tense and sometimes violent environment. They have volunteered to help build schools, establish clinics and have cemented strong ties between the people of Kosovo and America. Even after a determination of Kosovo's future status is made, we will remain committed to peace and stability there. As long as a NATO force is required, the U.S. plans to be part of it.
The U.S. currently has 1700 troops in KFOR down from a high of nearly 6,000 in 1999. During the past few years, we have been able to decrease gradually the level of NATO forces and we hope to make further reductions in 2006 as NATO shifts to a Task Force organization championed by Supreme Allied Commander General Jones.
Our Message to Kosovo Albanians
The U.S. has high expectations for both Serbs and Albanians as we begin the status process. I want to use this opportunity to repeat our messages to them.
In October I met with the Kosovo Albanian Team of Unity, established by President Rugova to lead talks. The challenge for the Kosovo Albanian community is for this team to live up to its name. As late as last week, there were troubling signs that Kosovo Albanian leaders are anything but unified. In my two trips to the region since June, my strong and repeated advice to them has been to put aside their political and personal differences. If Kosovo Albanians aspire to independence, this is their greatest opportunity to make the case to the world that, should they become independent, they will be able to govern effectively and in a way that promotes stability in the region.
I made clear to them that independence must be earned. First, Kosovo must continue to develop a functional, democratic government that can safeguard the rule of law. Second, there must be generous provisions for the security of minorities, including decentralized authority. Finally, Kosovo must be able to assure its neighbors that it will not export instability. The UN standards define the goals Kosovo should achieve in preparing for self government. Kosovo's progress in implementing these standards will be the ultimate measure of how well it makes its case.
I also urged the Kosovo Albanian leaders to be ready to compromise. Finding the right balance between majority rule and minority rights is never easy, but it must be done. To the south, Kosovo's Macedonian neighbors have made important progress in addressing the concerns of their Albanian minority -- progress that could provide some useful examples as Kosovo deals with the similar concerns of Serbs and other minorities.
Kosovo leaders should act now to create a positive environment for the status talks and make a convincing case that there would be a secure future for minorities should Kosovo become independent. They should announce that decentralization of government will be pursued throughout Kosovo, and that ethnic interests will be given consideration in drawing municipal boundaries. NATO acted in 1999 to prevent the ethnic cleansing of more than one million Kosovo Albanians and it would be a tragic irony if Albanians themselves now tried to inflict a policy of retribution and intimidation against their Serb minority. The U.S. and its allies will simply not tolerate such an outcome. They should also apprehend and punish those responsible for hate crimes committed against minorities in March 2004. They should state publicly that the independence they seek is only for Kosovo, without any changes to its present boundaries. No country, including the U.S. is prepared to support an irredentist "Greater Albania" or an independent Kosovo that aspires to exceed its present borders.
If Kosovo leaders want to present themselves as worthy of independence, they must stop all acts of violence and intimidation against minorities. Those responsible for such acts must understand that they are actually undermining the goals which they profess to support.
I warned them that an attempt by either side to use violence as a political tactic during the negotiation will be put down swiftly and firmly by NATO. Whatever the settlement of Kosovo's political status, it must remain multi-ethnic, and Serbs and Albanians need to work to create conditions under which they will be able to live together peacefully.
In June, I visited a Kosovo Serb family near Pristina. They had recently returned after being forced to flee and having their home destroyed in the March 2004 violence. This brave Serb family continues to have concerns for security and their future prosperity in Kosovo. Though their home had been rebuilt, their situation was still difficult. The Kosovar Albanians must make Serb families like this feel welcome and secure as a result of the settlement.
Our Messages to the Serbs
The Kosovo Serb community, and indeed the government of Serbia and Montenegro, must also assume a heavy share of responsibility for successful negotiations. When I met with Kosovar Serb leaders in October, I urged them to become more involved politically in Kosovo itself. Serbs have told me they would prefer local autonomy for themselves in Kosovo. If this is so, it is in their own interest to participate in the institutions of local government that will be responsible for a future Kosovo. By refusing to participate in elections and in the Kosovo Assembly, Kosovo Serbs are missing a chance to have a say in Kosovo's future.
Belgrade must also help Kosovo's Serbs ensure that they will have a place in whatever political structure emerges. I told Prime Minister Kostunica that his government's policy of having Serbs boycott elections and participation in the Kosovo Assembly has been a major miscalculation. The Serb community is losing political influence in Kosovo and there is now a net outflow of Serbs. As Kosovo will remain multi-ethnic, it will retain important connections with Serbia regardless of its political status. Many Kosovo Serbs will remain citizens of Serbia in any case and will need access to Serbian government services. Many important Serbian cultural sites, including some of the most historic Serbian Orthodox churches, are located in Kosovo. The Serb government will have to look for means to cooperate with a future Kosovo to preserve these cultural treasures. Belgrade will also want to engage in a discussion of security issues to ensure that settlement of Kosovo's status does not undermine the fragile stability of the region. Whatever Kosovo's future will be, Belgrade can best protect the interests of Serbs by encouraging them to participate in politics and begin to integrate themselves with their Kosovo Albanian neighbors.
Overall American Engagement in the Balkans
Mr. Chairman, while Kosovo's future status is the most serious issue to be resolved in Southeast Europe in 2006, there are three other issues that will also be important to building the stability and peace we seek for the region:
First, there will be no real peace in the Balkans until the countries of the region bring the most notorious war criminals to justice. Ten years after the massacre at Srebrenica, the two Serb leaders directly responsible remain at large. In Belgrade, I emphasized that those of us who are friends of Serbia want to see it shake off the remaining burden of the Milosevic era and take its rightful place as a European country, and keystone of stability and prosperity in the Balkans. The U.S. has been clear that Belgrade must comply with its obligations to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Until the government turns over indicted mass murderer Ratko Mladic to the Hague, the U.S. will not agree to Serbia and Montenegro's participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace. The Serbs are making efforts to hold those accountable for crimes, but they must do more. Of course, the United States also remains determined to see Radovan Karadzic and Ante Gotovina brought to justice in the Hague, and we will continue pressing all concerned parties to see justice done.
Beyond a settlement in Kosovo and the arrest of the remaining war criminals, there is another diplomatic hurdle to a peaceful stable Balkans region in the future: a more unified Bosnia-Herzegovina. Ten years ago this month in Dayton, Ohio, the United States negotiated an end to the brutal war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was a remarkable diplomatic achievement by President Clinton, Secretary of State Christopher and its principal architect and negotiator, Richard Holbrooke. The Dayton Peace Accords have provided the foundation upon which the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina have rebuilt their country and their lives. The Accords have allowed over a million people to return to their pre-war homes. On November 21-22, Secretary Rice and the Bosnia-Herzegovina leadership will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Dayton Accords in Washington, D.C. Secretary Rice will note the extraordinary progress that has been made but also focus on the efforts that still need to be made for Bosnia and Herzegovina to become a fully democratic country.
The Dayton Accords were never meant to be set in stone. The people of Bosnia and Herzegovina have already recognized the need for reform if they are to join NATO and the EU. Just before my visit to Sarajevo in October, the Bosnian parliament voted overwhelming to create a single, unified army and defense ministry -- for the 10 years since Dayton, there have been two of each. They also agreed on the need to reform their police institutions consistent with EU standards, which has enabled the European Union to recommend launching negotiations on a Stabilization and Association Agreement with Bosnia-Herzegovina this year.
When the Bosnian leadership comes to Washington in two weeks, we will be asking them to embrace an even more ambitious vision erasing major political divisions by agreeing to a single Presidency, a stronger Prime Ministership and a reformed Parliament. When the Bosnian war stopped in November 1995, the ethnic divisions in the country were frozen in place. It is now time to remove the Berlin wall of separation between Bosnians and strengthen the institutions that will make Bosnia a true unified state in the future.
There is another issue that demands our attention in the Balkans, the status of Montenegro. The United States supports the Belgrade Agreement and the Serbia and Montenegro Constitutional Charter: documents that present the opportunity for either republic to hold a referendum on leaving the state union. The United States will support whatever solution the two republics agree on through democratic means, whether that is union or independence. Montenegrin officials have indicated their desire to hold a referendum in 2006 on independence. I told President Djukanovic last month that any referendum must be held peacefully, and as the result of a process that all sides accept as legitimate. The overarching U.S. goal is reform and progress toward Europe for both Serbia and Montenegro, in or outside the state union.
Conclusion
The people of the former Yugoslavia suffered through a decade of conflicts brought on by corrupt and cynical leaders who put their own power, greed and ethnic hatreds ahead of the interests of the people. From the ashes of the wars of the 1990s there is now new hope emerging. In my October visit to Sarajevo, Pristina and Belgrade, I made a point of meeting with students in each city who will soon be the leaders of their countries and I found these meetings to be extraordinarily encouraging. In Sarajevo, we met with young Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks who are working together to break down remaining ethnic differences. In Kosovo, I met with extraordinarily courageous high school students from Mitrovica. These Serbs and Albanians, separated by the physical bridge dividing their communities, are trying to create a virtual bridge of computer networks to unite them. I met with young Serbs at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade who did not hesitate to express their commitment to justice, peace and democracy for Serbia and the region. I was struck by the fact that in each of these three meetings, in three different places, these students, of all the people we met, were the most courageous in putting forward the proposition that people of different faiths and nationalities should be able to live together in the Balkans of the 21st century. I didn't hear this message from the political leaders, but I heard it loud and clear from the younger people. I hope that their voice and their vision of a more just and peaceful region will come to represent the future for Kosovo, for Bosnia-Herzegovina and for Serbia and Montenegro.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I look forward to taking your questions.
Released on November 8, 2005
MUP attacks KPS (Express)
Express writes on the front page that there was an exchange of fire that lasted for one hour between six uniformed Serbian hunters, who were dressed in MUP (Ministry of Internal Affairs) uniforms and the KPS in Obiliq.
The paper says that the hunters went within the fence of Kosova B Power Plant where they eventually got arrested by KPS officers. There were no injuries, and after the interrogations, their hunting weapons got confiscated and they were released.
The paper says that the hunters went within the fence of Kosova B Power Plant where they eventually got arrested by KPS officers. There were no injuries, and after the interrogations, their hunting weapons got confiscated and they were released.