Mon Apr 3, 2006 03:03 PM ET
By Matthew Robinson
VIENNA (Reuters) - Negotiations on the future of Kosovo appeared to founder on Monday as United Nations' mediators struggled to overcome Serb demands for autonomy within the majority Albanian territory.
Deputy U.N. envoy Albert Rohan, who chaired the third meeting of Serbs and Kosovo Albanians in Vienna, said "considerable differences" remained between their basic concepts of how to give minority Serbs greater say in the running of their own affairs -- a key element of any deal on status.
Kosovo Albanians, who make up 90 percent of the province's 2 million people, are under pressure to give the diminishing Serb minority more local powers as part of a deal on "final status."
Diplomats say independence is almost inevitable, seven years since NATO drove out Serb forces and the U.N. took control.
But Serbia is refusing to give up on the creation of a Serb "entity" within Kosovo, something Rohan explicitly ruled out during a visit to the province last week.
He told reporters on Monday the Serb concept remained "one of a large degree of autonomy for Kosovo Serb majority municipalities with the limited role of central authorities."
The West fears this is code for partition, a taboo concept that rings of the dysfunctional ethnic carve-up seen in Bosnia.
U.N. mediators led by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari are advocating considerable local self-government, with the possibility of cooperation between Serb areas and Serbian authorities in Belgrade, as well as some financing from the Serbian budget.
"SO FAR APART"
Such steps are seen as key to convincing the 100,000 Serbs, ghettoized and targeted by sporadic violence since the war, that they have a future in Kosovo. The Albanians have agreed in principle, but are trying to limit Belgrade's future influence.
"We are so far apart," Kosovo deputy prime minister, Lutfi Haziri, told Reuters after the morning session. "The Serbs oppose the main principles of the document," he said, referring to the first U.N. proposal since talks began in February.
Serb negotiators defended the idea of an entity. "This is not internal-secession," said Slobodan Samaradzic. "It will ensure normal living conditions for Serbs in Kosovo."
The two sides meet again on May 4, when Ahtisaari's team hopes to close the discussion of decentralization.
Legally part of Serbia, Kosovo became a U.N. protectorate in 1999, when NATO bombed for 78 days to drive out Serb forces accused of atrocities against Albanian civilians in a two-year war with separatist guerrillas.
Around half the Serb population fled a wave of revenge attacks. Those who stayed lead a grim existence on the margins of society, cocooned in a Belgrade-run world of "parallel structures" beyond Kosovo's Albanian-dominated institutions.
Ahtisaari has indicated the technical dialogue could be over within a couple of months, when talks will move on to the issue of statehood -- fiercely contested by Serbia but seemingly unavoidable given the messages coming from Western capitals.
He wants a deal on status within the year.
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17 comments:
Why I'm I not surprised?
dardania,
Have you noticed that the negotiations here are about Kosovo-Metohija, not about Serbia proper? Have you also accepted the fact that the K albos are not in a positions to set terms about what will happen in Serbia proper?
But I like your logics and I think it should be applied in the whole Balkans, not only in Serbia, so we would have in Albania the Greek Republic of Northern Epirus, in Croatia the Republika Srpska Krajina, Dalmatian Republic, Ragusian Republic, Istrian Republic, etc, in Bosnia the Mostar Republic, etc.
Albanians can and will set terms in serbia proper by the end of the year. You have albanains in southeast and they are not going away. And as much as you put forward the serb issue in Kosova we will put the albanian issue in serbia. What I am amazed at is the notion that you sewerbians imagine that you somehow hold some power over Kosova. The key word here is "did". You lost and now you have a substantial enemy of 6 million albanians at your doorstep.
it doesn't matter how much you put that issue, the international community for the time being doesn'T care about it.
in our history we have lost kosovo many times, but at the end we always got it back, so as the great german philosopher hegel always said "history repaets itself".
we may have 6mil shqiptars as our enemies, but you should calculate how many enemies do you have, the list includes serbs, greeks, macedonians and montenegrins.
for the numbers you do the calculations.
@cvijus
And albanians dont give fcuk that you consider us enemies and tht ayou wanna kill us. Well we cant be touched what ever the reason. WELL let the GREEKS SERBS MACEDONS MONTENEGRIN touch us
They are afraid because this time they will loose it all from CAMERIA to PAZARI I RI
THAT IS A PROMISE
To Kosovar2006:
It's amazing to me how stupid you are, it really is. Do you honestly believe that Greece, a member of E.U. and NATO, is afraid of Albanians? We have an experience army, navy, and air force. We have fought in Afghanistan, in the first Gulf War, and we have run humanitarian missions in Bosnia. We have F-16's, we have American tanks, we have Russian and American artillery, we have patriot anti-aircraft systems, we have 160,000 men in our army alone, and, we have the backing of NATO and the E.U.
Remind me again, why should we be afraid of you? You have a bunch of AK-47's and a creative propaganda machine which managed to make you look like the victims in Kosovo. The truth is, everyone suffered, and everyone was to blame. Serbs, Albanians, Americans, French--they all played a part.
So let's get over this 'big-man' complex. The Albanians are no better than anyone else. Neither are the Serbs. Neither are the Greeks. Neither are the Americans. Period.
the greek,
Whatever you have, the Turks can match and double it. :)
hehehe yo Greek you can have all the technology and EU & NATO backing you want, when you don't have the heart to fight it doesn't mean nothing. that's why albanians will always win, because we have the heart of the lion and the eye of the Eagle. Skenderbeu ring a bell?
hehehe yo Greek you can have all the technology and EU & NATO backing you want, when you don't have the heart to fight it doesn't mean nothing. that's why albanians will always win, because we have the heart of the lion and the eye of the Eagle. Skenderbeu ring a bell?
shqiptari,
"Whatever you have, the Turks can match and double it. :)"
Maybe you people don't get enough infos on what is happening lately, but Greece and Turkey are TOGETHER in the NATO, and their billateral relations are IMPROVING and are currently at a GOOD LEVEL. Wake up from the 19th century shqiptari.
"when you don't have the heart to fight it doesn't mean nothing. that's why albanians will always win"
Nice one...did you forget that if it wasn't for NATO you would'nt win even 2 square cm, in other words the ass kicking UCK got from the Serbs would be finallized.
ivan,
"read again heart of a lion and eye of an eagle. The brave siptar terrorists who managed to play really good the role of a victim."
well Ivan, you need the heart of a lion and and the eye of a eagle to be a good actor.
greek,
aksizeis ton sevasmo mou, kala ta eipes. Den exeis adiko.
Ask grreks whether they feel safe from turks or not. Turkey and Greece were in Nato when they went to war over Cyprus. Furthermore if you can claim like in 19th century that you have as allies other slavic countries and greeks we can just as well claim countries who are partial to us and Turkey sure as hell wouldnt wait to fuck the greeks in the ass. Which I am sure they would love it.
ivanusko hehehehe if memory serves me right you left your brothers hanging in Croatia a few years back, you copped out on your own cetniks so don't you talk to me about courage or nothing else. and to talk about attacking from behind cetnik please? who started all the wars in the balkans? while everybody was living in peace who decided to go for "Serbia to Tokia" hehehehe you cetniks are pathetic. ever heard that song "come and knock on our door, we'll be waiting for you"
Ok, first for the dumbass who commented about Turkey. Since 1999 Greece and Turkey have had a huge thaw in relations as a result of what is commonly called "earthquake diplomacy." Greece sent Turkey immediate aid following the huge earthquake that hit their nation, and they did the same later that year. In the years since then Greece has actively supported Turkey's European Union ascension (for better or for worse) and both Turkey and Greece have eased their territorial disagreements in the Aegean. In addition, Prime Minister Karamanlis was the guest of honor at Prime Minister Erdogan's daughter's wedding. The relationship is improving quickly; there has never been the possibility of war between the two nations since 1996 and it looks like relations will continue to improve. And for the moron who brought up Cyprus; Cyprus is an independent nation in 1974 and it still is today. Greece is NOT responsible for the defense of that island, nor was it in 1974. However, that being said, because the Greek Cypriots are our "brothers" we would willingly defend them. We WILL defend them, NOT we are OBLIGATED to defend them. The Greeks were unable to provide any real assistance to Cyprus in 1974 because of the junta and the political turmoil in Greece then. That has changed.
Now, onto what you said about Greeks not being courageous. I'll quote Prime Minister Winston Churchill here, "Greeks do not fight like heroes. Heroes fight like Greeks." (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sir_Winston_Churchill) When did anyone, much less a respected politician that played a central role in defeated the Nazis, make that statement about the Albanians?
I don't discredit anyone, not the Serbs not the Albanians. Both fought for what they believed in. I personally feel that the Serbs would have won had the United States not intervened, but that is just me. The only viable solution that I can see to the situation in Kosovo is giving the Serbian part of Kosovo (the Northern part) to the Serbs, and giving the rest of the region independence. That's a compromise. That's fair.
Cvijus,
Euxaristo para polh. Exw megali agapi yia thn servia. Eisaste ta adelfia mas! ZHTO!
Greek buttburglar, its obvious that you are a moron. However, I will answer some of your bs. There has always been a partiality towards greeks in EU. I mean today you get most of welfare check from EU based on this notion that you have something to do with ancient grreks. Which is as much fiction as french bravery. Greece may be geographically in EU and Europe but you are as much moor as an algerian. Turkey and greece will have this cosmetic relationship but never take away animosity because of Cyprus and Aegean islands no matter how much wishfull thinking you have. Greek volunteers fought in Srebrenica so please dont give me this crap about you not being pro-sewerbian. And as far as bravery that remains to be seen. What is clear about you is the fact that when albanians won you war for independence with people like Bubalina you shot them in the back like the fucking cowards that you are. So please keep you welfare case mentality from this board and look to your own shit.
Ohh mamu ti jebem
KUKU
Listen mofo Sebians and Greek. You are nothing to us your so low down we cant see that far. Ill dare you to try and mess with albanians again.
There are more albanians in turkey then in albania. The highest general in turkish army is albanin orgin
Now let me remind the hellas you try and attck albanian or try and steal another 1cm2 turkish flag will fly over greek very soon
Yes yuu are afraid of albanians yuu are so scarred that you will sign independece for kosovo slowly and slowlu within next 50years will get our land back. from all of you.
oj biri shkines
Nato had their interest thats why came in kosovo because we would have won that war guranteed
We fough you mofos in fron tof your face your the one that went to kill children and unamrded civilian to revenge your dogs death on the battlefield
You are afraid of very afraid. We are untouchble. I swear to god your will never be able to touch. It takes heart to fight.Super power were defeated and will be defeated if person fight with his heart about his own land
I ll give you a challange in this democracy give the vote to that party that threatens albanian. I hope to god you make another mistake and try and touch will destroy serbia(balkan slavs) and greece
>> the list [of Albanians enemies] includes serbs, greeks, macedonians and montenegrins.
Serboi,
Montengrins will be neutralized by the 10% Albos there and in 20 years Macedonia might as be called Albadonia, we're 25% and getting bigger. Greeks are not stupid, they are only 10 million and Turkey is 70 million. Turkey will eat them alive. If others get involved at least Germany and Croatia will always be there to fry you.
As far as Serbs: we will be armed so you will not attack. You are pussies, just like Queen Lazar who surrendered. Everytime you meet armed people you get smaller. We will take Nis back too, next time. Behave and enough with tough talk.
--- To attack from behind, and then run away and hide as civilians in local villages, is nto the sense of bravery to me.
No it is not. To a Serb bravery is to rape, murder and pillage civilians. And of course using tanks and planes from the Yugoslav army to attack their own defenseless civilians. Go get Krajina back tough guy!
Bokababe
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