BELGRADE, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Just 12 percent of Serbs believe Serbia will hold on to its Kosovo province, according to the results of an opinion poll published on Friday that fly in the face of Belgrade's official line.
Fifty-eight percent said they wanted the United Nations-administered province to remain part of Serbia, but few believe it is a realistic expectation, said pollster Marko Blagojevic.
"We have two dimensions here. One emotional, and the other rational," said Blagojevic, of the respected Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID).
Serbian leaders "managed to convince the people they want Kosovo to remain part of Serbia, but simply did not make a good enough case for them to expect this," he said.
The United Nations is expected to decide within months whether to grant Kosovo a form of supervised independence, seven years after NATO wrested control of the majority Albanian province to stop what it said was becoming a bloodbath.
Serbia says Kosovo's amputation would violate international law and embolden ethnic separatists across Europe. Parliament is poised to adopt a new state constitution that enshrines Kosovo as Serb land forever. Rhetoric plays constantly on its almost mythic status, the Serbs' Orthodox heartland and site of their epic 1389 defeat by the Ottoman Turks.
But of two million people who live there, 90 percent are ethnic Albanians who lost 10,000 people in the 1998-99 conflict and would see any return to Serb rule as a fresh call to war.
Diplomats say independence is almost certain.
According to the CeSID poll, conducted between Aug 26 and Sept 5, 36 percent said they expected independence. Seventeen percent thought the territory would be split in two, with Serbia taking a thin slice of mainly Serb land in the north.
Only 12 percent thought Kosovo would remain an autonomous region of Serbia, while 29 percent were unsure.
Serbs and Albanians opened direct talks in February in Vienna but there has been no compromise on the central issue of Kosovo's future status. U.N. mediator Martti Ahtisaari is expected to propose a solution by November which the U.N. could then impose.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Serbia Drafts New Constitution Claiming Kosovo
BELGRADE (AP)--Serbia's leaders have drafted a new constitution that declares Kosovo an integral part of the republic, regardless of the ongoing U.N.-brokered talks on the future of the province, a government official said Friday.
Government minister Zoran Loncar said the draft constitution would be submitted to the Serbian parliament for an urgent review and a vote, to be followed by a national referendum.
Parliament officials said the review could be held as soon as Saturday, while the referendum could take place in early November.
The new constitution needs to be approved by a two-thirds majority in the 250-member assembly, and confirmed by the referendum, before it can take effect. It could also lead to early elections in late 2006 or 2007.
The new constitution is designed to underscore Serbia's opposition to Kosovo's possible secession. It also, however, is widely seen as a face-saving effort by Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who is facing a government crisis and possible walkout of a key coalition member.
The Liberal G17 Party has threatened to leave the Cabinet over Serbia's failure to arrest top war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic and resume pre-entry talks with the European Union.
The constitution would declare Kosovo - Serbia's southern region that has been a U.N. protectorate since 1999 - part of the republic, in an apparent bid to counter increasing signs that Kosovo will be granted some form of independence at the international talks.
Passage of the new constitution would effectively rule out Belgrade's consent for Kosovo's independence.
"If four million people were to vote in the referendum, that would show to the international community that Serbia is united in its bid to preserve its identity," Vojislav Mihailovic, the deputy parliament speaker, told reporters Friday.
Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since NATO bombed Serbia in 1999 to halt Belgrade's crackdown against the separatist ethnic Albanians. Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians insist on independence, while Belgrade says the region should remain at least formally within Serbia's boundaries.
Though Serbian leaders have pledged to oppose independence for Kosovo, they have ruled out armed conflict over the province.
About 10,000 people were killed in Kosovo during the 1998-99 war.
The draft constitution also pledges Serbia's commitment to European standards and grants a form of self-rule to the northern, Vojvodina province, said Dusan Petrovic, from the pro-Western Democratic Party. No other details about the draft's contents were immediately available.
Government minister Zoran Loncar said the draft constitution would be submitted to the Serbian parliament for an urgent review and a vote, to be followed by a national referendum.
Parliament officials said the review could be held as soon as Saturday, while the referendum could take place in early November.
The new constitution needs to be approved by a two-thirds majority in the 250-member assembly, and confirmed by the referendum, before it can take effect. It could also lead to early elections in late 2006 or 2007.
The new constitution is designed to underscore Serbia's opposition to Kosovo's possible secession. It also, however, is widely seen as a face-saving effort by Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who is facing a government crisis and possible walkout of a key coalition member.
The Liberal G17 Party has threatened to leave the Cabinet over Serbia's failure to arrest top war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic and resume pre-entry talks with the European Union.
The constitution would declare Kosovo - Serbia's southern region that has been a U.N. protectorate since 1999 - part of the republic, in an apparent bid to counter increasing signs that Kosovo will be granted some form of independence at the international talks.
Passage of the new constitution would effectively rule out Belgrade's consent for Kosovo's independence.
"If four million people were to vote in the referendum, that would show to the international community that Serbia is united in its bid to preserve its identity," Vojislav Mihailovic, the deputy parliament speaker, told reporters Friday.
Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since NATO bombed Serbia in 1999 to halt Belgrade's crackdown against the separatist ethnic Albanians. Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians insist on independence, while Belgrade says the region should remain at least formally within Serbia's boundaries.
Though Serbian leaders have pledged to oppose independence for Kosovo, they have ruled out armed conflict over the province.
About 10,000 people were killed in Kosovo during the 1998-99 war.
The draft constitution also pledges Serbia's commitment to European standards and grants a form of self-rule to the northern, Vojvodina province, said Dusan Petrovic, from the pro-Western Democratic Party. No other details about the draft's contents were immediately available.
Serb lynchpin party clams up on threat to quit
BELGRADE, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Serbia's liberal G17 Plus party kept the country guessing on Friday over its vow to quit the coalition of Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and bring down his government, triggering a snap election.
Finance Minister Mladjan Dinkic, leader of the party, refused to say if he and three other ministers will carry out their threat to resign on Oct. 1 if European Union membership talks which the EU suspended in May are not resumed. "I will hold a news conference on October 1 and everything will be clear then. The decision by the G17 Plus executive is known and we keep our word. This is all I can say about it," Dinkic told reporters in the Serbian parliament.
Asked by Beta news agency if the G17 Plus deputies will take part in a special session of parliament to vote in a new Serbian constitution, Dinkic said "there are no obstacles" to that.
Dinkic has warned repeatedly that G17 Plus will carry out its threat to walk out on Kostunica by Oct. 1 unless Belgrade gives the EU good grounds for unfreezing the talks.
That move depends on Serbia convincing the Hague tribunal it is doing its utmost to track down and arrest war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic.
But Hague chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn scotched any hope of an early resumption of the talks on Friday. Del Ponte said Belgrade was still "far away from full cooperation" and Rehn added "there is no sign of progress from the Serbian side".
CLEARING THE DECKS
Del Ponte was due to visit Serbia next week.
Former G17 Plus leader Miroljub Labus resigned as deputy prime minister in May, saying Kostunica's failure to arrest Mladic was harming Serbia's efforts to join the EU.
G17 Plus said on Thursday its four ministers would tender their resignations formally on Friday to Kostunica.
Seemingly clearing the decks for a snap election, the government worked late into the night to agree the text of the new constitution, replacing the defunct Milosevic-era text, and parliament adopted a revised 2006 budget for the country. Media reports say the constitution could be adopted by referendum at the end of October or early November, with a snap national election possible in mid to late December.
An early election in Serbia could coincide with a U.N. Security Council decision on the fate of its Kosovo province, run by the United Nations and policed by NATO since Serb forces were driven out by NATO bombing in 1999.
A decision to give Kosovo's 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority the independence they demand, over Belgrade's strongest objections, would be taken as a slap in the face by Serbs and could benefit the ultranationalist Radicals, the country's strongest single party.
Finance Minister Mladjan Dinkic, leader of the party, refused to say if he and three other ministers will carry out their threat to resign on Oct. 1 if European Union membership talks which the EU suspended in May are not resumed. "I will hold a news conference on October 1 and everything will be clear then. The decision by the G17 Plus executive is known and we keep our word. This is all I can say about it," Dinkic told reporters in the Serbian parliament.
Asked by Beta news agency if the G17 Plus deputies will take part in a special session of parliament to vote in a new Serbian constitution, Dinkic said "there are no obstacles" to that.
Dinkic has warned repeatedly that G17 Plus will carry out its threat to walk out on Kostunica by Oct. 1 unless Belgrade gives the EU good grounds for unfreezing the talks.
That move depends on Serbia convincing the Hague tribunal it is doing its utmost to track down and arrest war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic.
But Hague chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn scotched any hope of an early resumption of the talks on Friday. Del Ponte said Belgrade was still "far away from full cooperation" and Rehn added "there is no sign of progress from the Serbian side".
CLEARING THE DECKS
Del Ponte was due to visit Serbia next week.
Former G17 Plus leader Miroljub Labus resigned as deputy prime minister in May, saying Kostunica's failure to arrest Mladic was harming Serbia's efforts to join the EU.
G17 Plus said on Thursday its four ministers would tender their resignations formally on Friday to Kostunica.
Seemingly clearing the decks for a snap election, the government worked late into the night to agree the text of the new constitution, replacing the defunct Milosevic-era text, and parliament adopted a revised 2006 budget for the country. Media reports say the constitution could be adopted by referendum at the end of October or early November, with a snap national election possible in mid to late December.
An early election in Serbia could coincide with a U.N. Security Council decision on the fate of its Kosovo province, run by the United Nations and policed by NATO since Serb forces were driven out by NATO bombing in 1999.
A decision to give Kosovo's 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority the independence they demand, over Belgrade's strongest objections, would be taken as a slap in the face by Serbs and could benefit the ultranationalist Radicals, the country's strongest single party.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
US Catholic archbishop pledges continued support for Kosovo
Prishtina [Pristina], 28 September: The Catholic Church archbishop of Washington DC, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, following today's meeting with Kosova [Kosovo] President Fatmir Sejdiu promised that the Catholic Church will continue to support the processes that Kosova is going through.
He said that he is here to help the future of Kosova, as well as to help the future of these remarkable people. The Catholic Relief Service helps in bad times and also good times.
According to McCarrick, the Catholic Church and the catholic community in Kosova are part of the future of this nation and this is a very specific moment for them, but also for Europe and the world as well, adding that the Kosovar leadership can contribute to the future of Kosova and the entire humanity.
On the other hand, President Sejdiu promised to Cardinal McCarrick that Kosova's population, as a cultured and tolerant nation, will continue to generate cooperative energy with all its friends.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 28 Sep 06
He said that he is here to help the future of Kosova, as well as to help the future of these remarkable people. The Catholic Relief Service helps in bad times and also good times.
According to McCarrick, the Catholic Church and the catholic community in Kosova are part of the future of this nation and this is a very specific moment for them, but also for Europe and the world as well, adding that the Kosovar leadership can contribute to the future of Kosova and the entire humanity.
On the other hand, President Sejdiu promised to Cardinal McCarrick that Kosova's population, as a cultured and tolerant nation, will continue to generate cooperative energy with all its friends.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 28 Sep 06
Kosovo police seize Yugoslav-made mortar shells
Text of report in English by independent internet news agency KosovaLive
Ferizaj [Urosevac], 28 September: After receiving report from a citizen, the Ferizaj and Shterpce [Strpce] regional police discovered today 72 mine-thrower missiles in a forest near the place called Tershana in Brezovice [Brezovica].
The regional spokesperson for police in Ferizaj, Behxhet Krasniqi, said that they have found six green wooden cases, each of them containing twelve Yugoslav made 60-millimeter missiles.
Krasniqi said that the mine-thrower ammunition has been seized by the Kfor [Kosovo Force] EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal].
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 28 Sep 06
Ferizaj [Urosevac], 28 September: After receiving report from a citizen, the Ferizaj and Shterpce [Strpce] regional police discovered today 72 mine-thrower missiles in a forest near the place called Tershana in Brezovice [Brezovica].
The regional spokesperson for police in Ferizaj, Behxhet Krasniqi, said that they have found six green wooden cases, each of them containing twelve Yugoslav made 60-millimeter missiles.
Krasniqi said that the mine-thrower ammunition has been seized by the Kfor [Kosovo Force] EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal].
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 28 Sep 06
Montenegrin police chief says no security problems on Kosovo border
Excerpt from report by Montenegrin Mina news agency
Podgorica, 28 September: The security situation in Montenegro is completely stable and there are no indications that there will be any complications in the security situation on the border with Kosovo, Police Administration director Veselin Veljovic said today.
He said that the Montenegrin police have the capacity and potential to successfully realize all tasks relating to the plan on general and personal security of citizens, reiterating that Montenegro is "a destination with a high level of security and safety".
Veljovic said that the situation on the border with Kosovo is being monitored continuously.
"Presently, there are no indications or signs that there could be any complications in the security situation," he said at a press conference.
Veljovic underlined that the Montenegrin police are on the path to realizing standards which apply to the countries of the European Union.
"One of these standards is depoliticization [of the police], thereby I completely reject all attempts [to attack] and attacks on the police, as well as bringing this into connection with politics or political processes," he said.
Veljovic said that there was no place for assessments which say that the Police Administration is carrying out selective investigations in the field of economic crime. [Passage omitted]
Veljovic said that apart from sporadic comments, there were no complaints in connection with the exceeding of authority by police members during the Eagle's Flight operation [in which ethnic Albanians were arrested on suspicion of planning to carry out armed attacks on religious and other institutions]. [Passage omitted]
Source: Mina news agency, Podgorica, in Serbian 0941 gmt 28 Sep 06
Podgorica, 28 September: The security situation in Montenegro is completely stable and there are no indications that there will be any complications in the security situation on the border with Kosovo, Police Administration director Veselin Veljovic said today.
He said that the Montenegrin police have the capacity and potential to successfully realize all tasks relating to the plan on general and personal security of citizens, reiterating that Montenegro is "a destination with a high level of security and safety".
Veljovic said that the situation on the border with Kosovo is being monitored continuously.
"Presently, there are no indications or signs that there could be any complications in the security situation," he said at a press conference.
Veljovic underlined that the Montenegrin police are on the path to realizing standards which apply to the countries of the European Union.
"One of these standards is depoliticization [of the police], thereby I completely reject all attempts [to attack] and attacks on the police, as well as bringing this into connection with politics or political processes," he said.
Veljovic said that there was no place for assessments which say that the Police Administration is carrying out selective investigations in the field of economic crime. [Passage omitted]
Veljovic said that apart from sporadic comments, there were no complaints in connection with the exceeding of authority by police members during the Eagle's Flight operation [in which ethnic Albanians were arrested on suspicion of planning to carry out armed attacks on religious and other institutions]. [Passage omitted]
Source: Mina news agency, Podgorica, in Serbian 0941 gmt 28 Sep 06
U.S. diplomat rules out possibility of division of Kosovo
PRISTINA, Sept 28 (Hina) - There is no possibility that Kosovo will be divided, it will remain integral and problems may be solved by decentralising authority, US Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried said in Mitrovica on Thursday.
Speaking to the press at the end of a three-day visit, Fried said the draft solution for Kosovo's status that would be drawn up by the UN's chief representative in the negotiations on the status, Martti Ahtisaari, must contain regulations protecting the historical legacy of all communities in Kosovo as well as regulations on decentralisation.
Fried said the Contact Group would try to find a solution for Kosovo by the end of the year, through negotiations. He recalled that the Group clearly said that no side in the negotiations could unilaterally block the process of determining the province's status.
Fried said the international community must remain in Kosovo also after a decision on the final status was made in order to help with the application of the new solutions.
The US official underlined that Kosovo's status should mean that there was no going back to the state of affairs before 1999, and said that the status quo was untenable.
After meeting representatives of the UN Mission in Kosovo, Fried met representatives of the Serb community. He called on them to participate in the work of Kosovo institutions, saying they had the US government's support.
Kosovo should be multinational and the Serb community should have a safe future in Kosovo, said Fried.
The leader of the Serb List for Kosovo, Oliver Ivanovic, said the Serb community counted on international presence in the province and that the guarantees of the Contact Group and notably the US could represent a new beginning for Serbs in Kosovo.
Speaking to the press at the end of a three-day visit, Fried said the draft solution for Kosovo's status that would be drawn up by the UN's chief representative in the negotiations on the status, Martti Ahtisaari, must contain regulations protecting the historical legacy of all communities in Kosovo as well as regulations on decentralisation.
Fried said the Contact Group would try to find a solution for Kosovo by the end of the year, through negotiations. He recalled that the Group clearly said that no side in the negotiations could unilaterally block the process of determining the province's status.
Fried said the international community must remain in Kosovo also after a decision on the final status was made in order to help with the application of the new solutions.
The US official underlined that Kosovo's status should mean that there was no going back to the state of affairs before 1999, and said that the status quo was untenable.
After meeting representatives of the UN Mission in Kosovo, Fried met representatives of the Serb community. He called on them to participate in the work of Kosovo institutions, saying they had the US government's support.
Kosovo should be multinational and the Serb community should have a safe future in Kosovo, said Fried.
The leader of the Serb List for Kosovo, Oliver Ivanovic, said the Serb community counted on international presence in the province and that the guarantees of the Contact Group and notably the US could represent a new beginning for Serbs in Kosovo.
Kosovo premier expects provocations from Serbia ahead of status resolution
Text of report in English by independent internet news agency KosovaLive
Prishtina [Pristina], 28 September: After reviewing the security situation in Kosova [Kosovo], Prime Minister Agim Ceku said on Wednesday [27 September] that there are indications that, during the definition of the political status process, Kosova might be destabilized by Serbia and by its "accomplices" that work in Kosova.
Prime Minister Ceku made these comments following a joint meeting with the head of UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo], Joachim Ruecker, and Kfor [Kosovo Force] Commander Ronald Kather.
They all agreed that the current security situation in Kosova is stable, but with possible risk of destabilization in the following period.
"Final period of the status goes along with possible risks, therefore we might be provoked, firstly by Serbia, then by opponents of the independence of Kosova and by the opponents of the success in Kosova," said Ceku.
According to Ceku, what is more important is the fact that citizens must not be victims of these provocations. He called on the citizens to remain calm during this period, which is very important for the future of Kosova, and to rely on their political leaders and peacekeeping forces.
Ceku furthermore said that those who want to destabilize Kosova are interested to make Kosova look in front of the international community as it is still not ready to become an independent and sovereign state.
Ceku also assured Kosova's citizens that Kfor, UNMIK police, and the Kosova Police Service [ShPK] are doing their job in the best possible way and they are investigating the latest incidents in order to find and sentence the perpetrators of these acts.
On the other hand, COMKFOR Kather said that Kfor with all its contingents is ready to act if there are elements of violence, adding that Kfor is in Kosova to provide peace to all its citizens.
Kather also said that people must be persuaded that violence is not what is needed, and that it is counterproductive to think that violence helps towards a prosperous future.
Meanwhile, the head of UNMIK, Ruecker agreed with the previous speakers that there is a stable and sustainable environment, adding that further plans should be taken as regards the possible risks.
Ruecker also went on to say that Kosova is on a good path and that all its leaders are focused in what is necessary in order to go through the status process.
In the end all participants of this meeting agreed that this meeting should take place every month, in order to look at the security situation and to undertake measures, if necessary.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 28 Sep 06
Prishtina [Pristina], 28 September: After reviewing the security situation in Kosova [Kosovo], Prime Minister Agim Ceku said on Wednesday [27 September] that there are indications that, during the definition of the political status process, Kosova might be destabilized by Serbia and by its "accomplices" that work in Kosova.
Prime Minister Ceku made these comments following a joint meeting with the head of UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo], Joachim Ruecker, and Kfor [Kosovo Force] Commander Ronald Kather.
They all agreed that the current security situation in Kosova is stable, but with possible risk of destabilization in the following period.
"Final period of the status goes along with possible risks, therefore we might be provoked, firstly by Serbia, then by opponents of the independence of Kosova and by the opponents of the success in Kosova," said Ceku.
According to Ceku, what is more important is the fact that citizens must not be victims of these provocations. He called on the citizens to remain calm during this period, which is very important for the future of Kosova, and to rely on their political leaders and peacekeeping forces.
Ceku furthermore said that those who want to destabilize Kosova are interested to make Kosova look in front of the international community as it is still not ready to become an independent and sovereign state.
Ceku also assured Kosova's citizens that Kfor, UNMIK police, and the Kosova Police Service [ShPK] are doing their job in the best possible way and they are investigating the latest incidents in order to find and sentence the perpetrators of these acts.
On the other hand, COMKFOR Kather said that Kfor with all its contingents is ready to act if there are elements of violence, adding that Kfor is in Kosova to provide peace to all its citizens.
Kather also said that people must be persuaded that violence is not what is needed, and that it is counterproductive to think that violence helps towards a prosperous future.
Meanwhile, the head of UNMIK, Ruecker agreed with the previous speakers that there is a stable and sustainable environment, adding that further plans should be taken as regards the possible risks.
Ruecker also went on to say that Kosova is on a good path and that all its leaders are focused in what is necessary in order to go through the status process.
In the end all participants of this meeting agreed that this meeting should take place every month, in order to look at the security situation and to undertake measures, if necessary.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 28 Sep 06
UNMIK praises Kosovo government on resolving education dispute for Gorani
Text of report by Radio-Television Kosovo TV website on 27 September
UNMIK [United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] welcomes the decision by Minister of Education Science and Technology Agim Veliu aimed at resolving a disagreement over providing education to the Gorani community in Dragash [Dragas] municipality. UNMIK supports the sensitive approach taken by Minister Veliu in addressing issues concerning employment of teachers, which have kept three schools from starting the 2006-2007 academic year on time. This flexible solution will help the Gorani community to gradually become fully integrated into the Kosova [Kosovo] system, while taking into account their repeated wish to use Serbian as the main language in schooling. The decision by Minister Veliu obliges all Gorani teachers to sign contracts with the Municipal Education Directorate for this school year, which should be used to prepare the introduction of curriculum and textbooks according to the education reform in Kosova. The implementation of the Kosova curriculum will be compulsory in all schools from the next school year.
Source: RTK TV website, Pristina, in Albanian 27 Sep 06
UNMIK [United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] welcomes the decision by Minister of Education Science and Technology Agim Veliu aimed at resolving a disagreement over providing education to the Gorani community in Dragash [Dragas] municipality. UNMIK supports the sensitive approach taken by Minister Veliu in addressing issues concerning employment of teachers, which have kept three schools from starting the 2006-2007 academic year on time. This flexible solution will help the Gorani community to gradually become fully integrated into the Kosova [Kosovo] system, while taking into account their repeated wish to use Serbian as the main language in schooling. The decision by Minister Veliu obliges all Gorani teachers to sign contracts with the Municipal Education Directorate for this school year, which should be used to prepare the introduction of curriculum and textbooks according to the education reform in Kosova. The implementation of the Kosova curriculum will be compulsory in all schools from the next school year.
Source: RTK TV website, Pristina, in Albanian 27 Sep 06
Albania OKs $317M road building contract
TIRANA, Albania (AFX) - Albania approved a euro250 million ($317 million) contract with a U.S. company to build a four-lane stretch of highway that will make it easier to reach neighboring Kosovo, the government said Thursday.
Bechtel International Inc., based in San Francisco, will build the 35-mile road segment, which will include a nearly 4-mile tunnel, the government said in a statement.
Work on it will begin next month and more details on the project will be made available in the coming days, officials said.
Kosovo, a U.N.-run province in Serbia, is important to Albania because most of the tourists visiting the western Balkan country are ethnic Albanians from Kosovo and Macedonia as well as expatriate Albanians returning from other parts of Europe.
The portion of the highway being built by Bechtel is part of a larger 105-mile highway to Kosovo.
The completed highway will run from the port city of Durres -- 20 miles west of the capital Tirana -- to the town of Kukes, 125 miles northeast of Tirana, and then to the Morina border crossing point.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha made it a priority of his government, whose mandate is up in 2009, to construct a new and shorter road linking Albania to Kosovo. Albania, one of Europe's poorest countries, has hopes of one day joining the European Union and NATO.
The new road will be about nearly 30 miles shorter than existing roads and it will shorten travel time, which can now take up to six hours, to two hours.
The current road, which has only two lanes, is full of potholes and winding turns, making it virtually impossible to drive at speeds faster than 25 mph on average.
The new road will be funded from the domestic budget but also with loans from international financial institutions, officials said.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Bechtel International Inc., based in San Francisco, will build the 35-mile road segment, which will include a nearly 4-mile tunnel, the government said in a statement.
Work on it will begin next month and more details on the project will be made available in the coming days, officials said.
Kosovo, a U.N.-run province in Serbia, is important to Albania because most of the tourists visiting the western Balkan country are ethnic Albanians from Kosovo and Macedonia as well as expatriate Albanians returning from other parts of Europe.
The portion of the highway being built by Bechtel is part of a larger 105-mile highway to Kosovo.
The completed highway will run from the port city of Durres -- 20 miles west of the capital Tirana -- to the town of Kukes, 125 miles northeast of Tirana, and then to the Morina border crossing point.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha made it a priority of his government, whose mandate is up in 2009, to construct a new and shorter road linking Albania to Kosovo. Albania, one of Europe's poorest countries, has hopes of one day joining the European Union and NATO.
The new road will be about nearly 30 miles shorter than existing roads and it will shorten travel time, which can now take up to six hours, to two hours.
The current road, which has only two lanes, is full of potholes and winding turns, making it virtually impossible to drive at speeds faster than 25 mph on average.
The new road will be funded from the domestic budget but also with loans from international financial institutions, officials said.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Serbia headed for crunch election in December
BELGRADE, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Signs multiplied on Wednesday that Serbia will hold a snap general election before Christmas, with Serbs facing hard questions about handing over a war crimes suspect and the possible loss of their Kosovo province.
There has been no official announcement. But in parliament, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's ruling party coyly advanced the "emergency selection" of an electoral commission as "preparation for expected forthcoming activity".
"It's obvious an election is being prepared. They're mobilising," said analyst Zoran Lutovac. Political sources said it would be on Dec. 17 or 24. Whatever the date, it promises to be a tight race between reformists and ultranationalists.
"I think December is possible. But let's wait a few more days to get an exact date," reformist President Boris Tadic told Reuters.
Serbia is transfixed by two crucial issues dividing a people still partly under the sway of post-war nationalism.
They are whether to hand over war crimes fugitive General Ratko Mladic to the Hague tribunal and whether to strongly oppose or reluctantly accept an expected United Nations decision to grant a form of conditional independence to Kosovo province.
The ultranationalist Radical Party, Serbia's most powerful with 35 percent support, says it is treason to hand over Mladic or concede Kosovo. The two main pro-Western parties, rivals commanding a potential 37 percent if they teamed up, favour arresting the general, but oppose any amputation of Kosovo.
The EU says Serbia cannot hope to advance towards its goal of membership unless Mladic is handed over for trial.
The U.N. and major powers are sympathetic to demands from Kosovo's 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority to be free of Serbia, after a 1998-99 war in which they lost 10,000 people to Serb forces.
TWO BULLETS TO BITE
Nearly half of Serbs polled oppose handing over Mladic, the Bosnian Serb Army commander charged with overseeing the 1995 slaughter of some 8,000 Bosnian Muslim captives at Srebrenica and the ruthless 43-month siege of Sarajevo.
A majority also opposes the independence of Kosovo, the "cradle of Serbdom". But polls suggest many ordinary voters realise it is as good as lost, whatever the politicians say.
Fearing accusations of a national sellout, the two big pro-Western parties have tip-toed around the issues, wrapping them in obfuscation with "hints and nods and subtext" as one Western diplomat put it this week. But time is running out.
To ensure they do not carry the blame for an imposed Kosovo decision, they have drafted a new constitution saying Kosovo is part of Serbia, expected to go to referendum next month.
But Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica may be heading a caretaker government by then, because his key coalition partner, the liberal G17 Plus party, plans to quit government by Sunday if EU talks with Serbia do not resume.
That hinges on U.N. war crimes tribunal chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte's report to the EU on Friday on Serbia's efforts to catch Mladic, in hiding for 4 years.
If she is negative and the EU says talks with Belgrade must remain frozen, a G17 walkout will bring down the government, triggering an election.
Once the heart of federal Yugoslavia, Serbia now stands alone after 15 years of disintegration in war and disaffection.
Montenegro, its partner in language, culture and religion, chose independence in May and started EU talks this week.
A U.S. envoy this week said it was the "cheap alcohol" of nationalism that had poisoned Serbia, leaving a hangover of "unjustified grievance and self-pitying aggression".
Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried was a diplomat here 20 years ago. Were it not for nationalism, he said, Yugoslavia would already be an EU member.
Fried said Serbs now face a moment of choice "and I believe this time they will pick another horse".
(Additional reporting by Gordana Filipovic and Beti Bilandzic)
There has been no official announcement. But in parliament, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's ruling party coyly advanced the "emergency selection" of an electoral commission as "preparation for expected forthcoming activity".
"It's obvious an election is being prepared. They're mobilising," said analyst Zoran Lutovac. Political sources said it would be on Dec. 17 or 24. Whatever the date, it promises to be a tight race between reformists and ultranationalists.
"I think December is possible. But let's wait a few more days to get an exact date," reformist President Boris Tadic told Reuters.
Serbia is transfixed by two crucial issues dividing a people still partly under the sway of post-war nationalism.
They are whether to hand over war crimes fugitive General Ratko Mladic to the Hague tribunal and whether to strongly oppose or reluctantly accept an expected United Nations decision to grant a form of conditional independence to Kosovo province.
The ultranationalist Radical Party, Serbia's most powerful with 35 percent support, says it is treason to hand over Mladic or concede Kosovo. The two main pro-Western parties, rivals commanding a potential 37 percent if they teamed up, favour arresting the general, but oppose any amputation of Kosovo.
The EU says Serbia cannot hope to advance towards its goal of membership unless Mladic is handed over for trial.
The U.N. and major powers are sympathetic to demands from Kosovo's 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority to be free of Serbia, after a 1998-99 war in which they lost 10,000 people to Serb forces.
TWO BULLETS TO BITE
Nearly half of Serbs polled oppose handing over Mladic, the Bosnian Serb Army commander charged with overseeing the 1995 slaughter of some 8,000 Bosnian Muslim captives at Srebrenica and the ruthless 43-month siege of Sarajevo.
A majority also opposes the independence of Kosovo, the "cradle of Serbdom". But polls suggest many ordinary voters realise it is as good as lost, whatever the politicians say.
Fearing accusations of a national sellout, the two big pro-Western parties have tip-toed around the issues, wrapping them in obfuscation with "hints and nods and subtext" as one Western diplomat put it this week. But time is running out.
To ensure they do not carry the blame for an imposed Kosovo decision, they have drafted a new constitution saying Kosovo is part of Serbia, expected to go to referendum next month.
But Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica may be heading a caretaker government by then, because his key coalition partner, the liberal G17 Plus party, plans to quit government by Sunday if EU talks with Serbia do not resume.
That hinges on U.N. war crimes tribunal chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte's report to the EU on Friday on Serbia's efforts to catch Mladic, in hiding for 4 years.
If she is negative and the EU says talks with Belgrade must remain frozen, a G17 walkout will bring down the government, triggering an election.
Once the heart of federal Yugoslavia, Serbia now stands alone after 15 years of disintegration in war and disaffection.
Montenegro, its partner in language, culture and religion, chose independence in May and started EU talks this week.
A U.S. envoy this week said it was the "cheap alcohol" of nationalism that had poisoned Serbia, leaving a hangover of "unjustified grievance and self-pitying aggression".
Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried was a diplomat here 20 years ago. Were it not for nationalism, he said, Yugoslavia would already be an EU member.
Fried said Serbs now face a moment of choice "and I believe this time they will pick another horse".
(Additional reporting by Gordana Filipovic and Beti Bilandzic)
U.S. says Kosovo unstable, needs clarity this year
PRISTINA, Serbia, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo is not stable and its future must be resolved this year, a United States envoy said on Wednesday.
"We must move ahead now," U.S. Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried told reporters in the provincial capital Pristina.
"... the present situation is not inherently stable," he said after meeting leaders of Kosovo's pro-independence ethnic Albanian majority.
The comments reflect concern in the West that delaying a decision into next year on whether to grant the United Nations-run province independence risks fresh violence, a fear underlined in late summer by hand grenade attacks on Serbs.
"We hope to have a negotiated settlement this year," he said. "The people of Kosovo deserve greater clarity and as we approach the end of the year I suspect they will get greater clarity," Fried added.
Russia, Serbia's traditional ally in the U.N. Security Council, has cautioned against "artificial deadlines" -- insisting Serbia and Kosovo's Albanians be given time to reach a negotiated settlement in talks that began in February.
Washington and the major European powers are pushing for a decision this year. They instructed U.N. mediator Martti Ahtisaari last week to draw up his proposal, which Western officials say could be submitted to both sides by November.
Diplomats say independence is the likely outcome, but will almost certainly be rejected by Serbia.
The territory of 2 million people -- 90 percent of whom are Albanians -- has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombed for 78 days to drive out Serb forces accused of ethnic cleansing in a two-year counter-insurgency war.
In the Serbian capital Belgrade on Tuesday, Fried said Serb leaders had not lobbied Washington for a delay. Reports say Belgrade fears a Kosovo body-blow would drive voters into the arms of ultranationalists in elections that appear imminent.
At a news conference on Wednesday with Fried, the political director of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Michael Scheffer, said the status solution "needs to be a solution that reflects the will of the Kosovo people ... but does not humiliate anyone in particular".
Rich in Serb Orthodox Christian heritage and still home to 100,000 Serbs, Kosovo holds almost mythic status for many Serbs.
The diplomats warned that violence would be "detrimental" and urged tolerance towards Serbs, a ghettoised minority.
"National triumphalism in the Balkans has had its day, and it was a miserable day," said Fried.
Fried visits the mainly Serb north on Thursday, where there are signs of resistance and talk of secession as a decision nears. The north already functions as a parallel system propped up by Belgrade. (Additional reporting by Shaban Buza)
"We must move ahead now," U.S. Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried told reporters in the provincial capital Pristina.
"... the present situation is not inherently stable," he said after meeting leaders of Kosovo's pro-independence ethnic Albanian majority.
The comments reflect concern in the West that delaying a decision into next year on whether to grant the United Nations-run province independence risks fresh violence, a fear underlined in late summer by hand grenade attacks on Serbs.
"We hope to have a negotiated settlement this year," he said. "The people of Kosovo deserve greater clarity and as we approach the end of the year I suspect they will get greater clarity," Fried added.
Russia, Serbia's traditional ally in the U.N. Security Council, has cautioned against "artificial deadlines" -- insisting Serbia and Kosovo's Albanians be given time to reach a negotiated settlement in talks that began in February.
Washington and the major European powers are pushing for a decision this year. They instructed U.N. mediator Martti Ahtisaari last week to draw up his proposal, which Western officials say could be submitted to both sides by November.
Diplomats say independence is the likely outcome, but will almost certainly be rejected by Serbia.
The territory of 2 million people -- 90 percent of whom are Albanians -- has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombed for 78 days to drive out Serb forces accused of ethnic cleansing in a two-year counter-insurgency war.
In the Serbian capital Belgrade on Tuesday, Fried said Serb leaders had not lobbied Washington for a delay. Reports say Belgrade fears a Kosovo body-blow would drive voters into the arms of ultranationalists in elections that appear imminent.
At a news conference on Wednesday with Fried, the political director of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Michael Scheffer, said the status solution "needs to be a solution that reflects the will of the Kosovo people ... but does not humiliate anyone in particular".
Rich in Serb Orthodox Christian heritage and still home to 100,000 Serbs, Kosovo holds almost mythic status for many Serbs.
The diplomats warned that violence would be "detrimental" and urged tolerance towards Serbs, a ghettoised minority.
"National triumphalism in the Balkans has had its day, and it was a miserable day," said Fried.
Fried visits the mainly Serb north on Thursday, where there are signs of resistance and talk of secession as a decision nears. The north already functions as a parallel system propped up by Belgrade. (Additional reporting by Shaban Buza)
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Gratitude, Discussions to Highlight Rumsfeld's Albania Visit
September 26, 2006 03:33 PM EST
By John D. Banusiewicz
American Forces Press Service
TIRANA, Albania, Sept. 26, 2006 – Albanian soldiers will remain in Iraq until the job is done, the country's defense minister promised Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld here today.
With plans to thank Albanian leaders for their support in the global war on terror and to meet with defense ministers from southeastern European nations, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld arrived here this afternoon after a brief visit to Montenegro.
"Let me declare here, Mr. Secretary, that the Albanian armed forces will stay on the side of the American armed forces in Iraq until the mission will be over," Albanian Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu said at a ceremony honoring Albanian troops and their families. "We want to be real partners of the American armed forces."
Contingents of Albanian commandos serve in six-month rotations in Mosul, Iraq, as part of the multinational force.
Despite being one of Europe's poorest nations, Albania has supported the global war on terror. Pentagon Press Secretary Eric Ruff told reporters traveling with Rumsfeld that an expression of gratitude to Albania's leaders was most assuredly on the defense secretary's agenda here.
"We very much appreciate the fact that the Albanians already have forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the secretary will certainly be expressing his thanks about that," he said.
At today's ceremony, Rumsfeld said the United States values its partnership with Albania. "And we are certainly equally grateful to the troops who serve in Iraq and help to defend freedom," he added.
Rumsfeld noted that the question is always present as to why young men and women should serve far from home. "I've been asked that question in many countries," the secretary said, pointing out that 42 nations participate in the coalition in Afghanistan and 34 countries are part of the effort in Iraq. "They've all sent their finest to help in the war against terrorism," he said.
Rumsfeld recalled being asked by a journalist in South Korea "who clearly was too young to remember the Korean War" why her nation's young people should go all the way across the world to Iraq and Afghanistan and risk their lives.
"I pointed out to her that unless many young men and women 50 years ago had been willing to go all the way across the world to Korea and help defend freedom there, she would not be free today," the secretary said.
Addressing the Albanian servicemembers in attendance, Rumsfeld said they would look back years from now and be proud of what they and their country did in the war on terror.
He also addressed their families directly, including three young girls in their school uniforms. "Families also sacrifice," he said. "And I know that the minister knows it; I know it; the people in government know it; and you are appreciated for the sacrifices that you make."
Rumsfeld capped the ceremony by presenting a Global War on Terrorism Medallion to the Albanian armed forces, represented by Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Pellumb Quazimi.
After the ceremony, Rumsfeld met with Albania's president, prime minister and defense minister. Tomorrow, Rumsfeld will hold individual and collective meetings as part of the 11th Southeastern European Defense Ministerial conference, a gathering in which he's participated twice before.
The SEDM meetings will give participating nations a chance to continue ongoing discussions about strategic partnerships and various issues involving NATO and NATO involvement, Ruff said.
In a pre-trip briefing in Washington last week, a senior defense official said the next steps for Balkan integration into the European community will be on the agenda, as well as discussions reviewing the deployment earlier this year to Afghanistan of the "SEEBRIG" - a seven nation Southeastern European Brigade made up of troops from the seven SEDM nations: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Romania and Turkey.
Albania is working toward greater Euro-Atlantic integration and full membership in NATO and the European Union. In March 2004, Albania and the United States signed a supplementary agreement to the Partnership for Peace status of forces agreement, which defines the status of American military troops in Albania.
Albanian troops are part of the international stabilization forces in Iraq and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Albania was one of only four nations to contribute troops to the combat phase of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and it provides logistical assistance to Kosovo Force troops.
By John D. Banusiewicz
American Forces Press Service
TIRANA, Albania, Sept. 26, 2006 – Albanian soldiers will remain in Iraq until the job is done, the country's defense minister promised Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld here today.
With plans to thank Albanian leaders for their support in the global war on terror and to meet with defense ministers from southeastern European nations, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld arrived here this afternoon after a brief visit to Montenegro.
"Let me declare here, Mr. Secretary, that the Albanian armed forces will stay on the side of the American armed forces in Iraq until the mission will be over," Albanian Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu said at a ceremony honoring Albanian troops and their families. "We want to be real partners of the American armed forces."
Contingents of Albanian commandos serve in six-month rotations in Mosul, Iraq, as part of the multinational force.
Despite being one of Europe's poorest nations, Albania has supported the global war on terror. Pentagon Press Secretary Eric Ruff told reporters traveling with Rumsfeld that an expression of gratitude to Albania's leaders was most assuredly on the defense secretary's agenda here.
"We very much appreciate the fact that the Albanians already have forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the secretary will certainly be expressing his thanks about that," he said.
At today's ceremony, Rumsfeld said the United States values its partnership with Albania. "And we are certainly equally grateful to the troops who serve in Iraq and help to defend freedom," he added.
Rumsfeld noted that the question is always present as to why young men and women should serve far from home. "I've been asked that question in many countries," the secretary said, pointing out that 42 nations participate in the coalition in Afghanistan and 34 countries are part of the effort in Iraq. "They've all sent their finest to help in the war against terrorism," he said.
Rumsfeld recalled being asked by a journalist in South Korea "who clearly was too young to remember the Korean War" why her nation's young people should go all the way across the world to Iraq and Afghanistan and risk their lives.
"I pointed out to her that unless many young men and women 50 years ago had been willing to go all the way across the world to Korea and help defend freedom there, she would not be free today," the secretary said.
Addressing the Albanian servicemembers in attendance, Rumsfeld said they would look back years from now and be proud of what they and their country did in the war on terror.
He also addressed their families directly, including three young girls in their school uniforms. "Families also sacrifice," he said. "And I know that the minister knows it; I know it; the people in government know it; and you are appreciated for the sacrifices that you make."
Rumsfeld capped the ceremony by presenting a Global War on Terrorism Medallion to the Albanian armed forces, represented by Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Pellumb Quazimi.
After the ceremony, Rumsfeld met with Albania's president, prime minister and defense minister. Tomorrow, Rumsfeld will hold individual and collective meetings as part of the 11th Southeastern European Defense Ministerial conference, a gathering in which he's participated twice before.
The SEDM meetings will give participating nations a chance to continue ongoing discussions about strategic partnerships and various issues involving NATO and NATO involvement, Ruff said.
In a pre-trip briefing in Washington last week, a senior defense official said the next steps for Balkan integration into the European community will be on the agenda, as well as discussions reviewing the deployment earlier this year to Afghanistan of the "SEEBRIG" - a seven nation Southeastern European Brigade made up of troops from the seven SEDM nations: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Romania and Turkey.
Albania is working toward greater Euro-Atlantic integration and full membership in NATO and the European Union. In March 2004, Albania and the United States signed a supplementary agreement to the Partnership for Peace status of forces agreement, which defines the status of American military troops in Albania.
Albanian troops are part of the international stabilization forces in Iraq and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Albania was one of only four nations to contribute troops to the combat phase of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and it provides logistical assistance to Kosovo Force troops.
War crimes judges to rule in genocide trial of former top Bosnian Serb politician
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - With Slobodan Milosevic dead and former Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic on the run, the U.N. Yugoslav tribunal in The Hague is preparing to deliver its verdict on the highest-ranking remaining former politician awaiting judgment for alleged genocide in Bosnia.
The court will rule on Wednesday in the case of Momcilio Krajisnik, who was speaker of parliament in the breakaway Bosnian Serb Republic during the 1991-1995 Bosnian war, which left more than 200,000 dead on all sides.
Krajisnik, 61, has pleaded not guilty to eight charges, including genocide and plotting to commit genocide by "cleansing" parts of Bosnia of Muslims and Croats to create an ethnically pure "greater Serbia" together with Serbian President Milosevic, Karadzic, and others.
Prosecutors demanded a life sentence for Krajisnik, who they said was one of a troika of Bosnian Serb leaders bearing primary political responsibility for atrocities carried out by their troops from July 1991-December 1992, including civilian slaughters, and murder, torture and rape of detainees. The defense sought acquittal.
The third member of the Bosnian Serb Republic's wartime presidency, Vice President Biljana Plavsic, is serving an 11-year sentence after pleading guilty in a deal with prosecutors.
Plavsic was brought from her Swedish prison cell to testify reluctantly against Krajisnik.
"He was a very powerful man," she told judges in July. "I think in certain matters he even dominated the president of the republic, Karadzic."
Krajisnik testified in his own defense for weeks, arguing that he knew little or nothing of what was happening in Serb-controlled areas of Bosnia.
Milosevic died of a heart attack in March during his trial, leaving historians to decide whether he was pulling the strings from neighboring Serbia during the war, as prosecutors alleged.
The U.N. tribunal is gradually winding down operations, with its final trial to begin by 2008 -- though it says it will always be ready to reopen if Karadzic or the Bosnian Serb general, Ratko Mladic, are arrested.
Mladic is accused of overseeing the killing of more than 7,000 Muslim boys and men at Srebrenica, Bosnia, in July 2005, Europe's worst civilian massacre since World War II. A fugitive, he is believed to live in Serbia.
"I did not take part in the selection of Mr. Mladic in the least," Krajisnik told the three-judge panel hearing his case.
Krajisnik's defense lawyers argued he was a small cog in the machinery of the Bosnian Serb mini-state who was not closely aligned to Karadzic, sought peace early in the conflict and did not advocate targeting people based on their ethnicity.
Before full-scale war broke out in Bosnia, Krajisnik "was genuine, sincere, active and energetic in his pursuit of the peaceful solution," Nicholas Stewart said.
"He knew if there was a war a lot of people would be killed," he said. "There is not the slightest indication Mr. Krajisnik wanted anybody to be killed because of what they were ... or who they were."
Krajisnik's trial began in February 2004.
"Each count of the indictment individually, if found to be true, merits the highest possible sentence," prosecutor Alan Tieger said during sentencing demands.
The Yugoslav tribunal has sentenced only one defendant to life imprisonment: former Bosnian Serb politician Milomir Stakic. But an appeals court later changed his term to 40 years -- a sentence that could end up longer than "life" because it eliminated the possibility of a review after 20 years.
A group of Milosevic's top subordinates in Serbia, including former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic, are on trial at the tribunal for alleged crimes in the Kosovo war of 1999.
The court will rule on Wednesday in the case of Momcilio Krajisnik, who was speaker of parliament in the breakaway Bosnian Serb Republic during the 1991-1995 Bosnian war, which left more than 200,000 dead on all sides.
Krajisnik, 61, has pleaded not guilty to eight charges, including genocide and plotting to commit genocide by "cleansing" parts of Bosnia of Muslims and Croats to create an ethnically pure "greater Serbia" together with Serbian President Milosevic, Karadzic, and others.
Prosecutors demanded a life sentence for Krajisnik, who they said was one of a troika of Bosnian Serb leaders bearing primary political responsibility for atrocities carried out by their troops from July 1991-December 1992, including civilian slaughters, and murder, torture and rape of detainees. The defense sought acquittal.
The third member of the Bosnian Serb Republic's wartime presidency, Vice President Biljana Plavsic, is serving an 11-year sentence after pleading guilty in a deal with prosecutors.
Plavsic was brought from her Swedish prison cell to testify reluctantly against Krajisnik.
"He was a very powerful man," she told judges in July. "I think in certain matters he even dominated the president of the republic, Karadzic."
Krajisnik testified in his own defense for weeks, arguing that he knew little or nothing of what was happening in Serb-controlled areas of Bosnia.
Milosevic died of a heart attack in March during his trial, leaving historians to decide whether he was pulling the strings from neighboring Serbia during the war, as prosecutors alleged.
The U.N. tribunal is gradually winding down operations, with its final trial to begin by 2008 -- though it says it will always be ready to reopen if Karadzic or the Bosnian Serb general, Ratko Mladic, are arrested.
Mladic is accused of overseeing the killing of more than 7,000 Muslim boys and men at Srebrenica, Bosnia, in July 2005, Europe's worst civilian massacre since World War II. A fugitive, he is believed to live in Serbia.
"I did not take part in the selection of Mr. Mladic in the least," Krajisnik told the three-judge panel hearing his case.
Krajisnik's defense lawyers argued he was a small cog in the machinery of the Bosnian Serb mini-state who was not closely aligned to Karadzic, sought peace early in the conflict and did not advocate targeting people based on their ethnicity.
Before full-scale war broke out in Bosnia, Krajisnik "was genuine, sincere, active and energetic in his pursuit of the peaceful solution," Nicholas Stewart said.
"He knew if there was a war a lot of people would be killed," he said. "There is not the slightest indication Mr. Krajisnik wanted anybody to be killed because of what they were ... or who they were."
Krajisnik's trial began in February 2004.
"Each count of the indictment individually, if found to be true, merits the highest possible sentence," prosecutor Alan Tieger said during sentencing demands.
The Yugoslav tribunal has sentenced only one defendant to life imprisonment: former Bosnian Serb politician Milomir Stakic. But an appeals court later changed his term to 40 years -- a sentence that could end up longer than "life" because it eliminated the possibility of a review after 20 years.
A group of Milosevic's top subordinates in Serbia, including former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic, are on trial at the tribunal for alleged crimes in the Kosovo war of 1999.
U.S. diplomat urges negotiated solution for Kosovo by end of 2006
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) - The United States supports a final solution for Serbia's breakaway province of Kosovo by the end of this year, a senior U.S. diplomat said Tuesday, rejecting Serbian demands for more time to negotiate.
U.N.-mediated talks, which began in February, have stalled with both sides unwilling to compromise on their demands. Kosovo's leadership has demanded independence, while Serbia insists the province remain within its territory.
Though the United Nations wants to settle Kosovo's status by the end of the year, Serbian officials repeatedly have said no "artificial" deadlines should be set for Kosovo's final status.
"I have yet to hear any argument which demonstrates a delay would bring anything at all," said Daniel Fried, U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs.
"Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since 1999. We cannot go back. The status quo is inherently unstable," Fried told reporters. "We should strive for a negotiated settlement this year."
Kosovo -- where independence-seeking ethnic Albanians comprise 90 percent of the 2 million people -- has been an international protectorate since 1999, when NATO bombing forced Serbia to stop its crackdown on the province's ethnic Albanian separatists and handed over authority there to a U.N. mission and the alliance.
Fried also rejected Serbian officials' claims that independence for Kosovo would be set dangerous international precedent and trigger other secessionist movements in the Balkans and elsewhere in Europe.
"Kosovo is not a precedent for anything," Fried said. "Its situation is unique, the solution whatever it is will be unique.
"I don't know what a decision on Kosovo will be, but it will not be a return to the past," Fried said.
While formally still part of Serbia, Kosovo could become an independent state if the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia and Italy -- which are overseeing the U.N.-led talks -- agree to redraw Serbia's borders and accept the Kosovo leadership's demand for sovereignty.
Any decision by the so-called Contact Group on Kosovo's future status must be approved by the U.N. Security Council. While the Western states have appeared to be inclined to grant independence, Serbian ally Russia has hinted it may use its veto power in the council to block a decision.
Fried also urged Serbia to arrest war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic -- a precondition set by the European Union for the continuation of its pre-membership talks with the bloc.
"Mladic is an indicted war criminal and a coward who has been hiding behind the Serbian flag, which has a more noble history than that," Fried said. The wartime Bosnian Serb army commander was indicted in 1995 for genocide by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.
U.N.-mediated talks, which began in February, have stalled with both sides unwilling to compromise on their demands. Kosovo's leadership has demanded independence, while Serbia insists the province remain within its territory.
Though the United Nations wants to settle Kosovo's status by the end of the year, Serbian officials repeatedly have said no "artificial" deadlines should be set for Kosovo's final status.
"I have yet to hear any argument which demonstrates a delay would bring anything at all," said Daniel Fried, U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs.
"Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since 1999. We cannot go back. The status quo is inherently unstable," Fried told reporters. "We should strive for a negotiated settlement this year."
Kosovo -- where independence-seeking ethnic Albanians comprise 90 percent of the 2 million people -- has been an international protectorate since 1999, when NATO bombing forced Serbia to stop its crackdown on the province's ethnic Albanian separatists and handed over authority there to a U.N. mission and the alliance.
Fried also rejected Serbian officials' claims that independence for Kosovo would be set dangerous international precedent and trigger other secessionist movements in the Balkans and elsewhere in Europe.
"Kosovo is not a precedent for anything," Fried said. "Its situation is unique, the solution whatever it is will be unique.
"I don't know what a decision on Kosovo will be, but it will not be a return to the past," Fried said.
While formally still part of Serbia, Kosovo could become an independent state if the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia and Italy -- which are overseeing the U.N.-led talks -- agree to redraw Serbia's borders and accept the Kosovo leadership's demand for sovereignty.
Any decision by the so-called Contact Group on Kosovo's future status must be approved by the U.N. Security Council. While the Western states have appeared to be inclined to grant independence, Serbian ally Russia has hinted it may use its veto power in the council to block a decision.
Fried also urged Serbia to arrest war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic -- a precondition set by the European Union for the continuation of its pre-membership talks with the bloc.
"Mladic is an indicted war criminal and a coward who has been hiding behind the Serbian flag, which has a more noble history than that," Fried said. The wartime Bosnian Serb army commander was indicted in 1995 for genocide by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Senior U.S. diplomat visits Serbia
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) - A senior U.S. diplomat met with Serbian officials Monday, discussing bilateral relations, war crimes issues and the country's troubled southern province of Kosovo.
Daniel Fried, U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, met first with President Boris Tadic, who expressed gratitude for U.S. support for Serbia's efforts to join NATO and the European Union.
Serbia's ambitions, however, remain blocked until it captures and extradites war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic, a former Serb commander sought by the Netherlands-based U.N. war crimes court for atrocities committed during the Bosnian war.
Tadic acknowledged that it is "Serbia's obligation, as well as a very important issue for our society" to cooperate with the U.N. tribunal.
Fried also met with Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who reiterated Serbia's rejection of the possible secession of Kosovo, the southern province where ethnic Albanians demand independence.
The United Nations hopes to resolve Kosovo's status by the end of the year, but talks have stalled with both sides unwilling to compromise on their demands.
Kosovo has been a U.N. protectorate since 1999 when NATO air raids forced Serbia to halt its crackdown on the separatists and pull its troops out.
"Kosovo has always been and will remain part of Serbia," Kostunica stressed in a statement. He reiterated Belgrade's proposal that Kosovo enjoy self-rule and broad autonomy, without a change of borders.
"It is necessary to respect international law, particularly the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity" of countries, Kostunica added.
He described Serbia's trade relations with the United States as "very good, with great possibilities for further improvement."
Fried is expected to visit Kosovo after Belgrade.
Daniel Fried, U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, met first with President Boris Tadic, who expressed gratitude for U.S. support for Serbia's efforts to join NATO and the European Union.
Serbia's ambitions, however, remain blocked until it captures and extradites war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic, a former Serb commander sought by the Netherlands-based U.N. war crimes court for atrocities committed during the Bosnian war.
Tadic acknowledged that it is "Serbia's obligation, as well as a very important issue for our society" to cooperate with the U.N. tribunal.
Fried also met with Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who reiterated Serbia's rejection of the possible secession of Kosovo, the southern province where ethnic Albanians demand independence.
The United Nations hopes to resolve Kosovo's status by the end of the year, but talks have stalled with both sides unwilling to compromise on their demands.
Kosovo has been a U.N. protectorate since 1999 when NATO air raids forced Serbia to halt its crackdown on the separatists and pull its troops out.
"Kosovo has always been and will remain part of Serbia," Kostunica stressed in a statement. He reiterated Belgrade's proposal that Kosovo enjoy self-rule and broad autonomy, without a change of borders.
"It is necessary to respect international law, particularly the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity" of countries, Kostunica added.
He described Serbia's trade relations with the United States as "very good, with great possibilities for further improvement."
Fried is expected to visit Kosovo after Belgrade.
Singer James Blunt to perform for Kosovo peacekeepers
PRISTINA, Serbia (AP) - British chart-topper James Blunt, who once served as a peacekeeper in Kosovo, was to perform Monday night for British troops stationed in the province, a British diplomat said.
Blunt will sing at the "Slim Lines" base for some 200 British troops serving in the 16,000-strong NATO-led peacekeeping mission, known as KFOR, said diplomat Brian Jones in the provincial capital, Pristina.
Blunt served with KFOR soon after Kosovo came under U.N. and NATO control in 1999, when some 4,000 British soldiers were sent in as Serb troops left after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign.
The singer, in Kosovo through the British Forces Foundation entertainment charity, shot to fame with the international chart-topper "You're Beautiful" from his debut album "Back to Bedlam."
Tensions between majority ethnic Albanians and minority Serbs persist in the province, amid talks to determine whether Kosovo will become independent or remain part of Serbia.
Blunt will sing at the "Slim Lines" base for some 200 British troops serving in the 16,000-strong NATO-led peacekeeping mission, known as KFOR, said diplomat Brian Jones in the provincial capital, Pristina.
Blunt served with KFOR soon after Kosovo came under U.N. and NATO control in 1999, when some 4,000 British soldiers were sent in as Serb troops left after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign.
The singer, in Kosovo through the British Forces Foundation entertainment charity, shot to fame with the international chart-topper "You're Beautiful" from his debut album "Back to Bedlam."
Tensions between majority ethnic Albanians and minority Serbs persist in the province, amid talks to determine whether Kosovo will become independent or remain part of Serbia.
Albanian PM says Serbia's opposition to an independent Kosovo not realistic
TIRANA, Sept 25 (Hina) - Albanian President Sali Berisha has assessed that Serbia's refusal to accept plans for defining Kosovo as an independent state is not realistic and therefore the international community will perhaps have to impose the solution for Kosovo's final status.
"I hold that Serbia still has an unrealistic attitude towards the status of Kosovo, however, the lack of reality should not be a barrier for defining the final solution," the Albanian premier told reporters in Tirana on Sunday.
He said that it would be desirable that the two sides reach a consensus. However, he added, "in the last 150 years of the Balkan history, all agreements were imposed."
According to him, Albania believes that the defining of Kosovo's status and its independence are of vital importance for peace and stability in the Balkans.
Kosovo, which is formally a part of Serbia, is now under UN administration which was established after the 1999 NATO air strikes against Serbian forces that used to persecute local Albanians during the Slobodan Milosevic autocratic rule. Kosovo Albanians, who account for 88 percent of province's population, insist on its independence. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica believes that Kosovo Albanians' plans can be thwarted with the adoption of a new Serbian constitution stipulating that Kosovo belongs to Serbia, which is why talks between Serbian parliamentary parties on the text of a news constitution are being intensified.
"I hold that Serbia still has an unrealistic attitude towards the status of Kosovo, however, the lack of reality should not be a barrier for defining the final solution," the Albanian premier told reporters in Tirana on Sunday.
He said that it would be desirable that the two sides reach a consensus. However, he added, "in the last 150 years of the Balkan history, all agreements were imposed."
According to him, Albania believes that the defining of Kosovo's status and its independence are of vital importance for peace and stability in the Balkans.
Kosovo, which is formally a part of Serbia, is now under UN administration which was established after the 1999 NATO air strikes against Serbian forces that used to persecute local Albanians during the Slobodan Milosevic autocratic rule. Kosovo Albanians, who account for 88 percent of province's population, insist on its independence. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica believes that Kosovo Albanians' plans can be thwarted with the adoption of a new Serbian constitution stipulating that Kosovo belongs to Serbia, which is why talks between Serbian parliamentary parties on the text of a news constitution are being intensified.
Slovak foreign minister says status quo in Kosovo is "impossible"
WASHINGTON (AP) - Slovak Foreign Minister Jan Kubis said Monday U.N.-sponsored talks on Kosovo must resolve the territory's future status because "the status quo is impossible."
Kubis, making his first visit here since his appointment, said the majority Kosovar Albanians must do all in their power to reach out to the Serb minority.
"There must be incentives for Serbs in Kosovo to stay there," he said, speaking at a forum sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
He said the Albanians must not merely meet the minimal expectations of the Serbs but instead acquiesce "to the top line of their expectations."
Kubis came here for official talks after attending the U.N.. General Assembly session in New York.
Kosovo is entering the final phase of U.N.-brokered talks that many believe will give it independence from Serbia. Former President Maarti Ahtisaari gave a briefing on the Vienna talks on Friday to the U.N. Security Council.
Serbian authorities in Belgrade are lobbying hard against independence for Kosovo. They warn that granting independence to the territory could trigger a wave of similar claims by nationalist groups in other countries of the region.
The United Nations has administered Kosovo since 1999. Albanians account for 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million population.
On another subject, Kubis said NATO should send a signal at its November summit in Riga of a willingness to extend expand its membership.
"We must not wait until 2008," Kubis said. Albania is among the possible candidates for membership.
Slovakia has troops in Iraq as part of the U.S.-led coalition. The troops will be withdrawn in the coming months but Kubis said his country will remain in Iraq as part of a NATO training program.
"We will remain staunch allies of the United States," he said.
Kubis, making his first visit here since his appointment, said the majority Kosovar Albanians must do all in their power to reach out to the Serb minority.
"There must be incentives for Serbs in Kosovo to stay there," he said, speaking at a forum sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
He said the Albanians must not merely meet the minimal expectations of the Serbs but instead acquiesce "to the top line of their expectations."
Kubis came here for official talks after attending the U.N.. General Assembly session in New York.
Kosovo is entering the final phase of U.N.-brokered talks that many believe will give it independence from Serbia. Former President Maarti Ahtisaari gave a briefing on the Vienna talks on Friday to the U.N. Security Council.
Serbian authorities in Belgrade are lobbying hard against independence for Kosovo. They warn that granting independence to the territory could trigger a wave of similar claims by nationalist groups in other countries of the region.
The United Nations has administered Kosovo since 1999. Albanians account for 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million population.
On another subject, Kubis said NATO should send a signal at its November summit in Riga of a willingness to extend expand its membership.
"We must not wait until 2008," Kubis said. Albania is among the possible candidates for membership.
Slovakia has troops in Iraq as part of the U.S.-led coalition. The troops will be withdrawn in the coming months but Kubis said his country will remain in Iraq as part of a NATO training program.
"We will remain staunch allies of the United States," he said.
UN reopens bridge that divides Kosovo's troubled town
PRISTINA, Serbia, Sept 25, 2006 (AFP) -
The main bridge over the river in the troubled northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica, shut a month ago after an outbreak of ethnic violence, was reopened Monday, United Nations officials said.
"The bridge was reopened at 07:00 am (0500 GMT). Unrestricted pedestrians and vehicle traffic are allowed to cross in both directions," Larry Miller, UN police spokesman for the Mitrovica region told AFP.
The bridge over the river Ibar was closed in late August when nine people, including two foreigners, were injured in a grenade attack at a Serb cafe near the bridge, which divides the ethnic Albanian south of the town from the Serb-controlled north.
Police increased security in the town and closed the bridge after the attack, fearing a renewed outbreak of ethnic clashes.
"Increased security measures involving KPS (local police) and international police officers remained in place to ensure the safe passage of all persons," Miller added.
Interethnic tension has remained high more than seven years after the end of the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo between Serbian forces and armed ethnic Albanian separatists.
The southern Serbian province has been under UN and NATO administration since June 1999.
The main bridge over the river in the troubled northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica, shut a month ago after an outbreak of ethnic violence, was reopened Monday, United Nations officials said.
"The bridge was reopened at 07:00 am (0500 GMT). Unrestricted pedestrians and vehicle traffic are allowed to cross in both directions," Larry Miller, UN police spokesman for the Mitrovica region told AFP.
The bridge over the river Ibar was closed in late August when nine people, including two foreigners, were injured in a grenade attack at a Serb cafe near the bridge, which divides the ethnic Albanian south of the town from the Serb-controlled north.
Police increased security in the town and closed the bridge after the attack, fearing a renewed outbreak of ethnic clashes.
"Increased security measures involving KPS (local police) and international police officers remained in place to ensure the safe passage of all persons," Miller added.
Interethnic tension has remained high more than seven years after the end of the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo between Serbian forces and armed ethnic Albanian separatists.
The southern Serbian province has been under UN and NATO administration since June 1999.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Albanian PM says Serbia's opposition to Kosovo independence is 'unrealistic'
TIRANA, Albania (AP) - Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha on Sunday called Serbia's opposition to Kosovo's independence unrealistic and suggested the international community may have to impose a solution to resolve the disputed province's status.
Kosovo is entering the final phase of U.N.-brokered talks that many believe will give it independence from Serbia.
Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people, are seeking independence. Serbs are willing to grant the province broad autonomy, but they see it as the heart of their ancient homeland and want it to remain a part of Serbian territory.
"I believe Belgrade continues to take an unrealistic stand on Kosovo's status but that lack of realism should not hamper the final solution," Berisha told a news conference.
He said a consensus between the two sides was preferable, but suggested the international community may have to impose a solution.
"In the Balkans' 150-year history all deals have been imposed. Let this (on Kosovo) be the last and the others be achieved with consensus and good understanding in a democratic Balkans, integrated into Europe," he said.
Albania has been the biggest supporter for Kosovo's independence, leading to frosty relations with Serbia. Tirana has, however, always said it has no territorial claims and does not intend to change its border.
"Albania considers the resolution of Kosovo's status, and this country's independence, as vital for Balkans' peace and stability, in accordance with the full guarantee of freedom and rights of Kosovo minorities and citizens," said Berisha.
The chief U.N. envoy for Kosovo Maarti Ahtisaari told the U.N. General Assembly last week that time was short on U.N.-brokered efforts to determine the province's future status but that he had no "fixed deadlines."
Ahtisaari is preparing to present to the U.S. Security Council his idea of what a future Kosovo should look like in response to a request by the six-nation Contact Group -- made up of the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Russia.
Kosovo is entering the final phase of U.N.-brokered talks that many believe will give it independence from Serbia.
Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people, are seeking independence. Serbs are willing to grant the province broad autonomy, but they see it as the heart of their ancient homeland and want it to remain a part of Serbian territory.
"I believe Belgrade continues to take an unrealistic stand on Kosovo's status but that lack of realism should not hamper the final solution," Berisha told a news conference.
He said a consensus between the two sides was preferable, but suggested the international community may have to impose a solution.
"In the Balkans' 150-year history all deals have been imposed. Let this (on Kosovo) be the last and the others be achieved with consensus and good understanding in a democratic Balkans, integrated into Europe," he said.
Albania has been the biggest supporter for Kosovo's independence, leading to frosty relations with Serbia. Tirana has, however, always said it has no territorial claims and does not intend to change its border.
"Albania considers the resolution of Kosovo's status, and this country's independence, as vital for Balkans' peace and stability, in accordance with the full guarantee of freedom and rights of Kosovo minorities and citizens," said Berisha.
The chief U.N. envoy for Kosovo Maarti Ahtisaari told the U.N. General Assembly last week that time was short on U.N.-brokered efforts to determine the province's future status but that he had no "fixed deadlines."
Ahtisaari is preparing to present to the U.S. Security Council his idea of what a future Kosovo should look like in response to a request by the six-nation Contact Group -- made up of the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Russia.
Serbia says UN negotiator in Kosovo talks is biased
BELGRADE, Sept 24, 2006 (AFP) -
The United Nations mediator chairing talks over the future status of Serb province of Kosovo should step down as he clearly backs Albanian separatist views on the issue, the Serb government said Sunday.
"It would be more honest of (Marti) Ahtisaari if he stepped down instead of seeing him openly, in front of the whole world, fall in line behind the Albanian speraratists," government spokesman Srdjan Djuric said of the UN special envoy for Kosovo and former Finnish president Marti Ahtisaari.
"We are entitled to ask ourselves whether or not Mr. Ahtisaari will organise, as his mandate stipulates, serious negotiations over the future of the province," Djuric told the Tanjug news agency.
Kosovo, sandwiched between Serbia, Albania and Macedonia, is nominally part of Serbia but it has been under United Nations administration since 1999.
The UN took over after a NATO-led bombing campaign against Serbia that was triggered by Belgrade's violent attempts to crack down on ethnic Albanian separatists in the region.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority, which makes up about 90 percent of the province, wants independence, but Belgrade and the minority Serb community insist the region is the cradle of Serb nationhood and cannot be given away.
Ahtisaari, who was named special envoy to the region late last year, has been trying to broker a long-term deal between Belgrade and Kosovo's ethnic Albanians since February but he has made little progress.
Djuric's comments came after foreign ministers from the so-called Contact Group -- Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States -- met with Ahtisaari at UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday.
At the talks, the ministers reaffirmed their goal of achieving a "status agreement" between Kosovars and Serbia by the end of the year and instructed Ahtisaari to draw up a status agreement proposal for presentation back to the ministerial group in four to six weeks time.
They also called on Belgrade "to cease its obstruction of Kosovo Serb participation in Kosovo's institutions".
Djurica heavily criticised the move to draw up a status agreement proposal, slamming what he saw as Ahtisaari's haste in wanting to propose a solution to the question.
"If Mr. Ahtisaari is in a great hurry and cannot find time to prepare seriously for negotiations, he needs to understand that Kosovo is a vital question for us, we are talking about our destiny and that is more important than one person's haste or agitation," the government spokesman said.
Djurica stressed Serbia would "reject all solutions that involve a modification of our borders" and he praised Russia for supporting Belgrade on this point.
"Russia's position, which clearly defends the principles of international law, is of the utmost importance for us," he said.
The United Nations mediator chairing talks over the future status of Serb province of Kosovo should step down as he clearly backs Albanian separatist views on the issue, the Serb government said Sunday.
"It would be more honest of (Marti) Ahtisaari if he stepped down instead of seeing him openly, in front of the whole world, fall in line behind the Albanian speraratists," government spokesman Srdjan Djuric said of the UN special envoy for Kosovo and former Finnish president Marti Ahtisaari.
"We are entitled to ask ourselves whether or not Mr. Ahtisaari will organise, as his mandate stipulates, serious negotiations over the future of the province," Djuric told the Tanjug news agency.
Kosovo, sandwiched between Serbia, Albania and Macedonia, is nominally part of Serbia but it has been under United Nations administration since 1999.
The UN took over after a NATO-led bombing campaign against Serbia that was triggered by Belgrade's violent attempts to crack down on ethnic Albanian separatists in the region.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority, which makes up about 90 percent of the province, wants independence, but Belgrade and the minority Serb community insist the region is the cradle of Serb nationhood and cannot be given away.
Ahtisaari, who was named special envoy to the region late last year, has been trying to broker a long-term deal between Belgrade and Kosovo's ethnic Albanians since February but he has made little progress.
Djuric's comments came after foreign ministers from the so-called Contact Group -- Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States -- met with Ahtisaari at UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday.
At the talks, the ministers reaffirmed their goal of achieving a "status agreement" between Kosovars and Serbia by the end of the year and instructed Ahtisaari to draw up a status agreement proposal for presentation back to the ministerial group in four to six weeks time.
They also called on Belgrade "to cease its obstruction of Kosovo Serb participation in Kosovo's institutions".
Djurica heavily criticised the move to draw up a status agreement proposal, slamming what he saw as Ahtisaari's haste in wanting to propose a solution to the question.
"If Mr. Ahtisaari is in a great hurry and cannot find time to prepare seriously for negotiations, he needs to understand that Kosovo is a vital question for us, we are talking about our destiny and that is more important than one person's haste or agitation," the government spokesman said.
Djurica stressed Serbia would "reject all solutions that involve a modification of our borders" and he praised Russia for supporting Belgrade on this point.
"Russia's position, which clearly defends the principles of international law, is of the utmost importance for us," he said.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
U.N. envoy says time short on Kosovo talks but offers no timeline
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The chief U.N. envoy for Kosovo said Friday that time was short on U.N.-brokered efforts to determine the province's future status but that he had no "fixed deadlines."
"We have a lot of work to do, and there's not that much time," former Finnish President Maarti Ahtisaari told reporters after he gave a closed briefing for the Security Council. "I would be very hesitant to say your exact dates."
Kosovo is entering the final phase of U.N.-brokered talks that many believe will give it independence from Serbia.
Ahtisaari is working to present to the council his idea of what a future Kosovo should look like. That work, he said, would "have to continue, and, therefore, there's nothing specific that I could put to anybody at the moment. We will have to discuss with the parties still."
He said withdrawal from the talks was unlikely. "Both sides have assured me that they will come," he said. "I don't expect them to pull out of the talks."
Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people, are seeking independence. While Serbs are willing to grant Kosovo broad autonomy, they see it as the heart of their ancient homeland and want it to remain a part of Serbian territory.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the U.N. General Assembly that "stability cannot be achieved if only the will of the majority population is expressed. Kosovo Serbs have to be guaranteed adequate minority protection."
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the people of the region "deserve to have their status resolved, and that's certainly the view that we'll be supporting."
"We have a lot of work to do, and there's not that much time," former Finnish President Maarti Ahtisaari told reporters after he gave a closed briefing for the Security Council. "I would be very hesitant to say your exact dates."
Kosovo is entering the final phase of U.N.-brokered talks that many believe will give it independence from Serbia.
Ahtisaari is working to present to the council his idea of what a future Kosovo should look like. That work, he said, would "have to continue, and, therefore, there's nothing specific that I could put to anybody at the moment. We will have to discuss with the parties still."
He said withdrawal from the talks was unlikely. "Both sides have assured me that they will come," he said. "I don't expect them to pull out of the talks."
Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people, are seeking independence. While Serbs are willing to grant Kosovo broad autonomy, they see it as the heart of their ancient homeland and want it to remain a part of Serbian territory.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the U.N. General Assembly that "stability cannot be achieved if only the will of the majority population is expressed. Kosovo Serbs have to be guaranteed adequate minority protection."
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the people of the region "deserve to have their status resolved, and that's certainly the view that we'll be supporting."
U.N. envoy dismisses fear of Kosovo precedent
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The U.N. envoy charged with proposing a solution to Kosovo's final status on Friday dismissed arguments that granting the breakaway Serbian province independence would set a dangerous precedent.
Martti Ahtisaari said after briefing the Security Council on talks he is conducting between Belgrade and Pristina, "We would be totally paralyzed if people would say, don't do this because it may have an effect on something else."
"This is a special case," the former Finnish president told reporters, arguing that Kosovo's history made it different from any other conflict in the Balkans or the Caucasus.
Major powers in a six-nation Contact Group overseeing Balkan diplomacy authorized Ahtisaari this week to propose a final status for Kosovo widely expected to lead to U.N.-imposed independence against Belgrade's will by the end of this year.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk warned Western nations that granting independence to Kosovo, whose population is 90 percent ethnic Albanian, could have a ripple effect from the Black Sea to the Caucasus.
"A lot of separatist regimes in the region are waiting for a solution of the Kosovo problem in order to undertake their action to separate," he said in a Reuters interview.
"Kosovo might be the precedent on which separatist regimes may take their decisions. This may undermine the efforts of the international community to bring settlements in Transdnestr, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh."
He was referring to so-called "frozen conflicts" in breakaway regions of the former Soviet republics of Moldova and Georgia, where minorities backed by Moscow are seeking to secede, as well as in Azerbaijan.
Kosovo has been in limbo under U.N. administration since 1999 when NATO waged an air war to drive Serbian forces out of the southern province to stop ethnic cleansing ordered by the late Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
FULL SPEED AHEAD
Ahtisaari said the solution to any of these conflicts would need the consent of the U.N. Security Council, where the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France have veto power.
"This precedent discussion is perhaps more political than anything else. It's a reminder that somebody may in the debates in the Council use those arguments. But I don't think it has more importance than that. Because otherwise it would prevent us from solving this," he added.
Leaders of the Bosnian Serb republic have suggested in campaigning for an Oct. 1 election they would see independence for Kosovo as legitimizing their own right to secede.
Western governments this week brushed aside Russian and Serbian pleas to slow the process and allow more time for talks, and decided to press ahead for a settlement this year.
Asked whether he feared that Serbia or the Kosovo Albanians might walk out of the talks, Ahtisaari said he did not think they would. "Both sides have assured me -- whenever I have called them, they have come," he said.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton told reporters, "We think it's important after seven years of uncertainty for Kosovo that the people of Kosovo and Serbia and the region deserve to have their status resolved."
Serbian President Boris Tadic, a pro-Western reformer, told the U.N. General Assembly this week that Belgrade had offered Kosovo greater autonomy than any other region in Europe.
But significantly he did not echo nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's insistence that Kosovo must remain forever Serbian.
Martti Ahtisaari said after briefing the Security Council on talks he is conducting between Belgrade and Pristina, "We would be totally paralyzed if people would say, don't do this because it may have an effect on something else."
"This is a special case," the former Finnish president told reporters, arguing that Kosovo's history made it different from any other conflict in the Balkans or the Caucasus.
Major powers in a six-nation Contact Group overseeing Balkan diplomacy authorized Ahtisaari this week to propose a final status for Kosovo widely expected to lead to U.N.-imposed independence against Belgrade's will by the end of this year.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk warned Western nations that granting independence to Kosovo, whose population is 90 percent ethnic Albanian, could have a ripple effect from the Black Sea to the Caucasus.
"A lot of separatist regimes in the region are waiting for a solution of the Kosovo problem in order to undertake their action to separate," he said in a Reuters interview.
"Kosovo might be the precedent on which separatist regimes may take their decisions. This may undermine the efforts of the international community to bring settlements in Transdnestr, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh."
He was referring to so-called "frozen conflicts" in breakaway regions of the former Soviet republics of Moldova and Georgia, where minorities backed by Moscow are seeking to secede, as well as in Azerbaijan.
Kosovo has been in limbo under U.N. administration since 1999 when NATO waged an air war to drive Serbian forces out of the southern province to stop ethnic cleansing ordered by the late Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
FULL SPEED AHEAD
Ahtisaari said the solution to any of these conflicts would need the consent of the U.N. Security Council, where the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France have veto power.
"This precedent discussion is perhaps more political than anything else. It's a reminder that somebody may in the debates in the Council use those arguments. But I don't think it has more importance than that. Because otherwise it would prevent us from solving this," he added.
Leaders of the Bosnian Serb republic have suggested in campaigning for an Oct. 1 election they would see independence for Kosovo as legitimizing their own right to secede.
Western governments this week brushed aside Russian and Serbian pleas to slow the process and allow more time for talks, and decided to press ahead for a settlement this year.
Asked whether he feared that Serbia or the Kosovo Albanians might walk out of the talks, Ahtisaari said he did not think they would. "Both sides have assured me -- whenever I have called them, they have come," he said.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton told reporters, "We think it's important after seven years of uncertainty for Kosovo that the people of Kosovo and Serbia and the region deserve to have their status resolved."
Serbian President Boris Tadic, a pro-Western reformer, told the U.N. General Assembly this week that Belgrade had offered Kosovo greater autonomy than any other region in Europe.
But significantly he did not echo nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's insistence that Kosovo must remain forever Serbian.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Kosovo hails contact group statement calling for solution on status by year end
PRISTINA, Serbia (AP) - Kosovo's government on Thursday praised the six nations in the contact group working to resolve the province's future status for saying they were still committed to achieving a negotiated settlement by the end of the year.
The contact group -- made up of the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Russia -- met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly gathering in New York on Wednesday. EU officials and other envoys also were present at the meeting. Kosovo ethnic Albanian and Serb representatives did not attend.
"Ministers reaffirmed their commitment that all possible efforts be made to achieve a negotiated settlement in the course of 2006," said a statement issued after the meeting, which also urged Serb and ethnic Albanian negotiators to respect the U.N. process and support chief U.N. envoy for Kosovo, former Finnish president Maarti Ahtisaari.
Ahtisaari is due to brief the U.N. Security Council on Friday.
Kosovo's government hailed "the contact group's ministers' statement, which is encouraging" both sides to reach an agreement on the province's status this year.
Kosovo's parliament, meanwhile, denounced a recent explosion that injured four Serbs and three other bombings which damaged cars, calling them "acts of violence and terror."
"The Kosovo assembly considers that acts of violence and terror spoil Kosovo's image to the world and also seriously and politically damage the process of Kosovo's independence," according to a statement.
The United Nations has administered Kosovo since 1999, when NATO air strikes drove out Serb troops who had carried out a bloody crackdown on its independence-seeking Albanian population, which accounts for 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million population.
About 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers still patrol the province.
An estimated 200,000 Serbs fled Kosovo after the 1988-99 conflict, fearing revenge attacks. Today, only about 100,000 remain, most living in small, isolated enclaves scattered around the province.
Serbs are willing to grant Kosovo broad autonomy but consider it the heart of their ancient homeland and want it to remain a part of Serbia.
The contact group -- made up of the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Russia -- met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly gathering in New York on Wednesday. EU officials and other envoys also were present at the meeting. Kosovo ethnic Albanian and Serb representatives did not attend.
"Ministers reaffirmed their commitment that all possible efforts be made to achieve a negotiated settlement in the course of 2006," said a statement issued after the meeting, which also urged Serb and ethnic Albanian negotiators to respect the U.N. process and support chief U.N. envoy for Kosovo, former Finnish president Maarti Ahtisaari.
Ahtisaari is due to brief the U.N. Security Council on Friday.
Kosovo's government hailed "the contact group's ministers' statement, which is encouraging" both sides to reach an agreement on the province's status this year.
Kosovo's parliament, meanwhile, denounced a recent explosion that injured four Serbs and three other bombings which damaged cars, calling them "acts of violence and terror."
"The Kosovo assembly considers that acts of violence and terror spoil Kosovo's image to the world and also seriously and politically damage the process of Kosovo's independence," according to a statement.
The United Nations has administered Kosovo since 1999, when NATO air strikes drove out Serb troops who had carried out a bloody crackdown on its independence-seeking Albanian population, which accounts for 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million population.
About 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers still patrol the province.
An estimated 200,000 Serbs fled Kosovo after the 1988-99 conflict, fearing revenge attacks. Today, only about 100,000 remain, most living in small, isolated enclaves scattered around the province.
Serbs are willing to grant Kosovo broad autonomy but consider it the heart of their ancient homeland and want it to remain a part of Serbia.
Kosovo solution due by November -sources
PRISTINA, Serbia, Sept 21 (Reuters) - U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari will propose a settlement for Kosovo by November, after he won backing from the major powers to wind up Serb-Albanian talks, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.
"You're looking at November, but it could be earlier," a senior Western official close to the process told Reuters after the major powers instructed Ahtisaari to produce his proposal.
A Kosovo government official said Ahtisaari, who has led talks between Serbia and Kosovo Albanians since February, would make his proposal "by the end of October at the latest".
Meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, foreign ministers of the major Western powers and Russia gave Ahtisaari the green light to go to the next phase.
They said "all possible efforts" should be made to reach a solution by the end of the year.
The timetable suggests the United States and its European allies have overcome Russian opposition to a strict deadline. Moscow had backed Serb demands for a delay, but the statement issued after the meeting accused Belgrade of "obstruction".
Diplomats say Ahtisaari will propose independence for the Albanian majority province, with safeguards for the Serb minority supervised by the European Union and NATO.
The move would end more than seven years of limbo in Kosovo, since NATO's first "humanitarian" war halted a brutal crackdown by forces under Serbia's late president Slobodan Milosevic and the United Nations took control.
Ahtisaari's deputy has said chances of further progress in talks are "increasingly slim."
MELTDOWN
Western powers are mindful of increasing impatience among the 90-percent ethnic Albanian majority, and the potential for fresh attacks against the 100,000 remaining Serbs.
The 16,000-strong NATO peace force said on Thursday it had stepped up patrols after a spate of bomb attacks, including one on Tuesday that wounded four elderly Serbs.
Privately, U.N. officials in Kosovo have warned of a violent meltdown if a decision were delayed much longer. One senior U.N. official had told Reuters the mission would become "unmanageable" by spring 2007.
Serbia refuses to consider independence for Kosovo, to many Serbs the cradle of their nation. But there is an increasingly desperate ring to official language in Belgrade.
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica appeared to portray the New York statement as a victory, thanking traditional Orthodox ally Russia for its steadfast support.
"In this historically important moment for Serbia, Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, advocate that international law must be respected, there can be no unilateral change of borders of sovereign states and that only an agreement accepted by both sides can be approved by the U.N. Security Council," he told the state news agency.
Serbia lost control over the territory of 2 million people in 1999, when NATO bombed for 78 days to drive out Serb forces accused of atrocities and ethnic cleansing in a two-year war with separatist guerrillas.
Around half the prewar Serb population fled a wave of revenge attacks in 1999. The United Nations has contingency plans for a fresh exodus in the event of independence, and some fear a bid by the mainly Serb north to secede, splitting Kosovo in two. (Additional reporting by Shaban Buza)
"You're looking at November, but it could be earlier," a senior Western official close to the process told Reuters after the major powers instructed Ahtisaari to produce his proposal.
A Kosovo government official said Ahtisaari, who has led talks between Serbia and Kosovo Albanians since February, would make his proposal "by the end of October at the latest".
Meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, foreign ministers of the major Western powers and Russia gave Ahtisaari the green light to go to the next phase.
They said "all possible efforts" should be made to reach a solution by the end of the year.
The timetable suggests the United States and its European allies have overcome Russian opposition to a strict deadline. Moscow had backed Serb demands for a delay, but the statement issued after the meeting accused Belgrade of "obstruction".
Diplomats say Ahtisaari will propose independence for the Albanian majority province, with safeguards for the Serb minority supervised by the European Union and NATO.
The move would end more than seven years of limbo in Kosovo, since NATO's first "humanitarian" war halted a brutal crackdown by forces under Serbia's late president Slobodan Milosevic and the United Nations took control.
Ahtisaari's deputy has said chances of further progress in talks are "increasingly slim."
MELTDOWN
Western powers are mindful of increasing impatience among the 90-percent ethnic Albanian majority, and the potential for fresh attacks against the 100,000 remaining Serbs.
The 16,000-strong NATO peace force said on Thursday it had stepped up patrols after a spate of bomb attacks, including one on Tuesday that wounded four elderly Serbs.
Privately, U.N. officials in Kosovo have warned of a violent meltdown if a decision were delayed much longer. One senior U.N. official had told Reuters the mission would become "unmanageable" by spring 2007.
Serbia refuses to consider independence for Kosovo, to many Serbs the cradle of their nation. But there is an increasingly desperate ring to official language in Belgrade.
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica appeared to portray the New York statement as a victory, thanking traditional Orthodox ally Russia for its steadfast support.
"In this historically important moment for Serbia, Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, advocate that international law must be respected, there can be no unilateral change of borders of sovereign states and that only an agreement accepted by both sides can be approved by the U.N. Security Council," he told the state news agency.
Serbia lost control over the territory of 2 million people in 1999, when NATO bombed for 78 days to drive out Serb forces accused of atrocities and ethnic cleansing in a two-year war with separatist guerrillas.
Around half the prewar Serb population fled a wave of revenge attacks in 1999. The United Nations has contingency plans for a fresh exodus in the event of independence, and some fear a bid by the mainly Serb north to secede, splitting Kosovo in two. (Additional reporting by Shaban Buza)
Kosovo Assembly condemns recent incidents, reviews law on use of languages
Text of report in English by independent internet news agency KosovaLive
Prishtina [Pristina], 21 September: Kosova [Kosovo] Assembly members during today's session have reacted against the latest incidents in Kosova by preparing a joint statement calling on those responsible to report in front of the lawmakers. Meanwhile later today they expect to reconsider the amendment regarding the law on official languages.
The request of the Democratic League of Kosova [LDK] MP, Sabri Hamiti that the parliament make a pronouncement with regard to latest incidents was supported by all parliamentary groups.
On the other hand, parliament Speaker Kole Berisha called on Assembly members to reconsider the amendment for the usage of official languages which was approved in the last session, adding that this is a request by the Contact Group.
"Disapproval was considered as disappointment. This could be seen by everyone. The message was directed to all institutions, particularly to the parliament to fulfil its part of the Standards," said Berisha.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 21 Sep 06
Prishtina [Pristina], 21 September: Kosova [Kosovo] Assembly members during today's session have reacted against the latest incidents in Kosova by preparing a joint statement calling on those responsible to report in front of the lawmakers. Meanwhile later today they expect to reconsider the amendment regarding the law on official languages.
The request of the Democratic League of Kosova [LDK] MP, Sabri Hamiti that the parliament make a pronouncement with regard to latest incidents was supported by all parliamentary groups.
On the other hand, parliament Speaker Kole Berisha called on Assembly members to reconsider the amendment for the usage of official languages which was approved in the last session, adding that this is a request by the Contact Group.
"Disapproval was considered as disappointment. This could be seen by everyone. The message was directed to all institutions, particularly to the parliament to fulfil its part of the Standards," said Berisha.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 21 Sep 06
Kosovo government satisfied with Contact Group conclusions
PRISTINA, Sept 21 (Hina) - The Kosovo government on Thursday welcomed the Contact Group's conclusions from last night's meeting in New York, which once again underlined that the process of determining Kosovo's status should be completed by the end of the year.
Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Qeku's aide Avni Arifi said the government applauded the statement from yesterday's meeting and that it reflected the Kosovo side's will.
The Kosovo government is committed to achieving the standards of a democratic society, ensuring the multiethnicity of Kosovo and protecting minorities.
The foreign ministers of Contact Group countries agreed that the utmost effort must be invested in closing the Kosovo status issue by year's end, and encouraged the UN's special envoy for negotiations on the status, Martti Ahtisaari, to prepare a proposal which would bind the sides in the negotiations to move forward.
Also today, KFOR's commander, German General Roland Kather, said in a statement that the security situation in Kosovo and along the border with Serbia was good and that the Kosovo Force would not allow any violence in this crucial period for the UN-administered province.
Kather, who stepped into office three weeks ago, stated those assessments at a meeting with the Serbian Army's chief of staff, General Zdravko Ponos, in Nis, Serbia, yesterday.
The two generals said KFOR's cooperation with the Serbian Army and authorities was very good.
Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Qeku's aide Avni Arifi said the government applauded the statement from yesterday's meeting and that it reflected the Kosovo side's will.
The Kosovo government is committed to achieving the standards of a democratic society, ensuring the multiethnicity of Kosovo and protecting minorities.
The foreign ministers of Contact Group countries agreed that the utmost effort must be invested in closing the Kosovo status issue by year's end, and encouraged the UN's special envoy for negotiations on the status, Martti Ahtisaari, to prepare a proposal which would bind the sides in the negotiations to move forward.
Also today, KFOR's commander, German General Roland Kather, said in a statement that the security situation in Kosovo and along the border with Serbia was good and that the Kosovo Force would not allow any violence in this crucial period for the UN-administered province.
Kather, who stepped into office three weeks ago, stated those assessments at a meeting with the Serbian Army's chief of staff, General Zdravko Ponos, in Nis, Serbia, yesterday.
The two generals said KFOR's cooperation with the Serbian Army and authorities was very good.
Serbia's PM counts on Russia's veto of possible Kosovo independence
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) - The Serbian prime minister said Thursday he is counting on Russia to prevent the possible independence of the province of Kosovo.
Russia and its President Vladimir Putin "in this historic moment for Serbia have a principal stand ... that there can be no unilateral changes of borders of sovereign states," Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said.
While formally still part of Serbia, Kosovo may become an independent state if the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia and Italy -- which are overseeing U.N.-mediated talks on its future -- agree to redraw Serbia's borders and accept the Kosovo Albanians' demand for sovereignty.
Once the so-called Contact Group reaches a conclusion on Kosovo's future status, a decision needs to be approved by the U.N. Security Council, where Russia has veto power. The Western states appear to be inclined to grant Kosovo's independence.
Kostunica, whose government rejects Kosovo's secession, said that Russia supports "an agreement over Kosovo that will be accepted by both sides and approved in the Security Council."
Kosovo, where independence-seeking ethnic Albanians comprise 90 percent of the 2 million people, has been an international protectorate since 1999 when NATO bombing forced Serbia to stop its crackdown on the province's ethnic Albanian separatists and hand over authority there to a U.N. mission and the alliance.
U.N.-mediated negotiations, which began in February, aim to settle the province's status by the end of the year.
Putin has repeatedly said that independence for Kosovo could set a precedent for other breakaway regions such as its own province of Chechnya. Russia is a traditional Serb ally.
"Serbia will know to remember and appreciate this Russian support for the preservation of justice, stability and peace," Kostunica said.
Kostunica also urged a quick adoption of a new Serbian constitution that would refer to Kosovo as an "integral" part of Serbia, whatever the outcome of the negotiations with the Kosovo Albanians.
Kostunica, a moderate nationalist, said that the adoption of the new constitution "would prevent those who want to grab Kosovo from us."
Russia and its President Vladimir Putin "in this historic moment for Serbia have a principal stand ... that there can be no unilateral changes of borders of sovereign states," Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said.
While formally still part of Serbia, Kosovo may become an independent state if the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia and Italy -- which are overseeing U.N.-mediated talks on its future -- agree to redraw Serbia's borders and accept the Kosovo Albanians' demand for sovereignty.
Once the so-called Contact Group reaches a conclusion on Kosovo's future status, a decision needs to be approved by the U.N. Security Council, where Russia has veto power. The Western states appear to be inclined to grant Kosovo's independence.
Kostunica, whose government rejects Kosovo's secession, said that Russia supports "an agreement over Kosovo that will be accepted by both sides and approved in the Security Council."
Kosovo, where independence-seeking ethnic Albanians comprise 90 percent of the 2 million people, has been an international protectorate since 1999 when NATO bombing forced Serbia to stop its crackdown on the province's ethnic Albanian separatists and hand over authority there to a U.N. mission and the alliance.
U.N.-mediated negotiations, which began in February, aim to settle the province's status by the end of the year.
Putin has repeatedly said that independence for Kosovo could set a precedent for other breakaway regions such as its own province of Chechnya. Russia is a traditional Serb ally.
"Serbia will know to remember and appreciate this Russian support for the preservation of justice, stability and peace," Kostunica said.
Kostunica also urged a quick adoption of a new Serbian constitution that would refer to Kosovo as an "integral" part of Serbia, whatever the outcome of the negotiations with the Kosovo Albanians.
Kostunica, a moderate nationalist, said that the adoption of the new constitution "would prevent those who want to grab Kosovo from us."
NATO steps up Kosovo patrols as decision nears
PRISTINA, Serbia, Sept 21 (Reuters) - NATO stepped up patrols in Kosovo on Thursday to head off possible violence as a decision nears on the fate of Serbia's breakaway province.
The United Nations and NATO were concerned about a recent spate of bomb attacks, including one on Tuesday night that wounded four elderly Serbs, said a spokesman for the 16,000-strong NATO-led force (KFOR).
"Both KFOR and the U.N. decided to show determination that they will not tolerate any violence, increasing patrols and checkpoints and conducting exercises in west and east Kosovo," said KFOR's Colonel Reiner Senger.
Meeting in New York on Wednesday, major powers authorised U.N. chief mediator Martti Ahtisaari to propose a solution for Kosovo's final status and achieve a settlement by the end of this year.
Former Finnish president Ahtisaari is expected to propose independence for Kosovo, setting up a showdown with Serbia.
The Albanian majority province has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombs drove out Serb forces accused of atrocities and ethnic cleansing in a two-year war with Albanian guerrillas.
The 90-percent ethnic Albanian majority is under intense Western pressure to improve the rights and security of the remaining 100,000 Serbs, a ghettoised minority.
Predictions by one Kosovo leader this week of an Albanian "revolt" if the province is denied independence has struck a nerve with U.N. officials.
Any major outbreak of violence could derail the process.
Around half the Serb population fled a wave of revenge attacks after the war and deployment of NATO troops. Those who stayed fear for the future in an independent Kosovo. The mainly Serb north has threatened to secede, splitting the province in two.
Major powers should allow more time to work out a peace plan, rather than imposing a solution that may be too difficult to enforce, Romanian President Traian Basescu said.
"Can you imagine a solution which is imposed without the agreement of all parties? I can guarantee that this will cost us more ... in guaranteeing security," Basescu told Reuters.
The biggest country in the Balkans, Romania has been trying to carve out a role as a regional mediator as it readies to join the European Union next year.
The United Nations and NATO were concerned about a recent spate of bomb attacks, including one on Tuesday night that wounded four elderly Serbs, said a spokesman for the 16,000-strong NATO-led force (KFOR).
"Both KFOR and the U.N. decided to show determination that they will not tolerate any violence, increasing patrols and checkpoints and conducting exercises in west and east Kosovo," said KFOR's Colonel Reiner Senger.
Meeting in New York on Wednesday, major powers authorised U.N. chief mediator Martti Ahtisaari to propose a solution for Kosovo's final status and achieve a settlement by the end of this year.
Former Finnish president Ahtisaari is expected to propose independence for Kosovo, setting up a showdown with Serbia.
The Albanian majority province has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombs drove out Serb forces accused of atrocities and ethnic cleansing in a two-year war with Albanian guerrillas.
The 90-percent ethnic Albanian majority is under intense Western pressure to improve the rights and security of the remaining 100,000 Serbs, a ghettoised minority.
Predictions by one Kosovo leader this week of an Albanian "revolt" if the province is denied independence has struck a nerve with U.N. officials.
Any major outbreak of violence could derail the process.
Around half the Serb population fled a wave of revenge attacks after the war and deployment of NATO troops. Those who stayed fear for the future in an independent Kosovo. The mainly Serb north has threatened to secede, splitting the province in two.
Major powers should allow more time to work out a peace plan, rather than imposing a solution that may be too difficult to enforce, Romanian President Traian Basescu said.
"Can you imagine a solution which is imposed without the agreement of all parties? I can guarantee that this will cost us more ... in guaranteeing security," Basescu told Reuters.
The biggest country in the Balkans, Romania has been trying to carve out a role as a regional mediator as it readies to join the European Union next year.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Major powers say Kosovo must be resolved in 2006
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Major powers on Wednesday authorized a U.N. mediator to propose a final status plan for Kosovo and to achieve a settlement by the end of this year that they said neither side could block unilaterally.
A statement by the six-member "Contact Group" overseeing Balkan diplomacy -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia -- was harshly critical of what it called Belgrade's "obstruction."
"Ministers reaffirmed their commitment that all possible efforts be made to achieve a negotiated settlement in the course of 2006," said the statement from the group's ministers.
Meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, the group heard a report from U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari on months of talks on Kosovo that have made little progress.
The former Finnish president is widely expected to propose independence for Kosovo, setting up a showdown with Serbia.
"The ministers also agreed that striving for a negotiated settlement should not obscure the fact that neither party can unilaterally block the status process from advancing," said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried.
The breakaway southern Serbian province has been under U.N. administration since 1999 following a NATO bombing campaign that drove out Serb forces accused of ethnic cleansing. Ninety percent of Kosovo's 2 million people are Albanians.
IMPOSED SOLUTION
Last week, Ahtisaari's deputy said he saw little chance of progress in talks between Serbs and ethnic Albanians over Kosovo, but Fried said the international community was determined to achieve a negotiated settlement if possible.
"The ministers are determined to see this through (resolving Kosovo's status)," said Fried.
If the two sides fail to agree, major powers are expected to impose a solution.
Serbia's leaders have vowed never to give up Kosovo, which Serbs regard as the historic cradle of their nation.
Pro-European reformers in the Belgrade government have warned that an enforced separation could bring the ultra-nationalist Radicals and Socialists to power in Serbian elections due next year.
But European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, in charge of the EU's relations with Serbia, said Serbian leaders needed to approach the talks "with renewed realism".
"Nobody benefits from delaying a solution on the status of Kosovo," he told Reuters, saying Kosovo had been in limbo for seven years and it had caused political and economic problems.
Direct talks on the province's future began in February, with little sign of compromise. The focus has been on the rights and security of the 100,000 remaining Serbs, but U.N. mediators say Belgrade has been particularly stubborn.
Analysts say Belgrade knows Kosovo is lost, but could back a breakaway bid by the Serb north of the region. The West argues this might reignite Albanian insurgencies in southern Serbia and Macedonia.
The EU is preparing to take over from the U.N. with a smaller police and monitoring operation. NATO will keep at least some of its current 16,000 troops in Kosovo.
Rehn added that Serbia had a clear prospect of eventual EU membership once it met the conditions, including cooperation with the U.N. war crimes tribunal, which is currently blocking negotiations on closer ties.
A statement by the six-member "Contact Group" overseeing Balkan diplomacy -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia -- was harshly critical of what it called Belgrade's "obstruction."
"Ministers reaffirmed their commitment that all possible efforts be made to achieve a negotiated settlement in the course of 2006," said the statement from the group's ministers.
Meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, the group heard a report from U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari on months of talks on Kosovo that have made little progress.
The former Finnish president is widely expected to propose independence for Kosovo, setting up a showdown with Serbia.
"The ministers also agreed that striving for a negotiated settlement should not obscure the fact that neither party can unilaterally block the status process from advancing," said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried.
The breakaway southern Serbian province has been under U.N. administration since 1999 following a NATO bombing campaign that drove out Serb forces accused of ethnic cleansing. Ninety percent of Kosovo's 2 million people are Albanians.
IMPOSED SOLUTION
Last week, Ahtisaari's deputy said he saw little chance of progress in talks between Serbs and ethnic Albanians over Kosovo, but Fried said the international community was determined to achieve a negotiated settlement if possible.
"The ministers are determined to see this through (resolving Kosovo's status)," said Fried.
If the two sides fail to agree, major powers are expected to impose a solution.
Serbia's leaders have vowed never to give up Kosovo, which Serbs regard as the historic cradle of their nation.
Pro-European reformers in the Belgrade government have warned that an enforced separation could bring the ultra-nationalist Radicals and Socialists to power in Serbian elections due next year.
But European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, in charge of the EU's relations with Serbia, said Serbian leaders needed to approach the talks "with renewed realism".
"Nobody benefits from delaying a solution on the status of Kosovo," he told Reuters, saying Kosovo had been in limbo for seven years and it had caused political and economic problems.
Direct talks on the province's future began in February, with little sign of compromise. The focus has been on the rights and security of the 100,000 remaining Serbs, but U.N. mediators say Belgrade has been particularly stubborn.
Analysts say Belgrade knows Kosovo is lost, but could back a breakaway bid by the Serb north of the region. The West argues this might reignite Albanian insurgencies in southern Serbia and Macedonia.
The EU is preparing to take over from the U.N. with a smaller police and monitoring operation. NATO will keep at least some of its current 16,000 troops in Kosovo.
Rehn added that Serbia had a clear prospect of eventual EU membership once it met the conditions, including cooperation with the U.N. war crimes tribunal, which is currently blocking negotiations on closer ties.
Interview: Kosovo's premier says Serbs lack courage to invade again
PRISTINA, Serbia (AP) - Kosovo's prime minister on Wednesday dismissed Serbia's fierce opposition to the province's drive for independence, insisting that decades of bloodshed in the Balkans are over and Serbs will never dare to invade Kosovo again because they have "no courage."
In an interview with The Associated Press, Agim Ceku condemned a recent spate of bombings -- including an attack late Tuesday that injured four Serbs -- and he blamed Serbian nationalists for using "primitive propaganda" to incite ethnic tensions as the United Nations nears a decision on possible statehood for Kosovo.
Serbs know enough "not to invade Kosovo again," Ceku said, adding: "They have no courage."
"War is past. I'm sure there's no willingness to choose this way of realizing their wishes," Ceku said. "That is all mythology. There's a huge lack of reality in Serbia."
Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's population of 2 million, want independence. Serbs are willing to grant the province broad autonomy but consider it the heart of their ancient homeland and want it to remain a part of Serbia.
The clash over its future direction has led to bloodshed before: From 1998-99, Serb forces loyal to the late Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic waged a brutal crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists -- a war that killed 10,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, and drove thousands more from their homes.
Ceku spoke in the wake of tough remarks by his Serbian counterpart, Vojislav Kostunica, contending that Kosovo "has always been and forever will remain within Serbia," and a call by Serbian nationalist leader Tomislav Nikolic for that country's army to "stand ready" to go to war if the province gains its independence through U.N. talks.
On Friday, the chief U.N. envoy for Kosovo -- former Finnish president Maarti Ahtisaari -- is expected to brief key members of the Security Council on the province's future path, which many observers believe will lead to statehood by year's end.
Although few expect a renewal of hostilities, particularly since 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers still patrol Kosovo, there have been fears of a resurgence of violence, and tensions have soared amid the latest spate of bombings. Two of the explosions targeted the cars of top officials, although they were not hurt.
But Ceku conceded the attacks undermine Kosovo's drive to establish itself as "a multiethnic, nonviolent country," and he reassured the province's estimated 100,000 minority Serbs that the authorities would protect them.
Since the war ended seven years ago, about 200,000 Serbs have left Kosovo, fearing reprisal attacks.
"I have encouraged Kosovo's Serbs not to leave, not to be discouraged," Ceku told the AP. "Independence is the time to stay, not leave. Independence is the time to come back."
In an interview with The Associated Press, Agim Ceku condemned a recent spate of bombings -- including an attack late Tuesday that injured four Serbs -- and he blamed Serbian nationalists for using "primitive propaganda" to incite ethnic tensions as the United Nations nears a decision on possible statehood for Kosovo.
Serbs know enough "not to invade Kosovo again," Ceku said, adding: "They have no courage."
"War is past. I'm sure there's no willingness to choose this way of realizing their wishes," Ceku said. "That is all mythology. There's a huge lack of reality in Serbia."
Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's population of 2 million, want independence. Serbs are willing to grant the province broad autonomy but consider it the heart of their ancient homeland and want it to remain a part of Serbia.
The clash over its future direction has led to bloodshed before: From 1998-99, Serb forces loyal to the late Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic waged a brutal crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists -- a war that killed 10,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, and drove thousands more from their homes.
Ceku spoke in the wake of tough remarks by his Serbian counterpart, Vojislav Kostunica, contending that Kosovo "has always been and forever will remain within Serbia," and a call by Serbian nationalist leader Tomislav Nikolic for that country's army to "stand ready" to go to war if the province gains its independence through U.N. talks.
On Friday, the chief U.N. envoy for Kosovo -- former Finnish president Maarti Ahtisaari -- is expected to brief key members of the Security Council on the province's future path, which many observers believe will lead to statehood by year's end.
Although few expect a renewal of hostilities, particularly since 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers still patrol Kosovo, there have been fears of a resurgence of violence, and tensions have soared amid the latest spate of bombings. Two of the explosions targeted the cars of top officials, although they were not hurt.
But Ceku conceded the attacks undermine Kosovo's drive to establish itself as "a multiethnic, nonviolent country," and he reassured the province's estimated 100,000 minority Serbs that the authorities would protect them.
Since the war ended seven years ago, about 200,000 Serbs have left Kosovo, fearing reprisal attacks.
"I have encouraged Kosovo's Serbs not to leave, not to be discouraged," Ceku told the AP. "Independence is the time to stay, not leave. Independence is the time to come back."
Kosovo PM: Serbia "Will Never Invade Kosovo Again"
PRISTINA, Serbia (AP)--Kosovo's prime minister Wednesday dismissed Serbia's fierce opposition to the province's drive for independence, insisting that decades of bloodshed in the Balkans are over and Serbs will never dare to invade Kosovo again because "they have no courage."
In an interview with The Associated Press, Agim Ceku condemned a recent spate of bombings - including an attack late Tuesday that injured four Serbs -and he blamed Serbian nationalists for using "primitive propaganda" to incite ethnic tensions as the U.N. nears a decision on possible statehood for Kosovo.
Serbs know enough "not to invade Kosovo again," Ceku said, adding: "They have no courage."
"War is past. I'm sure there's no willingness to choose this way of realizing their wishes," Ceku said. "That is all mythology. There's a huge lack of reality in Serbia."
Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90% of Kosovo's 2-million population, want independence. Serbs are willing to grant it broad autonomy but consider it the heart of their ancient homeland and want it to remain a part of Serbia.
The clash over its future direction has led to bloodshed before: From 1998-99, Serb forces loyal to the late Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic waged a brutal crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists - a war that killed 10,000 people and drove thousands more from their homes.
Ceku spoke in the wake of tough remarks by his Serbian counterpart, Vojislav Kostunica, contending that Kosovo "has always been and forever will remain within Serbia," and a call by Serbian ultranationalist leader Tomislav Nikolic on that country's army to "stand ready" to go to war if the province gains its independence through U.N. talks.
Friday, the chief U.N. envoy for Kosovo - former Finnish president Maarti Ahtisaari - is expected to brief key members of the Security Council on the province's future path, which many observers believe will lead to statehood by year's end.
Ceku accused the Serbian government of waging what he called a "4-D" campaign to discredit Ahtisaari, delay the process, divide the international community and destabilize Kosovo.
The province's Serbs "are very confused and very worried. This feeling has been imposed by Belgrade," he said.
Although few expect a renewal of hostilities, particularly since 16,000 North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led peacekeepers still patrol Kosovo, there have been fears of a resurgence of violence, and tensions have soared amid the latest spate of bombings. Two of the explosions targeted the cars of top officials, although they were not hurt.
But Ceku conceded the attacks undermine Kosovo's drive to establish itself as "a multiethnic, non-violent country," and he reassured the province's estimated 100,000 minority Serbs that the authorities would protect them.
Since the war ended seven years ago, about 200,000 Serbs have left Kosovo, fearing reprisal attacks.
"I have encouraged Kosovo's Serbs not to leave, not to be discouraged," Ceku told AP. "Independence is the time to stay, not leave. Independence is the time to come back." [ 20-09-06 1552GMT ]
In an interview with The Associated Press, Agim Ceku condemned a recent spate of bombings - including an attack late Tuesday that injured four Serbs -and he blamed Serbian nationalists for using "primitive propaganda" to incite ethnic tensions as the U.N. nears a decision on possible statehood for Kosovo.
Serbs know enough "not to invade Kosovo again," Ceku said, adding: "They have no courage."
"War is past. I'm sure there's no willingness to choose this way of realizing their wishes," Ceku said. "That is all mythology. There's a huge lack of reality in Serbia."
Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90% of Kosovo's 2-million population, want independence. Serbs are willing to grant it broad autonomy but consider it the heart of their ancient homeland and want it to remain a part of Serbia.
The clash over its future direction has led to bloodshed before: From 1998-99, Serb forces loyal to the late Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic waged a brutal crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists - a war that killed 10,000 people and drove thousands more from their homes.
Ceku spoke in the wake of tough remarks by his Serbian counterpart, Vojislav Kostunica, contending that Kosovo "has always been and forever will remain within Serbia," and a call by Serbian ultranationalist leader Tomislav Nikolic on that country's army to "stand ready" to go to war if the province gains its independence through U.N. talks.
Friday, the chief U.N. envoy for Kosovo - former Finnish president Maarti Ahtisaari - is expected to brief key members of the Security Council on the province's future path, which many observers believe will lead to statehood by year's end.
Ceku accused the Serbian government of waging what he called a "4-D" campaign to discredit Ahtisaari, delay the process, divide the international community and destabilize Kosovo.
The province's Serbs "are very confused and very worried. This feeling has been imposed by Belgrade," he said.
Although few expect a renewal of hostilities, particularly since 16,000 North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led peacekeepers still patrol Kosovo, there have been fears of a resurgence of violence, and tensions have soared amid the latest spate of bombings. Two of the explosions targeted the cars of top officials, although they were not hurt.
But Ceku conceded the attacks undermine Kosovo's drive to establish itself as "a multiethnic, non-violent country," and he reassured the province's estimated 100,000 minority Serbs that the authorities would protect them.
Since the war ended seven years ago, about 200,000 Serbs have left Kosovo, fearing reprisal attacks.
"I have encouraged Kosovo's Serbs not to leave, not to be discouraged," Ceku told AP. "Independence is the time to stay, not leave. Independence is the time to come back." [ 20-09-06 1552GMT ]
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Serbia revives Milosevic-era policies over Kosovo
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) - It's all there: nationalist rhetoric, pledges to resist Western pressure, even saber-rattling. As far as Serbia's Kosovo policy is concerned, Slobodan Milosevic is not dead.
The prospect that Kosovo -- the separatist province that has been under U.N. control since 1999 -- might be granted independence in U.N.-brokered talks has unleashed a tide of nationalism in the Balkan republic that is reminiscent of the era of the late Serbian autocrat.
Top Serbian officials, who normally advocate pro-Western reform and European integration, in the past weeks have switched to Milosevic's language of defiance and resistance, to the "evil" world that is plotting to rid Serbia of its sacred territory.
They are even flexing military muscle, making vague threats to use force to keep Kosovo -- where ethnic Albanians represent 90 percent of its 2 million people -- within Serbia's fold.
Serbia's top leaders made a point this past weekend of attending a military parade, the first in over 30 years in downtown Belgrade.
"Kosovo has always been and forever will remain within Serbia," Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said during the parade that was part of a grandiose graduation ceremony for about 200 cadets from Serbia's Military Academy. "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia."
Earlier this month, the Serbian parliament decided that a future Serbian constitution will refer to Kosovo as an "integral" part of Serbia, whatever the outcome of negotiations, and that a referendum will be held to cement the decision by the "people's will."
The toughening of Serbia's stance has prompted warnings from liberal politicians and analysts that current policies were ominously similar to the ones pursued by Milosevic, who used the Kosovo issue to trigger a series of wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Milosevic, who ruled Serbia for more than a decade before he was ousted in 2000, died in March while in custody of the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.
Back in 1998, Milosevic also had sought parliamentary backing for his decision to pull out of the talks on Kosovo, and organized a referendum to rally the people behind his defiant policies, which eventually resulted in a NATO assault.
"The concept is the same, only Milosevic is missing," Cedomir Jovanovic, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, said of the policies of the Kostunica and President Boris Tadic.
Zoran Ostojic, from the Civic Alliance, said "similarities and continuity with Milosevic's policies are unbelievably obvious."
Milosevic governed restive Kosovo with a heavy hand for years in the 1990s, before the province exploded in violence in 1998, prompting the United States and its allies to intervene on the side of the Kosovo Albanians.
The 1999 NATO air war against Serbia destroyed much of the republic's infrastructure and killed hundreds, before Milosevic agreed to end his crackdown against separatist ethnic Albanians, pull his troops out of Kosovo and relinquish control over the region to the United Nations.
Some seven years later, the U.N. launched negotiations to determine whether Kosovo will become an independent state or remain, at least formally, within Serbia's boundaries. The talks are to conclude by the end of 2006, and most analysts predict Kosovo will gain some form of independence.
Serbia's president, Tadic, upon return from the United States last week acknowledged that Washington, and most of its allies, support granting independence to Kosovo. In Serbia, the news fueled anger and a fresh wave of anti-Western, Milosevic-era rhetoric.
In Parliament, ultra-nationalist leader Tomislav Nikolic, who ruled with Milosevic in the 1990s, urged the army to "stand ready" to go to war in case Kosovo is declared a new state at the U.N. talks. He said Serbia must sever diplomatic ties with all Western states that advocate Kosovo's independence.
Kostunica met Nikolic on Tuesday, and the two urged in a statement that the new Serbian constitution with Kosovo as its integral part should be adopted as soon as possible "to prevent possible (international) attempts to impose a solution for Kosovo."
Cedomir Jovanovic, leader of the Liberals, argued that Serbia's reluctance to let go of Kosovo, despite the province's overwhelming pro-independence drive, will hurt Serbia's future. To counter the current policies, Jovanovic announced a campaign against the new constitution.
"It is not fair to burden future generations in the 21st century with the unfulfilled plans from 19th and 20th century," his party said in a statement.
Miljenko Dereta, a pro-democracy activist and political analyst, said the bravado on Kosovo, amounted to "manipulation with the feelings of the citizens of Serbia, by which incapable leaders hide their own lack of readiness to face reality."
The prospect that Kosovo -- the separatist province that has been under U.N. control since 1999 -- might be granted independence in U.N.-brokered talks has unleashed a tide of nationalism in the Balkan republic that is reminiscent of the era of the late Serbian autocrat.
Top Serbian officials, who normally advocate pro-Western reform and European integration, in the past weeks have switched to Milosevic's language of defiance and resistance, to the "evil" world that is plotting to rid Serbia of its sacred territory.
They are even flexing military muscle, making vague threats to use force to keep Kosovo -- where ethnic Albanians represent 90 percent of its 2 million people -- within Serbia's fold.
Serbia's top leaders made a point this past weekend of attending a military parade, the first in over 30 years in downtown Belgrade.
"Kosovo has always been and forever will remain within Serbia," Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said during the parade that was part of a grandiose graduation ceremony for about 200 cadets from Serbia's Military Academy. "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia."
Earlier this month, the Serbian parliament decided that a future Serbian constitution will refer to Kosovo as an "integral" part of Serbia, whatever the outcome of negotiations, and that a referendum will be held to cement the decision by the "people's will."
The toughening of Serbia's stance has prompted warnings from liberal politicians and analysts that current policies were ominously similar to the ones pursued by Milosevic, who used the Kosovo issue to trigger a series of wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Milosevic, who ruled Serbia for more than a decade before he was ousted in 2000, died in March while in custody of the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.
Back in 1998, Milosevic also had sought parliamentary backing for his decision to pull out of the talks on Kosovo, and organized a referendum to rally the people behind his defiant policies, which eventually resulted in a NATO assault.
"The concept is the same, only Milosevic is missing," Cedomir Jovanovic, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, said of the policies of the Kostunica and President Boris Tadic.
Zoran Ostojic, from the Civic Alliance, said "similarities and continuity with Milosevic's policies are unbelievably obvious."
Milosevic governed restive Kosovo with a heavy hand for years in the 1990s, before the province exploded in violence in 1998, prompting the United States and its allies to intervene on the side of the Kosovo Albanians.
The 1999 NATO air war against Serbia destroyed much of the republic's infrastructure and killed hundreds, before Milosevic agreed to end his crackdown against separatist ethnic Albanians, pull his troops out of Kosovo and relinquish control over the region to the United Nations.
Some seven years later, the U.N. launched negotiations to determine whether Kosovo will become an independent state or remain, at least formally, within Serbia's boundaries. The talks are to conclude by the end of 2006, and most analysts predict Kosovo will gain some form of independence.
Serbia's president, Tadic, upon return from the United States last week acknowledged that Washington, and most of its allies, support granting independence to Kosovo. In Serbia, the news fueled anger and a fresh wave of anti-Western, Milosevic-era rhetoric.
In Parliament, ultra-nationalist leader Tomislav Nikolic, who ruled with Milosevic in the 1990s, urged the army to "stand ready" to go to war in case Kosovo is declared a new state at the U.N. talks. He said Serbia must sever diplomatic ties with all Western states that advocate Kosovo's independence.
Kostunica met Nikolic on Tuesday, and the two urged in a statement that the new Serbian constitution with Kosovo as its integral part should be adopted as soon as possible "to prevent possible (international) attempts to impose a solution for Kosovo."
Cedomir Jovanovic, leader of the Liberals, argued that Serbia's reluctance to let go of Kosovo, despite the province's overwhelming pro-independence drive, will hurt Serbia's future. To counter the current policies, Jovanovic announced a campaign against the new constitution.
"It is not fair to burden future generations in the 21st century with the unfulfilled plans from 19th and 20th century," his party said in a statement.
Miljenko Dereta, a pro-democracy activist and political analyst, said the bravado on Kosovo, amounted to "manipulation with the feelings of the citizens of Serbia, by which incapable leaders hide their own lack of readiness to face reality."
Explosion in Kosovo wounds four Serbs
PRISTINA, Serbia, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Four elderly Serbs were wounded in an explosion in the western Kosovo town of Klina on Tuesday evening, police said.
A Serb official in the area told Reuters a bomb had been thrown through the window of the victims' apartment in the town centre.
Police spokeswoman Sabrije Kamberi said the four had been sent to hospital but their injuries were not life-threatening.
Police said the victims were former refugees who had returned to Klina a year ago having fled Kosovo after the 1998-99 war.
Legally part of Serbia, the mainly ethnic Albanian province has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombs drove out Serb forces accused of ethnic cleansing in a two-year war with Albanian guerrillas.
Negotiations are under way to decide the fate of the territory. Its 90-percent Albanian majority demands independence, but is under Western pressure to improve the rights and security of the 100,000 remaining Serbs.
At least half the Serb population fled a wave of revenge attacks after the war, and those who stayed live mainly in isolated enclaves.
U.N. officials say the rate of attacks against Serbs has fallen, but they fear fresh violence as a decision nears on Kosovo's "final status".
A Serb official in the area told Reuters a bomb had been thrown through the window of the victims' apartment in the town centre.
Police spokeswoman Sabrije Kamberi said the four had been sent to hospital but their injuries were not life-threatening.
Police said the victims were former refugees who had returned to Klina a year ago having fled Kosovo after the 1998-99 war.
Legally part of Serbia, the mainly ethnic Albanian province has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombs drove out Serb forces accused of ethnic cleansing in a two-year war with Albanian guerrillas.
Negotiations are under way to decide the fate of the territory. Its 90-percent Albanian majority demands independence, but is under Western pressure to improve the rights and security of the 100,000 remaining Serbs.
At least half the Serb population fled a wave of revenge attacks after the war, and those who stayed live mainly in isolated enclaves.
U.N. officials say the rate of attacks against Serbs has fallen, but they fear fresh violence as a decision nears on Kosovo's "final status".
Kosovo prime minister expects U.N. report to boost independence hopes
SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) - Kosovo's prime minister said Tuesday he expects a new report by the chief U.N. envoy to pave the way for the Serbian province's independence by the end of this year.
"We expect Martti Ahtisaari to present a report that Kosovo has made progress in the implementation of international standards and minority rights, and that we have enough substance to declare the independence of Kosovo," Agim Ceku said.
Ahtisaari, a former Finnish prime minister, is due to brief the U.N. Security Council on Friday on the course of talks on the future of the predominantly Albanian province.
The latest round of U.N.-brokered talks on the future status of Kosovo last week in Vienna ended in a stalemate. Belgrade is offering the province broad autonomy but wants it to remain part of Serbia.
Ceku was speaking after a meeting in Skopje with Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.
The United Nations has administered Kosovo since 1999, when NATO air strikes drove out Serb troops who had carried out a bloody crackdown on its independence-seeking Albanian population, which accounts for 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million population.
About 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers still patrol the province.
Ahtisaari said last month that it was premature to present a proposal on the province's final status months into negotiations between ethnic Albanian representatives and Serbian officials.
U.S. and EU envoys who visited Kosovo this week pressed ethnic Albanian leaders to provide more guarantees that the Serb minority would be protected from violence and discrimination.
An estimated 200,000 Serbs fled Kosovo after the 1988-99 conflict, fearing revenge attacks. Today, only about 100,000 remain, most living in small, isolated enclaves scattered around the province.
"We expect Martti Ahtisaari to present a report that Kosovo has made progress in the implementation of international standards and minority rights, and that we have enough substance to declare the independence of Kosovo," Agim Ceku said.
Ahtisaari, a former Finnish prime minister, is due to brief the U.N. Security Council on Friday on the course of talks on the future of the predominantly Albanian province.
The latest round of U.N.-brokered talks on the future status of Kosovo last week in Vienna ended in a stalemate. Belgrade is offering the province broad autonomy but wants it to remain part of Serbia.
Ceku was speaking after a meeting in Skopje with Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.
The United Nations has administered Kosovo since 1999, when NATO air strikes drove out Serb troops who had carried out a bloody crackdown on its independence-seeking Albanian population, which accounts for 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million population.
About 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers still patrol the province.
Ahtisaari said last month that it was premature to present a proposal on the province's final status months into negotiations between ethnic Albanian representatives and Serbian officials.
U.S. and EU envoys who visited Kosovo this week pressed ethnic Albanian leaders to provide more guarantees that the Serb minority would be protected from violence and discrimination.
An estimated 200,000 Serbs fled Kosovo after the 1988-99 conflict, fearing revenge attacks. Today, only about 100,000 remain, most living in small, isolated enclaves scattered around the province.
Two Serbian policemen arrested over Kosovo war crime
Two Serbian policemen have been arrested on suspicion of murdering an ethnic Albanian civilian during the 1998-99 Kosovo war, the Serbian war crimes prosecutor's office said on Tuesday.
The prosecutor's office said in a statement it had demanded an inquiry into the policemen, who are suspected of committing "a war crime against the civilian population in the village of Bukos", in western Kosovo.
It did not release their identity.
The case had been handed over to Serbia's war crime prosecutor by the legal branch of the United Nations mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the statement said.
Kosovo has been administered by the UN since June 1999, when NATO forces drove Serb forces loyal to then president Slobodan Milosevic out of Kosovo and ended their crackdown on the province's ethnic Albanian majority.
The prosecutor's office said in a statement it had demanded an inquiry into the policemen, who are suspected of committing "a war crime against the civilian population in the village of Bukos", in western Kosovo.
It did not release their identity.
The case had been handed over to Serbia's war crime prosecutor by the legal branch of the United Nations mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the statement said.
Kosovo has been administered by the UN since June 1999, when NATO forces drove Serb forces loyal to then president Slobodan Milosevic out of Kosovo and ended their crackdown on the province's ethnic Albanian majority.
Serbia revives Milosevic-era policies over Kosovo
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) - It's all there: nationalist rhetoric, pledges to resist Western pressure, even saber-rattling. As far as Serbia's Kosovo policy is concerned, Slobodan Milosevic is not dead.
The prospect that Kosovo -- the separatist province that has been under U.N. control since 1999 -- might be granted independence in U.N.-brokered talks has unleashed a tide of nationalism in the Balkan republic that is reminiscent of the era of the late Serbian autocrat.
Top Serbian officials, who normally advocate pro-Western reform and European integration, in the past weeks have switched to Milosevic's language of defiance and resistance, to the "evil" world that is plotting to rid Serbia of its sacred territory.
They are even flexing military muscle, making vague threats to use force to keep Kosovo -- where ethnic Albanians represent 90 percent of its 2 million people -- within Serbia's fold.
Serbia's top leaders made a point this past weekend of attending a military parade, the first in over 30 years in downtown Belgrade.
"Kosovo has always been and forever will remain within Serbia," Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said during the parade that was part of a grandiose graduation ceremony for about 200 cadets from Serbia's Military Academy. "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia."
Earlier this month, the Serbian parliament decided that a future Serbian constitution will refer to Kosovo as an "integral" part of Serbia, whatever the outcome of negotiations, and that a referendum will be held to cement the decision by the "people's will."
The toughening of Serbia's stance has prompted warnings from liberal politicians and analysts that current policies were ominously similar to the ones pursued by Milosevic, who used the Kosovo issue to trigger a series of wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Milosevic, who ruled Serbia for more than a decade before he was ousted in 2000, died in March while in custody of the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.
Back in 1998, Milosevic also had sought parliamentary backing for his decision to pull out of the talks on Kosovo, and organized a referendum to rally the people behind his defiant policies, which eventually resulted in a NATO assault.
"The concept is the same, only Milosevic is missing," Cedomir Jovanovic, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, said of the policies of the Kostunica and President Boris Tadic.
Zoran Ostojic, from the Civic Alliance, said "similarities and continuity with Milosevic's policies are unbelievably obvious."
Milosevic governed restive Kosovo with a heavy hand for years in the 1990s, before the province exploded in violence in 1998, prompting the United States and its allies to intervene on the side of the Kosovo Albanians.
The 1999 NATO air war against Serbia destroyed much of the republic's infrastructure and killed hundreds, before Milosevic agreed to end his crackdown against separatist ethnic Albanians, pull his troops out of Kosovo and relinquish control over the region to the United Nations.
Some seven years later, the U.N. launched negotiations to determine whether Kosovo will become an independent state or remain, at least formally, within Serbia's boundaries. The talks are to conclude by the end of 2006, and most analysts predict Kosovo will gain some form of independence.
Serbia's president, Tadic, upon return from the United States last week acknowledged that Washington, and most of its allies, support granting independence to Kosovo. In Serbia, the news fueled anger and a fresh wave of anti-Western, Milosevic-era rhetoric.
In Parliament, ultra-nationalist leader Tomislav Nikolic, who ruled with Milosevic in the 1990s, urged the army to "stand ready" to go to war in case Kosovo is declared a new state at the U.N. talks. He said Serbia must sever diplomatic ties with all Western states that advocate Kosovo's independence.
Kostunica met Nikolic on Tuesday, and the two urged in a statement that the new Serbian constitution with Kosovo as its integral part should be adopted as soon as possible "to prevent possible (international) attempts to impose a solution for Kosovo."
Cedomir Jovanovic, leader of the Liberals, argued that Serbia's reluctance to let go of Kosovo, despite the province's overwhelming pro-independence drive, will hurt Serbia's future. To counter the current policies, Jovanovic announced a campaign against the new constitution.
"It is not fair to burden future generations in the 21st century with the unfulfilled plans from 19th and 20th century," his party said in a statement.
Miljenko Dereta, a pro-democracy activist and political analyst, said the bravado on Kosovo, amounted to "manipulation with the feelings of the citizens of Serbia, by which incapable leaders hide their own lack of readiness to face reality."
The prospect that Kosovo -- the separatist province that has been under U.N. control since 1999 -- might be granted independence in U.N.-brokered talks has unleashed a tide of nationalism in the Balkan republic that is reminiscent of the era of the late Serbian autocrat.
Top Serbian officials, who normally advocate pro-Western reform and European integration, in the past weeks have switched to Milosevic's language of defiance and resistance, to the "evil" world that is plotting to rid Serbia of its sacred territory.
They are even flexing military muscle, making vague threats to use force to keep Kosovo -- where ethnic Albanians represent 90 percent of its 2 million people -- within Serbia's fold.
Serbia's top leaders made a point this past weekend of attending a military parade, the first in over 30 years in downtown Belgrade.
"Kosovo has always been and forever will remain within Serbia," Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said during the parade that was part of a grandiose graduation ceremony for about 200 cadets from Serbia's Military Academy. "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia."
Earlier this month, the Serbian parliament decided that a future Serbian constitution will refer to Kosovo as an "integral" part of Serbia, whatever the outcome of negotiations, and that a referendum will be held to cement the decision by the "people's will."
The toughening of Serbia's stance has prompted warnings from liberal politicians and analysts that current policies were ominously similar to the ones pursued by Milosevic, who used the Kosovo issue to trigger a series of wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Milosevic, who ruled Serbia for more than a decade before he was ousted in 2000, died in March while in custody of the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.
Back in 1998, Milosevic also had sought parliamentary backing for his decision to pull out of the talks on Kosovo, and organized a referendum to rally the people behind his defiant policies, which eventually resulted in a NATO assault.
"The concept is the same, only Milosevic is missing," Cedomir Jovanovic, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, said of the policies of the Kostunica and President Boris Tadic.
Zoran Ostojic, from the Civic Alliance, said "similarities and continuity with Milosevic's policies are unbelievably obvious."
Milosevic governed restive Kosovo with a heavy hand for years in the 1990s, before the province exploded in violence in 1998, prompting the United States and its allies to intervene on the side of the Kosovo Albanians.
The 1999 NATO air war against Serbia destroyed much of the republic's infrastructure and killed hundreds, before Milosevic agreed to end his crackdown against separatist ethnic Albanians, pull his troops out of Kosovo and relinquish control over the region to the United Nations.
Some seven years later, the U.N. launched negotiations to determine whether Kosovo will become an independent state or remain, at least formally, within Serbia's boundaries. The talks are to conclude by the end of 2006, and most analysts predict Kosovo will gain some form of independence.
Serbia's president, Tadic, upon return from the United States last week acknowledged that Washington, and most of its allies, support granting independence to Kosovo. In Serbia, the news fueled anger and a fresh wave of anti-Western, Milosevic-era rhetoric.
In Parliament, ultra-nationalist leader Tomislav Nikolic, who ruled with Milosevic in the 1990s, urged the army to "stand ready" to go to war in case Kosovo is declared a new state at the U.N. talks. He said Serbia must sever diplomatic ties with all Western states that advocate Kosovo's independence.
Kostunica met Nikolic on Tuesday, and the two urged in a statement that the new Serbian constitution with Kosovo as its integral part should be adopted as soon as possible "to prevent possible (international) attempts to impose a solution for Kosovo."
Cedomir Jovanovic, leader of the Liberals, argued that Serbia's reluctance to let go of Kosovo, despite the province's overwhelming pro-independence drive, will hurt Serbia's future. To counter the current policies, Jovanovic announced a campaign against the new constitution.
"It is not fair to burden future generations in the 21st century with the unfulfilled plans from 19th and 20th century," his party said in a statement.
Miljenko Dereta, a pro-democracy activist and political analyst, said the bravado on Kosovo, amounted to "manipulation with the feelings of the citizens of Serbia, by which incapable leaders hide their own lack of readiness to face reality."
Monday, September 18, 2006
ANALYSIS-Serbs invoke Bosnia breakup in bid to keep Kosovo
SARAJEVO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Serbia is invoking the spectre of a breakup of neighbouring Bosnia before elections there, as it battles to block the independence of its southern province of Kosovo.
Bosnia's Serbs are talking of secession in the campaign for the Oct. 1 election because Serbia is using them as a lever, analysts and diplomats say.
"Belgrade has been using Bosnian Serbs in its bargaining, telling them to speak up and say they'll claim independence if Kosovo goes," said a Sarajevo-based diplomat.
Serbia opposes independence for its southern Kosovo province, run by the United Nations since NATO military force compelled Serbia to withdraw its forces in 1999 to end what the West said was Serbian ethnic cleansing during a guerrilla war.
The West opposes the breakup of Bosnia, a two-part state bolted together by Washington from the wreckage of the 1992-95 war under the Dayton Accords -- a deal that forced exhausted, ethnically-cleansed enemies into uneasy partnership.
Western diplomats predict Kosovo's two million ethnic Albanians, representing a 90 percent majority, will get independence by the end of the year, courtesy of the United Nations and against the will of Serbia if the Belgrade government does not change its stance.
More by innuendo than open threat, the Serbs are saying: amputate Kosovo and you can watch Bosnia fall apart too, as 1.4 million ethnic Serbs elect to part company with 2.6 million Muslim Bosniaks and ethnic Croats.
Legally, no party in Bosnia has the right to secede. But then neither does Kosovo, on paper.
"We are the guarantor of peace and the constitution in this state, and it is our responsibility that Bosnia's integrity remains intact," U.S. ambassador Douglas McElhaney told the Bosnian Serb daily Nezavisne Novine earlier this month.
"Anyone who brings into question this integrity should know that we do not forget," warned McElhaney, whose office issued a further statement on Monday saying "there will be no referendum ... and that is the official policy of the U.S. government".
GENIE OUT OF THE BOTTLE
Politically, however, there is at least a theoretical risk that a determined 'people's power' movement to demand an independence referendum could become hard to resist.
EU foreign ministers warned about inflammatory campaign rhetoric last Friday, after Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said Serbs "did not see their long-term future" in Bosnia.
Dodik warned secession would be an option if the Serb Republic were scrapped or lost its autonomy, as demanded by some Muslims and Croats who believe Bosnia can never become a unified state as long as half the country demands a separate identity.
Secession rhetoric frothed up in May after Montenegro voted to end ties to Serbia and declare an independent republic, now fully recognised and pursuing European Union membership.
Analysts say it was not surprising that Bosnian Serbs would envy the Montenegrin move and think of copying it, but it remains to be seen how genuine their threat really is.
Bosnia's international peace overseers say the separatist rhetoric is simply an ingredient in an unusually heated general election campaign, inflamed by the Serbs' defiant rejection of international demands to forge a single police force for Bosnia.
Senad Slatina of Sarajevo Center for European Integration Strategies (CEIS) says Dodik's talk can cut both ways. Besides pandering to secessionists, it wards off any threat to an ethnically exclusive Serb Republic.
"It is just a continuation of (Radovan) Karadzic's wartime policies," he said, referring to the fugitive Serb wartime leader wanted by the U.N. war crimes court on genocide charges.
"It is obvious that we are bracing for a very serious political crisis because of the Serbs' attitude," Slatina said.
Instead of completing a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU -- the first rung on the ladder to membership -- talks could be blocked by Dodik's opposition to the EU-sponsored police unification plan.
But polls show secession is popular, and Dodik may have let the genie out of the bottle, said Serb analyst Tanja Topic.
"I think he himself has been surprised with the response to all this and he has left himself very little space for manoeuvre. He's very close to the wall," said Topic.
"I think he knows he'll have to abandon this idea at a certain point. But we'll just have to wait and see."
Bosnia's Serbs are talking of secession in the campaign for the Oct. 1 election because Serbia is using them as a lever, analysts and diplomats say.
"Belgrade has been using Bosnian Serbs in its bargaining, telling them to speak up and say they'll claim independence if Kosovo goes," said a Sarajevo-based diplomat.
Serbia opposes independence for its southern Kosovo province, run by the United Nations since NATO military force compelled Serbia to withdraw its forces in 1999 to end what the West said was Serbian ethnic cleansing during a guerrilla war.
The West opposes the breakup of Bosnia, a two-part state bolted together by Washington from the wreckage of the 1992-95 war under the Dayton Accords -- a deal that forced exhausted, ethnically-cleansed enemies into uneasy partnership.
Western diplomats predict Kosovo's two million ethnic Albanians, representing a 90 percent majority, will get independence by the end of the year, courtesy of the United Nations and against the will of Serbia if the Belgrade government does not change its stance.
More by innuendo than open threat, the Serbs are saying: amputate Kosovo and you can watch Bosnia fall apart too, as 1.4 million ethnic Serbs elect to part company with 2.6 million Muslim Bosniaks and ethnic Croats.
Legally, no party in Bosnia has the right to secede. But then neither does Kosovo, on paper.
"We are the guarantor of peace and the constitution in this state, and it is our responsibility that Bosnia's integrity remains intact," U.S. ambassador Douglas McElhaney told the Bosnian Serb daily Nezavisne Novine earlier this month.
"Anyone who brings into question this integrity should know that we do not forget," warned McElhaney, whose office issued a further statement on Monday saying "there will be no referendum ... and that is the official policy of the U.S. government".
GENIE OUT OF THE BOTTLE
Politically, however, there is at least a theoretical risk that a determined 'people's power' movement to demand an independence referendum could become hard to resist.
EU foreign ministers warned about inflammatory campaign rhetoric last Friday, after Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said Serbs "did not see their long-term future" in Bosnia.
Dodik warned secession would be an option if the Serb Republic were scrapped or lost its autonomy, as demanded by some Muslims and Croats who believe Bosnia can never become a unified state as long as half the country demands a separate identity.
Secession rhetoric frothed up in May after Montenegro voted to end ties to Serbia and declare an independent republic, now fully recognised and pursuing European Union membership.
Analysts say it was not surprising that Bosnian Serbs would envy the Montenegrin move and think of copying it, but it remains to be seen how genuine their threat really is.
Bosnia's international peace overseers say the separatist rhetoric is simply an ingredient in an unusually heated general election campaign, inflamed by the Serbs' defiant rejection of international demands to forge a single police force for Bosnia.
Senad Slatina of Sarajevo Center for European Integration Strategies (CEIS) says Dodik's talk can cut both ways. Besides pandering to secessionists, it wards off any threat to an ethnically exclusive Serb Republic.
"It is just a continuation of (Radovan) Karadzic's wartime policies," he said, referring to the fugitive Serb wartime leader wanted by the U.N. war crimes court on genocide charges.
"It is obvious that we are bracing for a very serious political crisis because of the Serbs' attitude," Slatina said.
Instead of completing a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU -- the first rung on the ladder to membership -- talks could be blocked by Dodik's opposition to the EU-sponsored police unification plan.
But polls show secession is popular, and Dodik may have let the genie out of the bottle, said Serb analyst Tanja Topic.
"I think he himself has been surprised with the response to all this and he has left himself very little space for manoeuvre. He's very close to the wall," said Topic.
"I think he knows he'll have to abandon this idea at a certain point. But we'll just have to wait and see."
Bomb damages four cars in Kosovo
PRISTINA, Serbia (AP) - A bomb exploded in a village in southern Kosovo, damaging cars but causing no injuries, in the third such attack in as many days amid ongoing talks on the province's future status, police said Monday.
The explosion Sunday night was caused by a small bomb placed under a car in a parking lot outside a restaurant in Balaj village, 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of the capital, Pristina, police spokeswoman Sabrie Kamberi said.
Four cars were damaged, Kamberi said, but it was unclear if the restaurant itself was a target.
Police also said they did not yet have evidence to link the explosion to two others over the weekend. Authorities have increased security at public institutions, including schools, Kamberi said, without elaborating.
The blasts raised tensions amid ongoing U.N.-led negotiations on whether Kosovo should become independent -- which the province's ethnic Albanian leadership wants -- or have broad autonomy but remain a part of Serb territory, as Belgrade insists.
Last week, a U.N. envoy to the talks in Vienna, Austria, said the two sides had made little progress in reaching common ground, and that the negotiations were in jeopardy.
Two other bombs exploded, one Friday night and one Saturday night, injuring no one but damaging cars belonging to Kosovo's interior minister and a senior government official in Gnjilane, 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Pristina.
Kosovo's parliament speaker, Kole Berisha, said he considered both blasts were directed against the talks to undermine stability at a decisive moment.
The top U.N. administrator in Kosovo, Joachim Ruecker, also blamed people wishing to disrupt negotiations for a peaceful and democratic settlement for Kosovo.
Martti Ahtisaari, the chief U.N. envoy for Kosovo, was in New York to brief key members of the U.N. Security Council on the progress -- or lack of it -- in the status talks, which began in February.
The U.N. hopes to resolve the issue by the end of the year, but the failure so far to resolve the stalemate between the two sides has increased the likelihood that the Security Council will impose a solution by declaring Kosovo independent.
Ethnic Albanians, who make up more than 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million population, have been pushing for independence, but Serbs insist the province is the heart of their ancient homeland and should remain part of Serbia. Serb minority communities in Kosovo also want to remain under Belgrade.
The United Nations has administered Kosovo since 1999, when NATO air strikes drove out Serb troops who had carried out a bloody crackdown on its Albanian population. About 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers still patrol the province.
The explosion Sunday night was caused by a small bomb placed under a car in a parking lot outside a restaurant in Balaj village, 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of the capital, Pristina, police spokeswoman Sabrie Kamberi said.
Four cars were damaged, Kamberi said, but it was unclear if the restaurant itself was a target.
Police also said they did not yet have evidence to link the explosion to two others over the weekend. Authorities have increased security at public institutions, including schools, Kamberi said, without elaborating.
The blasts raised tensions amid ongoing U.N.-led negotiations on whether Kosovo should become independent -- which the province's ethnic Albanian leadership wants -- or have broad autonomy but remain a part of Serb territory, as Belgrade insists.
Last week, a U.N. envoy to the talks in Vienna, Austria, said the two sides had made little progress in reaching common ground, and that the negotiations were in jeopardy.
Two other bombs exploded, one Friday night and one Saturday night, injuring no one but damaging cars belonging to Kosovo's interior minister and a senior government official in Gnjilane, 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Pristina.
Kosovo's parliament speaker, Kole Berisha, said he considered both blasts were directed against the talks to undermine stability at a decisive moment.
The top U.N. administrator in Kosovo, Joachim Ruecker, also blamed people wishing to disrupt negotiations for a peaceful and democratic settlement for Kosovo.
Martti Ahtisaari, the chief U.N. envoy for Kosovo, was in New York to brief key members of the U.N. Security Council on the progress -- or lack of it -- in the status talks, which began in February.
The U.N. hopes to resolve the issue by the end of the year, but the failure so far to resolve the stalemate between the two sides has increased the likelihood that the Security Council will impose a solution by declaring Kosovo independent.
Ethnic Albanians, who make up more than 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million population, have been pushing for independence, but Serbs insist the province is the heart of their ancient homeland and should remain part of Serbia. Serb minority communities in Kosovo also want to remain under Belgrade.
The United Nations has administered Kosovo since 1999, when NATO air strikes drove out Serb troops who had carried out a bloody crackdown on its Albanian population. About 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers still patrol the province.
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