Text of report in English by independent internet news agency KosovaLive
Prishtina [Pristina], 25 November: The head of UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo], Soeren Jessen-Petersen, assured once again the Kosovars that there will be no division on ethnic lines.
Jessen-Petersen made those comments following a regular meeting with Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi.
He said that the most influential international institutions have expressed several times against division, "and most recently Ahtisaari has also confirmed it to me during his visit here," he added.
"We can assure the people of Kosova [Kosovo] that one of the guiding principles of the Contact Group is that there will be no division. The Contact Group has not changed its principles, neither it is going to change them," he said.
Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi voiced also convinction that there will no division, and that Kosova is one and indivisible.
He also said that all possibilities to reintegrate that part of Kosova into the lawful institutions and to dismantle the illegal structure should be sought during the status talks.
As far as the role of UNMIK during the status talks, Jessen-Petersen said that UNMIK during this time will work closely with the PISG [Provisional Institutions of Self-Government] and political parties and will support implementation of standards, decentralization and all important areas, without prejudging status talks outcome.
He also said that the institutions of Kosova have expressed readiness for a continuance of the international presence in Kosova, "not because UNMIK mandate will end but because of some other disagreements".
Kosumi and Jessen-Petersen will also discuss about establishment of an agency on property to replace the Housing and Property Directorate, which ends its mission in the end of December.
"We believe that this agency will be established and will facilitate resolving of those issues, which are among Kosova's biggest problems," Kosumi said.
Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 25 Nov 05
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2 comments:
- Neither UNMIK nor the Kosovo government can provide Kosovo's Serbs safety (see Kai Eide report).
- UNMIK is unconditionally against division of Kosovo, even if it concerns only the north where hardly an Albanian lives.
Conclusion: UNMIK aims for ethnic cleansing of the Serbs
At the moment, Kosovo is not heading for full independence, but rather some kind of limited and conditional independence, at best. Foreign troops will remain and there will be wide ranging international (EU most likely) control of the judiciary and police. Kosovo's constitution will be frame, or at least limited by, the international community. Minority rights will be closely monitored and most likely warrant continous intereference by the international community and by Serbia. Kosovo will be more of an international protectorate than an independent nation.
Wouldn't it be better if the northern slice of the province (say north of Mitrovica) was left in Serbia and any populations on the 'wrong' side of the border resettled. Churches and monasteries in the southern part could be taken down (stone by stone) and reerected in Serbia.
With no minorities left in Kosovo, the country would be truly free to pursue its own politics with no need for further involvement by the international community.
If Serbia insists on keeping Kosovo as an autonomous part of Serbia the issue will continue to drag the country down, stopping democratic reform and just be a huge unresolved issue. Likewise, if the Kosovo albanians demand full independence for the whole province, they'll continously have to look over their shoulder (once the Americans leave Serbia could pretty easily take back the province, or at least part of it).
Kosovo and Serbia will have to live as neighbours. For this to work neither can achieve its maximalist goals or you are only laying the foundations for the next war.
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