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By REUTERS/ - UN police in Kosovo fired teargas and rubber bullets during clashes on Saturday with ethnic Albanians protesting against a UN plan they say falls short of full independence from Serbia.Hospital officials said they had treated 70 people, including four who were seriously wounded.Fourteen people were arrested as Kosovo and UN riot police advanced on hundreds of demonstrators who were hurling stones and bottles.The clashes, a repeat of riots in November, underscored Western fears of what the United States described last week as a possible ``breakdown in order'' if a decision on the Albanian majority's demand for independence does not come soon.A UN plan unveiled this month would, if adopted by the UN Security Council, set the territory on the path to statehood, eight years after NATO bombs drove out Serb forces and the United Nations took control.But some among Kosovo's 90-percent ethnic Albanian majority are angry at the plan's provisions for a powerful European overseer and self-government for the 100,000 remaining Serbs.The protesters called for an independence referendum and rejected talks with Serbia, which in 1998-99 killed 10,000 Albanians and expelled 800,000 in a two-year war with rebels.``Freedom does not come in packages,'' they chanted, in reference to the plan drafted by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari following months of Serb-Albanian talks in 2006.Kosovo Albanian leaders condemned the violence. ``We said there was no reason to protest, because the process is going in the right direction,'' said a government spokeswoman. WEST VS. RUSSIASerbia opposes the amputation of its medieval heartland, but the Albanians living there reject any return to Serb rule and are impatient to end eight years of U.N.-imposed limbo.Washington and the European Union back Ahtisaari's blueprint and hope the UN Security Council will adopt it by June.UN veto holder Russia, however, repeated on Saturday that it would only back a solution that was also acceptable to fellow-Orthodox nation Serbia.``If we see that one of the parties is not happy with the proposed solution, we should not support that decision,'' Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a conference in Munich.Ahtisaari has invited Serbia and the Kosovo Albanians to a final round of talks in Vienna from February 21 and hopes to present the plan to the UN Security Council in late March.The West has already delayed the process twice to avoid radicalizing Serbia. Ahtisaari said on Friday he saw no chance of the two sides agreeing, ``even if I negotiated all my life.''NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer warned against security gaps in Kosovo during a sensitive transfer of policing tasks this year.The United Nations has been reducing its UNMIK police force in Kosovo which is due to be replaced later this year by EU police. Several NATO nations also want to start winding down the alliance's separate 16,000-plus peace force there.``It is important that under all circumstances there should be an adequate police force, be it UNMIK or part of the EU mission,'' de Hoop Scheffer told a small group of reporters on the margins of a security conference in Munich.``It is important we don't see gaps. Because if there were gaps, that would immediately have consequences for KFOR,'' he said of the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR).
12 February 2007
No more on Kosovo
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Ian Williams/The Guardian - UKFebruary 8, 2007 9:00 PM In 2005, the UN heads of state summit accepted contemporary humanitarian standards of international law and accepted the " Responsibility to Protect", a doctrine which says that international humanitarian law trumps claims to state sovereignty. In effect, it takes up those words from the Declaration of Human Rights and says that sovereignty is a contract between a people and their state, and a state that massacres and mistreats its own people has broken that contract.King George III tried to make the American colonists pay some taxes to fund the war that Britain had just fought to get the French out of North America.The American response was that "when in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."One would have thought that opinions of mankind should know the causes impelling Kosovo's independence fairly well. The ten years of apartheid that Slobodan Milosevic's regime practiced upon the ethnically Albanian Kosovars, after he dissolved their government in 1989, followed by the intense attempt at ethnic cleansing in 1999 should make it fairly plain that the "political bands" had been stretched beyond breaking point.It is clear that Milosevic's behaviour effectively renounced any claims to loyalty from and justified sovereignty over the vast majority of Kosovars. Instead, Serb nationalists were left with more traditional claims to sovereignty: Serbia conquered Kosovo just before the First World War.Of course after Milosevic's overthrow, the Serbs could have said they are really sorry for what happened, and offered to make amends. They did not. Serb nationalist leaders blustered and tried to demonize their victims - although, to give them a bit of credit, they were forced to prosecute some of the perpetrators of mass murders in Kosovo when over a thousand semi-rotten Albanian cadavers turned up buried under police stations in Serbia and from under lakes where truckloads of them had been dunked. The post-mortem cleansing had been intended to remove the evidence of atrocities.But while Zoran Djindic hoped that revealing the mass graves would help raise support in Serbia for extraditing Milosevic, the temporary enthusiasm of the Serbian security forces for apprehending war criminals rapidly returned to its normal low ebb. It took several years for the Belgrade authorities to identify the DNA and return the corpses to Kosovo, but as gestures go, returning the fetid evidence without too much in the way of returning indictments does not really send a strong signal of contrition.So far, this is all Belgrade has done to woo Kosovo's Albanian majoirty. Instead, the nationalists have been posturing, running a referendum to declare that Kosovo is an inalienable and integral part of Serbia, while trying to detach the area north of Mitrovica, from which the Albanians were ethnically cleansed, and incorporate it into Serbia.Amusingly, there was no attempt get the citizenry of Kosovo to vote in this referendum. It has about the same strength as a British referendum declaring the13 colonies to be an integral part of the United Kingdom. Which is to say, none.It is time to stop pandering and give the nationalists a reality check. Because the international community came to the rescue of the Kosovars when Milosevic was killing them, it has earned the right to ensure the welfare of other minorities there. But, supervised or not, Kosovan independence is the only way forward. And then the Serbs and Kosovars can join the EU and concentrate on getting the Balkans working and making the frontiers there as irrelevant as they are in the rest of Europe. If the nationalists in Belgrade want to bluster and break off relations with their neighbours, the EU and the US, let them.
Ian Williams/The Guardian - UKFebruary 8, 2007 9:00 PM In 2005, the UN heads of state summit accepted contemporary humanitarian standards of international law and accepted the " Responsibility to Protect", a doctrine which says that international humanitarian law trumps claims to state sovereignty. In effect, it takes up those words from the Declaration of Human Rights and says that sovereignty is a contract between a people and their state, and a state that massacres and mistreats its own people has broken that contract.King George III tried to make the American colonists pay some taxes to fund the war that Britain had just fought to get the French out of North America.The American response was that "when in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."One would have thought that opinions of mankind should know the causes impelling Kosovo's independence fairly well. The ten years of apartheid that Slobodan Milosevic's regime practiced upon the ethnically Albanian Kosovars, after he dissolved their government in 1989, followed by the intense attempt at ethnic cleansing in 1999 should make it fairly plain that the "political bands" had been stretched beyond breaking point.It is clear that Milosevic's behaviour effectively renounced any claims to loyalty from and justified sovereignty over the vast majority of Kosovars. Instead, Serb nationalists were left with more traditional claims to sovereignty: Serbia conquered Kosovo just before the First World War.Of course after Milosevic's overthrow, the Serbs could have said they are really sorry for what happened, and offered to make amends. They did not. Serb nationalist leaders blustered and tried to demonize their victims - although, to give them a bit of credit, they were forced to prosecute some of the perpetrators of mass murders in Kosovo when over a thousand semi-rotten Albanian cadavers turned up buried under police stations in Serbia and from under lakes where truckloads of them had been dunked. The post-mortem cleansing had been intended to remove the evidence of atrocities.But while Zoran Djindic hoped that revealing the mass graves would help raise support in Serbia for extraditing Milosevic, the temporary enthusiasm of the Serbian security forces for apprehending war criminals rapidly returned to its normal low ebb. It took several years for the Belgrade authorities to identify the DNA and return the corpses to Kosovo, but as gestures go, returning the fetid evidence without too much in the way of returning indictments does not really send a strong signal of contrition.So far, this is all Belgrade has done to woo Kosovo's Albanian majoirty. Instead, the nationalists have been posturing, running a referendum to declare that Kosovo is an inalienable and integral part of Serbia, while trying to detach the area north of Mitrovica, from which the Albanians were ethnically cleansed, and incorporate it into Serbia.Amusingly, there was no attempt get the citizenry of Kosovo to vote in this referendum. It has about the same strength as a British referendum declaring the13 colonies to be an integral part of the United Kingdom. Which is to say, none.It is time to stop pandering and give the nationalists a reality check. Because the international community came to the rescue of the Kosovars when Milosevic was killing them, it has earned the right to ensure the welfare of other minorities there. But, supervised or not, Kosovan independence is the only way forward. And then the Serbs and Kosovars can join the EU and concentrate on getting the Balkans working and making the frontiers there as irrelevant as they are in the rest of Europe. If the nationalists in Belgrade want to bluster and break off relations with their neighbours, the EU and the US, let them.
"Kosova" or "Kosovo"?
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"Kosova" or "Kosovo"?
What's in a Name?
By J. P. MaherProfessor of Linguistics, Emeritus Northeastern Illinois University
"Kosovo" is a Serbian place name, more fully "kosovo polje", meaning the 'field (or plain) of blackbirds'. "Kosovo Polje" lies just outside the city of Prishtina.
Ornithology lesson: Among North Americans, Australians, and South Africans, only ornithologists can identify the species in question. Kosovo's "black bird" is no crow, nor raven, no starling nor grackle, but "turdus merula", European cousin of the North American rusty-bellied thrush ("turdus migratorius" ), which Yanks call the "robin". In Britain and Ireland "robin" is the name of another species, "erithacus rubecula".
(The "four and twenty 'blackbirds' baked in a pie", of the English rhyme, were of the species "merula", in Serbian called "kos". From this term "kosovo" is the derived possessive adjective.
Like America's harbinger of spring, the black bird called "kos" in Serbian language sings sweetly in the springtime and early summer.
For North Americans the feel of the Serbo-Croatian place name "Kosovo" can only be had from a free translation, "Field of Robins".
Albanians have borrowed the word from the Serbs, whose once overwhelming majority was driven down, especially since the Congress of Berlin, by savage aggression from Albanians incited then and in WW I by Austria-Hungary and Germany, in World War II by Mussolini's puppet Albanians, and after WW II by the discriminatory ethnic cleansing of the Stalinist dictator Josip Broz.
Native Indian place names in America have no meaning in English: e.g. "Michigan" means nothing in English. In Ojibwa "mishshikamaa" means "it is a big lake".
Just so the place names of Ireland have transparent meaning in Gaelic but are meaningless tags in the colonialist English, e.g. "Dublin" is Gaelic "dubh lin" 'black pool', and "Kildare" is "cil dara" 'church of the oak', Just so the names of the Serbian province of Kosovo are clear Serbian formations, but have no meaning in the Albanian language.
Proof of the Serbian origin of the name and the loanword status of the immigrant Albanian term is that the word "kosovo" has a clear etymology to anyone who knows a Slavic language, while Albanian "Kosova" is an opaque, meaningless place name in the Albanian language.
Kosovo is Serbian.
"Kosova" or "Kosovo"?
What's in a Name?
By J. P. MaherProfessor of Linguistics, Emeritus Northeastern Illinois University
"Kosovo" is a Serbian place name, more fully "kosovo polje", meaning the 'field (or plain) of blackbirds'. "Kosovo Polje" lies just outside the city of Prishtina.
Ornithology lesson: Among North Americans, Australians, and South Africans, only ornithologists can identify the species in question. Kosovo's "black bird" is no crow, nor raven, no starling nor grackle, but "turdus merula", European cousin of the North American rusty-bellied thrush ("turdus migratorius" ), which Yanks call the "robin". In Britain and Ireland "robin" is the name of another species, "erithacus rubecula".
(The "four and twenty 'blackbirds' baked in a pie", of the English rhyme, were of the species "merula", in Serbian called "kos". From this term "kosovo" is the derived possessive adjective.
Like America's harbinger of spring, the black bird called "kos" in Serbian language sings sweetly in the springtime and early summer.
For North Americans the feel of the Serbo-Croatian place name "Kosovo" can only be had from a free translation, "Field of Robins".
Albanians have borrowed the word from the Serbs, whose once overwhelming majority was driven down, especially since the Congress of Berlin, by savage aggression from Albanians incited then and in WW I by Austria-Hungary and Germany, in World War II by Mussolini's puppet Albanians, and after WW II by the discriminatory ethnic cleansing of the Stalinist dictator Josip Broz.
Native Indian place names in America have no meaning in English: e.g. "Michigan" means nothing in English. In Ojibwa "mishshikamaa" means "it is a big lake".
Just so the place names of Ireland have transparent meaning in Gaelic but are meaningless tags in the colonialist English, e.g. "Dublin" is Gaelic "dubh lin" 'black pool', and "Kildare" is "cil dara" 'church of the oak', Just so the names of the Serbian province of Kosovo are clear Serbian formations, but have no meaning in the Albanian language.
Proof of the Serbian origin of the name and the loanword status of the immigrant Albanian term is that the word "kosovo" has a clear etymology to anyone who knows a Slavic language, while Albanian "Kosova" is an opaque, meaningless place name in the Albanian language.
Kosovo is Serbian.
03 February 2007
Quote of the day
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"Mabye steps of victory can be little but the efforts would be great"- unknown
"Mabye steps of victory can be little but the efforts would be great"- unknown
Kosovo says Yes to U.N. plan, Serbia says No
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BELGRADE/PRISTINA (Reuters) - U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari unveiled a plan on Friday to set Serbia's
Kosovo' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Kosovo province on a path to independence, an outcome which Kosovo's majority Albanians quickly applauded but Belgrade rejected.
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Ahtisaari's proposal did not mention "independence" or address the loss of Serbia's sovereignty over the territory, where 90 percent of the people are ethnic Albanian. But both sides said this was clearly what it implied.
The poor landlocked province of two million borders Albania and is cherished by Serbs as the medieval homeland of their nation. Its status is one of the last unresolved problems from the wars that tore apart the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
"Kosovo will be sovereign like all other countries," said Kosovo president Fatmir Sejdiu after meeting Ahtisaari in Kosovo's capital Pristina.
Prime Minister Agim Ceku, a former guerrilla in the 1998-99 Kosovo Liberation Army which fought the forces of the late Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic, said the document "is very clear for Kosovo's future." The process will end "when Kosovo becomes an independent state." His cabinet threw a cocktail party.
After a meeting in Serbia, President Boris Tadic agreed the plan "opens up the possibility of independence. " But Tadic said he told the envoy: "Serbia and I as its president will never accept the independence of Kosovo."
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has condemned Ahtisaari for "anti-Serb bias," and took the lead in rejecting his plan in advance, refusing even to meet the envoy on Friday.
Ahtisaari's plan gives Kosovo access to international bodies usually reserved for sovereign states and allows it to use its own flag and anthem. The Serb minority would have broad self-government.
"The settlement provides for an international representative to supervise the implementation, " Ahtisaari told a news conference. The NATO-led peace force "will continue to provide a safe and secure environment ... as long as necessary."
It includes measures to "promote sustainable economic development including Kosovo's ability to apply for membership in international financial institutions, " he added.
LAST CHANCE
Ahtisaari declined several opportunities to address the issue of Kosovo's ultimate status, saying this would be settled by the U.N. Security Council once he formally presented his plan, following a last round of consultations.
He said the diametrically opposed positions of the Serbs and Kosovo Albanians were "extremely fixed." He was allowing them "one more chance" to agree but was "not terribly optimistic."
"That might require so much time that I don't think I have enough years in my life to achieve that," said the 69-year-old.
Invitations would be sent for further talks starting on February 13 and it would be up to Serbian and Kosovo Albanian leaders to decide whether to turn up. The former Finnish president mediated months of largely fruitless talks in 2006.
There was no point in waiting for a new government to be formed following Serbia's inconclusive election last month, he said. "Whether it's now or a little bit later, the same people would be on either side of the table."
Ahtisaari said he hoped to send the final plan to the U.N. Security Council by the end of March.
The European Union urged both sides to respond "positively and constructively" to Ahtisaari's proposals. The State Department said the proposal "is fair and balanced. It is a blueprint for a stable, prosperous and multi-ethnic Kosovo."
Kosovo has been run by the U.N. since 1999 when NATO bombing forced Milosevic to withdraw troops accused of killing 10,000 Albanians during a counter-insurgency war. About 100,000 ethnic Serbs remain. Some predict violence and secession, and both NATO and the U.N. mission have made contingency plans for a crisis.
"There is nothing more we can do," said Kosovo Serb accountant Milica Knezevic, "there's no life for us here."
Ahtisaari said in Pristina that the Contact Group guiding diplomacy on Kosovo -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia -- would not accept the partition of Kosovo, which would entail slicing off the mainly Serb north.
Serb premier Kostunica said the envoy's proposals were "illegitimate. " He is urging all parties in the next government to solemnly pledge to cut Serb ties with any country recognising Kosovo's independence, including major Western powers.
BELGRADE/PRISTINA (Reuters) - U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari unveiled a plan on Friday to set Serbia's
Kosovo' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Kosovo province on a path to independence, an outcome which Kosovo's majority Albanians quickly applauded but Belgrade rejected.
ADVERTISEMENT
Ahtisaari's proposal did not mention "independence" or address the loss of Serbia's sovereignty over the territory, where 90 percent of the people are ethnic Albanian. But both sides said this was clearly what it implied.
The poor landlocked province of two million borders Albania and is cherished by Serbs as the medieval homeland of their nation. Its status is one of the last unresolved problems from the wars that tore apart the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
"Kosovo will be sovereign like all other countries," said Kosovo president Fatmir Sejdiu after meeting Ahtisaari in Kosovo's capital Pristina.
Prime Minister Agim Ceku, a former guerrilla in the 1998-99 Kosovo Liberation Army which fought the forces of the late Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic, said the document "is very clear for Kosovo's future." The process will end "when Kosovo becomes an independent state." His cabinet threw a cocktail party.
After a meeting in Serbia, President Boris Tadic agreed the plan "opens up the possibility of independence. " But Tadic said he told the envoy: "Serbia and I as its president will never accept the independence of Kosovo."
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has condemned Ahtisaari for "anti-Serb bias," and took the lead in rejecting his plan in advance, refusing even to meet the envoy on Friday.
Ahtisaari's plan gives Kosovo access to international bodies usually reserved for sovereign states and allows it to use its own flag and anthem. The Serb minority would have broad self-government.
"The settlement provides for an international representative to supervise the implementation, " Ahtisaari told a news conference. The NATO-led peace force "will continue to provide a safe and secure environment ... as long as necessary."
It includes measures to "promote sustainable economic development including Kosovo's ability to apply for membership in international financial institutions, " he added.
LAST CHANCE
Ahtisaari declined several opportunities to address the issue of Kosovo's ultimate status, saying this would be settled by the U.N. Security Council once he formally presented his plan, following a last round of consultations.
He said the diametrically opposed positions of the Serbs and Kosovo Albanians were "extremely fixed." He was allowing them "one more chance" to agree but was "not terribly optimistic."
"That might require so much time that I don't think I have enough years in my life to achieve that," said the 69-year-old.
Invitations would be sent for further talks starting on February 13 and it would be up to Serbian and Kosovo Albanian leaders to decide whether to turn up. The former Finnish president mediated months of largely fruitless talks in 2006.
There was no point in waiting for a new government to be formed following Serbia's inconclusive election last month, he said. "Whether it's now or a little bit later, the same people would be on either side of the table."
Ahtisaari said he hoped to send the final plan to the U.N. Security Council by the end of March.
The European Union urged both sides to respond "positively and constructively" to Ahtisaari's proposals. The State Department said the proposal "is fair and balanced. It is a blueprint for a stable, prosperous and multi-ethnic Kosovo."
Kosovo has been run by the U.N. since 1999 when NATO bombing forced Milosevic to withdraw troops accused of killing 10,000 Albanians during a counter-insurgency war. About 100,000 ethnic Serbs remain. Some predict violence and secession, and both NATO and the U.N. mission have made contingency plans for a crisis.
"There is nothing more we can do," said Kosovo Serb accountant Milica Knezevic, "there's no life for us here."
Ahtisaari said in Pristina that the Contact Group guiding diplomacy on Kosovo -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia -- would not accept the partition of Kosovo, which would entail slicing off the mainly Serb north.
Serb premier Kostunica said the envoy's proposals were "illegitimate. " He is urging all parties in the next government to solemnly pledge to cut Serb ties with any country recognising Kosovo's independence, including major Western powers.
Serbia rejects Kosovo breakaway
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This is a email that I got today from political sciencies yahoo group... they are following every step of status period.... and I'm happy about their analyses and interest:
Serbia rejects Kosovo breakawaySerbia's president says he will never accept the independence of Kosovo, after the publication of a UN plan which could allow it to separate.
UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan recommends that Kosovo should govern itself democratically and be able to make international agreements.
But President Boris Tadic said the plan paved the way for independence, which he and Serbia would not accept.
Kosovo's leader said he believed the process would end in full independence.
"Kosovo will be sovereign like all other countries," President Fatmir Sejdiu said, after meeting Mr Ahtisaari.
'Compromise deal'
The UN has administered Kosovo since a Nato bombing campaign forced out Serbian troops in 1999.
KEY PROPOSAL POINTS
Contains no reference to Serbian sovereignty or independence for Kosovo
Blocks Kosovo from joining Albania, or having its Serb areas split off and join Serbia
Kosovo can use national symbols
Kosovo can join international organisations
Creates international envoy mandated by UN and EU with power to intervene in government
Retains Nato and EU forces in military and policing roles
Protects non-Albanian minority with guaranteed roles in government, police and civil service
Protects Serbian Orthodox Church sites and Serbian languageTalks to determine the province's final status have been continuing for years without the two sides coming to agreement.
Ethnic Albanians make up 90% of the province's two million people.
According to the UN, more than 220,000 non-Albanian Kosovans are living as internally displaced refugees in Serbia and Montenegro.
The ethnic Albanian majority overwhelmingly want to break away from Serbia, but Serbs regard the province - which is still officially part of Serbia - as the cradle of their culture, and oppose any solution that would lead to its independence.
Mr Ahtisaari says the proposals are a compromise between ethnic Albanian aspirations for an independent Kosovo and Serbia's wish to keep the province as part of its territory.
"I hope that as a result of this process we can make a new beginning. I think it will take some time and I think we have to be realistic as well that to talk about Kosovo as a model multi-ethnic society will take a long time, but it is important that we make a beginning," he said.
National anthem
But speaking after talks with Mr Ahtisaari in Belgrade, Mr Tadic said that the plan in effect paved the way for Kosovo to become independent.
Imposing independence would violate the fundamental principles of international law and serve as a dangerous political and legal precedent
Boris Tadic
The proposal "does not explicitly mention independence for Kosovo, but it also does not mention territorial integrity of Serbia," he said. "That fact alone, as well as some other provisions, opens the possibility for Kosovo's independence. "
And he insisted that this was not something Belgrade was prepared to accept.
"Imposing independence would violate the fundamental principles of international law and serve as a dangerous political and legal precedent," Mr Tadic said.
Under Mr Ahtisaari's plan, Kosovo would be allowed its own national symbols, including a flag and anthem, and to apply for membership of international organisations like the United Nations.
It would not be unconditional independence, however.
An "international community representative" would be appointed, with powers to intervene if Kosovo tried to go further than the plan allowed, while Nato and EU forces would remain in military and policing roles.
Kosovo could not be partitioned between Serbian and ethnic Albanian areas, nor would Kosovo be allowed to join any other state - implicitly ruling out the creation of a "greater Albania".
The interests of Kosovo's Serbs, including the Serbian Orthodox Church and the language, would be explicitly protected, and there would be guaranteed Serb representation in parliament, the police and civil service.
The UN Security Council will have the final say on whether to adopt the plan.
This is a email that I got today from political sciencies yahoo group... they are following every step of status period.... and I'm happy about their analyses and interest:
Serbia rejects Kosovo breakawaySerbia's president says he will never accept the independence of Kosovo, after the publication of a UN plan which could allow it to separate.
UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan recommends that Kosovo should govern itself democratically and be able to make international agreements.
But President Boris Tadic said the plan paved the way for independence, which he and Serbia would not accept.
Kosovo's leader said he believed the process would end in full independence.
"Kosovo will be sovereign like all other countries," President Fatmir Sejdiu said, after meeting Mr Ahtisaari.
'Compromise deal'
The UN has administered Kosovo since a Nato bombing campaign forced out Serbian troops in 1999.
KEY PROPOSAL POINTS
Contains no reference to Serbian sovereignty or independence for Kosovo
Blocks Kosovo from joining Albania, or having its Serb areas split off and join Serbia
Kosovo can use national symbols
Kosovo can join international organisations
Creates international envoy mandated by UN and EU with power to intervene in government
Retains Nato and EU forces in military and policing roles
Protects non-Albanian minority with guaranteed roles in government, police and civil service
Protects Serbian Orthodox Church sites and Serbian languageTalks to determine the province's final status have been continuing for years without the two sides coming to agreement.
Ethnic Albanians make up 90% of the province's two million people.
According to the UN, more than 220,000 non-Albanian Kosovans are living as internally displaced refugees in Serbia and Montenegro.
The ethnic Albanian majority overwhelmingly want to break away from Serbia, but Serbs regard the province - which is still officially part of Serbia - as the cradle of their culture, and oppose any solution that would lead to its independence.
Mr Ahtisaari says the proposals are a compromise between ethnic Albanian aspirations for an independent Kosovo and Serbia's wish to keep the province as part of its territory.
"I hope that as a result of this process we can make a new beginning. I think it will take some time and I think we have to be realistic as well that to talk about Kosovo as a model multi-ethnic society will take a long time, but it is important that we make a beginning," he said.
National anthem
But speaking after talks with Mr Ahtisaari in Belgrade, Mr Tadic said that the plan in effect paved the way for Kosovo to become independent.
Imposing independence would violate the fundamental principles of international law and serve as a dangerous political and legal precedent
Boris Tadic
The proposal "does not explicitly mention independence for Kosovo, but it also does not mention territorial integrity of Serbia," he said. "That fact alone, as well as some other provisions, opens the possibility for Kosovo's independence. "
And he insisted that this was not something Belgrade was prepared to accept.
"Imposing independence would violate the fundamental principles of international law and serve as a dangerous political and legal precedent," Mr Tadic said.
Under Mr Ahtisaari's plan, Kosovo would be allowed its own national symbols, including a flag and anthem, and to apply for membership of international organisations like the United Nations.
It would not be unconditional independence, however.
An "international community representative" would be appointed, with powers to intervene if Kosovo tried to go further than the plan allowed, while Nato and EU forces would remain in military and policing roles.
Kosovo could not be partitioned between Serbian and ethnic Albanian areas, nor would Kosovo be allowed to join any other state - implicitly ruling out the creation of a "greater Albania".
The interests of Kosovo's Serbs, including the Serbian Orthodox Church and the language, would be explicitly protected, and there would be guaranteed Serb representation in parliament, the police and civil service.
The UN Security Council will have the final say on whether to adopt the plan.
FInally we got it...
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Finaly we got Ahtisari's proposal.... telling the truth it is not bad plan... except the mitrovica wich i don't agree creating two ethnical municipalities... ok i do agree with creating two municipalities but not devided as it is now... it should have been devided not on south and north Mitrovica but on west and east so we could have two multiethnical municipalities..... becuase telling the truth i think that Mitrovicas plan is not long term plan...
however seams that albanians are going to accept the plan but regarding serbian leaders (from serbia) they won't accept it.... Anyway as I sow on press conferencies Ahtisari made up his mind and won't change anything on plan becuase as he said: "I'm to old and if we go and re-do everything again from begening, my years won't be enough".... it was funny but very diplomatic answer........
So,lets se the plan.... here comes the summary of Ahtisari's plan taken from: http://www.unosek.org/pressrelease/2007-01-16%20EXECUTIVE%20SUMMARY.doc
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
I. General
The aim of the Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status Settlement is to define the provisions necessary for a future Kosovo that is viable, sustainable and stable. It includes detailed measures to ensure the promotion and protection of the rights of communities and their members, the effective decentralization of government, and the preservation and protection of cultural and religious heritage. In addition, the Settlement prescribes constitutional, economic and security provisions, all of which are aimed at contributing to the development of a multi-ethnic, democratic and prosperous Kosovo. An important element of the Settlement is the mandate provided for a future international civilian and military presence in Kosovo, to supervise implementation of the Settlement and assist the competent Kosovo authorities in ensuring peace and stability throughout Kosovo. The provisions of the Settlement will take precedence over all other legal provisions in Kosovo.
II. Provisions of the Settlement
The Settlement consists of a main body with fourteen articles that form its key principles, and twelve Annexes which elaborate upon these principles:
· Kosovo shall be a multi-ethnic society, governing itself democratically and with full respect for the rule of law, the highest level of internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, and which promotes the peaceful and prosperous existence of all its inhabitants.
· Kosovo shall adopt a Constitution to enshrine such principles. While the Settlement does not prescribe a complete Constitution, it defines key elements that must form part of the Constitution.
· Kosovo shall have the right to negotiate and conclude international agreements, including the right to seek membership in international organizations.
· The protection and promotion of the rights of members of communities is a central element of the Settlement. The Settlement addresses key aspects to be protected, including culture, language, education, and symbols. It also provides for specific representation mechanisms for Kosovo non-Albanian community members in key public institutions to safeguard and encourage their effective and active participation in public life. To protect the rights of Kosovo non-Albanian communities in the legislative process, the Settlement also provides that certain, enumerated laws may only be enacted if a majority of the Kosovo non-Albanian members of the Kosovo Assembly agree to their adoption.
· The Settlement provides a wide-ranging decentralization proposal, which is extensive in scope and intended to promote good governance, transparency and effectiveness in public service. The proposal focuses in particular on the specific needs and concerns of the Kosovo Serb community, which will have a high degree of control over its own affairs. The decentralization elements include, inter alia, new municipal competencies for Kosovo Serb majority municipalities (such as in the areas of secondary health care and higher education); extensive municipal autonomy in financial matters, including the ability to accept transparent funding from Serbia for a broad range of municipal activities and purposes; provisions on inter-municipal partnerships and cross-boundary cooperation with Serbian institutions; and the establishment of six new or significantly expanded Kosovo Serb majority municipalities (Gracanica, Novo Brdo, Klokott, Ranilug, Partes, Mitrovica-North).
· The Settlement also provides for a justice system in Kosovo that is integrated, independent, professional and impartial, ensuring access of all persons in Kosovo to justice. It also provides for mechanisms to ensure that the justice system is inclusive, and that its judiciary and prosecution service reflect the multiethnic character of Kosovo.
· The provisions on the protection and promotion of religious and cultural heritage will ensure the unfettered and undisturbed existence and operation of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) in Kosovo. More than forty key religious and cultural sites will be surrounded by Protective Zones to prevent any disruptive commercial and industrial development or construction, and to preserve the cultural dignity of such sites. The Settlement also mandates additional physical security for selected sites. The SOC and its internal organization will be explicitly recognized by the Kosovo authorities, and will be granted inviolability of its property, freedom from taxation and customs duty privileges. The SOC in Kosovo will be also be free to maintain links with the SOC in Belgrade.
· All refugees and internally displaced persons from Kosovo will have the right to return and reclaim their property and personal possessions. The Settlement also calls upon Kosovo and Serbia to cooperate fully with the International Commission of the Red Cross to resolve the fate of missing persons.
· The Settlement includes specific provisions designed to promote and safeguard sustainable economic development in Kosovo. It prescribes transparent procedures to settle disputed property claims and for a continued privatization process, both with substantial international involvement. In addition, the Settlement defines mechanisms to determine Kosovo’s share of Serbia’s external debt, and to address the issue of property restitution.
· The Settlement also provides for a professional, multi-ethnic, and democratic Kosovo security sector, encouraging significant local ownership in its development while retaining a level of international oversight necessary for ultimate success in this sensitive area. The Kosovo Police Force will have a unified chain of command throughout Kosovo, with local police officers reflecting the ethnic composition of the municipality in which they serve. In Kosovo Serb majority municipalities, the Municipal Assembly will have enhanced competencies in the selection of the local Station Commander. A new professional and multi-ethnic Kosovo Security Force (KSF) will be established within one year.. It will have a maximum of 2,500 active members and 800 reserve members. The Settlement stipulates that the current Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) will be disbanded within one year.
· Recognizing that fulfilling Kosovo’s responsibilities under the Settlement will require a wide range of complex and difficult activities, the Settlement provides for a future international presence to supervise and support the relevant efforts of Kosovo’s authorities. This presence consists of three principle components:
An International Civilian Representative (ICR), double-hatted as the EU Special Representative, will be appointed by an International Steering Group (ISG) comprising key international stakeholders. The ICR will have ultimate supervisory authority over the implementation of the Settlement. The ICR will have specific powers conferred upon him/her to allow him to take the actions necessary to oversee and ensure successful implementation of the Settlement. These include the authority to annul decisions or laws adopted by Kosovo authorities and sanction or remove public officials whose actions are determined by the ICR to be inconsistent with the letter or spirit of the Settlement. The ICR will also be the final authority in Kosovo regarding the civilian aspects of the Settlement.
A European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) Mission will monitor, mentor and advise on all areas related to the rule of law. Specifically, it will assist Kosovo in the development of efficient, fair and representative police, judicial, customs and penal institutions, and have the authority to assume other responsibilities to ensure the maintenance and promotion of the rule of law, public order and security.
An NATO-led International Military Presence will provide a safe and secure environment throughout Kosovo, in conjunction with the ICR and in support of Kosovo’s institutions until such time as those institutions are capable of assuming the full-range of security responsibilities.
· The OSCE, with an extensive field presence in Kosovo, will be requested to assist in the monitoring necessary for successful implementation of the Settlement.
III. Implementation of the Settlement
· Upon the entry into force of the Settlement, there will be a 120 day transition period, during which UNMIK’s existing mandate will remain unchanged. To ensure immediate supervision over implementation of the Settlement by Kosovo, however, the ICR will possess the authority to monitor such implementation and make recommendations to UNMIK on actions to be taken to ensure compliance.
· During the transition period, the Kosovo Assembly, in consultation with the ICR, will be responsible for approving a Constitution and the legislation necessary for the implementation of the Settlement. The new Constitution and legislation will become effective immediately upon the conclusion of the transition period.
· At the end of the transition period, UNMIK’s mandate will expire and all legislative and executive authority vested in UNMIK will be transferred en bloc to the authorities of Kosovo, in accordance with the Settlement.
· Within nine months of the entry into force of the Settlement, general and local elections are to be held.
· The mandate of the ICR will continue until the ISG determines that Kosovo has implemented the terms of the Settlement.
Finaly we got Ahtisari's proposal.... telling the truth it is not bad plan... except the mitrovica wich i don't agree creating two ethnical municipalities... ok i do agree with creating two municipalities but not devided as it is now... it should have been devided not on south and north Mitrovica but on west and east so we could have two multiethnical municipalities..... becuase telling the truth i think that Mitrovicas plan is not long term plan...
however seams that albanians are going to accept the plan but regarding serbian leaders (from serbia) they won't accept it.... Anyway as I sow on press conferencies Ahtisari made up his mind and won't change anything on plan becuase as he said: "I'm to old and if we go and re-do everything again from begening, my years won't be enough".... it was funny but very diplomatic answer........
So,lets se the plan.... here comes the summary of Ahtisari's plan taken from: http://www.unosek.org/pressrelease/2007-01-16%20EXECUTIVE%20SUMMARY.doc
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
I. General
The aim of the Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status Settlement is to define the provisions necessary for a future Kosovo that is viable, sustainable and stable. It includes detailed measures to ensure the promotion and protection of the rights of communities and their members, the effective decentralization of government, and the preservation and protection of cultural and religious heritage. In addition, the Settlement prescribes constitutional, economic and security provisions, all of which are aimed at contributing to the development of a multi-ethnic, democratic and prosperous Kosovo. An important element of the Settlement is the mandate provided for a future international civilian and military presence in Kosovo, to supervise implementation of the Settlement and assist the competent Kosovo authorities in ensuring peace and stability throughout Kosovo. The provisions of the Settlement will take precedence over all other legal provisions in Kosovo.
II. Provisions of the Settlement
The Settlement consists of a main body with fourteen articles that form its key principles, and twelve Annexes which elaborate upon these principles:
· Kosovo shall be a multi-ethnic society, governing itself democratically and with full respect for the rule of law, the highest level of internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, and which promotes the peaceful and prosperous existence of all its inhabitants.
· Kosovo shall adopt a Constitution to enshrine such principles. While the Settlement does not prescribe a complete Constitution, it defines key elements that must form part of the Constitution.
· Kosovo shall have the right to negotiate and conclude international agreements, including the right to seek membership in international organizations.
· The protection and promotion of the rights of members of communities is a central element of the Settlement. The Settlement addresses key aspects to be protected, including culture, language, education, and symbols. It also provides for specific representation mechanisms for Kosovo non-Albanian community members in key public institutions to safeguard and encourage their effective and active participation in public life. To protect the rights of Kosovo non-Albanian communities in the legislative process, the Settlement also provides that certain, enumerated laws may only be enacted if a majority of the Kosovo non-Albanian members of the Kosovo Assembly agree to their adoption.
· The Settlement provides a wide-ranging decentralization proposal, which is extensive in scope and intended to promote good governance, transparency and effectiveness in public service. The proposal focuses in particular on the specific needs and concerns of the Kosovo Serb community, which will have a high degree of control over its own affairs. The decentralization elements include, inter alia, new municipal competencies for Kosovo Serb majority municipalities (such as in the areas of secondary health care and higher education); extensive municipal autonomy in financial matters, including the ability to accept transparent funding from Serbia for a broad range of municipal activities and purposes; provisions on inter-municipal partnerships and cross-boundary cooperation with Serbian institutions; and the establishment of six new or significantly expanded Kosovo Serb majority municipalities (Gracanica, Novo Brdo, Klokott, Ranilug, Partes, Mitrovica-North).
· The Settlement also provides for a justice system in Kosovo that is integrated, independent, professional and impartial, ensuring access of all persons in Kosovo to justice. It also provides for mechanisms to ensure that the justice system is inclusive, and that its judiciary and prosecution service reflect the multiethnic character of Kosovo.
· The provisions on the protection and promotion of religious and cultural heritage will ensure the unfettered and undisturbed existence and operation of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) in Kosovo. More than forty key religious and cultural sites will be surrounded by Protective Zones to prevent any disruptive commercial and industrial development or construction, and to preserve the cultural dignity of such sites. The Settlement also mandates additional physical security for selected sites. The SOC and its internal organization will be explicitly recognized by the Kosovo authorities, and will be granted inviolability of its property, freedom from taxation and customs duty privileges. The SOC in Kosovo will be also be free to maintain links with the SOC in Belgrade.
· All refugees and internally displaced persons from Kosovo will have the right to return and reclaim their property and personal possessions. The Settlement also calls upon Kosovo and Serbia to cooperate fully with the International Commission of the Red Cross to resolve the fate of missing persons.
· The Settlement includes specific provisions designed to promote and safeguard sustainable economic development in Kosovo. It prescribes transparent procedures to settle disputed property claims and for a continued privatization process, both with substantial international involvement. In addition, the Settlement defines mechanisms to determine Kosovo’s share of Serbia’s external debt, and to address the issue of property restitution.
· The Settlement also provides for a professional, multi-ethnic, and democratic Kosovo security sector, encouraging significant local ownership in its development while retaining a level of international oversight necessary for ultimate success in this sensitive area. The Kosovo Police Force will have a unified chain of command throughout Kosovo, with local police officers reflecting the ethnic composition of the municipality in which they serve. In Kosovo Serb majority municipalities, the Municipal Assembly will have enhanced competencies in the selection of the local Station Commander. A new professional and multi-ethnic Kosovo Security Force (KSF) will be established within one year.. It will have a maximum of 2,500 active members and 800 reserve members. The Settlement stipulates that the current Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) will be disbanded within one year.
· Recognizing that fulfilling Kosovo’s responsibilities under the Settlement will require a wide range of complex and difficult activities, the Settlement provides for a future international presence to supervise and support the relevant efforts of Kosovo’s authorities. This presence consists of three principle components:
An International Civilian Representative (ICR), double-hatted as the EU Special Representative, will be appointed by an International Steering Group (ISG) comprising key international stakeholders. The ICR will have ultimate supervisory authority over the implementation of the Settlement. The ICR will have specific powers conferred upon him/her to allow him to take the actions necessary to oversee and ensure successful implementation of the Settlement. These include the authority to annul decisions or laws adopted by Kosovo authorities and sanction or remove public officials whose actions are determined by the ICR to be inconsistent with the letter or spirit of the Settlement. The ICR will also be the final authority in Kosovo regarding the civilian aspects of the Settlement.
A European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) Mission will monitor, mentor and advise on all areas related to the rule of law. Specifically, it will assist Kosovo in the development of efficient, fair and representative police, judicial, customs and penal institutions, and have the authority to assume other responsibilities to ensure the maintenance and promotion of the rule of law, public order and security.
An NATO-led International Military Presence will provide a safe and secure environment throughout Kosovo, in conjunction with the ICR and in support of Kosovo’s institutions until such time as those institutions are capable of assuming the full-range of security responsibilities.
· The OSCE, with an extensive field presence in Kosovo, will be requested to assist in the monitoring necessary for successful implementation of the Settlement.
III. Implementation of the Settlement
· Upon the entry into force of the Settlement, there will be a 120 day transition period, during which UNMIK’s existing mandate will remain unchanged. To ensure immediate supervision over implementation of the Settlement by Kosovo, however, the ICR will possess the authority to monitor such implementation and make recommendations to UNMIK on actions to be taken to ensure compliance.
· During the transition period, the Kosovo Assembly, in consultation with the ICR, will be responsible for approving a Constitution and the legislation necessary for the implementation of the Settlement. The new Constitution and legislation will become effective immediately upon the conclusion of the transition period.
· At the end of the transition period, UNMIK’s mandate will expire and all legislative and executive authority vested in UNMIK will be transferred en bloc to the authorities of Kosovo, in accordance with the Settlement.
· Within nine months of the entry into force of the Settlement, general and local elections are to be held.
· The mandate of the ICR will continue until the ISG determines that Kosovo has implemented the terms of the Settlement.
02 February 2007
Today is "that" day
I love Peace
if you are asking your self wich must be that day that I'm talking about...probebly you are not kosovar...becuase all kosovars used to wait for about 7 years for this day...... a day when the 1244 resolution will end and the status quote will move toward...
So today is the day that Mr. Ahtisari will represent his proposal about kosovo status.
what did he cooked on his misterious kittchen???!!!! and did we gonna like it..... it's all question mark for now....
anyway kosovar-albanians are waiting to have Kosovo Independence and kosovar-serbians or most of them are waiting to have a return of kosovo on serbia on same situation as it used to be before 1999. who will see their dream comming true....I think neither side....
that's because international politics is not on Kosovo-albanians side and aslo is not on serbian side.
I'm saying this because just few days ago, british minister for international relation used to represent to Europian Union the proposal for new resolution where was proposed Kosova Indepedence but majority of Evropian Parlament requested to disregard that article and also they modified the resolution by removing the Serbia's soverignity from Kosovo...and they approved the resolution without kosovo independence article and without serbia's soverignity which means something/nothing for both sides.
anyway, regarding this situation what whould be the Ahtisar's proposal today???
I may assume that its not gonna be the full independence and also it's not gonna be the return to the situation pre-war(1999).
anyway the proposal that will be accpeted for both sides is as follows:
First proposal (which has most possibility) can be the Kosovo with attributions of state which means with the possibility to be represented by it's own on interational organizations and with the full right respect of minorities with decentalization wich performs a strong municipality with a lots of competencies expecually on municipality with serbian majority and also a lots of such municipalities. also including the right of serbia to finance this municipalities but just if those finances are review and approved by Kosovo Government, without forgeting here the north Mitrovica which needs to be on Kosovo territory unical with the south Mitrovica with the two "presidents"(representatives) from each side and with an board that will take decisions; also for a period of time kosovo needs to be under observal of UE and NATO. (limmited independence)
-Kosovar-albanians will accept this proposal but they won't be happy(the situation will be under controll and there won't be demonstrations)
-Kosovar-serbians will accept this proposal and they also won't be happy and NATO needs to be focused especially on Mitrovica.
other proposals gonna result with demonstartions and revolt of either albanian or serbian side....
if you are asking your self wich must be that day that I'm talking about...probebly you are not kosovar...becuase all kosovars used to wait for about 7 years for this day...... a day when the 1244 resolution will end and the status quote will move toward...
So today is the day that Mr. Ahtisari will represent his proposal about kosovo status.
what did he cooked on his misterious kittchen???!!!! and did we gonna like it..... it's all question mark for now....
anyway kosovar-albanians are waiting to have Kosovo Independence and kosovar-serbians or most of them are waiting to have a return of kosovo on serbia on same situation as it used to be before 1999. who will see their dream comming true....I think neither side....
that's because international politics is not on Kosovo-albanians side and aslo is not on serbian side.
I'm saying this because just few days ago, british minister for international relation used to represent to Europian Union the proposal for new resolution where was proposed Kosova Indepedence but majority of Evropian Parlament requested to disregard that article and also they modified the resolution by removing the Serbia's soverignity from Kosovo...and they approved the resolution without kosovo independence article and without serbia's soverignity which means something/nothing for both sides.
anyway, regarding this situation what whould be the Ahtisar's proposal today???
I may assume that its not gonna be the full independence and also it's not gonna be the return to the situation pre-war(1999).
anyway the proposal that will be accpeted for both sides is as follows:
First proposal (which has most possibility) can be the Kosovo with attributions of state which means with the possibility to be represented by it's own on interational organizations and with the full right respect of minorities with decentalization wich performs a strong municipality with a lots of competencies expecually on municipality with serbian majority and also a lots of such municipalities. also including the right of serbia to finance this municipalities but just if those finances are review and approved by Kosovo Government, without forgeting here the north Mitrovica which needs to be on Kosovo territory unical with the south Mitrovica with the two "presidents"(representatives) from each side and with an board that will take decisions; also for a period of time kosovo needs to be under observal of UE and NATO. (limmited independence)
-Kosovar-albanians will accept this proposal but they won't be happy(the situation will be under controll and there won't be demonstrations)
-Kosovar-serbians will accept this proposal and they also won't be happy and NATO needs to be focused especially on Mitrovica.
other proposals gonna result with demonstartions and revolt of either albanian or serbian side....
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