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December 16, 2003
ERP KiM Newsletter
16-12-03
Serb National Council
requests urgent reaction from Belgrade - Kosovo is not for sale
Despite a series of clearly positive elements with respect to universal
human and civil rights, from the legal perspective "Standards for
Kosovo" is yet another political decoy supposed to enable the
unobstructed continuation of the formation of an Albanian parastate on
the sovereign territory of the Republic of Serbia and the state union of
Serbia and Montenegro.
Serb National
Council: "Kosovo Serbs do not need abstractly defined "minority rights"
which
can easily be abrogated once Kosovo becomes independent Albanian state.
Only firm institutional link with Serbia is what is acceptable for the
Serbian people and protection of their legitimate national, cultural and
religious rights", said Dr. Rada Trajkovic, SNC vice-president (an
archive photo from one of the previous meetings of SNC of Kosovo and
Metohija presided by Bishop Artemije and SNC North Mitrovica led by Dr.
Milan Ivanovic)
*(SNC of
Kosovo and Metohija is non-political association which consists of Serb
patriots belonging to different political parties and which tries to
articulate national, cultural and religious interests of the Serbian
people in Kosovo and Metohija)
CONTENTS:
 Serb National Council of Kosovo and Metohija
requests urgent reaction from Belgrade
Despite a series of clearly positive elements with respect to universal
human and civil rights, from the legal perspective "Standards for
Kosovo" is yet another political decoy supposed to enable the
unobstructed continuation of the formation of an Albanian parastate on
the sovereign territory of the Republic of Serbia and the state union of
Serbia and Montenegro.
Serbia-Montenegro dissatisfied with drafting of
"Standards for Kosovo"
Serbian Prime Minister
Zivkovic reiterated that the document "Standards for Kosovo-Metohija"
was unacceptable for the Serbian government as it clearly indicates the
way the standards would be applied and by its structure seems more like
a text defining the future Kosovo status rather than standards.
Serbia-Montenegrin Minister of Foreign Affairs Goran Svilanovic and Head
of the Serbian Coordinating Centre for Kosovo-Metohija Nebojsa Covic
also expressed discontent with the way in which the document "Standards
for Kosovo" was drafted as well as with the Presidential Statement by
which the UN Security Council endorsed the document on December 12.
Covic urges Holkeri to stop privatization in
Kosovo and Metohija
The Head of the Coordinating Centre warned the UNMIK chief that
these decisions do not have legal basis as per UNMIK's legislation and
that the KTA Managing Board is not authorised to transform public
companies, but to restructure them, and that it is also not authorised
to transfer property to interim institutions and local self-governments.
Serbia-Montenegro: Changing face of the Serbian
armed forces
This improved situation has to do with two things: one, Serbia's
offer to send troops anywhere the US likes, and two, increased Western
distaste for Albanian intimidation of UNMIK forces in Kosovo. While they
aren't planning to send Serbian troops back into a province which at
least nominally belongs to the country, they have become more
sympathetic to Serbian concerns over the lawlessness, violence and
believed terrorist links of the Kosovo "Protection" Corps.
More News Available on our:
Kosovo Daily News
list (KDN)
KDN
Archive
This newsletter is available on our ERP
KIM Web-site:
http://www.kosovo.net/erpkiminfo.html
Serb
National Council of Kosovo and Metohija requests urgent reaction of
Belgrade
Despite a series of clearly positive elements with respect to universal
human and civil rights, from the legal perspective "Standards for
Kosovo" is yet another political decoy supposed to enable the
unobstructed continuation of the formation of an Albanian parastate on
the sovereign territory of the Republic of Serbia and the state union of
Serbia and Montenegro.
TOP
Communiqué
of the Serbian National Council of Kosovo and Metohija
Gracanica, December 15, 2003
The
Serbian National Council of Kosovo and Metohija wishes to express its
deepest concern as a result of the surprisingly indifference stance of
the Belgrade government regarding the Presidential Statement of the UN
Security Council (Dec. 12) giving support to Holkeri's "Standards for
Kosovo" plan.
This
plan, defining the preconditions for the beginning of negotiations on
the final status of the Province, does not say a word about the
sovereignty of Serbia and Montenegro nor the return of "Serbian
personnel" to state border crossings and patrimonial sites. The document
is overly abstract and does not include clear mechanisms for validation
whether standards are being implemented, especially with regard to
refugee returns and the human rights of the Serbian people, who are
reduced to "a national minority" in their own country. Despite a series
of clearly positive elements with respect to universal human and civil
rights, from the legal perspective this plan is yet another political
decoy supposed to enable the unobstructed continuation of the formation
of an Albanian parastate on the sovereign territory of the Republic of
Serbia and the state union of Serbia and Montenegro.
1. The SNC KIM appeals to the Serbian Government, the Serbia-Montenegro
Council of Ministers and, especially, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to
send an urgent request to the UN Security Council to re-examine
preconditions for the beginning of negotiations on final status and
adopt the clear position that there can be and will
be no negotiations as status until all preconditions already
contained in UNSC Resolution 1244, especially the two following
provisions of key importance:
a. Establishment of
substantial autonomy of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia and Montenegro
Paragraphs 10,
11a, Annex 2(5):
[The United Nations] "Authorizes
the Secretary-General, with the assistance of relevant international
organizations, to establish an international civil presence in Kosovo in
order to provide an interim administration for Kosovo under which the
people of Kosovo can enjoy
substantial autonomy within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
and which will provide transitional administration while establishing
and overseeing the development of provisional democratic self-governing
institutions to ensure conditions for a peaceful and normal life for all
inhabitants of Kosovo. [Emphasis added]
b. Return of
"Serbia and Montenegro, and Serbian personnel" to Kosovo and Metohija
Annex 2(6) of Resolution 1244 states: "After withdrawal,
an agreed number of Yugoslav and Serbian personnel will be
permitted to return to perform the following functions:
liaison with the international civil mission and the international
security presence; marking/clearing minefields; maintaining a presence
at Serb patrimonial sites; [] maintaining a presence at key border
crossings." [Emphasis added]
It is a sad fact that the first to
address the Security Council are representatives of the Serb Return
Coalition (Povratak), while state officials regarding whose territory
decisions are being made silently and impotently observe the denigration
of their own sovereignty and territorial integrity.
2. The SNC KIM also appeals to the Serbian Government to publish a clear
defined concept for the institutional reintegration of Kosovo
and Metohija as a substantial autonomy of the Republic of Serbia within
the state union of Serbia and Montenegro, and that the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense send an official
request for deployment of the first group of liaison officers of
the Serbia and Montenegro Army and the Serbian Interior Ministry in
accordance with Resolution 1244 and in agreement with
appropriate representatives of UNMIK and KFOR. Patriotic rhetoric
without concretely defined and substantiated moves on the part of the
state leadership is more political marketing than a serious state
leadership policy. It is simply incomprehensible and unforgivable that
in more than four years neither the old nor the new government has
presented a clear vision for the reintegration of the southern Serbian
province, which is under the temporary administration of the UN.
3. The SNC KIM welcomes the letter of the Return Coalition to Kofi
Annan, and reminds Serb representatives in Kosovo institutions that
further participation in provisional Kosovo institutions is possible
and acceptable only if they are acting within the institutional
framework of substantial autonomy of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia
and the state union of Serbia and Montenegro, and if an acceptable plan
for the decentralization of the Province is prepared as soon as possible,
which was the fundamental (but unfulfilled) condition for the
participation of Kosovo Serbs in provincial elections. Otherwise,
further participation by the Return Coalition in the Kosovo and Metohija
parliament, as well as in local municipal assemblies would lead directly
to a legitimization of secession and the negation of the state
sovereignty of Serbia and Montenegro on the territory of the Serbian
province. The Coalition should precisely formulate its position with
regard to this question and hand it to the UNMIK chief as soon as
possible.
4. The Serbian Government should certainly condition
the further continuation of negotiations on so-called "technical issues
between Belgrade and Pristina" expected to continue in spring of 2004
on the return of the UN Mission in Kosovo and Metohija within the scope
foreseen by Resolution 1244 (in accordance with the above cited
principles). Otherwise, the continuation of negotiations (even on
technical issues) outside the framework of Resolution 1244 and the
concrete affirmation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
Serbia and the state union of Serbia and Montenegro on this territory
will inescapably lead to only one possible solution: the independence of
Kosovo and Metohija, and the further territorial disintegration of the
state union of Serbia and Montenegro, as well as of the Republic of
Serbia herself.
This is the
last opportunity for a clearly defined and serious state leadership
policy and a well thought out diplomatic campaign through which the
state union of Serbia and Montenegro needs to show both the
international community and her own citizens that her legitimate rights,
regulated by international law and a series of international
conventions, must be literally respected. The degree to which we
ourselves respect our state and her sovereignty is the same degree to
which we will be respected by the entire democratic world as a serious
state based on law.
TOP
Serbia-Montenegro dissatisfied with drafting of "Standards for Kosovo"
Serbian Prime Minister Zivkovic reiterated that the document "Standards
for Kosovo-Metohija" was unacceptable for the Serbian government as it
clearly indicates the way the standards would be applied and by its
structure seems more like a text defining the future Kosovo status
rather than standards.
Serbia-Montenegrin Minister of Foreign Affairs Goran Svilanovic and Head
of the Serbian Coordinating Centre for Kosovo-Metohija Nebojsa Covic
also expressed discontent with the way in which the document "Standards
for Kosovo" was drafted as well as with the Presidential Statement by
which the UN Security Council endorsed the document on December 12.
TOP
http://www.serbia.sr.gov.yu/news/2003-12/15/332450.html
Serbian Government
Zivkovic,
Solana discuss Kosovo standards
Belgrade, Dec 15, 2003 - Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic met today
with EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy
Javier Solana and reiterated that the document "Standards for
Kosovo-Metohija" was unacceptable for the Serbian government as it
clearly indicates the way the standards would be applied and by its
structure seems more like a text defining the future Kosovo status
rather than standards.
Zivkovic, however, pointed out that the Serbian government is not giving
up the political and diplomatic struggle for Kosovo-Metohija, and
expressed the hope that this topic will be properly addressed after the
Dec 28 parliamentary elections in Serbia.
The document "Standards for Kosovo-Metohija" was proposed by UNMIK chief
Harri Holkeri and approved by the United Nations Security Council on Dec
12.
http://www.serbia.sr.gov.yu/news/2003-12/15/332446.html
Serbian Government
Foreign Minister
Svilanovic and Deputy Premier Covic expressed discontent with drafting
of "Kosovo Standards"
Belgrade, Dec 15, 2003 - Serbia-Montenegrin Minister of Foreign Affairs
Goran Svilanovic and Head of the Serbian Coordinating Centre for
Kosovo-Metohija Nebojsa Covic expressed discontent with the way in which
the document "Standards for Kosovo" was drafted as well as with the
Presidential Statement by which the UN Security Council endorsed the
document on December 12.
Serbia-Montenegro demands the definition of an adequate mechanism for
the country's active participation in the drafting of the document on
the implementation of the standards and insists on the transparency of
that process. It is also expected that UN Administrator in
Kosovo-Metohija Harri Holkeri and the Contact Group will formalize their
regular consultations with Belgrade, reads a statement from the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs.
Serbia-Montenegro reiterates its readiness for constructive cooperation
with the international community and for a dialogue on technical issues
with Pristina. Unfortunately, the obstruction of the dialogue by factors
from Kosovo-Metohija has not produced an adequate reaction by the
international community, which is surprising given that the dialogue is
one of the standards for Kosovo-Metohija, reads the statement.
TOP
Covic urges Holkeri to stop privatization in Kosovo and Metohija
The Head
of the Coordinating Centre warned the UNMIK chief that these decisions
do not have legal basis as per UNMIK's legislation and that the KTA
Managing Board is not authorised to transform public companies, but to
restructure them, and that it is also not authorised to transfer
property to interim institutions and local self-governments.
TOP
http://www.serbia.sr.gov.yu/news/2003-12/15/332442.html
Serbian Government
Belgrade, Dec 15, 2003 - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and head of the
Coordinating Centre for Kosovo-Metohija Nebojsa Covic urged UNMIK chief
Harri Holkeri to stop the privatisation of socially-owned companies in
the province, warning that if he fails to do so, Serbia will appeal to
the International Court.
In a protest letter to Holkeri, Covic said that the intention of Kosovo
Trust Agency (KTA) Managing Board Director Nicolas Lambsdorf to ratify
contracts on the sale of kosovo.netpanies from the first and second
round of privatisation, without previous scrupulous examination of
earlier decisions, is unacceptable. That way, the practice of sale of
companies without the respect for international standards will be
continued, the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister said.
Covic claims that Lambsdorf granted himself the discretionary right to
pass decisions that do not conform with UNMIK's regulations, according
to which previous transformation of every single company must be
thoroughly examined before the decision on the sale of a company is
made.
Covic stressed that KTA completely ignores Belgrade's warnings that the
state of Serbia, companies from other parts of Serbia and workers
shareholders have stakes in many Kosovo-Metohija's companies. The state
of Serbia is the largest creditor of these companies and guarantor of
their foreign debt, therefore companies cannot be sold without the
consent of their largest creditors.
The Serbian Deputy Prime Minister said that the KTA Managing Board plans
to make the decisions on its Dec 16 session on the transformation of
socially owned enterprises into corporations, and on the adoption of a
policy on the transfer of property of the socially-owned companies onto
organs such as ministries and municipalities.
The Head of the Coordinating Centre warned the UNMIK chief that these
decisions do not have legal basis as per UNMIK's legislation and that
the KTA Managing Board is not authorised to transform public companies,
but to restructure them, and that it is also not authorised to transfer
property to interim institutions and local self-governments.
TOP
Serbia-Montenegro: The changing face of the Serbian Armed Forces
This improved situation has to do with two things: one, Serbia's offer
to send troops anywhere the US likes, and two, increased Western
distaste for Albanian intimidation of UNMIK forces in Kosovo. While they
aren't planning to send Serbian troops back into a province which at
least nominally belongs to the country, they have become more
sympathetic to Serbian concerns over the lawlessness, violence and
believed terrorist links of the Kosovo "Protection" Corps.
TOP
http://www.balkanalysis.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=210
BALKANALYSIS
Posted on Tuesday, December 16 @ 02:00:00 EST by CDeliso
After suffering years of ignominy and Western castigation due to its
real and alleged involvement with the Bosnian, Croatian and Kosovar
conflicts, the Army of Serbia & Montenegro is trying to change its
image. And, while it may not seem so overtly, the Serbian armed forces
have been receiving steadily increasing support from the West, and
especially the United States.
This improved situation has to do with two things: one, Serbia's offer
to send troops anywhere the US likes, and two, increased Western
distaste for Albanian intimidation of UNMIK forces in Kosovo. While they
aren't planning to send Serbian troops back into a province which at
least nominally belongs to the country, they have become more
sympathetic to Serbian concerns over the lawlessness, violence and
believed terrorist links of the Kosovo "Protection" Corps.
Yet the restoration of the VSCG (Army of Serbia & Montenegro) has not
been completed, remaining hampered by political power plays- chiefly,
those of the Hague Tribunal, which keeps demanding the heads of more
Serbian senior officers. If this situation continues much longer, one
wonders if there will be anyone left in the Serbian armed forces.
Nevertheless, the Ministry of Defense continues to forge ahead, notably
becoming more PR-conscious in recent months. It is often said that
Bosnia and Croatia's use of expensive, slick American PR (renting big
firms like Ruder-Finn) helped give them a decisive edge in the media war
that so often supplanted the battlefield results. Serbia's spite for
public relations under President Milosevic contributed to the common
Western stereotype of Serbs as crazed and bloodthirsty savages
determined to exterminate their heroic and freedom-loving adversaries.
Now, the VSCG takes an active interest in documenting its coverage in
the media. A Belgrade marketing firm registers which media refer to it
and how often. The army also boasts a well-designed and maintained
website, which transmits non-inflammatory news and statements regarding
the army's progress in all sorts of fields.
A NATO Future?
The main goal of the Defense Ministry is to make the armed forces
compatible with NATO and the "security needs of the 21st century"- a
codeword for America's war on terror.
A key date to watch will be next June, when NATO meets for an alliance
summit in Istanbul. At a December 4th session in Brussels, NATO
delegates stated that agreed that Serbia & Montenegro (and
Bosnia-Herzegovina as well) have made ".considerable progress in the
efforts invested towards their admission into the Partnership for
Peace." The remaining outstanding issue was, predictably, compliance
with the Hague.
Serbia and Macedonia are also considering closer defense cooperation.
According to the Serbian defense ministry, President of the State Union
of Serbia-Montenegro Svetozar Marovic and Macedonian president Boris
Trajkovski met on November 30th in Budva, Montenegro, and spoke of a
"common objective" towards Euro-Atlantic integration.
President Marovic downplayed concerns that VSCG reform and budget cuts
mean the destruction of the armed forces:
".we have not started reforming the Army so that we could abolish it,
but we are going adjust it to meet the demands of the Euro-Atlantic
integration processes in which we intend to find our place, so that all
of those who are in the Army would have professionally higher level of
dignity in this line of work, to be better financially provided and
finally, to have common prospects, and so that the young people will
have the opportunity to serve civilian military service, just like in
all democratic countries."
Behind these promising words is the well-known sentiment, expressed by
US defense heavyweights like Donald Rumsfeld, that European armies
generally have too much staff for their budgets. In comparison to NATO's
needs and likely types of military threats to be encountered, European
armies are bulky and ineffiencient. More money should be freed up
(though they don't say it in as many words) for purchasing American
military hardware.
During Yugoslav times, Serbia was a center for arms production itself.
However, authorities now admit that the country lacks the capability at
present to produce "third and fourth generation weapons.
and therefore it has to invest in this area and find strategic
partners." Stated Defense Minister Boris Tadic, ".we have no intention
of halting the production of arms and military equipment, as well as
keeping our industry in this field at the existing level." However, in
all its "Euro-Atlantic" negotiations, it's highly unlikely that the US
will second any calls for a revitalized Serbian defense industry. Which
is no doubt why, when discussing the nature of military reforms, Deputy
Defense Minister Vukasin Maras stated that personnel numbers in the new
army would partially reflect Serbia's "economic potential." In other
words, the amount of capital that can be freed up for purchasing
American gear relative to the maximum number of soldiers that can
eliminated.
However, Tadic at least hopes that through new legislation Serbia can
regulate the list of firms registered to legally distribute arms, and
thus to crack down on the illicit arms trade expedited by powerful
Balkan criminal gangs.
In the process of Serbia's gradual normalization of relations with the
West, the army has been remarkably cooperative, all things considered.
The real test will be if Kosovo and/or Montenegro become independent,
and the internationals flee from the former. The Serbian army would have
to adopt a more defensive footing, and as for Montenegro, the tiny
province would probably learn the hard way about losing the muscle
provided by its big brother to the east. If Albanian paramilitaries
attack in the south, as they have threatened, Montenegro would be in
trouble if left to fight on its own. Independence involves a gamble.
However, that is in the worst case scenario. More likely is that, as
European neighbors are already finding, the best soldiers Serbia &
Montenegro has for its defense will likely spend a good part of their
careers abroad, in one imperial peacekeeping mission or another.
TOP
ERP KIM Info-Service is
the official Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska
and Prizren and works with the blessing of His Grace Bishop
Artemije.
Our Information Service is
distributing news on Kosovo related issues. The main focus of the
Info-Service is the life of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian
community in the Province of Kosovo and Metohija. ERP KIM Info Service
works in cooperation with www.serbian-translation.com
as well as the Kosovo Daily
News (KDN) News List
Disclaimer:
The views
expressed by the authors of newspaper articles or other texts which are
not official communiqués or news reports by the Diocese are their own and
do not necessarily represent the views of the Serbian Orthodox
Church
Additional information on
our Diocese and the life of the Kosovo Serb Community may be found at:
http://www.kosovo.net
Copyright 2003, ERP KIM Info-Service
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