The latest news articles on Kosovo - ERP KIM choice

Beta News Agency, Belgrade
March 29, 2004

(Photo ERP KIM: The tomb of the 14th cenutry saint Joanikije of Devic was broken, marble slabs taken away, and the relics set on fire. The entire chapel at the monastery of Devic was burned with all frescoes. Serbs believe that in independent Kosovo not a single Christian holy site would survive and that all Serbs will be ethnically cleansed. After so many rethoric, the last week events which were orchestrated by Kosovo Albanian leaders, former UCK warlords, is the best proof, what would independent Kosovo bring to Europe. Comment ErP KIM)

 PRAGUE - Czech diplomat Jiri Dienstbier assessed that that only solution for Kosovo is decentralization, that is, the forming of self-governing districts by ethnic groups, whereas "gifted" independence would only represent a risk for all of Europe.

In a commentary published today in the Prague daily "Pravo", Diensbier assessed that, in the event of independence, the extremists would not be content just with Kosovo.

"UNMIK chief consoles himself that the Albanian leaders have condemned violence," writes the former human rights rapporteur for the former Yugoslavia, adding that these condemnations, however, cover "only attacks on international forces, civil and religious objects but not on Serbs".

In an article entitled "Picking up the pieces in Kosovo - What will happen next in the region?" Dienstbier reminds that six years ago Ibrahim Rugova ensured him that the Kosovo Albanians would protect the non-Albanian population and common historical heritage.

"How would he protect anything when under UN administration and with troops under the command of NATO one quarter million Serbs, Roma, Croats, Bosniacs and Gorans were expelled?" asks Diensbier, adding that "the quiet intellectual Rugova would be unlikely to survive independence".

The Czech diplomat further warns that "for the extremists, independence is a base for international trade in drugs, women, for human and goods smuggling of every kind and the long-term expansion of their power into all areas inhabited by Albanians in Macedonia, southern Serbia, in Montenegro."

In Greece, too, "where the Olympics is to be held, there are also 100,000 Albanians", he reminds and assesses that it is necessary to start from the beginning and differently.

"Probably the only way of building a civil society is gradual drawing nearer, decentralization and forming of self-governmeing districts by ethnic groups whose security will be guaranteed by the UN and KFOR,"

proposed Dienstbier on the pages of the Czech daily.

The explanation of many world politicians that this would lead to the ethnic partition of Kosovo is rejected by Dienstbier who comments that "due to the inactivity and incompetence (of the international administration), the partition already occurred a long time ago", whereas decentralization would only mean "creating conditons for the restoration of normal human contacts".

 

Recent rampage in Kosovo must be punished, U.S. diplomat says 

By MISHA SAVIC
   
BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) _ Perpetrators of recent violence against Serbs in Kosovo must be punished if the province is to achieve peace and democracy, a U.S. diplomat said Tuesday. 
 

Marc Grossman, the U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, traveled to the capital of Serbia-Montenegro to underline the government's importance in regional security and stability. He repeated remarks _ made the day before in Kosovo _ which condemned rioting earlier this month that killed 28, wounded 600 and destroyed hundreds of homes and dozens of churches.

 

"The violence was unacceptable,'' Grossman said. "Those who perpetrated that violence must be found and brought to justice.''

 

Grossman met with Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, and with representatives of Kosovo's Serbs.

 

Tens of thousands of Serbs have left Kosovo since 1999, fleeing attacks leveled in revenge for former President Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanians seeking independence.

 

Grossman said he had toured Serb homes and churches destroyed in the rampage, which only added to my sense that this must never happen again.''

Kosovo has been under the control of the United Nations since 1999, after NATO launched an air war to stop Milosevic's crackdown.

 

The recent violence in Kosovo was the worst in five years and has prompted alarm among international officials anxious to make it possible for Kosovo to remain a multiethnic society.

 

 

Western officials in Belgrade to discuss troubled Kosovo

Belgrade (dpa) - High-ranking officials from four of the six countries of the Contact Group for the former Yugoslavia were in Belgrade on Tuesday to discuss the troubled Kosovo with Serbian leaders.

Among the international representatives was the Undersecretary for Political Affairs at the U.S. State Department, Mark Grossman.

Grossman was due to meet top Serbian officials in Belgrade including Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, the head of a special committee in charge of Kosovo, Nebojsa Covic and the president and foreign minister of Serbia and Montenegro, Svetozar Marovic and Goran Svilanovic.

Grossman had visited the Kosovo capital Pristina a day earlier, where he announced that a plan would be presented next week, on the implementation of standards that the province must meet, before talks can begin on Kosovo's long term status.

Separately, political directors of Germany, France and Italy were also holding talks on Kosovo in Belgrade Tuesday. They had a meeting with Kostunica Monday evening.

The three countries and the U.S. are members of the powerful Contact Group for the former Yugoslavia, along with Russia and Britain.

Kosovo, which has been under a virtual United Nations and NATO protectorate since mid-1999, has recently been hit by a spate of deadly ethnic violence, targeting the minority Serbs, as well as international security forces and officials protecting them.

During the riots, nearly 30 people were killed and hundreds were injured while more than 20 Serbian churches and hundreds of houses in Serbian enclaves were torched.

The majority Kosovo Albanians want independence for the province, while Belgrade insists on retaining sovereignty. The two sides tentatively opened talks on some issues last autumn.

Belgrade and Pristina were expected to start negotiating the final status of Kosovo in the middle of next year, presuming that the standards, most of all security for non-Albanians, are met.

It is believed that the Contact Group would have to approve any agreement before it is considered by the United Nations.

 

Belgrade and Pristina for multiethnic Kosovo: Grossman (Beta)

BELGRADE -- Tuesday – The authorities in Belgrade and Pristina have expressed their commitment to a multiethnic and democratic society in Kosovo, US undersecretary for political affairs Marc Grossman said today.

The senior diplomat told reporters in Belgrade he had been happy to hear from leaders in both Kosovo and Serbia proper that there exists a desire for a multiethnic society, peace, stability and democracy in the province.

Grossman reiterated that the violence seen on March 17 and 18 in Kosovo was unacceptable and must not be repeated.
 

US said ready to discuss Kosovo "decentralization"

(Beta)

BELGRADE -- Tuesday – Senior US diplomat Marc Grossman has informed the authorities in Belgrade of Washington's readiness to continue dialogue on decentralization in Kosovo, according to a statement released following talks between Grossman and the foreign and defense ministers of Serbia-Montenegro.

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has urged extensive decentralization in the province, after an earlier call for "cantonisation" met with a frosty reception in Brussels.

According to the statement, the US undersecretary for political affairs stressed the constructive stance of the Serbia-Montenegro Council of Ministers and the Serbian Government in calming the situation in the province, and expressed satisfaction with the good cooperation between the authorities in Belgrade and NATO's Southeast Europe commander Gregory Johnson.  

Defense Minister Boris Tadic and Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic expressed Belgrade's willingness to partner the US, European Union and NATO in identifying those behind the recent wave of violence and finding mechanisms to provide security for Serbs and other non-Albanians.
 

Grossman to meet Serbian PM Kostunica

(Beta)

BELGRADE -- Tuesday – Senior US diplomat Marc Grossman is in Belgrade today for talks with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica.

Grossman, the US Undersecretary for Political Affairs, visited Kosovo yesterday where he spoke with senior local and international officials about the situation in the province following the recent wave of violence against Serbs.  

While in Belgrade, Grossman is expected to meet Serbia-Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic, Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic and Belgrade's coordinator for Kosovo, Nebojsa Covic.

The visit of Washington's third-highest ranking diplomat comes just one day before a deadline for the US to certify that Serbia is cooperating with the UN war crimes tribunal or suspend some 100 million dollars in aid.

 

Patten: Damage in Kosovo to be paid by the Kosovo government

Beta News Agency, Belgrade
March 25, 2004

BRUSSELS - EC commissioner Chris Patten told Albanian foreign minister Kastriot Islamiu in Brussels that the European Union and the international community, after five years of presence in Kosovo, now need to defend the Serbs there from "ethnic cleansing".

Patten, who visited Kosovo, recently, emphasized that the government in Pristina must bear the cost for restoring Serb houses and churches destroyed during violence by Albanian extremists, and tha the European Union "will not pay for this".

The European commissioner for international relations sent a "key message" to Kosovo Albanian leaders "that they have to demonstrate the desire to confront all extremists and propaganda". "The situation in Kosovo is completely depressing," underscored Patten.

"The European Union and the international community embarked on a war five years ago to save the Albanians from ethnic cleansing, and now we need to protect the Serbs from the same thing. To achieve this the international community spent over two billion euros in Kosovo, and over 60 percent of this amount has been provided by the European Union," said the EU official.

The first essential message of the EU, according to the European commissioner, is that violence leads nowhere and that it cannot lead to political progress. The second message for the Albanian leaders in Kosovo is that they have to show a willingness to confront all extremists and propaganda.

"People have to be aware that they are accountable, fully accountable for what has occurred," advised the European commissioner. "Those who resort to violence have condemned themselves."

The Albanian minister added that the government in Tirana is prepared to contribute certains funds. He also expressed his opinion regarding the violence in Kosovo, saying that local problems were caused "by multiple factors".

European officials advised that the EU had favorably assessed the construction position of the Tirana government toward violent events in Kosovo.

 

Analyst: Failure of the international community in Kosovo

Beta News Agency, Belgrade
March 25, 2004

VIENNA - The most recent violence in Kosovo has shown the failure of international policy during past years to build an multiethnic society in the province, assessed political scientist Stefan Miller of the Ludwig-Boltzmann Institute for Human Rights in Vienna.

The realization of that goal has now been brought into question, assessed Miller in a commentary published in today's issue of the Vienna daily "Der Standard".

"What just happened in Kosovo was a pre-planned pogrom against the members of the Serb minority, as well as the Roma, and represents the outcome of an erroneous policy in Kosovo," added Miller.

The pogrom, he added, must be seen as Albanian politicians in Kosovo and representatives of civil society "as cause for critical reflection of their policies and the condition of society".

The Austrian political scientist also points out that Kosovo society "should finally rid itself of clan mentality, which is leading to tolerance of violence against non-Albanians in certain conditions".

Albanian society, he added, still believes the murder of Serbs, Roma and members of other minorities to be legitimate, as well as the expulsion of some 300,000 people in summer of 1999, as well as the illegal usurpation of the property of expelled persons.

Not one perpetrator of ethnically motivated crimes, he continued, has been brought to justice, and out of fear and a false sense of solidarity among Albanians not a single witness can be found for misdeeds by Albanian perpetrators.

Miller emphasizes that an important role in covering up reality is that of the Albanian media, which in the past, following attacks on Serbs, Roma or members of other minorities, always openly stated that the perpetrators were Serbs of Roma with the goal of destabilizing Kosovo.

"Now international policy is to blame because Kosovo is not independent," he added.

In such an atmosphere, "the leaders of the most recent pogrom in Kosovo easily found young people ready for violence" because they "know that many will not see them as criminals but as heroes in the battle for independence".

Miller accused the international community of failure as far back as summer of 1999 because it just stood back and watched violence occurring against minorities.

"The inability to act against Albanian extremists only continued later on and was understood by the Albanians as a challenge to continue to pursue their goal of creating an ethnically pure Kosovo," he emphasized.

Miller assessed that the international community is now faced with the same dilemma as in 1999 because the Albanians are demanding independence which Serbia cannot accept because it would mean the permanent displacedment of hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Roma.