November 25, 2005

KiM Info Newsletter 25-11-05

U.N.'s chief Kosovo mediator wraps up Belgrade visit

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) 

Serbian President Boris Tadic predicted "difficult and dramatic'' negotiations on the future of Kosovo as the chief U.N. mediator for the disputed province wrapped up his initial visit to the Serbian capital Friday.

President Tadic and Martti Ahtisasri in Belgrade, Nov 25

Martti Ahtisaari arrived here Thursday after three days in Kosovo, his first stop on a fact-finding tour of the region as newly appointed head of the U.N. team mediating between Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority, which demands independence, and Serbia, which insists Kosovo should remain within its borders.

The former Finnish president met on Friday with the head of the influential Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Pavle, and was later to meet with Tadic before heading to Montenegro for talks with leaders there.

Kosovo remains officially part of Serbia, the dominant republic in the Serbia-Montenegro union that replaced Yugoslavia. But it has been administered by the United Nations and NATO since the alliance's 1999 air war halted former President Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists and expelled Serb troops from the province.
Ahtisaari gave no time limit to how long the negotiations on Kosovo's future status would last. But with the two sides so diametrically opposed, his task will likely involve much shuttle diplomacy between Belgrade and the provincial capital of Pristina.

Tadic predicted negotiations would be "very difficult and dramatic'' and said he would outline Friday to the U.N. envoy his own proposal to have the province divided along ethnic lines into autonomous Serb and ethnic Albanian entities.

Such an idea has been rejected by the U.N., United States and the European Union, as well as Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders who insist on full independence for the entire province.

Tadic's proposal also raised concerns of looming discord among the Serbian negotiators. The team, announced Thursday, is to be headed by Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Tadic and Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic.

Serbian ultranationalists and Socialist lawmakers submitted to parliament on Friday a motion to impeach Tadic for allegedly ceding part of "sovereign Serbian territory'' to Kosovo Albanians.

During the 1998-99 conflict in Kosovo, thousands of ethnic Albanians were killed and hundreds of thousands fled their homes. After the war, about 150,000 Serbs, who consider Kosovo the cradle of their statehood and religion, fled the province in the face of attacks by ethnic Albanian extremists.

Today, an estimated 100,000 Serbs live in isolated enclaves in Kosovo, dominated by the 2 million strong ethnic Albanian majority.

Pristina, 23 Nov. (AKI) - Leaders of Kosovo's minority Serb community on Wednesday told special United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari that there would be no life for them in the province, dominated by ethnic Albanians, if it were granted independence. Ahtisaari, named by the UN Security Council to head the talks on Kosovo's final status, met the Serb delegation, after talking to ethnic Albanian leaders on Tuesday.

"We have warned Ahtisaari that in case of independence, there would be no more Serbs left in Kosovo, a member of the Serb delegation, Oliver Ivanovic, told journalists after the meeting.

Ivanovic said that under the administration of the United Nations, which took control of Kosovo in 1999, over 200.000 Serbs "were expelled from the province" and that the remaining 100.000 live in isolated enclaves without basic security and freedom of movement. The situation would get even worse if Kosovo became independent, he said.

Another Serb leader, Randjel Nojkic, said that Ahtisaari was "quite sincere"

in saying that there was no "needed unity among Serbs, which would help to articulate the interests of the Serb community". Ethnic Albanians, who make a 1.7 million majority in the province, on Tuesday presented Ahtisaari a document which specifies the steps to be taken towards Kosovo independence.

There is a serious disagreement between Serbian president Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica on how to approach the Kosovo problem, though both leaders oppose independence. Tadic's Democratic Party on Monday abstained from voting in parliament on the resolution which sets guidelines for Belgrade's negotiating team at the final status talks.

Independent analysts noted that such public display of disunity can't be helping Belgrade's negotiating position.

Ahtisaari was due to hold his first press conference later Wednesday, since coming to the Balkans on the first leg of his "shuttle diplomacy" on Monday.

He's expected to meet with Serbian leaders in Belgrade on Thursday, and then proceed to Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia to discuss the Kosovo situation with the leaders there.

There will be no division, says Ahtisaari

PRISTINA, Nov. 23, 2005 (KosovaLive) - The UN Status Envoy Martti Ahtisaari said that he could not foresee what Kosovo’s future status will be, but he stressed that it is clear that there will be no division.


“It is still too early to foresee the future status of Kosovo, however, division is an option that has been excluded and this was clearly stated by the Contact Group,” he said yesterday at a press conference in Prishtina at the end of his two-day visit to Kosovo, during which he met with the Head of UNMIK, Kosovo Negotiations Team and minority representatives.

The UN Status Envoy said during the status talks, he will stick to Contact Group principles, which are very important, because members of the Contact Group are members of the Security Council as well.

Ahtisaari also said that he sees no reason for riots, adding that they do not help the process. “Parties must avoid violence, because it is unacceptable for the international community,” he said.

He has not ruled out the possibility of organizing of an international conference in Kosovo. “but the parties should not be pushed in that, if they do not want to,” he said.

UNMIK chief assures Kosovo citizens there will be no division on ethnic lines

Surroi: We see borders as symbols not as walls

(Media Monitoring Report from Koha Ditore, Nov 25)

ORA leader Veton Surroi has said that there will be no compromise with the independence of Kosovo.

“If there will be changes in the ethnic borders, partition of Kosovo’s territory, then we will ask for changes in the FYROM and in Presevo Valley, meaning we will ask for national unification.” Surroi made these comments in a meeting with party officials, citizens and representatives from Medvedja and Bujanoc in Gjilan/Gnjilane on Wednesday night.

Surroi called the process of status negotiations as the most important challenge in the history of Kosovo. “The importance of historical decisions obliges us to take part in the Negotiations Team building a consensus despite our political differences.”

Talking about post-status challenges, Surroi said challenges to come after the solution of the status are education, health and the economy which have not been an issue so far because of the status of Kosovo.

Surroi said the status of Kosovo was going to be “independence plus”, meaning that Kosovo will be involved in international structures, especially the EU.

U.N. Envoy Prepares for Talks on Kosovo

By NICHOLAS WOOD
International Herald Tribune
Published: November 25, 2005

The United Nations moved closer to starting talks on the future of Kosovo, perhaps the most intractable issue remaining from the Balkan wars of the 1990s, with a visit by its chief envoy to the region this week.

Martti Ahtissari, a former president of Finland and now the UN envoy to the region, met with ethnic Albanian and Serbian leaders of Kosovo on Tuesday and Wednesday in a round of shuttle diplomacy before possible face-to-face negotiations between the two sides early next year. From Pristina, in Kosovo, he was expected to travel to Belgrade on Thursday for meetings with senior Serbian government officials and then to Macedonia and Albania.

His tour is meant to pave the way for negotiations intended to end six years of legal limbo. Uncertainty during that period over the future of Kosovo has frustrated its population and jeopardized the region's chances of establishing long-term stability.

Kosovo has been under the control of a UN interim administration since it was wrested from Serbia's control in June 1999 after a 78-day bombing campaign led by NATO.

Since then, the United Nations has established a regional government with substantial local control. But the UN mission's role in Kosovo is seen by international officials as increasingly untenable because of the failure to resolve the area's future status.

Officially, Kosovo remains a province of Serbia, contrary to the wishes of ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of the Kosovar population, an estimated two million people.

The difficulty of Ahtissari's task was underlined just before his visit as Serb and ethnic Albanian political leaders reiterated opposing views.

On Monday, the Serbian Parliament passed a resolution agreeing to the negotiation process, but rejecting any solution that would remove Kosovo from Serbia. On Tuesday, ethnic Albanian leaders told Ahtissari that they would accept nothing less than independence.

"I insist on the direct recognition of Kosovo's independence that will calm down the region," the Kosovar president, Ibrahim Rugova, said after meeting Ahtissari. "The time has come to wrap up this business."

While UN officials say the final agreement will be the result of negotiation, senior Western diplomats across the region concede that it will be difficult to defy the demands of ethnic Albanians for independence, despite their failure to prevent attacks on minorities in the province. Forcing Kosovo to remain within Serbia would run the risk of provoking an ethnic Albanian insurgency, they said.

But while these fears are foremost in the minds of many Western officials, some politicians in the region warn that insufficient consideration is being given to what effect the independence of Kosovo would have on Serbia.

"Everyone seems to be concerned about the future status of Kosovo; that it will be more or less independent - conditional independence or independence with international supervision," Dimitrij Rupel, foreign minister of Slovenia, said in a recent interview. "But they haven't thought thoroughly about what might happen in Serbia."

Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Kosovo Status Talks – Martti Ahtisaari

Press Conference - Belgrade

Introduction

Let me tell you a little bit about the background of our mission here. We have been appointed by the Secretary General slightly over a week ago for me to become the Special Envoy for the future status talks on Kosovo. I have been asked by the SG to consult the members of the Security Council, the Contact Group members, which I met before coming here, relevant regional organizations, relevant regional actors and other key players. It is a very wide mandate to consult everyone who can contribute positively to this issue.

It is very important to recall that my activities are not to replace those of the SRSG Søren Jessen-Petersen, my instructions are very clear. I will furthermore coordinate with the SRSG in Kosovo. The SE will use his leverage in support of the SRSG to ensure greater commitment and results from standards implementation. I repeat, our mission is not to replace the SRSG but to support his activities.

When it comes to the process’ time frame, the Secretary General notes that the pace and duration of the future status process will be determined by the SE on the basis of consultations with the SG, taking into account the cooperation of the parties and the situation on the ground.

When it comes to the outcome, the future status process will culminate into a political settlement that determines the future of Kosovo. It should, to the extent possible, address the practical questions related to the implementation of an eventual agreement for a possible international presence following such determination.

We have been in Kosovo before coming here, I was briefed by UNMIK and KFOR, I met the Kosovo Albanians, I met, I think, all the minority groups in that society, and we have had the opportunity to have meetings with PM Kostunica, FM Draskovic and President Tadic today. I also paid a courtesy call to his holiness Patriarch Pavle.

In my discussions in Pristina and here, I have emphasized also the special role of the Contact Group. I’m sure you are all aware of the guiding principles that the CG has worked out.

I have emphasized that when we talk about future status, we talk about status with standards. As I said, my task is to support the SRSG in the further implementation of the standards.

We have discussed, in these meetings, the implementation of the standards, and I have emphasized that, when we talk about the standards in Kosovo, we need the action of the Kosovo Albanians, but we also need the support of all the minority population groups like the Serbs. I had a very good meeting with the Serb representatives in Kosovo. I also paid a visit in Decani to the Serb Orthodox monastery.

But I have emphasized also that, in order to move on these important issues, the Belgrade support for this process is also important. They can encourage, first of all the Serb population in Kosovo to actively participate in the process of finding solutions for the issues that we are discussing.

I hope also that some of the materials that are available in Belgrade, and I understand that they are not available in Pristina at the moment, could be made available for UNMIK, like some of the archives dealing with the property issues and so on.

We have touched the issues of decentralization, the return of the people who have left Kosovo for one reason or another, their right to return back to Kosovo and also have the right to settle wherever they find it convenient for themselves. They have a right for that.

We have also discussed the issues of protection of cultural heritage and monasteries in that connection. The importance of maintaining security and law and order during this process that is supposed to lead to the future status in Kosovo.

This is the beginning of an exercise. I have emphasized that there is no time schedule fixed for our mandate. There seems to be different schools of thought, those who think that this would only take few months, those who say that it would last half a year, those who say that it will take a year, and there is a group of people who argue that there should be no deadline at all and that it will take what it takes.

When the international community has decided to move forward with the future status talks, it has already then decided that the present status quo can’t continue for ever. We have to be aware of that and recognize that the guiding principles form an important frame of reference to our work.

We will proceed as expeditiously as possible. We received the marching orders from the SG slightly more than a week ago and here we are because we felt that we had to come as fast as possible in order to hear the main parties. I expect that we will be fully operational by the end of the year.

What we have emphasized is that it is important to get practical advance on the standards issues. There are already a few working groups that have met. We have urged those guys to continue that work. We are not trying to replace UNMIK in this task. If our facilitation is needed, we will off course be available. But the reporting on the standards is going to be carried out by UNMIK in the traditional manner as they have done so far.

We have to try to show improvements in a practical manner in Kosovo, and therefore the cooperation of everybody is needed. This is the spirit in which we have been carrying out these discussions also here.

Questions & Answers:

BH1: You met President Tadic today. What do you think about suggestions contained in his plan?

Ahtisaari: I had a very good meeting with President Tadic and we covered a lot of ground. I’m sure that he will be in the position to explain what he explained to me. I think you know the starting positions for these negotiations. I don’t think that these have changed very much through these different meetings that I have had. I read before I came here about ideas that the President have advanced. He did not go into those in our discussions. I think he also emphasized the issues of decentralization and how important they were and I think we agreed on return of those who want to return that we should work on that. So, I don’t see any reason why I should be commenting his proposal, because we did not go into details. I would ask you to read once again the guiding principles that the Contact Group provides – for a simple reason that you see a lot of guidance there, because the important group of countries gives a sort of  framework in which we are approaching this. For instance, it says very clearly that we have to first of all see to it that the protection of minorities is done, that the partition is not to be accepted, etc…I don’t want to repeat all things that are there in this document. I ask you to do your homework, as well.

Vjekoslav Radovic, AR International: Have you noticed any discrepancies in the positions of President Tadic and PM Kostunica on the issue of the future status of Kosovo. I have one more question. Do you have any knowledge of a secret meeting between KFOR and the so-called Kosovo Independence Army, which was allegedly held and during which the KDI had decided to refrain from violence for the time being?

Ahtisaari: First of all, I think it is fair to say that I did not hear a sort of repetition of what was said in PM’s meeting and in those with the FM and the President. Perhaps the best way to describe these meetings is that the PM explained the well-known position of the Government. I think there was emphasis and elaboration of this things in our discussions with the FM and the President. No, I couldn’t tell you that there were discrepancies between them, because the overall framework was provided by the PM and then we went much more in details, particularly with the FM and also with the President. So, I think it was an elaboration of points made.

I’m not aware of any meeting that you referred to between KFOR and the militia group, so I can’t comment on it. I did not come up in any of briefings and I have very full briefings from KFOR. I think you need to put that to UNMIK representatives. I did not hear anything of the sort.

Walter Mueller, Swiss Radio: Where do you see K-Serbs during the negotiations? On the side of the Pristina delegation or on the side of the Belgrade delegation?

Ahtisaari: Actually, it is not really up to me or to Albert Rohan to say which delegation they want to choose. They came as a group, not as a sort of unitary team representing unitary views, when we had the meeting in Pristina. There were 12 people coming to see me, but I must say that I was very impressed that such a big group came and I understood that they represented different political organizations and had slightly different emphasis in their presentations when they saw me. It was no repetition of points of views, because I think that each and every of them spoke. I have also taken note… and I have not had the time to compare names of those who saw us and those who want to be included negotiating group. There maybe same people there, but choice is theirs. It is maybe up to you draw the conclusions. It is none of my business.

Zorka Djukanovic, BBC: Mr. Ahtisaari at which moment you will assess that it is time to quite the negotiations with the two sides and move the process to the Security Council?

Ahtisaari: I can hardly do it today, because I’m not a miracle maker and not a rainmaker, either. This is the first meeting and I have not been to the region for a very long time. I used to come here wearing different hats during the last five years. Therefore, it is very important for me to be able to establish these contacts. It is totally premature to start speculation on when I will draw the conclusion. First of all, I have to consult with the Secertary-General. I report to him. I should perhaps read what he gave me as an instruction and marching order. The SE will report directly to the S-G. The SE will have the maximum leeway in order to undertake his task, but his expected to revert to the S-G at all stages of the process. I think it is very much a standard guidance for any SE of the S-G. He is the one to whom I will be reporting about my discussions in the end of this trip and also the one with whom I will be consulting on any future steps. We have barely started this exercise, so let’s have patience. I have it at least.

Slavisa Stojkovic, Radio Belgrade 1: Mr. Ahtisaari, when do you expect that direct talks between Belgrade and Pristina might start? The second question is what places both Belgrade and Pristina have in these talks, considering that all key answers will be given by those who neither come from Belgrade nor Pristina?

Ahtisaari: First of all, we have offered our services, if needed, for organization of direct talks. On technical level they are already taking place and we have pushed those to continue. On the other issues, I hope there is willingness on both sides to meet and discuss the issues that are vital for this process. It is perhaps realistic to assume that since we are so late in the year, hopefully at the beginning of the new year we can get both parties together. We would definitely want to facilitate, if it is so decided by the parties, but I hope that the both parties will be participating. We are talking about talks that are not entirely technical as the ones that the four working groups are looking at separate technical issues. They need to move, as well, because, as I said, we need concrete practical results, but different levels of meetings are always welcome. Definitely our task is to encourage those direct contacts and, as I said, if a formal chairmanship is required, my deputy and I are available along with our colleagues to facilitate.

M. de Koning, Netherlands Press Association: I notice you spoke with the Serbian Church leaders. I was wondering why didn’t you also speak with the Albanian religious leaders?

Ahtisaari: I think there is a very simple explanation. If you look at the guidelines of the Contact Group, they specifically speak about this. I will quote from there. It refers to the paragraph 5 of the guiding principles: ‘The settlement of the Kosovo status should include specific safeguards for the protection of cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo. This should include provisions specifying the status of Serbian Orthodox Church, institutions and cites and other patrimony in Kosovo. So, I think this is enough to explain why we wanted to see them and visit the monastery in Decani and why I saw his Holliness here in the city. It is not exclusive. We could not see everybody on this trip. There is a limit on how much you can do in a week. This is not in any way an exclusive list of people that we are going to see in the future. There are going to be a number of others that we need to talk to.

Vesna Surbat, SRNA: Are you satisfied with your initial talks both here and in Pristina and do they in any way indicate a possible compromise?

Ahtisaari: Yes, unequivocally yes, I am satisfied with my talks! I think that are fairly known positions that the parties have been elaborating. We have gathered an enormous amount of information this week. We have to sit down in Vienna and start analyzing our experiences from this week. We have hardly had any time to do it during this trip. I think it forms a good basis. As to the second part of your question, let me put it this way: if we felt that this was totally hopeless task I don’t think we would have volunteered. We never volunteered, I have to be clear on that, as well. I think we follow a good principle – never volunteer for the job, but never refuse one. I think that both of us felt the way that UN S-G wanted to pursue with the backing of the international community for future status talks. It was our duty to drop everything else and start concentrating on this issue. We have no illusions that this is going to be extremely difficult. So far, no one has extended us congratulations for an easy task and I think that it is a recognition that this is a complicated one. Perhaps, it was the reason why it has taken a fair amount of time for the international community to come to this point and support the S-G to move things forward. I am also very pleased that the Contact Group gives clear support to our efforts, which is extremely important. Let’s not forget that they are important member states of the UN and four permanent member of the SC. I just got a confirmation that I will be visiting Moscow the following week on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss with the FM Lavrov the situation. We missed each other in New York. I was a bit late in coming there. I have been in Washington, in Brussels talked with the Council of Ministers already before my appointment and there will be a continuous flow of these consultations in other capitals that Albert and I will visit in the weeks to come. Actually, this is a very much a preparatory phase of work and we try to touch base with everybody. There are requests from this region, as well. On this trip we could not do more than this, but later I do hope we shall have a chance to go back and consult those who have approached us already. Some people have also come out with their own ideas how this problem could be solved and, of course, we will study every piece of advice that has been given by different parties.

Balkans: Serbs announce negotiators in Kosovo Talks

ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL (ITALY)

Belgrade, 24 Nov. (AKI) - Serbia's government on Thursday announced its negotiating team for the talks on the final status of Kosovo, as special United Nations envoy in the talks, former president of Finland Martti Ahtisaari, arrived in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, to discuss the Kosovo issue with Serbian leaders. He is on the second leg of a tour of the Balkan capitals, having held talks with ethnic Albanian leaders in the Kosovan capital, Pristina on Tuesday.

After several weeks of political squabbling and an open rift between prime minister Vojislav Kostunica and president Boris Tadic, the government named a 13-man team, which will be co-chaired on an equal footing by Kostunica and Tadic, with the active participation of foreign minister Vuk Draskovic.

The so-called "operational" part of the team includes members of Tadic's and Kostunica's political parties, representatives of Serbia and Montenegro, and two Kosovo Serbs. The government also named Thomas Fleiner, a law professor at the Swiss University of Freiburg, as a permanent international adviser of the team.

Most Serbian political parties have reacted to the negotiating team line-up by saying it was "the best Serbia has to offer" at present. But the leader of the Serbian Radical Party, the main opposition force in parliament, Tomislav Nikolic, said ironically that Kostunica was now "in the right company".

"I can look Kostunica in the eyes, but can trust neither Tadic nor Draskovic," Nikoloic said.

Tadic says he has imposed himself as a member of the team, while Draskovic was imposed "by Western powers". Nikolic said he expected the team to make regular reports to the parliament, and if they fail to do so, "we will await them in the streets and squares of the Serbian cities." Nikolic's party supported the government resolution in parliament this week, opposing Kosovo independence, while Tadic's democrats abstained from voting.

At today's meeting, Kostunica presented Ahtisaari a copy of the resolution which opposes any changes of the state borders in the Balkans, offering ethnic Albanians a large autonomy instead of independence. Ethnic Albanian leaders in Pristina handed Ahtisaari their own resolution on Tuesday, when he began final status talks with with them.

The resolution calls for the international community to respect Kosovo's Ethnic Albanian Muslim majority's wish for nothing less than independence. A total 1.7 million Kosovans are Ethnic Albanians, while just 100,000 Serbs remain in the province, which has been under UN control since 1999.

Kostunica told Ahtisaari he should also consult neighbouring Romania and Bulgaria, because they have made "constructive proposals" for the solution of the Kosovo problem. Romania, which has a 1.5 million Hungarian minority, opposes any change of state borders in the Balkans, fearing that Kosovo's independence set a bad precedent for Hungarians in Romania. Bulgaria is equally fearful it might generate unrest among the million Turks living in the southern part of the country.

Draskovic has warned Ahtisaari that granting independence to Kosovo will trigger "a chain of dramatic shake-ups in the Balkan region and throughout Europe and the world." Ahtisaari is scheduled to meet on Friday with Tadic and the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Pavle, before leaving for the Montenegro capital of Podgorica. In the coming days, he will also hold talks with Albania's leaders in Tirana and with minority ethnic Albanians in the Macedonian capital, Skopje. Ethnic Albanians account for one-quarter of Macedonia's population.

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