(BetaWeek, Belgrade)

A decision by the U.N. Security Council to allow talks on Kosovo's status to begin was expected by the authorities in Belgrade, but it certainly didn't make them too happy. Preferring the status quo at this point, Serbian Premier Vojislav Kostunica's government insisted over the past few months that the international standards for Kosovo were not implemented, leaving the Serb minority in the province unprotected. Belgrade wanted to postpone the talks based on the assumption that once they begin, it will be impossible to ignore the Albanian decisive demands for independence.

Speaking before the Security Council, Kostunica argued that Kosovo had to stay an integral part of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, and that substantial autonomy would be the best solution for the province. Such an approach came as no surprise whatsoever, since it was clear that Belgrade would not accept readily any attack on the sovereignty of the common state. Kostunica was listened to with understanding, there were no significant objections to his words, but there were no promises that things will develop his way either. His appearance was hailed at home, particularly among nationalists and ultranationalists, who believe that Serbia should refuse the Albanian demands at all costs.

The Serbian Premier is aware that talks on substantial autonomy for Kosovo within Serbia and Montenegro are hardly feasible on the ground, and that Albanian aspirations have to be satisfied, at least to some extent. To all appearances, Kostunica has no intention of offering new, alternative solutions in the course of the talks, which might accommodate Pristina. The point is that the Serbian ruling coalition, which has realized that Belgrade can no longer have a main say in Kosovo, will find it politically more convenient if a formula for partially meeting Albanian demands, rather than endorsed in collaboration with the Serbian authorities.

Apart from the principle that a sovereign, internationally recognized state cannot willingly renounce sovereignty over part of its territory, Kostunica's approach is motivated by internal reasons, too. Any government that would voluntarily support an independent Kosovo had better prepare for strong public pressure and severe criticism from nationalists. They would certainly sway the voters, since the authorities in Belgrade, established after the demise of Slobodan Milosevic's regime, never tried to explain to them that the situation in the province had changed irreversibly the moment NATO troops entered Kosovo in 1999 and Kosovo got its provisional institutions.

The options

The Serbian authorities are not yet clear what exactly they could do if Kosovo remained within Serbia and Montenegro, i.e., what models of governance could they employ. The platform Kostunica offered in New York is valid theoretically, but it has no practical value.

Serbia is adamant that Kosovo should remain a province within its borders, but it has shown no sign of readiness to develop a new state organization in which Albanians and Kosovo would be treated as equals, not even in terms of the official stance involving the "more than autonomy, less than independence" principle. Belgrade is still torn apart between fear that Albanians might be able to decide on Serbia's destiny one day and the desire to keep its sovereignty in Kosovo.

Serbia and Montenegro was designed as a loose union of the two republics, in which their own authorities, and not the state union's, have a decisive role. The Constitutional Charter defines Kosovo as Serbia's province, but its status differs from the status of the other province, Vojvodina.

The Charter says that if Montenegro withdrew from the state union, Kosovo would be treated under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244. The U.N. resolution doesn't define Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia, but of Serbia and Montenegro. The talks will not go below the minimum prescribed by the resolution, which allowed international peacekeepers to enter the province.

One of the open possibilities is to recompose the state union to give Kosovo the status of its third, equal member. In theory, Belgrade might find the model acceptable, but in practice it would be very difficult to apply. This formula implies that the Serbian authorities would have to come to terms with the fact that an Albanian could be a premier or a president of the joint state, and that Kosovo would be able to veto decisions concerning the state. This truth would be hard to swallow not only for the nationalist bloc, but also for certain political groups considered to be liberal. Besides, Montenegro desires independence, and it is certainly not interested in negotiating the expansion of the existing state.

At the same time, the Albanian side wants independence and nothing but independence and it is not interested in taking part in the Serbia- Montenegro decision-making process. The Security Council conclusions on the beginning of Kosovo's future-status talks have been welcomed by Kosovo Albanian politicians, but some of them criticized the part from the presidential statement "reconfirming the framework of U.N. Resolution 1244," defining Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia and Montenegro.

The talks

Since the two sides' positions are diametrically opposed, the talks will have to begin with so-called shuttle diplomacy. The international negotiating team will be headquartered in Vienna, wherefrom members of the team will travel to Pristina, Belgrade, Moscow, New York, Brussels and other international centres, seeking the best solution for the province. The shuttle diplomacy as a mode of negotiations is yet another defeat Belgrade has suffered along the way, as it has been insisting on direct talks.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is expected to appoint his envoy for the talks by the end of the week. He said this might be Finnish diplomat Marti Ahtisaari, a choice criticized by Belgrade. The international team for the talks, which are expected to begin by the end of November, might also include a former secretary general of the Austrian foreign ministry, Albert Rohan, who would represent the European Union, and Vladimir Chizhov as Russia's representative.

 U.S. Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns has recently confirmed that he could be appointed a U.S. envoy for the talks. After the shuttle-diplomacy stage, direct talks are expected. If the international negotiators fail to produce tangible results, they might suggest a final solution and, having notified Pristina and Belgrade, offer it to the Security Council for adoption. This option would mean that Pristina and Belgrade would be forced to accept it. It is also certain that the international forces in Kosovo would stay there after the talks were over.

Gunmen fire on Kosovo Serb police car, no injuries

REUTERS
26 Oct 2005 21:26:33 GMT

PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire on a vehicle carrying four Kosovo Serb police officers on Wednesday in the latest such attack in a southern pocket of the United Nations-run province, police sources said.

No one was injured in the night-time shooting near the town of Kacanik, just north of the border with Macedonia.

It was the third attack in the area targeting Serb members of the police force in the past two months, raising fears of an organised campaign of violence as the majority Albanian province enters negotiations on its future.

"The car was hit but no one was injured," a police source told Reuters.
"There were three male Serb officers and one female in the car," he said.

There are several hundred Serbs within Kosovo's 7,000-strong police service, which is supervised by a U.N. police force.

Legally part of Serbia, Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombing drove out Serbian forces accused of killing 10,000 Albanian civilians and expelling 800,000 more in a war against separatist guerrillas.

The U.N. Security Council launched negotiations on Monday on its "final status". Kosovo's 2 million ethnic Albanians, 90 percent of the population, demand independence, something Serbia and the 100,000 Serbs in the province reject.

U.N. officials and members of the NATO-led peace force in Kosovo have warned of an upsurge in violence as the province enters talks, viewed with bitterness by many Albanians who resent the prospect of negotiating with Belgrade.

Serbia Counting On China Veto To Stop Kosovo Independence

BELGRADE, Oct 27, 2005 (DJCS via Comtex)

Serbia is counting on China's veto in the U.N. Security Council to prevent Kosovo's independence, Serbia-Montenegro's foreign minister said Thursday.

Vuk Draskovic said that after talks with senior Chinese officials in Beijing earlier this week, "I got assurances that Serbia's territorial integrity" will be respected in any negotiated solution for independence-seeking Kosovo.

Monday, the U.N. Security Council decided to launch talks between Serbian and ethnic Albanian officials on Kosovo's future, clearing the way for tough negotiations on the status of the ethnically divided province.

Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders are demanding full independence, while its Serb minority and Belgrade officials want it to remain within Serbia-Montenegro.

Draskovic said that he told senior Chinese officials that Kosovo is Serbia's Taiwan. Although Taiwan is self-governing, Beijing insists the island that broke away amid civil war in 1949 still is part of China.

"I expressed hope that the U.N. Security Council, and China as its permanent member, won't allow that force defeats law," Draskovic said.

"The senior Chinese officials stressed their firm and principal stand that international borders cannot change and that any other solution would violate the U.N. Charter and international law," Draskovic said.

A negotiated solution on Kosovo's final status is expected to go through a vote in the U.N. Security Council. China is one of the Council's five permanent members with veto power over all resolutions considered by the body.

Meanwhile, Sandra Raskovic-Ivic, a Serbian government official charged with Kosovo, said no Serbian official would agree to "any form" of independence for Kosovo during the U.N.-mediated negotiations.

Although Kosovo formally remains part of Serbia, the U.N. has administered the tense province since NATO's 1999 air war against the former Yugoslavia that forced ex-President Slobodan Milosevic to end a violent crackdown on rebel Kosovo Albanians.

NATO holds anti-riot drill as Kosovo talks near

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Released : Oct 27, 2005 9:12 AM

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro-NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo deployed from helicopters and used armored vehicles to confront mock demonstrators in an anti-riot drill on Thursday as talks on the province's future status near.

The soldiers, wearing helmets and carrying shields, used armored vehicles and barbed wire to circle a building under mock assault by a crowd throwing bottles of water and shouting anti-U.N. and NATO slogans.

Several helicopters flew in additional troops and hovered above Camp Vrelo, a military base where the exercise was held.

The drill was a second show of force this month by peacekeepers readying for possible violence from extremists who could try to disrupt upcoming talks on whether Kosovo should become independent or remain part of Serbia.

The United Nations approved talks to resolve the province's status earlier this week.

NATO's commander in Kosovo, Lt. Gen. Giuseppe Valotto, led the drill, dubbed Balkan Hawk II. He said his forces stood ready to confront potential disturbances.

"We will react immediately because we are ready," Valotto said. "All the rehearsals we are doing is just to show the population they can believe in us."

NATO-led peacekeepers and U.N. administrators in Kosovo were challenged by riots in March 2004 when mobs of ethnic Albanians attacked Serbs and their property in two days of violence that left 19 people dead and more than 900 injured.

The authorities were criticized by human rights groups for failing to anticipate that violence and protect Serbs and their property in the rampage.

Kosovo has been administered by the U.N. and patrolled by NATO since mid-1999. The province is bitterly divided between ethnic Albanians seeking independence and its Serb minority, which wants the province to remain within Serbia's borders.

In an incident highlighting the tensions, unknown assailants opened fire on a Kosovo police vehicle carrying four Serb officers in the southern part of the province late Wednesday, police said. No one was injured.

The peacekeepers held a similar drill earlier this month, intervening against mock crowds attacking a U.N. building. The exercises are part of a larger rehearsal project, called "Determined Effort 2005," which started in mid-September and involves 1,500 troops.

There are some 17,500 NATO-led peacekeepers, known as KFOR, in Kosovo.

Help on the way for Kosovo Serbs

B92, Belgrade
October 26, 2005

BELGRADE -- Wednesday - The Kosovo Coordination Centre and eleven Serbian ministries have developed an agreement for providing aid to Kosovo Serbs.

At a meeting held today, the coordination centre and the ministries developed a cooperation agreement with the goal of actively offering help to the Serbian population in Kosovo. Meetings for this purpose will be held every two weeks, according to centre president Sanda Raskovic-Ivic.

The Science and Natural Resources Ministry will reserve money from next year's budget to offer scholarships to students from Kosovo who are interested in participating in science related activities and protecting natural resources in the northern section of the province.

The Finance Ministry will in 2006, provide sixty million dinars (about 705,000 euros) for wages and jobs at Radio Television Pristina, whose station is located in Zvecana.

The Religion Ministry will provide funds for priests and monks, as well as offer scholarships to the Seminary University, and continue the restoration of churches and monasteries in the region.

The Health and Education Ministries will offer help to the regional health centres while the Labour Ministry will focus its attention on improving the unemployment rate and other social questions that are of the ministry's concern.

War crimes trial of six former ethnic Albanian rebels begins in Kosovo

Associated Press
Released : Oct 26, 2005 12:10 PM

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro-The trial of six former rebels charged with committing war crimes against fellow ethnic Albanians during Kosovo's
1998-99 war opened Wednesday a week after a witness in the case was murdered.

Former rebel fighter Selim Krasniqi and four associates sat before a panel of three international judges in the district court of Gnjilane, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the province's capital, Pristina. One suspect remains at large.

The five former rebels pleaded not guilty to charges such as illegal imprisonment, torture and killing of seven fellow ethnic Albanians who allegedly collaborated with Serb authorities in mid-1998 in the central Kosovo village of Drenovac.

Krasniqi, the most senior former fighter in the group, was arrested early last year by U.N. special police units and NATO-led peacekeepers. At the time, he was serving as regional commander of the Kosovo Protection Corps, a civil emergency unit created after the disbanding of the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army.

The start of the trial was adjourned several times and a witness in the case was shot to death in a market in central Kosovo. Police said they have identified the suspects in that shooting, but the two men still remain at large.

The identities of most of the prosecution witnesses in the case are withheld for fear of retribution against them, according to the indictment.

The war in 1998-1999 pitted ethnic Albanian rebels against Serb forces loyal to the former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, and ended in mid-1999 after NATO air strikes forced the Serb military to pull out of Kosovo, leaving United Nations and NATO in control.

The U.N. appoints international judges and prosecutors in sensitive cases, and U.N.-run courts have tried several former ethnic Albanian rebels for war crimes allegedly committed against Serbs and fellow ethnic Albanians suspected of collaborating with the Serb regime.

Veteran associations have protested against the trials, calling them politically charged.

Separately, the Netherlands-based U.N. war crimes court has charged six ethnic Albanian rebels, including Kosovo's former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj, who faces 36 counts for his wartime role.

Serb police held for killing 48 members of one family

Independent, UK
By Vesna Peric Zimonjic in BelgradeNine Serbian policemen have been arrested for killing 48 ethnic Albanian civilians in 1999 in the town of Suva Reka in Kosovo.

The bodies of the victims, all members of one family, were found in a mass grave at the police compound of Batajnica near the Serbian capital, Belgrade, in 2001. The grave contained the remains of more than 1,000 bodies of ethnic Albanians.

"As far as we know, 48 people were killed in Suva Reka," a spokesman for the war crimes prosecution office, Bruno Vekaric, said. "Fourteen were below the age of 15, one was a pregnant woman aged 24 and one was a very old woman," he added.

The killings of members of the Berisha family happened on 26 March 1999, in a pizzeria in Suva Reka, two days after Nato air raids against Serbia began.

According to the testimony of a survivor, Vjollca Berisha, Serb policemen rounded up people there, allegedly searching for weapons. Then they fired into the crowd with automatic rifles.

Mrs Berisha's two children, aged seven months and two years, died in the massacre. She and her remaining son survived, pretending to be dead.

The arrests of the nine policemen yesterday are the first since the gruesome discovery of the remains more than 180 miles (300km) from Kosovo.

The executions of possibly around 10,000 ethnic Albanian civilians, the transporting of bodies and clandestine burials in Serbia in 1999 was one of the best-kept secrets of the regime of the former leader Slobodan Milosevic. Freezer trucks were used in the operations, aimed at covering up the atrocities against non-Serbs in the rebellious southern province.

Milosevic loyalists have hampered judicial efforts to deal with war crimes. This was confirmed by the fact that six of those detained were on active duty until their arrest.

Nine Serbian policemen have been arrested for killing 48 ethnic Albanian civilians in 1999 in the town of Suva Reka in Kosovo.

The bodies of the victims, all members of one family, were found in a mass grave at the police compound of Batajnica near the Serbian capital, Belgrade, in 2001. The grave contained the remains of more than 1,000 bodies of ethnic Albanians.

"As far as we know, 48 people were killed in Suva Reka," a spokesman for the war crimes prosecution office, Bruno Vekaric, said. "Fourteen were below the age of 15, one was a pregnant woman aged 24 and one was a very old woman," he added.

The killings of members of the Berisha family happened on 26 March 1999, in a pizzeria in Suva Reka, two days after Nato air raids against Serbia began.

According to the testimony of a survivor, Vjollca Berisha, Serb policemen rounded up people there, allegedly searching for weapons. Then they fired into the crowd with automatic rifles.

Mrs Berisha's two children, aged seven months and two years, died in the massacre. She and her remaining son survived, pretending to be dead.

The arrests of the nine policemen yesterday are the first since the gruesome discovery of the remains more than 180 miles (300km) from Kosovo.

The executions of possibly around 10,000 ethnic Albanian civilians, the transporting of bodies and clandestine burials in Serbia in 1999 was one of the best-kept secrets of the regime of the former leader Slobodan Milosevic. Freezer trucks were used in the operations, aimed at covering up the atrocities against non-Serbs in the rebellious southern province.

Milosevic loyalists have hampered judicial efforts to deal with war crimes. This was confirmed by the fact that six of those detained were on active duty until their arrest.

They Killed Women And Children And Shamed The Nation

27 Oct (Blic daily, Belgrade)

Investigation against six active policemen and three former members of Serbia Home Ministry began in Belgrade yesterday because of suspicion that in March 1999 they killed 48 Albanians of Suva Reka and committed a war crime against civilians. This practically means opening of the case of mass graves in Batajnica in which 980 killed Kosovo Albanians were buried during NATO air strikes.

The request for investigation was submitted on October 3. The suspects were taken before the investigation judge yesterday and he ruled one-month detention to them. The names of the arrested individuals were not announced.

Spokesman of the Prosecution, Bruno Vekaric said yesterday that of 48 killed civilians from Suva Reka, 14 were younger than 15 years of age, including two babies. Among the killed civilians there were one 24-years old pregnant woman and one woman of 100 years of age.

'Blic' hinted investigation against nine-member group of active and former policemen publishing in its Sunday issue text from Internet site of the Balkans Investigation Net, BIRN.

Some of the suspects occupied very responsible positions at the moment of arrest.

The mass murder in Suva Reka took place on March 26, 1999, when according to official data, 48 members of the Berisha family were killed. Killed civilians were put into two trucks and driven to the barracks in Prizren that Yugoslav Army left because of NATO air strikes. Several days later they were buried on one military polygon. At the order from Belgrade, two weeks later the bodies were excavated and transported to a shooting-practice facility of the Special Anti-terrorist Unit in Batajnica, near Belgrade.

So far about 200 witnesses have given their statements. Majority of them is Serbs who as members of the police or army units were in Kosovo at that time. About 50 Albanians also gave their statements as witnesses.

According to information that 'Blic' got, there are many indications confirming the doubt that police general Vlastimir Djordjevic, former chief-of-staff of State Security had key role in removal of bodies of the killed Albanians. There are also many indications that he personally ordered transport of the bodies to Batajnica. It was he who found the trucks and drivers for that job.

It is believed that Djordjevic was also the one who determined the locations for the mass graves as well as the policemen who were digging the holes and throwing the dead bodies in them. In a statement by Serbia Home Ministry of May 2001 it is said that burial of killed Albanians at secret locations in Serbia had been agreed in the cabinet of Slobodan Milosevic. Apart from Milosevic, individuals also present at that meeting were Vlajko Stojiljkovic /then police minister/, Rade Markovic /then chief-of-staff of State Security/, Vlastimir Djordjevic and others.

At the time of appearing of 'mass graves' affair, Djordjevic flee the country and is believed to be hiding in Russia.

As 'Blic' finds out the competent bodies are intensively working on collecting of documents regarding killing of 100 Albanians in Meja, 70 in Zahac and other locations near Djakovica, Pec, Prizren and Orahovac.

Belgrade Media Update, October 26-27

New attack on Serbian Kosovo Police Service officers in Strpce area

A vehicle of the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) driven by four policemen of Serb nationality on their way back from duty at the FYROM border crossing Djeneral Jankovic came under fire in Doganovic on the Urosevac-Strpce road shortly after 8PM yesterday. The vehicle was hit by three bullets, but nobody resulted injured. This was the third attack against Serbian KPS in this area since September 9, RTS reported.

Apprehension of nine Serbian policemen suspected in March 1999 Suva Reka killing

Nine Serbian policemen suspected of killing 48 civilians in the Kosovo village of Suva Reka in March 1999 were brought before an investigating judge of the Belgrade District Court's war crimes council yesterday, announced the war crimes prosecution spokesman Bruno Vekaric in Sarajevo. He added that the detention of the suspects, six of which are still active policemen, had opened the case of the mass grave in the Belgrade suburb of Batajnica where the remains of the victims were found, TV B92 reported.

Samardzic: Belgrade’s Kosovo status talks negotiating team to be determined in time 

Serbian Prime Minister’s advisor Slobodan Samardzic stated yesterday that Serbia and Montenegro (SCG) has got a platform for negotiations on the future status of Kosovo and that its negotiating team would be established when the UN Special Envoy is appointed, and his mandate set. Commenting to Beta news agency that Belgrade did not need to announce its negotiating team in advance, because such a move would "create an atmosphere of doctored haste, which can only work for the Kosovo Albanians and UNMIK," he added that, “as far as we are concerned, we believe that the negotiations will take a long time and that, because of this, one should pursue a dynamic that will correspond to the long duration of the talks. Therefore moves should not be made before the situation is ripe.” Samardzic further elaborated that "the negotiating team should be politically representative and also consist of experts. Therefore, it should be a combination of top state officials and experts,” Belgrade electronic media reported.

Belgrade Not Surprised by UN Security Council Decision on Kosovo Talks

Commenting on the UN Security Council (UNSC) decision to back the beginning of the talks on Kosovo’s future status, Serbian President Boris Tadic stated that “the citizens of Serbia must have no illusions as to the possibility of imposing solutions, which, I personally, am not prepared for, but that may occur nonetheless.” He added that, although such scenario was “little probable, we have to be ready” for something like that. Commenting that Serbia’s “position is very difficult but not hopeless, which is why we will fight to protect our interests, in full respect of the rules of negotiations applicable in the international community and democratic countries,” he underlined that being a democracy was the country’s strongest argument and considers it impossible to conceive the break up of a democratic nation, as it has never happened before. Regarding Belgrade’s negotiating team, Tadic announced that it would certainly contain experts from the government and the Serbian President’s cabinet and recalled that "for months we have been working together and creating the policy that will have the greatest potential for defending our interests in Kosovo."

The Serbia & Montenegro (SCG) President Svetozar Marovic assessed that the forthcoming negotiations are an occasion for the promotion of European values and solutions in Kosovo, in order for that issue to be resolved in the interest of the stability of the entire region and the progress of all who live in Kosovo. He added that a democratic dialogue between Belgrade, Pristina and international representatives was an irreplaceable way for achieving a lasting and stable agreement, based on the essential principles of international law.

While the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus commented that it was necessary to form a team for negotiations on Kosovo and for the Serbian Government to adopt a platform for these negotiations, underlying that the latter should not be a public document and should contain clear instructions for the negotiators on how and what they should do, the Secretary General of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) Aleksandar Vucic called for the Parliament of Serbia to hold a special session dedicated to Kosovo immediately upon the return of the state delegation from New York. He added that such session should openly debate the future status of Kosovo and attempt to bring closer the stance of the various political factors, Belgrade media reported.

Draskovic: China Firmly Supports Serbia’s Territorial Integrity 

SCG Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic, who is currently visiting China, told Beta news agency upon meeting with his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing, that the latter "pointed out that China staunchly supports the territorial integrity of Serbia, a secure life for the Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija, the reconstruction of destroyed homes and churches, and international guarantees for the return of those expelled from the province." He added that “in the forthcoming negotiations on the future status of Kosovo and Metohija, China will advocate the reaching of an agreement between the state union of Serbia-Montenegro and representatives of the Albanian nation in Kosovo and Metohija, and will oppose any imposed solutions that would jeopardize the territorial integrity of Serbia and of Serbia-Montenegro." Both ministers agreed that being hasty and setting deadlines for the negotiations were not the right way for the talks, and could be counter-productive. In an address to the Institute for International Relations in Beijing, Draskovic said he “assessed the demand by the Albanian side for the proclamation of independence as a clear and open request for the creation of another Albanian state,” and, adding that “there are no two France, Italy or China, nor two Serbia for that matter and consequently, there could be no two Albania,” he concluded that “a status that is larger than autonomy but smaller than independence would be the maximum compromise and best pro-European offer from Serbia, to which Kosovo is a part of,” RTS reported.

OUR KOSOVO DISCUSSION FORUM
http://www.kosovo.net/forum/
Take part in discussion on Kosovo related issues. Membership is free.

 RSS KIM Info-service
http://rss.groups.yahoo.com/group/kosovo/rss

 http://kosovoreport.blogspot.com/