January 27, 2007

KiM Info Newsletter 27-01-07

UN envoy unveils draft plan for Kosovo

According to unconfirmed reports, Ahtisaari is proposing a period of transition, leading towards conditional independence, during which Kosovo, and its 90 percent ethnic Albanian population, will enjoy a high level of autonomy without an army or a UN seat. The plan is focused on "the protection of minority rights, in particular of the Kosovo Serbs" and "a strong international civilian and military presence within a broader future international engagement in Kosovo".

VIENNA, Jan 26, 2007 (AFP)

UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari unveiled Friday his plan on the future of Kosovo, which has left Russia at odds with the United States and its European allies over whether the Serbian province should be independent.

Ahtisaari "shared his proposal with the Contact Group (Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States) and there was a very brief discussion about the way forward," Ahtisaari's spokeswoman Hua Jiang said.

There is a diplomatic tug of war between Russia, which would like Serbia to maintain control of Kosovo, and the United States and its European allies which back the province moving towards independence.

Another Ahtisaari spokesman said the six contact group nations had re-stated their positions Friday but gave no details about the 90-minute closed-door session.

Asked whether Russia had asked for a decision on Kosovo to be postponed until a new government is formed in Serbia, following elections there last Sunday, Hua said: "There is no change in the program."

But a sign of a rift came when Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said in Belgrade that he would not meet Ahtisaari when he visits the Serbian capital next week to present his plan, Tanjug news agency reported Friday.

Ahtisaari had been due to deliver his proposal on the future status of Kosovo to Kostunica and President Boris Tadic, as well as Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders on February 2.

However, under Serbian law, an outgoing government can only deal with technical matters until a new one is sworn in, the state-run agency said, quoting a cabinet source.

"Therefore the prime minister will not meet Martti Ahtisaari on February 2 because only the new government has a mandate to talk with the special envoy about the future status of the province," the source said.

Under the plan, Kosovo would be "democratic and multi-ethnic", have an "International Civilian Representative" overseeing the government, and NATO troops would remain at first in the province, Ahtisaari told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Wednesday in Strasbourg.

NATO waged a bombing campaign against the regime of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic in 1999 to stop a Serbian crackdown on the separatist ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo, and the United Nations has run the province since then.

Fears have grown that any major delay in announcing how much autonomy Kosovo should be granted could inflame tensions and spill over into violence.

Ahtisaari said in Strasbourg that his plan would focus on "the protection of minority rights, in particular of the Kosovo Serbs" and "a strong international civilian and military presence within a broader future international engagement in Kosovo."

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy on Friday hailed the plan. "I think that Mr. Ahtisaari's proposals are leading in the right direction," Douste-Blazy declared after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

The issue of Kosovo, where the military alliance has 17,000 troops stationed including 2,000 from France, was high on the agenda in Brussels.

"I would like to say loud and clear that the Serb minority (in Kosovo) will be protected," he added, without divulging details of the UN proposals.

"The whole contact group is in agreement" with the thrust of Ahtisaari's recommendations, said Douste-Blazy.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in an interview in British daily the Financial Times that he expected Russia would back down on its desire for Serbia to hold on Kosovo. "Russia knows how narrow the room for manoeuvre is," Steinmeier said.

Since February 2006, Ahtisaari has held technical discussions in Vienna between Serbia and Kosovo covering a wide range of decentralisation, cultural, religious and economic issues.

Russia and West divided on UN Kosovo plan

REUTERS, Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:22 AM ET

By Matt Robinson

VIENNA (Reuters) - Russia is skeptical about a plan by United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari that would give Serbia's breakaway province of Kosovo virtual independence, a senior diplomat told Reuters on Friday.

After a meeting in Vienna with the six-member Contact Group of major powers, the diplomat said Russia had urged a delay in any U.N. decision on Kosovo until Serbia had formed a new government following an inconclusive parliamentary election on Jan 21.

"It was a very tough meeting. The Russians are very skeptical about the plan," the diplomat said on condition of anonymity. "I have never seen the Quint (United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy) more united."

Ahtisaari's spokesman Remi Dourlot told reporters after the meeting the envoy would travel to Belgrade and Pristina as planned on February 2 to present his proposal to officials.

The Contact Group has set policy on Kosovo since the U.N. took control in 1999 of the province where 90 percent of the population is ethnic Albanian. Ahtisaari drafted his plan after a year of shuttle diplomacy and fruitless Serb-Albanian talks.

Diplomatic sources said the Vienna meeting was the last step before he presents his proposal to officials next Friday. He will hold further bilateral talks in coming weeks, but diplomats say that would be merely fine-tuning details of the plan.

Eight years after NATO drove out Serb forces accused of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo while fighting Albanian separatists, Kosovo's Albanians demand nothing less than full independence.

Their patience was tested in November, when the Contact Group told Ahtisaari to delay until after Serbia's election.

"There is no need for another delay," Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku told reporters in Pristina on Friday. "The Contact Group assured us before that there wouldn't be another delay."

Belgrade is offering only far-reaching autonomy for a territory it sees as the sacred cradle of the Serb nation.

Diplomatic sources told Reuters this week Ahtisaari's plan would set Kosovo on the road to independence with international supervision, giving it the right to apply for membership of international organizations.

It would provide for a right to dual citizenship and urge Pristina to establish good relations with Serbia, but contain no reference to Serbian sovereignty.

LONG COALITION TALKS

Russia's insistence on waiting for a new government in Belgrade could mean a delay of weeks or months. Last weekend's national election in Serbia failed to produce a clear majority and parties were preparing for lengthy coalition talks.

The ultranationalist Radical Party won 28 percent of the vote but could find no partner that would give it a majority.

The pro-Western Democratic Party came second and is looking for a deal with the party of moderate nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and a smaller liberal party.

Kostunica used increasingly hardline rhetoric during his campaign and has said a common stance on Kosovo is the key to a coalition deal. It is not clear how easy it will be for him to agree with the Democrats on how to handle the potential loss of the province.

Parties have until late May to agree on a coalition, or a fresh election would have to be called.

After a meeting in Brussels, NATO, which keeps 16,000-plus peacekeepers in the province, also advised against a delay.

"There was a strong sense around the table on the need for a (U.N.) resolution as soon as possible," NATO spokesman James Appathurai told reporters. "Long delays risk a lack of clarity, risk fostering instability," he added.

The alliance is on alert for ethnic tensions caused by the report and wants to ensure it is not caught napping by any new violence in Kosovo, as it was in March 2004 during two days of rioting by ethnic Albanian mobs.

Serbian PM won't meet with UN envoy on Kosovo: report

BELGRADE, Jan 26, 2007 (AFP)

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica will not meet UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari when he visits Belgrade to present his plan on Kosovo's future status next week, Tanjug news agency reported Friday.

Ahtisarri had been due to deliver his proposal on the future status of Kosovo to Kostunica and President Boris Tadic, as well as Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders in one week.

Kostunica decided that the head of the new government that is to be formed following elections earlier this month should meet with the UN envoy, in line with Serbian law.

A cabinet source told the Tanjug news agency that Kostunica "will not meet Martti Ahtisaari on February 2 because only the new government has a mandate to talk with the special envoy about the future status of the province."

Kostunica's spokesman was not available to comment on the report.

The Serbian premier, known for his bitter opposition to independence for Kosovo, had made the issue a central theme of his party campaign ahead of the elections.

His government had persistanly accused Ahtisaari of being biased against Serbia and working in favor of Kosovo Albanians and had even called for him to resign as the UN emissary.

Kostunica's coalition won third place in the elections, trailing behind the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party and Tadic's pro-European Democratic Party.

He is seeking to retain the post of prime minister in a new government.

NATO expresses support for Ahtisaari plan on Kosovo

Associated Press: Friday, January 26, 2007 7:37 AM

BRUSSELS, Belgium-NATO allies expressed strong support Friday for a U.N. plan for the future status of Serbia's breakaway province of Kosovo, saying that any delay in resolving the contentious issue could foment instability in the Balkans.

NATO foreign ministers, who were meeting in Brussels, showed "a very strong sense of unity" in support of the proposal by U.N. envoy Matti Ahtisaari, spokesman James Appathurai said.

Ahtisaari, who mediated a year of talks between Serbs and Kosovo's ethnic Albanians, delivered his proposal Friday in Vienna, Austria, to members of the Contact Group, the United States, Russia and key European nations.

Details of the document were not made public.

"The ministers did not discuss specifics of Ahtisaari's proposal, just expressed unanimous support for the what is in the report," Appathurai said.

"They're of course aware of what's in the report, but there was no discussion of specifics."

Ahtisaari is widely expected to propose some form of provisional independence for the province of 2 million people which has administered by the United Nations since 1999. NATO, which occupied Kosovo in 1999 after a brief war against Serbia, has 16,000 troops in the province to provide security.

Belgrade insists that Kosovo must remain administratively linked to Serbia, but ethnic Albanians, who account for 90 percent of the province's people, are pushing for outright independence. A small but vocal Serbian minority in the province is also opposed to independence.

The United States and some EU nations have tacitly backed the independence option, despite warnings that it could intensify separatist demands in other independence-minded regions around the world.

"There was a strong sense around the table that there is a need for a resolution as quickly as possible, and that long delays risk ... fostering instability," Appathurai said.

The international community fears that a settlement proposal could spark a repeat of the violence that shook the region two years ago, when 22 people perished in fighting between the rival communities.

"I can't predict any scenario, but (the NATO force) is prepared for any eventuality ... to protect both minorities and majorities," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told journalists.

Several participants in the ministerial meeting urged the Serbs and Kosovo Albanians to discuss Ahtisaari's recommendations before the issue is finally tabled to the United Nations.

Russia, which has veto power in the Security Council, has indicated it would block any deal that would not be acceptable to Serbia.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy called on the Serbs and Albanians to agree on how to proceed.

"It's necessary to support Mr. Ahtisaari. It's also important to talk to Serbia," he said.

"Whatever the future status of Kosovo, it will be necessary to maintain the military and civil international presence."

The European Union is expected to assume oversight over Kosovo from the United Nations, with a civilian mission of about 100 members. The top EU envoy would have the power to veto Kosovo government decisions and legislation.

NATO would continue to provide security in the province, although force levels are expected to decline in the future.

Vienna, 26 Jan. (AKI) - The chief United Nations negotiator for Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari, presented behind closed doors his plan for the future status of Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province on Friday to the six-nation Contact group in Vienna. Although no officials statement has been made about the content of Ahtisaari's proposals, unnamed Western diplomats were quoted as saying he has recommended "supervised independence" for Kosovo, reportedly drawing unified support from Western countries and scepticism from Russia.

NATO spokesman James Appathurai said the alliance's foreign ministers, gathered on Friday for a summit in Brussels, also gave unanimous backing to Ahistaari's recommendations for Kosovo. The province has been under UN administration and NATO-led international protection since 1999 following ethnic fighting and human rights abuses.

Ahtisaari presented his plan to UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Thursday and will travel to Belgrade and Pristina on 2 February to hand it over to the Serb and ethnic Albanian leaders for consideration. It includes the creation of a Kosovan paramilitary force, reports said, quoting unnamed sources in Brussels.

Supervised independence might sooth majority ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, who outnumber Kosovo's tiny Serb minority by 17 to 1. But is is likely to be unnacceptable to Serbs remaining in the province and to Belgrade, which opposes Kosovo independence, arguing it would destabilise the entire region.

The Contact Group, made up of United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia, has been tasked by the UN with presenting to the UN Security Council by end-March a final status proposal for Kosovo, based on Ahtisaari's recommendations. The top UN body should then make the final ruling and vote a new resolution on Kosovo.

Diplomats said that Russia, which has opposed Kosovo independence, remained sceptical and asked for another postponement of the final decision on the province's future status. But it found itself isolated, with the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy swinging behind Ahtisaari's plans.

Russia - a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council - has threatened to block a resolution on independence should the Council move to impose this without Serbia's consent. But there has been recent speculation that western powers might avoid a vote in the Security Council by leaving it to each individual country to recognise Kosovo unilaterally.

Analysts in Belgrade said that Ahtisaari's proposal could complicate consultations in the formation of a new Serbian government after last Sunday's general election - one of the reasons why Russia asking for postponement. Meanwhile, according to media reports, Kosovo's international and local police will be on alert for possible unrest when Ahtisaari's plan is released next week.

Kosovo ethnic Albanian prime minister Agim Ceku said that Kosovo police with the help of the NATO-led international peacekeeping force in the province

(KFOR) was capable of keeping the situation under control. "We are following the situation and the Kosovo police and KFOR will guarantee security now and after the status decision," Ceku said.

Ceku said he didn't expect that either side would be completely satisfied with Ahtisaari's proposal, but added that the plan offered "a substance of a state within the existing Kosovo borders."

While the guessing game on the substance of Ahtisaari's proposal continued, a Kosovo Serb leader, Oliver Ivanovic, said he had information that the remaining 100,000 Serbs in Kosovo would have seven municipalities, with local self-rule, and the right to special ties to Belgrade.

"We will have special rights in the sphere of security, health, education and culture," he pointed out. "The local organs will have the right to name police chiefs, judges and prosecutors," said Ivanovic.

But although Ahtisaari doesn't explicitly mention the word "independence" in his plan, according to unnamed diplomats, the proposal is likely to be rejected by Belgrade, which insists on preservation of Serbia's existing state borders, analysts said.

Kosovo: Kostunica turns back on Ahtisaari

Belgrade, 26 Jan. (AKI) - Serbian prime minister Vojislav Kostunica has said he would not receive the chief United Nations negotiator for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari on February 2, when the Finish diplomat was due to present to Belgrade his plan for the status of breakaway Kosovo province. Ahtisaari revealed his plan to the six-nation Contact group for Kosovo in Vienna today, proposing "supervised independence" for the province which has been under U.N. control since 1999. Belgrade opposes independence, offering ethnic Albanians a large autonomy instead and Serbian officials have often accused Ahtisaari, former president of Finland, of anti-Serb bias.

Ahtisaari revealed his plan to the six-nation Contact group for Kosovo in Vienna Friday, proposing "supervised independence" for the province which has been under U.N. control since 1999. Belgrade opposes independence, offering ethnic Albanians a large autonomy instead and Serbian officials have often accused Ahtisaari, former president of Finland, of anti-Serb bias.

Kostunica's office said that after January 21 elections, in which his party took third place, he was no longer in a position to carry on with normal duties and his care-taker government can perform only "technical duties".

"Therefore, premier Vojislav Kostunica will not receive Martti Ahtisaari on February 2, because only the new government has a mandate to talk with the special representative on the future status of the province," Kostunica told national news agency Tanjug.

President Boris Tadic has announced he would start consultations with the parliamentary parties on a new government on Monday, but analysts said it might take up to three months until a new government would be formed. But because of rivalries between the four parties of the so called "democratic bloc" which should make a new coalition, the elections might ultimately end in a deadlock, analysts said.

The ensuing power vacuum might postpone the decision on the Kosovo status for several months, but western powers, which favor independence, have said no more postponements would be tolerated.

Russia Said To Seek Delay In UN Kosovo Plan

RFE RL - January 26, 2007 -- A Western diplomat has said. that Russia wants any UN decision on the future of Kosovo to be put off until after Serbia has formed a new government following inconclusive general elections on January 21.

Western news agencies quoted the unnamed diplomat as saying Russia urged the delay at a meeting of the six-member Contact Group in Vienna today.

The five Western members of the Contact Group -- the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Germany -- reportedly saw no need for delay.

Kosovar Prime Minister Agim Ceku also said today there was no need for any further delay in implementing the UN proposal.

The Contact Group had previously asked UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari to delay his proposal on Kosovo until after Serbia's general elections.

Ceku said the Contact Group then assured his government there would not be another delay.

Security beefed up in Kosovo ahead of UN envoy's visit

PRISTINA, Serbia, Jan 26, 2007 (AFP)

Kosovo's NATO-led force stepped up security on Friday, one week before a UN envoy is to visit with a plan that the ethnic Albanian majority hopes will deliver them independence.

The security level was raised because of fears of unrest when the content of a plan for Kosovo's future status is revealed by the envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, said the province's interior minister, Fatmir Rexhepi.

Police and NATO's 17,000 forces have "increased security measures in the whole territory of Kosovo to show their readiness to face any eventual situation which can happen," he said.

"The proposal (on Kosovo's status), which is expected to be presented publicly soon, may awake disappointment of individuals or certain small groups in Kosovo."

The increased security measures came into force after Ahtisaari on Friday presented his blueprint for Kosovo to the diplomatic Contact Group -- Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States.

Ahtisaari, a veteran Finnish mediator, began negotiations almost a year ago between Serbian and Kosovo Albanian leaders aimed at defining the future status of the contested province.

He postponed the announcement of his draft proposal at the end of last year after Serbian elections were called for January 21 amid concerns its content may rouse support for nationalists in the vote.

Fears have grown in the international community that any further delays to the status announcement could inflame tensions in Kosovo that spill over into violence.

"The previous delay of the proposal for Kosovo's status was followed by disappointment from citizens," said Rexhepi.

Earlier, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation said it would stay the course in Kosovo after a meeting of its foreign ministers in Brussels.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the allies voiced support for the United Nations envoy and for maintaining its Kosovo force (KFOR) in the province.

Scheffer said the meeting produced "reconfirmation by the allies that NATO-KFOR will play its part through and beyond the status process" and pledged to keep the 17,000 troops in Kosovo. He said the 26 member countries showed "full unity behind the process"

undertaken by the United Nations, and a "shared commitment to the need for a resolution as quickly as possible."

NATO waged a bombing campaign against former strongman Slobodan Milosevic's regime in 1999 to stop a Serbian crackdown on ethnic Albanian civilians in a fight against separatist guerillas.

Scheffer also said the allies had launched "a strong call for NATO-European Union cooperation and coordination" over Kosovo, particularly on a political level.

The ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party, which is vehemently opposed to Kosovo independence, took the most seats in Serbian parliament in elections last weekend.

The new government is expected to be a more moderate alliance of democratic parties but no major political grouping in Serbia has said it is prepared to relinquish sovereignty over Kosovo, seen as the cradle of Serb culture.

Following the NATO meeting, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy described Ahtisaari's plan for Kosovo as a move in the right direction, with wide international support."I think that Mr. Ahtisaari's proposals are leading in the right direction,"

Douste-Blazy declared. "I would like to say loud and clear that the Serb minority will be protected."

"The whole Contact Group is in agreement" with the thrust of Ahtisaari's recommendations, added Douste-Blazy.

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