Serbia’s Resounding “NO”
Serbia’s Resounding “NO” (Polt’s Wheeling & Dealing Ruined)
BELGRADE, Serbia, Feb. 14, 2007 — Associated Press reports today that Serbia’s new parliament has “overwhelmingly” rejected a proposal by the U.N. special envoy Martti Ahtisaari that would give virtual independence to Serbian southern province of Kosovo and Metohija.
According to the AP, the 250-member parliament voted 225-15 to reject Ahtisaari’s draft. Serbian parliament adopted a resolution saying “Ahtisaari’s draft violates fundamental principles of international law and illegally lays the foundation for the creation of a new independent state on the territory of Serbia.”
The text of the Serbian parliament’s resolution invites “all states, international organizations and other international factors to oppose all threats to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia and reject any imposed solution for the future status of Kosovo-Metohija.”
Serbia Chooses Justice and the Rule of Law
According to Tanjug report from Belgrade, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said in his speech at a Serbian parliament session that international envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s proposal presents a gross direct assault on the integrity of a democratic and European state.
“Ahtisaari presented to Belgrade his proposal for breaking up Serbia. The presented proposal is that 15 percent of its territory be seized from Serbia. The presented proposal is that Serbia’s internationally recognized borders are changed against its will,” Kostunica said.
Serbian Prime Minister pointed out that the contents of Ahtisaari’s proposal show that the special envoy of the United Nations secretary-general, instead of dealing with the issue of organizing the province of Kosovo, in fact violated his mandate and raised the issue of the state status of Serbia.
“Rejecting the argument of force and the right of might, Serbia is making it known that it favors the right of justice and that it considers the argument of law as the only one that is valid. This means, in Serbian and in any other language, that Kosovo-Metohija is an integral and inalienable part of the territory of Serbia,” Kostunica said, and called on the MPs to refuse to be accomplices in the retreat of law before naked force, by unequivocally rejecting Ahtisaari’s proposal.
All Pressures and Offers are in Vain: There is No Compensation for Kosovo
Serbian Prime Minister Kostunica said that there is no compensation for Kosovo and that Serbia will not go beyond a reasonable compromise at the negotiations on the future of this province in Vienna.
Serbia is confident that it has at its disposal the mightiest possible weapon for any further talks that will take place in Vienna, he said, and that weapon is law and justice.
“That is why all pressures are in vain, and all offers and all other things that some call ‘carrots’ — offered and applied in order to make Serbia give up these principles, are pointless,” Kostunica said.
“The simple truth is this: there is no possible compensation for Kosovo. We will go to Vienna to explain that Serbia is ready for any reasonable compromise and agreement with anyone who respects the principles on which international order is founded,” the Prime Minister explained.
Serbia has offered to the Albanian national minority in Kosovo-Metohija province the highest possible degree of autonomy, the Prime Minister pointed out, but Serbia has not yet heard a clear and fitting reply to the question what could be wrong with that offer or the request for respect of international laws, the UN Charter, and the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.
Adolfsen’s Proposal Losing Steam in the EU
MOSCOW, Russia, Feb. 14, 2007 — European parliamentarians no longer see UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s proposal for the future status of Serbian Kosovo-Metohija province as an imperative and the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) is becoming aware that no plan can be achieved without the support of all sides, Russian Duma Foreign Affairs Committee head Konstantin Kosachev said on Wednesday.
Ahtisaari’s proposal was not supported either by Belgrade or by the Serbian community in Kosovo-Metohija province, Kosachev told the Itar-TASS news agency in Paris.
Indications of Important Changes of Stance
Commenting on a statement issued by the PACE Political Committee, Kosachev said that the original formulation voicing expectation that negotiations in Vienna would soon be resumed “on the basis of Ahtisaari’s proposal” had been modified into “while taking into account Ahtisaari’s proposal.”
This modification clearly shows that European parliamentarians no longer see Ahtisaari’s proposal as an imperative, Kosachev said.