Byzantine Blog

Albanian Separatists Can’t Represent Serbian Kosovo Province

Today’s session of the UN Security Council in New York where Martti Ahtisaari was invited to present his document for the status of southern Serbian province was left undefined regarding its content and purpose. What is obvious thus far is that this is not the session where voting on any kind of proposal was expected to take place, that Ahtisaari’s strongly contested draft is not considered ready to be offered for adoption, and that arguments both for and against Ahtisaari’s proposal will be given due attention before the Security Council decides on the subsequent steps.

The Council was addressed by the UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, Serbia’s Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Chief Joachim Ruecker, after which the session was paused.

The announced address of Kosovo-Metohija province’s self-styled “president” Fatmir Sejdiu was scrapped from the agenda after Serbian ambassador to the UN Pavle Jevremovic protested participation of a representative of Albanian separatists from the Serbian province, stressing that the UN Resolution 1244 stipulated that only UNMIK could represent the province.

Member of the Serbia’s negotiating team, Slobodan Samardzic said it would be unacceptable for Sejdiu to address the Council: “That would be in breach of Resolution 1244 and Kosovo province’s Constitutional framework. According to those documents, Kosovo-Metohija can only be represented by the UN special representative in international communication, not by members of the interim institutions. They can attend, but not represent Serbian province,” he said.

Since Sejdiu was not allowed to address the UN Security Council, UNMIK head Ruecker, who arrived at the last minute to the UN Headquarters, read parts of the speech Sejdiu prepared for the occasion. During the break, Sejdiu attended an informal gathering of the ambassadors of the Security Council member states that, according to the news agencies’ reports, lasted only couple of minutes.

Ahtisaari’s Arguments Weak and Bizarre

After addressing the Council and following a discussion of the Security Council members that was closed for public, Prime Minister Kostunica was directly connected to the Serbian national television program. Speaking from the New York studio, Kostunica said that he had a good opportunity to observe the strength of Serbia’s arguments in contrast to Ahtisaari’s proposal.

According to Prime Minister Kostunica, during the UN Security Council session Ahtisaari was not able to respond to essential questions — why is the UN Charter being violated, why is one state being deprived of the 15 percent of its territory and why is there no other solution that would honor the UN Charter itself.

“The most striking point in Ahtisaari’s exposé was the idea that Kosovo will remain isolated and unique case in the world. Why bring this up in advance? Obviously, there is justified fear that the case of Kosovo province would turn into a very grievous precedent,” said Kostunica.

“Taking into account blatant weaknesses of Ahtisaari’s ‘arguments’ and the growing awareness throughout the world about the dangers of undermining fundamental principles of the United Nations, I am very optimistic about the further developments regarding this issue,” said Kostunica, adding he is convinced the unattainability of the Ahtisaari’s proposal will be fully revealed.

Ahtisaari’s Draft Gives Right to National Minorities to Dismember Existing States

Speaking to the ambassadors of Security Council member states earlier, Serbian Prime Minister informed the UN Council that Serbia rejects Martti Ahtisaari’s proposal and requests this body to appoint a new mediator and launch new negotiations that will take the valid Resolution 1244 as a clear and firm framework for finding a solution based on agreement.

Addressing the Council, Kostunica reminded that Serbia is an old European state, a member of the League of Nations and later one of the founding members of the United Nations. “With its centuries-old tradition of state building, Serbia has taken part in shaping the history of Europe and thus in contributing to the definition of lasting and universal values essential to the world that we live in. When saying this, I refer first of all to fundamental values such as justice and the rule of law.”

Stressing that this is the first time in the history of United Nations that someone is attempting to challenge the validity of sovereignty and territorial integrity of internationally recognized states and to question the principle of inviolability of their internationally recognized borders, Kostunica warned that Ahtisaari’s document which proposes to undermine the UN Charter itself represents a draft for a very dangerous precedent. Once such a negative precedent is set and national minorities are given the right to violate the UN Charter by dismembering existing states, the critical point would have been crossed and nobody would be able to foresee what dangerous consequences for global peace such a precedent would trigger.

Status of Serbian State Not Open for Discussion

“Contrary to the principles of international law, contrary to the UN Charter, contrary to the UN SC Resolution 1244, contrary to the Helsinki Final Act, contrary to the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and, last but not least, contrary to elementary justice,” Ahtisaari actually proposes redrawing of Serbia’s borders and taking away 15 percent of Serbia’s territory, against Serbia’s will and “by brutal imposition,” said Kostunica.

The only justification offered is that thus Kosovo and Metohija Albanians, a national minority within our country, could form another Albanian state on Serbian territory, adjacent to the already existing state of Albania [...] This, Mr. President, is the reason why Serbia has unambiguously rejected Ahtisaari’s proposal as an unlawful and illegitimate attempt to dismember our state. It was not within the mandate of the Special Envoy to violate the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity and to propose redrawing Serbia’s internationally recognized borders. In fact, the UN Secretary General had given Mr. Ahtisaari the mandate to act as a mediator in the talks aimed at determining the future status of the Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija. This is the way his role has to be understood within the UN framework: neither the Secretary General nor the Security Council could have given Mr. Ahtisaari the mandate to open the issue of the state status of Serbia, simply because this is not permitted under the UN Charter.

The Security Council is the right place to ask Mr. Ahtisaari — what is the legal basis of his proposal to violate the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity of internationally recognized states, thus depriving Serbia, a UN member state, of a significant part of its territory? The Special Envoy has so far been silent on this issue, and it is high time that he should repair this omission. Of course, we all know that, as long as the UN Charter remains in force, there simply cannot be any legal basis for such a proposal. No explanation can turn a violation of law into law, nor can brute might become right in such a manner.

The real question is: why has Special Envoy Ahtisaari chosen to act outside the scope of his mandate and why he has failed to take up the role of the mediator in the talks that should have been pursued within the framework of SC Resolution 1244 and the UN Charter? Renouncing his role as mediator, the Special Envoy has decided to come forward with a one-sided proposal of his own which completely disregards the position of Belgrade and is in direct violation of valid norms of international law.

The moment the Special Envoy decided to act contrary to the UN Charter, it became clear that his aim was not to help the two sides to reach a political compromise through a negotiated settlement. In fact, Mr. Ahtisaari deliberately adopted the position of the Albanian side and thus produced a proposal that only meets the demands of the Kosovo and Metohija Albanians. The best proof of this is the outright rejection of this plan by Serbia and its ready acceptance by the Albanians in the province.

Albanian Terrorism Given Wings by Supporting Their Illegal Demands

Serbian Prime Minister further emphasized that Serbia made every effort to help Ahtisaari succeed in his mission, by underlying that status talks must be pursued within the scope of the UN Charter and that Ahtisaari, as a mediator, should strive to find a political compromise and a mutually acceptable solution, instead of acting as an advocate for Albanian separatists in Serbian province. However, “In spite of our persistent reminders, Mr. Ahtisaari has clearly disregarded these two crucial conditions. In fact, his proposal directly contravenes the UN Charter, and this is why Serbia insists that the Security Council should reject it as unlawful and illegitimate,” said Kostunica.

The lack of any legal grounds for depriving Serbia of a part of its territory explains why Albanian separatists and terrorists have been increasingly resorting to threats of violence unless Kosovo is given independence. In the name of my country I ask you — can the Security Council afford to remain silent in the face of open threats of violence and, moreover, allow those threats to serve as an argument in favour of forming a new state on the territory of Serbia, an internationally recognized state and a member of the UN. Serbia is convinced that the Security Council will authoritatively reject all threats of violence and that this august body will clearly oppose the use of force as a way of settling the Kosovo issue, just as it would do in the case of any similar problem elsewhere.

Serbs and Albanians Have Lived Together for Centuries and Kosovo-Metohija Has Been an Integral Part of Serbia for Centuries

Expressing Serbia’s strong conviction that a negotiated and historically just solution can be reached if given a proper chance, Prime Minister Kostunica stressed that recognizing all the shortcomings in the negotiation process so far and assigning a new and impartial mediator — the one focusing on compromise solution with respect to the fundamental principle of preserving sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbian state — is of crucial importance.

Serbs and Albanians have lived together for centuries, and for centuries Kosovo and Metohija has been a part of Serbia. Serbia is fully committed to enabling the Albanian national minority to achieve, in accordance with the SC Resolution 1244, substantial autonomy in the Province of Kosovo and Metohija. This means that the Albanians in the Province would be able to decide upon their future, manage their own affairs and protect their interests, while at the same time Serbia would, in accordance with the UN Charter, preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is entirely possible to reconcile these two demands. In such a case, it would be perfectly acceptable to Serbia to have the United Nations supervise the implementation of substantive autonomy of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia.

Kostunica pointed out that bizarre claims of the Albanian separatists that “living together is not possible” are directly opposed to genuinely democratic principles, as well as the principle of multi-ethnicity which involve joint responsibilities in living together. He added that “Countries all over the world have developed a variety of arrangements to ensure autonomy for their national minorities, and it is impermissible that, in only one case, a single minority should have the right to form an independent state and reject even the highest form of autonomy as insufficient.”

Comprehensive Review of Resolution 1244 Implementation Will Reveal Unpleasant Facts

Calling for opening of direct talks between Belgrade and Pristina which, in spite of Belgrade’s insistence, have not taken place so far, Serbian Prime Minister reminded the UN Security Council of the fact that Ahtisaari, surprisingly, had organized only one, single meeting where the future status of Kosovo-Metohija province was discussed. According to Kostunica, the gravity of the issue and the overwhelming danger Ahtisaari’s draft in reality represents would certainly dictate the need for a more serious approach and commitment to dialog Ahtisaari has failed to demonstrate.

Serbia’s Premier also requested a comprehensive review of the implementation of currently binding UN Security Council Resolution 1244. Welcoming the initiative of the Russian Federation for appointing a fact-finding mission which would establish the extent to which the standards defined by the Resolution 1244 have been fulfilled to date, Kostunica pointed out that since 1999 more than 200,000 Serbs have been expelled from their southern province, of which more than 40,000 from one city alone, the province’s capital, Pristina, where now only some 100 Serbs remain. Asking why the Serbs ethnically cleansed from the province are not returning if they are supposed to feel safe there, and underlying the fact that over 150 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries have been destroyed by the Albanian terrorists during the past eight years, Kostunica stressed that this is only one of the ways the Resolution 1244 has been completely disregarded and dishonored.

Impartial Mediator and True Negotiations the Only Way Forward

In view of all these facts, the next natural step is to take stock of the actual situation in terms of the implementation of the SC Resolution 1244. We are convinced that this is the best way to launch a new cycle of negotiations. I stress in particular that Resolution 1244 explicitly reaffirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia with regard to Kosovo and Metohija and — I quote — ‘calls for substantive autonomy to be secured for the Province’. This explains why it is precisely this SC Resolution that should be central to further talks on the future status of the Province.

Serbia is taking this opportunity to point out once again that the SC Resolution 1244 is binding on the Governments of all UN member states. No state may violate this Resolution, or take a unilateral position on the future status of the Province. Any unilateral recognition of Kosovo’s independence would constitute flagrant and — I stress — double violation of UN norms. Both the UN Charter and Resolution 1244 would be violated, and any state that decides to act in such an unlawful manner would directly call into question the authority of the UN. Serbia would, of course, unequivocally reject any such recognition of Kosovo and Metohija’s independence as null and void, as it would constitute direct interference on the part of such states in the internal affairs of Serbia. In that case, Serbia would ask the Security Council to act in accordance with its own Resolution 1244, so as to protect and reaffirm the territorial integrity of Serbia, as well as the inviolability of its internationally recognized borders.

Let me remind you that Serbia has adopted a new Constitution in November of 2006. Everyone has to recognize the fact that, through a referendum, over half of the total number of the adult citizens of Serbia freely expressed their will, reasserting once again that the Province of Kosovo and Metohija is an integral part of Serbia’s territory as laid down by the Constitution. In addressing the issue of Serbia’s territorial integrity, this sovereign will of the people of Serbia must be fully taken into account. With the adoption of the new Constitution of Serbia, its international state borders have been unambiguously and explicitly confirmed.

Once again I want to emphasize that Serbia is an old European state, and that it cannot permit that law and justice be trampled upon by depriving it of a part of its territory. The dignity of our country and our people are inseparably bound with Kosovo and Metohija — the place of origin of our state, of our faith, of our culture, and of our national and state identity. For Serbia, this is a question of truth, a matter of law and of basic, elementary justice.

As any other sovereign state, Serbia can only see its future within its internationally recognized borders, and upon the entirety of its territory. You can rest assured that Serbian people will never permit its state to be dismembered, nor could it ever recognize the existence of another independent state on its sovereign territory.

In conclusion, Serbian Prime Minister thanked the Security Council “for the opportunity to present the position of Serbia, to inform the Security Council that Serbia has rejected the Ahtisaari proposal, and to request that the Security Council support further negotiations, with a new international mediator, this time taking the UN SC Resolution 1244 as a clear and firm framework for reaching a negotiated settlement.”

Full Address by Prime Minister of Serbia Vojislav Kostunica to the UN Security Council