Byzantine Blog

Kosovo Province Won't be Outside Serbia for One Second

Adopting on Thursday a Decision on nullification of illegal acts on declaration of unilateral independence by provisional organs of self-government in Kosovo and Metohija, Serbian government has made sure the state's southern province, under all the international and internal laws, will not be outside of Serbia even for a single second.

According to Tanjug, government's Decision was immediately submitted to Serbian Parliament for confirmation at an urgent session of the National Assembly.

Under the Serbian Government's unanimous Decision, acts and activities by provisional organs of self-government in Kosovo and Metohija declaring unilateral independence are being nullified, because they violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia, which are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, U.N. Charter, UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999 and other UN Security Council resolutions, as well as by the international law in force.

Violent Acts Aimed at Illegal Secession Null and Void

Those violent acts and activities aimed at unilateral secession of a part of the territory of the Republic of Serbia have no legal effect in the Republic of Serbia or in the international legal system. Unilateral secession of a part of the sovereign state's territory is an act of legal violence against the Republic of Serbia and violence against the valid international law, it is said in the Decision.

With this Decision, the Government of the Republic of Serbia confirms that the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija is an inalienable part of a single and inseparable constitutional, state and legal system of the Republic of Serbia based on the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and the U.N. Charter.

Call to UN Member-States to Respect Serbia's Sovereignty

The government also confirms that Serbs and all citizens of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija who recognize the state of Serbia are fully equal citizens of the Republic of Serbia, and have the right and obligation not to recognize illegal acts on declaration of unilateral independence.

With this Decision, the Government confirms that it implements the Constitution and laws, as well as the entire legal order of the Republic of Serbia, in the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.

Serbian Government requests all member states of the United Nations to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia in keeping with international law, U.N. Charter and UN Security Council Resolution 1244, it is said in the Decision.

Adopted Decision Automatically Activated

Speaking at a press conference held after the government session, Serbian Prime Minister Kostunica said that adopted Decision is automatically activated the moment Albanian terrorists and separatists in Kosovo-Metohija province would unilaterally proclaim independence.

He explained that the Decision was sent to the Serbia's UN Mission, and once it is activated, it will be sent to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with an accompanying letter requesting the annulment of unilateral declaration of independence, an urgent session of the UN Security Council and measures to prevent the violation of the UN Charter, UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and Helsinki Final Act.

UN Security Council: Kosovo-Metohija Will Never Be an Independent State

Meanwhile, in New York, at an urgent UN Security Council session initiated by Serbia, state's foreign minister reminded the representatives of the world's highest legislative body, that Serbia "shall never accept any violation of its territorial integrity. We shall never recognize Kosovo’s independence. We shall not waiver, we shall not yield, should this cowardly act proceed unchecked. Not now. Not in a year. Not in a decade. Never. For Kosovo and Metohija shall remain a part of Serbia forever."

Foreign Minister Jeremic stressed that the issue UN Security Council is facing here is "whether to destroy or to preserve the sacrosanct character of basic solidarity between sovereign states, the common denominator of the world community."

He said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his special representative in southern Serbian province, Joachim Ruecker, must exercise their authority to nullify the illegal declaration of unilateral independence, which would represent the crude trampling of the vital international laws the UN itself was built upon.

Ruecker is Duty-Bound to Nullify Any Unilateral Declarations

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that Moscow shared Serbia's assessment that a unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo Albanian separatists and preparations for its recognition in some states "can only be viewed as a blatant breach of international law that undermines the foundations of the international relations system."

Ambassador Churkin pointed out that Ruecker, the U.N. envoy, "is duty-bound to declare such decision by the Kosovo Albanian leadership null and void."

He also warned of a real danger of renewed inter-ethnic violence and increase in extremist activities in Kosovo and in the Balkans as a whole, in the event of a unilateral declaration of independence.

EU Must Seek UN Security Council Mandate Before Deploying a Mission in Serbia

Both Serbian Minister and Russia's permanent UN Ambassador reminded that the police and judiciary mission planned by the EU has to seek a mandate from the United Nations Security Council prior to being deployed on the territory of Serbian state, in order to be considered legitimate.

Russian Ambassador warned that the obvious illegality of the planned European Union mission "cannot be concealed by any attempts to ‘interpret’ the Resolution 1244, in order to create a pseudo-legal base for unilateral actions. It is impossible to simultaneously violate the resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council and act in compliance with it,” Churkin said.

He stressed that Kosovo remains an international, rather than a European problem, and has to be resolved by the United Nations Security Council.

“Maybe in future the argument that Kosovo is the business of the European Union will become more convincing. But that may happen only when all the Balkans, including Serbia in its current borders, are integrated into the EU,” Vitaly Churkin said.

The ambassador said the United States and the EU “have no legal or moral right to push Kosovo to unilateral independence.”