German Opposition
Bundestag Party Takes their Government to Court Over Serbia
Political party Die Linke (The Left), the fourth biggest party in the German Parliament with 54 MPs, brought the lawsuit against their government before the state's Constitutional Court over the continuing engagement of the German Army (Bundswehr) stationed in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija.
Die Linke is charging the federal government with violating the state's Constitution by allowing further engagement of national army in the changed circumstances, without consulting the Parliament. They are pointing to the fact that the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 can no longer be used to justify the involvement of German troops in Kosovo-Metohija, while the new approval, necessary after the unilaterally declared independence by the Pristina separatists recognized by the German government, was never issued, Monika Knoche, vice president of Die Linke, Bundestag MP and member of the German Parliament's Foreign Policy Council, told Belgrade daily Vecernje novosti.
Party leadership stressed that German recognition of severed Kosovo province has created different circumstances, urging for redefinition of the German Army engagement in the region and explicit approval by the Parliament.
"We are requesting that the highest legal institution in Germany evaluates and confirms our position that the rights of the German Parliament have been violated. According to the law, Bundestag must approve every engagement of the troops -- a condition federal government has failed to observe. The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe accepted the lawsuit, and we will now wait for the outcome," Knoche said.
Unilateral Declaration of Independence, a Brutal Assault on 21st Century Europe
Q: Die Linke party was against German recognition of Kosovo independence. Why?
MK: The unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence is a dreadful violation of the international law and a brutal assault on Europe's identity. UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which ended the war, expressly guarantees Serbia's territorial integrity. Recognition of an independent Kosovo is also an encouragement to the nationalistic movements. It fuels the ethnicity-based separatism, which is completely contrary to everything 21st century Europe stands for.
Die Linke is not alone in its assessment. The greatest majority of the countries which have not recognized Kosovo, although additionally guided by their own interest, i.e. by the fear of flare-out of separatism within their own borders, have also understood the risk of Kosovo becoming a model for the same ambitions which exist throughout the world. The very fact that only 40 countries out of all the states in the world have recognized the unilaterally declared independent Kosovo confirms we were right all along.
Q: Is the issue of Kosovo province considered closed by Die Linke?
MK: We are advocating reevaluation of the legal basis for the unilateral declaration of independence and Kosovo province's imposed severing from Serbia before the International Court of Justice. We believe that the process of further recognitions ought to be blocked and that wide autonomy is the proper solution -- without touching the borders. Kosovo must continue to be treated as an integral part of Serbia, while Serbia should have the perspective of joining the EU with Kosovo as its integral part.