Serbia claims sovereignty over Kosovo

Dub13

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5395962.stm

Serbia's parliament has unanimously approved a new constitution that claims sovereignty over the UN administered province of Kosovo.
The move, passed during a special session of parliament, opposes calls for the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo to be given independence.

Kosovo has been run by the UN since Nato intervened in 1999 to stop Serbia expelling the ethnic Albanian majority.

The proposed constitution will now face a referendum before it becomes valid.

Serbia's Prime Minister, Vojislav Kostunica, has indicated a referendum would also be followed by early elections, although he has not specified a date.

Mr Kostunica said the country's new constitution would "cement the truth that Kosovo always has been and always will be an integral part of Serbia".

He also insisted there was no need to wait for the Kosovo issue to be settled before adopting the new constitution.

The BBC's Nick Hawton says this is a controversial statement, as negotiations on the province's final status are currently under way.

The UN, which has been hosting the talks on Kosovo's status, has said the issue could be resolved this year.

mick72

well, I suppose Kosovo is still (at least officially) part of Serbia. Any changes on the large scale in the Balkans could result in trouble again.

Dub13

mick72 wrote:

well, I suppose Kosovo is still (at least officially) part of Serbia. Any changes on the large scale in the Balkans could result in trouble again.

Serbia has never lost or conceeded 'sovereignty' of Kosovo. They were even prepared to go to war with NATO in 1999 to maintain this status. UN Resolution 1244 which brought a halt to the campaign specifically reiterated this fact.

What Serbia has lost, is not sovereignty, but governance of Kosovo.

mick72

I agree with you.

On the other hand, what happens if the independence is not granted to the Albanian majority? I am sure NATO would not have it easy then; being kind of surrounded by locals.

Yet if the independence is granted then possibly neighbouring Serbs from Bosnia would want the same

Dub13

VOTERS in Serbia backed a new constitution reinforcing sovereignty over Kosovo last night before a UN assessment of the province’s suitability for independence.

The referendum on the country’s new constitution only narrowly reached the 50 per cent threshold for success after desperate last-minute television appeals by Vojislav Kostunica, the Prime Minister, who gave warning of “unforeseeable consequences” if it failed.

The Belgrade-based Centre for Free Elections and Democracy said that a sample count indicated that 96 per cent of voters were in favour of the new constitution.

But while the document will put the state of Serbia on a legal basis after the independence of Montenegro, its claim that Kosovo is “integral” to the country is widely seen as a provocative act when some form of independence is likely to be proposed by the UN soon.

More Here

mick72

I'm sure outcome of these talks over Kosovo's future will be something 'in-between'. I can't see Albanians ever recognising Serbian rule, yet I can't see the Serbs letting Kosovo go easily.