Albanians, Serbs mark first year of unilateral Kosovo secession by special parliament sessions
A ceremonial session of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo assembly will be held today in Pristina to mark the anniversary of the unilateral independence declaration, while members of parliament of Serbia will attend a special session of the Kosovo Serb parliament in Zvecan, northern Kosovo, to mark their opposition to the Albanian move.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Speaking at the Pristina session will be Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu, Thaci, and Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi.
Students and citizens in many Kosovo towns will later organize a walk under the title "Walk to Independence."
A concert by the Kosovo philharmonic will follow, and fireworks in all large Kosovo towns are also. Sejdiu pardoned or shortened the sentences of 62 people convicted of various crimes to mark the anniversary of Kosovo's unilateral independence declaration.
Meanwhile, in Zvecan, delegates of the Assembly of the Union of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo will hold a session at which they will adopt a declaration and proclaim the decision on the independence of Kosovo unilateral and invalid.
Serbian National Assembly MPs will also attend the session. As announced, the Serbian parliament committee for Kosovo will also hold a session in Zvecan.
The Zvecan session will present a response of Serbs to the session of the Kosovo parliament in Pristina.
Speaking about the MPs' trip to Zvečan, Kosovo Minister Goran Bogdanovic said that, despite several Serbian diplomatic victories, important problems still needed to be resolved.
"Kosovo's independence has further heightened tensions, especially among Serbs and other non-Albanians, as violations of human rights, freedom of movement, right of return, and the right of return of property usurped by Albanians is still not going in the direction that Serbs and other non-Albanians would like," said Bogdanovic.
