Kosovo Serbs adopt a declaration rejecting independence

"Under the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and in keeping with UN Security Council Resolution 1244, the United Nations Charter, Helsinki Final Act and other binding legal acts,  the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija is part of a single and inseparable territory of the sovereign state of Serbia", the Declaration reads.

It is also underscored that the Assembly of the Union of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo rejects all acts and actions unilaterally proclaiming independence of Kosovo, forming institutions of a quasi-state of Kosovo, as nonexistent and without any legal validity.

The Assembly does not recognize and rejects all decisions by the provisional organs of the self-government in Kosovo on setting up of the Kosovo Security Forces, because those decisions are contrary to the Constitution of Serbia and UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

The Assembly of the Union of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo demands from the Serbian government to file with the International Court of Justice lawsuits against the state that had recognized the illegal proclamation of unilateral independence of Kosovo, thus violating the binding norms of international law, particularly the UN Charter, Helsinki Final Act, UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of June 10, 1999, and other acts.

The Assembly appeals to the Serbian government to request an urgent session of the UN Security Council, which is keeping with Resolution 1244, to annul the decision on deployment of the EU mission (EULEX) in Kosovo, because it is, contrary to the Security Council decision, implementing Martti Ahtisaari's plan, which had not been approved by the UN Security Council.

The Assembly also requests all institutions in Serbia to communicate on all issues regarding Kosovo only with UNMIK and KFOR, as the only legitimate U.N. missions in the Province.

Also in Zvecan, Serbian Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic has said that incidents that occured in late 2008 and early 2009 "give us the right to doubt the EULEX mision in the part in which we agreed with the United Nations they would be there primarily to protect all citizens of Kosovo, to guarantee security to all citizens in Kosovo-Metohija and to be status neutral."

"Unfortunately, experience from this period indicates completely different activities of the mission which was passive at the time and did not react appropriately to incidents which had occurred," Bogdanovic said at a session of the Serbian parliament's Committee on Kosovo in Zvecan.

"This does not have to mean that we condemn in advance everything that the mission should be doing, and I primarily refer to status neutrality, observation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and non-implementation of the Martti Ahtisaari plan," Bogdanovic said and added that "our attitude will depend on the future work and activities of the mission in Kosovo."

The Committee unanimously adopted conclusions requesting from the Serbian government to make strong diplomatic action at international institutions and to call for a consistent observation of international law, prevent the violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and request the observation of human and national rights in Kosovo.

It was said that diplomatic activities needed to continue in accordance with the Serbian Constitution and Serbian parliament declarations on Kosovo aimed at preventing the recognition of the illegally declared independence of Serbia's southern province, to reinforce the presence of state bodies in Kosovo and to speed up the economic strengthening of the areas populated by Serbs and other non-Albanians.

The Committee called upon the Serbian government to urgently make a long-term and precise strategy of sustainable survival of Serbs and other non-Albanians and return of more than 200,000 IDPs and called for the unity and solidarity of all political and economic froces of Serbia in the interest of survival of Serbs in the province and in the fight to preserve Kosovo within Serbia.

Representatives of Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo were invited not to respond to Albanian extremists' provocations and accept the institutions of so-called independent Kosovo.