Tadic: Plan for northern Kosovo - dangerous provocation

Serbian President Boris Tadic has strongly condemned the plan of the "final solution" for the northern part of Kosovo assessing it as unnecessary and dangerous provocation that threatens the already fragile stability in the province.

The plan, proposed by the so-called International Civilian Office (ICO) fail to see several coordinated policies and actions aimed at forcing the Serbian majority in northern Kosovo to accept the unilaterally declared independence, Tadic warned in New York at the UN Security Council session dedicated to the situation in Kosovo.

At the same time, the Serbian President stressed that this is flagrant violation of SC Resolution 1244. Tadic pointed out that this is not the way to overcome challenges considering tremendous efforts of Serbia and other relevant factors to maintain the fragile stability.

The Pristina 'final solution' for the north of Kosovo will bring nothing good for those who live there, and will satisfy only the extremists who want all that is happening in Kosovo to be seen through the distorted prism of the illegal declaration of independence, said Tadic. He also pointed out that the harsh rhetoric of Pristina aimed at the legitimate Serbian institutions in northern Kosovo does not contribute to the maintenance of stability in this part of Serbia.

Speaking of those as of parallel institutions, representatives of EULEX do not respect the explicit terms of their status of neutrality and violate Resolution 1244, stressed the Serbian President, adding that it is unacceptable for Serbia.

The true parallel institutions in Kosovo are those created on the basis of the unilateral declaration of independence, and their existence is a violation of Resolution 1244, said the Serbian President, and expressed his expectation that KFOR and EULEX will protect the Serbian community in the north of Kosovo.

Underlining that Serbia will never under any circumstances recognize the unilateral independence of Kosovo, which, as he assessed, divided the world and the Balkans, Tadic thanked UN members that also did not recognize the independence. This issue is now before the ICJ in The Hague and Serbia believes that a dialogue is the most effective way to achieve the only permanent and sustainable solution, acceptable to all sides.

I believe that this year the issue of status might be resolved in a way that contributes to the improvement of regional priorities such as EU membership, Tadic said, adding that Serbia is a democratic society that will soon join the EU and that all should work together to achieve common future.

Welcoming new members of the Security Council, the Serbian President said that the UN remains an indispensable factor in Kosovo and that it is of great importance that the Security Council continues to support the full reconfiguration of UNMIK as a crucial pillar of peace and stability. Tadic reiterated that Kosovo can and should participate in multilateral and regional forums, in the presence of UNMIK officials, but as "UNMIK-Kosovo.

As for KFOR, Tadic said that Serbia will continue to work so that the role of these forces would not be reduced, especially in the context of preserving the Serbian heritage. Speaking about the six-item plan, Tadic said that actual steps have still not been taken regarding the political implementation of the provisions of the plan, for example, the judiciary and customs.

The President expressed his disappointment that the report by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon does not mention that the recent elections in Kosovo were illegitimate, as they were neither held in accordance with Resolution 1244, nor scheduled by the head of UNMIK, monitored by the OSCE, or confirmed by the UN. Under such circumstances, it is impossible for Serbia to support such elections, because it was clear that there are no conditions for participation of the great majority of the Kosovo Serbs, Tadic said.

Reminding that Minister Bogdanovic was recently prevented from visiting the Serbian enclave of Strpce, the President of Serbia protested because of obstructions and the fact that Serbian state officials are not allowed to visit Kosovo, while emphasizing that the Belgrade authorities consistently adhere to agreed procedures. The status-neutral international institutions, enabled by the SC to control the police structure in the province, have an obligation to prevent such abuse, said Tadic.