SPS: Platform should come quickly, but not rashly
Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) whip in the Serbian parliament Branko Ruzic said Wednesday that he expected the platform on Kosovo to be completed soon and presented to heads of MP grups perhaps even during the current week, stressing that the whole job had to be done “quickly, but not hastily.”
(KosovoCompromiseStuff) Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Appearing on a talk show broadcast by Belgrade-based TV, Ruzic said that the platform should reflect "the real situation on the ground" and should be "state-building in character."
According to Ruzic, this has been the first time a prime minister, in this case SPS leader Ivica Dacic, claimed responsibility and pointed to the facts.
"In a way, what we want to do, given that we are being asked to accept the reality south of the (river) Ibar (where Serbs live in enclaves, but make up the majority of the total Serb population in Kosovo), is to expect that the reality north of the Ibar (where the Serbs are in the majority) is also accepted and that this reality is normativized in some way," Ruzic said, stressing that the Serbian government is not giving up on the Serbs south of the Ibar.
"I am talking about the reality on the ground, not about the Constitution," he said, adding that "one should not be burying one's head in the sand" but rather take all the differences into consideration, as there are many more Serbs in the south than in the north of Kosovo, and there are also the Serbian monasteries that should be taken care of.
"These issues have been dealt with partly in the Ahtisaari plan, and I think that right now, the platform should correspond to the elements of that plan and that it should be drawn up to benefit the Serb community in Kosovo," he said.
Ruzic pointed out that the platform was not being worked out through the media. Only when the president presents it officially before the heads of the deputy groups will it be talked about in a more qualified manner, he added.
He said that there was nothing strange about Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic discussing the platform with ambassadors of some countries to Serbia, as he believed it was quite rational for diplomatic representatives of relevant actors to become familiar with the elements of the platform.
We are not asking for any consent from anyone, but it is only proper to enable those who influence the process learn about what is being made, Ruzic said.
Ruzic said that he expected that the platform would find itself before the parliamentary whips by the end of the current week and that an agreement about when to hold a relevant session of parliament should follow immediately, adding that he saw "nothing mysterious in this."
According to Ruzic, this has been the first time a prime minister, in this case SPS leader Ivica Dacic, claimed responsibility and pointed to the facts.
"In a way, what we want to do, given that we are being asked to accept the reality south of the (river) Ibar (where Serbs live in enclaves, but make up the majority of the total Serb population in Kosovo), is to expect that the reality north of the Ibar (where the Serbs are in the majority) is also accepted and that this reality is normativized in some way," Ruzic said, stressing that the Serbian government is not giving up on the Serbs south of the Ibar.
"I am talking about the reality on the ground, not about the Constitution," he said, adding that "one should not be burying one's head in the sand" but rather take all the differences into consideration, as there are many more Serbs in the south than in the north of Kosovo, and there are also the Serbian monasteries that should be taken care of.
"These issues have been dealt with partly in the Ahtisaari plan, and I think that right now, the platform should correspond to the elements of that plan and that it should be drawn up to benefit the Serb community in Kosovo," he said.
Ruzic pointed out that the platform was not being worked out through the media. Only when the president presents it officially before the heads of the deputy groups will it be talked about in a more qualified manner, he added.
He said that there was nothing strange about Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic discussing the platform with ambassadors of some countries to Serbia, as he believed it was quite rational for diplomatic representatives of relevant actors to become familiar with the elements of the platform.
We are not asking for any consent from anyone, but it is only proper to enable those who influence the process learn about what is being made, Ruzic said.
Ruzic said that he expected that the platform would find itself before the parliamentary whips by the end of the current week and that an agreement about when to hold a relevant session of parliament should follow immediately, adding that he saw "nothing mysterious in this."
