Post by Bozur on Feb 17, 2005 17:02:02 GMT -5
Kosovo faces more unrest unless it gains independence, report says
Without autonomy, UN-run province may see fresh fighting, think tank warns
Reuters
An ethnic Albanian protester argues with Polish Special Police Unit officers in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovic in Kosovo during the clashes between Albanians and Serbs last March (file photo).
By Aleksandra Niksic - Agence France-Presse
BELGRADE - The UN-administered Serbian province of Kosovo could collapse back into war unless it becomes an independent state, an international think tank warned in a report published today.
“The situation in Kosovo is increasingly dangerous, threatening widescale unrest and even renewed war,” the International Crisis Group (ICG) said, accusing the international community of dragging its feet on the issue.
“All parties must immediately start working to establish Kosovo as an independent state that can guarantee minority rights,” the Brussels-based group said in a 40-page report available on its website titled “Toward Final Status.”
Talks over Kosovo’s status are to begin this year under UN auspices. The southern province became a UN protectorate after NATO intervened to end the 1998-99 war between Serbian forces and separatist ethnic Albanian guerrillas.
The leaders of Kosovo and Serbia held their first face-to-face talks since the Kosovo war in October 2003 but the process was badly undermined by violent anti-Serb riots the following March in the province that left 19 dead and some 900 injured.
More than 200,000 ethnic Serbs have fled their homes since the UN arrived in the province, while the remaining 80,000 to 100,000 live mostly in enclaves protected by NATO peacekeepers.
“Either 2005 will see the start of a final status solution that consolidates peace and development or Kosovo may return to conflict and generate regional instability,” said the report.
The majority ethnic Albanian population wants independence for the province, a move strongly opposed by Belgrade.
The international community is insisting on a dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on practical issues before the start of status talks.
“It’s time for the international community to get off the fence on Kosovo,” Nicholas Whyte of the ICG’s Europe Program said in a statement.
The ICG report said that the international officials should issue “as soon as possible a statement spelling out a time line for the resolution of the status issue.” Among the crucial ground rules that should be established is “the protection of minority rights,” on which progress will depend, according to the ICG.
The group said Kosovo should also not return to Belgrade’s rule, be partitioned or expect that “any possible unification of Kosovo with Albania or any neighboring state or territory will be supported.” UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan should also appoint a special envoy to hold talks on the specifics of a settlement, while international monitors would report on whether Kosovo was honoring its commitments.
Under UN Resolution 1244, which ended the war and set up ground rules for the administration of the province, the final decision over the future status of Kosovo lies with the UN Security Council.
“International complacency on Kosovo must end,” Alex Anderson, ICG’s Kosovo project director, said in a statement.
“If we don’t act quickly, events could easily get out of control. The potential for renewed violence is very real.”
www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=52113
Without autonomy, UN-run province may see fresh fighting, think tank warns
Reuters
An ethnic Albanian protester argues with Polish Special Police Unit officers in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovic in Kosovo during the clashes between Albanians and Serbs last March (file photo).
By Aleksandra Niksic - Agence France-Presse
BELGRADE - The UN-administered Serbian province of Kosovo could collapse back into war unless it becomes an independent state, an international think tank warned in a report published today.
“The situation in Kosovo is increasingly dangerous, threatening widescale unrest and even renewed war,” the International Crisis Group (ICG) said, accusing the international community of dragging its feet on the issue.
“All parties must immediately start working to establish Kosovo as an independent state that can guarantee minority rights,” the Brussels-based group said in a 40-page report available on its website titled “Toward Final Status.”
Talks over Kosovo’s status are to begin this year under UN auspices. The southern province became a UN protectorate after NATO intervened to end the 1998-99 war between Serbian forces and separatist ethnic Albanian guerrillas.
The leaders of Kosovo and Serbia held their first face-to-face talks since the Kosovo war in October 2003 but the process was badly undermined by violent anti-Serb riots the following March in the province that left 19 dead and some 900 injured.
More than 200,000 ethnic Serbs have fled their homes since the UN arrived in the province, while the remaining 80,000 to 100,000 live mostly in enclaves protected by NATO peacekeepers.
“Either 2005 will see the start of a final status solution that consolidates peace and development or Kosovo may return to conflict and generate regional instability,” said the report.
The majority ethnic Albanian population wants independence for the province, a move strongly opposed by Belgrade.
The international community is insisting on a dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on practical issues before the start of status talks.
“It’s time for the international community to get off the fence on Kosovo,” Nicholas Whyte of the ICG’s Europe Program said in a statement.
The ICG report said that the international officials should issue “as soon as possible a statement spelling out a time line for the resolution of the status issue.” Among the crucial ground rules that should be established is “the protection of minority rights,” on which progress will depend, according to the ICG.
The group said Kosovo should also not return to Belgrade’s rule, be partitioned or expect that “any possible unification of Kosovo with Albania or any neighboring state or territory will be supported.” UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan should also appoint a special envoy to hold talks on the specifics of a settlement, while international monitors would report on whether Kosovo was honoring its commitments.
Under UN Resolution 1244, which ended the war and set up ground rules for the administration of the province, the final decision over the future status of Kosovo lies with the UN Security Council.
“International complacency on Kosovo must end,” Alex Anderson, ICG’s Kosovo project director, said in a statement.
“If we don’t act quickly, events could easily get out of control. The potential for renewed violence is very real.”
www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=52113