Sanda Raskovic-Ivic: Address to the UN Security Council, New York, Sep. 13, 2006

COORDINATING CENTER FOR KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

 

Mr. President, distinguished members of the Security Council,

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

It is my special privilege to address you and express my respect to this world organisation's high body.

 

First and foremost, taking into account an imperative of introducing peace and stability as well as developing the future of both Kosovo and Metohija and the region of South East Europe, I wish to emphasize the unique significance of the Security Council as a guarantor for upholding the universal principles of international law and the entire world order.

 

The Republic of Serbia resolutely maintains that upholding and upgrading the peace and stability in the West Balkans are only possible through the means of a strict observance of the international principles, such as inviolability of sovereignty and territorial integrity of democratic states.

 

Mr President, we particularly wish to reiterate that Serbia is all set to assume her share of responsibility in the process of a successful resolution of the Kosovo and Metohija issue, pursuant to the international law and in conformity with the democratic values of the contemporary world. We address the Security Council in full confidence, expecting its instrumental contribution in line with its previously endorsed documents, and in particular with Resolution 1244 of June 10, 1999, which reconfirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country.

 

We firmly believe that achieving a durable settlement on the future status of Kosovo and Metohija is only possible through the means of systematic, responsible and orderly negotiations, without artificial deadlines that can only result in additional pressure. Otherwise, there may occur new complications entailing inestimable consequences as always and inevitably invoked by any deviation from the international community's universal principles.

 

Nervousness, irrational haste and arrogance can not contribute to finding a sustainable solution for Kosovo and Metohija, or to the peace and stability in the SEE region, both of which my country's politics is firmly supporting.

 

Regretfully, I have to inform this high body that three months ago, on the very day of my previous address to the Security Council, on the day when UNMIK reported on progress of the standards, security, and the return of displaced persons to Kosovo and Metohija, late Dragan Popovic, a Serbian returnee from Klina, was brutally murdered.

 

Thus, tragically, it took another human life to drastically disprove the ever-repeating wording of UNMIK report about improvements of standards, security, return of displaced person etc. as it was being presented to this high body.

 

Sorry to say, but it is the reality in Kosovo and Metohija that most tragically and brutally drafts its reports about security, thus proving wrong the inflated clerical reports.

 

Since that Security Council session to the day before, there have occurred 51 small and high-scale incidents, involving assaults against lives and property of the Serbs (from 24 October 2005 till 1 September 2006 there were 260 incidents).

 

On 26th of August this year, in the evening, a 16 year old Albanian slowly walked across the bridge between South and North Mitrovica. He threw a bomb on a nearby Serbian café bar packed with guests, and walked away in cold blood. Undoubtedly, this act of violence was in fact a political one, aiming at the Serbs as targets. Therefore, it was not aimed at a person who happened to be a Serb, but at the Serbs marked as tragically legitimate targets.

 

With our deepest regret, we have to state that this terrorist attack against the Serbs occurred subsequent to the statement that "Serbs as a nation were guilty", which was verbatim made in front of the Serbian Negotiation Team in Vienna and several other witnesses by a man least expected to, having in mind his high office. Regretfully, it was Mr. Martti Ahtisaari, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Future Status Process for Kosovo, who said that.

 

This unfortunate statement, Mr President, together with his refusal to offer to the Serbian people an apology for making such a horrid accusation, unheard of since the end of World War Two, is at the same time the only argument in favour of Kosovo and Metohija independence we had a chance to hear so far.

 

Whilst our negotiation team maintains the universality of the international law and impossibility to rip a state of 15 percent of its territory as their arguments, and actively works on protection of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, the Albanians in fact do not engage in negotiations at all, calmly waiting for being granted a second Albanian state in the Balkans - on the territory of the internationally recognized Serbia. The negotiations are being carried out in a relaxed and peaceful tone, being so realxed that, until the Serbian party explicit request, neither the minutes were kept nor the rules of procedure were set.

 

Last March, there was another incident on the same bridge which the above mentioned Albanian youth crossed before throwing a bomb at a Serbian café bar, where 19 year old Milisav Ilincic was stabbed. International Public Prosecutor for Kosovska Mitrovica County, Paul Flin, terminates investigation against two Albanians suspected to have attempted the murder of this young Serbian, although one of them confessed to stabbing Ilincic with a knife on 28th of March. Pursuant to that event and other numerous cases, as well as pursuant to the incomprehensible fact that ever since UNMIK had assumed responsibility for the peace and security in Kosovo and Metohija, namely, since 1999, very few from among numerous cases of murders of, and assaults against the Serbs have been brought to court. One may conclude that survival and life of Serbs, from Albanians' point of view, are an obstacle for achieving their political and ideological goals, whereas UNMIK's tactics for avoiding conflicts with militant Albanians is a simple shutting of eyes to the reality.

 

Mr President, it is hard to believe it, but all previously said point out to a conclusion that the fear of powerful and violent Albanians and their threats to avenge, currently amount to a "principle" which makes the international law and international justice deviate.

 

Let me remind you that in Kosovo and Metohija people have been killed just for speaking a Slavic language which happens to resemble Serbian. A Bulgarian in Pristina lost his life because of it. Ethnic identity becomes a licence to kill. But the real situation is worse still. In a previously referred terrorist bomb attack on a Serbian café bar of 26 August, few non-Serbs, foreign citizens, were also injured. One of them is an international police officer. They were attacked just because they have been sitting in a "Serbian" café bar. This simply means that in Kosovo, if one speaks Serbian, or sits at a Serbian café bar, he or she becomes a target of a terrorist attack.

 

With regards to the religious monuments, culture heritage and religious freedom, on the one hand there is an emphasis on adoption of laws regulating these matters, while on the other hand, in reality, in real life, the sacred monuments are being desecrated and the sacred items looted. In a church in a Serbian village of Mogila, in the vicinity of Gnjilane, there are still some Christian icons on the church walls but the eyes of portraited saints were dug out by extremists during the thorough Albanian March 2004 ethnic cleansing of remaining Serbs and non-Albanians. Kosovo Provisional Institutions never undertook to protect these sacred sites and ease the fear of beleivers, who pray in this church and look at the icons with hollow eyes, and contemplate perseverance and survival.

 

Further to this, the international community has every right to urge Kosovo institutions to endorse laws against the so-called general discrimination. However, the mere endorsement of laws is not going to resolve this problem. It is the individuals of indisputable authority within their communities, the clannish leaders, who reign in the Kosovo society. They are the real arbiters. It is they who make decisions, not the judiciary. A woman in that society has no right. In Kosovo, the justice is being taken into one's own hands; the tribal laws and "blood revenge" rule there. One cannot fight those by implementing the law against discrimination only, because in that case that would be tantamount to searching for excuses that an effort was made to make the difference, which is not even a good excuse.

 

Securing the public transport has always been a priority, at least declaratory. In practise, we have "death roads". The "death roads" expression is a colloquial term used by KFOR and UNMIK officers to refer to roads that connect Serbian settlement Strpce to other Serbian regions, along which a series of 12 terrorist attacks on Serbs has been executed. Only a few hours before the public transport competences were to be transferred from UNMIK to the Provisional Institutions, some Albanians stoned a bus, carrying the Serbian children home from an excursion. The incident took place in the village of Zabari, outside Kosovska Mitrovica, on 30 August 2006. Bus windows were broken, but fortunately there were no casualties. UNMIK issued a statement saying police officers who escorted the bus had not seen the incident occurred, but stopped denying it had happened. Sadly enough, the children will remember this ordeal, regardless of whether anyone saw anything, whether anyone chose to see anything, or whether the statement on the incident was issued at all.

 

I wish to recall that Ambassador Kai Eide in his 'Comprehensive Review of the Situation in Kosovo' denoted the process of establishing the future status of Kosovo and the continuance of standard implementation as the only way towards any progress. Ambassador Eide also emphasized other very important and essential issues. Regrettably, so far there are no serious signs whatsoever that anyone seeks to recognize at least some among those absolutely adequate and correct recommendations. On the other hand, unfortunately, a flexible attitude of our negotiation team failed to be replicated by the Albanian negotiation team, which stuck to a rigid and exclusive attitude - independency, at any cost. Sadly, even Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, at least according to his statements, went beyond the mandate he was entrusted with. We hold that his frequent stepping out might create more serious concerns than the current ones existing in the Province. My country, rightly and in good faith, expected Mr. Ahtisaari to provide his share to the compromise solution.

 

With regards to the completion of the reconstruction and compensation program related to the ethnic cleansing of Serbs in March 2004, it is important to underline the fact that the security is the first issue that has to be dealt with. All other issues will be eventually resolved, but when human lives are at stake, then talking about conditions they live in has no point.

 

Particularly worrying is by now already evidenced truth about the lack of progress in the return of the displaced and exiled population. Without getting into details about methods that some organizations employ to record the returnees, we bring your attention to the fact that even the most optimistic of the records show the maximum of five percent of returnees. The real numbers are significantly fewer and do not exceede two percent. I also wish to point out that the return of the displaced persons can be facilitated and made possible through the means of true and devoted work in the field.

 

Kosovo's Provisional Government should publicly support the submitting of property claims to the Kosovo Property Agency (KPA) with regards to agricultural and commercial properties; however, the problem is that there is no good will to resolve the issue. The KPA has started collecting the claims but without any media coverage or information campaign. That agency has still not received the funds to process the claims, which is a clear message about its importance as seen by the Provisional and international institutions.

 

Whoever wants to know, Mr. Chairman, can easily find out that organized crime, including the so-cold ordinary crime, trafficking of people and the corruption in Kosovo and Metohia are a large scale, omnipresent occurrence. Drugs and weapons trade and smuggling channels of this criminal-terrorist business expand in spite of the presence of representatives from the International Community, the Police and the Army. There is no need to stress yet again that Serbia, as a country whose integral parts are Kosovo and Metohia, is more than open for any specialized police and investigatory activity which will assist in eradication of trafficking in people and narcotics in Kosovo and Metohia.

 

The situation and developments in Kosovo and Metohia are to be viewed upon realistically and responsibly. Here, 'realistically' means from the international-legal but also from the historical-political aspects. 'Responsibly' is likely most important of all, and that means that we need to try to anticipate the consequences of our present actions and forsee what will happen in two, five, ten or even more years. Any nervous acceleration of the solution will cost the Region dearly, including the Province itself as well as the international community who, instead of coming to a sustainable solution, will have to deal with an even more difficult and more complex situation in Kosovo and Metohia. A hasty solution will not be a solution only but a precedent that opens Pandora's Box which should not be open at any cost. It is really hard to believe that anyone would want to take that responsibility for it's opening, just because of someone's wish or a request to meet a certain deadline. I emphasize that only patience, patience alone, and eyes wide open to the reality and future can bring about a true compromise solution to Kosovo and Metohia issue. Imposing a solution will not lead to the resolving of the issue of Kosovo and Metohia and it is quite clear that believing in the precedent is misleading. The point is, ladies and gentlemen, about an obvious situation that, if the solution is imposed, it will inevitably have unforeseeable and dangerous consequences.

 

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen members of the Security Council, I would like to share with you that feeling of responsibility and, together with you, with the leaders in my government and with my country, to say out loud and clear that the issue of Kosovo and Metohia can not be granted a sustainable and compromise solution if it is to serve an arteficial deadline dictated by interests other than a wish to solve a problem on permanent and stable grounds so to preserve and uphold the peace and stability in the Region.

 

Therefore, the Serbian side sees the solution of the Kosovo and Metohia problem through implementation of the principles and concrete solutions under the Platform of the Serbian Negotiating Team about the future status of Kosovo and Metohia. In the long run it remains the only way ahead towards a proper resolution of the terrifying situation in the Province. The international community ought to support this and to show, by its deeds, that it wants a stable and safe region. That can only be achieved by making steps towards establishing the rule of law, sanctioning of criminals and terrorists and bringing them to the justice, introducing security and all other preconditions for living a normal life. Further, political steps refer to persuading the Albanian side to give up on extreme, exclusive demands and to embrace a rational and a compromise solution - namely, autonomy with vast, essential competences. At the same time, this would mean that the Albanians are gaining strategic partners for building the future and that these potential strategic partners are the Serbs. Albanians without Serbs cannot do much and therefore they should not lightly reject the reasonable and generous offers coming from our side of the table. In spite of the evident difficulties, there still exists maneuver space for an agreement, based on the democratic principles and European standards.