Serbian Church Spurns Kosovo Statute

PRENSA LATINA (CUBA)

Belgrade, Feb 3 (Prensa Latina) The Serbian Orthodox Church has joined the rejection of the statute presented in this capital by UN mediator Marthi Ahtissari for Kosovo, calling it illegal.

In a release issued in Belgrade, the orthodox Episcopal conference denounced there are intentions to get hold of Serbia s most valuable region, and recalled Kosovo was inhabited only by Serbians thousands of years ago.

It also considers the province as the cradle of culture and center of the medieval Serbian state, inalienable part of this country s territory.

On Friday, Ahtissari presented a new statute for Kosovo in Belgrade and Pristina, making no reference to the term independence. However, the text grants it legal authority to use its own symbols and army, and affiliate to international organizations, among other prerogatives.

President Boris Tadic rebuffed the proposal, calling it unacceptable.