Final Kosovo talks end in failure
Serbs and ethnic Albanians have failed to resolve the future status of
Kosovo at a final round of internationally- brokered talks.
The UN had set a 10 December deadline for a negotiated settlement on
Kosovo.
The province's ethnic Albanians demand independence from Serbia but
Belgrade has consistently rejected this.
Although both sides say they will avoid a return to violence, the US
envoy to Kosovo has warned the "peace of the Balkans is very much at
stake".
"It is a volatile region," Frank Wisner said. "We're going into a very
difficult time."
"The status quo over Kosovo is not sustainable, " he added.
Independence 'imminent'
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders have said they would consider a
unilateral declaration of independence if the 10 December deadline
lapsed without a negotiated deal.
But the EU has cautioned against this, saying Kosovo must only achieve
statehood in partnership with international bodies.
Speaking after the final round of talks in Vienna on Wednesday,
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian President Fatmir Sejdiu said independence for
Kosovo "will happen very quickly" but refused to give an exact date.
However, Serbian President Boris Tadic said Belgrade would "annul" any
unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo.
He said his country would use all legal and diplomatic means to resist
such a declaration, stopping short of violence.
Russian opposition
Though technically part of Serbia, Kosovo has been administered by the
UN for the last eight years.
Belgrade's security forces were driven out of Kosovo by a Nato
invasion in 1999, after being accused of the repression of the
majority ethnic-Albanian population.
Thousands of international peacekeepers have been deployed in the
province to prevent a return to violence.
Russia has supported Serbia's stance at the UN Security Council,
arguing that independence for Kosovo could provide dangerous
inspiration for separatists elsewhere.
All attempts to decide the final status of Kosovo through negotiations
have so far failed.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.
Published: 2007/11/28 11:49:24 GMT
© BBC MMVII
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Kosovo Serbs prepare to flee
Gethin Chamberlain, Mitrovica, Kosovo
December 3, 2007
TENS of thousands of Serbs are preparing to flee the troubled Balkan
province of Kosovo because of fears that the region is on the brink of
a devastating war.
Talks to find a political solution to the future of the region
collapsed last week, eight years after NATO intervened to end violence
that left more than 2000 dead.
With Kosovo's new Albanian-led administration poised to declare
independence from Serbia, the old hatreds are resurfacing. Many Serbs
— who account for less than 10% of the population — are packing their
bags, fearing a new wave of ethnic cleansing at the hands of the
Albanian majority.
In the village of Babin Most, a Serb enclave about 10 kilometres north
of Pristina, the capital, there are about 200 Serb houses and just 50
Albanian.
Serbs still feel vulnerable because Albanian villages surround them.
"I'm afraid there will be violence. There is fear here," said a
17-year-old Serb, Marija Nikolic, a student nurse.
"Albanians hate Serbs because of the war. If there was independence I
wouldn't have any future here. I would not be free and I wouldn't be
able to get a job."
She said the Serbs feared they would lose everything. "Who will buy
our house?" she asked. "It won't be possible to sell it. The Albanians
know they will get it anyway."
Kosovo was torn apart in 1999 after the Serb leader, the late Slobodan
Milosevic, rejected an internationally brokered solution to the
tensions between the Serbs and the Albanians, who comprise 90% of the
2 million population.
When the fighting ended, many Serbs abandoned their homes and left the
province, while others moved north of the Ibar River, closer to Serbia
proper. NATO troops moved in to police a fragile peace.
Colonel Niels Toenning, deputy commander of NATO troops in northern
Kosovo, said independence would lead to a Serb exodus. "It is likely
that the Serbs will leave," he said.
The town of Mitrovica stands on the border between the two ethnic
groups, straddling the Ibar River. Even within the Serb half, north of
the Ibar, some people are considering leaving.
Tanja, 25, a medical student who lives in a building overlooking the
river, said all her friends had packed their bags and were keeping
their passports to hand.
"There is no future here for us. All this will become Albanian land
some day," she said.
Some of her fellow Serbs are pinning their hopes on the Government in
Belgrade riding to their rescue. Last week, Serb Defence Minister
Dragan Sutanovac claimed that there were no plans to intervene militarily.
But Rade Negojevc, an official in the Serbian ministry responsible for
Kosovo, said: "The Serbian army will react to protect its citizens. If
people's lives are in danger, they will enter Pristina. It would only
take a few hours," he said.
But Bajram Rexhepi, Kosovo's former premier, said intervention by Serb
forces would mean war. "We are ready to pay any price," he said. "We
will not accept any partition. We will continue as guerillas if the
international community fails to do its duty."
Last week, NATO was concerned enough to move more of its 17,000 troops
in Kosovo northward and, if violence breaks out, they may be joined by
up to 500 British troops.
Britain is due to take over responsibility next month for providing
the reserve force to reinforce Kosovo's NATO contingent, which
includes units from America, France and Denmark. Britain has about 150
personnel in Kosovo.
Meanwhile, Serb hardliners in Mitrovica are mounting their own
campaign to keep the Albanians at bay.
They say that they have weapons that they will use if war comes and
are bolstered by their belief that they have the backing of Russia.
TELEGRAPH
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