Polt: Arrest Mladić, let Kosovo go

Polt: Arrest Mladić, let Kosovo go

"Get Ratko Mladić and Radovan Karadžić out of your lives and into the hands of justice—now. They belong there and not among you.”

“Let Kosovo go. It is not coming back. Work with Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo to help an independent and multiethnic Kosovo to be the best country it can be and a friend to a strong and successful Serbia," he said.

Additionally, Polt likened the Kosovo status plan drawn up by UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari to the Marshall Plan, saying that both offer rational solutions to problems.

"This fair and thoughtful solution, if implemented constructively by the two sides under the watchful eye of the international community, will free Serbia to seize the future, while honoring its past and present."

Polt also emphasized that America wants Serbia as a friend and partner, describing Serbian-American relations as strong "yet we note that the majority of Serbians still consider us adversaries... But at the same time you readily seek support from others when you doubt America's commitment to our relationship or our judgment on sensitive issues."

In the debate that followed, Polt reiterated the U.S. stance that supervised independence is the only sustainable and constructive solution for Kosovo.

Answering a question concerning compromise and possible concessions at an upcoming meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Polt stressed that Bush has already made the U.S. stance clear.

"We believe that a compromise has already been achieved," Polt replied, saying that the U.S. will do what it can to foster a constructive dialog with Russia.

As one shortcoming of Belgrade's plan for Kosovo, Polt singled out Serbia's inability to carry it out, as it would need assistance from the international community. Conversely, the plan supported by the U.S., NATO, and EU does not require Serbian assistance, although it would certainly help.

Lecture for political science students cancelled

The U.S. ambassador expressed his disappointment for not being able to give a lecture at the Belgrade Faculty of Political Science (FPN), which he said he respected a great deal.

Polt said he was not allowed to speak there because the school was wary of a negative reaction from the Serbian Government if the speech was attended by journalists.

The location of his speech was switched to a fine arts center and organized by the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS).

The faculty for its part stated that the decision to postpone Polt’s speech was made so that the university would avoid any of its seminars being misused politically.

“The faculty did not in this or any other instance prevent the American Ambassador from saying what he thinks needs to be said. All we wanted to do was to make sure that no one politicized the speech,” a statement from FPN said.

It added that the FPN had invited Polt in a bid to mark the end of his mandate as the U.S. ambassador, and the end of the academic year for students of specialized U.S. studies, which he accepted.

The FPN then responded to the American embassy’s demand to have media present at the event, stating that it was unusual to have media presence at such seminars.

According to the statement, the FPN also told the embassy that Polt would be able to address the media after the speech.