Kosovo constitution comes into force, Serbs prepare assembly

As Kosovo Albanians proclaim the new constitution, Kosovo Serbs say they will counter it by forming a parliament of their own on June 28. The temporary Kosovo assembly adopted the document in April, which today took effect, four months after the Kosovo Albanians' unilateral declaration of independence. Kosovo constitution comes into force, Serbs prepare assembly Kosovo's President Fatmir Sejdiu today signed 41 laws previously adopted by the assembly in Pristina, in line with the new constitution. All these pieces of legislation are based on the Ahtisaari plan. Until today, the constitutional framework for the province envisaged that laws were signed by the UNMIK chief. The Kosovo Albanian leadership will gather this evening for a ceremony to mark the coming into effect of the constitution. Also Sunday, Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic, DSS, was in Kosovska Mitrovica today, where he told a news conference that Serbia does not accept the Kosovo constitution, and considers it invalid and legally null and void. Kosovo Serbs and representatives of other ethnic communities will not be guided by this act, he said, and added that it will be valid "mostly for those who accept it voluntarily". "The Kosovo constitution was written in a cabinet far away from Pristina and far away from Kosovo's Albanians, just as were those forty or so laws that are supposed to become a part of the constitution today," Samardzic said. The Kosovo Serb parliament – officially the Assembly of the Community of Municipalities of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija – will be formed in Kosovska Mitrovica on Vidovdan (St. Vitus Day), June 28, the minister announced. "This assembly is a result of the local elections held in Kosovo on May 11, and nothing was more natural than to set up a body in the province, following the constituting of the municipalities, that would unite the work of the representative organs of authority in Kosovo and Metohija," Samardzic elaborated. "The assembly is the best form that would secure this, and it will have a uniting or coordinating nature in relation to particular representative-political functions, representing all the residents of Kosovo who consider Serbia to be their state," he said. "The establishment of the Serb parliament is a sign that the Serb community does not intend to enter into conflicts, but wishes to organize itself according to international law and in keeping with the Constitution of Serbia," Samardzic said. Meanwhile, Nebojsa Jovic, one of the Kosovo Serb leaders from the north of the province, told B92 earlier in the day that he will ask the Serbs to remain calm and avoid any behavior that could be seen as provocation. He added that the constitution in questions "means nothing" to the Serbs, and that "some kind of answer" will be the formation of the Serb parliament. But another Serb representative, Rada Trajkovic, says that unlike the Serbs living in the north, those in the enclaves, surrounded by ethnic Albanians, "will have to respect the constitution at least partially", or "face almost daily incidents that will endanger the Serb community". (Photo BBC)

Kosovo constitution comes into force, Serbs prepare assembly

Kosovo's President Fatmir Sejdiu today signed 41 laws previously adopted by the assembly in Priština, in line with the new constitution.

All these pieces of legislation are based on the Ahtisaari plan. Until today, the constitutional framework for the province envisaged that laws were signed by the UNMIK chief.

The Kosovo Albanian leadership will gather this evening for a ceremony to mark the coming into effect of the constitution.

Also Sunday, Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardžić, DSS, was in Kosovska Mitrovica today, where he told a news conference that Serbia does not accept the Kosovo constitution, and considers it invalid and legally null and void.

Kosovo Serbs and representatives of other ethnic communities will not be guided by this act, he said, and added that it will be valid "mostly for those who accept it voluntarily".

"The Kosovo constitution was written in a cabinet far away from Priština and far away from Kosovo's Albanians, just as were those forty or so laws that are supposed to become a part of the constitution today," Samardžić said.

The Kosovo Serb parliament – officially the Assembly of the Community of Municipalities of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija – will be formed in Kosovska Mitrovica on Vidovdan (St. Vitus Day), June 28, the minister announced.

"This assembly is a result of the local elections held in Kosovo on May 11, and nothing was more natural than to set up a body in the province, following the constituting of the municipalities, that would unite the work of the representative organs of authority in Kosovo and Metohija," Samardžić elaborated.

"The assembly is the best form that would secure this, and it will have a uniting or coordinating nature in relation to particular representative-political functions, representing all the residents of Kosovo who consider Serbia to be their state," he said.

"The establishment of the Serb parliament is a sign that the Serb community does not intend to enter into conflicts, but wishes to organize itself according to international law and in keeping with the Constitution of Serbia," Samardžić said.

Meanwhile, Nebojša Jović, one of the Kosovo Serb leaders from the north of the province, told B92 earlier in the day that he will ask the Serbs to remain calm and avoid any behavior that could be seen as provocation.

He added that the constitution in questions "means nothing" to the Serbs, and that "some kind of answer" will be the formation of the Serb parliament.

But another Serb representative, Rada Trajković, says that unlike the Serbs living in the north, those in the enclaves, surrounded by ethnic Albanians, "will have to respect the constitution at least partially", or "face almost daily incidents that will endanger the Serb community".