“International community must maintain pressure”

The state secretary for Kosovo says the UN, CoE and OSCE are going through a very testing time in the province. "Experiences we had so far go to show that we cannot rely only on the awareness of the Albanians and their political leadership," said Oliver Ivanovic, G17 Plus, adding that such institutions as the UN, the Council of Europe (CoE), and the OSCE now faced a serious test. “International community must maintain pressure” He praised international officials in Kosovo who had prevented further demolition of the church in Decani, and was also thankful that the Serb community’s cultural and religious buildings had been protected. “Albanians will never fulfill their own obligations without pressure from the international community,” Ivanovic said. The state secretary said that the return of Serb officers to the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) was the best way of overcoming the problems stemming from Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence. He also said that the decision to stop the train in Zvecani several months ago had been catastrophic as it had cut off Serbs living in central Kosovo from the north of the province. "Due to petty political gains, we prevented part of the Serb population living south of the Ibar having normal communication with the northern part of Kosovo. Now, they need to pay five times as much to get to Mitrovica than they did while the train was running,” Ivanovic explained. He thinks that that decision needs to be rectified, but also warns the new government not to rush into overturning all the previous governments’ decisions, but to judge each one on its own merits. The state secretary said that talks with UNMIK were needed on that matter. Ivanovic said that Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuqi’s warning that Serbian officials wanting to come to Kosovo would need the approval of the Pristina authorities was completely unrealistic “because we have UN Security Council Resolution 1244 which defines Kosovo as a part of Serbia.“ "Unfortunately, a special escort will have to be requested, because it is obvious that neither Serbian officials visiting Kosovo, nor the Serb population living in the province are safe,” the state secretary surmised.

“International community must maintain pressure”

He praised international officials in Kosovo who had prevented further demolition of the church in Dečani, and was also thankful that the Serb community’s cultural and religious buildings had been protected.

“Albanians will never fulfill their own obligations without pressure from the international community,” Ivanović said.

The state secretary said that the return of Serb officers to the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) was the best way of overcoming the problems stemming from Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence.

He also said that the decision to stop the train in Zvečani several months ago had been catastrophic as it had cut off Serbs living in central Kosovo from the north of the province.

"Due to petty political gains, we prevented part of the Serb population living south of the Ibar having normal communication with the northern part of Kosovo. Now, they need to pay five times as much to get to Mitrovica than they did while the train was running,” Ivanović explained.

He thinks that that decision needs to be rectified, but also warns the new government not to rush into overturning all the previous governments’ decisions, but to judge each one on its own merits.

The state secretary said that talks with UNMIK were needed on that matter.

Ivanović said that Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuqi’s warning that Serbian officials wanting to come to Kosovo would need the approval of the Priština authorities was completely unrealistic “because we have UN Security Council Resolution 1244 which defines Kosovo as a part of Serbia.“

"Unfortunately, a special escort will have to be requested, because it is obvious that neither Serbian officials visiting Kosovo, nor the Serb population living in the province are safe,” the state secretary surmised.