Key deal struck with Valley Albanians

After a three-year absence, Albanians from southern Serbia have returned to the Coordination Body for Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa.

Izvor: B92

Friday, 27.03.2009.

13:29

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After a three-year absence, Albanians from southern Serbia have returned to the Coordination Body for Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja. An agreement on the principles of reconstruction of the Coordination Body was due to be signed at 13:00 CET in Belgrade. Key deal struck with Valley Albanians The agreement will be signed by head of the Coordination Body, Minister Milan Markovic, OSCE Mission Chief Hans Ola Urstadt and MP Riza Halimi. The first initiatives for reconstruction of this state organ were floated in spring 2001, right after the end of the Serb-Albanian conflict. Representatives of the Albanian community have been insisting on this for the last nine years. At one point they even left the Coordination Body to set up their own organs, contending that Belgrade did not wish to understand their demands. Now that the text has finally been agreed, the Albanians expect their presence in state institutions to bring much-needed change, said Bujanovac Municipal President Saif Kamberi. “Reorganization of the Coordination Body itself is not our goal. We believe that the Coordination Body is a means to help us exercise our demands. We’ve managed to enhance the political process that has been unfolding for quite some time, and that hasn’t actually brought any results, particularly in the process of integrating the Albanians into state institutions and the region’s economic development,“ he said. Kamberi, a member of Riza Halimi’s Party for Democratic Action, also highlighted the unprecedented importance of the fact that the whole process will be monitored and coordinated by the OSCE mission. After today’s signing, a new set of documents will drawn up, defining the rules and number of Albanians to be included within the state institutions, as well as the number of Serbs who will enter the Bijanovac local authorities. U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter and representatives from the French and British embassies will also attend today’s signing.

Key deal struck with Valley Albanians

The agreement will be signed by head of the Coordination Body, Minister Milan Marković, OSCE Mission Chief Hans Ola Urstadt and MP Riza Halimi.

The first initiatives for reconstruction of this state organ were floated in spring 2001, right after the end of the Serb-Albanian conflict.

Representatives of the Albanian community have been insisting on this for the last nine years.

At one point they even left the Coordination Body to set up their own organs, contending that Belgrade did not wish to understand their demands.

Now that the text has finally been agreed, the Albanians expect their presence in state institutions to bring much-needed change, said Bujanovac Municipal President Šaif Kamberi.

“Reorganization of the Coordination Body itself is not our goal. We believe that the Coordination Body is a means to help us exercise our demands. We’ve managed to enhance the political process that has been unfolding for quite some time, and that hasn’t actually brought any results, particularly in the process of integrating the Albanians into state institutions and the region’s economic development,“ he said.

Kamberi, a member of Riza Halimi’s Party for Democratic Action, also highlighted the unprecedented importance of the fact that the whole process will be monitored and coordinated by the OSCE mission.

After today’s signing, a new set of documents will drawn up, defining the rules and number of Albanians to be included within the state institutions, as well as the number of Serbs who will enter the Bijanovac local authorities.

U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter and representatives from the French and British embassies will also attend today’s signing.

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