President: Platform must be adopted by Jan. 10

BANJA LUKA Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic says that the platform for Kosovo and Metohija "must be adopted" by January 10, since the Kosovo talks would resume then. "However, nobody knows what will happen on January 11," the Serbian president told Banja Luka's SRNA news agency. President: Platform must be adopted by Jan. 10 The final text of the document "must be ready" by January 10 also because "it was agreed with the Albanians that there would be no customs for northern Kosovo until that date". "None of us knows that will be happening starting January 11, what will be implemented then," Nikolic was quoted as saying by Banja Luka's Nezavisne Novine daily. Explaining his draft platform, he said it was not true that it envisaged for Kosovo to be divided into entities: "The difference between the Serb Republic (RS, in Bosnia) and the Serb community in Kosovo and Metohija is that the RS is a part of an internationally recognized state, while the Serb community in Kosovo and Metohija would be a part of an essential autonomy, not an internationally recognized stated, because Serbia neither wants to, nor can dare to recognize Kosovo and Metohija as independent." He noted that the platform contains a proposal for the Serb community to be set up which would depend on the areas in which Serbs constitute the majority and not on geographical lines, adding that Serbs in southern and northern Kosovo voiced no criticism regarding the draft platform. Nikolic said that the platform is prone to changes and added that he would insist on the document yielding principles which would then be adopted by the Serbian parliament on which the future talks with Albanians and Belgrade's decisions would rest. The platform will face Albanians with a situation in which they would have to state their wishes and Europe should act as a mediator and make room for discussion on all documents while Serbs and Albanians should conduct talks, Nikolic said. He underscored that Serbia cannot be the side performing Albania's will or the instructions of the international community and it has said for the first time what it wants and the entire Serbia should stand behind this and achieve the highest possible consensus. Pointing out that he truly hopes Serbia would enter the New Year with a platform for resolving the Kosovo and Metohija issue, Nikolic said that he is concerned by the stands of a part of the opposition. The president said he was "especially concerned" by the Democratic Party, "which brought Serbia to the current position and is trying to find an excuse to oppose the platform although there is no tangible reason for this - unless it envisaged an independent Kosovo". Nikolic added that Serbia was in for the most difficult year and added that in the political sense, the government will be burdened with problems which it would resolve in a unified fashion so as to avoid a crisis in the government itself. The government is faced with severe unemployment and lack of budget funds, Nikolic said and added that the government had to issue and sell the bonds and turn to the Russian Federation for a loan to support the budget so as to tide the country over to 2013. He noted that Serbia will have to tackle the Kosovo and Metohija issue and EU integration in 2013, which are big challenges and he announced that pressure may be exerted on Serbia "to recognize Kosovo". "I sincerely hope that Serbia will be entering the next year with a platform. That platform is causing resistance in some people who are deciding on Serbia's EU membership, in those states that are deciding on EU's survival," the president concluded. Tomislav Nikolic (Beta, file) "Serbia must endure in fighting corruption" President Tomislav Nikolic said that Serbia has to persevere in the fight against organized crime and corruption, since that is the only way to make people proud, and realize that they live in the state to which they give a lot and which takes care of them. Nikolic added that he expects new arrests, as it is obvious that this has not happened for a while, and that there is a backlog of such issues. The Serbian president also believes that Serbia is plagued with crime, and that politics has criminalized the state, stressing that he has discussed this with the government's officials and offered them full support, but has no influence on their fight. It all started from the politicians, since if they remained honest, uncorrupted and did not take money, there would be no one to bribe them, he said. He underlined that the arrest of any politician or minister is not a political showdown, stressing that he is fully satisfied with the operation of the Criminal Police Directorate working group. “In the last few months, the Serbian police are doing their job for the first time. This is a sign that they are allowed to work by the law, that they have no more hindrances, and that no one is preventing them from doing their job when they come across any individual or a political party,” Nikolic said. When asked whether he is being threatened, he said that lately he has had no knowledge of anyone threatening him because, as he said, now everyone refrains from expressing their criticism of what is being done in Serbia. "I think that no one has the courage to threaten this transparent way of running the state," the president said. “I am the president now, which means that I am more protected than other citizens of Serbia, and something really bad had to happen in Serbia, so that the president, a minister or the parliament speaker could be jeopardized,” the president said. Nikolic said that Serbia is becoming a well-organized country in which the groups capable of such crimes will be thwarted very quickly. Tanjug Srna, Nezavisne Novine

President: Platform must be adopted by Jan. 10

The final text of the document "must be ready" by January 10 also because "it was agreed with the Albanians that there would be no customs for northern Kosovo until that date".

"None of us knows that will be happening starting January 11, what will be implemented then," Nikolić was quoted as saying by Banja Luka's Nezavisne Novine daily.

Explaining his draft platform, he said it was not true that it envisaged for Kosovo to be divided into entities:

"The difference between the Serb Republic (RS, in Bosnia) and the Serb community in Kosovo and Metohija is that the RS is a part of an internationally recognized state, while the Serb community in Kosovo and Metohija would be a part of an essential autonomy, not an internationally recognized stated, because Serbia neither wants to, nor can dare to recognize Kosovo and Metohija as independent."

He noted that the platform contains a proposal for the Serb community to be set up which would depend on the areas in which Serbs constitute the majority and not on geographical lines, adding that Serbs in southern and northern Kosovo voiced no criticism regarding the draft platform.

Nikolić said that the platform is prone to changes and added that he would insist on the document yielding principles which would then be adopted by the Serbian parliament on which the future talks with Albanians and Belgrade's decisions would rest.

The platform will face Albanians with a situation in which they would have to state their wishes and Europe should act as a mediator and make room for discussion on all documents while Serbs and Albanians should conduct talks, Nikolić said.

He underscored that Serbia cannot be the side performing Albania's will or the instructions of the international community and it has said for the first time what it wants and the entire Serbia should stand behind this and achieve the highest possible consensus.

Pointing out that he truly hopes Serbia would enter the New Year with a platform for resolving the Kosovo and Metohija issue, Nikolić said that he is concerned by the stands of a part of the opposition.

The president said he was "especially concerned" by the Democratic Party, "which brought Serbia to the current position and is trying to find an excuse to oppose the platform although there is no tangible reason for this - unless it envisaged an independent Kosovo".

Nikolić added that Serbia was in for the most difficult year and added that in the political sense, the government will be burdened with problems which it would resolve in a unified fashion so as to avoid a crisis in the government itself.

The government is faced with severe unemployment and lack of budget funds, Nikolić said and added that the government had to issue and sell the bonds and turn to the Russian Federation for a loan to support the budget so as to tide the country over to 2013.

He noted that Serbia will have to tackle the Kosovo and Metohija issue and EU integration in 2013, which are big challenges and he announced that pressure may be exerted on Serbia "to recognize Kosovo".

"I sincerely hope that Serbia will be entering the next year with a platform. That platform is causing resistance in some people who are deciding on Serbia's EU membership, in those states that are deciding on EU's survival," the president concluded.

"Serbia must endure in fighting corruption"

President Tomislav Nikolić said that Serbia has to persevere in the fight against organized crime and corruption, since that is the only way to make people proud, and realize that they live in the state to which they give a lot and which takes care of them.

Nikolić added that he expects new arrests, as it is obvious that this has not happened for a while, and that there is a backlog of such issues.

The Serbian president also believes that Serbia is plagued with crime, and that politics has criminalized the state, stressing that he has discussed this with the government's officials and offered them full support, but has no influence on their fight.

It all started from the politicians, since if they remained honest, uncorrupted and did not take money, there would be no one to bribe them, he said.

He underlined that the arrest of any politician or minister is not a political showdown, stressing that he is fully satisfied with the operation of the Criminal Police Directorate working group.

“In the last few months, the Serbian police are doing their job for the first time. This is a sign that they are allowed to work by the law, that they have no more hindrances, and that no one is preventing them from doing their job when they come across any individual or a political party,” Nikolić said.

When asked whether he is being threatened, he said that lately he has had no knowledge of anyone threatening him because, as he said, now everyone refrains from expressing their criticism of what is being done in Serbia.

"I think that no one has the courage to threaten this transparent way of running the state," the president said.

“I am the president now, which means that I am more protected than other citizens of Serbia, and something really bad had to happen in Serbia, so that the president, a minister or the parliament speaker could be jeopardized,” the president said.

Nikolić said that Serbia is becoming a well-organized country in which the groups capable of such crimes will be thwarted very quickly.