Ahtisaari: UN Security Council to decide status

Ahtisaari: UN Security Council to decide status

Asked whether the status proposal envisaged independence for Kosovo, Ahtisaari said he will not deal with the status issue until the final proposal has been submitted.

“It is up to the Security Council to decide on the final status. This is just a draft. In a world in which we live I believe it is the politicians’ responsibility to protect their citizens, and if they don’t, then it is up to the international community. That is also one of the principles, not only the respect of sovereignty. I am not a jurist, but I work with them and I am used to their arguments. We need to look at how similar issues were solved in the past”.

"The positions of the parties are extremely fixed ... we are giving them one more chance in the month of February”, Ahtisaari said.

“The solution provides separate articles to protect non-Albanians, including guaranteed representation in the government, the judiciary and the parliament, a certain degree of self-governance in sectors such as healthcare. The cultural heritage will be placed inside protected zones in order to keep the Serbian Orthodox Church alive and present.”

“This proposal is the result of a year of intensive talks, 15 rounds of direct negotiations. The EU and NATO have taken part in the process and support it”.

“This is a compromise solution proposal. We call for further consultations to take place in the coming days and I am ready to accept constructive suggestions. The consultations are important, and I call on both sides to put forward their positions, after which I will finalize the proposal and take it to the UN Security Council”, Ahtisaari said.

Serbian prime minister Vojislav Koštunica has decided against meeting with Ahtisaari today. His cabinet has announced earlier that the caretaker government he is presiding over has no legitimacy to reach any decisions regarding the issue. It was also announced that yesterday’s government session did not discuss Ahtisaari’s visit.

The special envoy’s spokesman Remi Durlot said earlier that the proposal about to be presented to Belgrade and Priština is not the final version of the Kosovo status solution, but rather a document that both sides will comment on.

In November last year, Martti Ahtisaari delayed the unveiling of his Kosovo status proposal for after January 21 parliamentary elections in Serbia.

BIRN has published key sections of Ahtisaari’s status proposal ahead of today’s official presentation to Belgrade and Priština.

Ahtisaari arrives in Priština

Martti Ahtisaari has arrived in Priština, where he met with the Kosovo officials. The UN special Kosovo is presenting Kosovo Albanian leaders with his status proposal document.

Ahtisaari is also scheduled to meet Serb Orthodox Church and Serb Kosovo community representatives.

“The time has come to formally separate Kosovo from Serbia, but, on the other hand, the Serb minority there will enjoy an unprecedented level of autonomy”, a EU diplomatic source told B92 in Priština earlier today.

Kosovo’s government will hold a session late this afternoon and is expected to express its support to Ahtisaari’s status proposal. Government spokeswoman Ulpiana Lama said that Belgrade’s opposition to the document “no longer has any effect”.

“We demand that the events in Serbia no longer be viewed as connected to those in Kosovo”, Lama concluded.

Families of kidnapped Kosovo Serbs stage protest

Some 30 members of the Association of the kidnapped Kosovo Serbs families gathered this morning in front of Serbia’s presidency building, where president Tadić is set to meet with UN special Kosovo envoy Martti Ahtisaari.

Member of the association are carrying the photographs of their missing family members and two large banners reading, “KLA-- NATO - KFOR – UNMIK are responsible – 2,500 Serbs have been murdered”, and “JNA and MUP generals in jail – NATO and KLA generals at large – terrible”.

They have been joined by twenty other protesters carrying placards reading, “Kosovo- the soul of Serbia”.

The scene is secured by 50 policemen.