Wisner preaches constructiveness

Wisner preaches constructiveness

After the first round of discussions in Vienna yesterday, the delegations could be scheduled to meet again as soon as mid-August.

The first round of high level, direct talks regarding Kosovo’s status concluded, as expected, with Belgrade and Priština presenting completely opposing stances.

The stances remain unchanged since the beginning of the status talks: the Kosovo Albanians want independence and Serbia is prepared to give the province essential autonomy.

Serbian President Boris Tadić said that Belgrade is prepared to work on finding a compromise, but will not accept independence as a solution.

Tadić said that it is important to continue the technical discussions in order for the situation on the territory of Kosovo to improve and have the non-Albanian minorities in Kosovo institutionally protected.

“Serbia has no intention of governing the Kosovo Albanians and is only defending its legitimate democratic interests, and they are European values as well. We must find the best solution for Kosovo and when talking about essential autonomy, this is the first time in history that Serbia is offering such a solution.” Tadić said.

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica told reporters that the Serbian side has proposed essential autonomy for Kosovo and has given many arguments to support the solution.

“Also, the Albanian side did not present any arguments to support Kosovo independence.” Koštunica said.

Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu said that Kosovo Albanians living under one roof with Serbia will only be possible within the framework of the European Union.

“The will of the majority of the population of Kosovo is for gaining independence, and the relations with Serbia in the recent past exclude all other solutions. The Government of an independent Kosovo will guarantee the human rights of all citizens and guarantee protection for the minorities because the final goal of Kosovo must be the EU.” Sejdiu said.

The Albanian delegation told journalists that they only spoke of independence. Delegation member Veton Suroi said that the future of Kosovo needs to be satisfactory for the people who live there.

“In the ideal conditions, we would want to convince Serbia do be our partner in building democracy and independence, but we do not want to force anyone, rather, we are expecting Belgrade to expect this on its own, voluntarily.” Suroi said.

Asked how the Kosovo Government would react to an imposed solution, Sejdiu said that the Albanians know that the process is already leading towards independence.

“It is important to take responsibility and guarantee the security of al the people who live there, minorities included. That is why I said that we must focus on the future. We are not threatening anyone with arms, we want the development of stability in the region.” Sejdiu said.

The UN’s special envoy for the Kosovo status discussions, Martti Ahtisaari, confirmed that Belgrade and Priština were unwavering in their opposing stances.

“Belgrade is willing to accept everything but independence and Priština only wants independence.” Ahtisaari said at a press conference which followed the meeting.

However, he said that yesterday’s talks show that both sides are intent on meeting and discussing the status issue directly.

“Being the first meeting of its kind, the goal of today’s talks was to have the two sides meet and exchange stances, and that goal was achieved.” Ahtisaari said.

Ahtisaari said that he is ready to make the discussions easier on a political level, but that only the readiness and will of the two sides can help in finding a solution or agreement. He said that the atmosphere of the discussions was a lot better than he had expected.

Reactions in Kosovo

Kosovo Serb leader Oliver Ivanović said that he is sure that the international community thinks that a solution will have to be imposed on Serbia, rather that Serbia will not let go of Kosovo in any other way.

“Also, there was once the feeling that the Albanians will be forced to accept something that is not independence. However, I think that the compactness of the Contact Group is very strong. The European part of the Contact Group is a little conservative, so there will be a polarisation, and then the US will see that imposing a solution is not the best solution. I think that an even more dangerous solution could occur, such as the idea of separation. I, as a regular person, want peace, as does the majority of Kosovo’s citizens. This all needs to be finished, so we can turn to our jobs, lives, raising our kids, and turn ourselves towards the future.” Ivanović said.

Political analysts in Priština say that the Vienna meeting showed that, because of the opposing stances, there will be no solution through discussions. Most experts say that the Kosovo status solution will be imposed.

Edita Tahari, a professor at the Priština University, said that she was not expecting any results from the meeting in Vienna, but that the meeting was important in order to present all of the visions each side has for Kosovo.

“It was important for the international community to identify the points of agreement and disagreement.” Tahari said.

Analyst Miljazin Krasnici said that the meeting in Vienna was organised for the purpose of formulating a third-party solution.

SAC presents its own plan

The Serbian-American Centre published its plan for the political organisation of Kosovo, proposing a parallel coexistence of the Serbian and European government.

Because of the stances of Belgrade and Priština regarding the future of Kosovo, SAC stated that real discussions are not possible and that a different approach needs to be taken, to find a solution for the people who live in Kosovo, not for the territory itself.

The first recommendation of SAC is to have the basic stance of Serbia regarding Kosovo respected, which means that the province would remain a part of Serbia and Kosovo Serbs would still be living in Serbia. Kosovo Albanians, on the other hand, want to be independent, outside of Serbia. SAC is of the opinion that both sides should be given what they want.

This means that Kosovo would remain a region of Serbia and everyone who wants to can remain a citizen of Serbia and continue to live in Kosovo as a citizen of Serbia in their own country. Autonomy in this region would be the same or similar to the kind which Vojvodina enjoys.

Also, with the permission of Serbia, a separate, parallel government would be formed in Kosovo which would have jurisdiction over the entire region. This parallel government would be under the direct control of the EU and would have its own codes, authority to give out passports and other relevant documents which are used to collect taxes and customs that will be paid by those who choose citizenship.