Kosovo Serb leader: Boycott was catastrophe

While the DS says Kosovo elections were not legal, Kosovo Serb leaders call the boycott "a catastrophic mistake". Srdjan Milivojevic, of the Democratic Party (DS), the largest party in the ruling coalition, led by President Boris Tadic, said Monday the democratic conditions necessary for holding Kosovo elections did not exist. Kosovo Serb leader: Boycott was catastrophe He said that no Serbian citizen should have participated, adding that the low turnout shows that the people living in Kosovo did not see the ballot as important. Milivojevic added that despite of who the new prime minister of Kosovo will be, all further insistence on Kosovo independence will have negative effects on relations between Belgrade and the Kosovo institutions, since independence is unacceptable to Serbia. Sunday, Serb Radical Party (SRS) official Aleksandar Vucic accused the U.S. of “making a murder and terrorist the prime minister of Kosovo’s temporary institutions.” Vucic, of the largest opposition party represented in the Serbian parliament, told Beta that "it is clear that America has once again stuck a finger in the eye of the Serbian nation,” by supporting Hashim Thaci’s election victory. “It is absolutely important that the Serbs boycotted the elections and that they did not give any legitimacy to the Siptar-terrorist rule,” he said. Vucic said that he "will not comment the Kosovo elections until all of the final results were in." "Serb boycott is catastrophe" But the Serb List for Kosovo leader, Oliver Ivanovic, says Kosovo Serbs will suffer "catastrophic consequences" for their election boycott. He said Monday that the Serbian government showed it was "not in the least bit concerned with the Serb minority in Kosovo" when it urged boycott of the weekend assembly and local elections. "What can these people hope for? What will happen if there's no water supply, if there's unrest, if there's no power? Who will intervene on their behalf, the Coordinating Center perhaps?" Ivanovic told a B92 Radio program. He viewed as positive the likely new Kosovo premier's "turning to Brussels" and said that Thaci's party activities will be "closely controlled by international observers." "It seems to me he [Thaci] is the first Albanian politician that mentions Brussels as the center that must be obeyed. So far Albanians looked to the U.S. as the only center, while Thaci's turning to Europe could in my opinion be positive since there are European countries that are more sensitive to our [Serb] stance on Kosovo," Ivanovic told our journalist. Meanwhile another Kosovo Serb politician, Rada Trajkovic, heavily criticized Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic's statements about possible setting up of parallel institutions in the province, dubbing it "a political and diplomatic scandal." "To at this point say publicly that Serbia and Serbs in Kosovo will have an option to form parallel institutions means nothing short of recognizing Albanian institutions as legal," she said. "On the other hand, it means that such institutions in a territory which they [official Belgrade] claim is a part of Serbia essentially means urging subversive activity and parallel action," Trajkovic added. "Such statements are what is known as legal nonsense. I cannot understand why Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who is a legal expert, allows such pronouncements ahead of leaving for Brussels." Trajkovic also said she believed Kosovo Serbs "did not boycott elections – they did not participate due to pressures and threats." "We demonstrated that we jeopardize what little rights we have ourselves," Trajkovic concluded.

Kosovo Serb leader: Boycott was catastrophe

He said that no Serbian citizen should have participated, adding that the low turnout shows that the people living in Kosovo did not see the ballot as important.

Milivojević added that despite of who the new prime minister of Kosovo will be, all further insistence on Kosovo independence will have negative effects on relations between Belgrade and the Kosovo institutions, since independence is unacceptable to Serbia.

Sunday, Serb Radical Party (SRS) official Aleksandar Vučić accused the U.S. of “making a murder and terrorist the prime minister of Kosovo’s temporary institutions.”

Vučić, of the largest opposition party represented in the Serbian parliament, told Beta that "it is clear that America has once again stuck a finger in the eye of the Serbian nation,” by supporting Hashim Thaci’s election victory.

“It is absolutely important that the Serbs boycotted the elections and that they did not give any legitimacy to the Šiptar-terrorist rule,” he said.

Vučić said that he "will not comment the Kosovo elections until all of the final results were in."

"Serb boycott is catastrophe"

But the Serb List for Kosovo leader, Oliver Ivanović, says Kosovo Serbs will suffer "catastrophic consequences" for their election boycott.

He said Monday that the Serbian government showed it was "not in the least bit concerned with the Serb minority in Kosovo" when it urged boycott of the weekend assembly and local elections.

"What can these people hope for? What will happen if there's no water supply, if there's unrest, if there's no power? Who will intervene on their behalf, the Coordinating Center perhaps?" Ivanović told a B92 Radio program.

He viewed as positive the likely new Kosovo premier's "turning to Brussels" and said that Thaci's party activities will be "closely controlled by international observers."

"It seems to me he [Thaci] is the first Albanian politician that mentions Brussels as the center that must be obeyed. So far Albanians looked to the U.S. as the only center, while Thaci's turning to Europe could in my opinion be positive since there are European countries that are more sensitive to our [Serb] stance on Kosovo," Ivanović told our journalist.

Meanwhile another Kosovo Serb politician, Rada Trajković, heavily criticized Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardžić's statements about possible setting up of parallel institutions in the province, dubbing it "a political and diplomatic scandal."

"To at this point say publicly that Serbia and Serbs in Kosovo will have an option to form parallel institutions means nothing short of recognizing Albanian institutions as legal," she said.

"On the other hand, it means that such institutions in a territory which they [official Belgrade] claim is a part of Serbia essentially means urging subversive activity and parallel action," Trajković added.

"Such statements are what is known as legal nonsense. I cannot understand why Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica, who is a legal expert, allows such pronouncements ahead of leaving for Brussels."

Trajković also said she believed Kosovo Serbs "did not boycott elections – they did not participate due to pressures and threats."

"We demonstrated that we jeopardize what little rights we have ourselves," Trajković concluded.