LDP leader says Serbia needs to “change Kosovo policy”

Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader Cedomir Jovanovic has assessed that Serbia’s “first goal has to be implementation of the Ahtisaari plan. He added that Serbia " does not have time or right to calculate”. LDP leader says Serbia needs to “change Kosovo policy” He said that Serbia and Serbs in Kosovo “need to make a U-turn in Kosovo policy”. “Serbia and Kosovo Serbs do not need encrypted messages and recycled policy just four days before the agreement with KFOR expires,” the LDP leader said in a written statement. He added that the Serbian government should be “open and announce that we are turning to a rational policy in which the most important thing is to immediately implement the Ahtisaari plan as a basis and guarantees of individual and collective rights of Serbs in Kosovo and then start looking for a model in upgraded variants of the plan, such as the Ahtisaari plus plan or Redux plan”. “Without waiting for the last moment and September 16 we need to make a turn in Kosovo policy, stop the uncertainty that creates anxiety and push for the implementation of the Ahtisaari plan, get rid of the tensions created by setting and removing barricades and get rid of the fear of military operations and start talks about realistic models of the autonomy that are presented by the international officials,” Jovanovic pointed out. He added that Serbs did not need “tense atmosphere, virtual councilors, people’s leaders and district heads who won fewer votes in the elections than the number of Serbs who work in the system in northern Kosovo”. “Serbs need schools and hospitals, infrastructure, local judiciary, cultural and sports institutions and nobody is requesting their abolishment. On the contrary, according to the Ahtisaari plan they have the right to organize health, school, communal, judicial and institutional systems, to have a decisive influence on the police work and not only in the municipalities they are majority. Legitimate Serb representatives have the power to veto key state and local decisions and the right to negotiate about more favorable solutions,” the LDP leader stressed. He also pointed out that the Ahtisaari plan allowed regulated relations between Belgrade and the Serb communities and that it was possible to open some sub-variants of the plan along with gradual improvement of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. Cedomir Jovanovic (Tanjug, file)

LDP leader says Serbia needs to “change Kosovo policy”

He said that Serbia and Serbs in Kosovo “need to make a U-turn in Kosovo policy”.

“Serbia and Kosovo Serbs do not need encrypted messages and recycled policy just four days before the agreement with KFOR expires,” the LDP leader said in a written statement.

He added that the Serbian government should be “open and announce that we are turning to a rational policy in which the most important thing is to immediately implement the Ahtisaari plan as a basis and guarantees of individual and collective rights of Serbs in Kosovo and then start looking for a model in upgraded variants of the plan, such as the Ahtisaari plus plan or Redux plan”.

“Without waiting for the last moment and September 16 we need to make a turn in Kosovo policy, stop the uncertainty that creates anxiety and push for the implementation of the Ahtisaari plan, get rid of the tensions created by setting and removing barricades and get rid of the fear of military operations and start talks about realistic models of the autonomy that are presented by the international officials,” Jovanović pointed out.

He added that Serbs did not need “tense atmosphere, virtual councilors, people’s leaders and district heads who won fewer votes in the elections than the number of Serbs who work in the system in northern Kosovo”.

“Serbs need schools and hospitals, infrastructure, local judiciary, cultural and sports institutions and nobody is requesting their abolishment. On the contrary, according to the Ahtisaari plan they have the right to organize health, school, communal, judicial and institutional systems, to have a decisive influence on the police work and not only in the municipalities they are majority. Legitimate Serb representatives have the power to veto key state and local decisions and the right to negotiate about more favorable solutions,” the LDP leader stressed.

He also pointed out that the Ahtisaari plan allowed regulated relations between Belgrade and the Serb communities and that it was possible to open some sub-variants of the plan along with gradual improvement of relations between Belgrade and Priština.