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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Decentralisation in Kosovo the only way for Serbs in the province to survive

Belgrade, 28 October 2005

Head of the Coordinating Centre for Kosovo-Metohija Sanda Raskovic-Ivic said today in Rome that the decentralisation and strengthening of the local government in Kosovo-Metohija provides a chance for the improvement of the situation of human rights, adding that decentralisation is the only way for Kosovo Serbs to survive in the province.

The Coordinating Centre reported in a statement that Raskovic-Ivic, speaking at a seminar themed "Kosovo: decentralisation as a key to negotiations on the future status" held in the Italian Senate, said that decentralisation is of crucial importance for the return of forcibly expelled Serbs and other non-Albanians from Kosovo.

She said that this is the reason why the Serbian government insists that the decentralisation process be conducted in line with European standards, first and foremost with the European Charter on Local Self-Government.

According to the head of the Coordinating Centre, a substantial decentralisation is the best way to avoid division of Kosovo-Metohija, and at the same time, without substantial decentralisation it is not possible to achieve any of the eight basic standards of human rights.

Raskovic-Ivic said that NATO has not been able to establish peace with its presence in Kosovo-Metohija, adding that the Balkans are faced with a new phase in relations, at which hopes for the Balkans finding peace are getting entangled with fears of new confrontations, above all of increased ethno-nationalism and aggression.

Raskovic-Ivic went on to say that the democratisation of Kosovo-Metohija is very closely connected with the process of decentralisation. She added that Kosovo-Metohija today has centralised administration and that a transfer of jurisdiction from the central to a local level is of crucial importance, in all the sectors where local authorities can carry out all necessary functions in a timely and adequate manner.

The experience of the Republic of Serbia in the past proves to what extent centralism can be dangerous for social development, Raskovic-Ivic said.

Raskovic-Ivic recalled that from June 1999, more than 60 percent of the Serb population, acting in response to brutal and planned pressure and in real fear for their lives, left Kosovo-Metohija, and that 150 churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church have been destroyed and burnt, and Serbs who have remained in the southern region are deprived of their right to freely practice their religion.