Q:
A:
Essential autonomy for Kosovo-Metohija as the backbone of Serbian negotiating platform
Belgrade,
4 November 2005
Advisor to the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Simic said today that essential autonomy for Kosovo-Metohija is the backbone of the Serbian negotiating platform regarding the province’s status.
Aleksandar Simic
In an interview for today’s issue of the daily Vecernje novosti, Simic said that if the UN expects other nations to respect its charter, legal order, obligations imposed by international law and principles applied by the UN on all the states in its system, then it will accept the Serbian platform as binding for all sides.
According to Simic, the Serbian side will maintain that the disputable 1999 NATO interference was executed on account of human rights violation, and yet in the meantime, the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has not really made efforts to protect the human rights of non-ethnic Albanians, first of all Serbs.
Also, a non-democratic regime was toppled in Belgrade five years ago, and the new government has stuck to the obligations imposed by international law, stressed Simic.
It is very important to note that the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for talks on the status of Kosovo-Metohija and former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari was one of the authors of the agreement that helped to end hostilities in Kosovo-Metohija and brought about the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 in June 1999, said Simic.
The important thing, said Simic, is the fact that this agreement already contains a political solution consisting of the province’s essential autonomy within Yugoslavia, or now Serbia-Montenegro. Simic pointed out that these are the principles proposed by Ahtisaari and that he expects that he will hold on to them if “he is true to his word”, meaning that the political solution will be sought within Resolution 1244.
According to Simic, the Serbian negotiating team will have both a political and an expert branch, since the talks will concern the proprietary and financial aspects, protection and improvement of interests and human rights of Serbs and other non-Albanians, as well as ecclesiastical and cultural heritage.
Serbia is awaiting the talks as a normal, constitutionally well-regulated state, concluded Simic.
According to Simic, the Serbian side will maintain that the disputable 1999 NATO interference was executed on account of human rights violation, and yet in the meantime, the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has not really made efforts to protect the human rights of non-ethnic Albanians, first of all Serbs.
Also, a non-democratic regime was toppled in Belgrade five years ago, and the new government has stuck to the obligations imposed by international law, stressed Simic.
It is very important to note that the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for talks on the status of Kosovo-Metohija and former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari was one of the authors of the agreement that helped to end hostilities in Kosovo-Metohija and brought about the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 in June 1999, said Simic.
The important thing, said Simic, is the fact that this agreement already contains a political solution consisting of the province’s essential autonomy within Yugoslavia, or now Serbia-Montenegro. Simic pointed out that these are the principles proposed by Ahtisaari and that he expects that he will hold on to them if “he is true to his word”, meaning that the political solution will be sought within Resolution 1244.
According to Simic, the Serbian negotiating team will have both a political and an expert branch, since the talks will concern the proprietary and financial aspects, protection and improvement of interests and human rights of Serbs and other non-Albanians, as well as ecclesiastical and cultural heritage.
Serbia is awaiting the talks as a normal, constitutionally well-regulated state, concluded Simic.
-
Belgrade/New York, 21 October 2025UNMIK's presence in Kosovo and Metohija guarantor of peace, protection of human rights
-
Belgrade/Paris, 14 October 2025Photo exhibition on life of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija opens in Paris
-
Belgrade, 13 October 2025Victory of Serb List: return of political control over Serb municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija
-
Belgrade, 8 October 2025UNMIK’s presence in Kosovo and Metohija of crucial importance for preserving peace, stability
-
Belgrade, 19 September 2025Strongest condemnation of so-called Kosovo police incursion into Serbian healthcare institutions
-
Belgrade/Brussels, 11 September 2025Formation of Community of Serb Municipalities prerequisite for survival of Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija
-
Belgrade, 9 September 2025Closing of Official Gazette in Kosovska Mitrovica threatens right of Serbian children to education
-
Belgrade, 26 August 2025Priština seriously threatening peace, stability in Kosovo and Metohija
-
Belgrade, 26 August 2025De-escalation of situation in Kosovo and Metohija necessary
-
Belgrade, 31 July 2025Continued draconian punishment of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija without evidence, witnesses