Q:
A:
Stability in southern Serbia will be preserved
Belgrade,
25 January 2006
Head of the Coordinating Body for southern Serbia Rasim Ljajic said today that political stability and security in southern Serbia will be preserved on the eve of talks on the future status of Kosovo-Metohija.
Author:
Tanjug
Speaking at a press conference following a meeting with Contact Group representatives and EU ambassadors at the Palace of the State Union of Serbia-Montenegro, Ljajic said that instead of using soldiers and police, political stability and security in southern Serbia will be preserved through an active policy of regional economic development and integration of the ethnic Albanian community.
Ljajic recalled that the Serbian government has earmarked a sum of 17 million dinars from the 2006 budget for various projects in the region, while the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) has set aside $30 million and the US government $10 million for the same purpose.
Ljalic also talked about the formation of a special economic team to deal with issues arising in southern Serbia and expressed expectations that 11 state-owned companies in that area will have been privatised by the end of 2006.
On the proportion of ethnic Albanian representatives in the institutions of state in southern Serbia, Ljajic said that the participation of ethnic Albanians in state structures remains low compared to the number of members of their community.
According to Ljajic, the state is obliged to provide all necessary conditions for smother integration of the ethnic Albanian community in all civil services, especially in the police, judiciary, health care and education systems, which is the most important guarantee for preservation of political stability in southern Serbia.
Commenting on the recently adopted platform of the ethnic Albanian parties participating in local governments’ of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja in which they demand political and territorial autonomy of that area, Ljajic said that certain demands in the platform are unacceptable both for Serbia and the international community.
He stressed that it is unacceptable to seek a joint solution to the southern Serbia and Kosovo-Metohija issues, adding that they represent "two completely separate issues."
The southern Serbia issue will be resolved through the process of democratisation and strengthening of local self-government in Serbia, concluded Ljajic.
Ljajic recalled that the Serbian government has earmarked a sum of 17 million dinars from the 2006 budget for various projects in the region, while the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) has set aside $30 million and the US government $10 million for the same purpose.
Ljalic also talked about the formation of a special economic team to deal with issues arising in southern Serbia and expressed expectations that 11 state-owned companies in that area will have been privatised by the end of 2006.
On the proportion of ethnic Albanian representatives in the institutions of state in southern Serbia, Ljajic said that the participation of ethnic Albanians in state structures remains low compared to the number of members of their community.
According to Ljajic, the state is obliged to provide all necessary conditions for smother integration of the ethnic Albanian community in all civil services, especially in the police, judiciary, health care and education systems, which is the most important guarantee for preservation of political stability in southern Serbia.
Commenting on the recently adopted platform of the ethnic Albanian parties participating in local governments’ of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja in which they demand political and territorial autonomy of that area, Ljajic said that certain demands in the platform are unacceptable both for Serbia and the international community.
He stressed that it is unacceptable to seek a joint solution to the southern Serbia and Kosovo-Metohija issues, adding that they represent "two completely separate issues."
The southern Serbia issue will be resolved through the process of democratisation and strengthening of local self-government in Serbia, concluded Ljajic.
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