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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

New constitution as symbol of new Serbia, its strength and responsibility

Belgrade, 4 July 2006

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said last night that the diplomatic offensive and diplomatic vocabulary have been raised an octave and that the world can hear Serbia better now, which was much needed because the fate of the country, its integrity and future are at stake.

Author: Radio Television of Serbia (RTS)

In an interview with the Radio Television of Serbia, Kostunica stressed that these issues do not only concern Serbia, but also the entire region and the well-known principles of international law, which is why they should be unambiguously discussed.

He pointed out that this unambiguous speech has certainly shown results, since all relevant world capitals are now paying more heed to the position of Belgrade. Also, Brussels itself has "realised" that it has to regard Serbia a little differently than it has done so far, as well as that different and more cooperative relations should be established and built.

Kostunica said that the Tribunal's sentence to Naser Oric is outrageous and shameful and that it represents a straightforward mockery of justice and an enormous blow to victims. All indictees must be treated equally before the Hague Tribunal as well as any other court, he reiterated.

Serbia remains consistent in fulfilling its obligations, whereas the Tribunal should stop and think this issue over, and so should everyone who wholeheartedly supports this kind of justice. This verdict should bring about a serious reassessment of what the Tribunal actually represents, he added.

Kostunica stressed that he will draw attention to this in the course of further talks, and that he will especially point this out to those who are most responsible for the pronounced sentence.

The Prime Minister stressed the necessity of a new constitution "especially now when it should define Serbia as a complete and rounded state whole, and not as one of the states".

The necessary consensus for the adoption of a constitution is here and Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Zoran Loncar has informed the government at the last session that the first half of the constitution has been harmonised and that it refers to social-economic organisation, principles and human and minority rights. Kostunica voiced hope that Serbia will get a new constitution quite soon, that is, in the course of upcoming months before the year's end.

According to Kostunica, the new constitution will be a symbol of the new Serbia, its strength and responsibility, which is why we need it, both for ourselves and for Europe. He said he has always been devoted to the idea of Serbia as a state of regions, adding that the value of this idea is that it makes all parts of the state develop in a balanced way.

Kostunica added that Serbia also needs a consensus regarding political relations and the functioning of institutions, especially parliament. This is very important since the country is going through a turbulent transition period and is being forced to answer questions which were not posed to other countries, such as the question of territorial integrity, sovereignty and internal organisation, explained Kostunica.

Speaking about EU accession, Kostunica stressed that the process is far easier, simpler and faster if a kind of a partnership relation is set up, if we realise that this is a mutual aim, if Serbia actually wants to join Europe and if Europe needs Serbia.

He stressed that a partnership relation would in no way bring into question certain rules and conditions set by the EU, but that it would be better if we tried to move forward together.

Author: RTS

To me it would be much more reasonable if Serbia had been given more time and opportunities to complete cooperation with the Hague tribunal. The talks should have been carried out until the end and if Serbia had failed to fulfil the cooperation, then the negotiations should have been called off prior to the very signing of the agreement, Kostunica said.

According to Kostunica, the Action plan on cooperation with the Hague tribunal is supposed to enable transparency and availability of information on the efforts made to bring cooperation with the tribunal to an end. He added that political will exists, but that the government is facing technical obstacles.

Kostunica said that part of the Action plan is also raising the already existing awareness that cooperation with the Hague tribunal is necessary and that one man cannot blackmail the entire state and be more important than the entire state.

The public view of the cooperation with the tribunal has changed completely, measures are taken, political will exists and the Action plan only needs to be formalised and to enable an exchange of information with Brussels, to make all actions that are being taken transparent, and that is the only right way, Kostunica said.

Author: RTS

He said that the road could have been taken at the very beginning and that it is not good that Serbia has been stopped on that road at one moment, that negotiations have been called off, especially a few weeks before the referendum in Montenegro.

Kostunica said that at this moment we can be satisfied with the level of cooperation between democratic forces in Serbia, because everyone is responsible for those several big issues Serbia is facing with at the moment.

Speaking about meetings at the highest level which he has had in the past few months, Kostunica said that his collocutors were above all interested in getting a full picture of the complexity of the Kosovo problem, without implying that the solution to that problem is an independent Kosovo.

After the phase in which legal arguments were provided that challenge any idea of an independent Kosovo, a new phase was entered where it is shown how the Serbian public would react to the attempt of snatching away part of Serbia's territory and what would be the consequences of such a move, the Prime Minister pointed out.

Author: RTS

Kostunica stressed that a European solution for Kosovo's future status is a kind of highest autonomy, while an anti-European solution is to solve problems of minorities by changing borders.

That is completely the wrong way round and cannot but have consequences, Kostunica said and added that all those who think that case of Kosovo can be regarded as unique are wrong.

The Serbian Prime Minister said that he will present the Serbian platform for Kosovo-Metohija in Washington during a visit scheduled for July.

Kostunica said that in his diplomatic activities he is trying to explain to foreign officials that the Serbian platform offers the ethnic-Albanian side the highest level of autonomy within Serbia's borders and that the issue of borders and foreign policy should be part of a whole.