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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbs, Albanians must find way to coexist regardless of solution to future-status

Belgrade, 17 July 2007

Director of the Serbian government’s Office of Media Relations Milivoje Mihajlovic said last night that Serbs and Albanians must find a way to coexist, regardless of the solution found for the future status of Kosovo-Metohija, since ultimately joining the EU awaits them.

At a promotion of the new edition of the magazine Limes Plus, which is dedicated to Kosovo-Metohija, Mihajlovic pointed out that it is senseless to attempt separating Kosovo-Metohija from Serbia at this point, considering the fact that within ten years borders will be erased to join the EU.

He recalled that Serbs and Albanians have lived parallel lives in the province for years, and warned that the divide between them is constantly getting deeper.

Speaking on the role of UNMIK in the province, Mihajlovic said that the actions of the organisation are a catastrophe, given the fact that in the last eight years the question of return of internally displaced persons has not been settled, while 20,000 houses of Serbs have been usurped or burnt, and only 600 have been returned to their owners.

According to Mihajlovic, it is an interesting fact that the international administration has adopted a decree according to which usurpation of a property gives ownership rights, if it is inhabited by the person responsible for 10 years.

He said that according to the UNDP, there are some 330,000 to 460,000 illegally possessed weapons in the province, and every fifth student in Kosovo schools is armed.

These are alarming facts which show that regardless of the solution reached for the future status of Kosovo-Metohija, the province will be a security problem for the entire region, not just for Serbia, warned Mihajlovic.

The geopolitical magazine Limes Plus presents works which deal with the issue of Kosovo-Metohija, and are written by politicians, analysts and cultural and religious writers from Serbia and Kosovo-Metohija.