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Samardzic explains Serbian proposal on Kosovo's substantial autonomy in interview to Albanian TV station
Belgrade,
28 January 2008
The Serbian Ministry for Kosovo-Metohija stated today that Minister Slobodan Samardzic gave an interview to the most popular Albanian TV station “Top Channel” from Tirana in which he additionally explained the Serbian proposal on substantial autonomy for Kosovo-Metohija.
The interview was an opportunity for Samardzic to address the Kosovo and Albanian public. Parts of the interview were broadcast at prime time at 7.30 pm, while it was broadcast in full on January 27 in a special programme. It was also broadcast in the electronic media in Kosovo-Metohija and in Pristina daily “Express”.
The Minister said that Serbia wants to keep Kosovo-Metohija in the international-legal sense, while it would not interfere in other aspects of Kosovo Albanian life. He explained that substantial autonomy is a positive concept according to which Kosovo-Metohija would be a "corpus separatum", the territory with the highest level of autonomy within Serbia.
Belgrade's proposal offers all advantages to the Albanian population in the province and a level of autonomy which no other territory in the world enjoys today. Serbia's proposal is peaceful. Serbia will not take any violent actions against Kosovo-Metohija in case it declares independence. What matters is that at that moment Kosovo Serbs remain a part of Serbia's administration, which Serbia will take care of. It is important that Kosovo Albanians do not exercise violence against Serbia and the Serbs. We simply want that this manner of resolving our conflicts remains in the past, Samardzic underlined. The Serbian government is firmly opposed to the partition of Kosovo-Metohija and this was not the strategy adopted by the negotiating team, but if it does happen, Serbia will not support it as a lasting solution, said the Minister.
Samardzic said that Serbia, as a central country in the region, is aware of the sensitivity of borders and the possibility of a chain reaction.
He said that it is necessary to give peaceful development a chance. When reconciliation comes to Kosovo-Metohija, and when the Albanians actually begin to manage all aspects of daily life in the province and prove that they are indeed able to take responsibility for their administration, it will be time to talk about determining the final status.
The possibility of holding a referendum on the independence of Kosovo-Metohija was a question which particularly interested the Albanian journalists. Samardzic responded by explaining that holding a referendum is not the answer since there is the issue of where it should be held.
He asked them why should it not then be held in Serbia and pointed out that a political agreement is better.
The Minister said that Serbia wants to keep Kosovo-Metohija in the international-legal sense, while it would not interfere in other aspects of Kosovo Albanian life. He explained that substantial autonomy is a positive concept according to which Kosovo-Metohija would be a "corpus separatum", the territory with the highest level of autonomy within Serbia.
Belgrade's proposal offers all advantages to the Albanian population in the province and a level of autonomy which no other territory in the world enjoys today. Serbia's proposal is peaceful. Serbia will not take any violent actions against Kosovo-Metohija in case it declares independence. What matters is that at that moment Kosovo Serbs remain a part of Serbia's administration, which Serbia will take care of. It is important that Kosovo Albanians do not exercise violence against Serbia and the Serbs. We simply want that this manner of resolving our conflicts remains in the past, Samardzic underlined. The Serbian government is firmly opposed to the partition of Kosovo-Metohija and this was not the strategy adopted by the negotiating team, but if it does happen, Serbia will not support it as a lasting solution, said the Minister.
Samardzic said that Serbia, as a central country in the region, is aware of the sensitivity of borders and the possibility of a chain reaction.
He said that it is necessary to give peaceful development a chance. When reconciliation comes to Kosovo-Metohija, and when the Albanians actually begin to manage all aspects of daily life in the province and prove that they are indeed able to take responsibility for their administration, it will be time to talk about determining the final status.
The possibility of holding a referendum on the independence of Kosovo-Metohija was a question which particularly interested the Albanian journalists. Samardzic responded by explaining that holding a referendum is not the answer since there is the issue of where it should be held.
He asked them why should it not then be held in Serbia and pointed out that a political agreement is better.
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