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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

No legal grounds for EULEX mission to replace UNMIK

Belgrade, 19 April 2008

Serbian Minister for Kosovo-Metohija Slobodan Samardzic said that the EULEX mission is illegal and that there is no legal ground for this mission to replace UNMIK.

Slobodan Samardzic

Samardzic told the Beta news agency that for this reason the UN is facing a big problem as their mission failed, which makes the situation very difficult not just for UNMIK, but for the idea and practice of international peace keeping forces around the world.

This makes the legitimacy of the UN questionable, he said.

According to him, there is a group of countries gathered around NATO that are trying to introduce new rules of behaviour, different from those valid in the UN since 1945, and they want to impose their own rules of the game.

He added that UNMIK’s leaders, Joachim Ruecker and Larry Rossin, are representatives of such policy.

Samardzic said that the International Steering Group for Kosovo is legally non-existent and cannot decide on important issues for the Serbian southern province. Therefore the negative position of this group on the May 11 local elections in Kosovo should be disregarded.

Samardzic said that it is now negotiated with Ruecker on the calling of elections in Kosovo, as this is the only remaining jurisdiction of UNMIK after this mission transferred its jurisdictions to Kosovo institutions.

Ruecker made a mistake last summer when according to Ahtisaari’s plan he passed decrees exempting UNMIK from jurisdictions on organisation of elections, Samardzic said.

Only Serbia and Serbian authorities can carry out those elections. Ruecker is not negating that Serbs have the right to their democratically elected authorities; if that is so, then only Serbia can do that and we are getting ready to do that, he said.

It would be best if Ruecker behaved politically neutrally with the May 11 elections, the way he behaved with the illegal declaration of independence by Kosovo which violated UN Security Council Resolution 1244, said Samardzic.

He said that there is good will in the UN General Secretariat on the proposal by Serbia to work with UNMIK on implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 in the newly-emerged situation in Kosovo.

Technical preparations are underway for the beginning of these talks, he said and added that chief of peace operations in the UN will come to Belgrade when the talks start, Samardzic announced. Asked about the investigation against Serbs who set fire on customs points Jarinje and Brnjak, Samardzic said that the Kosovo Police Service is the prosecution are not in charge of Serbs following the declaration of independence on February 17.

If Kosovo Albanians proclaimed independence and if Serbs do not accept that, you have the parallelism that no one can prosecute the other, Samardzic said.

As UNMIK and KFOR did not file any suit, Serbs are not obliged to answer those accusations, he said.

I think that those accusations are meant to frighten the Serbs. Whether this will cause conflicts is difficult to say, said Samardzic.

Asked what he expects between May 11 and mid-June when EULEX mission should become operational, Samardzic said that this period would be the peak of the crisis.

The UN has its jurisdictions and must act accordingly. Since the UN has not recognised Kosovo's independence, then the Serb interest must also be taken into account. I expect they will support our activities as we are not provoking anyone and Serbia must take care of Serbs and other non-Albanians, it must carry out its jurisdictions and must protect them in every sense, he said.

He also recalled that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that UNMIK would remain in Kosovo as long as Resolution 1244 is in force, which means that a way to overcome the present situation must be found.