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Europe, US caution against violence in independent Kosovo (Roundup)

Feb 18, 2008, 0:02 GMT

Governments and regional and world bodies on Sunday urged Kosovo, the world's newest state, to act with restraint in making the transition from a breakaway Serb province to an independent entity. Fireworks illuminate the sky above Kosovo’s capital Pristina, 17 February 2008. Kosovo’s Parliament proclaimed independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. EPA/ERMEL META

Fireworks illuminate the sky above Kosovo’s capital Pristina, 17 February 2008. Kosovo’s Parliament proclaimed independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. EPA/ERMEL METAKosovo declared independence following an emergency parliament session. It now looks to the United States and leading European Union countries for recognition and support. Serbia rejected the move it has vehemently opposed. 'Kosovo's unilateral declaration of a false state is the final act of a policy that started with the NATO aggression against Serbia in 1999,' Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said. The United Nations Security Council was convened for an urgent meeting on Sunday following the declaration, French diplomats said. They said Russia called for the meeting, which was a predictable move as it opposed the secession of Kosovo from Serbia. Of the council's five permanent members with veto power, Russia and China oppose Kosovo's independence while the United States, France and Britain support it. 'We expect from the UN mission and from the NATO representatives in Kosovo that they do their duty and annul Pristina's decision,' the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the Interfax news agency. European Union foreign ministers are to meet in Brussels on Monday, when the situation in Kosovo will be high on the agenda. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt speaking in Brussels Sunday said: 'Kosovo is unique, it has no impact on other conflicts.' 'Something that equally concerns us is to underline our commitment to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Cyprus,' he said after meeting his counterparts from Latvia and Ukraine in Brussels. Also in Brussels, Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller, referring to Monday's scheduled meeting of all 27 EU foreign ministers, said whatever was decided at the meeting 'will be sui generis' or pertain only to Kosovo. Slovenian Prime Minister and current EU Chairman Janez Jansa urged Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo to 'react reasonably and to desist from using any form of violence.' Stability in the Balkan region has the highest priority, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Sunday. Following a telephone call with his counterparts from Slovenia and Serbia, Dimitrij Rupel and Vuk Jeremic, Steinmeier called for calm and moderation from all sides over the next few days. Kosovo, with an area about four times smaller than that of Denmark, has been in the focus of the world's attention over much of the last 10 years, when violence first broke out in the majority Albanians' struggle for a split from Belgrade's rule. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a key player in Kosovo since its bombers put an end to ethnic violence in 1999, on Sunday warned against violence in Kosovo. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer urged all sides in Kosovo to act with restraint, promising that NATO troops would prevent and punish violent acts. 'After the Kosovo declaration of independence, NATO is following ongoing developments closely ... (NATO forces in Kosovo) will respond swiftly and firmly against anyone who might resort to violence, he said in a statement. Hungary on Sunday called on Kosovo to ensure minority rights and abide by conditions of a United Nations plan which gives Kosovo independence in return for sweeping rights for the province's Serb minority, which makes up around 10 per cent of the population. The United States on Sunday said Kosovo's independence was a solution that would 'enable Serbia and Kosovo to move forward' while urging the 'utmost restraint.' 'We welcome the Kosovo government's clear commitment to implementing far-reaching provisions ... to protect ethnic minority communities,' US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. McCormack, in a recorded phone message on the issue of Kosovo, emphasized several times the vigilance Washington would exercise to protect Kosovo's ethnic minorities, a reference to worries that ethnic Serbs would suffer under Kosovo independence. The US was reviewing the issue of the newly independent state and discussing the matter with its European partners, he said. The Vatican also called for 'moderation and perspective' in the region. No distinction on the basis of 'ethnicity, religion, language or nationality' should be made among the inhabitants of Kosovo, spokesman for the Holy See Frederico Lombardi said. Bulgaria meanwhile called for a united European Union stance on Kosovo. 'A harmonious EU position would do the most to lower the security risks in Kosovo, in the region and in Europe,' the Foreign Ministry said. Bosnia said it would not recognize the independence of Kosovo in the near future amid protests from Bosnian Serbs. A few hundred ethnic Albanians from Bosnia-Herzegovina's Albanian community celebrated in Sarajevo. Albanians in Switzerland and Macedonia also took to the streets in celebration. Thousands of Albanians gathered in a central square in Vienna, Austria where the independence ceremony was broadcast live from parliament in Pristina. The reaction to Austrian political parties to Kosovo independence was largely positive, with only the right-wing Freedom party denouncing the step as an 'open violation of international law.' Provinces in other parts of the world that are also seeking independence kept an eye Sunday on the outcome for the former southern Serb province. Shortly after Kosovo had declared independence, the presidents of Georgia's breakaway provinces Abkhazia and Southern Ossetia said they were planning similar initiatives. 'Abkhazia will turn to Russia, the UN Security Council and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and ask for a recognition of its independence,' Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. 'Southern Ossetia and Abkhazia have a better political and legal basis for their recognition than Kosovo,' the President of Southern Ossetia, Eduard Kokoity, said. Romania's Hungarian minority party UDMR on Sunday called on the government to recognize Kosovo's independence. The UDMR has been campaigning for self administration for the estimated 1.5 million ethnic Hungarians living in Romania. Taiwan was closely watching Kosovo's expected declaration of independence on Sunday, but although the island offered congratulations, analysts said they did not see a corresponding change in Taipei's dealings with China.

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Frank In CaliforniaFeb 18th, 2008 - 04:08:32

If you truly study the centuries of history for this region it seems to me the Albanians cause is all built on a case of squatters rights and little else. Kosovo is and always was part of Serbia, what claim Albanians seem to think they have to this area dates back to Ottoman control of the region. We tend to have a slant here in the US that the Serbs are the bad guys, after all we had to bomb them didn't we? And we only bomb the bad guys don't we? So the Serbs must be the bad guys right? And what about that genocide thing, that's very NAZI like, again bad guys right? Actually yes those are all bad guys stuff and the Serbs haven't been the good guys in this area, including the war years and the war crimes. Problem is that had the KLA and Albanians gotten the upper hand they would have done the same things. There is no right side in the continual squabble that has lasted too long and will continue even after todays headlines that only promise more bloodshed. Until the Serbs, KLA and the Albanians put the past where it belongs, they will never move forward into the 21st century but instead forever be locked up in the 15th century. However the concerns of the Russian's regarding this breakaway are not without grounds for concern. For the US and other European counties the independence of Kosovo is a convenient quick fix, but not the right fix. So is a Turkish Cypress next? What about Taiwan? After all the claims of both those areas are a weak as the Albanian cause in Kosovo, how to we recognize one and not others?

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GooseFeb 18th, 2008 - 09:35:47

Czar Putin aint gonna like this....

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Sri Lanka doesn't like itFeb 18th, 2008 - 13:15:56

Sri Lanka says Kosovo independence a threat to world peace

COLOMBO (AFP) — Sri Lanka said Sunday that Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia could set an 'unmanageable precedent' and threaten world peace.

The Sri Lankan government, which is battling separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, reacted swiftly against Kosovo's independence, which it said was a violation of the United Nations charter.

'This action by Kosovo is a violation of the Charter of the United Nations, which enshrines the sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states,' the Sri Lankan foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said Kosovo's action 'could set an unmanageable precedent in the conduct of international relations, the established global order of sovereign states and could thus pose a grave threat to international peace and security.'

Sri Lanka's government is battling Tamil Tiger guerrillas who are fighting for independence for minority Tamil community in this majority Sinhalese nation of 19.5 million people.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Sri Lanka's separatist conflict, which has dragged on for over 35 years and is Asia's longest-running ethnic conflict.

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PopeFeb 18th, 2008 - 13:18:56

'The Vatican also called for 'moderation and perspective' in the region. No distinction on the basis of 'ethnicity, religion, language or nationality' should be made among the inhabitants of Kosovo, spokesman for the Holy See Frederico Lombardi said.'

oh yeah, Vatican!!! Those people are all about equality. Like the 'female' pope... hmmm... ok... like the 'black' pope .... hmmmm...
ahhh... forget it... Vatican should just shut up and continue to loot from the God's children!

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MaksimoFeb 19th, 2008 - 12:28:22

The Mexicans have a more valid claim to the southern states than the albanians have to Kosovo.

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AnthonyFeb 20th, 2008 - 17:47:36

Kosovo is Serbia!!!

Albanians think they win this ,but lets see what will happend in few years from now on.

Serbians are wery smart people they will play them around for sure. They will never gave up on Kosovo cause that is their Holly Land. They will wait right moment to bring it back beleve me. Just to remind you that Serbia was under Turkish for 500 Years so do not Worry Kosovo is Serbia !!!

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No NameFeb 22nd, 2008 - 23:24:36

KOSOVO is free ... Serbia is Dead ... and serbia never ever became kosovo back ... NEVER NEVER EVER ..... KOSOVO 4 EVER........BIATCHHHH !!!!

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