Date:04/02/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/02/04/stories/2007020402391200.htm

International

Kosovo province set on path to independence

Ian Traynor

Serbia vows to prevent secession; Russia may veto U.N. motion

BELGRADE: Serbia's Albanian majority province of Kosovo has been put on the path to independent statehood by an international blueprint that redraws the map of the Balkans and effectively strips Serbia of sovereignty over a region it regards as its Jerusalem.

The plan was presented to and rejected by Serbian leaders in Belgrade and also given to the ethnic Albanian Kosovo leadership in Pristina by Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish President who has spent the past year as a special U.N. envoy crafting the settlement.

``It's a compromise proposal,'' Mr. Ahtisaari said, pointing out the plan had to be endorsed by the U.N. Security Council before it could be implemented. The aim was ``a future Kosovo that is viable, sustainable and stable.''

The 60-page document does not use the word independence with regard to Kosovo, insists on a continuing strong international presence, makes Kosovo a ward of the E.U., and leaves a large NATO peacekeeping force in place. But it launches Kosovo on the road to independence by proposing many attributes of sovereignty such as a flag, national anthem, seal, constitution and fledgling army. Kosovo is also empowered to strike international agreements and apply to join institutions such as the U.N. and International Monetary Fund.

The Serbian leadership reacted with predictable hostility. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica boycotted the meetings with Mr. Ahtisaari, while President Boris Tadic a pro-Western liberal, vowed no surrender of the province, which amounts to 15 per cent of Serbian territory.

Under the Ahtisaari plan, the E.U. will take over from the U.N. A large NATO force will remain, with their priority to protect the more than 100,000 Serbs living in Kosovo among nearly 2 million Albanians.

The plan calls for six new Serbian municipalities in Kosovo with powers over the courts, policing, health service and education as well as links, including financial ties, with Serbia proper.

Russia is threatening to veto the Security Council resolution needed to authorise the E.U. mission in Kosovo and other details. —