Serbia’s sovereignty under attack: EU calls on recognition of Kosovo’s independence

The EU’s project on the Western Balkans, which implies the final settlement of the Kosovo problem (namely: the integration of Northern Kosovo where most of the population are Serbs, into “Prsitina government authorities”) is entering its final stage.

On July 8, the European parliament adopted the resolution, which welcomes the recognition of Kosovo’s independence by the EU. The resolution, adopted by 455 votes to 155 calls on the EU member-states to stick to the single position on Kosovo and on the International Court (in late July the court is expected to bring its verdict on the legitimacy of the unilateral declaration of Kosovo’s independence).

The resolution calls on the European Commission and member states to take practical steps to make the benefits of EU cooperation more tangible to people in Kosovo – such as allowing visa liberalization for its citizens once the necessary criteria have been met. It also urges reforms against corruption and organized crime to decentralization and transformation of the administrative system.

Earlier during the discussion on Kosovo and Albania European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Štefan Füle expressed his support to the resolution. Seeing that not all the EU member-states share the same view on Kosovo’s status. (five countries do not recognize its independence), the European parliament decided to take the matter fully under its control and to use as a geopolitical reference point – “common European future of Kosovo and Western Balkans”.

Füle expressed confidence that the work with “Pristina authorities” will continue whatever the decision of the International Court on the unilateral declaration of Kosovo’s independence is. The EU wants Pristina to fulfill a number of conditions, first of all “to return displaced persons in satisfactory manner”; and what is required from Serbia is “pragmatic approach to the status of Kosovo”.

Greek deputy Takis Hadjigeorgiou opposed the resolution of the European parliament, saying on behalf of the United Leftists that its adoption is impossible, just like it is impossible to call on all EU members states to recognize the unilateral declaration of Kosovo’s independence. An independent deputy from Austria pointed out to the fact that the resolution of UN Security Council N 1244 is still effective and the EU has no right to force the recognition of Kosovo’s independence (1).

The West has a plan regarding Northern Kosovo. It is likely that the future verdict by the International Court is already known because once it is announced the talks will begin on the status of Northern Kosovo. The plan implies giving Kosovo Serbs a special status similar to the models applied in Tyrol and Northern Ireland. But the plan excludes an option of talks on the status and division of Kosovo. It claims that Northern Kosovo will not be fully divided from Serbia and the Serbs in the north of Kosovo will enjoy a “wide autonomy”, wider than it was envisaged by the plan of Martti Ahtisaari, with Pristina and Belgrade acting as guarantors of this autonomy.

What is special about the current approach of the Western diplomacy towards Serbia is that the recognition of Kosovo’s independence is not an obligatory condition – what is required is a “constructive position” concerning the participation of Pristina authorities in regional institutions – in other words in means everything except the official recognition of the independence. In return the European Parliament promises Serbia (that has become a sad tradition since 1991) to facilitate its entry in the EU.

The EU proposed Belgrade to jointly elaborate a draft resolution on Kosovo after the International court brings its verdict. But the Serbian authorities rejected the proposal and said they would work out their own draft resolution and submit it to the UN General Assembly in September.

For almost 20 years Serbia has facing threats and this time Germany, France and Great Britain warned it that any attempts to start talks on the status of Kosovo would be prevented. They see the Serbian draft resolution for UN General Assembly as a “campaign of the General Skupstina in the UN against the EU members”, which will have “inevitable consequences” for Serbia’s plans to enter the EU”. But if Serbia obeys, Berlin, Paris and London promise to initiate the procedure of Serbia’s entry into the EU in September (2).

The feelings run high. On July 6, the UN Security Council held an emergency session on the request of Serbian President Boris Tadic. The session was held following following last week’s grenade explosion at a flashpoint area in the country’s north. An unknown assailant threw two bombs at a demonstration of about 1,000 Kosovo Serbs protesting Pristina’s move to open a community service centre in the ethnically-divided town of Mitrovica. A Bosniak paediatrician ( M. Jekovic), who did not attend the rally, was killed in the attack. Eleven others, all ethnic Serb protesters, were wounded. Later one more attack took place in which “Kosovo parliament deputy” representative of the Serbian Independent Liberal Party Petar Miletic was wounded.

The opening of Pristina’s community service centre is seen as characterizes as the first practical step to establish executive power in order to integrate the region of North Mitrovica. “Kosovo Prime Minister” Hasim Taci said that the attack was “an act by Serbian extremists”, “Kosovo Foreign Minister” Skender Hyseni accused Serbs and Belgrade of what had happened. He expressed confidence that “the community service center as part the Kosovo government will function” because “Kosovo government is determined to establish its power on the entire territory of Kosovo”.

At the session of the UN Security Council the US supported Pristina saying that its move was a “legitimate step of a sovereign state”, the assault in North Mitrovica was “a purely criminal act and not a terrorist attack” and that Miletic was wounded by local Serbs. France’s representative at the session said that was a “local scale incident”, the situation in Kosovo is “stable” and that “the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, (EULEX) is successful in keeping peace and order in Kosovo”. The resolution adopted by the European parliament on July 8, states that this last attack in Mitrovica was an act done by uncertain radical groups and organized criminal gangs.

Speaking at the session of UN Security Council Boris Tadic called on the implementation of the Six Points Plan proposed by the UN Secretary General in November 2008, and supported by the UN Security Council. Tadic accused the International civilian service headed by Pieter Feith of establishing an illegal and undesirable regime, said that the attempt to open a service of Kosovo government in Mitrovica was a provocation. He also said that the position of the US which supported the move as “arousing deep concern”. According to Tadic, Serbia will have to reconsider its attitude to the presence of the international mediators in Kosovo if they do not stop to support Pristina’s steps on destabilization. He said that EULEX should investigate all the attacks against Serbs while NATO should keep a certain number of its servicemen in Serbian monasteries to protect Serbian people. He said that Belgrade won’t tolerate the establishment of any centers, courts and telecommunication network of temporary Pristina administration in the region. He added that Kosovo problem cannot be resolved beyond the contexts of the region’s status and it is necessary to resume talks with Albanians in order to find a comprehensive compromise solution. (3).

The UN Security Council characterized the attack as a terrorist attack of Albanian separatists and said that Pieter Feith as the head of the International civil service was responsible for it. It said that the terrorists must be punished and any attempts to open temporary institutions of Kosovo administration should be prevented because they threaten the stability of Kosovo Mitrovica and the entire region.

However, “the international presence” itself represented by the administration of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, (EULEX) – urged restraint. Their presence did not hamper the complete integration of Kosovo’s South into “Pristina government institutions”. The main danger is first of all that the “Kosovo style” integration also means assimilation abandoning the national identity (the language, the culture, the history). Besides that, among those who have power in the Republic of Kosovo are the people whose names are connected with severe crimes – murders, tortures, kidnapping; these people took part in the war against the Serbian state and in the expelling of Serbs from Kosmet. Over 11 years the north of Kosovo has been a “non-integrated territory”, plus it is linked with Serbia geographically. But despite angry statements of the Serbian President in reality the Serbian authorities provide almost no help to the Serbian communities of Kosovo (first of all economically and in terms of human personnel), though it is here where the educational and health care institutions are located which are not subordinate to the international authorities in Kosmet. In general the most important and difficult ethnical and state issue – the Kosovo issue – is not the priority on the agenda of domestic and foreign policy of the Serbian government.

Secondly, “Pristina’s integration process” is not limited by Kosmet. The Albanian side is now paying attention to “the problem of Presehvo-Buyanovats-Medvezhya” naming this region the Eastern Kosovo, as well as to the western Skopje, Tetovo and Kumanovo in Macedonia (where Albanian campaigns are regularly held with the demonstration of symbols of the Kosovo Liberation Army), and right to the Montenegrin region of Lake of Scadar…

The goal of the project of “the international community” declared by the current resolution of the European parliament to show that Northern Kosovo cannot be separated from the rest of its territory and the relevant “reforms” should be carried out on the entire territory of Kosovo (first of all on decentralization of the North) with the prospect of the integration, which would inevitably lead to the assimilation of the Serbian population.

UN court to issue Kosovo ruling on July 22

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is to give an advisory opinion on July 22 as to whether Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia was legal, the court announced on Wednesday.

President of the Court Judge Hisashi Owada is to read out the ruling at a public sitting at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) in The Hague, it said in a statement.

Serbia, Kosovo and 29 states including Russia and the United States took part in oral hearings before the court in December after the United Nations general assembly took the issue to the ICJ at the request of Serbia.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008 and so far, 69 countries recognise Kosovo as a state, including the United States and 22 out of 27 EU countries.

Serbia went to the UN's top court because it wants to challenge the legality of the declaration. The ICJ has been asked to give a non-binding opinion.

Since it was founded in 1946, the ICJ has handed down 25 advisory opinions as part of its mission to settle international legal disputes.

Kosovo health ministry official arrested

EULEX police and the Kosovo police's anti-corruption task force arrested a senior Health Ministry official Tuesday (July 13th) for suspected abuse of office. Media reports identify him as Ilir Tolaj, a political adviser to Health Minister Bujar Bukoshi. EULEX and the Kosovo police searched three locations in Pristina, including an office of the University Clinic, as part of the operation. The EU rule of law mission said the suspect was detained in connection with a tax evasion investigation. The raids follow a similar operation in April at the transport ministry, though no arrests were made that time.

In other news, EULEX arrested a man Wednesday as part of an investigation into politically motivated murders in Kosovo. Local media identify him as Fahredin Gashi and say he was detained based on a request by a EULEX special prosecutor. "The person has been charged with war crime offences committed in June 1999 in the Lipljan municipality," EULEX said in a press release. Gashi's name was mentioned by Nazim Bllaca, who has claimed involvement in a Kosovo murder and implicated several senior state, party and police officials in criminal cases. Gashi denies the allegations.

Kosovo: Serb man suspected of war crimes extradited from Norway

A European Union official in Kosovo says Norwegian authorities have extradited a Serb man wanted on suspicion of committing war crimes against civilians in western Kosovo in 1999.

Nicholas Hawton, a spokesman for the EU police mission in Kosovo, said Tuesday the man was arrested last year in Norway based on an international arrest warrant. He did not give other details.

At the time, Norwegian police said they had arrested a 39-year-old Serb for allegedly being part of an ethnic Serb force that drove Kosovo Albanians from their homes in Pec, a town 90 kilometres (55 miles) west of the capital, Pristina.

Some 10,000 ethnic Albanians were killed by Serb forces in 1999 before NATO launched airstrikes to force a Serb withdrawal.

Also Tuesday, EU police jailed an ethnic Albanian suspected of war crimes. The unidentified man was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation of a video-recorded confession by Nazim Bllaca, a self-declared hit man for former ethnic Albanian guerrillas.

Bllaca, whose confession was aired on Kosovo media late last year, claims to have planned the executions of fellow ethnic Albanians suspected of collaborating with Serbia's regime, senior politicians from a rival political party, and war crime witnesses in the aftermath of the 1998-99 Kosovo war. He says he carried out some of the killings himself.

Bllaca is guarded by EU police and is under house arrest.

Hundreds of Serbs and their ethnic Albanian collaborators were killed in retaliatory attacks immediately after the fighting ceased and as NATO and the U.N. were taking control of the former Serbian province.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 with strong backing from the United States and most countries in the European Union.

The EU police, judges and prosecutors are in charge of dealing with war crimes and fighting organized crime in Kosovo.

EULEX takes over north Kosovo investigations

PRIŠTINA -- The investigations of the two incidents in northern Kosovska Mitrovica have been taken over by the EULEX Special Prosecutor’s Office.

According to EULEX spokesperson Irina Gudeljević, the grenade attack on a Serb protest in which one person died and 11 were injured, and the armed attack on Kosovo assembly memberPetar Miletić, are now under EULEX’s jurisdiction.

Kosovo police, KPS, regional spokesperson Besim Hoti told the Beta news agency that the investigations will be taken to a new level now.

“We received information from the prosecution yesterday that both of the cases will be taken over by EULEX and the directorate for organize crime in Priština,” Hoti said.

Romania not to change position on Kosovo, says foreign minister

Romania will not change its position and will not recognize the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo and Metohija, even though the European Parliament called on the EU member countries to do so, Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Bakonski said in Chisinau. On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that calls on all member states to recognize the act of the provisional institutions of self-government in Pristina.

Priština against UN as mediator in talks

Officials in Priština do not support the UN mediating in eventual technical negotiations between Priština and Belgrade.

Both ruling officials and the opposition in the Kosovo government have stated that the UN cannot mediate such talks because the UN has a neutral stance on Kosovo’s status, and because many UN member-states have not recognized Kosovo’s independence.

Priština stated that only the European Union or United States could mediate such talks.

Kosovo Albanian Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuqi said that the Priština institutions have no information on UNMIK or the UN mediating such talks.

“UNMIK mediating such talks is unacceptable for us, because we have asked for UNMIK to leave Kosovo a long time ago. All of its authorities have been transferred to either the Kosovo government or the international civil office,” Kuqi told the KTV station.

Date Set for Haradinaj Appeals Verdict

The appeals verdict in the case of ex-Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj will be delivered on July 21, the Hague tribunal announced this week.

Haradinaj, the former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, stood trial in 2007 alongside two other KLA leaders, Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj.

The men were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the murder, torture and rape of Serb civilians, as well as suspected Kosovar Albanian collaborators, during the late 1990s conflict in Kosovo.

In April 2008, Haradinaj and Balaj were acquitted of all charges against them, while Brahimaj was found guilty of cruel treatment and torture, and sentenced to six years in jail.

He was granted provisional release in May 2009, but has been ordered back to The Hague for the appeals judgement.

During the October 2009 appeals hearing, prosecutors demanded a retrial, claiming that witness intimidation had “infected” the trial, making it impossible for them to effectively present their case.

One former KLA member who refused to testify, Shefqet Kabashi, was indicted by the tribunal for contempt of court.

Brahimaj’s defence counsel told judges that they sought to reverse his conviction on counts of torture and cruel treatment, and seek a reduction of the six-year sentence on 19 grounds of appeal.

His lawyer, Richard Harvey, cited witness testimony that was inconsistent and lacked credibility during the trial.

It remains unclear whether Haradinaj and Balaj will travel to The Hague for the appeals judgement.

They really love Tony BLiar (in Kosovo)

The Daily Telegraph has the story: they love him in Kosovo.

(No wonder. In one of the greatest betrayals in human history this creep convinced Slick Willie to bomb the Christian Serbs out of their ancestral homelands to establish 3 brandnew narco-jihad statelets right smack in the middle of Europe)

Serbia to Swap Territories with Kosovo, Unblock UN Membership

Serbian authorities are seriously considering an unblocking of Kosovo’s membership in the EU in return of an exchange of territories between Serbia and Kosovo, according to Serbian sources quoted by Bulgarian National Radio.

The Serbian side would offer to Kosovo its southern PreSevo Valley, mostly populated by ethnic Albanians, in exchange of Northern Kosovo, populated by an ethic Serb majority.

In return Serbia would lift its freezing of Kosovo’s UN membership, which is a stepping-stone to Kosovo’s full recognition as a sovereign state.

Kosovo not condition for EU integration

Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković said that he is certain that recognizing Kosovo’s independence would not be a condition for joining the European Union.

Cvetković also said that Serbia is expected to become a candidate for EU membership by early 2011.

“I am sure that the individual EU member-states will administer their own policies, but, if we are talking about the EU, its policies are not policies of conditioning,” Cvetković said.

He said that regardless of these issues, the official policies of Serbia do not accept conditioning, which means that Serbia would continue to fight for joining the EU and preserving its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Cvetković said that the EU is a lot more divided on the Kosovo issue today than it was when many of the countries recognized Kosovo’s independence.

He reminded that the European Parliament resolution supporting the recognition of Kosovo’s independence was not adopted with a very convincing majority.

“This shows that there are strong stances that it might not be a good idea, even within the countries that have recognized Kosovo. Our position is not ideal, but it is not as bad as some people who have opposing stances claim it to be,” Cvetković said.

He reminded that the Kosovo problem has been ongoing for decades, but that his government is dedicated to trying to find a quality way to finally solve these problems.

“The International Court of Justice is the way, because we decided not to use any measures that could lead to any kind of conflict with a part of the international community, but to affirm the values of the international community. I am strongly convinced that the opinion of the ICJ will be to our advantage,” Cvetković said.

He added that Belgrade hopes that the ICJ decision would lead to new negotiations.

Cvetković reminded that cooperation with the Hague Tribunal is one of the most important conditions for Serbia’s further EU integration, and that the recent positive evaluation of Hague Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz was the result of Belgrade’s determination to finish all its obligations to the court.

However, he did not want to predict how the “Hague chapter” would be closed.

“I do not want to speculate at what moment Hague cooperation would be completed. I can, however, said that we are firmly dedicated, have a strong level of organization and people who are working on that problem every day,” Cvetković said.

Speaking on the progress made in fighting organized crime and corruption in Serbia, Cvetković said that the political readiness of the government to fight crime is unquestionable.

“The state is absolutely stronger than crime and this government and all the institutions of the system are focused on the fight against crime,” Cvetković said.

Serbia's Tadic criticises plan to send police to northern Kosovo

President Boris Tadic condemned on Friday (July 9th) a recent statement by Kosovo Interior Minister Bajram Rexhepi, suggesting that Pristina may deploy special police forces to northern Kosovo to guarantee order there. Tadic said that such statements threaten the fragile peace in the Serb-dominated region. Rexhepi has said that special units could be sent under an agreement with EULEX, in light of two recent incidents. On July 2nd, an explosion killed one man and injured 11 other people during a Serb protest in the divided town of Mitrovica. Tensions rose further a couple of days later when a Kosovo Serb lawmaker was shot and wounded outside his home.

EC envoy Degert says Kosovo partition not an option

The head of the European Commission (EC) delegation to Serbia, Vincent Degert, said on Sunday (July 11th) that any partition of Kosovo is not an option. He stressed that none of the EU members supports such an idea, fearing a domino effect in the region. In an interview with Fonet news agency, Degert said the EU believes that all involved sides should gather at a table and talk, to find a solution. He added that EULEX plays a very positive role in Kosovo and that all provocations in the north should stop.

EP adopts resolution on Kosovo

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on Kosovo, Serbian Glas Javnosti daily writes.
The resolution calls on all member states that have not recognized Kosovo to do it.
“22 countries have recognized Kosovo’s independence and five have not done this. In order for the European policy to be more effective the member states should enhance their joint approach in Kosovo,” the resolution reads.

The document was supported by 455 MEPs and 150 voted against.

Balkan leaders discuss EU integration

European Union and Balkan leaders held talks on Friday to discuss the region's integration into the bloc and the challenges it faces due to the global economic crisis.

"All of us here are striving for the same goal -- eventual integration of southeastern European countries in the Euro-Atlantic political and security framework," Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said on opening the two-day meeting.

About 15 prime ministers and foreign ministers from the region and the European Union gathered in the southern Adriatic resort of Dubrovnik, the Croatian foreign ministry said.

Croatia hopes to conclude membership talks with Brussels by the end of the year and become a full-fledged EU member by 2012.

"Croatia sends a positive message to all countries aspiring to join the European family," Kosor said, adding that Zagreb would strongly support the others on that path.

The integration of the volatile Balkans region, torn apart by wars in the 1990s, would "strengthen the security of European territory," she said.

President Ivo Josipovic said that EU membership would "determine the development of this part of the world in a permanent and key way."

"Both the EU and this gathering should send a clear message that there is a place in the EU for all southeastern European countries -- it is a message of optimism, encouragement," Josipovic said.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the region's future was within the EU, but stressed that if the countries want to join the bloc they need to undergo "deep transformations" in all fields.

"That is why Croatia's success in the process of joining the EU is so important," he said, adding that Zagreb could serve an "example in the region."

EU enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele and several NATO officials also attended the meeting.

Other prime ministers in attendance were Bulgaria's Boyko Borisov, Poland's Donald Tusk, Slovenia's Borut Pahor, Albania's Sali Berisha and Hashim Thaci of Kosovo.

Serbia boycotted the meeting to protest the presence of representatives from Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move recognised by the United States and most EU member states, but challenged by Belgrade.

Serbia is challenging the legality of Kosovo's independence declaration before the UN International Court of Justice, which is expected to give a non-binding opinion in the coming months.

Fillon in Dubrovnik said he hopes that the ICJ's opinion helps establish a productive dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

"We all wish for this calm dialogue, since it will strengthen the stability of the Western Balkans and since it is needed for both Serbia's and Kosovo's approach to the EU," Fillon said.

Bentler says NATO concerned about northern Kosovo

KFOR Commander Markus Bentler said on Thursday (July 8th) that NATO is concerned about situation in northern Kosovo. He urged the public to refrain from violence and for authorities to find those responsible for the bomb attack during a demonstration in Mitrovica a week ago that left one person dead and 11 injured. It happened during a rally against the opening of a Kosovo government office in the Serb-dominated town. Bentler said that KFOR was informed of the government's plan to open the office but was not involved in the decision. "We are not a part of the political process," he noted.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci urged Belgrade to distance itself from inciting violence in Kosovo. At a government meeting, he said that Pristina will not drop its efforts to make courts and the customs agency functional in the north. Interior Minister Bajram Rexhepi stressed that the rule of law and order will prevail in Mitrovica "despite Belgrade's attempts to destabilise the situation". 

Serbia begins exhuming Kosovo war mass grave

Serbian authorities Thursday began exhuming one of the country's largest mass graves believed to contain the bodies of more than 250 Kosovo Albanians killed in the 1998-99 conflict.

"We will only take soil samples today and send them for laboratory analysis to test for the presence of organic matter in the soil" which could indicate the presence of human remains, investigative judge Milan Dilparic of the special Serbian war crimes chamber said.

He did not say when the first results of the probe, carried out in the presence of two forensic scientists from the EU mission to Kosovo EULEX and Kosovo officials, would be announced.

"We don't have a mandate here. We can only observe but it is good that something is undertaken to prove or deny this case. It has been a long time and the time has come to solve this case positively or negatively," Tarja Formisto of the EULEX team charged with handling the issue of missing persons in Kosovo said.

The EULEX representatives "have the possibility to make suggestions but they will not participate in the digging, they will not participate in the analysis done in Belgrade laboratories and do not have the right to question witnesses," judge Dilparic said.

The Serbian authorities in May announced the discovery of the site at Rudnica, near the southwestern town of Raska, three kilometers (two miles) from the border with Kosovo.

It is one of a number where forces under then-strongman Slobodan Milosevic moved civilian remains from Kosovo at the end of the war and reburied them elsewhere in Serbia in a bid to hide war crimes.

More than 800 bodies of Kosovo Albanians were exhumed from three mass graves found in Serbia in 2001.

A total of 1,862 people are still unaccounted for from the Kosovo war between ethnic Albanian separatists and the Serbian military. More than 1,000 are from Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority.

The conflict in Kosovo claimed the lives of around 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians. The war ended after a NATO bombing campaign in 1999 ousted Serb forces from the province, which was then put under UN administration.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 — a move recognized by the United States and most EU member states, but challenged by Belgrade.

PROPONENTS OF KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE INCREASING PRESSURE

President of the Serbian Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee Dragoljub Micunovic, said that the adoption of European Parliament resolution, which calls on all EU member states to recognize Kosovo's independence, represents increased pressure of those supporting the unilateral act of Pristina. Micunovic also pointed out that now we should wait for the end of the month and the advisory opinion of the ICJ on the legality of the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo and then, as he said, come out with a real policy. In that regard, nothing should be intensified now and we should wait for the ICJ to issue an advisory opinion, Micunovic told for TV B92.

Blair: EU door is opened for Kosovo

The former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair said in front of MPs of Kosovo’s Parliament that Kosovo’s independence was a right action and a fact that will continue. Blair requested from the officials of Kosovo’s institutions to work for membership in European Union, adding that EU has opened the door, whereas Kosovo has to enter.

EU President Voices Concern Over Kosovo Violence

EU President Herman Van Rompuy has voiced concern about the apparent escalation of violence in northern Kosovo.

Van Rompuy, who is on a tour of former Yugoslavia, was speaking on July 5 after an unidentified gunman shot and wounded an ethnic Serbian member of Kosovo's parliament.

Petar Miletic was shot outside his home in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica. Miletic is one of 10 Serbian deputies in the 120-seat parliament.

The attack came after one person was killed and several injured in an explosion during a Serbian protest rally in Mitrovica on July 2.

Van Rompuy is due to arrive on a visit to Kosovo today.

Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

Russia denounces Mitrovica terror attack

Russia strongly denounces the terror attack in Northern Mitrovica during a Serbian demonstration against Kosovo authorities on July 2nd.

Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin told this to an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

One person died and several others were injured in the attack.

The diplomat said Russia has repeatedly drawn the attention of the world community to the instability in the region.

He expressed condolences to the relatives of the victim and those injured.

Serbia President Chides UN Over 'Unprovoked Violence' in Kosovo

Serbian President Boris Tadic has told the UN Security Council that two bombs hurled at Serbian protesters in Kosovo's northern town of Mitrovica on July 2 were "unprovoked violence."

Tadic warned the "ethnic Albanian" authorities in Kosovo against unilateralism and also warned that Serbia would reevaluate its relations with the "international presence" in Kosovo is such actions continue.

One person was killed and at least 12 others wounded when two bombs were thrown at Serbian protesters.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after nearly a decade after NATO forces intervened to stop a Serbian campaign against separatist ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

NATO continues to help provide security in Kosovo.

Kosovo's Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni said Serbia should "stop interfering, stop manipulating Kosovo Serbs."

EU President Herman Van Rompuy recently voiced concern about the apparent escalation of violence in northern Kosovo.

U.N. concerned about conflict in Kosovo

Tensions between Albanian and Serbian communities in Kosovo are far worse than usual, representatives to the United Nations warned.

Kosovo authorities opened a center Friday in the ethnically mixed city of Mitrovica to provide residents with birth certificates,travel documents and other identification cards.

Thousands of people turned out to protest the inauguration of the center. An explosion killed a Kosovo Bosniak doctor who wasn't taking part in the demonstrations and at least 11 other Kosovo Serbs were injured during the protests.

On Monday, Petar Miletic, a Serb member of the Assembly of Kosovo, was injured when unknown assailants shot him in the legs outside his home in the city.

Lamberto Zannier, the U.N. special envoy to Kosovo, told the U.N. Security Council the situation in Mitrovica was a sign Kosovo Serbs are opposed to the authority in the north of the country.

He told the Security Council that dialogue was needed because the situation was deteriorating in parts of the country.

"Events over the past few days point to the need to initiate this dialogue as a matter of urgency," he said.

Serbia starts investigation of mass grave believed to contain bodies of Kosovo victims

Investigators have started work at a mass grave believed to contain more than 250 bodies of Kosovo Albanians killed by Serb troops during the 1998-99 war there, an official said Thursday.

Serbia's deputy war crimes prosecutor Bruno Vekaric said an investigative judge, experts and officials from a European Union mission in Kosovo are analyzing the ground at the site in southern Serbia, near the border with Kosovo, where the victims are believed to have been secretly buried in May or June 1999.

Vekaric said the investigation started Thursday. He explained experts will analyze the composition of the ground and check whether it had been moved in order to confirm that the bodies are there as witnesses reported.

Vekaric could not say how long the initial analysis might take. He said exhumations will follow.

Serbia's prosecutors believe the bodies of slain Kosovo Albanians were buried under a building and parking lot in the southern Serbian village of Rudnica. They say that the bodies initially had been buried in another mass grave inside Kosovo but were unearthed and brought to Serbia to hide atrocities committed during the war.

Serbia was ruled at the time by nationalist leader Slobodan Milosevic, whose brutal crackdown against the separatists in Kosovo prompted NATO to bomb Serbia for 78 days in 1999 to force it to relinquish control over the region.

Investigation in Serbia of war crimes committed by Milosevic's troops became possible after he was ousted from power in 2000 by a pro-Western coalition. Milosevic died in 2006 while being tried for genocide at a U.N. tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, for atrocities in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

Tensions flare amid ethnic violence in north Kosovo

Ethnic tensions ran high in northern Kosovo on Tuesday after a series of violent incidents that threaten to destablize the Balkans ahead of the International Court of Justice's decision on Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia.


A Serbian member of the Kosovo parliament was shot four times outside his home Monday after an explosion rocked a Serbian protest Friday, killing one and injuring 11.


Serbian President Boris Tadic spoke of the second event Tuesday during an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council. "Serbs came in peace," he said, "yet they were met with unprovoked violence."


Both events occurred in Mitrovica, a city of about 100,000 that sits astride the Ibar River, a rough boundary separating Kosovo's majority-Albanian heartland from its ethnic-Serbian enclaves in the north.


"The events of the last few days are quite worrisome amid the relative calm that ensued after Kosovo's declaration of independence," said Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow for Europe Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.


He added that the level of ethnic violence that followed secession was "much lower than many people expected."


"Mitrovica and the area north of Mitrovica — what's generally referred to as Northern Kosovo — is predominantly Serb," he said. "And that part of Kosovo, even though it is technically part of Kosovo proper, is in many respects de-facto attached to Serbia."


Overall, about 90 percent Kosovo's estimated 1.8 million people are ethnic Albanians and most of the remainder are ethnic Serbs.


Since Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, after almost nine years under U.N. receivership, Serbia — with support from ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo — has waged a fierce diplomatic struggle to bring the breakaway province back into its orbit. In October 2008, the U.N. General Assembly — at the behest of Serbia — referred the case to the international court.


While the court's "advisory opinion" is officially nonbinding, it could have enormous diplomatic consequences on Kosovo's standing in the international community.


So far, 69 of 192 U.N. member states have recognized the Republic of Kosovo. Most of those announcements came in the months following the declaration, but it is widely thought that a favorable ruling from the international court would open the floodgates of recognition.


Serbia, meanwhile, hopes that an opinion to its liking could force the Kosovars back to the negotiating table.


Some observers say Serbia might be open to a face-saving compromise under which it would recognize an independent Kosovo in return for gaining sovereignty over the majority-Serb north, but Kosovo — with the support of the United States and the European Union — has balked at any talk of partition.


It remains unclear whether further outbreaks of violence or a mixed ruling from the international court could change the equation.


"That issue still percolates beneath the surface," said Mr. Kupchan. "And it's conceivable that the kind of violence that we're seeing now in the divided city of Mitrovica could be the precursor to a reconsideration of the future of the north."


In the interim, the war of words between Belgrade and Pristina has escalated.


Last Tuesday, The Washington Times reported that Serbia Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic had made comments appearing to hint that Serbia would not abide by an internationa court decision in Kosovo's favor.


"The unilateral declaration of independence is something that Serbia is not going to accept," he said. "This is the truth, and it's a truth that's not going to change."


On Thursday, Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci expressed confidence to the Serbian weekly NIN that the mother country would eventually change its position, saying that high-ranking officials had given him "informal confirmation that Belgrade would one day recognize Kosovo."


An aide to Mr. Jeremic dismissed the report. "This is nonsense," he said. "There is no politician in Serbia who would say something like that, neither in public nor privately."


Though Belgrade reluctantly recognized Montenegro after its people narrowly passed a 2006 referendum to break their union with Serbia, the country has drawn a red line with Kosovo, which it considers the cradle of Serbian culture.


In Kosovo, memories of violent persecution at the hands of Slobodan Milosevic remain fresh, and while the government in Belgrade has changed, the desire of most Kosovars to chart their own destiny has not.


But for countries on the sidelines, the rival historical narratives have for the most part taken a back seat to dueling interpretations of international law, given that the precedent set by the court could have implications for secessionist territories around the world — and for the countries from which they wish to break away.


The international court case has attracted a record 35 briefs from third-party countries.


In these documents, Serbia's allies — such as Russia, China, and Spain — emphasize the importance of respecting states' territorial integrity, while Kosovo's friends — among them the United States and most other Western nations — have deferred to the timeworn principle of self-determination.


The Serbian government has made reclaiming Kosovo one of its top priorities — on par with, if not more important than, entering the European Union. Serbian diplomats, like Mr. Jeremic, have been crisscrossing the globe to make the case that Kosovo remains a rightful part of Serbia.


Meanwhile, Kosovo has focused internally on building the institutions of a fledgling state.


But Kosovars, too, realize the importance of global legitimacy. There is even a low-budget website, KosovoThanksYou.com, devoted to expressing gratitude to countries that have accepted Kosovo as a peer in the community of nations.


In that struggle, Kosovo has found strong support from the White House — both from President Bush, who recognized the breakaway province the day after its declaration of independence, and from President Obama, whose administration submitted a friendly brief to the international court last year.


"Kosovo's independence has closed one of the most tragic chapters of modern European history — the violent breakup of Yugoslavia," says the written statement. "Now, the time has come to look to the future."