Thursday, 4 May 2006
SRSG Speech to the Heads of State and Government, ThessalonikiThank you for the initiative and opportunity to give Kosovo a voice in the SEECP. I am pleased to be here with the President of Kosovo, Fatmir Sejdiu, and am pleased to follow President Martti Ahtisaari in speaking. We are doing whatever we can to support the complex task of the Status Envoy and his team.
The holding operation in Kosovo - led by UNMIK for almost seven years - is no longer sustainable. We are close to reaching the limits of what we can achieve in the absence of a lasting solution, and in the absence of clarity of status - both deferred for seven years.
We now need clarity of status so that we can move forward - on all fronts, notably on further local ownership, the economy, reconciliation, and regional co-operation.So, I welcome the Contact Group's statements that 2006 should see determination of the status of Kosovo. It is important for moving from a holding operation to a lasting solution, and important for the region so that Kosovo and the region can focus all energies on further normalisation, stabilisation, economic development and integration - and the European perspective.
There has been a fundamental change in the political landscape in Kosovo during the last three months and following the death of Ibrahim Rugova. The changes were in full accordance with democratic procedures, and were signs of growing political maturity. The new leadership was certainly motivated by the Contact Group statement that the status settlement should be acceptable to the majority population, but is also fully aware that it is the responsibility of the majority to make the status settlement acceptable to the minority population, particularly Kosovo Serbs.
We are now seeing a reinvigorated determination and commitment towards the implementation of Standards, to reach out to the Kosovo Serbs and bring them into Kosovar society. In the next months, I expect to report to the UN Security Council good progress and positive trends towards building a multi-ethnic, democratic society in Kosovo.
But while prospects of status are stimulating important action on the part of the majority population, the same prospects are provoking anxiety among many Kosovo Serbs. More than ever, therefore, it is the moment to build confidence, the moment to reassure Kosovo Serbs about a safe and dignified future for them in Kosovo. It is also the moment for the Kosovo Serbs to embrace those reassurances.
Unfortunately, Kosovo Serbs - the majority of which wish to stay in Kosovo - are being deprived of the opportunity to be part of building the future. For more than two years, Kosovo Serb leaders wanting to engage have been waiting and asking for active encouragement from Belgrade to take up their reserved seats in the Assembly and reserved ministerial positions in the Government.
I am also very concerned about a recent decision by the CCK [Co-ordination Centre for Kosovo] to force Kosovo Serbs to choose between parallel structures funded from Belgrade and the legal structures in Kosovo based on UNSCR 1244 and funded from the Kosovo Consolidated Budget.
It is unfortunate that at a time when talks in Vienna are ongoing and there are strengthened efforts in Kosovo, primarily aimed at addressing Kosovo Serb concerns and needs in a future Kosovo so that they remain an integral part of a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural Kosovo, Belgrade is depriving the Kosovo Serbs of the opportunity to engage and is forcing them to choose between Belgrade and Pristina. This risks provoking a further isolation of Kosovo Serbs.
Among important Contact Group principles - a settlement acceptable to the majority, no partition, no union with neighbouring states - is also the principle of no return to the situation before March 1999. Indeed, Kosovo is determined to move forward and to be an active, integral part of a region that is pursuing the European perspective. Irrespective, but also in anticipation of status, Kosovo must be a permanent member of regional co-operation in the interest of regional security and stability, regional trade, integration, and growth. Leaving Kosovo out of regional co-operation will reduce effective co-operation on all fronts - for example the combat against regional organised crime, corruption, trafficking, or terrorism.
Bringing Kosovo into regional processes is in the interest of regional co-operation and is in accordance with the implementation of UNSCR 1244. As we move towards normalisation, stabilisation, and settlement of the status of Kosovo in this crucial year 2006, Kosovo looks forward to growing contacts within SEECP. I would like to thank the Greek Government for its strong and effective leadership, and look forward to working closely with the incoming Chair, Croatia.
Thank you very much.