Dacic: Kosovo Serbs should get region
Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said in an interview for German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) that Serbia does not want a small state in Kosovo-Metohija, such as Republika Srpska in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but rather that Serbs in the province be allowed to unite in a region that would be one of several regions in Kosovo.
(kosovocompromisestuff) Tuesday, April 09, 2013
A region such as other European regions, Dacic said, adding that in this case the so-called parallel Serbian institutions in Kosovo could be established by the model of the European Charter of Self-Government.
When reminded that he once said that the preamble of the Serbian Constitution, according to which Kosovo is part of Serbia, is not helpful, and asked whether he is for constitutional changes, Dacic said this is not easy to do, because it requires a referendum.
We have politicians in the country who insist that reality should be constitution-oriented. But this is not the case here. Reality in Kosovo is completely different, Dacic told FAZ.
Asked whether Belgrade is ready to give the same powers to ethnic Albanians in southern Serbia as the ones it requests for Serbs in Kosovo, the prime minister said this cannot be compared, because the situation is different.
"Ever since the adoption of the Constitution from 1974, (ethnic) Albanians in Kosovo have been enjoying autonomy within Serbia. There are only three majority-Albanian municipalities in southern Serbia and they must follow the laws and the rights of minorities, which are probably the most liberal ones in Europe," Dacic noted.
When asked if it is true that Belgrade and Pristina could agree in principle on land-swap between northern Kosovo and a majority-Albanian region in the Presevo Valley in southern Serbia, but that the U.S. does not allow Kosovo to negotiate on that, Dacic said that "Serbs and Albanians could easily agree to a land swap."
But that would not be acceptable to Washington. The view here is that this could lead to a war in Macedonia, he added.
Dacic said he does not share this view and asked why Macedonia should be threatened by such a (land-swap) solution.
Asked whether the Albanian-Serbian talks in Brussels offer a chance for a solution, Dacic said that the chance lies in the amalgamation of Serb municipalities in Kosovo, proposed by Belgrade, which is acceptable to both ethnic Albanians and Serbs.
We differ only in terms of powers that the municipalities should have. Pristina wants the smallest possible powers for them, because Albanians fear that one such powerful association can generate separatism. Again, this is completely unfounded, the Serbian prime minister pointed out.
We live in a Europe with hundreds of regions, which partially have great powers and are not a destabilizing factor by any means - on the contrary. We have no interests in destabilizing Kosovo. It is important that there is peace there, Dacic concluded.
When reminded that he once said that the preamble of the Serbian Constitution, according to which Kosovo is part of Serbia, is not helpful, and asked whether he is for constitutional changes, Dacic said this is not easy to do, because it requires a referendum.
We have politicians in the country who insist that reality should be constitution-oriented. But this is not the case here. Reality in Kosovo is completely different, Dacic told FAZ.
Asked whether Belgrade is ready to give the same powers to ethnic Albanians in southern Serbia as the ones it requests for Serbs in Kosovo, the prime minister said this cannot be compared, because the situation is different.
"Ever since the adoption of the Constitution from 1974, (ethnic) Albanians in Kosovo have been enjoying autonomy within Serbia. There are only three majority-Albanian municipalities in southern Serbia and they must follow the laws and the rights of minorities, which are probably the most liberal ones in Europe," Dacic noted.
When asked if it is true that Belgrade and Pristina could agree in principle on land-swap between northern Kosovo and a majority-Albanian region in the Presevo Valley in southern Serbia, but that the U.S. does not allow Kosovo to negotiate on that, Dacic said that "Serbs and Albanians could easily agree to a land swap."
But that would not be acceptable to Washington. The view here is that this could lead to a war in Macedonia, he added.
Dacic said he does not share this view and asked why Macedonia should be threatened by such a (land-swap) solution.
Asked whether the Albanian-Serbian talks in Brussels offer a chance for a solution, Dacic said that the chance lies in the amalgamation of Serb municipalities in Kosovo, proposed by Belgrade, which is acceptable to both ethnic Albanians and Serbs.
We differ only in terms of powers that the municipalities should have. Pristina wants the smallest possible powers for them, because Albanians fear that one such powerful association can generate separatism. Again, this is completely unfounded, the Serbian prime minister pointed out.
We live in a Europe with hundreds of regions, which partially have great powers and are not a destabilizing factor by any means - on the contrary. We have no interests in destabilizing Kosovo. It is important that there is peace there, Dacic concluded.
