Serbia Adopts Resolution On Kosovo
By Bojana Barlovac
Serbian Parliament has adopted a resolution on Kosovo which condemns all violence and calls for peaceful resolution of the crisis in Kosovo.The resolution was adopted after midnight on Sunday with 181 votes in favour, 20 against, four abstained, while two MPs chose not to vote. There were 207 out of 250 MPs present.
The resolution states the government’s obligation to request from the international missions, in accordance with their mandate and framework set by Resolution 1244, not to allow unilateral activities of the Pristina institutions which jeopardize peace, stability, and the possibility of finding a compromise solution, and alter the existing situation in the field.
The document also states that parliament supports the government in continuing the dialogue with Pristina, with the aim to find solutions to concrete problems of Serbs in Kosovo, as well as to reach a permanent and compromise solution.
Serbian parliamentarians debated for ten hours about the document on Kosovo at an extraordinary parliamentary session on Saturday.
Opposition Democratic Party of Serbia, DSS, and Liberal Democratic Party, LDP, were the only ones to vote against the document.
Serbian President Boris Tadic adrressed parliament after the debate, before the voting took place, shortly after midnight.
Tadic stressed that peace has no alternative, and that Serbia’s most important goal is to maintain peace.
“We are making a great effort, after the political changes in Serbia in 2000, to make a shift in policy and change all those instruments that have brought us to unsuccessful solutions and to establish a policy that leads to positive solutions,” Tadic told parliamentarians.
The President also noted that Serbia cannot solve problems without cooperation with the international community.
The latest crisis in the Serb-run north of Kosovo started on Monday night, when Kosovo special police took over two checkpoints in a move to enforce a recent order from Pristina, banning the import of goods from Serbia.
The special police soon encountered stiff resistance from local Serbs, culminating in the torching of one of the border crossings on Wednesday night. One Kosovo policeman was killed in a fire fight.
Border crossings of Jarinje and Brnjak are closed for three days after NATO has declared them restricted military zone and authorized the use od deadly force in case KFOR troops come under attack.
