Serbia proposed near-complete independence for Kosovo Sunday,
urging the province's ethnic Albanian separatists to accept the
offer of broad autonomy and drop their demand for formal
secession.
Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica described his vision of
Kosovo's future as "supervised autonomy" - as opposed to the
"supervised independence" recently proposed by a UN envoy. Either
way, foreign civilian and military officials would supervise Kosovo
for years to ensure peace and democracy in the tense province.
"Supervised autonomy is the true compromise that eliminates any
extreme outcome," Kostunica said in a statement, alluding to the so
far stubborn stands by Serbs, who vow not to give up their
historical heartland, and the ethnic Albanians, who are a
90-percent majority in the province and insist on full
secession.
"(Kosovo) Albanians will be able to take their future in their
own hands and protect their interests, while Serbia would preserve
its sovereignty and territorial integrity," Kostunica said,
outlining his offer. He did not offer specifics, but said those
were presented to the UN Security Council ambassadors during their
recent visit to Serbia.
Kostunica's overture is an attempt to sink the standing UN plan
for Kosovo, created by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari,
which is being discussed at the UN Security Council.
Serbian officials have repeatedly blasted Ahtisaari's plan as a
violation of UN rules because it opens the way for a formal change
of borders, effectively causing Serbia a loss of 15 percent of its
territory.
"Serbia is ready to make a significant step in finding a good,
sustainable solution for Kosovo," the conservative, nationalist
prime minister said. The ethnic Albanians have said they would
settle for nothing less than full independence.
The 1998-99 war in Kosovo between Serbs and ethnic Albanians
ended with NATO's bombing of the Serbs, forcing them to halt their
crackdown on the separatists and pull out.
A UN administration has run Kosovo as a protectorate since 1999.
It is to be replaced by a similar European Union mission, which is
to monitor and regulate further development of Kosovo.
(China Daily via agencies April 30, 2007)
