Serbia plans wholesale rejection of Kosovo state

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia intends to declare Kosovo's proclamation of independence annulled in advance as an illegal act by "terrorists" to set up a fictitious state, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said on Tuesday.

Its annulment will be the centerpiece of a "Thursday of rejection" ahead of Kosovo's independence declaration on Sunday.

"We have made a decision that the Serbian government will on Thursday, in advance, annul all acts that are against the law which concern a unilateral proclamation of the independence of this fictitious state on Serbian territory," he said.

"We shall not allow such a creation to exist for a minute. It has to be legally annulled the moment it is illegally proclaimed by a leadership of convicted terrorists."

His statement was issued as Serbia's deeply divided coalition government tried to close ranks ahead of the loss of its southern province.

The National Security Council was meeting to discuss secret "action plans" by Serbian ministries to counter the independence declaration.

"The action plan for our ministry does not include radical steps such as cutting diplomatic ties with the countries that recognize Kosovo," said a foreign ministry source.

The defence ministry ruled out military intervention and the energy ministry said electricity supplies to Kosovo would not be cut off. But there were reports in Kosovo that Serbia planned to disrupt telephone and internet service.

Leaders of the breakaway province's 90 percent Albanian majority are due to proclaim unilateral independence on Sunday. Recognition by the United States is expected on Monday, according to Serbian political sources.

The majority of the European Union's 27 member countries also plan to recognize the new state. Their foreign ministers meet on Monday.

But Serbia's ally Russia will denounce it as illegal.

SERBS IN KOSOVO

Serbia has asked for a U.N. Security Council meeting on Thursday, to coincide with its formal rejection of independence, and Russia intends to back the request.

The Kosovo daily Koha Ditore reported that Belgrade would order Kosovo Serbs to quit the Kosovo Police Force, and end all cooperation in education, health care and social institutions.

Albanians in Kosovo number 2 million. There are about 120,000 Serbs, roughly half of whom live in isolated enclaves and half in a northern redoubt around the city of Mitrovica, which Serbia may move to partition.

One leader of Kosovo's Serb minority, Oliver Ivanovic, said: "Serbia's top state officials will be responsible if Serbs leave their homes in Kosovo and head to Serbia after the declaration of Kosovo's independence."

The Fonet agency quoted Ivanovic as calling on Serbia's president, prime minister and parliament speaker to issue an appeal to Serbs not to leave Kosovo.

He did not fear a mass exodus, he said, but "there are already indications that people will send their children away from Kosovo for fear of incidents".

(Additional reporting by Ksenija Prodanovic, Ivana Sekularac, Ljilja Cvekic and Gordana Filipovic; editing by Andrew Roche)