Kosovo Serbs to form parliament, rejecting new state
By Branislav Krstic
MITROVICA, June 26 (Reuters) - Serbs in Kosovo's divided city of Mitrovica will establish their own assembly on Saturday in the latest challenge to the authority of the new state's ethnic Albanian leadership, officials said.
The parliament will not have any executive authority, but reflects a deepening ethnic partition of Kosovo since its Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia in February, backed by the West but opposed by Belgrade and its ally Russia.
"The U.N. mission and Kosovo institutions must accept reality," said Kosovo Serb hardline leader Milan Ivanovic.
"The parliament will have credibility and legitimacy based on the votes of two-thirds of Serbs in peaceful and democratic elections," he told Reuters on Thursday.
The assembly will be formed on the basis of May local elections conducted by Serbia in its former province, but declared illegal by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership and their United Nations overseers.
Though without powers, the assembly will bring together Serb local officials from across Kosovo and help "coordination" between Serbs and the United Nations, Ivanovic said.
Kosovo's new U.N. chief played down the move.
"As I understand, this is a kind of assembly of municipalities. It doesn't have any operational role, it's more symbolic," Italian diplomat Lamberto Zannier told reporters. "I don't think this really changes much the reality on the ground."
But Kosovo's President Fatmir Sejdiu condemned the initiative as illegal, "an attempt to destabilise Kosovo".
DIALOGUE
The assembly will be established on June 28, St Vitus' Day or Vidovdan - a date steeped in historical significance for Serbs as the anniversary of the 1389 epic Battle of Kosovo.
The Serbs lost to the Turks, raising the curtain on 500 years of Ottoman rule and resonating through Serb history.
Some 120,000 Serbs remain in Kosovo, just under half in the north centred on the flashpoint town of Mitrovica. The rest live in isolated enclaves surrounded by 2 million ethnic Albanians.
Serbia is backing the Kosovo Serbs in their rejection of the new state. They are boycotting the police force and courts, and burned down customs points on the northern border with Serbia.
The north, which backs onto Serbia, is beyond the institutional reach of Pristina and currently out of bounds for a new European Union police mission looking to take over law and order duties from the United Nations.
Zannier said on Wednesday he would seek to open dialogue with Belgrade on issues of policing, courts, transport, customs, religious heritage and boundaries in Serb areas.
The initiative is in line with proposals by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and indicative of Belgrade's political and financial grip on Serb areas.
The U.N. took control of the territory in 1999, when NATO bombs drove out Serb forces to halt their killing of Albanians in a two-year war against guerrillas. It has been recognised by 43 states, including the United States and most of the EU. (Additional reporting by Fatos Bytyci; writing by Matt Robinson; edited by Richard Meares)
MITROVICA, June 26 (Reuters) - Serbs in Kosovo's divided city of Mitrovica will establish their own assembly on Saturday in the latest challenge to the authority of the new state's ethnic Albanian leadership, officials said.
The parliament will not have any executive authority, but reflects a deepening ethnic partition of Kosovo since its Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia in February, backed by the West but opposed by Belgrade and its ally Russia.
"The U.N. mission and Kosovo institutions must accept reality," said Kosovo Serb hardline leader Milan Ivanovic.
"The parliament will have credibility and legitimacy based on the votes of two-thirds of Serbs in peaceful and democratic elections," he told Reuters on Thursday.
The assembly will be formed on the basis of May local elections conducted by Serbia in its former province, but declared illegal by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership and their United Nations overseers.
Though without powers, the assembly will bring together Serb local officials from across Kosovo and help "coordination" between Serbs and the United Nations, Ivanovic said.
Kosovo's new U.N. chief played down the move.
"As I understand, this is a kind of assembly of municipalities. It doesn't have any operational role, it's more symbolic," Italian diplomat Lamberto Zannier told reporters. "I don't think this really changes much the reality on the ground."
But Kosovo's President Fatmir Sejdiu condemned the initiative as illegal, "an attempt to destabilise Kosovo".
DIALOGUE
The assembly will be established on June 28, St Vitus' Day or Vidovdan - a date steeped in historical significance for Serbs as the anniversary of the 1389 epic Battle of Kosovo.
The Serbs lost to the Turks, raising the curtain on 500 years of Ottoman rule and resonating through Serb history.
Some 120,000 Serbs remain in Kosovo, just under half in the north centred on the flashpoint town of Mitrovica. The rest live in isolated enclaves surrounded by 2 million ethnic Albanians.
Serbia is backing the Kosovo Serbs in their rejection of the new state. They are boycotting the police force and courts, and burned down customs points on the northern border with Serbia.
The north, which backs onto Serbia, is beyond the institutional reach of Pristina and currently out of bounds for a new European Union police mission looking to take over law and order duties from the United Nations.
Zannier said on Wednesday he would seek to open dialogue with Belgrade on issues of policing, courts, transport, customs, religious heritage and boundaries in Serb areas.
The initiative is in line with proposals by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and indicative of Belgrade's political and financial grip on Serb areas.
The U.N. took control of the territory in 1999, when NATO bombs drove out Serb forces to halt their killing of Albanians in a two-year war against guerrillas. It has been recognised by 43 states, including the United States and most of the EU. (Additional reporting by Fatos Bytyci; writing by Matt Robinson; edited by Richard Meares)
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