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US CONGRATULATES KOSOVO CITIZENS NEW CONSTITUTION ENACTMENT
WASHINGTON, June 16 (Tanjug) - The United States congratulated on Sunday the Kosovo citizens on the entry into force of their new constitution, US State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said."
This constitution enshrines the aspiration and determination of Kosovo's citizens to create a democratic, multi-ethnic state that is fully integrated into the Euro-Atlantic community," Gallegos said. The United States particularly welcomes the incorporation into the constitution of the broad minority rights protections originally proposed by UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, the State Department spokesman pointed out. Gallegos added that Kosovo's leaders must now work to translate the lofty principles in their constitution into "tangible improvements in the lives of all citizens."
NEW ID CARDS IN KOSOVO AS OF JULY 15
PRISTINA, June 16 (Beta) - . New identification cards will be issued in Kosovo starting July 15, but the current documents will not need to be replaced before they expire, BETA learned in the Kosovo Interior Ministry on June 16.
New identification and travel documents will have protections in line with EU standards. The Interior Ministry will also start issuing new driver's license.
Those who do not have an UNMIK identification card and wish to get a new one should first register with the Civil Registry of Kosovo Citizens, which has opened in municipal centers.
In order to register, a person should be living in or returning to Kosovo.
Returnees should supply documents to support their intention to resettle in Kosovo, prove their identity and permanent residence in Kosovo over the past period using the documents of the former Yugoslavia, and should report in person at a Civil Registry.
The basic criteria for registration is that a person or one of his/her parents was born in Kosovo and that he/she has lived in Kosovo for an uninterrupted period of at least five years, except in cases in which they were forced to leave, which requires adequate proof.
VATICAN DOES NOT INTEND TO RECOGNIZE KOSOVO SOON, CASPER
MOSCOW, June 16 (Tanjug) - The Vatican has not recognized the independence of Kosovo and Metohija and does not intend to do so in the near future, the Chairman of the Pontificial Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Walter Casper, said on Monday.
The Holy See has not recognized Kosovo as an independent state and does not plan to do so in the near future, Cardinal Casper told the latest issue of Russia weekly Itogi. The Cardinal, who paid a private visit to Russia in late May during which he met with Russian Orthodox Church (RPC) head Patriarch Alexei II, said that The Vatican understands the concern of Russia and RPC over the Kosovo problem. We also understand that Kosovo is the cradle of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), Cardinal Casper set out, adding that the Holy See's position is that all national minorities are entitled to social, religious and cultural self-determination, including the Kosovo Albanians and the Serb minority which currently lives in the territory of Kosovo. The Cardinal stated that the Serbs are seriously limited in the realization of these rights. Itogi described Casper as one of the most influential church dignitaries, the best Vatican diplomat and someone who enjoys the trust of current Pope Benedict XVI.
CONGRESSMAN: SUPPORT TO KOSOVO WILL NOT DIMINISH
PRISTINA, June 16 (Beta) - U.S. Congressman Eliot Engel said in Pristina on June 16 that his country's support to Kosovo would not cease regardless of who is elected the new U.S. president. He added that the support would even intensify after the presidential vote in the U.S.
Speaking at a formal session of the Kosovo Assembly on the occasion of the new Kosovo Constitution taking effect, Engel said Kosovo's independence "is a successful story about joint achievements." Engel stressed that the world's youngest country needed concrete support in the form of investments, reduction of the unemployment rate, and fight against corruption.
Engel further said he had fought for an independent and sovereign Kosovo for decades, which became a reality on Feb. 17 and stressed that the U.S. would always stand by Kosovo so that it could be a democratic and united state.
"I always say that the people of Kosovo are the best friends of the U.S. and that is for sure. But, at the same time, the Americans are the best friends of the Kosovo people," Engel noted and added that he felt at home in Kosovo.
Engel and Congresswoman Jean Schmidt were in a U.S. congressional delegation that attended the festivities marking the Kosovo Constitution taking effect.
EU MINISTERS GIVE POSITIVE VIEW ON BAN PROPOSAL
LUXEMBOURG, June 16 (Tanjug) - Foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) today expressed very positive views on the proposal of United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the reconfiguration of UNMIK in Kosovo, press spokesperson Christina Gallack of the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana said in statement for Tanjug in Luxembourg on Monday.
The ministers gave very positive views on Ban's proposal, she said. The proposal opens possibilities for the deployment of the EULEX, Gallach said, speaking after one part of the EU Council of Ministers meeting ended in Luxembourg. The ministers were discussing the situation in the Western Balkans region. Gallach said that 300 members of the EU mission - to which Kosovo Serbs, Belgrade and Moscow are strongly opposed - have been deployed in Kosovo so far. During a brief debate on the situation in Serbia, the ministers also welcomed the arrest of Stojan Zupljanin, an indictee of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, Gallach said.
FEITH SAYS BAN'S PROPOSAL PAVES WAY FOR DIVISION OF KOSOVO
LONDON, June 16 (Tanjug) - EU special envoy for Kosovo Peter Feith has said that the assurances of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon that status quo would be maintained in the mostly Serb-populated parts of Kosovo led to a "functional partition."
Speaking for the Financial Times, Feith said that Ban's assurances on the maintenance of the status quo in Serb-majority areas for a "limited duration" left space for Belgrade to run northern Kosovo and achieve "functional partition." The Dutch diplomat believes that the plan for Kosovo's statehood is moving forward despite the legal stumbles. "The secretary-general's report has recognized the coming into force of the constitution as a reality on the ground," Feith said and added that "this is shorthand for recognizing the independence of Kosovo."
MOSCOW: KOSOVO CONSTITUTION VIOLATES RESOLUTION 1244
MOSCOW, June 16 (Beta) - The coming into force of the Constitution of Kosovo represents a violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on June 16.
"That act is only one in a line of measures aimed at a self-willed attempt to attain territorial sovereignty and create a policy of violating international law, and only contributes to a tense situation in Kosovo as well as to the isolation of the Serbs," said the Ministry's announcement as reported by the RIA Novosti news agency.
The Russian Ministry added that Pristina, by showing its intention to limit cooperation with the U.N. Mission in Kosovo, had seriously violated Resolution 1244, stipulating that UNMIK should play a key role in Kosovo.
MILIBAND: KOSOVO CONSTITUTION IMPORTANT STEP TOWARD EU
LUXENBOURG, June 16 (Beta) - British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on June 16 that the proclamation of Kosovo's constitution was a step taking Kosovo further away from conflict and closer to "a democratic, multiethnic and European future."
In a statement dispatched to BETA, Miliband stated that the Kosovo government had now assumed its "full responsibilities," with assistance from the International Civilian Office.
Reminding that, over the last nine years, the U.N. Mission in Kosovo had played a necessary role in the stabilization and development of Kosovo, Miliband pointed out that the U.N. would continue to have an important role, in addition to KFOR and the European judicial and police mission EULEX.
All this, together with a EUR400 million program of economic support which the European Union has pledged to Kosovo, testifies to the international community's dedication to Kosovo and the region. "They have Britain's full support," Miliband added.
The key challenges for an independent Kosovo include stability and prosperity for all its peoples and ensuring that the rights of all communities are upheld, the British foreign secretary said.
"I strongly believe in the European future of the whole Western Balkans. It is what the people of the region want and deserve. The UK will work energetically with all those in the region that share this vision and are committed to this goal," he stressed.
PRISTINA, June 16 (Beta) - UNMIK chief Joachim Ruecker stated on June 16 that he will no longer head the U.N. Mission in Kosovo, and that UNMIK will remain in Kosovo while U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244 is in effect and that it will adapt to the new circumstances.
After meeting with Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu, Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, Kosovo Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi and International Civilian Office in Kosovo head Pieter Feith, Ruecker said that UNMIK will remain in Kosovo but with limited authority.
"For as long as Resolution 1244 is in effect, the U.N. will carry out its role in Kosovo," said Ruecker, adding that this is "clear" from a letter sent to Kosovo President Sejdiu by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.
Ruecker reiterated that UNMIK will adapt to the "changing circumstances."
It is expected that Ruecker and his first deputy, Larry Rossin, will leave Kosovo on June 20, with the candidate most likely to head the reformed UNMIK being Italian diplomat Lamberto Zanieri.
KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE WILL DESTABILIZE BALKANS - VOA OFFICIAL
BELGRADE, Jun 16 (Tanjug) - The process of recognizing independence of Kosovo-Metohija continues with conditions and pressures on states which hesitate to accept the "new reality", which can cause long-term instability in the Balkans, acting Director of the Serbian Military Intelligence Agency (VOA) Brigadier Zdravko Jelisavcic said.
The unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence endangers primarily the survival and interests of Serbs and other non-Albanians in the province, who will be forced to live in a foreign country, he told military magazine Odbrana (Defense). The unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence also undermines Serbia's democratic endeavors and trust in European Union institutions, he said. Despite NATO assessment that the situation in the region is stable and better than expected, facts demonstrate that the security situation is disturbed in the long run, as Kosovo independence and its recognition are encouraging separatist aspirations in the region and elsewhere, Jelisavcic said.
The international community and especially the EU are facing a very complex issue and a possibility of the creation in the Balkans of more "unsuccessful states" which will not have authority over their entire territories, he said. The very difficult economic and social situation, especially the high unemployment rate, has resulted in expansion of organized crime, corruption, drug and people trafficking and ethnic and religious extremism, he said. These threats are reflected in the complexity of the structure of ethnic Albanian organized crime and the role of former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders in control of illegal trade in the zones it used to hold, he noted.