Kosovo Will not Accept Conditional Independence

The president of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, stated on Nov. 16 that the Serbian government's resolution on Kosovo represented the political option that had led to the break up of the former Yugoslavia and the fight for territory. "The issue of Kosovo is primarily the issue of the political will of the citizens who live there. After the NATO intervention in 1999 and the establishment of international administration, Kosovo became an international issue and problem, so the Serbian Legislature and government have no possibility of influencing its future," Thaci said in an interview to BETA.

He expressed the conviction that Kosovo was prepared for the beginning of talks "on ways for building the country, and will not accept conditional independence," because such proposals resemble Belgrade's formula "more than autonomy, less than independence."

Thaci said the ideas about conditional independence should be dismissed, because they have no legitimacy or legality, and are in contradiction to the political will of the citizens of Kosovo. He added that such solutions would create more problems for Kosovo and the region, while full independence would solve the problems and open European prospects for Kosovo and the region.

He said "Pristina is prepared to secure more rights for the Serb citizens of Kosovo than Belgrade" and that "their future can be more secure in Pristina than it is now when they are being negatively influenced and manipulated by the present authorities in Belgrade" reports Beta. I.L.