Serbian official notes US Democrat leader

Serbian official notes US Democrat leader's interest in resolving Kosovo's status
BBC Monitoring - July 30, 2004

Excerpt from report by N. M. Jovanovic entilted: "Kerry's victory would be negative for Serbia"; published by Serbian newspaper Blic on 29 July

It appears that the US Democrats hold the view that the resolution of the Kosovo issue can no longer be put off and their candidate's victory would surely step up matters as far as the status of Kosovo is concerned, but would not be in line with Serbia's state interests.

Presidential candidate John Kerry yesterday promised a stepped-up resolution of the status of Kosovo, according to the BBC's Serbian-language service. In a statement primarily intended for voters of Albanian descent, Kerry said that, if he won, the United States would again assume the role of a leader in the Balkans and especially Kosovo.

The stepping-up of a decision on the final status of Kosovo is promised, any partitioning of the province along ethnic lines is rejected, and it is assessed that the "people of Kosovo must alone decide its future and system of government".

Cedomir Antic, adviser to Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus, has said that a Kerry victory would not be good news for Serbia.

"The Bush administration has been far more inclined to the Serbian side, as far as the resolution of the Kosovo problem is concerned, which has not been properly exploited. I am afraid that, if the Democrats take over, a solution will be found that will suit the Serbs far less than the Albanians," Antic said.

He said that the turning of Kosovo into a republic could mean the disintegration of the state community.

"In that kind of a state, in which the only common institutions would be the army and the Council of Ministers, the 2.5 million Albanians and about 600,000 Montenegrins would have more power than the 6.5 million citizens of Serbia who have the right to vote," Antic said. He added that Kerry's election as US president would step up that kind of solutions.

"Let me recall that Morton Abramovich said earlier that Kosovo would be given the same status as Serbia and Montenegro. That would be something between a confederation and a union of independent states. We have been underestimating the role of the United States so far and we will pay for this. The Serbian authorities have in the past four years pursued a tragically passive policy," Antic said, adding that that "is obviously not clear to the mannequins in power".

Antic also said that Serbian President Boris Tadic had not mentioned the Serbian government's plan for Kosovo in his talks with US officials.

"Since the Serbian government is a minority government, it has done what it could to improve the position of the Serbs in Kosovo somewhat, but that was not mentioned in the United States," Antic concluded.

SOURCE: Blic, Belgrade, in Serbian 29 Jul 04 p 3

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