YouSaid · the spoken record

Daeic

lines on the record: 287
first: 2014-08-29
most recent: 2019-10-31
sittings or episodes: 12
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Could the Council please make an effort to answer those very relevant questions? It is not I who am owed the answers to them but the Serbian children in Kosovo and Metohija whose future will most certainly be bereft of fundamental human rights. The Council owes it to them, to the Serbs living in enclaves, the internally displaced and the Serbian Orthodox nuns living their lives behind barbed wire. Serbia will continue to bring the trials and tribulations of these people, as well as violations of international law, to the attention of the international community. However, we will also continue to demonstrate in good faith our dedication to peace and to the quest for a compromise solution with a view to making the space where Serbs and Albanians have lived together for centuries a better place to live in the twenty-first century.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Will the international community stand aside and allow the Brussels Agreement and the community of Serb municipalities to truly remain a dead letter, as Kurti keeps telling us? Can the Council accept the daily intimidation of returnees, and attacks and other forms of discrimination against members of non-majority communities, as a normal state of affairs? What is the Council's response to the provocations, incidents, assaults and injuries, the stoning of buses, the destruction of clinics, the desecration of churches and tombstones, hate speech and KLA graffiti on Serbian houses? Does the return of 1.9 per cent of internally displaced Serbs meet the threshold of respect for human rights? Does it mean that the expulsion of200,000 Serbs is a closed chapter now, never to be reopened?”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“The importance of the issue is evidenced by the fact that the United States appointed two representatives to address it. I know that Council members have prepared statements, and some will say that we do not need UNMIK anymore. Both sides will be called on to resume the dialogue, and some will extol the democratic achievements of so-called Kosovo. I would ask, however, that instead we proceed to discuss the issue of Kosovo and Metohija in a matter-of-fact manner. We have not had such discussions in the Security Council for years. But I have asked some very pertinent questions in our meetings and I will ask them again. Is it acceptable to the Council that democratic institutions do not implement agreements and fail to abide by their commitments?”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“We hope that the Specialist Chambers, which have already summonsed 110 former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) members, will soon issue their first indictments and that justice will finally be served for all the victims of the conflict in Kosovo and Metohija. The review of the situation on the ground gives us reason to believe that the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, KFOR and UNMIK, with mandates as defined in resolution 1244 (1999), play a key role in ensuring the physical safety and fate of many in Kosovo and Metohija. As Under-Secretary- General for Legal Affairs Miguel de Serpa Soares pointed out in his briefing to the Council in June, UNMIK's legal framework continues to apply. We must therefore continue to discuss Kosovo and Metohija in the Security Council.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Let me point out once again that Serbia is firmly committed to establishing the facts and to punishing the perpetrators of these horrible crimes. 1 reiterate that we have called constantly for justice for all victims and for the depoliticization of the issue. The report before us shows that the numbers are quite different from the 20,000 victims claimed. The report states that the reparation process falls short of being fully inclusive, needs a strengthened, rights-based approach, and currently excludes cases of sexual violence that occurred in the aftermath of the conflict. Serbia firmly believes that every crime should be punished, and we have cooperated with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to that end.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Look at how many people who work at the United Nations with Serbian citizenship are actually Albanian. How is it that when people want to get a job or claim their rights, or when Serbia has to repay their loans, they are Serbian? And yet while trying to fight for Kosovo, Ms. Citaku should have asked to be released from her Serbian citizenship, but she has not, and she should know that it is not good to speak as she does about her own country. Pristina claims that there have been 20,000 victims of conflict-related sexual violence, but its numbers are not supported even by its own commission set up to establish the status of victims of violence. The total number of applications received so far is 1,057, of which 406 have been granted survivor status.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Even Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija had documents in both languages, first in Albanian and then in Serbian. With regard to documents, I would like to point out that Ms. Citaku is still a citizen of the Republic of Serbia. Her name was entered in the Pristina birth register for the year 1980 under the number 6194. If Council members do not believe me, I can show them the entry. Perhaps she will now say that while she never asked to be released from her Serbian citizenship, her Serbian citizenship is irrelevant to her. She should discuss that with the representative of Germany in the Chamber today, as his country requires every Kosovo Albanian to submit a certificate of release from Serbian citizenship. Pristina continues to spread misinformation and manipulate facts, even here at the United Nations.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Proof of a serious outbreak of the mendacity epidemic in Kosovo and Metohija today is the big lie proffered by Ms. Citaku in these Council meetings that Albanians in Serbia had no right to use the Albanian language and script. The document I am now showing the Council, which was issued by the Serbian authorities in the 19905, when Vlora Citaku was 10 years old, is evidence of that lie. It is a birth certificate issued in Kosovo and Metohija at that time. It is written in two languages, first in Albanian and then in Serbian, and it says, "Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" and "birth certificate". Would Ms. Citaku like to see it? She had one just like it, in Albanian and Serbian. How can she not be ashamed of lying about being unable to use Albanian in Serbia?”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Novo Brdo, Decani, Bogorodica Ljeviska and other cultural and religious shrines have never been nor will ever be Kosovar, regardless of Pristina's efforts to create a chasm between communities in Kosovo and Metohija and to usurp and falsify history so as to erase every trace of the centuries-long Serbian presence in Kosovo and Metohija. This is the idea behind falsehoods such as the nonsense uttered by Vlora Citaku at the June meeting, when she referred to decolonization, with no political or moral foundation. Let me remind the Council that Kosovo and Metohija have never once been mentioned in any United Nations document in connection with decolonization. That is an insult to all States that have been victims of colonization and have had to go through the process of decolonization.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“There are more than 250 of them, the greatest number of members of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham in any country in Europe. As the Secretary-General notes in his report, there have been arrests of people who have attempted to set up terrorist groups in Kosovo and Metohija, North Macedonia and Albania, with a View to attacking the Kosovo and Metohija Serbs and KFOR, which validates our warning about the real danger of terrorism not only in Kosovo and Metohija and the Balkans but throughout Europe. The report of the Secretary-General also provides telling evidence of Pristina's arrogance with respect to the Serbian cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo and Metohija and the flagrant desecration of monuments and attempts to pirate cultural identity.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“They were on duty and force was used against them, in breach of their privileges and immunities as members of UNMIK. They were gravely injured and one of them was declared persona non grata. The conclusion in the report and by Mr. Tanin is that those responsible should be brought to justice, which Serbia was not expecting. We do expect the Security Council to respect the Secretary-General's Mission, reports and expertise, and that charges will be brought against those who breached the immunity of the UNMIK staff members. Let me draw the Council's attention to a very important issue mentioned in the report, which is the return to Kosovo and Metohija of foreign terrorist fighters and their families from the Middle East, and Syria in particular.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Dejan Dimovic continues to be the subject ofjudicial proceedings. What are the Serbs of Kosovo and Metohija to expect if personnel from international missions are treated this way? I call on all Council members to condemn these unlawful acts by Pristina and demand that proceedings against the staff of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) cease. Iwould like to express my gratitude to the Secretary- General for his report (S/2019/797). I would ask the Council to pay attention to the report's conclusions because at the most recent Council meeting on this subject, the UNMIK staff members were accused of abusing their power and of not being on duty when they were arrested, and it was said that no violence was used against them. However, the report says otherwise.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“I want to explain that the raids in northern Kosovo and Metohija by heavily armed units composed exclusively of ethnic Albanians, conducted on various pretexts for various reasons using excessive force, are merely provocations with immense potential to destabilize the already fragile security situation on the ground. It is of paramount importance in that regard that the Brussels Agreement be strictly honoured and that the Kosovo Force (KFOR) act decisively to deter these kinds of actions, which may increase instability and spark a spiral of violence that would be hard to control. Let me remind the Council that in addition to the Serbs who have been injured, a Russian national, Mikhail Krasnoshchekov, was declared persona non grata by Pristina, in contravention of every possible rule and regulation, while Mr.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Mission in Kosovo, there were 183 inter-ethnic incidents in the first half of this year, which is almost 30 per cent more than in the preceding six months. These facts must not be ignored. The most dangerous methods of intimidation used against the Serbian population are the frequent raids in northern Kosovo and Metohija carried out under the guise of anti-organized-crime operations by the special Regional Operational Support Unit police. After the incident of 28 May, which we discussed in the Security Council in June (see S/PV.8541), there was another special-unit operation two weeks ago in which arrests were made.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“I hope that after the formation of the new Government, Pristina will remove the tariffs and thereby create conditions conducive to dialogue and the quest for peaceful compromise solutions to all outstanding issues. I also hope that Pristina will do away with the policies of hatred, intolerance and discrimination that radicalize the Albanian community, for which the Pristina Government bears outright responsibility. The consequences of such policies are patently evident. The past year has been very difficult for Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija. The right of Serbs to life, freedom and property has been targeted.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Albin Kurti's statements have become increasingly sharp lately. He has said that he is going to demand that Serbia pay war reparations for Kosovo's alleged financial claims. Perhaps he is not familiar with the fact that Serbia has been paying annuities on the nearly $1 billion in loans taken out by users in Kosovo and Metohija. If it is an independent State, as it claims, why does it not pay its own debts? All of these counterproductive actions and rhetoric are very far from creating the atmosphere necessary for overcoming existing differences and building confidence among communities. I firmly believe that all who oppose dialogue are determined to undermine both Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“I would like the Council to remind its diplomats that they are ambassadors to Pristina, not Tirana. I am being put in a very unpleasant position. It will be difficult to defend the territorial integrity of so-called Kosovo when Albin Kurti, who is supposed to be the next prime minister of Kosovo, says that he does not want to talk to the Serbian List, which, as the party that won in the parliamentary election, is the legitimate representative of the Kosovo and Metohija Serbs. How can a prime minister refuse to accept the results of an election because they are not to his liking? All the agreements reached to date will be re-examined once he assumes power and declares that the most important part of the Brussels Agreement, the establishment of a community of Serbs, is a dead letter.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“If some diplomats from countries on the Security Council are photographed against that background, does that mean that members of the diplomatic community approve of those intentions? For years, the Council has asserted that Serbia is undermining the territorial integrity of Kosovo. But now that its representatives are sitting in Pristina in front of the Albanian flag with the newly elected Prime Minister of so-called Kosovo, who denies the territorial integrity of Kosovo? Where was the flag of so-called Kosovo in this picture? Why are Council members silent about this? The next time they visit my country, what would happen if I received them under the flag of Republika Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina? Would they be silent, as they are now?”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“When Albanians vote in Serbia, should someone count votes as Serbian votes are counted in Kosovo? Is this the democracy and the democratic society the Security Council fought for when it supported Kosovo? The situation in so-called Kosovo and its society is illustrated by the rise of its new leader, Albin Kurti - a man who throughout his entire political career has called for the creation of a greater Albania. After he won the largest number of votes, we have seen him with the Albanian flag, not the flag of so-called Kosovo. He wants to be the Prime Minister of so-called Kosovo by flying the flag of Albania rather than the flag of Kosovo. We therefore have a very serious question.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“After melodramatic scenes reminiscent of forensic television series parading investigators in surgical masks and gowns as if Ebola or a smallpox epidemic were involved, blood tests done in Pristina on those allegedly infected showed that there had been no poisoning. The epidemic was one oflies churned out by Pristina. Manipulations of this type may have worked in the past, but this time around the international community will surely recognize Pristina's true intentions and call them out. The issue is very simple: either poisoning occurred or it did not. Doctors in Pristina established that there was no poisoning. Why, then, were poll workers dressed in space suits or the clothes we have seen on TV shows about Ebola while they were counting Serbian votes? Was that racism towards Serbian voters? We are asking for an answer.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Nevertheless, despite these incidents and such administrative obstacles as a ban on the use of Serbian documents in the election process - despite the fact that their use had been permitted in previous elections - and a ban on Serbian officials entering the provinces, and other bans, Serbs participated in the elections and managed to survive in Kosovo and Metohija and fight for their future. We saw that Pristina was not pleased with the election results, and in the days following the elections, it once again attempted to meddle by fabricating stories and incidents such as the alleged poisoning of members of the Central Election Commission through contact with election materials brought from central Serbia.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“We can only hope that Pristina will realize that it cannot achieve anything without an agreement with Serbia, that unilateral acts diminish the prospects for solutions and that there is no alternative to dialogue. For its part, Serbia is ready for that moment. Allow me to say a few words about the recent general elections held in Kosovo and Metohija. Before they took place, Serbia warned that the election campaign would be used for political purposes and for propaganda hype against the Serbs. Regrettably, that is what came to pass. The Serbs were attacked, their shrines were vandalized, and there were multiple provocations.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Let me remind those who allege that our activities, and the withdrawal by 15 countries of their recognition of so-called Kosovo, are undermining the dialogue that after the negotiations began in 2012, 25 countries recognized the unilateral declaration of independence while all along Serbia participated in the dialogue, despite Pristina's refusal to fulfil its obligations under the Brussels Agreement. How can the Council say now that the withdrawal of recognition undermines dialogue? Serbia continued to pursue dialogue even though Pristina refused to fulfil its obligations under the Brussels Agreement for more than six years, including through its failure to establish the community of Serb municipalities. It was not Serbia that discontinued the dialogue. I repeat, trade blockades are virtually unheard of in today's world.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“While they are asking Serbia to stop, representatives of so-called Kosovo are working all over the world hand in glove with Albanian diplomats on the recognition of its independence. While the Council is asking Serbia to stop its campaign, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation is calling on all Muslim countries to recognize so-called Kosovo. While the Council is asking Serbia to stop its campaign, representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom in particular are calling on Member States at nearly every Security Council meeting to recognize the independence of so- called Kosovo. We may be small, but we are not dumb.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“The damages arising from these illegal measures amount to several hundred million dollars and increase with each passing day. Let me point out that attempts in this regard to establish a false equivalency between Belgrade's and Pristina's responsibilities for the breakdown in the dialogue - and the explanation that the decision on tariffs was taken in response to Serbia's campaign to have so-called Kosovo's recognition withdrawn- make no sense and are unacceptable. Serbia's actions in that regard are motivated by the campaign by so-called Kosovo for recognition since its unilateral declaration of independence, with the wholehearted assistance of some Council members. Accordingly, if Council members are calling on Serbia to cease its campaign, they should also call on Pristina to stop its lobbying, and they should stop doing it themselves.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“At INTERPOL's General Assembly, held in Santiago earlier this month, it decided to take back the application at the very beginning of deliberations, once it realized that it would end in an even bigger debacle. I spoke with 82 Foreign Ministers before the General Assembly, and far from supporting Kosovo's actions, many disparaged them. I want to emphasize once again that since the beginning of the Brussels dialogue, Serbia has insisted that all matters, including the issue of membership in international organizations, should be subject to negotiations. The constructive way in which the question of Kosovo and Metohija's participation in regional forums was resolved, through dialogue and mutually acceptable agreements, provides telling evidence of the advantage of resolving all issues by agreement.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Serbia is ready to resume negotiations as of tomorrow, provided that the conditions are right. Let me remind the Council that last November, Pristina decided to increase tariffs on goods from central Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina by 100 per cent. That decision was taken in the wake of so-called Kosovo's unsuccessful attempt to join INTERPOL. Considering that two weeks ago we saw Pristina abandon its renewed attempt to join INTERPOL, I now wonder what the purpose of the tariffs was and how Pristina justifies them. Instead of resuming the dialogue after two years of failure, Pristina submitted a new application to INTERPOL only two months later.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Ordinary people in GoraZdevac, Orahovac, Klina, Musutiste, Zubin Potok and Zvezdan have no time to wait for us to reach an agreement, for they have to go on with their lives. Unfortunately, as elsewhere, the quest for solutions to conflicts is not an easy or short-term process. The Brussels Agreement that I signed in my capacity as Prime Minister six years ago was perhaps a ray of hope. The Agreement was the result of difficult negotiations and of even more difficult political decisions. It was the manifestation of my country's willingness to compromise, and it has been borne out by our implementation of the Agreement. That is why I can credibly say that the people of Kosovo must not be dependent on Pristina's whims and one-sided acts aimed at aborting the continuatin of dialogue. Let me be clear.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“All ofa sudden, following the unilateral declaration ofindependence by so-called Kosovo, the standards of respect for human rights and the rule of law have disappeared from the Council's considerations. Today standards are a rare topic, given that, by and large, most of the discussions in this organ are focused on the need to achieve a so-called lasting solution for the question of Kosovo and Metohija. Nevertheless, it is the duty of all of us not to allow the people of Kosovo and Metohija to be held hostage to a solution that we have yet to find. Even before any agreement is reached, the physical safety, freedom of movement, employment and property rights, the right to return, religious freedom and the right to participate in political life of the people of Kosovo and Metohija must be ensured.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“Mr. Daeic' (Serbia) (spoke in Serbian; English interpretation provided by the delegation): For seven long years now, I have taken part in the meetings of the Security Council. This is my twenty-second statement. Regrettably, this is the twenty-second time that I have had to say that nothing has been done in Kosovo to help the Serbs and other non-Albanians lead decent human lives there. My obligation is therefore to continue to speak on behalf of those whose voices are not heard, whose rights are not respected and who have not been able to return home for more than 20 years. Some of those present may remember that the phrase "standards before status" was used for many years in the Security Council.”
2019-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8655 (2019) · source
“This topic must not be allowed to cool or be superseded by some other acute political problem facing the international community because, contrary to Pristina's assertions otherwise, nothing has yet been resolved with respect to the question of Kosovo. I therefore call on Pristina once again to revoke the senseless tariffs and return to dialogue, which is the only alternative for the Serbian and Albanian peoples. Serbia is ready to achieve a lasting solution through negotiations.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“As I said in my statement to the Council in February (see S/PV.8459), I am not here for rhetorical one-upmanship. I am here to help bring lasting peace and normalcy to the people of Kosovo and Metohija. We must not let them down. We must pursue dialogue and achieve compromise. Our disputes will not bring a better life and prosperity to either Serbs or Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija. They will not provide security to Serbs, enable them to return home, see their property restored, prevent physical attacks on them or allow them to live in peace and dignity. We must be bold, strong and inclusive of all. We must make sure that what is decided in the Council is respected and reflected on the ground, for it concerns the condition of many and speaks to who we are.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“Based on the data provided by the commission responsible for the verification and recognition of the status of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, the Secretary-General's report (S/2019/461) says that 982 applications have been submitted, of which 308 have been accepted. Pristina's representatives, however, continue to talk of 20,000 raped Albanians as if there were no Serbian victims of sexual violence. In that regard, Fatmir Limaj, among others, was indicted based on the testimony of the Mazreku brothers, Albanian witnesses and accomplices to his crime. And I would like to point out, if I may, that according to a decision of the Government and Parliament of Kosovo, Fatmir Limaj heads the Pristina negotiation team in the dialogue with Belgrade.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“The United States Ambassador to Pristina was explicit when he said that Kosovo's leaders should be helping victims heal, not exploiting them for political gain. Where this sensitive issue is concerned, I want everyone to fully understand that Serbia condemns each and every act of sexual violence in conflict and calls for justice for all victims. To achieve that we need a rational, documented approach without politicization, and that is a precondition for protecting the rights of each individual victim. I want to reiterate that the number of victims does not diminish the horrific effect of this form of violence on each individual. However, manipulating numbers is detrimental to justice, leads to politicization and slows the reconciliation process.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“She showed the media a photograph in the so-called Kosovo Assembly as proof of the alleged rape of an Albanian woman by Serbian forces and said that the woman, whose identity was known, was still living in Kosovo. Upon investigation not by Belgrade but by the Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor's Office, with expert analysis by the Kosovo Forensics Agency, and based on other evidence, it was concluded that the photograph was a fake. The media in Pristina reported that the photograph had nothing to do with Kosovo but had originated in Iraq and been downloaded from the Internet. Does anyone really think thatjustice for victims and survivors can be achieved through the crude misuse of tragedy and the presentation of false evidence? Ms. Brovina's callous act was a deep offence to the victims and their families.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“Some Council members would have us believe that little Serbia is so powerful that it could influence the decision of many INTERPOL members. The authorities in Pristina also recently adopted a resolution on Serbia's alleged genocide in Kosovo. Such measures are tantamount to playing games with international law. They increase tensions among communities and contribute nothing to a climate of reconciliation or dialogue. The scandal regarding the allegations made by Flora Brovina, a member of Kosovo's Parliament, are also very illuminating in that context. She was sentenced in Serbia for intent to commit a terrorist act, but in an act of goodwill on the part of my country, she was pardoned in 2001.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“I have been participating in Council meetings for seven years now, and in that time, right in my face, some Council members have loudly urged all countries to recognize Kosovo and vote in favour of admitting it to INTERPOL, UNESCO and other international organizations. Why do they have the right to make those demands and we do not? And why does the issue upset Pristina, Tirana and certain Council members while Serbia's grievances meant nothing? Apparently the Council considered that normal. Pristina also goes around complaining that Serbia prevented its admission to INTERPOL, but the fact is that at the INTERPOL General Assembly in Dubai last year, only 75 of its 194 members voted in favour of Kosovo's admission. What happened to the 116 countries that Pristina claims have recognized it?”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“With regard to the open protests from Pristina and some Security Council members about the 13 countries' revocation of their recognition of Kosovo, and their accusations that Serbia's activities are undermining dialogue, I would like to remind the Council that 23 countries have recognized Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence since the Brussels dialogue began, following intense lobbying by Pristina and pressure exerted by some Security Council members. In addition, Gent Cakaj, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania, who was born in Kosovo and Metohija, said that Albania had set up a special team to lobby for additional recognitions and for Kosovo's membership in international organizations.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“Six months later, and in the face of condemnation by almost all international actors and of calls to take back that senseless decision, Pristina is in no mood to do so. It is not only dismissive of those calls but is piling on provocations and unilateral acts that can only lead us to conclude that it is taking systematic steps to make dialogue impossible. How else are we to understand its adoption in March of its so-called platform for dialogue, which asserts that the only goal and outcome of the dialogue is Serbia's recognition of Kosovo's independence?”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“As I said, we have no partner for a serious and responsible dialogue, and yet both sides, Belgrade and Pristina, are being called on to resume negotiations. The implication is that both are responsible for the impasse in negotiations even though the responsibility is Pristina's alone. How can we negotiate if rather than removing obstacles, the other side is doing everything it can to create new ones? In November, in its frustration at not being made a member of INTERPOL and at 13 countries' revoking of their recognition of Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence, Pristina imposed 100 per cent tariffs on goods from central Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, a step unprecedented anywhere in the world.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“If that is permitted it would be tantamount to an admission by the international community, the United Nations and the Security Council that they are powerless and have no means to implement the decisions they made to maintain peace and create an environment conducive to a peaceful resolution of the conflict. We hope and believe that is not the case and that UNMIK will remain in Kosovo and Metohija in its full capacity. Serbia has done everything possible to normalize the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, and we firmly believe that negotiations are the only way forward to address all outstanding issues. However, if we are the only ones to commit to dialogue or to a constructive approach to reaching a sustainable compromise solution to the question of Kosovo and Metohija, that is not enough to enable negotiations to continue at this time.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“It is evident that because of Pristina's failure to implement the resolution and outright violations of it, the continuation of UNMIK's mandate is crucially important to the fate of many in Kosovo and Metohija. Serbia believes firmly that the Mission must remain fully engaged on all issues relevant to the consistent implementation of its goals and objectives, with its scope undiminished and its mandate unchanged. Anything else would send a message to Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija that they will not be able to stay in their ancestral land and to those who have been displaced that they are not welcome to return, a message that fits in with Pristina's intentions and goals.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“KFOR must act preventively and deter any attempt by the Kosovo forces to threaten civil peace and security, which has the potential for destabilization. From the platform of this leading organ of our world Organization, I want to warn the Council that, according to our information, the authorities in Pristina are planning an attack on northern Kosovo and Metohija. Everyone here should take note of that and put a stop to Pristina's war machine before it causes more bloodshed. I also want to remind the Council that KFOR's task is safeguarding the peace and security of all, including the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. I want to ask the Council if it will or will not, because I am sure that it can. This is a very serious warning.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“However, last December Pristina violated it once again by taking the unilateral decision to establish a Ministry of Defence and begin the process of transforming the Kosovo Security Force into the Kosovo Army, despite the admonitions of the United Nations, the European Union and NATO, in a dangerous manoeuvre that threatens security in Kosovo and beyond, and further aggravates the situation of Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija. Pristina has taken similar steps in the past, that some members of the international community regrettably have not adequately condemned. It seems to have created a perception in Pristina that it can take such unilateral actions with tacit approval in some quarters. That is exactly why these unilateral acts should be unequivocally condemned.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“Among those under investigation, some are suspected of heinous crimes, including the abduction and killing of Serbs, as well as Albanians whom they considered disloyal, in order to harvest their organs. There is ample evidence of that in the Marty report. We want to believe that they will be brought to justice despite the time that has passed, the destruction of evidence, the intimidation of witnesses and their families, and even the deplorable killings of protected witnesses. Resolution 1244 (1999) states that the international military presence will provide security for all the inhabitants in Kosovo and Metohija.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“The full force of international justice was employed in the attempt to prosecute Serbs, and they paid the price, personally and politically, While the token few who were tried and sentenced on the other side were quickly released, and some of them are walking the corridors of power in Pristina today. In a recent statement, Philip Kosnett, the United States Ambassador in Pristina, expressed deep concern about the appointment of unqualified individuals to senior positions in the Kosovo Government, including people convicted of war crimes, under active indictment for serious crimes or suspected of serious abuses of power. We continue to hope that justice is attainable. The Specialist Chambers and Office of the Specialist Prosecutor recently began their work and have a massive caseload.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“In 1999, there were more than 10,000 Serbs living in Prizren, the Serbian capital in Tsar Dusan's reign in the fourteenth century - the town where I was born, incidentally - but today only 23 remain. Unfortunately, and very sadly for Serbs, those are the exact numbers. Paragraphs 11 (i) and 14 of resolution 1244 (1999) call for "[m]aintaining civil law and order' and '[d]emands full cooperation by all concerned with the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia." We truly believe that all who committed crimes should be brought to justice, and we have complied with our obligations. The results of the Tribunal, however, have left much to be desired.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“Of the 427 towns and villages in which the Serbs lived prior to 1999, they now live in only 116. In other words, in the past 20 years, 311 settlements previously inhabited by Serbs have now been ethnically cleansed - that is, they are exclusively Albanian. What is that, if not ethnic cleansing? It is stark evidence of the falsehood of an alleged genocide against Albanians. After all, more Albanians live in Kosovo and Metohija today than did before 1999, while more than 200,000 Serbs have been expelled and 311 of their settlements have been ethnically cleansed. Those are the official figures from the Kosovo census. To cite just a couple more examples to illustrate my point, in 1999 there were more than 40,000 Serbs living in Pristina. Today there are fewer than 100.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“It is not the subject of our deliberations today, but according to the United States Department of State, in its 2018 report on human rights in Kosovo, "[s]ecurity incidents against Kosovo Serbs persisted In the first seven months of the year, there were more than 100 incidents involving thefts, break-ins, verbal harassment, and damage to the property of Kosovo Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church Ethnic minorities faced varying levels of institutional and societal discrimination in employment, education, social services, language use, freedom of movement, the right to return to their homes (for displaced persons), and other basic rights." The brutal truth is that, after 20 years, multi-ethnic Kosovo and Metohija has become almost mono-ethnic. Let me once again bring some facts to the Council's attention.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source
“What can they expect if year after year they are met by organized attacks with sticks and stones even when they come to pay their respects to their dead on Christian holy days? The catalogue of human rights violations in Kosovo and Metohija goes on and on, and we cannot list them all.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source