YouSaid · the spoken record

Vucic

lines on the record: 50
first: 2014-12-04
most recent: 2014-12-04
sittings or episodes: 1
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

“Farid Zarif with regard to the drone incident that happened during a football match between Serbia and Albania. Serbia had nothing to do with that incident. We reacted very appropriately. Fourteen days after the incident, a flag made by Albanian supporters was placed in the centre of Belgrade. One can imagine what would have happened in some other countries under similar circumstances. I daresay as well - as Mr. Zarif also mentioned, and I thank him for doing so - that we received and were great hosts to the Albanian Prime Minister, who visited for the first time in 68 years.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Also, the PISG in Pristina are attempting to appropriate the property of the Republic of Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija in an unlawful way, in disregard of the fact that the question of the property of the Republic of Serbia and of the economic entities in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija will be the subject of the negotiation process conducted by the Republic of Serbia with the PISG, with mediation provided by the European Union. Serbia looks forward to the resumption of negotiations with Pristina, because it brings peace and stability to the entire region. Serbia is committed to reforms and will make no compromises in that regard. Count on Serbia as a pillar of stability and, very soon, a modern and successful country. I would just like to say a word in reference to what was said by Mr.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Bearing in mind that almost all owners and property holders are of Serbian nationality, we are of the opinion that the intended expropriation is discriminatory and that confiscating land from persons of Serbian nationality will result in an exodus of the remaining Serbian population and a change in the ethnic structure of the municipality of Strpce. The actions of the PISG are violating the rights of the Serbs from Strpce guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Should it be sold, those persons would be displaced once again, which would be morally unacceptable from a humanitarian point of view. I must also inform the Council of the serious intention of the PISG in Pristina to expropriate the immovable property of physical persons and legal entities in the territory of the municipality of Strpce, under the pretext of the construction of a tourist centre. The property is owned by more than 820 physical persons and legal entities * including the Inex ski centre in Brezovica - preponderantly of Serbian extraction and the majority population in the municipality.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Let me recall that in its reply of 22 April 2013 to the letters of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, in which it was requested that an end be put to the privatization conducted contrary to resolution 1244 (1999), UNMIK stated that indeed the privatization through the Kosovo Privatization Agency was contrary to the resolution and UNMIK regulations, as the Agency was not a legal successor of the Kosovo Trust Agency and it was not established on the basis of a law that was in force in Kosovo and Metohij a in accordance with the resolution. A specific problem has been created by the decision of the Kosovo Privatization Agency to liquidate Hotel Junior in the municipality of Strpce. The hotel is the site of a collective accommodation centre for 85 IDPs.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“The privatization process conducted by the Kosovo Privatization Agency continues to evolve in contravention of international and European conventions on human rights. Public and socially owned companies in Serbian communities are privatized much more frequently. Their sale to persons of Albanian nationality deprives those communities of economic resources, thereby providing an additional impetus for the exodus of the Serbian population from Kosovo and Metohija.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Those complaints have been rejected en masse by the courts on account of the complainants' failure to pay high litigation fees -despite the fact that they are IDPs in a difficult financial situation and had requested to be excused by the courts from paying the fees. The report for this period also does not provide anything more than an accounting of the number of completed cases before the Kosovo Property Agency: it indicates the number of decisions rather than the number of enforcement actions - the number of owners who entered into possession. A property restitution decision in Kosovo and Metohija still falls far short of the actual restitution of the property: an original owner's entry into possession. In addition to personal insecurity, this is one of the main reasons that IDP returns to Kosovo and Metohija are far from satisfactory.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Also, in line with previous reports, no mention is made of the fate of the abandoned property of Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija, which is liable to renewed expropriation by Albanians as a result of fraudulent transactions between Albanian buyers and alleged owners and exposed to destruction and damage, as well as unfounded expropriation by municipal authorities without proper compensation or with no compensation at all. The fate of the 18,500 complaints of Serbs and non-Albanians for compensation for destroyed or damaged property is mentioned nowhere in the report.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Apart from a short account of the work of the Kosovo Property Agency and information on the number of cases dealt with in the reporting period and the number of unsolved cases before the Agency, the report is silent on the situation of the property of Serbs and other non-Albanians. No mention is made of the manner in which property cases are solved by this Agency, that is, whether the expropriator has left the property in question, whether the owner has entered into possession of his or her property or whether the request for the restitution of property has been rejected.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“There is no doubt that, if allowed, the authors of the graffiti would conduct in Kosovo and Metohija the same policy of evil, hatred and death that is much in evidence these days in parts of Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, the so-called realm of the terrorists of ISIS, even though it is condemned by the entire civilized and justice- and freedom-loving world. The experience of decades past and the present practice frighten Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. Ifthe United Nations is unable to provide protection to a site that its specialized agency put on the World Heritage List, how safe then are the houses, schools and places of worship of non-Albanian residents of the province? In our View, the report is deficient in the segment related to the protection of the property rights of the residents of Kosovo and Metohija.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“The graffiti included the words "ISIS", "The Caliphate is coming", "UCK" - the Albanian-language acronym for the Kosovo Liberation Army - and "AKSH" - the Albanian-language acronym for the Albanian National Army; two of the pieces of graffiti were written in Arabic. The Kosovo Police and KFOR were notified of the incident and they carried out an investigation. During the investigation, a group of Albanian extremists congregated in front of the monastery, provoking and intimidating the Serbian monks as they shouted "UCK". As early as the next evening, the graffiti "ISIS" and "AKSH" were scribbled on the monastery gate all over again.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“It is most likely that plaque and the concrete pedestal were uprooted with a tractor or a construction-type vehicle; the removal was noted on 11 September. It is the third time that the plaque has been vandalized and removed since it was first put in place. The threat to the security of, and the pressure being constantly brought to bear on, the monks of one of the holiest Serbian places of worship, Visoki Decani monastery, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, is particularly worrisome. In the night between 11 and 12 October, red and black graffiti was scribbled on the walls of the appendant buildings on the monastery estate.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Even 15 years after the expulsion, only 2,000 out of 4,000 lDPs who have returned home realize their right to sustainable return, as the lack of basic security, economic and social preconditions are a major impediment to it. Of particular concern is the situation with respect to the protection of cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo and Metohija in the reporting period, as Mr. Farid Zarif has already mentioned. At the beginning of September, unknown persons removed the plaque on the Velika Hoea-Zociste road, which had been unveiled on 21 August by members of the Serbian Association of Journalists to honour the memory of abducted colleagues Dura Slavuj and Ranko Perenie at the place where the two Radio Pristina reporters were kidnapped in 1998.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Accordingly, it may be noted that the overall trend of decelerating the returns of displaced Kosovo and Metohija Serbs continues and that the PISG in Pristina have not done enough to fulfil their obligations and facilitate the return of the expellees. The return of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) is being prevented by numerous administrative obstacles, with the return procedures adopted being insurmountable practical barriers to Serbs and other non-Albanians returning to their centuries-old homes. They are also catalysts for lasting changes in the demographic picture of the entire province. It is my duty to remind the Council that the Republic of Serbia is the country that has the greatest number of IDPs in Europe, with 230,000 people having that status, 18,000 of whom are in Kosovo and Metohija itself.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“The demolition was carried out at the direct order of Municipal President Mimoza Kusari Lila, whereby a clear message was sent to the Serbs that they are not welcome back. In that regard, I recall that 12,000 Serbs lived in Dakovica prior to 1999; today, only four elderly ladies remain, living on the monastery premises. In the night between 7 and 8 October, unknown perpetrators broke into the houses and appendant buildings of the Serbian returnee families of Miletic', Konie and Tosie in the village of Grabac, municipality of Klina, stealing much of their movable property and causing considerable material damage. There is no doubt that these acts were motivated by the intention to intimidate potential returnees and discourage them from returning to Kosovo and Metohija.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“On 22 August, unknown perpetrators fired at the home of Tomislav Dabetic' in the village of Saljinovica, in the municipality of Istok. Fortunately, the returnee family was not at home at the time of the attack. Upon their arrival at their home, however, they noticed damage to the house - a bullet had gone through a window and a door and ended up in the bathroom. The incident spread fear and anxiety among the people of Saljinovica, as well as among all those intending to return to that village, all the more so as the victims of the attack were a family who had never done any harm to anybody. At the end of August, five houses were demolished in the centre of Dakovica. These houses belonged to the Serbian Stefie family, who were the original settlers who literally built the town from scratch.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“In this context, we would point out that international judges of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, Judge Robert Carolan, from the United States, and Judge Almiro Rodrigues, from Portugal, wrote in dissent from the decision the Court that the amnesty for the aforementioned acts is not unconstitutional. The Government of the Republic of Serbia expresses its deep concern over members of the majority community in Kosovo and Metohija regularly provoking incidents that prevent Serbs and other non-Albanians from returning to their homes from which they had been expelled. I would like to cite a few sad examples, which are indicative of kind of attacks that are being carried out on returnee houses and other property.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Nevertheless, I would have to say the authorities have also taken a lot positive steps as well. In assessing the constitutionality of the Amnesty Law, the so-called Constitutional Court of Kosovo found unconstitutional the articles of the Law that grant amnesty to perpetrators of acts of destruction or damage to the property of others or to movable property, arson, damage to items belonging to others, document forgery and special cases of document forgery, with the result that such acts are now excluded from amnesty. Acts that are also excluded from the Amnesty Law are those that can be used by the judiciary organs of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) to prosecute persons of Serbian nationality in Kosovo and Metohija.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“The Government of the Republic of Serbia's concern about the work of the judiciary in Kosovo and Metohija is relevant in the light of disclosures that bribes have been given to cease proceedings in dozens of cases against Kosovo and Metohija Albanians and that evidence has been fabricated in the increasingly senseless case of Oliver Ivanovic', all of which casts serious doubt on whether EULEX is immune to corruption. To fully implement the Brussels Agreement and the previous agreements in the technical dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, the Republic of Serbia has fulfilled its obligations. Pristina, however, has so far failed to take the necessary steps to comply with its obligations in such key areas as addressing inadequacies in the Amnesty Law, the Law on the Budget and the Law on Local Self-Government.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Telling evidence of the corruption and dysfunction of the Kosovo and Metohija justice system includes the striking from the record of key witness testimony in the so-called Klecka case because of changes in criminal laws; the acquittal of Fatmir Limaj and his co-defendants, who had been charged with murder, torture and threats to the health of Serbian and Albanian civilians and prisoners of war; the subsequent reopening ofthe case and the Pristina officials' untoward reactions to Limaj's and his co-defendants' arrests, which gave rise to a request for revision of the EULEX mandate being introduced in the Kosovo Assembly; and, finally, Limaj's release from prison to house arrest. It is clear that the local justice system, like the international presences in the province, is under the strong influence of the political elites in Pristina.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Haxha was absent for the rest of the trial, hiding in the Pristina Clinical Centre. The instances of double standards evident in the Kosovo and Metohijajudiciary's practice instil fear and a sense ofinsecurity in Serbian and other non-Albanian communities in the province.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“The first hearing was held in the Mitrovica Basic Court on 26 August in a case consolidated with those of Dragoljub Delibasie, the retired Head of the Police Department of Kosovo and Metohija, Ilija and Nebojsa Vujacie and Aleksandar Lazovic', indicted for grave criminal offences and war crimes committed in 1999 and 2000. All the indictees pleaded not guilty on all counts of the indictment. The custody of Oliver Ivanovic' was extended until 26 October 2014 and then for another two months. Yet only two days after the Prosecutor of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) raised the indictment against Ivanovie and requested extension of custody for him, the Court released on bail Ismet Haxha, one of the indictees in the Drenica Group case, charged with war crimes against civilians committed at Likovac in 1998 and 1999.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“The campaign of persecution included murders, abductions, disappearances, illegal detentions in camps in Kosovo and Metohija and Albania, sexual violence and other forms of inhumane treatment, such as forced displacement and the destruction of churches and other religious sites. Those responsible for the most heinous crimes must not be acquitted due to a lack of evidence caused by the brutal intimidation of witnesses. Oliver Ivanovie, leader of the civic initiative Serbia, Democracy, Justice, was apprehended at the end of January and indicted at the beginning of August.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“The Government of the Republic of Serbia is also deeply worried that a flag of the Republic of Serbia was removed from the fortress at Zveean in the night between 14 and 15 October, and that another Serbian flag flown over the building of the Treasury Department in northern Kosovska Mitrovica was burned on 16 October. The Republic of Serbia calls on all responsible and active actors in the international community to pay maximal heed to the conclusions of the Chief Prosecutor of the European Union's Special Investigative Task Force, Clint Williamson. He stated that compelling evidence has been found to file an indictment against senior officials of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army for the persecution of Serbs, Roma and Kosovo and Metohija Albanians.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“A few hundred Albanians in the village of Musutiste blocked the passage of displaced Serbs to the local Orthodox church in which they intended to celebrate the Feast of the Dormition. The extremists blocking the passage carried Albanian flags and posters with offensive messages. If the displaced Serbs cannot visit the towns and villages in which they were born or the graves of their relatives on even one day a year without fearing for their safety, the sincerity of the call of the provincial institutions to displaced Serbs to return is very much in doubt, as is the capacity of those institutions to ensure personal and property security for all residents of Kosovo and Metohija.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“It is also my duty to bring to the attention of the Council that, on 28 August, the Feast of the Dormition, once celebrated by the townspeople of Dakovica as their patron saint's day, the displaced citizens of that town of Serbian nationality were prevented once again from visiting the holy places in their place of birth because they had been told that international forces could not guarantee their security. The people of Dakovica had the same problem on Christmas Eve, when Albanians stoned their buses, while on All Souls' Day they were prevented from visiting the graves of friends and relatives. The Serbs from Suva Reka were also prevented from marking the same religious holiday in a dignified manner.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“He was shot and killed by members of armed illegal logging gangs from Kosovo and Metohija in the Ground Safety Zone along the administrative boundary line between Kosovo and Metohija and central Serbia on 28 August. It is impermissible that groups of civilians armed with automatic rifles roam freely, cut wood illegally and attack the security forces of the Republic of Serbia as the latter attempt, quite legally, to prevent them from doing so.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“The prosecutions also serve to derail the implementation of the First Agreement of Principles Governing the Normalization of Relations between Belgrade and Pristina, providing for the unencumbered running of municipalities with Serbian majorities in Kosovo and Metohija. With respect to the security situation, the report does mention problems in the implementation of laws, in particular at the local level. The Serbs and their property are targeted in the majority of ethnically motivated attacks, while personal and property insecurity remain the main obstacles to the sustainable return of the Serbian population to localities from which they were expelled. I have to bring to the attention of the Council the tragic death of Gendarme Stevan Sindelie.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“That serves to put into perspective the actions of the local Serbian population, which were taken, rightly, in protest against the attempts to artificially change the demographic picture on the ground and paint it in negative colours as unfounded and unconstructive. On the other hand, it would be very easy to prove exactly what the previous situation was and take measures to prevent politically motivated changes to the demographic structure in northern Kosovo and Metohija. Let me also point out here that the criminal proceedings against Zubin Potok mayor Stevan Vulovic and other Serbs from the municipality of Zubin Potok serve to bring political pressure to bear on - and prevent the running of - the municipality as a local institution of self-government with a Serbian majority.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“To the disappointment of my country, that part of the report is silent on the basic problem in the area, which is the fact that, through land usurpation and illegal construction, the Kosovo and Metohija Albanians continue to press in every possible way for changes to the ethnic structure of northern Kosovska Mitrovica. According to information provided by the officials of the municipality of Kosovska Mitrovica north, the Albanians plan to build 172 housing units in the locality of Brdjani for the veterans of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, who never - and I repeat never - lived there prior to 1999, and a small number of Albanians who did.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Although the Government of the Republic of Serbia has fully implemented the relevant agreements and terminated their employment, those members have not yet been advised of the status of their applications, let alone admitted or fully integrated into the Kosovo police service. Likewise, the integration of the former administrative staff of the Ministry of the Interior and the firefighters has not begun either. The Republic of Serbia cannot accept the part of the report related to northern Kosovo and Metohija in which the situation in the locality of Brdjani, in northern Kosovska Mitrovica, is presented in a fragmentary manner and therefore inaccurately.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Prior to the dissolution of the Parliament in Pristina, no preparations were made for a legal framework for the effective implementation of the competencies of the future community in the field of economic development, education, health and urban and rural planning in the community's territory, as provided for by article 4 of the Brussels Agreement. For its part, the community's management team has drawn up a draft statute and is ready to send it to the Committee on the Implementation of the Brussels Agreement. Let me highlight in this context the problem of the integration of 30 former members of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia from Kosovo and Metohija into the Kosovo police service in the municipalities in northern Kosovo and Metohija.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“With respect to the freedom of movement, we have given permission to the bearers of identity documents issued by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Pristina to cross the border crossings at Nikola Tesla and Nis Constantine the Great airports, in Belgrade and Nis respectively, and the four busiest crossings to Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Also, a number of high-ranking officials from the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government attended important regional conferences and other events in Belgrade during the reporting period. We regret the lack of progress in the implementation of the key segment of the Brussels Agreement related to the establishment of a community of Serbian municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“We expect that they will be formed in the coming days. However, without waiting for a Government to be formed in Pristina, the Republic of Serbia has implemented a whole range of measures that it committed itself to under the First Agreement of Principles Governing the Normalization of Relations, reached in Brussels. We have amended the Law on Higher Education and adopted a new Cadastre Regulation to make the implementation of the relevant agreements possible.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Instead of conflict, this Government chose agreement and solutions instead ofproblems and, most importantly, life instead of death. That is the life and the rights that we demand for Serbs as well. The Republic of Serbia is firmly committed to continuing its active and constructive participation in negotiations with Pristina at all levels and to implementing the agreements reached thus far. We are ready to continue the process. Yet our willingness to negotiate does not mean that we are weak; our constructiveness does not mean that we acquiesce easily, and our belief does not mean that we are naive. Unfortunately, we are lacking an interlocutor on the other side of the table. The administrative organs of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Pristina have not been formed yet, half a year after the elections.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“That is why today, as we await and seek a solution to the Kosovo knot, we have nothing to be ashamed of and have no reason to respond to all the conditions that have been set, overtly or covertly, in any other way than the way in which we have already responded. Because, through our attitude and platform, we have done precisely every single thing that the world has asked us to do over the years. We have normalized relations with Pristina. We talk to Pristina, We seek joint solutions with Pristina. We respect the demands of Pristina, and our attitude towards Pristina and the Albanians is not the attitude that we would have towards anyone who did not have the same rights that we demand for our people. After a century of conflicts, wars and victims, this Government has made a step towards the Albanians that, surely, can be called historic.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“The right to life is universal and untouchable. Serbia, too, has the right to fight for this right. That is all the more so as, this time, Serbia does not demand of its people anything that it is not ready to give to other peoples. Life, as a foundation, calls for solutions like this, because, after all, we were given life to preserve, protect and respect - our lives and other peoples'. Serbia and its Government have decided unequivocally to respect each and every life in Kosovo and Metohija and requests that the term "each and every life" encompass the lives of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija as well.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“The lives of Serbs in enclaves all over the province are quiet, modest and difficult; they live in today's ghettos, to the shame of Europe and the world. That is the common knowledge of all UNMIK members who have been there, and it is the obligation of each and every righteous servant of the United Nations to report the plight and predicament of those Serbian towns and villages to the world. That is why the regular UNMIK reports should focus special attention on the harsh realities in which Serbs south of the Ibar River live. We must - and we want to - defend their life and their right to work, to move freely, to be free, to go to school, to receive medical treatment and to be able to protect themselves. It is precisely for those reasons that nobody can speak of Serbian chauvinism, a new Republika Srpska or hegemonistic aspirations today.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Today, in the second decade of the twenty- first century, there are still people in one part of Europe who cannot tend their fields or frequent and pray in their places of worship without fear, while their children go to school in fear. That dark picture is the defeat of modern civilization and, sadly, a daily occurrence in the life of many Serbs and non-Albanians of Kosovo and Metohija. In addition to the so-called northern Kosovo, which was singled out at one point as a separate area for monitoring, attention should also be accorded in accordance with the basic priorities of UNMIK, such as promoting "security, stability and respect for human rights", the lives of Serbs and the numerous difficulties they encounter every day in the so-called south of the Ibar River area and other parts of Kosovo and Metohija.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“We therefore believe that the role of UNMIK should continue to be strengthened in the areas of the current competencies of the Mission, whereas the weakening of the role it has been entrusted with would lessen its capacity to fulfil its mandate, particularly in areas of vital importance for Serbs and other non-Albanians living in Kosovo and Metohija. We must not disregard the importance of the trust that the Serbian and other non-Albanian populations in Kosovo have placed in UNMIK, either. That trust underscores the need for a more active and visible presence and engagement of the Mission in Kosovo and Metohija.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“It is said in the introductory part of the report that "The priorities of the Mission remain to promote security, stability and respect for human rights" (5/2014/773, para. 2) in Kosovo and Metohija. Well, if the said areas were all right, they would not be priorities. Yet, regrettably, not even the basic preconditions for normal life have been created in Kosovo and Metohija so that today, more than 15 years after the arrival of international presences, the Security Council needs to discuss how to ensure in the first place the elementary living conditions for Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“The fact that a document is submitted regularly must not mean that it is drawn up lightly. We are therefore convinced that the authors of the report wrote it with special attention, well aware of its importance for the people of the province, the Republic of Serbia and the environs. We read the report carefully, not to maliciously find fault with it, but to present, with it in mind, proposals for the improvement of the situation in the province. The report is important to us; it is being heeded by the entire world today, while the Serbs of Kosovo and Metohija look to it, just as they look to our response, for the confirmation of their just demands. I shall therefore touch on a number of issues brought up in the document.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“We therefore believe that everything that Serbia has done in the past two years towards spreading and promoting those positions deserves attention, recognition and support. We do so primarily because our desire for peace and cooperation in the entire Balkans is the only way to make that region an equal part of Europe in a manner that will ensure that the Balkans region is in no way different from the rest of Europe. We do so also as we are demonstrating, day in and day out, that centuries-old conflicts, vast differences and completely opposed positions do not have to obstruct dialogue and solutions. We only need to promote dialogue and solutions as our supreme value and most important goal. That is exactly what this Government of Serbia has done. The report is regular, yet far from routine for the Republic of Serbia.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“Likewise, we know that dialogue is the only way to achieve that goal and we shall do all we can to ensure that it continues in the way that Serbia has promoted it by taking decisions that improve the lives of the people in Kosovo and Metohija. Surely that will not prevent Serbia from continuing to insist on its position that the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo and Metohija is illegal; yet, probably for the first time in many years, the position of the Government of Serbia does not impede life in the province. On the contrary, we are dedicated to that life, putting it before any other interest. At the same time, it gives us the right to request for the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija exactly what we want for the Albanians - the possibility to live, work, be safe, communicate and move around normally.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“That is so because Belgrade, the Government of the Republic of Serbia, wants peace and stability in the entire region; it wants dialogue and a solution, as well as the ability of people, goods and ever more positive ideas to circulate freely throughout the region. It is therefore right to say that our efforts - the new, positive approach of Serbia to the difficult Balkan questions - have eased the tensions in the region, where there is less and less fear among neighbours and more and more acceptance of the initiatives coming from Serbia. We have proved by our actions that we want, more than anything else, peace in the Balkans as the basis of development. We want a normal, decent and ordered Serbia and are well aware that it is possible only in such an environment.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“If it were not for UNMIK, the world would be without much of the data on the events in Kosovo and Metohija. We salute the activities of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Mr. Farid Zarif, Head of UNMIK, who presented the report on UNMIK for the period from 16 July to 15 October (S/2014/773). Council members know that Belgrade is firm in its position not to recognize the secession of Kosovo and Metohija and its self-proclamation of statehood, carried out by force and contrary to international law. Yet that firm position is not an obstacle to negotiations or the ever more lively communication with Pristina today.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“I believe that all Council members recognize just as well the resolve in the steps that the Republic of Serbia has taken lately to give momentum to reconciliation among the people living in Kosovo and to improve the living conditions of all its residents alike: Albanians, Serbs, Gorani, Roma and the members of other non-majority communities. Serbia welcomes the efforts made by the United Nations and UNMIK, the European Union (EU), NATO and its presence in Kosovo and Metohija, and the Kosovo Force, as well as the efforts made by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that are aimed at achieving the same goals of reconciliation, economic progress and security for all residents of Kosovo and Metohija. Serbia trusts the United Nations.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“All who are present in this forum know well the importance of Kosovo and Metohija to my country and all its citizens, as well as the attention with which the Republic of Serbia follows developments in its southern province administered under resolution 1244 (1999) by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Our genuine and long- term commitment to a peaceful solution of the conflict in Kosovo and Metohija is well known to all members of the international community, both those who share our views on the status of Kosovo and Metohija and those who think otherwise.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“We do not invent problems outside the borders of our country and we do not raise nationalistic tensions in the region because we have enough courage to face and solve our own problems courageously. Serbia therefore has stayed away from conflicts in the region - even verbal ones - for only weak and irresponsible politicians, whenever they have internal problems, open old nationalistic wounds and confuse issues, turning the region backwards. We have no part in that and we are not weak because of it; on the contrary, it is the sign of our strength and long-term strategic thinking.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source
“First of all, I am very honoured to be here. I thank the Council for the opportunity to present the perspective of the Republic of Serbia on the situation and events in Kosovo and Metohija in the period from July to October. More than anything else, Serbia wants stability - political and economic - in the entire Western Balkans. That is the condition for the survival and progress of our Serbia, as well as of all others. It is precisely for this reason that Serbia is committed to peace and life and that, independently and without pressures from outside, it has commenced difficult and comprehensive reforms aimed at bringing about a healthier and more competitive economy and freer and richer citizens.”
2014-12-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7327 (2014) · source