Foreign Minister of Serbia and Montenegro calls for dialogue, decentralisation in Kosovo

VIENNA, 18 June 2004 - The Foreign Minister of Serbia and Montenegro, Vuk Draskovic, called for dialogue and decentralisation in Kosovo in an address to the OSCE Permanent Council on Friday.

He also urged the international community to ensure that the rights of the Serbian and non-Albanian minorities in the province were protected in the same way as the rights of the Albanian majority had been protected in the past.

"There must be no double standards. The international community has an obligation to help Serbians in the same way that the international community helped Albanians after June 1999," Minister Draskovic said.

He said the Serbian population in Kosovo had been the victims of ethnic cleansing since 1999 just as the Albanian population had been under former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

Minister Draskovic said the government of Serbia and Montenegro favoured decentralisation in Kosovo, with a high degree of local autonomy granted to cities and other communities.

The borders of Serbia and Montenegro should not be changed unilaterally or by force but all borders in the region should be given "European quality," meaning that they should be clearly defined on paper but in practice should not hinder the free movement of people and goods.

He urged Serbian voters in Kosovo to take part in elections in the province and play a full part in its institutions but said many were afraid that if they did so, this could be interpreted as indicating that they would accept independence for the province.

Minister Draskovic thanked the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro under its Head, Ambassador Maurizio Massari, for its excellent work in his country.