Serbs, Albanians to start historic talks
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-20 13:50

Kosovo's rival Serbs and ethnic Albanians staked out tough positions Sunday before the start of UN-mediated talks aimed at resolving one of the last disputes remaining from the Balkan wars of the 1990s — the future status of the province.

The closed-door talks begin Monday over the disputed province, which has been administered by the United Nations since 1999, following a NATO war to stop the crackdown of Serb forces on independence-minded ethnic Albanians.

Kosovo's ethnic Albanians, who comprise about 90 percent of the province's population of 2 million, want outright independence from Serbia. Serbia, however, insists on retaining some control over the region, which it considers an integral part of the nation.

Mediating the talks will be former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who was appointed by the United Nations to steer the sides toward agreement.

"Any future settlement is about minority rights and safety," said Hua Jiang, Ahtisaari's spokeswoman. She said the entire process was "about setting up a multiethnic society in Kosovo."

Diplomats from the so-called Contact Group — the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Russia — have agreed on a set of guidelines for Kosovo's future.

Those rules say the province cannot return to its previous status under direct Serb rule, be partitioned along ethnic lines or be joined to another country in the region, such as Albania. They also stipulate that any agreement should be acceptable to the province's ethnic Albanian majority.

The two sides have disagreed over how much power should be held locally, with the province's minority Serbs insisting they be allowed to run affairs in their communities, link up with other Serb areas and have special ties to Belgrade.

Only about 100,000 Serbs still live in Kosovo, mainly in NATO-protected enclaves; tens of thousands of others have fled, fearing reprisal attacks, or have been forced out since the end of the war.

Western diplomats have said Kosovo's quest for independence is conditional on the province becoming a democracy that respects minority rights, with local government reform a key to that goal.

A Serb team member, Slobodan Samardzic, reaffirmed Sunday that the Serb community in Kosovo should be given self-rule in areas where are a majority.

Samardzic said that the Serb-run municipalities should take over health services, education, social services, the judiciary and security. This would help bridge the mistrust that still exists in Kosovo, he said.

Ethnic Albanians have rejected ideas of Serb municipal clusters with direct control of the police forces and justice, saying that would lead to the ethnic partition.

Lutfi Hazir, Kosovo's minister of local government who is leading the province's delegation, said the purpose of talks was to move the province away from Belgrade "for good" while ensuring the rights of the Serb minority inside the province.