BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) - Serbia still plans to hold local elections in Kosovo next month, according to a government decree published Monday — a move that would defy the United Nations and ignore Kosovo's declaration of independence.
U.N. officials have told Serbia it cannot hold the vote because it would breach the world body's mandate for Kosovo, which it has administered since 1999 when NATO airstrikes stopped Serbia's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists.
Since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February, some three dozen countries — including the United States and most EU states — have recognized the new nation, where 90 percent of the 2 million people are ethnic Albanians.
But Serbia, which considers Kosovo the historic cradle of its nation, has rejected the move as illegal under international law. By holding the vote, "we will clearly say that Kosovo is a part of Serbia," Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica told B92 television in Belgrade.
The decision to hold local elections May 11 in Kosovo was published in Serbia's government gazette. The degree says Belgrade intends to organize local elections in 16 Kosovo municipalities, including the capital, Pristina.
The U.N.'s top official in Kosovo, Joachim Ruecker, has said only the U.N. has authority to organize elections in Kosovo.
In the past, the U.N. has allowed Kosovo Serbs to vote in Serbia's parliamentary and presidential elections but local elections are seen as undermining international authorities because they deal directly with Kosovo's internal municipal arrangements.
Russia's U.N. ambassador, meanwhile, dismissed as "pure and simple fabrication" a report that claimed Moscow threatened to block a second term for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon because of his stance on Kosovo.
The Times of London reported Friday that Ban was mounting "a charm offensive" after Russia threatened to block him from serving a second term as secretary-general over his position on Kosovo.
Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters Monday that Russia wasn't "entirely happy" about Ban's stand on Kosovo but vehemently denied there was any link between Ban's future as U.N. chief and the future of the Serb province. He did not mention the newspaper by name.
Russia has backed its ally Serbia in refusing to endorse Kosovo's secession, maintaining that it remains part of Serbia's territory, under U.N. administration.
Associated Press reporter Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report from the United Nations. |