Breaking news: Kosovo declares independence

17/02/2008

PRISTINA, Kosovo, Serbia -- In an emergency session on Sunday (November 17th), Kosovo's parliament unanimously endorsed a declaration of independence from Serbia. "We, the leaders of the institutions of Kosovo, declare Kosovo a free and independent country," it reads, pledging to abide by a plan put forward last year by UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari.

"We express the will of the institutions and we express our commitment to protect and promote the rights and freedoms of all the communities in Kosovo and their participation in decision making," states the document, which was read to parliament by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. "We will abide by the obligations in Ahtisaari's plan and we will fulfill these obligations in the future -- especially Annex 12 of his plan, the one that deals with the rights of ethnic communities.''

The declaration also welcomes an EU judicial and police mission in Kosovo, and urges NATO to continue with its current peacekeeping mission. It pledges that Kosovo will contribute to reconciliation in the Balkans and expresses a wish for "good relations with all our neighbours, especially Serbia". Several EU countries and the United States are expected to extend recognition as early as Monday, while NATO peacekeepers have been placed on alert in case of any escalation of tensions.

Celebrations were already under way Saturday in Pristina as people took to the streets to dance and wave the Albanian national flag. In Belgrade, however, hundreds of Serb nationalists demonstrated against independence. About 1,000 people gathered to protest Kosovo's separation in front of the Serbian embassy in Slovenia, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica spoke on national TV shortly after the vote in Pristina. He called on Serbian citizens "to come together and show the whole world that we do not acknowledge the creation of a false state on our territory". (RTS, Reuters - 17/02/08; CNN, AFP, Dnevnik, Tanjug, Koha Ditore - 16/02/08; AP, AFP, BGNES, Alsat - 15/02/08)