Serbia on charm offensive at Sharm El-Sheik
21st June 2008
While the hot topic at the African Union meeting at Sharm El-Sheik is the legitimacy of Robert Mugabe in presidential elections, other agendas, will of course be discussed on the sidelines. In a statement on its website, the Serbian government has said that the country's foreign minister Vuk Jeremic would be lobbying African statesmen in an effort to prevent further recognition of Kosovo. In May and June, three African nations gave their recognition to the breakaway province. Jeremic argued that it was in the interests of African nations to support Serbian claims to Kosovo, noting that 'African countries are aware that if Kosovo's independence is recognised by a majority of countries in the international community they may also feel the consequences of that because it would create a precedent that may endanger the integrity of other countries. 'He said that 'there are many ethnic movements [in Africa] demanding a higher degree of autonomy, and in some cases independence'.
Despite the return of a pro-EU faction to the Serbian parliament in May, the Kosovo question remains tense. On June 28th Kosovan Serbs created an 'Assembly of the Union of Serb Municipalities' consisting of 45 representatives returned in the Serbian local elections extended to the Serb-dominated regions of Kosovo, north of the Ibar River, and heightening fears of de facto partition between a Serb and Albanian Kosovo.
However the Serbian political community appears equivocal about the wisdom of forming the assembly, which the United Nations Mission in Kosovo declared to be illegal, and which is in danger of becoming a stumbling block in Serbia's relations with the European Union.
On June 20th United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon unveiled plans to reconfigure the structure and profile of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo which, he said, would adjust UNMIK in such a way that the European Union would play 'an enhanced operational role in the rule of law area under a UN umbrella, in line with the original 1999 resolution that established the mission'.
The Secretary-General also confirmed the UN position of 'status-neutrality' on the question of the status of Kosovo.
While the hot topic at the African Union meeting at Sharm El-Sheik is the legitimacy of Robert Mugabe in presidential elections, other agendas, will of course be discussed on the sidelines. In a statement on its website, the Serbian government has said that the country's foreign minister Vuk Jeremic would be lobbying African statesmen in an effort to prevent further recognition of Kosovo. In May and June, three African nations gave their recognition to the breakaway province. Jeremic argued that it was in the interests of African nations to support Serbian claims to Kosovo, noting that 'African countries are aware that if Kosovo's independence is recognised by a majority of countries in the international community they may also feel the consequences of that because it would create a precedent that may endanger the integrity of other countries. 'He said that 'there are many ethnic movements [in Africa] demanding a higher degree of autonomy, and in some cases independence'.
Despite the return of a pro-EU faction to the Serbian parliament in May, the Kosovo question remains tense. On June 28th Kosovan Serbs created an 'Assembly of the Union of Serb Municipalities' consisting of 45 representatives returned in the Serbian local elections extended to the Serb-dominated regions of Kosovo, north of the Ibar River, and heightening fears of de facto partition between a Serb and Albanian Kosovo.
However the Serbian political community appears equivocal about the wisdom of forming the assembly, which the United Nations Mission in Kosovo declared to be illegal, and which is in danger of becoming a stumbling block in Serbia's relations with the European Union.
On June 20th United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon unveiled plans to reconfigure the structure and profile of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo which, he said, would adjust UNMIK in such a way that the European Union would play 'an enhanced operational role in the rule of law area under a UN umbrella, in line with the original 1999 resolution that established the mission'.
The Secretary-General also confirmed the UN position of 'status-neutrality' on the question of the status of Kosovo.