THE SOUTH OF THE BALKANS AND THE TIMES AFTER YUGOSLAVIA

Paris, June 24, 2002.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
esteemed and dear friends:

I have been asked to present my vision of a regional cooperation of the Balkan states, "in light of addressing the Albanian problem".

For more than a dccade the countries of this region have been faced with violence and tragedy largely due to the desire of various ethnic groups not to live as a minority under another ethnic group and due to the mistreatment of minority ethnic groups by the ruling majority in these countries. The people in the region have paid a very heavy price for thcse slrivings. They havc paid in too many lives, too many tears, too many smiles stolen from faces of irmocent children, and in too many homes abandoned or burnt down. And I know too well that the Milosevic regime was responsible for a lot of this suffcring. But the people who have paid one of the highest prices for the Milosevic era are the Serbs themselves. And thcy are still paying it! There are over 700.000 refugees and internally displaced persons in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia who are still paying this heavy price day after day and long for the time when they are going to be able to go back home.

Ladies and Gentlemen, over a quarter of a million expellees and refugees from Kosovo and Metohia, mostly Serbs, are presently living in refugee camps all over Serbia, because Albanian extremism has produced and spread too much fear and because the return to Kosovo and Metohija has become so risky.

I can see logical explanations for this state of things in the fact that the extremism and the ideas of great, ethnically clean states have been put on the margins in all parts of former Yugoslavia except in Kosovo and Metohija. It seems that the idea of one great, ethnically clean state in the region has not been abandoned nor defeated. This anti-European and anti-civilization project has been preserved and strengthened in thc presence of international mediators. I shall never deny the Albanians the right to resolve their ethnic issue, but I must say that it is not acceptable to resolve and close one ethnic issue at the cost of terribly complicating another one. And the second unresolved ethnic issue in the Balkans is the Serbian one.

Democratic forces have come to power in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and in the Republic of Serbia, determined to respect rights of all their citizens and to resolve all outstanding issues in a peaceful way, despite the heavy burden inherited from the previous regime.

We have established diplomatic relations with all our neighbors. We have proven our determination to provide a fair and equal treatment of all our citizens by passing the Law on Rights of Minorities. We have appointed a minority representative to the position of thc federal minister of ethnic groups and communities. Confronted with the crisis in southern Serbia, we exercised prudence and, with a number of confidence building measures, in close cooperation and with the assistance of the international community, restored the confidence of our ethnic Albanian citizens and ousted extremism. We have demilitarized thc region and established a multiethnic police force. We have carried out a census and scheduled municipal by-elections for July 28. We have proven our commitment to a multiethnic society and all our citizens, regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliation, have welcomed it. By acknowledging our Government's efforts, they have adopted and supported this idea.

The challenge fot all of us now is to encouragc the Albanians, both in Kosovo and Metohia and in the region as the whole to see that the way ahead for them is to live as a responsible minority in the countries they live as a minority, and to protect the rights of minorities in the countries where they live as majority. It would be unfair to claim that Albanian parties in Kosovo and Metohija, because Albanians in the province are the majority, should not have a decisive impact on political, economical and cultural life of the province. They are entitled to it by law and by justice. It is up to the intemational community and all ethnic groups to help them achieve this and overcome a very difficult burden they inherited from the past.

With the aim of overcoming this problem, the democratic government in Serbia, closely with OSCE and the international community, has undertaken a number of confidence building measures in southem Serbia. In the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Macedonian authorities are preparing a number of laws that will ensure that the Albanian minority has all rights and responsibilities, and will guarantee that they are treated equal citizens. Therefore the Macedonian Government and we expect that the ethnic Albanian citizens in our two countries behave as responsible citizens.

In Kosovo and Metohia, there is no alternative to a muhiethnic society. The idea of ethnically pure province, the province with neither security nor freedom of movement for all, the province where minorities are intimidated and persecuted, must be abandoned. We must make sure that the Albanians in Kosovo and Metohia recognize that the only possiblc solution for the province is establishment of a strong multiethnic society, because multiethnic communities are the contemporary reality of Europe. Any other solution will prove to be disastrous and will further destabilize the region with inconceivable consequences.

Given the years of antagonism and the depth of the conflict, the process of establishing a strong multiethnic society in Kosovo and Metohia will take time. We must acknowledge that the situation in Kosovo and Metohia is far from satisfactory. The last thing we should do is to rush to judgment and to push for a rapid solution. Instead, we should focus our efforts on addrcssing the legitimate concerns of Scrbs and other non-Albanians in regard to freedom of movcment, security, return of internally displaced persons, and preservation of their cultural and historic heritage and identity. We should focus our efforts on resolving the issue of 1.300 missing and kidnapped Serbs and other non-Albanians, as well as 2.500 missing Albanians. We should focus our efforts on building a modern and unbiased judiciary and police, on economic reconstruction of the province, and integration and full parlicipation of Serbs and other non-Albanians into all levels of life in Kosovo and Metohia.

The way to these objectives is not an easy one and there are no unilateral steps that will bear fruit. We are here to ask for continued assistance, support, and patience of the international community on the way to genuine reconciliation of all ethnic communities in Kosovo and Metohia, because the ethnic reconciliation between Serbs and Albanians will lead to a stable and democratic Balkans, and will bring the Balkans as the whole closer to the European Union.

Thank you for your attention.