PRAGUE, April 17 (Beta) - Kosovo’s independence would be the worst solution for the Balkans, a former UN rapporteur for human rights in Bosnia says.
“Since there are no good solutions, we should opt for respecting the international law,” Jiri Dienstbier, former Czechoslovakian foreign minister, told Czech weekly MF Plus.
He mentioned the existence of the Helsinki Charter which still applied, according to which any alteration of state borders could be applicable only if all concerned parties gave consent.
“Let’s take the Czechs and the Slovakians for an example, or the Russians and the Ukrainians. What is more, prudent politicians know that the recognition of Kosovo can have immense consequences elsewhere. The Republic of Srpska may then seek partition, or Hungarians in Slovakia, or maybe Catalonians and the Basque in Spain,” he argued.
The former Czechoslovakian foreign minister added that “all these years the issues in Kosovo remained unsolved, with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) still in power, regardless of what they call them nowadays.”
The U.S. and the EU’s insistence on granting the province independence is, according to Dienstbier, “a senseless continuation of their politics from the 1990s.”
“There are no good solutions for Kosovo, and independence is surely the worst,” Dienstbier said, adding that the goal of the Albanian politicians in Kosovo was “to unite all Albanians under one flag.”
“It would entail the break-up of the entire Balkans and Europe, for that matter,” he said.
“Should we send our troops there like we did in Iraq,” he asked, reiterating his previously stated position that “the international law should be respected in case a good solution was not available.”
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Kosovo Battle: Law Vs. Lawlessness…
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[…] Former Czech Foreign Minister and the UN rapporteur for human rights in Bosnia, Jiri Dienstbier has recently articulated some of the fears a number of EU member states have vocalized, pointing out that the most solid ground on which real, sustainable solutions can be built is the law itself, not the proposed lawlessness. […]
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