RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 7, No. 232, Part II, 11 December 2003

UN PRESENTS 'ROAD MAP' FOR KOSOVA.

Harri Holkeri, who heads the UN
civilian administration in Kosova (UNMIK), made public the
long-awaited program called "Standards for Kosovo" in Prishtina on 10
December, Reuters reported. Representatives of Kosova's more than 90
percent ethnic Albanian majority hailed the document, but
representatives of the Serbian minority boycotted the meeting and
rejected the plan, saying it does not go far enough to enable Serbs
who fled the province with Serbian forces in 1999 to return. The
document lists targets that must be met in key areas such as
democracy, the rule of law, the economy, and the Serbs' return before
talks can begin on the final status of Kosova, perhaps in mid-2005.
All Kosovar political parties agree that independence is the only
option and that they want no political links to Belgrade. Kosova's
President Ibrahim Rugova told Holkeri's meeting that "we give our
support to these standards and we shall work and be committed to
implementing them." Kosovar leaders have long asked for a clear
roadmap for status talks, arguing that delays promote insecurity and
impede progress (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 and 13 November 2003, and
"RFE/RL Balkan Report," 1 August and 17 October 2003). PM