Kostunica Calls for New Serbia Elections

10 November 2008 Belgrade - The leader of the opposition Democratic party of Serbia, Vojislav Kostunica says the government should face a no- confidence vote over the deployment of the EU’s Rule of Law Mission. EULEX, to Kosovo.

“The only way to open a public debate about this is through a parliamentary vote of no confidence in the government, which cannot be sidestepped,” the former prime minister said in an interview for daily Vecernje Novosti. He said his party, DSS, has launched such an initiative to parliament.

Kostunica said that doing so was the last chance to prevent the recognition of the EULEX mission and consequently the recognition of Kosovo’s unilateral independence.

“The authorities are negotiating, in secret and behind the backs of MPs and the citizens of Serbia, over the reconfiguration of UNMIK and the deployment of EULEX throughout the entire territory of Kosovo,” Kostunica warned.

“We want to know who is negotiating on Serbia’s behalf the deployment of a mission whose main goal is the implementation of the Ahtisaari Plan for Kosovo independence. Meanwhile, the government refuses to include the opposition resolution on Kosovo on the parliamentary agenda, while their own resolution,which doesn’t even mention EULEX, is also being withdrawn,“ he pointed out.

Kosovo was under UN administration since 1999 until it declared unilateral independence from Serbia in February this year.

Serbia does not recognise Kosovo`s independence and says it would only accept the deployment of EULEX if the mission is status neutral, approved by the UN, and is not linked to the plan of the UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari.