Eurasia Press & News
On February 17, 2008, the Assembly of Kosovo adopted by acclamation the Declaration on the Independence of Kosovo. All 109 Albanian MPs voted for the declaration.
As Danas wrote at the time, the Kosovo Parliament continued its work in an extraordinary session by adopting the state symbols – the coat of arms and the flag.
However, none of the ten Serbian MPs attended the session, nor the MP – Goranac, nor the heads of UNMIK and KFOR.
There were 21 international representatives at the meeting, including the former head of the OSCE verification mission in Kosovo and Metohija, William Walker.
With the aforementioned Declaration, Kosovo was declared an independent and sovereign state, “formed on the basis of Marti Ahtisaari’s plan”.
The text of the declaration was read to the MPs by the then president of the interim government of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, who, after the adoption of the document, addressed the assembly in the Serbian language, although no Serbian representative attended the session.
On that occasion, Thaci said that February 17 should be a new beginning for Kosovo.
“Today marks the end of Belgrade’s rule. Today, at the same time, marks a new beginning for Kosovo. Today, a decision on independence is made based on Marti Ahtisaari’s plan,” Thaci said in Serbian, at the session of the Kosovo Parliament.
In this address, Thaci also added that Kosovo will be a tolerant, multi-ethnic society.
At that time, the then president of Kosovo, Fatmir Sejdiu, addressed the Serbs in Kosovo, stressing that the adoption of the declaration represents a contribution to the “building of a European Kosovo”.
“Kosovo is both your house and your homeland,” Sejdiu said, promising that their ethnic, linguistic and cultural integrity would be fully respected.
That day at 6 pm, Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiju, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and Parliament Speaker Jakup Krasnići signed the declaration on Kosovo’s secession from Serbia, followed by all members of the Kosovo Assembly.
According to the proposal of the special commission, the new flag of Kosovo has been determined to have a blue base, with the map of Kosovo in white in the middle, and above it six stars of the same color and size as on the flag of the European Union.
Also, the coat of arms of Kosovo is defined to have a blue base with a yellow map of Kosovo above which there are also stars as on the flag.
Given that all this was enacted in accordance with Ahtisaari’s plan, it provided for Kosovo’s independence to be overseen by a European Union mission.
Kostunica after the declaration of independence of Kosovo: Humiliated Europe and not Serbia
After the declaration of Kosovo’s independence, the then Prime Minister of Serbia, Vojislav Koštunica, gave an address.
“It has never been clearer than today why Serbia was savagely destroyed by NATO bombs. The president of the USA, who is responsible for this violence, and his followers will be written in black letters in the history of Serbia, but also in every history of international law and the world order based on it”, said Koštunica, and repeated that the Government of Serbia will cancel all documents that creates a “fake state” on the soil of Serbia.
He added that the European Union was first and foremost humiliated by this act, and not Serbia, which “refused to humble itself, sticking firmly to its rights and refusing to submit to force.”
“By placing violence above the principles of international law, the US, by applying blind force, humiliated and forced the EU to trample on the principles on which the EU itself rests,” Koštunica said.
Reactions across the country
Protest
Thousands of citizens protested in the center of Belgrade the day before the declaration of independence.
Also, from 1990 to 1999, several hundred members of the Nis Association of War Fighters protested in the center of Nis due to the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo and Metohija, and expressed their readiness to “again defend it with weapons and bodies.”
“Day of Shame”
The Crown Council also reacted to the declaration of independence, noting that February 17 will live in history as a day of shame, because “on that day Europe trampled on its face”.
Aleksandar Vučić
Also, the then general secretary of the Serbian Radical Party, Aleksandar Vučić, announced that the radicals would organize a large rally in Belgrade, in order to oppose the “occupiers and Albanian separatists”.
President of Serbia
“Serbia will never recognize the independence of Kosovo and Metohija. We, KiM, will never give up and we will not give up the fight for our legitimate interests. For the citizens of Serbia and its institutions, the Republic of Kosovo will always remain Serbia,” said Boris Tadić, the then president of Serbia, in 2008, addressing the United Nations Security Council.
Demonstrations of hooligans
On February 18, about two hundred hooligans demolished the McDonald’s restaurant on Zeleni Venac in the center of Belgrade.
The gendarmerie responded after a few minutes, the rioters dispersed, and several of them were arrested.
Franco-German proposal for the solution of the Kosovo issue – 15 years later
After 15 years, Serbia and Kosovo have a Franco-German proposal on the table that should resolve this issue.
In Article 4 of the “European” proposal of the “basic agreement between Kosovo and Serbia”, which Danas received through diplomatic channels, it is written that Serbia and Kosovo proceed from the assumption that neither of them can represent the other party in the international sphere or act on its behalf.
Namely, this document calls for equal rights for Serbia and Kosovo, respect for territorial integrity and inviolability of borders, recognition of state symbols and a special arrangement for the Serbian community in Kosovo.
The aforementioned proposal was supported by a group of public figures, including former ambassadors, journalists and historians.
The signatories called on representatives of the authorities, political institutions and citizens to accept the so-called German-French plan for Kosovo, as an opportunity for Serbia to “definitely orient itself towards Euro-Atlantic integration for the first time”.
The final decision on acceptance is still awaited, and the public in Serbia is strictly divided on whether it should be adopted or rejected.
