Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci confirmed yesterday that the province would declare its independence from Serbia today, the day when the "will of the citizens of Kosovo" would be implemented.
"Tomorrow will be a day of calm, of understanding, and of state engagements for the implementation of the will of the citizens of Kosovo," said Thaci, after meeting religious leaders from the predominantly ethnic Albanian province.
Expectations that independence would be declared today have been running high, but Thaci's comments marked the first top-level confirmation that the long awaited break with Serbia would take place this weekend.
PHOTO: AFP
Thaci appealed for celebrations to unfold with "dignity ... on the day of the declaration of independence, on the big day, on the historic day ... a day of thanksgiving for a sovereign and independent Kosovo."
Kosovo inched closer to its historic declaration of independence with a growing sense of excitement among its people and the EU launching a police and judicial mission to smooth the birth of the world's newest state.
Serbia, backed by Russia, has said that the split -- supported by the US and most major European powers, nine years after Kosovo was put under interim UN administration -- would be illegal.
The leader of Kosovo's Serb minority, Milan Ivanovic, said that the EU police and justice mission -- designed to help Kosovo's transition to sovereignty -- was a form of "occupation."
Without giving their sources, several newspapers in Pristina reported yesterday that the declaration would come around 3pm today to the strains of Ode to Joy, the EU anthem.
Street parties and fireworks would follow, while the NATO-lead Kosovo Force that has been deployed in Kosovo since 1999 -- when the province was put under UN interim administration -- is expected to be out in force to ensure security.
"Everything is pointing to Sunday," a source close to Thaci's government said earlier in the day, as Serbia all but gave up hope of hanging onto the province it sees as the cradle of its culture and Serbian Orthodox religion.
The EU yesterday approved the launch of a 2,000-strong police and justice mission for Kosovo.
The supervisory mission was formally endorsed at midnight after none of the EU's 27 member states objected to an operation plan for the mission before an agreed deadline, a diplomatic source said.
"The [EU] Council has decided to launch the European Union rule of law mission in Kosovo," the EU said in a statement, adding that the operation would take over powers from the existing UN mission in the territory after a 120-day transition period.
The statement also named Dutchman Pieter Feith as the EU civilian administrator in Kosovo. He is expected to take over from UN supremo Joachim Ruecker in June.
The EU rule of law mission will chiefly mentor and advise Kosovo police and judicial authorities but will have some executive powers, notably in the fight against organized crime, corruption and the hunt for war criminals.
EU foreign ministers will discuss their response to Kosovo's decision tomorrow.
Diplomats said up to 20 EU countries were likely to recognize the new state rapidly, but at least six -- Cyprus, Greece, Slovakia, Spain, Bulgaria and Romania -- have indicated they will not do so immediately.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2