UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in consultation with the Government of Serbia, has put forth six points that would give Serbia broad administrative powers over Serb majority areas within the Republic of Kosovo, including police, judiciary, transportation and infrastructure, boundaries, customs and religious sites. These six points threaten Kosovo’s territorial sovereignty and integrity, violate the Constitution of Kosovo, conflict with the Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status Settlement proposed by UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, and jeopardize the fragile peace that has been secured in Kosovo and South East Europe. Further, Serb citizens living in enclaves in Kosovo have indicated their opposition to increased Serbian governmental influence.

Since the democratically elected National Assembly declared Kosovo’s independence on 17 February 2008, Kosovo has been recognized by 52 UN member states, including 22 European Union members. Kosovo has also been recognized by all bordering states except Serbia, including Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania.

The Constitution of Kosovo protects the rights of all citizens, including Serb citizens. The Constitution guarantees Serb representation in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo (Art. 63.2(1)), seats as Ministers and Deputy Ministers (Art. 96), access to media in the Serb language (Art. 59(11)), representation on the Kosovo Judicial Council (Art. 108.6(3)) and national language rights (Art. 59(11)).

The full deployment of the EULEX mission in Kosovo, including in the north and Serb enclaves in compliance with Ahtisaari’s plan, is essential for the stability of Kosovo.

Kosovar citizens plan to march through Prishtina at noon on Wednesday, 19 November 2008 to oppose the six points. Citizens will emphasize the illegality of the proposed Serb Government administration through their motto, “Sovereignty comes from people.”

RWL supports citizens in this effort, agreeing that any political decision concerning Kosovo should be made by citizens and legitimate authorities of Kosovo rather than imposed by outside international bodies.