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Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Vuk Jeremic Speeches
Address to the Belgrade Ministerial Meeting of the Southeast Europe Cooperation Process by H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremic Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Belgrade 14 June 2012 PDF Print E-mail
Monday, 23 July 2012.


Address to the Belgrade Ministerial Meeting of
the Southeast Europe Cooperation Process

by H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremic Minister of Foreign
Affairs of the Republic of Serbia

Belgrade 14 June 2012


Dear Fellow Foreign Ministers,
Excellencies,
Representatives of the RCC Board,
Invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Belgrade Ministerial Meeting of the Southeast European Cooperation Process.

Both last year and continuing into this one, this city has served as a vibrant center of regional cooperation, playing host to more than one hundred chairmanship events— over 30 within the SEECP framework alone.

In 2011, we successfully presided over the Central European Initiative, the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, and the Migration Asylum and Refugees Regional Initiative. Serbia currently chairs the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation, in addition to the SEECP.

As part of our duties, we organized the first-ever informal meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of three of these organizations on the margins of the UN General Assembly high-level debate—the SEECP, CEI and All. On that occasion, we discussed a number of cross-regional issues, as well as exchange views on pressing international matters. 1 hope the inaugural meeting which I chaired last September in New York will evolve into an annual tradition.

Excellencies,

One of the most important priorities of the Serbian SEECP chairmanship was to establish a coordinated approach in the fight against organized crime and terrorism. A number of concrete steps were taken in the fields of law enforcement and judicial cooperation to tackle this grave threat to our security. One of the most important was the groundbreaking Ministerial Conference on Regional and Transnational Cooperation in the Fight against Organized Crime in Southeast Europe, which we hosted in November. For the first time, standardized mechanisms to combat this scourge were established, both in the law-enforcement and judicial fields.

Another chairmanship priority was the development of a cohesive strategy to enhance environmental security. Like organized crime, natural disasters and climate change take no account of boundaries. We worked hard to increase the efficiency of existing projects, such as the Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative for Southeast Europe. This was a main topic of last November's Ministerial Conference on the Harmonization of Regional Activities in the Prevention of Natural and Man-made Disasters.

Serbia also continued to promote a concrete project we believe should be an integral part of the solution to shared environment security challenges: the Nis-based Regional Humanitarian Emergency Response Center.

This state-of-the-art disaster management facility became operational during Serbia's SEECP chairmanship. It is designed to optimize civil defense response-time, as well as build capacity for rescuers throughout Southeast Europe. The Center will also serve as a focal point for disaster relief efforts—including rapid humanitarian assistance, search-and-rescue, population evacuations, and aerial forest firefighting.

We hope this flagship initiative, which we have developed jointly with the Russian Federation, will be supported by member-capitals and regional stakeholders—all of whom are invited to participate in it as full-fledged partners.

Excellencies,

Promoting cultural cooperation was another chairmanship priority. In September, we hosted a successful meeting of Southeast European culture ministers. This was immediately followed up by the Ninth UNESCO Regional Summit of Heads of State and Government.

The overarching theme of our activities in this area was how to deepen the sometimes underappreciated commonalities. Multiculturalism in this part of the world is truly authentic. There is nothing artificial or imposed in the way we borrow and complement each other as we mark various events and commemorate historical figures. The similarities in celebrations involving Hizir, the central figure of the Turkish spring festival Hidrelez, and the feast of St. George in Catholic, Orthodox and Roma traditions throughout the Balkans, are a good example. An initiative is underway to place this shared experience on the UNESCO Representative List of World Intangible Heritage.

During the Serbian SEECP chairmanship, a proposal was made to inscribe on the UNESCO World Heritage List the medieval funerary monuments of the Bogumils, the Stecaks. Together with Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia, we will soon nominate the Dinaric Karst Region for inclusion on the List, as well.
Serbia will continue to play an active role in strengthening Southeast Europe's links with UNESCO, as a term-member of its World Heritage Committee.

We believe the cultural dimension is an integral part of completing the process of reconciliation, as is resolving the refugee issue.

During our chairmanship, concrete steps were taken in forging a new consensus on how to fully protect the rights of refugees in the Balkans. Last November, Belgrade played host to a Review Ministerial Conference, which produced a groundbreaking Joint Declaration. It reaffirmed the political will of all the stakeholders to continue working on a comprehensive regional solution to all outstanding refugee problems. It also set up a Joint Regional Multi-Year Program, including a Regional Housing Program, which we have now begun to implement, thanks to the hundreds of millions of euros we were able to secure at the International Donors Conference, held this past April in Sarajevo.

Excellencies,

One of the most important issue raised during our chairmanship was how to institutionally strengthen our Organization, by providing it with the necessary tools to more effectively meet contemporary regional challenges.

In furtherance of this, I wrote to the SEECP foreign ministers several months ago to ask them to share their ideas and suggestions on how to move this Organization's reform agenda forward. I would like to thank everyone for their responses. It is good that we all agree that a more up-to-date concept of regional ownership within the SEECP context needs to be promoted. This will help our efforts to consolidate the role and capacity of our Organization in deepening political dialogue, economic cooperation, and cultural commonalities throughout our part of the Old Continent.

To that end, I would like to propose a discussion about establishing a Southeast Europe Parliamentary Assembly, on the basis of the best practices of the Council of Europe and OSCE parliamentary assemblies. As a balanced reflection of the political forces represented in our respective legislatures, what could be called "SEEPA" would in time come to serve as our region's democratic conscience, endeavoring to help the member states honor their SEECP commitments and obligations.

Excellencies,

Deepening the institutional dialogue between the SEECP and the European Commission, as well as other branches of the Union's governance structure, was also a priority of the Serbian chairmanship.

The EU—like the OSCE—is a valued member of the Regional Cooperation Council, which is the SEECP's implementing arm. We worked to enhance the RCC project-oriented approach, with a particular emphasis on modernizing infrastructure. This includes updating the electricity grid, harmonizing national energy strategies, and furthering railway network rehabilitation—as well as fully modernizing Corridors VII and X. We expect that the forthcoming election of a new RCC Secretary General— my dear friend and colleague Goran Svilanovic—will inject a new dynamism into, and instill closer cooperation between, the RCC and the SEECP,

The RCC is also the appropriate regional fora within which the voice of the ethnic-Albanian authorities of our southern province of Kosovo and Metohija can be heard. This is in line with the agreement on regional representation reached within the framework of the EU-facilitated technical dialogue. It allows Pristina to participate as a non-state actor in RCC meetings. The status-neutral agreement, which accords with UN Security resolution 1244 (1999), does not extend to multilateral fora in which membership is reserved for sovereign states, such as the SEECP.

Pretending otherwise serves no legitimate purpose. Doing so would set back the gains we have made in promoting cooperation over the past few years, constituting a threat to peace and stability in Southeast Europe.

I want to be clear on this point: wherever there is a Republic of Serbia, there cannot be a 'Republic of Kosovo.'

Not in the SEECP—and not in the Council of Europe, the OSCE and any institution or agency in the UN system.

Excellencies,

This year marks the hundredth anniversary of the First Balkan War. To observe this centenary, we have made the unifying slogan for our regional activities to be 'From Balkan Wars to Balkan Peace.' This phrase aptly encapsulates what we seek to bring to completion: the full transformation and modernization of our respective societies.

Such an accomplishment will close the door for good on an era that ultimately delivered less than the promise it made to each of the nations that share our geography.

The gains we have made as a region have been tremendous—there is no doubt about that. The countries represented in this chamber have worked very hard to deepen bilateral and multilateral relations. Strengthening comprehensive ties has been and remains a strategic priority for each of us—all the more so in these times of political and economic uncertainty.

Nonetheless, peace, security and prosperity have yet to be fully consolidated in Southeast Europe.

As the Serbian chairmanship draws to a close, 1 would like to use this opportunity to appeal to the SEECP member States to work even more closely together, so our region can finally live up to its strategic potential, as we seek to emerge from this global period of change in a more advantageous position, making full use of our status as a great crossroads of cultures, traditions, ethnicities, and religions.

Thank you for your attention
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Address to the Belgrade Informal Ministerial Meeting of the Southeast Europe Cooperation Process by H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremić Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia PDF Print E-mail
Tuesday, 31 January 2012.

Address to the Belgrade Informal Ministerial Meeting of
the Southeast Europe Cooperation Process

by H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremić
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia

Belgrade
31 January 2012

 


Dear Fellow Foreign Ministers,
Excellencies,
Representatives of the RCC Board,
Invited Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me begin by extending a warm welcome to all to this informal ministerial meeting of the Southeast European Cooperation Process.

Both last year and continuing into this one, Belgrade has been a symbolic center of regional cooperation—playing host to more than one hundred chairmanship events.

In 2011, we successfully presided over the Central European Initiative, the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, and the Migration Asylum and Refugees Regional Initiative. Serbia currently chairs the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation. In a few months, the Second UN Alliance of Civilizations Forum for Southeast Europe will take place here, as well.

Excellencies,

One of our most important SEECP chairmanship priorities has been to establish a coordinated approach in the fight against organized crime and terrorism. Through a number of concrete initiatives involving law enforcement and judicial authorities, we have taken notable strides towards synergizing efforts to eliminate this grave threat to our region's security—its root causes, as well as its effects.

Another chairmanship priority is deepening institutional dialogue with the European Commission and other branches of the Union's governance structure. The EU—like the OSCE—is a valued member of the Regional Cooperation Council, which is the SEECP's implementing arm. We have enhanced the RCC project-oriented approach, with a particular emphasis on modernizing infrastructure. This includes updating the electricity grid, harmonizing national energy strategies, and furthering railway network rehabilitation—as well as fully modernizing Corridors VII and X.

As SEECP chair, Serbia has also placed special emphasis on the complex set of issues related to refugees and IDPs, including the rights to which they are entitled. We have further strengthened the working mechanism jointly established by Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia over the course of the 2010 and 2011 meetings in Belgrade, with the participation of the EU, U.S., UNHCR, OSCE and Council of Europe. There is still much work to be done in this area before all the wounds can heal, but we finally seem to be moving in the direction of securing a just compensation for the victims—a long-overdue development in regional relations.

Excellencies,

Promoting cultural cooperation is one of Serbia's most important SEECP chairmanship priorities. In early September, for instance, we hosted a successful meeting of Southeast European culture ministers. This was immediately followed up by the Ninth UNESCO Regional Summit of Heads of State and Government.

We have worked very hard to place our cultural commonalities at the heart of regional peace-building and reconciliation efforts. Our ultimate goal is to put an end to enmity in this part of the Old Continent—to break for good the vicious circle of hatred, and to make sure it never again takes hold of our political imagination.

In Southeast Europe, heritage often cuts across international borders, administrative boundaries, and ethnic heartlands. Regrettably, this has sometimes led to horrifying attacks on cultural sites. Serbia has ardently campaigned against such acts of aggression against another's identity.

We have also emphasized our shared heritage, and how this can bring us closer together. For instance, we will propose—together with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro—inscribing on the UNESCO World Heritage List the medieval funerary monuments of the Bogumils, the Stećaks. Together with Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia, we will soon nominate the Dinaric Karst Region for inclusion on the List.

As a term-member of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, Serbia will work hard to promote the cultural diversity of Southeast Europe in ways that enhance good neighborly relations between the member states. We will also build upon the commitments made during our SEECP chairmanship to keep strengthening links with the most creative elements in civil society—artists, intellectuals, teachers, and writers.

We will re-double our efforts to imbue young people with a sense that they belong to a shared regional cultural environment. For instance, Serbia will continue supporting the establishment of a multinational Museum of Contemporary Art in Sarajevo—in addition to promoting various traveling exhibitions, as well as cross-border music and theatre festivals.

Excellencies,

An additional priority of Serbia's SEECP chairmanship is the development of a cohesive strategy for environmental security. Natural disasters and climate change take no account of boundaries. The member states need to work together in developing strong, cohesive adaptation and mitigation strategies.

By the end of our term in office, we will have held a number of meetings and conferences on this critical public policy issue. Our aim is not only to explore ways in which existing mechanisms can be updated and made more efficient, such as the Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative for Southeastern Europe. It is also to further a concrete initiative we believe should be an integral part of the solution to shared environment security challenges: the Niš-based Regional Humanitarian Emergency Response Center.

This state-of-the-art disaster management facility is designed to optimize civil defense response-time, as well as build capacity for rescuers throughout Southeast Europe. The Center is also intended to serve as a focal point for disaster relief efforts—including rapid humanitarian assistance, search-and-rescue, emergency population evacuations, and aerial forest firefighting.

We hope this flagship initiative will be supported by the SEECP member states—all of whom are invited to participate in it as full-fledged partners.

Excellencies,

Our meeting is taking place under the ominous cloud of a global recession, whose epicenter now lies in the EU. Its enormity and still unfolding consequences will inevitably impact well into the future not only Southeast Europe, but regions and markets far beyond our shores.

Some have gone so far as to caution against the "ease" with which the eurozone crisis could "slide into a 1930s moment," as did the IMF's Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, just a few days ago in Berlin.

For a number of states represented here, its resulting political effects will pose additional challenges, given the fact that in many quarters of the Union, the enthusiasm for enlargement has waned.

But I want to make it very clear that this has not impinged on our Government's strategic determination to firmly anchor Serbia in Europe.

Our comprehensive reforms agenda will continue apace, for we believe this is indispensable to the long-term prosperity of our nation.

Its foundations have been set by the 1993 Copenhagen European Council criteria, as well as the regional cooperation conditions subsequently established by the Stabilization and Association framework about a decade later.

Excellencies,

This year marks the hundredth anniversary of the First Balkan War. To observe this centenary, we propose that the unifying slogan for our regional activities be 'From Balkan Wars to Balkan Peace.' This phrase indeed encapsulates what we seek to establish: an unbreakable pattern of continuous cooperation amongst the nations that belong to the SEECP space.

The critical question is whether we have the will to do so, after a century characterized by political confrontation and recurring warfare.

This may seem to be a tall order. But by combining hope, confidence and imagination, I believe it can become an eminently achievable proposition.

What will be required is not only a common vision and the courage of leadership, but also the strategic foresight to concentrate on the fundamental benefits that would ultimately result for the entire region.

In my view, success is predicated on casting aside antiquated ways of thinking about each other as rivals or adversaries. We will have to work together on shaping outcomes to unresolved issues in ways that will be acceptable to everyone who inhabits our lands.

And we will have to guard ourselves against the cynical, fearful or doubtful. Such people have never been able to solve our region's problems, either being content with allowing them to fester until reaching the boiling point, or wanting to relinquish control over our own future in one fell swoop.

Neither extreme can empower the region to cross the Rubicon of everlasting peace.
____

A sagacious Irishman, George Bernard Shaw, once reflected that "some see displeasing things that are, and say 'why'; but we need men who can dream of great things that never were, and ask 'why not.'"

Such words could serve as a source of inspiration, as we endeavor to close the door for good on an era that ultimately delivered less than the promise it made to each of the nations that share our geography.

From Balkan Wars to Balkan Peace. Getting there is certainly not beyond our reach, if we are truly willing to emancipate ourselves from the mindset of conflict endemic to our region for much of the past hundred years.

As long as a shared resolve is maintained, our journey will move forward, irreversibly transforming Southeast Europe into a safe and sturdy bastion of freedom and prosperity.

Thank you for your attention.
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Address Before the Fifth Serbian Ambassadors’ Conference by H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremić Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia PDF Print E-mail
Monday, 16 January 2012.

 

Address Before the Fifth Serbian Ambassadors' Conference

by H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremić
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia

Belgrade, 16 January 2012

Dear Foreign Minister Portas,
Respected Dean of the Diplomatic Corps,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the fifth Ambassadors' Conference of the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dear Paulo, thank you for honoring us with your presence, and for Portugal's continuing support and encouragement for Serbia's European process.

I would also like to extend a warm welcome to the diplomatic corps. I look forward to engaging with you further in 2012, as we work to deepen our relationships around the globe on the basis of mutual interest and respect.

To our country's ambassadors, I extend a message of sincere appreciation. In no small part due to your diligence and hard work, we have succeeded in executing a principled and consistent foreign policy over the past four years, in accordance with the mandate entrusted to this Government by the citizens of the Republic of Serbia. I want to thank you for continuing to represent, protect, and promote our national interests under trying circumstances.

Excellencies,

We live in a period of unbridled change; it is practically impossible to predict what the world will look like, even in the not too distant future.

In my view, this situation is in many ways reminiscent to the period of the French Revolution. As its influence spread across the Old Continent and beyond, its political and social manifestations became more varied. The only constant was that nothing remained the same once its influence reached a particular country, as nation after nation remonstrated for their particular social contract to be re-written. The geopolitical consequences for the international system were both unprecedented and wholly unforeseen. Reflecting back on that period, the political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that "the continent's chief rulers were prepared for everything except for what actually happened."

Similarly, the contemporary world seems beset by a series of ruptures whose ultimate outcomes cannot be plausibly conceptualized. "We meet here amidst upheavals of unprecedented scope"—these were the words used by Henry Kissinger at a conference in Germany a little over two months ago to describe the present tumults.

This high level of geopolitical volatility will likely remain with us for quite some time, potentially propelling the international system into unexpected directions with an apparent spontaneity that could surprise just about everyone. Across-the-board repositioning seems to be taking pace, as norms shift, poles multiply, and rules get re-defined. As all this unfolds, the capacity of established clusters of influence to shape events in their favor will probably diminish.

Excellencies,

I believe that at least three distinct variables in the increasingly complex global equation require our heightened attention. The first is empowerment. Peoples are rising up against political and economic subjugation. Feelings of dispossession, nourished by instantaneous flows of information from across the world, have led to increased dissatisfaction about their own, local conditions.

Without casting doubts on the ethical dimension of the struggle for democracy, it is clear that uncertainty in many corners of the planet will increase because of the movement for greater empowerment. Security will be further undermined by the reemergence of sectarian loyalties, and ethnic as well as tribal grievances—many of them long-suppressed. Such developments may have far-reaching implications quite beyond the affected areas, most notably the Middle East.

The second variable in the new global equation takes as its starting point the legitimate calls for a redistribution of power and influence in the international arena. They are coming from multiple directions, regions, and formats.

Brazil's emergence, Russia's renewal, India's ascent, China's rise, and South Africa's confidence are amongst the main causes of this phenomenon, and so is the dynamism of a number of regional powerhouses—like Germany and Turkey.

As their respective capabilities increase, they will be assuming a greater degree of influence over what is going on in the world around them.

The historical record reminds us that great skill is required for major shifts in power relationships to take place without dangerous frictions. It is encouraging, however, that the more established actors—who are, after all, the architects, principal beneficiaries, and main defenders of the status quo—are tacitly acknowledging that changes will have to be made to the existing global governance rulebook.

A harsher counter-reaction has perhaps been avoided due to the inescapable trend in global finance, which has seen traditional debtor and creditor countries engage in an unprecedented role reversal drama. As one of the world's top diplomats has exclaimed, "you can't get tough on your banker."

This brings me to the third critical variable in the complex global equation—what many people acknowledge as the most devastating economic calamity the world has known since the Depression of the 1930s. At first, the United States was its epicenter. Now it is the EU.

For many months, the Union has struggled to cope with the euro sovereign debt issue—the most severe challenge ever to befall the European project, and one which is morphing into a profound crisis of governance.

Its enormity and still unfolding consequences will inevitably impact the Balkans well into the future. We are already facing the fact that in many quarters of the Union, the enthusiasm for enlargement has waned.

But this has not affected our Government's strategic determination to firmly anchor Serbia in Europe.

Meeting this critical goal is fundamentally about modernization and standards. It has also challenged us to keep raising the levels of efficiency, transparency and accountability—all of which are indispensable to the long-term prosperity of our nation.

The process of reform will therefore continue apace. Its nuts and bolts are in the criteria set by the Copenhagen European Council in 1993, as well as regional cooperation conditions subsequently established by the Stabilization and Association framework about a decade later.

Our Government will keep prioritizing their fulfillment—regardless of when the EU will achieve the necessary consensus on any of the formal steps in our integration process.

Excellencies,

Throughout the course of this Government's four year term, we have worked tirelessly on the process of reconciliation in the Balkans.

In addition to fully cooperating with the Hague Tribunal, Serbia has taken a number of bold steps, with President Tadic leading the way in working hard to close painful chapters in the recent history of the region.

But for true reconciliation to take place, we must prevent legitimate pleas for justice from degenerating into an impulse for vengeance or attempts to assign collective guilt.

Putting an end to enmity is the ultimate task of reconciliation. Yesterday's tragedies must not be allowed to circumscribe anyone's ability to reach out and work together for a better, more inclusive and tolerant tomorrow.

In our view, this is the strongest foundation upon which to build a common future. For its part, Serbia will, in 2012, devote particular attention to ensuring the Western Balkans can prosper in peace and security.

We are proud of the fact that in 2011, Belgrade has been a symbolic capital of regional cooperation. Last year, we successfully presided over the Central European Initiative, the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, and the Migration Asylum and Refugees Regional Initiative. We currently chair the most important one—the Southeast European Cooperation Process—as well as the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation. In a few months, the Second UN Alliance of Civilizations Forum for Southeast Europe will take place here, as well.
____

With the support of other successor states to the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia recently hosted the Fiftieth Anniversary Commemoration Ministerial Meeting of the First Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, which took place in Belgrade in 1961. In total, one hundred and five high-level delegations participated in this grand event—shining a light on the fact that the NAM bequest remains a source of commonality for the former Yugoslav space.

In a few weeks, we expect that a final decision will be reached on our candidacy to chair the OSCE in 2015, as part of an innovative package application with Switzerland. Being entrusted with such a responsibility—the product of a consensus by the 56 Participating States—will surely help to speed up the transformation of the Balkans into a dynamic area of convergence, a great European crossroads of cultures, traditions, ethnicities, and religions.

Over the next twelve months, the unifying slogan for all our regional activities will be 'From Balkan Wars to Balkan Peace'—a phrase that we hope will encapsulate what can be accomplished during the year that marks the one hundredth anniversary of the First Balkan War. We look forward to stand at the forefront of efforts to close the door for good on an era that ultimately delivered less than the promise it made to each of the nations that share our geography.

Excellencies,

For the Western Balkans to prosper in harmony, unresolved issues will need to be addressed in ways that do not undermine regional security. The central impediment to achieving this strategic imperative is the disagreement on the issue of Kosovo, and the failed attempt to resolve it by imposition, through UDI—the February 17th, 2008 Unilateral Declaration of Independence by the province's ethnic-Albanian authorities.
____

Before going any further, I would like to express a heartfelt acknowledgement of gratitude to the representatives of all the nations that have stood with us in solidarity on Kosovo.

Thank you for continuing to honor Serbia's territorial integrity in the face of ongoing pressures to endorse unilateralism. Despite all protestations to the contrary, doing so would directly contribute to the establishment of a deeply disturbing precedent, encouraging separatists anywhere in the world.

Excellencies,

The principled position of the Republic of Serbia will not change. Our constitutional imperative, as well as our moral, historical and—above all—democratic duty, compels us not to waiver from the fundamental commitment to a negotiated, comprehensive settlement for Kosovo, in accordance with the parameters set forth in UN Security Council resolution 1244 (1999). No stopping point short of agreement will ever truly solve the problem. The attempt to unilaterally secede has not fulfilled its promise, having kept the territory in a state of limbo. This is in no one's interest, least of all ours.

The accruing costs to the consolidation of regional stability cannot be ignored indefinitely. What we seek is a result all parties can embrace. This is the only way to produce a sustainable and lasting peace between Serbs and Albanians. President Tadic has repeatedly pointed out that it must include ironclad, internationally-guaranteed assurances that safeguard our state's basic interests inside the province, by securing a viable solution for North Kosovo, protecting Serbian enclaves in South Kosovo, preserving Serbian identity and religious heritage throughout the province, and settling private and commercial property claims.
____

Our diplomatic efforts will also focus on maintaining a healthy international environment within which the technical dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina can continue.

Serbia remains fully committed to the process, notwithstanding numerous demonstrations of bad faith, and unprovoked, unilateral acts intended to change realities on the ground.

Excellencies,

Another important Kosovo-related task for Serbian diplomacy in 2012 will be to foster international support for a genuinely impartial and transparent criminal investigation into allegations of harvesting and smuggling of human organs before, during and after the 1999 conflict.

Only the UN Security Council can establish a universal mandate, and temporal as well as territorial jurisdiction, to carry out an investigation that would be comprehensive in scope—as it has in all previous instances involving serious war crimes in the Balkans.

We strongly believe that there is no legitimate reason whatsoever to depart from this established practice.

Such investigations must be accountable to the whole world. It is the only way to guarantee fairness, while preventing doubts about anyone's full commitment. Advocating an open-ended and secretive process with no obligation to report to the UN is outrageous and morally indefensible.

Excellencies,

The three variables in the new global equation—the quest for empowerment, shifting strategic relationships, and the impact of the great crisis—have changed a number of international economic parameters, including the fact that capital now flows less freely than it did in the past.

Major economic decisions increasingly fall within the purview of States, narrowing the conceptual gap between geopolitics and geo-economics. One could even argue that they are on their way to being fully integrated with one another—fast becoming two sides of the same coin.

For the prosperity to take hold and our reforms to stay on course, it is critical to find a way to attract additional investments from abroad and open new markets for our products. Yet this has become a much more complicated and delicate task.

As the new global parameters start to sink in, we will also need to take into the account the fact that there has been a reduction of the capacity of traditional investors in this part of the world.

However, as a consequence of the global outreach efforts we began more than four years ago, our diplomacy now finds itself able to more effectively leverage a number of historical friendships into economic opportunities. For instance, growing markets in a number of Non-Aligned countries have been re-opened to us.

Our diplomacy has also been instrumental in getting countries like China or Azerbaijan to express a strong interest in deepening economic cooperation. Serbia's comparative advantage includes not only our unhindered access to the EU common market, but also our unique network of free trade agreements with the Western Balkans, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkey.

Excellencies,

At the beginning of its mandate, this Government articulated four diplomatic priorities—namely, our European process, regional harmony, a just and sustainable solution for Kosovo, and deepening economic cooperation with the world.

Throughout our term in office, we conducted a principled and consistent foreign policy on that basis—under exceptionally difficult circumstances.

It has now become evident that consensus on our four strategic priorities has been established amongst Serbia's relevant political actors.

To keep going forward as a nation, I believe it is fundamentally important to continue to pursue each one of the four in a complementary and holistic manner—and to not sacrifice any one of them on the altar of furthering another.

They are all integral parts of a single whole, and will carry on mutually reinforcing each other well into the future.
____

We shall remain true to the path we have chosen, for "we have faith in the righteousness of our cause"—as one of the greatest men of the 20th century, Mahatma Gandhi, said at a particularly trying time for his people.

Whatever obstacles we may encounter, let us be strengthened by the knowledge that our nation has gone through hardships before. And let us guard against the cynical, fearful, or doubtful. A failure to do so would be tantamount to relinquishing our control over our future.

Time and again, we have reached out for the arc of destiny and flexed it towards the promise of a brighter tomorrow. Let us do so once again, firmly and without wavering.

Thank you for your attention.Address Before the Fifth Serbian Ambassadors’ Conference

by H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremić
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia

Belgrade, 16 January 2012

[CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY]


Dear Foreign Minister Portas,
Respected Dean of the Diplomatic Corps,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the fifth Ambassadors’ Conference of the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dear Paulo, thank you for honoring us with your presence, and for Portugal’s continuing support and encouragement for Serbia’s European process.

I would also like to extend a warm welcome to the diplomatic corps. I look forward to engaging with you further in 2012, as we work to deepen our relationships around the globe on the basis of mutual interest and respect.

To our country’s ambassadors, I extend a message of sincere appreciation. In no small part due to your diligence and hard work, we have succeeded in executing a principled and consistent foreign policy over the past four years, in accordance with the mandate entrusted to this Government by the citizens of the Republic of Serbia. I want to thank you for continuing to represent, protect, and promote our national interests under trying circumstances.


Excellencies,

We live in a period of unbridled change; it is practically impossible to predict what the world will look like, even in the not too distant future.

In my view, this situation is in many ways reminiscent to the period of the French Revolution. As its influence spread across the Old Continent and beyond, its political and social manifestations became more varied. The only constant was that nothing remained the same once its influence reached a particular country, as nation after nation remonstrated for their particular social contract to be re-written. The geopolitical consequences for the international system were both unprecedented and wholly unforeseen. Reflecting back on that period, the political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that “the continent’s chief rulers were prepared for everything except for what actually happened.”

Similarly, the contemporary world seems beset by a series of ruptures whose ultimate outcomes cannot be plausibly conceptualized. “We meet here amidst upheavals of unprecedented scope”—these were the words used by Henry Kissinger at a conference in Germany a little over two months ago to describe the present tumults.

This high level of geopolitical volatility will likely remain with us for quite some time, potentially propelling the international system into unexpected directions with an apparent spontaneity that could surprise just about everyone. Across-the-board repositioning seems to be taking pace, as norms shift, poles multiply, and rules get re-defined. As all this unfolds, the capacity of established clusters of influence to shape events in their favor will probably diminish.


Excellencies,

I believe that at least three distinct variables in the increasingly complex global equation require our heightened attention. The first is empowerment. Peoples are rising up against political and economic subjugation. Feelings of dispossession, nourished by instantaneous flows of information from across the world, have led to increased dissatisfaction about their own, local conditions.

Without casting doubts on the ethical dimension of the struggle for democracy, it is clear that uncertainty in many corners of the planet will increase because of the movement for greater empowerment. Security will be further undermined by the reemergence of sectarian loyalties, and ethnic as well as tribal grievances—many of them long-suppressed. Such developments may have far-reaching implications quite beyond the affected areas, most notably the Middle East.

The second variable in the new global equation takes as its starting point the legitimate calls for a redistribution of power and influence in the international arena. They are coming from multiple directions, regions, and formats.

Brazil’s emergence, Russia’s renewal, India’s ascent, China’s rise, and South Africa’s confidence are amongst the main causes of this phenomenon, and so is the dynamism of a number of regional powerhouses—like Germany and Turkey.

As their respective capabilities increase, they will be assuming a greater degree of influence over what is going on in the world around them.

The historical record reminds us that great skill is required for major shifts in power relationships to take place without dangerous frictions. It is encouraging, however, that the more established actors—who are, after all, the architects, principal beneficiaries, and main defenders of the status quo—are tacitly acknowledging that changes will have to be made to the existing global governance rulebook.

A harsher counter-reaction has perhaps been avoided due to the inescapable trend in global finance, which has seen traditional debtor and creditor countries engage in an unprecedented role reversal drama. As one of the world’s top diplomats has exclaimed, “you can’t get tough on your banker.”

This brings me to the third critical variable in the complex global equation—what many people acknowledge as the most devastating economic calamity the world has known since the Depression of the 1930s. At first, the United States was its epicenter. Now it is the EU.

For many months, the Union has struggled to cope with the euro sovereign debt issue—the most severe challenge ever to befall the European project, and one which is morphing into a profound crisis of governance.

Its enormity and still unfolding consequences will inevitably impact the Balkans well into the future. We are already facing the fact that in many quarters of the Union, the enthusiasm for enlargement has waned.

But this has not affected our Government’s strategic determination to firmly anchor Serbia in Europe.

Meeting this critical goal is fundamentally about modernization and standards. It has also challenged us to keep raising the levels of efficiency, transparency and accountability—all of which are indispensable to the long-term prosperity of our nation.

The process of reform will therefore continue apace. Its nuts and bolts are in the criteria set by the Copenhagen European Council in 1993, as well as regional cooperation conditions subsequently established by the Stabilization and Association framework about a decade later.

Our Government will keep prioritizing their fulfillment—regardless of when the EU will achieve the necessary consensus on any of the formal steps in our integration process.


Excellencies,

Throughout the course of this Government’s four year term, we have worked tirelessly on the process of reconciliation in the Balkans.

In addition to fully cooperating with the Hague Tribunal, Serbia has taken a number of bold steps, with President Tadic leading the way in working hard to close painful chapters in the recent history of the region.

But for true reconciliation to take place, we must prevent legitimate pleas for justice from degenerating into an impulse for vengeance or attempts to assign collective guilt.

Putting an end to enmity is the ultimate task of reconciliation. Yesterday’s tragedies must not be allowed to circumscribe anyone’s ability to reach out and work together for a better, more inclusive and tolerant tomorrow.

In our view, this is the strongest foundation upon which to build a common future. For its part, Serbia will, in 2012, devote particular attention to ensuring the Western Balkans can prosper in peace and security.

We are proud of the fact that in 2011, Belgrade has been a symbolic capital of regional cooperation. Last year, we successfully presided over the Central European Initiative, the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, and the Migration Asylum and Refugees Regional Initiative. We currently chair the most important one—the Southeast European Cooperation Process—as well as the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation. In a few months, the Second UN Alliance of Civilizations Forum for Southeast Europe will take place here, as well.
____

With the support of other successor states to the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia recently hosted the Fiftieth Anniversary Commemoration Ministerial Meeting of the First Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, which took place in Belgrade in 1961. In total, one hundred and five high-level delegations participated in this grand event—shining a light on the fact that the NAM bequest remains a source of commonality for the former Yugoslav space.

In a few weeks, we expect that a final decision will be reached on our candidacy to chair the OSCE in 2015, as part of an innovative package application with Switzerland. Being entrusted with such a responsibility—the product of a consensus by the 56 Participating States—will surely help to speed up the transformation of the Balkans into a dynamic area of convergence, a great European crossroads of cultures, traditions, ethnicities, and religions.

Over the next twelve months, the unifying slogan for all our regional activities will be ‘From Balkan Wars to Balkan Peace’—a phrase that we hope will encapsulate what can be accomplished during the year that marks the one hundredth anniversary of the First Balkan War. We look forward to stand at the forefront of efforts to close the door for good on an era that ultimately delivered less than the promise it made to each of the nations that share our geography.


Excellencies,

For the Western Balkans to prosper in harmony, unresolved issues will need to be addressed in ways that do not undermine regional security. The central impediment to achieving this strategic imperative is the disagreement on the issue of Kosovo, and the failed attempt to resolve it by imposition, through UDI—the February 17th, 2008 Unilateral Declaration of Independence by the province’s ethnic-Albanian authorities.
____

Before going any further, I would like to express a heartfelt acknowledgement of gratitude to the representatives of all the nations that have stood with us in solidarity on Kosovo.

Thank you for continuing to honor Serbia’s territorial integrity in the face of ongoing pressures to endorse unilateralism. Despite all protestations to the contrary, doing so would directly contribute to the establishment of a deeply disturbing precedent, encouraging separatists anywhere in the world.


Excellencies,

The principled position of the Republic of Serbia will not change. Our constitutional imperative, as well as our moral, historical and—above all—democratic duty, compels us not to waiver from the fundamental commitment to a negotiated, comprehensive settlement for Kosovo, in accordance with the parameters set forth in UN Security Council resolution 1244 (1999). No stopping point short of agreement will ever truly solve the problem. The attempt to unilaterally secede has not fulfilled its promise, having kept the territory in a state of limbo. This is in no one’s interest, least of all ours.

The accruing costs to the consolidation of regional stability cannot be ignored indefinitely. What we seek is a result all parties can embrace. This is the only way to produce a sustainable and lasting peace between Serbs and Albanians. President Tadic has repeatedly pointed out that it must include ironclad, internationally-guaranteed assurances that safeguard our state’s basic interests inside the province, by securing a viable solution for North Kosovo, protecting Serbian enclaves in South Kosovo, preserving Serbian identity and religious heritage throughout the province, and settling private and commercial property claims.
____

Our diplomatic efforts will also focus on maintaining a healthy international environment within which the technical dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina can continue.

Serbia remains fully committed to the process, notwithstanding numerous demonstrations of bad faith, and unprovoked, unilateral acts intended to change realities on the ground.


Excellencies,

Another important Kosovo-related task for Serbian diplomacy in 2012 will be to foster international support for a genuinely impartial and transparent criminal investigation into allegations of harvesting and smuggling of human organs before, during and after the 1999 conflict.

Only the UN Security Council can establish a universal mandate, and temporal as well as territorial jurisdiction, to carry out an investigation that would be comprehensive in scope—as it has in all previous instances involving serious war crimes in the Balkans.

We strongly believe that there is no legitimate reason whatsoever to depart from this established practice.

Such investigations must be accountable to the whole world. It is the only way to guarantee fairness, while preventing doubts about anyone’s full commitment. Advocating an open-ended and secretive process with no obligation to report to the UN is outrageous and morally indefensible.


Excellencies,

The three variables in the new global equation—the quest for empowerment, shifting strategic relationships, and the impact of the great crisis—have changed a number of international economic parameters, including the fact that capital now flows less freely than it did in the past.

Major economic decisions increasingly fall within the purview of States, narrowing the conceptual gap between geopolitics and geo-economics. One could even argue that they are on their way to being fully integrated with one another—fast becoming two sides of the same coin.

For the prosperity to take hold and our reforms to stay on course, it is critical to find a way to attract additional investments from abroad and open new markets for our products. Yet this has become a much more complicated and delicate task.

As the new global parameters start to sink in, we will also need to take into the account the fact that there has been a reduction of the capacity of traditional investors in this part of the world.

However, as a consequence of the global outreach efforts we began more than four years ago, our diplomacy now finds itself able to more effectively leverage a number of historical friendships into economic opportunities. For instance, growing markets in a number of Non-Aligned countries have been re-opened to us.

Our diplomacy has also been instrumental in getting countries like China or Azerbaijan to express a strong interest in deepening economic cooperation. Serbia’s comparative advantage includes not only our unhindered access to the EU common market, but also our unique network of free trade agreements with the Western Balkans, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkey.


Excellencies,

At the beginning of its mandate, this Government articulated four diplomatic priorities—namely, our European process, regional harmony, a just and sustainable solution for Kosovo, and deepening economic cooperation with the world.

Throughout our term in office, we conducted a principled and consistent foreign policy on that basis—under exceptionally difficult circumstances.

It has now become evident that consensus on our four strategic priorities has been established amongst Serbia’s relevant political actors.

To keep going forward as a nation, I believe it is fundamentally important to continue to pursue each one of the four in a complementary and holistic manner—and to not sacrifice any one of them on the altar of furthering another.

They are all integral parts of a single whole, and will carry on mutually reinforcing each other well into the future.
____

We shall remain true to the path we have chosen, for “we have faith in the righteousness of our cause”—as one of the greatest men of the 20th century, Mahatma Gandhi, said at a particularly trying time for his people.

Whatever obstacles we may encounter, let us be strengthened by the knowledge that our nation has gone through hardships before. And let us guard against the cynical, fearful, or doubtful. A failure to do so would be tantamount to relinquishing our control over our future.

Time and again, we have reached out for the arc of destiny and flexed it towards the promise of a brighter tomorrow. Let us do so once again, firmly and without wavering.

Thank you for your attention.
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Address to the Additional Official Commemorative Meeting at the Level of Foreign Ministers to Celebrate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement by H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremic, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia PDF Print E-mail
Friday, 09 September 2011.
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Dear Friends,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

I am exceptionally honored to welcome you all to this Commemorative Meeting to mark the Fiftieth Anniversary of the First Non-Aligned Summit in Belgrade.

Serbia is one of the six successor states to a co-founder of NAM, the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia. This bequest remains a source of our commonality and shared experience.

We should all proudly celebrate that we each had a hand in ensuring Yugoslavia played an important role on the world stage, as one of the lynchpins of the Non-Aligned Movement. I am glad that we are all represented here this morning, alongside around one hundred other delegations.
____

We have come here to pay tribute to the vision of the leaders who represented the vanguard of progressive efforts to transform the world.

In 1961, the Movement's five Founders-Nasser, Nehru, Nkrumah, Soekarno, and Tito-together with statesmen from twenty other countries, were joined in Belgrade by representatives of forty national-liberation movements, and a tangible stamp on world history was made. It is here that we formally promulgated the Movement's universal principles: lasting peace and security, sovereign equality of states, social justice, sustainable development, human rights, and environmental protection. These have passed the test of time, and continue to stand as beacons of hope and fairness for all of us to embrace.

 

Dear Friends,

Exactly fifty years ago today, on September 6th, 1961, the Belgrade Declaration was adopted, bringing the Inaugural NAM Summit to a close. This document represented a turning point in the annals of world affairs, symbolizing the moment when the empowerment and emancipation of the majority of the human race became irreversible.

It called for the abolishment of the "old order based on the domination [...] of colonial-imperialism and neo-colonialism in all their manifestations." Doing so would establish a "new order based on cooperation between nations, founded on freedom, equality, and social justice for the promotion of prosperity."

By the end of the first decade of NAM's existence, the scourge of colonialism had been largely eradicated. In the 1970s and 1980s, a more equitable form of multilateralism began to be practiced at the United Nations, while the superpowers embraced the logic of arms control and détente. Bridging the North-South gap became a pressing issue across the world, as did environmental protection and human rights.

The year 1989 heralded the ultimate vindication of the founding principles of Non-Alignment. There is no doubt that the Movement's capacity to influence the course of global currents made a significant contribution to ending the Cold War.

For the Non-Aligned, this was not seen as the triumph of one Block and the defeat of another. Instead, it was interpreted as the shared victory of mankind over the ideological divisions that had threatened its total annihilation.

The global strategic consequences symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall are many, but I would like to emphasize what I believe is amongst the most significant. Just about every nation represented in this chamber now exercises more influence in international relations than it did in 1989.

What was articulated as an aspiration in 1961 has become the preponderant reality of 2011. The world at present is a more equitable place than it has ever been, and the era of domination by the few over the many is breathing its last grasps.

What has come in its stead-multipolar interdependence-is no panacea, of course, as political, economic and social injustice remain ever-present. But we should always keep in mind the innumerable gains made possible, in part, by the Movement's engagement in the world over the past five decades. This constitutes real and tangible progress for mankind.

Dear Friends,

My country will continue to honor and respect the role Belgrade played in fostering solidarity and cooperation within the Movement.

For decades we actively and consistently supported the anti-colonial, national liberation struggles of many NAM member states. Although a developing country with scarce resources and rising domestic needs, we also provided several billions of dollars worth of aid and other forms of assistance to our Non-Aligned friends. Today, we again enable hundreds of young people to study at the University of Belgrade each year, as part of our "World in Serbia" Scholarship Fund.

Our great historical legacy delineates the contours of our lasting engagement with the Movement. Let me be clear, however: nostalgia is not why Serbia is re-invigorating its ties to NAM. Rather, it is because we firmly believe that international stability and prosperity cannot be consolidated without taking into account the views of the majority of the global family of nations.

As part of the strategic pursuit of our carefully designed, balanced and active foreign policy, Serbia will keep reaching out to our Non-Aligned friends. This is our choice as a sovereign country determined to play a dignified role on the world stage.

We will continue to work with all progressive forces to ensure the enhanced respect for the binding principles of the international system by all. Working in concert to strengthen a rules-based approach to world affairs is in our common interest, beginning with the fundamental respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of UN member-States.

 

Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,

It is my sincere hope that all of us will come away from this meeting armed with greater confidence and a renewed sense of purpose.

In that spirit, allow me to recall the words of one of the greatest diplomats in the history of the Non-Aligned Movement, Koča Popović, after whom the Serbian Foreign Affairs Ministry has named its Diplomatic Academy:

"we are far from discounting the role played by the great powers in determining the course of human events, especially on the question of securing the peace. But we wholeheartedly believe that the participation of smaller, less powerful states on the basis of the sovereign equality principle is an absolutely necessary condition for this peace to be not only a peace of the great powers, but an equitable, sustainable peace where each state feels it has assured its security as much as its dignity."

Thank you very much for your attention.

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ADDRESS TO THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF THE ADRIATIC-IONIAN INITIATIVE BY H.E. MR. VUK JEREMIĆ MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, Brussels, 23 May 2011 PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 25 May 2011.

 

Mr. Chairman,
Mr. President of the EU Committee of the Regions,
Mr. Secretary General,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the onset of my remarks, I would like to congratulate Milan Roćen, the Minister of External Affairs of Montenegro, on a successful and dynamic twelve months in office as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative.

I would also like to underline the importance we attach to the hard work of the Initiative's Permanent Secretariat, headquartered in Ancona. I thank our outgoing Secretary General, ambassador Alessandro Grafini, for his singular contribution to our organization, and wish his successor, ambassador Fabio Pigliapoco, all the best in the carrying out of his important duties.

Lastly, I take this opportunity to express, once again, my deep gratitude to Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and the Italian Government, as well as to the Marche region, for consistently supporting the work of this Initiative.

Excellencies,

For the first time under the auspices of this Initiative, we have chosen to meet in the capital of the European Union, Brussels.

In my view, this symbolizes a heightened awareness-by all stakeholders-of the fact that the promotion of regional cooperation in our part of the world is inseparable from the promise of a clear European perspective to the Western Balkans, first made at the Thessaloniki Summit in 2003.

It is this strategic vision that has enabled Serbia to pursue its European agenda with confidence and determination.

Building a European society is the way our country will prosper in peace and security. We will focus on fighting corruption, enforcing the rule of law, protecting human and minority rights, and ensuring a free and independent media continues to thrive.

We see these and the many other measures we have undertaken as being foremost about modernization and standards. This has driven us to reinvigorate the spirit of reform that sees responsibility, transparency, and accountability as indispensable to the long-term health of our nation-and, ultimately, to the whole of Southeast Europe.

A critical part of this process is reconciliation-working in concert with one another to remember the past by honoring the victims, while ensuring that yesterday's tragedies don't circumscribe our ability to reach out and work together for a better tomorrow.

This much-needed contribution to the European transformation of the Western Balkans has opened the door to making Belgrade the symbolic capital of regional cooperation in 2011. This year, we preside over the Central European Initiative, the Migration Asylum and Refugees Regional Initiative, the South East European Cooperation Process, and, of course, the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative-before taking over the chairmanship of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization in 2012.

A common theme driving all our activities will be fighting organized crime. Serbia's zero-tolerance policy on this transnational scourge will continue unabated. However, ultimate success cannot come without a much stronger and more coordinated effort by the member states.

When it comes to the issue of organized crime, as well as every other topic of regional cooperation, Serbia will work hard to strengthen existing partnerships and create more interaction between the various platforms. By streamlining and-where necessary-even restructuring the way all these mechanisms work, we will increase inter-functionality, reduce political risk, increase our credibility, and, in the end, secure our long-term prosperity through sustainable economic development.

Excellencies,

The Serbian chairmanship of the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative will maintain the successful project-oriented approach. We will host a series of roundtables on cooperation in fields such as tourism and inter-university cooperation; small- and medium-sized enterprises; archeological and cultural heritage protection; safeguarding the environment; scientific and technological research; rural development; as well as transportation and maritime industries.

We will also devote special attention to deepen parliamentary cooperation between the national assemblies of the member states.

Furthermore, the Serbian chairmanship will seek to function in tandem with European Commission-sponsored programs. In this context, I emphasize our preparedness to share our experience with other member states on harmonizing their respective fluvial management policies with the EU Strategy for the river Danube.

Lastly, we will engage with Brussels and encourage the Union to define our geographic space as an EU macro-region-that is, to adopt an official EU Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Region.

Excellencies,

Our Initiative is unique amongst the panoply of regional organizations. It is the only one to focus exclusively on the Adriatic and Ionian area, the cradle of European civilization.

Almost everything that defines the Old Continent's contemporary way of life-our classical heritage and respective national cultures, ethical norms and forms of government, even our alphabets-traces back their origins to our shores.

Paradoxically, a subset of our region-the Western Balkans-is the last part of European geography proper where integration remains incomplete.

By common agreement, this feature is only a temporary one, denoting that our Initiative is well-positioned to play an active role in bringing this transformation to a successful conclusion.

For that to happen without a loss of momentum, the upper hand will have to be regained from the skeptics and naysayers. A complication is the fact that this will likely be done under suboptimal, perhaps even adverse circumstances mostly not of our making.

But the truth is that we will have to work very hard to harness the 21st-century potential of the Balkans. The resulting peace dividend will undoubtedly create a better, more inclusive era for all in a free and integrated Europe.
____

I conclude by recalling what one of founders of modern-day Europe, Paul-Henri Spaak, said on the very day the Treaty of Rome was signed: "The men of Europe must never again lack audacity or act with delay. This must now become the spirit of our times: to begin from a profound appreciation of a civilization burdened by the riches of its glorious past, and then to transform it somehow in order to be able to channel so much hope towards a future in which society operates according to the rules set by Justice and Fraternity, that it truly and actually comes to pass."

Thank you for your attention.

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ADDRESS AT THE J. DENNIS HASTERT CENTER FOR ECONOMICS, GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY AT WHEATON COLLEGE BY H.E. MR. VUK JEREMIĆ MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA PDF Print E-mail
Thursday, 17 March 2011.
IDENTITY, RECONCILIATION, AND THE STRUGGLE OVER KOSOVO

Address at the J. Dennis Hastert Center
for Economics, Government and Public Policy
at Wheaton College

by H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremić

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia,
17 March 2011


Ladies and Gentlemen,

It's a distinct honor and privilege to be a guest of the Hastert Center, named after the longest-serving Republican House Speaker in history.

I would especially like to thank President Ryken and Professor Norton for the invitation to address you here tonight, at the premier liberal arts college of evangelical Christianity.
____

I would like to begin with a reading of Psalm 74:

"Turn your steps towards these
everlasting ruins,
all this destruction the enemy has
brought on the sanctuary.

Your foes roared in the place where
you met with us;
they set up their standards as
signs.
They behaved like men wielding axes
to cut through a thicket of trees.
They smashed all the carved paneling
with their axes and hatchets.
They burned your sanctuary to the
ground;
they defiled the dwelling place of
your Name.
They said in their hearts, ‘we will crush
them completely!'
They burned every place where God
was worshipped in the land."

The plaintive words of the psalmist bring to life the images that were just shown. I think now, the tragedy of what happened seven years ago in Kosovo is more real to you-even if you knew nothing about it until a few minutes ago.

From March 17th to March 19th, 2004, over 50,000 Kosovo Albanians participated in an orchestrated and organized campaign of ethnic cleansing. In less than 72 hours, 35 churches and monasteries, many dating back to the 14th century or earlier, were set ablaze and lost to humanity. Dozens were killed. Hundreds were injured. Thousands of homes and business were burned to the ground. And more than eight thousand Kosovo Serbs were ethnically cleansed from their homes.

Within hours of the pogrom's instigation, busloads of ethnic Albanians were being transported to more than 30 locations throughout Kosovo. One UN worker exclaimed: "Kristallnacht is under way in Kosovo."

Instead of stopping the violence, some local Kosovo Albanian police units joined right in. "It was planned in advance," said the UN's spokesperson in Kosovo. Human Rights Watch concurred, stating in its July 2004 report, that "large ethnic Albanian crowds acted with ferocious efficiency to rid their areas of all remaining vestiges of a Serb presence."

In the ancient Serbian capital Prizren, for example, thousands set fire to about a dozen Christian holy sites that ennobled the city's old quarter. The church of the Holy Virgin of Ljeviska, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built in the 11th century, was burned with the help of car tires, resulting in the permanent loss of its invaluable frescoes. You saw those pictures just now.

This took place in what had been the most religiously free and tolerant city in Kosovo. More than 9000 Serbs lived there just a few years ago. By the pogrom's conclusion, there were fewer than twenty left.
____

Let me share with you the personal experience of the Rev. Michael Faulkner, pastor at the New Horizon Church in Harlem. Some of you may know him as the man who ran against Charlie Rangel for Congress last year.

In August 2004-just a couple of months after the pogrom-he traveled to Kosovo, together with a few other American Christian leaders. When he spoke about his impressions, he kept coming back to how Kosovo Albanians reacted to his Serbian friends, who were accompanying the group. He said, "During my walk through Prizren, for the first time in my life I saw racism towards people of the same skin color. I've just never experienced that kind of intense hatred before."

Ladies and Gentlemen,

One of the lessons of the Book of Job is that even in times one could call ‘beyond despair,' faith and hope must never leave our side. We should always remember that the Lord does not abandon us.

Our hope is driven by our memory, but so is our despair. Our Christian faith tells us to reject despair in favor of hope. So we remember the pogrom, we remember what you just saw: the man who worked so hard to tear the cross down from that church; and we also remember the crowd that applauded his success. But even as we remember, we must still hope-we must still believe that the dawn will break, and that the darkness will recede.

This is the splendor of faith: to know in one's heart that suffering is temporary, whereas hope is eternal. It is not the ruthless who shall inherit the Earth, but the meek.

Once we recognize God's image in ourselves, we must also recognize it in every other human being. Even in our sworn enemy.

The commandment to "love your enemy" is the moral center of the teachings of Jesus. No matter what that enemy does, however dreadful his crimes may be, he is also made in the Lord's image. And just like He loves you and me, God loves him, too.
____

In the wake of the terrible pogrom of March 2004, we decided to put a stop to the cycle of violence.

This wasn't only a choice about how to deal with the other side. It was also about healing our own heart. Hate distorts the hater most of all. It perpetuates itself, and becomes a vicious circle-a self-fulfilling prophecy of unending strife and conflict. After a while, one can't walk or see straight anymore, bowing at the altar of retaliation.

That's how Kosovo has been for as long as anyone can remember. I hit you, you then hit me, I hit you back and you hit me back again.

One can then go on to destroy homes and burn churches-and one doesn't see anything wrong with that. One is putting all his strength into breaking off that cross. One starts to say, ‘this land is mine and mine alone.'

Ladies and Gentlemen,

To destroy what others have built, in the conviction that one thereby erases the truth of it ever having been there, is an act of supreme inhumanity-a horrendous crime of cultural cleansing.

At its very core, that's what the struggle over Kosovo is about. It's a struggle for identity. Well, for us Serbs, Kosovo is like the very air we breathe. It's the beating heart of our culture-and home to our most sacred shrines. Kosovo is the land where hundreds of thousands of Serbs gave their lives for their country and the cause of freedom.

Here's a story from the First World War. When the Serbian Army was forced to retreat across Kosovo and into Albania-as a result of a combined German and Austrian offensive in the winter of 1915-they found it tactically necessary to traverse the very plain on which the battle of Kosovo against the Ottoman Turks had taken place, back in 1389. This exhausted army, led by our ailing, seventy-two year old king, Peter the First, took off their boots, and walked silently across the frozen field, in quiet respect for our fallen ancestors who laid buried in unmarked graves for miles in every direction.
____

We have an unbreakable bond with Kosovo. Here's what Patriarch Pavle-who led our Church for almost twenty years before recently passing away at the age of 95-said about Kosovo: "It is the wellspring of the Serbian spiritual tradition, and of our statehood; the heart and soul of our nation-indivisible and essential. That is why our forefathers consecrated its soil with thousands of beautiful garlands: adorning the land with magnificent churches and monasteries dedicated to the glory of God."

Kosovo is our Valley Forge and Yorktown, our Alamo and Gettysburg, our Pearl Harbor and Iwo Jima-all rolled into one.

It is in our dreams at night, and in our prayers in church.

It is the ‘apple of our eye.' It is our Jerusalem.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The March 2004 pogrom constituted a political turning point in the struggle over Kosovo.

For close to five years, the international community had been acting as the interim administrators of Kosovo, in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1244 (1999). This resolution, which is still in force, explicitly reconfirmed our territorial integrity and sovereignty over Kosovo. It also established the "Standards Before Status" policy, which forbade discussions about Kosovo's legal ‘status,' until good governance ‘standards' had been met. These explicitly included religious freedom and implementing the human rights of the Serbian community-such as the right of return for more than 200,000 of them displaced by the conflict.

But only a few months after the pogrom, the "Standards Before Status" policy was abandoned. It degenerated into Status and no Standards.

‘No Standards' explains why not a single individual remains behind bars for killing Serbs or burning down those churches during the March pogrom. ‘No Standards' meant that aggressive behavior was de facto rewarded. And the ultimate result was the February 17th, 2008 unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian authorities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

For three years, democratic Serbia has been working very hard to oppose the UDI-using exclusively peaceful and diplomatic means.

This was a paradigm shift in favor of peace in the Balkans. For the first time in the history of our region, an issue of such fundamental importance and complexity-passionately involving all at once identity, boundaries, communal rights, opposing historical narratives-was steered clear of resorting to the force of arms.

We did not opt for any punitive countermeasures. But what we said was this: we will never recognize UDI, explicitly or implicitly.

This was essentially an attempt to forcefully change Serbia's constitutional, internationally recognized borders. No proud and democratic country-be it African, European, Asian or American; be it small or large, rich or poor-would act differently, if it ever found itself in our situation.

With the strength and conviction of a unified nation, we affirm: this shall not stand. And neither will any other attempt to impose a one sided, illegitimate outcome. No one can ever make us accept that-in this present, or in any future, generation.
____

The truth is, the UDI has not lived up to its promise. By every conceivable measure, the residents of the territory are not better off today than they were three years ago.

The economy has sharply contracted, with unemployment over fifty percent and rising-especially amongst the young and educated. Corruption is out of control, and public finances are in disarray. The judicial system is highly dysfunctional, and a culture of impunity dominates the society.

Serbian property continues to be usurped; our homes stand empty from looting; and our churches and graveyards keep getting desecrated.

Freedom House does not classify Kosovo as an "electoral democracy." This was even before the recently held elections where fraud was rampant, and multiple re-votes and re-counts were required-prompting the European parliament's election monitoring delegation to Kosovo to state that "serious shortcomings underscored insufficient political will, including at the grass root level, to conduct a genuine election in line with [contemporary] standards and good electoral practice."

Kosovo's international position is precarious. It failed to accede to any regional or international political organization.

In short, Kosovo is stuck in a legal, political and economic limbo as a result of the attempt to unilaterally break away from Serbia.
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Lincoln said it best: secession is the "essence of anarchy."

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The past three years have taught us that there is simply no sustainable alternative to a negotiated solution. Dialogue is the only road to peace in Kosovo.

It is the only way to ensure the ‘axes and hatchets' are laid to rest for good.
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The talks that finally got under way a few days ago are a good start. They could help to put aside the fear that stands at the foundation of unilateralism.

There will be many issues to discuss, and some of them will be complicated. As we move forward, we should strive to build trust and understanding. Results will come, if the parties demonstrate good faith, working hard to achieve constructive arrangements, leading to a mutually-acceptable, comprehensive settlement.

A just compromise is what we're after-and that's the only way. It's what the dialogue should ultimately produce: a transformative peace between Serbs and Albanians, predicated on the completion of a process of genuine reconciliation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Without reconciliation, there can be no stable and secure future for our part of Europe. It's the only way to ensure all of us are able to reach our full potential.

But that's not all reconciliation is about. It's a call we must answer, because it rests on the immovable foundation of faith. With reconciliation, enmity and estrangement are no longer; it abolishes what the apostle Paul called the "barrier, the dividing wall of hostility" between nations.

True reconciliation is based on forgiveness, repentance, and contrition. It is about forsaking vengeance, so one can begin anew.

But true reconciliation is not about pretending that things are other than they are. It exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the pain, the hurt. It retains all the complexity, and brings the full truth to light.

That's how it makes a ‘new beginning' possible-but only if both sides are ready to make the transformation.
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Our two nations, Serb and Albanian-each as valiant and proud as they are set in their respective ways-have traveled through recent periods of tragedy.

Sometimes it is tragedy that produces the opportunity to achieve ‘the new beginning.'

In my view, working towards it requires honoring everyone's identity, not denying it. This means one has to know the past, of course, but one must not let this circumscribe his ability to reach beyond the present. That's an impossible task if one persists in trying to falsify the historical record.

One mustn't downplay the significance of terrible crimes, or say they didn't even happen. That just hardens souls. It entrenches opposing positions. It gets people thinking about reinforcing the "wall of hostility" Paul writes about, instead of taking it down.

Unfortunately, that's what the authorities in Kosovo appear to be doing.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Some of you may have heard about the recent allegations that leading public figures in Kosovo are involved in organized crime-specifically, money laundering, arms smuggling, and drug trafficking.

That they are responsible for kidnapping hundreds of Serb civilians before, during and after the 1999 conflict-and that these abductees were sent from Kosovo to secret detention camps in the Republic of Albania.

Once there, they were undergoing forced surgery, before getting murdered. Their internal organs were being extracted, and then sold on the international black market-a uniquely monstrous practice in the voluminous annals of brutal warfare in Europe.

These disturbing claims are summarized in a recent report that was adopted by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, entitled "Inhuman Treatment of People and Illicit Trafficking in Human Organs in Kosovo."

The report explicitly identifies Hashim Thaqi, Kosovo's current ‘prime minister,' as the leader of the group responsible for these atrocities, the Kosovo Liberation Army. It also categorizes Xhavit Haliti, right now ‘deputy speaker of the assembly,' as a key personality of organized crime in Kosovo, and names one of Hashim Thaqi's advisors, Shaip Muja, as an apparently "leading co-conspirator" in the trafficking of human organs.

Those dreadful contentions have shocked the conscience of the world. Obviously, we must to get to the bottom of them as soon as possible. The truth has to be revealed.

We need a serious criminal investigation to ascertain the veracity of these charges.

To be effective and comprehensive in scope, this investigation has to be internationally mandated, as well as internationally accountable. It must also be able to provide an effective witness protection and relocation program, in order to guarantee credible testimony by all without fear of retribution.

That is why Serbia has asked for the establishment of an ad hoc investigating mechanism created by-and accountable to-the UN Security Council. A single authority must ultimately coordinate the investigation process, manage the jurisdictional issues, and ensure the proper administration of justice.

We have made it clear that uncovering the facts about these terrible crimes should not be portrayed as an attempt to assign communal blame. There is no such thing as the guilt or innocence of an entire nation. Guilt, like innocence, is not collective, but personal.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I come to the end of my remarks with a passage from the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly report. It applies equally well to the March 2004 pogrom, as it does to the allegations regarding the trafficking of human organs.

Let me quote it to you: "international actors chose to turn a blind eye to the war crimes of the Kosovo Liberation Army, placing a premium instead on achieving some degree of short-term stability."

It goes on to say that "certain crimes committed by members of the KLA, including some top KLA leaders, were effectively concealed and have remained unpunished."

This must stop. It is high time that everyone makes a pledge to tell the whole truth about what took place in Kosovo.

Such is my prayer for tonight.

That we all start making right choices-that we all allow our hearts to soften, and let the spirit of reconciliation take hold.

That we all work to tear down the ‘wall of hostility,' and build in its stead a house we can share-a house founded on a just compromise, one that balances the desires and interests of both Serbs and Albanians.

That, as Martin Luther King said, we come together to write a creative psalm of peace.

And that we finally get to that day when in the Balkans, ‘justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.'
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Thanks for coming to hear me, and God bless you all.

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