The Sofia Declaration

Released: 17 Dec 1999
Sofia Declaration Newsbyte

Full text of the Lansdowne Declaration

The Sofia Declaration

We, the individuals identified below, gathered in Sofia, Bulgaria, December 10-12, 1999, with the facilitation of a team assembled by the United States Institute of Peace, and have reached consensus on options for building multiethnic democracy in Kosovo and Metohija (referred to below as Kosovo). We appeal to the international community and Kosovar Albanian leaders to reflect upon and respect the fruits of our deliberations, which were undertaken within the context of UN Security Council resolution 1244. As members of the Serb National Council, elected by local Serb constituencies, joined by several Belgrade-based advisors, we represent a broad spectrum of democratically-oriented political perspectives. We favor a democratic Kosovo, within a democratic Serbia, within a democratic Yugoslavia integrated in a stable and prosperous region linked to Europe. We regret and condemn ethnically motivated violence and crimes committed in previous periods as well as now. We envision a multiethnic and democratic Kosovo where all citizens:

Live under the rule of law,

Have equal rights,

Feel secure to return to their homes throughout Kosovo, and

Have free access to religious and cultural sites.

We pledge our cooperation with those inside and outside Kosovo who share these aims, and ask for the full support of the international community to achieve them.

Immediate priority issues for the Kosovo Serbs are Security, Governance, and Humanitarian Issues and Refugee Returns.

Security

About 100,000 Serbs remain in Kosovo in four large enclaves and additional smaller ones. According to the Serb National Council, approximately 200,000 Serbs and 30,000 others have been expelled or have fled. Violence and crime against Serbs are prevalent, with more isolated areas and those with less communication with Belgrade faring worse. Serbs have been cleansed from Kosovo's cities, it is unsafe for Serbs to travel between enclaves without KFOR protection, and there is little communication between enclaves. Though relations between the Serb community and KFOR at the local level are correct, KFOR has done little to hold responsible those who order and perpetrate crimes and violence (some of whom come from outside Kosovo) and maintains communications with Milosevic-controlled Serb leadership in Kosovo. The existing Police Academy is located in an area from which Serbs have been expelled, and Serbs who attend it feel is insecure.

We call upon the international community to:

Improve UNMIK/KFOR protection for all;

Stop systematic persecution of Kosovo Serbs and other non-Albanian communities;

Complete the disarmament process;

Hold responsible perpetrators of violence, who must be arrested, tried, and imprisoned;

Establish police and judicial systems that reflect the ethnic composition of the areas in which they are located;

Establish branches of the Police Academy run by UNMIK in a Serb majority area;

Open secure roads between Serb enclaves;

Improve relations between the Serb community leadership and UNMIK and KFOR commands;

Improve control of all Kosovo's borders and boundaries.

Governance

The Serb National Council was established by an electoral process and includes individuals and representatives of democratically oriented parties independent of the Milosevic regime. It is not a governing authority, but an interim effort to organize the Kosovo Serb community and represent its interests.

While the specific form of governance in the future will have to be decided by the entire Kosovo population with assistance from the international community, the following points are essential:

No division of Kosovo;

Establishment of strong local self-government for all--including administration, police and judciary--within a decentralized political system;

No change in status of Kosovo until Milosevic is gone from power, and

No elections without basic security for Serbs and other ethnic communities adequate to allow those who want to return to do so;

All Kosovo refugees should have the right to vote.

We acknowledge our own responsibility for establishing democratic and multiethnic institutions in Kosovo and pledge to:

Improve tolerance, restrain extremists, and insist on resolution of disputes by use of peaceful political means;

Encourage members of the Serb community to stay in Kosovo, to return from wherever they are, and to join the Serb National Council;

Cooperate with the international community to return property to its rightful owners;

Actively recruit Serbs to participate in police training.

We call on the international community to:

Establish a multiethnic court of appeals under international community chairmanship;

Establish a system that protects private property, ensures payment of rent to actual owners, registers refugee property, and provides legal procedures to remedy contracts signed under intimidation;

Stop long detentions without trial--citizens must be innocent until proven guilty;

Support the creation of a non-Milosevic sponsored, independent Serb media within Kosovo to which all political forces and ethnic communities will have access;

Include the Serb National Council in the December 17 Berlin Trilateral meeting among the US, EU and Serb democratic opposition, of which it is a part;

Encourage joint Serbian opposition, RS, and Montenegrin support for Serbs in Kosovo; and

Call on The Hague Tribunal to investigate crimes against Serbs.

To demonstrate its respect for democratic principles we ask the Albanian community to:

End the violence;

Account for missing people;

Engage in dialog and meaningful negotiations concerned with security for all, freedom of movement, freedom to return home for all, and return of private property.

Humanitarian Issues and Refugee Returns

Return of refugees is essential. Serbs and other ethnic communities want to return home throughout Kosovo. In addition to security, this requires humanitarian assistance as well as tolerance and coexistence based on common and compatible interests of all ethnic communities. We recognize that Albanians as well as Serbs and other ethnic communities have been victimized. We respect the rights and interests of others and ask that our own rights and interests be respected.

We also ask for expedited and expanded delivery of financial resources and material, non-material and political and moral support:

Material Aid:

Basic services: housing, food, clothing, energy, medical facilities and municipal services (water, sewage, etc.);

Communication and transport;

Human and financial resources for educational services;

Reconstruction of homes as well as destroyed and damaged churches.

Non-material Aid:

Law offices to provide free legal assistance for individuals;

Treatment of psychological trauma;

Development of civil society;

An end to language discrimination (book-burning, media, traffic signs, and general conversation);

Development of respect for the right of religious belief

Social aid for job development.

As possible first steps, we encourage the international community to:

Strongly support return of all Serbs and non-Albanian citizens;

Deliver aid via the Serb National Council, Serb Orthodox Church and appropriate nongovernmental organizations not controlled by the Milosevic government;

Ensure better representation of Serb interests in Western media;

Pay greater attention to the implementation of human rights and justice;

End expressions of understanding for acts of revenge;

Focus on the needs of the local population rather than the needs of the international community personnel in Kosovo;

Concentrate the aid effort on multiethnic communities in Kosovo;

Enable the return of the Serbian University to Pristina;

Immediately settle outstanding issues related to property, including the payment of rent to those families whose homes are temporarily occupied by others;

Provide legal identity papers for all people who have formerly lived in Kosovo;

Arrange for Serb and other non-Albanian ethnic community medical workers and other professionals to return to work;

Provide equal humanitarian assistance and medical aid to all parts of Kosovo; and

Establish an ombudsmen commission comprised of an equal number of Serbs and Albanians and a representative of the international community to investigate complaints made by all citizens of Kosovo regarding return of refugees, exercise of criminal justice and the rule of law.

All Kosovo ethnic communities should:

Create multiethnic programs that promote youth and future leaders, including seminars outside Kosovo;

Establish schools in English attended by children of all ethnic groups; and

Organize multiethnic women's groups.

We call on all in Kosovo to contribute in every way to a multiethnic and democratic Kosovo, to be tolerant of different political perspectives, and to commit to non-violent means for accomplishing our mutual political interests--a stable, peaceful and secure Kosovo. We ask the international community to support and work towards programs that ensure our mutual security and an inclusive and fair political process.

Sofia Workshop Participants

His Grace Bishop Artemije, Bishop of Raska-Prizren and President, Serb National Council

Mr. Momcilo Trajkovic, Serb National Council, President, Executive Board, Kosovo and Metohija

Dr. Vuko Antonijevic, Serb National Council, President, Mitrovica area

Prof. Dr. Dusan T. Batakovic, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade

Vlada Dimic, Serb National Council, Executive Board, Pristina

Dr. Milan Ivanovic, Serb National Council, Executive Board , Mitrovica

Dr. Marko Jaksic, Serb National Council, Executive Board, Mitrovica

Fr. Justin Jezdic, Archdeacon

Stojan Jovanovic, Serb National Council, Director, Information Center

Nenad Kojic, Serb National Council, Executive Board, Gnjilane area

Zoran Lutovac, Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade

Randjel Nojkic, Serb National Council, Executive Board, Kosovo and Metohija

Slava Ristic, Serb National Council

Dr. Predrag Simic, Advisor to the President of the Serbian Renewal Movement, Belgrade

Prof. Gligorije Stojanovic, Serb National Council, Executive Board, Pristina

Dr. Rada Trajkovic, Serb National Council, Executive Board, Pristina area.

Dr. Josif Vasic, Serb National Council, Gnjilane

Dragan Velic, Serb National Council, Pristina

Mr. Aleksander Vidojevic, Advisor to Bishop Artemije

United States Institute of Peace -- 1200 17th Street NW -- Washington, DC 20036
(202) 457-1700 (phone) -- (202) 429-6063 (fax)
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Released: 17 Dec 1999 Sofia Declaration Newsbyte Full text of the Lansdowne Declaration
		The Sofia Declaration
		We, the individuals identified below, gathered in Sofia, Bulgaria, December 10-12, 1999, with the facilitation of a team assembled by the United States Institute of Peace, and have reached consensus on options for building multiethnic democracy in Kosovo and Metohija (referred to below as Kosovo). We appeal to the international community and Kosovar Albanian leaders to reflect upon and respect the fruits of our deliberations, which were undertaken within the context of UN Security Council resolution 1244. As members of the Serb National Council, elected by local Serb constituencies, joined by several Belgrade-based advisors, we represent a broad spectrum of democratically-oriented political perspectives. We favor a democratic Kosovo, within a democratic Serbia, within a democratic Yugoslavia integrated in a stable and prosperous region linked to Europe. We regret and condemn ethnically motivated violence and crimes committed in previous periods as well as now. We envision a multiethnic and democratic Kosovo where all citizens: Live under the rule of law, Have equal rights, Feel secure to return to their homes throughout Kosovo, and Have free access to religious and cultural sites. We pledge our cooperation with those inside and outside Kosovo who share these aims, and ask for the full support of the international community to achieve them. Immediate priority issues for the Kosovo Serbs are Security, Governance, and Humanitarian Issues and Refugee Returns. Security About 100,000 Serbs remain in Kosovo in four large enclaves and additional smaller ones. According to the Serb National Council, approximately 200,000 Serbs and 30,000 others have been expelled or have fled. Violence and crime against Serbs are prevalent, with more isolated areas and those with less communication with Belgrade faring worse. Serbs have been cleansed from Kosovo's cities, it is unsafe for Serbs to travel between enclaves without KFOR protection, and there is little communication between enclaves. Though relations between the Serb community and KFOR at the local level are correct, KFOR has done little to hold responsible those who order and perpetrate crimes and violence (some of whom come from outside Kosovo) and maintains communications with Milosevic-controlled Serb leadership in Kosovo. The existing Police Academy is located in an area from which Serbs have been expelled, and Serbs who attend it feel is insecure. We call upon the international community to: Improve UNMIK/KFOR protection for all; Stop systematic persecution of Kosovo Serbs and other non-Albanian communities; Complete the disarmament process; Hold responsible perpetrators of violence, who must be arrested, tried, and imprisoned; Establish police and judicial systems that reflect the ethnic composition of the areas in which they are located; Establish branches of the Police Academy run by UNMIK in a Serb majority area; Open secure roads between Serb enclaves; Improve relations between the Serb community leadership and UNMIK and KFOR commands; Improve control of all Kosovo's borders and boundaries. Governance The Serb National Council was established by an electoral process and includes individuals and representatives of democratically oriented parties independent of the Milosevic regime. It is not a governing authority, but an interim effort to organize the Kosovo Serb community and represent its interests. While the specific form of governance in the future will have to be decided by the entire Kosovo population with assistance from the international community, the following points are essential: No division of Kosovo; Establishment of strong local self-government for all--including administration, police and judciary--within a decentralized political system; No change in status of Kosovo until Milosevic is gone from power, and No elections without basic security for Serbs and other ethnic communities adequate to allow those who want to return to do so; All Kosovo refugees should have the right to vote. We acknowledge our own responsibility for establishing democratic and multiethnic institutions in Kosovo and pledge to: Improve tolerance, restrain extremists, and insist on resolution of disputes by use of peaceful political means; Encourage members of the Serb community to stay in Kosovo, to return from wherever they are, and to join the Serb National Council; Cooperate with the international community to return property to its rightful owners; Actively recruit Serbs to participate in police training. We call on the international community to: Establish a multiethnic court of appeals under international community chairmanship; Establish a system that protects private property, ensures payment of rent to actual owners, registers refugee property, and provides legal procedures to remedy contracts signed under intimidation; Stop long detentions without trial--citizens must be innocent until proven guilty; Support the creation of a non-Milosevic sponsored, independent Serb media within Kosovo to which all political forces and ethnic communities will have access; Include the Serb National Council in the December 17 Berlin Trilateral meeting among the US, EU and Serb democratic opposition, of which it is a part; Encourage joint Serbian opposition, RS, and Montenegrin support for Serbs in Kosovo; and Call on The Hague Tribunal to investigate crimes against Serbs. To demonstrate its respect for democratic principles we ask the Albanian community to: End the violence; Account for missing people; Engage in dialog and meaningful negotiations concerned with security for all, freedom of movement, freedom to return home for all, and return of private property. Humanitarian Issues and Refugee Returns Return of refugees is essential. Serbs and other ethnic communities want to return home throughout Kosovo. In addition to security, this requires humanitarian assistance as well as tolerance and coexistence based on common and compatible interests of all ethnic communities. We recognize that Albanians as well as Serbs and other ethnic communities have been victimized. We respect the rights and interests of others and ask that our own rights and interests be respected. We also ask for expedited and expanded delivery of financial resources and material, non-material and political and moral support: Material Aid: Basic services: housing, food, clothing, energy, medical facilities and municipal services (water, sewage, etc.); Communication and transport; Human and financial resources for educational services; Reconstruction of homes as well as destroyed and damaged churches. Non-material Aid: Law offices to provide free legal assistance for individuals; Treatment of psychological trauma; Development of civil society; An end to language discrimination (book-burning, media, traffic signs, and general conversation); Development of respect for the right of religious belief Social aid for job development. As possible first steps, we encourage the international community to: Strongly support return of all Serbs and non-Albanian citizens; Deliver aid via the Serb National Council, Serb Orthodox Church and appropriate nongovernmental organizations not controlled by the Milosevic government; Ensure better representation of Serb interests in Western media; Pay greater attention to the implementation of human rights and justice; End expressions of understanding for acts of revenge; Focus on the needs of the local population rather than the needs of the international community personnel in Kosovo; Concentrate the aid effort on multiethnic communities in Kosovo; Enable the return of the Serbian University to Pristina; Immediately settle outstanding issues related to property, including the payment of rent to those families whose homes are temporarily occupied by others; Provide legal identity papers for all people who have formerly lived in Kosovo; Arrange for Serb and other non-Albanian ethnic community medical workers and other professionals to return to work; Provide equal humanitarian assistance and medical aid to all parts of Kosovo; and Establish an ombudsmen commission comprised of an equal number of Serbs and Albanians and a representative of the international community to investigate complaints made by all citizens of Kosovo regarding return of refugees, exercise of criminal justice and the rule of law. All Kosovo ethnic communities should: Create multiethnic programs that promote youth and future leaders, including seminars outside Kosovo; Establish schools in English attended by children of all ethnic groups; and Organize multiethnic women's groups. We call on all in Kosovo to contribute in every way to a multiethnic and democratic Kosovo, to be tolerant of different political perspectives, and to commit to non-violent means for accomplishing our mutual political interests--a stable, peaceful and secure Kosovo. We ask the international community to support and work towards programs that ensure our mutual security and an inclusive and fair political process. Sofia Workshop Participants His Grace Bishop Artemije, Bishop of Raska-Prizren and President, Serb National Council Mr. Momcilo Trajkovic, Serb National Council, President, Executive Board, Kosovo and Metohija Dr. Vuko Antonijevic, Serb National Council, President, Mitrovica area Prof. Dr. Dusan T. Batakovic, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade Vlada Dimic, Serb National Council, Executive Board, Pristina Dr. Milan Ivanovic, Serb National Council, Executive Board , Mitrovica Dr. Marko Jaksic, Serb National Council, Executive Board, Mitrovica Fr. Justin Jezdic, Archdeacon Stojan Jovanovic, Serb National Council, Director, Information Center Nenad Kojic, Serb National Council, Executive Board, Gnjilane area Zoran Lutovac, Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade Randjel Nojkic, Serb National Council, Executive Board, Kosovo and Metohija Slava Ristic, Serb National Council Dr. Predrag Simic, Advisor to the President of the Serbian Renewal Movement, Belgrade Prof. Gligorije Stojanovic, Serb National Council, Executive Board, Pristina Dr. Rada Trajkovic, Serb National Council, Executive Board, Pristina area. Dr. Josif Vasic, Serb National Council, Gnjilane Dragan Velic, Serb National Council, Pristina Mr. Aleksander Vidojevic, Advisor to Bishop Artemije