http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/347701
TORONTO STAR (CANADA)
Serbs lash out at Ottawa
TheStar.com - Canada - Serbs lash out at Ottawa
TARA WALTON/TORONTO STAR
Thousands of ethnic Albanians rally in Queen's Park in Toronto yesterday
afternoon after Kosovo's parliament proclaimed independence, a decade after
a bloody separatist war with Serbia.
Envoy sees trouble looming with Quebec as Canada recognizes Kosovo's
independence
March 19, 2008
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA-Canada's decision to recognize Kosovo's independence will set a
dangerous precedent should Quebec sovereignists ever win a referendum,
Serbia's ambassador to Canada warns.
Dusan Batakovic, expressing his anger over Ottawa's controversial decision,
said Canada has shown disrespect for Serbia's constitution, for United
Nations resolutions and international law with its decision to back the
breakaway republic, which unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia
a month ago.
By the end of the week, Batakovic will return to Belgrade as a sign of
Serbia's displeasure with Ottawa.
Batakovic said yesterday the Kosovo decision could come back to haunt
Canada.
"Imagine that Quebec, for instance, proclaims independence in the same way
that Kosovo did, unilaterally. Would Ottawa then recognize Quebec as an
independent country?" he asked. "How would it react if other countries,
without notifying Ottawa, recognize an independent Quebec?"
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier, announcing Canada's position
yesterday, said the strife that preceded Kosovo's separation from Serbia
makes it a "unique case" with which Quebec sovereignists can draw no
parallels.
"The unique circumstances which have led to Kosovo's independence mean it
does not constitute any kind of precedent," Bernier said.
He noted that many of Canada's allies have recognized Kosovo, bringing
Ottawa's decision into line with a "new international reality."
Serbia will today deliver a diplomatic note of protest to the Canadian
government charging that Ottawa is violating United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1244, a legally binding document that, according to Batakovic,
defines Kosovo as part of Serbia. The 1999 UN resolution sets out the terms
for the international intervention in Kosovo to end fighting.
Canada was part of a NATO force that intervened militarily in Kosovo in 1999
to stop Serbian attacks on the civilian population. Kosovo, which is 90 per
cent ethnic Albanian, has not been under Serbian control since the NATO
force moved in after massive air strikes.
A UN mission has governed Kosovo since, but Serbia, backed by Kosovo's
Serbs - who make up less than 10 per cent of the population - refuses to
give up the territory.
Opposition parties agreed with the government that there was a significant
difference between the situation in Kosovo, prompted by a civil war and the
campaign of ethnic cleansing almost a decade ago, and that of Quebec, where
grievances are primarily cultural.
Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae said it is irresponsible to suggest
the situation in the Balkans sets a precedent for Canada. "It would be wrong
for anyone to suggest any such thing," he said.
But sovereignists are taking heart at the international support for Kosovo's
independence, and some observers say Canada's recognition could form an
important part of the dossier for Quebec separation should a referendum
succeed.
Because Kosovo declared independence without first consulting the Serbian
government, Quebecers would similarly have no obligation to consult Ottawa
before separating, the argument goes.
"Certainly this can be used as an instrument in a range of arguments that
can be presented by the sovereignists, that the federal government has
recognized the legitimacy of this kind of process ...," said University of
Montreal professor Pierre Martin.
Quebec has held two referendums on separation, in 1980 and 1995. Both have
failed to come up with the majority support of Quebecers.
In the aftermath of the near defeat of the federalists in the 1995
referendum, Liberal unity minister Stéphane Dion, now the party leader,
drafted the Clarity Act setting out the terms and conditions that would
govern secession from Canada. It was passed into law in 2000, but has never
been tested.
In 1999, the Supreme Court said Quebec has no right under the Constitution
or under international law to unilaterally secede.
While Dion is reviled by separatists in his home province, he backs Kosovo's
independence because of its bloody history and because NATO has been
enforcing a buffer zone between Serbia and Kosovo.
Included in the 30 countries that have now recognized Kosovo are the United
States, the United Kingdom, France and Australia.
- With files from The Canadian Press
TORONTO STAR (CANADA)
Serbs lash out at Ottawa
TheStar.com - Canada - Serbs lash out at Ottawa
TARA WALTON/TORONTO STAR
Thousands of ethnic Albanians rally in Queen's Park in Toronto yesterday
afternoon after Kosovo's parliament proclaimed independence, a decade after
a bloody separatist war with Serbia.
Envoy sees trouble looming with Quebec as Canada recognizes Kosovo's
independence
March 19, 2008
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA-Canada's decision to recognize Kosovo's independence will set a
dangerous precedent should Quebec sovereignists ever win a referendum,
Serbia's ambassador to Canada warns.
Dusan Batakovic, expressing his anger over Ottawa's controversial decision,
said Canada has shown disrespect for Serbia's constitution, for United
Nations resolutions and international law with its decision to back the
breakaway republic, which unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia
a month ago.
By the end of the week, Batakovic will return to Belgrade as a sign of
Serbia's displeasure with Ottawa.
Batakovic said yesterday the Kosovo decision could come back to haunt
Canada.
"Imagine that Quebec, for instance, proclaims independence in the same way
that Kosovo did, unilaterally. Would Ottawa then recognize Quebec as an
independent country?" he asked. "How would it react if other countries,
without notifying Ottawa, recognize an independent Quebec?"
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier, announcing Canada's position
yesterday, said the strife that preceded Kosovo's separation from Serbia
makes it a "unique case" with which Quebec sovereignists can draw no
parallels.
"The unique circumstances which have led to Kosovo's independence mean it
does not constitute any kind of precedent," Bernier said.
He noted that many of Canada's allies have recognized Kosovo, bringing
Ottawa's decision into line with a "new international reality."
Serbia will today deliver a diplomatic note of protest to the Canadian
government charging that Ottawa is violating United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1244, a legally binding document that, according to Batakovic,
defines Kosovo as part of Serbia. The 1999 UN resolution sets out the terms
for the international intervention in Kosovo to end fighting.
Canada was part of a NATO force that intervened militarily in Kosovo in 1999
to stop Serbian attacks on the civilian population. Kosovo, which is 90 per
cent ethnic Albanian, has not been under Serbian control since the NATO
force moved in after massive air strikes.
A UN mission has governed Kosovo since, but Serbia, backed by Kosovo's
Serbs - who make up less than 10 per cent of the population - refuses to
give up the territory.
Opposition parties agreed with the government that there was a significant
difference between the situation in Kosovo, prompted by a civil war and the
campaign of ethnic cleansing almost a decade ago, and that of Quebec, where
grievances are primarily cultural.
Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae said it is irresponsible to suggest
the situation in the Balkans sets a precedent for Canada. "It would be wrong
for anyone to suggest any such thing," he said.
But sovereignists are taking heart at the international support for Kosovo's
independence, and some observers say Canada's recognition could form an
important part of the dossier for Quebec separation should a referendum
succeed.
Because Kosovo declared independence without first consulting the Serbian
government, Quebecers would similarly have no obligation to consult Ottawa
before separating, the argument goes.
"Certainly this can be used as an instrument in a range of arguments that
can be presented by the sovereignists, that the federal government has
recognized the legitimacy of this kind of process ...," said University of
Montreal professor Pierre Martin.
Quebec has held two referendums on separation, in 1980 and 1995. Both have
failed to come up with the majority support of Quebecers.
In the aftermath of the near defeat of the federalists in the 1995
referendum, Liberal unity minister Stéphane Dion, now the party leader,
drafted the Clarity Act setting out the terms and conditions that would
govern secession from Canada. It was passed into law in 2000, but has never
been tested.
In 1999, the Supreme Court said Quebec has no right under the Constitution
or under international law to unilaterally secede.
While Dion is reviled by separatists in his home province, he backs Kosovo's
independence because of its bloody history and because NATO has been
enforcing a buffer zone between Serbia and Kosovo.
Included in the 30 countries that have now recognized Kosovo are the United
States, the United Kingdom, France and Australia.
- With files from The Canadian Press
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