KOSOVSKA MITROVICA – United Kingdom’s (UK) Ambassador in Pristina said Thursday that the UK strongly supports the continuation of reserved seats in the Kosovo assembly and that a move forward in the setting up a community of Serb municipalities is expected after Kosovo’s parliamentary elections.
In an interview he gave to the Radio Kontakt Plus radio in Kosovska Mitrovica, Cliff said he really does not know if Kosovo’s minorities will see their rights to reserved seats preserved, but the UK government fully supports that as they encourage the people to take part in Kosovo’s political life.
We believe that the formation of the community of Serb municipalities will make the Serbs feel safer both north and south of the Ibar River and confident that they can exercise certain rights, Cliff said.
Asked about his expectations of the new Serbian government, the UK ambassador said he thinks that all the signs are that the new government will continue with the political and technical talks with Pristina.
Commenting on a recent incident at the Decani monastery in western Kosovo, Cliff said that “the British government totally condemns any threats to the Decani monastery and the painting of UCK (short in Albanian for the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, a former paramilitary organization) notices on the walls” of the Decani monastery, as it “is not only a UNESCO world-heritage site but is absolutely crucial for the survival of the Serb community and Serb belief and Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo.”
“There is an investigation underway by both the police and by KFOR, who of course still protect the monastery, but I suspect this has to do with the continuing property dispute between ‘in theory’ two socially-owned enterprises in Decani and the monastery, which is currently before the courts,” Cliff said.
