German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 19/231, pp.
29763-29764.
Right honorable Frau President. Valued colleagues. Quite especially
I greet the member of the Serbian Parliament in the gallery above, Herr Karic,
and in the name of my delegation. It is nice that you are here. Thank you.
Today’s opportunity to speak on the situation in Kosovo puts
to us the proposition to consider an additional question which is much more
wide-ranging than that implied by the mission of our soldiers. We should ask
ourselves whether Germany is consistent in its policy: On one side in relation
to Kosovo, yet on the other side in relation to Serbia, whether we are doing
everything for the long-term pacification of the West Balkans and to create a
region of peace and stability.
We should ask ourselves this question in view of the recent
apology made by Czech President Zeman vis-à-vis Serbian President Aleksandar
Vucic on account of the NATO attacks on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in
1999. The pretense for this act of war, which the Federal government of that
time invoked with a lie, was to prevent an ostensible humanitarian catastrophe
in Kosovo, although its direct consequence was a new humanitarian catastrophe,
namely the resettlement of almost a quarter-million Serbs and other
non-Albanians from Kosovo.
Yet was it really necessary to have supported the splitting
off of Kosovo from Serbia in 2008, and indeed at a point in time when the democratic
powers which led the government in Belgrade were known to be in a position to
achieve, together with us, the creation of a functional, multi-ethnic society
on the territory of an intact Serbia inclusive of Kosovo?
And today in Belgrade we have speaking partners in the
government who have indicated that they as well are in a position to construct a
functional, multi-ethic society and an economically dynamic and progressive
state. I therefore today put to this house the question: What kind of dialogue
between Belgrade and Pristina do we want to support so as not to run the risk
of further alienating Serbia and Kosovo? Serbia, to which Kosovo for me
continues to belong, must be more closely tied to us, instead of here ever
again seeking the separation.
If we claim that we are against a new drawing of borders,
wherever in the world, we do not have the right to overlook the fact that we
ourselves have directly cooperated in an unjust drawing of borders in this
region. And in my experience, Serbs ever still today refer, correctly so, to
this contrast.
In case we do not have the courage to scrutinize our own
policy in relation to this region and turn back to a respect for international
law by means of a re-integration of Kosovo into Serbia, we should reject in
advance no innovations and courageous solutions under the pretense of the
inviolability of borders; since we ourselves have disregarded this principle.
I call upon the Federal government to give serious thought
to these themes, so as by solving one problem not to create additional problems,
and not to compel Serbia, as the key country in the region as was already here
addressed, to seek partners for other solutions on other sides [Partner für andere Lösungen auf anderen
Seiten].
I know that Belgrade too is considering compromise
solutions. Yet basically I share in the words of the then Austrian
Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, “Kosovo is without a doubt a part of
Serbia.”
Thank you.
[trans: tem]
