Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci confirmed yesterday that the province would declare its independence from Serbia today, the day when the "will of the citizens of Kosovo" would be implemented.
"Tomorrow will be a day of calm, of understanding, and of state engagements for the implementation of the will of the citizens of Kosovo," said Thaci, after meeting religious leaders from the predominantly ethnic Albanian province.
Expectations that independence would be declared today have been running high, but Thaci's comments marked the first top-level confirmation that the long awaited break with Serbia would take place this weekend.
PHOTO: AFP
Thaci appealed for celebrations to unfold with "dignity ... on the day of the declaration of independence, on the big day, on the historic day ... a day of thanksgiving for a sovereign and independent Kosovo."
Kosovo inched closer to its historic declaration of independence with a growing sense of excitement among its people and the EU launching a police and judicial mission to smooth the birth of the world's newest state.
Serbia, backed by Russia, has said that the split -- supported by the US and most major European powers, nine years after Kosovo was put under interim UN administration -- would be illegal.
The leader of Kosovo's Serb minority, Milan Ivanovic, said that the EU police and justice mission -- designed to help Kosovo's transition to sovereignty -- was a form of "occupation."
Without giving their sources, several newspapers in Pristina reported yesterday that the declaration would come around 3pm today to the strains of Ode to Joy, the EU anthem.
Street parties and fireworks would follow, while the NATO-lead Kosovo Force that has been deployed in Kosovo since 1999 -- when the province was put under UN interim administration -- is expected to be out in force to ensure security.
"Everything is pointing to Sunday," a source close to Thaci's government said earlier in the day, as Serbia all but gave up hope of hanging onto the province it sees as the cradle of its culture and Serbian Orthodox religion.
The EU yesterday approved the launch of a 2,000-strong police and justice mission for Kosovo.
The supervisory mission was formally endorsed at midnight after none of the EU's 27 member states objected to an operation plan for the mission before an agreed deadline, a diplomatic source said.
"The [EU] Council has decided to launch the European Union rule of law mission in Kosovo," the EU said in a statement, adding that the operation would take over powers from the existing UN mission in the territory after a 120-day transition period.
The statement also named Dutchman Pieter Feith as the EU civilian administrator in Kosovo. He is expected to take over from UN supremo Joachim Ruecker in June.
The EU rule of law mission will chiefly mentor and advise Kosovo police and judicial authorities but will have some executive powers, notably in the fight against organized crime, corruption and the hunt for war criminals.
EU foreign ministers will discuss their response to Kosovo's decision tomorrow.
Diplomats said up to 20 EU countries were likely to recognize the new state rapidly, but at least six -- Cyprus, Greece, Slovakia, Spain, Bulgaria and Romania -- have indicated they will not do so immediately.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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