(22 May 2006) AHTISAARI: ACEH MODEL NOT APPLICABLE FOR KOSOVO. (Balkan Watch)

• 2006-05-23
• Europa in de wereld

Top UN mediator at the Kosovo final status talks in Vienna, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, recently commented that the peace agreement reached in Aceh, Indonesia, would not be applicable as a model for Kosovo.

Ahtisaari, who served as top mediator at the Aceh talks, noted that the situation in Aceh is much different from that in Kosovo. He praised the strong EU participation in both talks, particularly how the EU assisted in fielding an Aceh Monitoring Mission.

Meanwhile, UN envoy Albert Rohan demanded that Kosovo Albanians ensure that Serbian Orthodox churches in Kosovo are protected. Rohan remarked that the talks have not yielded the number of ethnically Serb cities or municipalities under an agreement. He did, however, praise the approach undertaken by the ethnic Albanian negotiating team.