[R-G] Serbia recalls envoy as Ottawa recognizes Kosovo

[Anthony Fenton]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080319.KOSOVO19//TPStory/Front

Serbia recalls envoy as Ottawa recognizes Kosovo
DANIEL LEBLANC
March 19, 2008

OTTAWA -- Canada recognized Kosovo yesterday after a month on the  
sidelines of the internationally divisive debate, eliciting the anger  
of Serbia, which warned that a precedent has been set for a unilateral  
declaration of independence in Quebec.

The Harper government, however, said its decision was well thought out  
and in no way opens the door to Canada's breakup.

"You cannot compare this with Quebec," said Foreign Affairs Minister  
Maxime Bernier, pointing to the war and the ethnic cleansing that  
followed Yugoslavia's disintegration in the early 1990s.

Serbia's ambassador to Canada, who learned of the recognition before  
it was made public, broke the news and angrily accused Canada of  
violating international law. In an interview, Dusan Batakovic said he  
has been recalled to Serbia in order to signal his country's  
disappointment with Canada.

"I will convey the strong protest note by my government [today] and  
will be recalled for consultation afterward," he said.

Mr. Batakovic said Canada's recognition of Kosovo, which unilaterally  
declared independence a month ago, sets a "dangerous precedent" for  
secessionist movements such as the one in Quebec.

"Many other separatist groups are now striving to raise their issue in  
a similar way as it was done in Kosovo," he said.

The independence of Kosovo was proclaimed by its Albanian-speaking  
parliament despite the strong opposition of the Serbian minority and  
other countries that have autonomist movements within their borders.

MNA Daniel Turp of the separatist Parti Québécois said the case of  
Kosovo, which is the seventh country to emerge out of Yugoslavia, sets  
a precedent because it was achieved "despite the objections of the  
country which it left."

"That's the interesting lesson in this," Mr. Turp added.

But Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae agreed with the Harper  
government that it's an "insult to the intelligence" to tout Kosovo as  
a precedent-setting case.

"There is absolutely no parallel between the situation in Kosovo and  
the situation in Canada," he said.

The Canadian government waited much longer to recognize Kosovo than  
did many of its allies, such as the United States, Britain, France,  
Germany and Australia. In a statement, Mr. Bernier insisted the Balkan  
state's situation is unique.

"We note that a significant number of countries, including our G7  
partners and many of Canada's close allies, have already recognized  
Kosovo," Mr. Bernier said.

"As the declaration issued by Kosovo's parliament also makes clear,  
the unique circumstances which have led to Kosovo's independence mean  
it does not constitute any kind of precedent," he said.

Mr. Batakovic said Canada's Serbian community of about 200,000 is  
planning a large protest in Montreal on March 30.

"The declaration of independence of Kosovo, proclaimed solely by the  
Kosovo Albanians, is not a triumph of human rights and freedom, but  
rather a triumph of postwar persecution, terror and ethnic cleansing,"  
he said in a presentation at the University of Ottawa this month.

Kosovo has been a de facto separate state since the 1999 NATO bombings  
of Serbia. Many of the countries that resisted recognizing its  
independence are those that face their own secessionist movements:  
Spain, which has Basque separatists; Indonesia, which has independence  
movements in Aceh and Papua; and China, which has long fought  
nationalist movements in Tibet and Taiwan.