Kosovo Serbs defy Belgrade, EU with referendum

Serbs in Kosovo voted for the second day Wednesday in a referendum on ethnic Albanian rule, in a slap in the face to efforts by Serbia and the EU to resolve differences over the territory. The vote is a reaction to EU-brokered talks between Belgrade and Pristina. Many Kosovo Serbs feel that Serbia should not deal with a government it officially does not recognise. They fear that Serbia, which is hoping to win official candidate status from the European Union in March will eventually give up its claim to Kosovo, leaving them at the mercy of the ethnic Albanian government. "The message we are sending from the voting booth is that ... every one wants to stay under Serbia's authority and not under (Kosovo prime minister) Hashim Thaci," 62-year-old Miomir Scekic told AFP "I hope our president Boris Tadic finally also understands that message. The referendum, which is expected to be a resounding rejection of the authority of the Kosovo government, has no legal weight and has been dismissed by both Serbia and Kosovo, as well as the international community. "Pristina, Belgrade and the international community will ignore the vote but the Serbs in northern Kosovo feel the need to make themselves heard as they are not included in the Belgrade-Pristina talks," Vladimir Todoric, a political analyst from Serbia's Centre for New Politics told AFP. Serbia's state secretary for Kosovo, Oliver Jovanovic, on Tuesday slammed the "open defiance" of the Serb-dominated northern Kosovo municipalities in organising the vote. He blamed nationalist opposition parties for trying to "position themselves" ahead of general elections in Serbia this spring. Three of the four towns which organised the referendum are controlled by the opposition. Serbian President Tadic said the referendum was "harming the interests of the (Serbian) state", while insisting that Belgrade would never accept Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008. Dozens of countries recognise Kosovo's independence including the United States and most of Europe. Some 35,000 voters in the majority Serb north are being asked: "Do you accept the institutions of the so-called republic of Kosovo seated in Pristina?" The turnout on the first day of vote was 48 percent, the authorities said. Out of a population of about two million, there are some 120,000 ethnic Serbs in Kosovo, 40,000 of whom live in the north on the border with Serbia and the rest in enclaves dotted around the territory. Only Serbs in northern Kosovo were participating in the referendum. Kosovan analysts said the referendum showed that just one day ahead of the fourth anniversary of Pristina's declaration of independence, Thaci's government does not control the whole of its territory. "It discredits the government as it sends a message to the world that something is wrong in a part of Kosovo and that it requires international attention and solution," political analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu, a well-known commentator on northern Kosovo, told AFP. "This referendum reconfirms for the umpteenth time that Kosovo cannot establish control over all its territory," commentator Adrian Collaku said in a column for the independent Zeri daily, calling it "another step towards secession" for northern Kosovo. The north was the scene of unrest in November, when some 50 soldiers from the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force were hurt as they moved to dismantle barricades erected at the border by Serbs. The Serb protests were triggered by a move from Pristina to try and take control of two disputed border crossings. Polling stations will close at 7:00 pm (1800 GMT), and the first partial results are expected later Wednesday.