Independence is only option for Kosovo: Report

United Nations, Mar 27: The only viable option for Kosovo is independence, with an initial period of supervision by the international community, the senior UN official overseeing the Serbian province's future has concluded in a report endorsed by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

According to diplomatic sources, both the US and the European Union have extended support to the report.

Mr Martti Ahtisaari, secretary-general's special envoy for the future status process for Kosovo, stated in his report released yesterday that independence is the only way to ensure the province -- where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs and other minorities by nine to one -- becomes politically stable and economically viable.

Kosovo's government and Serbia have been unable to reach any agreement over what should happen, even on smaller, practical issues, Mr Ahtisaari said in the report.

He warned that the continuing uncertainty is threatening democracy and ethnic reconciliation.

''Such uncertainty only leads to further stagnation, polarising its communities and resulting in social and political unrest,'' he said adding that pretending otherwise and denying or delaying resolution of Kosovo's status risks challenging not only its own stability but the peace and stability of the region as a whole.

Calling Kosovo ''a unique case that demands a unique solution'', Mr Ahtisaari said an international civilian and military presence is necessary as part of the settlement, focused on such areas as minority community rights, the rule of law, decentralisation and the protection of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

According to his proposals, once the Council endorsed his settlement plan and it entered into force, there would be a 120-day transition period during which the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo would remain in charge.

An International Civilian Representative, who would be appointed by an international steering group and act also as the European Union special representative, would have no direct role in Kosovo's administration but would hold ultimate supervisory power over the implementation of the settlement.

The civilian representative would have the power to annul laws or decisions by Kosovo authorities and the right to punish or remove officials whose actions he or she deemed inconsistent with the settlement, and would work until the steering group determined that Kosovo had implemented the terms of the settlement.

UNI