VOA标准英语2009年-Serbia: Kosovo Independence Declaratio

Many countries with their own breakaway republics closely following case

Lauren Comiteau 01 December 2009

Head of the Serbian delegation¹ Dusan Batakovic (R), Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and Cedomir Radojkovic, Serbia's ambassador to the Netherlands (L) as hearings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague open into the legality of Kosovo's February 2008 independence declaration from Serbia, 01 Dec 2009

The International Court of Justice has begun hearing Serbia's case against Kosovo.  Judges in The Hague have been asked by the U.N. General Assembly to rule on the legality of Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence.

Lawyers for Serbia argued that Kosovo's move not only challenged Serbia's sovereignty, but undermined international law.

Harvard Law Professor Andreas Zimmermann is one of the lawyers arguing Serbia's case in court.

"With all due respect to the actors involved, it was certainly not helpful - to say the least - for the mediator² appointed by the [U.N.] secretary-general to refer publicly to Serbia as a thief that had stolen Kosovo from the Albanian Kosovo population, as if Serbia did not have a valid³ title to the territory ever since 1913," Zimmermann said.

And even before that, say Serbia's lawyers, Kosovo had been the "historical cradle of Serbia," one of the "essential pillars of its identity."

But Kosovo Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni told the court it would be "inconceivable" to reopen negotiations⁴ with Serbia on Kosovo's future.  He said that "would be highly disruptive, and could even spark new conflict in the region."

Ten years ago Belgrade attacked separatists in what was then its southern province, killing⁵ about 10,000 Kosovo Albanians and displacing close to a million more.  NATO bombed Serbia for 78 days.  The United Nations then set up a provisional government in Kosovo.

But when the region declared independence last year, which Serbia says violated the U.N. and thus international law, 63 nations recognized Kosovo's sovereignty.  The United States and most European Union members are among them, although Russia and the U.N. Security Council are not.

Many of those countries will make their own arguments before the court during the next nine days.  While judges are not expected to rule on the legality of Kosovo's move for months, many countries that have their own problems with breakaway republics are closely following this case.

 

1 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

2 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

3 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。