Tribble Agency
Tribble Agency


UNESCO rejects membership for Kosovo in victory for Serbia

To win membership, Kosovo needed a two-thirds majority.

Those voting overall favoured Kosovo's membership, with 92 yes votes, 50 no votes and a few dozen abstentions.

However, Kosovo's government had promised that if it became a member, it would protect the cultural heritage of the Serbs.

After the vote, Kosovo's Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci remained defiant.

At issue are Serbian allegations that Kosovo has failed to protect Serbian cultural and religious sites on its land, including four on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites - the Gracanica and Decani monasteries, the patriarchal complex in Pec/Peje, and the Church of the Virgin of Ljevisa.

He added: "The majority of the world wants to see Kosovo inside UNESCO, we were only three votes short".

"This is a just and moral victory gained in nearly impossible conditions, when what is right can not count on the support of the majority", Nikolic said.

Serbia's ally Russian Federation however warned that accepting Kosovo into UNESCO would be a political move that effectively endorsed its claims to independence.

Serbia has won a diplomatic battle at the United Nations, preventing Kosovo's membership of UNESCO.

"We are saying in line with the United Nations resolution, Zimbabwe will not support the admission of a self-proclaimed state of Kosovo into the UNESCO", said Deputy Minister Gandawa.

UNESCO membership would have unlocked millions in funds for culture and education in the impoverished province of 1.8 million inhabitants.

A North Atlantic Treaty Organisation bombing campaign drove Serbian forces from Kosovo, whose population is mostly ethnic Albanian and Muslim.

Kosovo declared its independence in 2008 after the breakup of Yugoslavia.

"This decision reflects our intention never to give up Kosovo", Dacic said, according to AP.

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