SERBIAN CONFISCATION OF KOSOVAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND ART

That this House welcomes the statement made in Vienna on 14th March by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights condemning, without reservation, the closure by the Serbian authorities of the Kosovan Academy of Science and Art and the confiscation of its building on 22nd February; agrees with the International Helsinki Federation that the Academy has played a vital role in the development of Albanian Culture in Kosava and that its closure is a particular and significant act of repression, within a sustained pattern of harassment, intimidation and discrimination practised by the Serbian authorities against ethnic Albanians in all sectors of life in Kosova; calls on the Serbian authorities to reserve these measures, which clearly violate international law and to confirm the rights of persons within Kosova to freely express, preserve and develop their ethnic, cultural and religious identity and maintain and develop their culture in all aspects free of any attempts at assimilation against their will; and urges the international community to make this a condition of the lifting of sanctions.