Kosovo’s ‘independence’ alters global rules on separatism - MILF

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Monday said that the declaration of independence by Kosovo and its recognition by the United States is a precedent that could now form part of international law. In a statement posted on their online site, Luwaran, Khaled Musa, the MILF deputy chairman on information, described the declaration as a "thunderbolt that rips apart the unwritten rule in the United Nations that it is prohibited for geographical areas of member states to become an independent state." “The taboo has been shattered and no state can argue that secession or independence is not within the rule of the game in the United Nations," Musa added. Asked whether Kosovo’s example would encourage the MILF to follow, Musa said, the present negotiations with the government, independence is not on the agenda for discussion. Pressed to elaborate, he said, right at the start of the talks in 1997, the government and the MILF negotiators have agreed not to bring up the issue of independence on the part of the MILF and constitution on the part of the government. This agreement is generally followed although the government sometimes from time to time brings up the issue of constitution, which the MILF objects to immediately. He said the two parties are moving forward in their talks with their sight trained to address their single-point agenda, “How to solve the Bangsamoro peoblem." Kosovo He said in Kosovo’s example the question is no longer sharing of sovereignty as in other world conflicts but outright secession. “What is prohibited for decades is now a virtual part of international law." Kosovo was formerly a province in southwestern Serbia in the republic of Serbia and Montenegro (formerly the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, or FRY). Kosovo is bounded on the south by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on the west by Albania, and on the northwest by Montenegro. It covers an area of 10,887 sq km (4,203 sq mi). Mountains and hills cover part of the province, with several peaks in the Šar Planina range rising to more than 2,500 m (8,200 ft). The mountain slopes are covered with deciduous forests, meadows, and pastureland. A branch of the Drin River rises in Kosovo, and the Ibar and Sitnica rivers also flow through the region. The population of Kosovo is more than 90 percent Albanian, overwhelmingly Muslims. Both Russia and Serbia are opposed to the independence of Kosovo. Other member states of the European Union mostly in the eastern part near Russia are also lukewarm to recognition of the newly independent state. - GMANews.TV