TORONTO - To chants of "Kosovo is Serbia" hundreds of protesters gathered at the Ontario legislature Saturday to urge Ottawa not to recognize Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence.
Ontario Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis joined organizers in exhorting Serbian-Canadians to sign petitions to their local MPs, and call the prime minister. He criticized what he called the international community's rush to recognize Kosovo.
Scott Taylor, a former soldier who served in Bosnia, said Canada's recognition of Kosovo as an independent province would be a mistake.
Taylor said UN Resolution 1244, which Canada signed as a NATO member, firmly states that Kosovo remains Serbian sovereign territory.
The federal government has yet to announce its position.
Rallies were also planned for Ottawa, Winnipeg and Calgary.
Last weekend, thousands of Serbian-Canadians marched outside the U.S. consulate in Toronto, and hundreds more past the U.S. consulate in Montreal, saying Kosovo's independence declaration on Feb. 17 is illegal.
