RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 8, No. 144, Part II, 30 July 2004

TIME TO ACT ON KOSOVA?

By Patrick Moore

There is no shortage of ideas these days regarding the future
of Kosova. It remains to be seen what, if anything, the discussions,
reports, and papers will lead to.
Following the violence that swept Kosova on 17-18 March,
numerous papers, studies, and recommendations have emerged like the
proverbial mushrooms after a spring rain (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report,"
26 March, 2 and 16 April, and 9 July 2004). Most of the authors are
nongovernmental organizations, individual experts or pundits, or, in
some cases, people involved in government.
Broadly speaking, most of the evaluations fall into one of
two basic categories. Some studies stress the failings of the ethnic
Albanian majority and its institutions, generally calling for a delay
in the clarification of the province's final status and for
strengthening or prolonging the authority of the foreigners currently
in charge there. The underlying assumption of many such analyses is
that the Albanians misbehaved and must not be rewarded.
The second school of thought interprets the disturbances as a
wake-up call, and stresses that time is rapidly running out to end
colonial rule in Kosova and transfer power to elected representatives
on the basis of self-determination and majority rule, however
imperfect it is shaping up to be. Reports taking this position note
that until the province's ethnic Albanian majority sees a clear route
toward independence, there is likely to be further violence stemming
from fears of a Serbian-sponsored partition or continued involvement
by Serbia in Kosova's affairs. This view assumes that today's Kosova
is part of the worldwide decolonization process and the ongoing
dissolution of former Yugoslavia.
In addition, two major recent NGO reports faulted the
international community, particularly for its failure to protect
Serbs and other minorities. In a report released on 26 July, Human
Rights Watch argued that "while international actors have been
universally and accurately critical of Kosovo Albanian leadership
during and after the crisis, the dismal performance of the
international community has escaped similar critical scrutiny." A
report by Amnesty International came to similar conclusions a few
weeks earlier.
But what of people in government? Austrian Foreign Minister
Benita Ferrero-Waldner hosted a conference on the future of Kosova
near Vienna in mid-July, putting forward a plan "based on the Belgian
federal model" that would transfer additional powers from the UN
civilian administration (UNMIK) to Kosova's elected officials while
offering a large measure of home rule to the Serbs and other
minorities.
Some ethnic Albanian officials said that the project is not
very appealing because it delays a decision on Kosova's final status,
which all Albanian political leaders understand as meaning
independence. Other Albanians objected on the grounds that a federal
structure is not realistic because most of the ethnic-minority
population lives scattered in relatively small communities.
Some Serbs noted approvingly that the home rule provisions
are close to Belgrade's plan to "cantonize" Kosova -- a proposal that
the UN has already rejected -- while other Serbs argued that the
Austrian project moves Kosova unacceptably close to independence.
The Vienna daily "Die Presse" wrote on 23 July that
Ferrero-Waldner then tried so hard to reach a common understanding on
Kosova with representatives of Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech
Republic, and Slovakia that her final proposal seemed devoid of any
hard substance. The daily suggested this was the result of trying to
please countries whose stands on Kosova were sometimes difficult to
reconcile.
Some political figures whose parties are not in government
seem to have an easier time making bold proposals than
Ferrero-Waldner did. Germany's opposition Free Democratic Party (FDP)
recently suggested placing Kosova under a EU protectorate. This idea
met with a very mixed reaction from Albanians and Serbs on 17 and 18
June at an off-the-record conference in Berlin sponsored by the
German Foreign Ministry, the Bertelsmann Foundation, and the
Munich-based Center for Applied Policy Research, titled "Rethinking
the Balkans" (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 25 June and 9 July 2004).
From the other side of the Atlantic, Senator Joseph R. Biden
of Delaware, who is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, wrote in  "The Washington Times" of 25 July that
it is rather the United States that should take the lead.
He suggested that the UN civilian administration in Kosova
(UNMIK) "has done a poor job and lost credibility in the province,"
adding that "KFOR, the NATO-led peacekeeping force, also showed grave
weaknesses in the March riots, with the U.S. troops providing the
only major example of professionalism."
As a remedy, Biden believes that "the international community
should give the Kosovo Provincial Assembly the maximum authority
possible, so it can prove to the world the ethnic Albanian leadership
is capable of governing and can guarantee basic human rights for all
ethnic groups."
The senator also calls for the United States to take the lead
in resolving the impasse in Kosova by appointing a special envoy to
the region. He believes there are good reasons for Washington and not
Brussels to make the first move. "The [United States] is in a unique
position to facilitate negotiations. Bolstered by the image of
American troops who protected Kosovo Serbs in the March riots, U.S.
credibility has never been higher in Belgrade, which for the first
time has a democratic president [i.e. Serbian President Boris Tadic]
with cordial ties to Washington. The Kosovar Albanians remain deeply
suspicious of other Europeans but still trust the [United States],
whom they thank for overthrowing [former Yugoslav President] Slobodan
Milosevic's tyranny."
Biden also believes that "instead of ceding the leadership of
Balkan affairs to the European Union, as we are about to do in
Bosnia...[the United States should name] a special envoy to the
Balkans, a position that proved effective in the 1990s. The special
envoy, working with Serbs and Kosovars, with our European allies, and
with the United Nations, could make a full-court press to resolve
Europe's most volatile dispute."
He also suggests that time is of the essence. The next move,
however, is likely to come from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who
is expected to issue his own report on Kosova soon.

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 8, No. 132, Part II, 14 July 2004

AUSTRIAN PLAN FOR KOSOVA A NONSTARTER? Austrian Foreign Minister
Benita Ferrero-Waldner opened a conference on the future of Kosova
near Vienna on 14 July, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages
Service reported (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 2 and 16 April and 9
July 2004). Participants include representatives of the Prishtina and
Belgrade authorities, as well as international experts.
Ferrero-Waldner, who is tipped to be her country's next
representative on the European Commission, put forward a plan "based
on the Belgian federal model" that will transfer additional powers
from the UN civilian administration (UNMIK) to Kosova's elected
officials while offering a large measure of home rule to the Serbs
and other minorities. Some ethnic Albanian officials said that the
project is not very appealing because it delays a decision on
Kosova's final status, which, for the 90 percent Albanian majority,
can only mean independence. Other Albanians objected on the grounds
that a federal structure is unrealistic because most of the ethnic
minority population lives scattered in relatively small communities.
Some Serbs noted approvingly that the home-rule provisions are close
to Belgrade's plan to "cantonize" Kosova -- a proposal that the UN
has already rejected -- while other Serbs argued that the Austrian
project moves Kosova unacceptably close to independence. PM


MONTENEGRIN PREMIER PREDICTS INDEPENDENCE BY 2006. In an interview
marking Montenegro's new state holiday, Prime Minister Milo
Djukanovic told the Podgorica daily "Pobjeda" of 13 July that his
country will be an independent state in 2006, ending the state union
of Serbia and Montenegro that was created in 2002-03 under EU
pressure (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 July 2004 and "RFE/RL Balkan
Report," 1 February and 4 October 2002 and 14 February and 16 May
2003). Djukanovic suggested that the link with Serbia has hindered
Montenegro's Euro-Atlantic integration because Serbia lags behind the
mountainous republic in cooperating with the Hague-based war crimes
tribunal and instituting reforms. The main ceremony to mark the state
holiday took place in Bijelo Polje, RFE/RL's South Slavic and
Albanian Languages Service reported. In Brussels, Montenegrin
Minister for Economic Relations and European Integration Gordana
Djurovic said the joint state is too costly and inefficient, adding
that Serbia and Montenegro would be better off seeking European
integration as separate states. PM

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 8, No. 120, Part II, 25 June 2004

ALBANIA, SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO PLAN MILITARY COOPERATION. Serbia and
Montenegro's defense minister, Prvoslav Davinic, and his Albanian
counterpart, Pandeli Majko, made clear in Tirana on 23 June that the
era of tensions between their two countries is over, adding that
cooperation now tops their agenda, Deutsche Welle's "Monitor"
reported. Both men stressed that the Balkan countries must seek to
solve their own problems and not wait for solutions to come from
outside. Majko noted that Prishtina's participation is essential for
solving regional problems and called on Belgrade not to set up any
military installations on its borders with Kosova. PM