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May 20,
2003
EXCLUSIVE EDITION OF
ERP KIM:
Dr. Rada Trajkovic, SNC KIM
Vice-President about the Kosovo final status and the latest resolution of
U.S. Sen. J.Biden
"YES" TO REFERENDUM,
BUT NOT ONLY IN KOSOVO
The majority systematically violating the rights
of minorities has no moral right to determine the fate of a territory and
its inhabitants based on its numbers
By Dr. Rada
Trajkovic,
Vice-president of the Serb National Council
of Kosovo and Metohija, Gracanica
 The
most recent proposal of U.S. Senator Joseph Biden according to which
Kosovo citizens may decide on the future of the Province by referendum
hides serious dangers for non-Albanian communities, particularly the
Kosovo Serbs. Despite the fact that Biden claims that certain standards of
respect for human rights must be in place before a referendum can take
place, such a referendum may easily turn out to be an instrument for
continuing the ethnic repression to which Serbs and minorities in Kosovo
are exposed daily, instead of tool of democracy. The final outcome of
this dangerous experiment would almost certainly be an ethnically cleansed
Kosovo Albanian state, in sharp contrast with what the countries of the
democratic West are saying they want.
In the past four years the Kosovo Albanians have done absolutely nothing
with regard to respect for human rights of the Serb community. Although
Kosovo legislation contains many provisions guaranteeing, theoretically,
the rights of minorities, Kosovo Serbs can hardly make use of them, simply
because they live on the margins of law and order, isolated in their poor
enclaves and exposed to daily threats by Albanian extremists. So far UNMIK
has not even been able to guarantee the free public use of the Serbian
language, let alone other rights. Almost all Serbian signs bearing the
names of towns put up by the UNMIK administration have been obliterated by
black spray paint. Many Serbs rightly deduct that if the Albanians cannot
even accept our language, then how can they accept and respect our other
rights and ensure our free and dignified life?
A referendum where Kosovo Albanians would proclaim independence by force
of their numbers is not and cannot be a just solution. Although modern
European legislation recognizes the right to self-determination, it
also recognizes the territorial integrity of sovereign states. The
twentieth century was defined, in large part, by the clash of these
principles although they are not necessarily contradictory and do not
exclude one another.
Kosovo has been temporarily placed under UN administration as a result of
the repressive policies of Slobodan Milosevic; however, the old regime is
now gone from Belgrade and power is in the hands of those who firmly
opposed Milosevic's policies, especially during the war years. Serbia and
Montenegro today is without any doubt the most multiethnic state of the
Balkans. Consequently, this state, of which Kosovo is an integral part,
has every right to disagree with unilateral secession of part of its
territory because that would mean forceful alteration of the borders of a
sovereign state, a member of the United Nations and the Council of Europe.
Additional reason for such a position of Belgrade is that this change
would be based on the will of only 19% of the total population in the
country, who want their ethnic state which would be eventually, in the
next phase, connected with other so called "Albanian territories". In
fact, the best solution in this case would be to hold a referendum
throughout Serbia-Montenegro - including Kosovo - and find out the mandate
of its entire population of almost 10 million people. As much as Kosovo is
important for Kosovo Albanians it is important for the Serbian people in
general, especially because it is a treasury of its history, culture and
spirituality.
"Self-determination does not necessarily mean secession. A national
group does not have to be independent, in its own nation-state, to have
control over its own fate," says Rolf Ekeus, the OSCE High
Commissioner on National Minorities, adding: "If that were the case,
Europe would look a lot different than it does now and there would be
protracted, violent conflicts in a misguided and vain attempt to create
ethnically pure nation-states."
These words are fully applicable to the Kosovo situation because the goal
of Kosovo Albanians is precisely to create a nation-state (actually, a
second Albanian nation-state in the Balkans) tailored exclusively
according to the interests of the Albanian national community. Four years
of post-war developments offer considerable evidence confirming this
statement: Serbs and minorities are discriminated against in all spheres
of life; they lack basic freedom of movement and consequently cannot seek
regular jobs due to security risks. They still do not have normal access
to medical, educational and other public institutions, their religious
rights are restricted while their churches and cemeteries are still
exposed to vandalism and destruction. Perhaps the best indicator of their
situation is the fact that Serb deputies in the Kosovo Parliament still
travel to sessions in armored police vehicles and cannot leave the
Parliament building. The return of nearly 230,000 Serb refugees remains
uncertain, as does the question of their property, largely usurped by the
Kosovo Albanians. The Province has never been more mono-ethnic in its
history. Kosovo cities are almost exclusively Albanian; Serb ghettos in
Pristina, Prizren, Orahovac and Gnjilane with groups of 50-200 civilians
restricted to the narrow area where they actually live are perhaps the
best indicators of the kind of human rights Kosovo Albanians are ready to
guarantee to Serbs in an independent state. We must keep in mind that the
present situation prevails in the presence of almost 40,000 members of
KFOR and UNMIK. Is it really logical to believe that the situation will
change for the better when they leave?
Despite all this, Kosovo Albanian leaders, including such "moderates" as
Rugova and Adem Demaci, are openly threatening to begin a new war if their
demand for an independent Kosovo is not met. At the same time, there are
more and more acts of terrorism by the so-called Albanian National Army
using the same tactics as KLA before the war. But doesn't this strategy
mean using violence to achieve political goals, the international
definition of - terrorism? Should international community consequently
cave in to threats and pressure, and reward violence and ethnic repression
by recognizing an ethnically cleansed state of Kosovo? The answer to this
question will be crucial for future developments in many other hot spots
in Europe and the world.
The most just solution, therefore, if the Kosovo Albanians insist on a
referendum as a "democratic means" of resolving the status of Kosovo,
would be to officially demand a referendum of all citizens of Serbia and
Montenegro. Belgrade should strongly insist on the inviolability of
international borders because their alteration would represent a precedent
resulting in many new crisis areas, not only in the Balkans and elsewhere
in the world but also an event which would trigger further disintegration
of the state territory of Serbia-Montenegro. Threats of terrorist attack
and war should be confronted by decisive action to neutralize criminal
elements; the issue of the Kosovo's status should be consigned exclusively
to the political level of dialogue and negotiations between Belgrade and
Pristina. All options should be on the table during this dialogue,
including both the independence of Kosovo and its continuation as an
autonomous region within the framework of Serbia and the federal union of
Serbia-Montenegro. The status of Kosovo cannot be resolved in some far
away center of power only to bring Belgrade and Pristina at the end to
negotiate the modalities of that solution, most probably direct or so
called "conditional" independence. This option, advocated by pro-Albanian
circles in the West, is seen as the only way of circumventing the
legitimate right of Serbia to protect the integrity of its territory and
convincing Belgrade to renounce Kosovo with promises of concessions
elsewhere (easier admission to EU, NATO etc). According to this option the
solution of the status will be imposed and the negotiations will be only a
matter of cosmetics. Kosovo Albanian Leaders are increasingly aware
that with such a desperate human rights and security situation on the
ground, on the one hand, and the steady improvement of the international
position of Serbia on the other, the independence of Kosovo does not seem
to be as readily achievable and justifiable a goal as during Milosevic's
rule, so they try to avoid direct dialog with Belgrade by all means.
At the same time it is more than evident that independence of Kosovo would
seriously destabilize the fragile balance of powers in the Balkans. A new
state of ethnic Albanians would soon become a beacon of already revived
national Albanian euphoria and it would be completely impossible to
prevent conflict escalation in Southern Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia
where ethnic Albanian minority live. The creation of an ethnic
Albanian state would give a completely wrong signal to ethnic extremists
elsewhere because they would start believing that position of ethnic
minorities in democratic multiethnic states, such as Serbia-Montenegro,
may only be resolved by secession and building a new nation. This process
is thoroughly opposite to the European international processes and may
become a serious threat not only for the Balkans, but for the entire
Continent.
In any case, the Kosovo problem should be resolved through a democratic
run off between Belgrade and Pristina. The solutions should not be
immediately sought in redrawing of the political map of Europe according
to ethnic lines, but in changing ways of thinking and replacing
anachronistic mythology by modern democratic consciousness. The side
that proves to be the most willing to responsibly adapt to democratic
standards, and respect minority rights and security deserves the support
of Western democracies. Any other approach would be very damaging for the
Balkan stabilization and its ultimate integration into the European Union.
ERP KIM
Info-Service is the official Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox
Diocese of Raska and Prizren and works with the blessing of His Grace
Bishop Artemije.
Our Information Service is distributing news on Kosovo related issues. The
main focus of the Info-Service is the life of the Serbian Orthodox Church
and the Serbian community in the Province of Kosovo and Metohija. ERP KIM
Info Service works in cooperation with
www.serbian-translation.com as well as the
Kosovo
Daily News (KDN) News List
Disclaimer:
The views expressed by the authors of newspaper articles or other texts
which are not official communiqués or news reports by the Diocese are
their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Serbian
Orthodox Church
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