October 17, 2005

KiM Info Newsletter 17-10-05

More than Autonomy, Less than Independence -- A Fair Offer

By Sanda Raskovic-Ivic, president of the Serbian government's Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija

The announcement of the start of negotiations on the final status of Kosovo is reminiscent of some kind of post-war peace conference. This conclusion is bolstered by the actual situation on the ground, especially the living conditions faced by Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.

Serbs enjoy freedom of movement and decent lives in general only in areas where they constitute an absolute majority, such as in the north of city of Kosovska Mitrovica. Their enclaves are like ghettos or maybe modern-day concentration camps. There, they have to live on handouts since they are not allowed to farm their fields or enter the forests. They are not allowed to work for a living and every time they venture outside of their enclaves they risk being attacked or shot at.

Only a handful of Serbs are still living in urban areas such as Pristina, Pec, and Prizren. Some of them have been unable to leave their homes or apartments for years out of fear that Albanians will attack them if they go out into the streets.

The final status of Kosovo is going to be discussed in this kind of situation, five years after the international community bombed our country, a move it justified as necessary because of Albanians being terrorized. Unfortunately, the same people have not displayed a fraction of such concern in the last five years for Serbs exposed to terror in Kosovo and Metohija.

The uniformed could say that this puts the Serb side in a better negotiating position and that the Albanians, as those to blame for five years of continuous terror against the Serbs, are not to be commended for what they have done. Unfortunately, the fact remains that such reasoning applies only to other nations. Sadly, Serbs are still a people to whom the principles of international humanitarian law do not apply. This might be a painful and brutal statement, but it is true.

The Serb side, and when I say this I mean both Belgrade and the Kosovo Serbs, advocates a peaceful solution to the problem and the introduction of a formula that will bring lasting peace to Kosovo and the entire region. I would like to recall the fact that armed conflict began in Kosovo in 1997 when the Albanian side launched an armed insurrection, ambushing police and military forces and abducting Serb civilians. This unquestionable fact has unjustifiably and inexplicably been forgotten.

Pro-democracy political parties are in power in Belgrade. The Serbian cabinet has been given the green light for negotiations on EU membership, reforms are proceeding at a faster rate than in any other country that has been through or is going through transition. All of this lends Belgrade additional credibility in securing support for its more than autonomy, less than independence policy.

Belgrade's offer as contained in this proposition is more than fair. It is a major compromise for the Serb side. We cannot and will not consent to anything more than that. We are offering the Albanians the opportunity to organize their lives in Kosovo and Metohija as they see fit, to pass their own laws, have their own legislature, a president, the highest level of autonomy, and strong decentralization. Kosovo would have many elements of statehood, but it would never get outright independence. It is a part of our territory and that we are not willing to negotiate.

Decentralizing the province down to the smallest possible territorial unit is one of the conditions that has to be met for Serbs to remain in the province. That does not mean fragmentation on an ethnic basis irrespective of the cost, but is rather a matter of survival for Serbs inhabiting Kosovo and Metohija.

It is my firm belief that Serbia will never have a government that is prepared to consent in writing to the secession of Kosovo and Metohija, and some of the proposals coming from abroad are essentially asking for that.

There are no conditions for independence. Independence is independence. The next degree before independence is autonomy, in this case autonomy within Serbia. If Kosovo becomes independent, even on a limited basis, that would make it independent of the state to which it previously belonged. In this case that means independent of Serbia.

Kosovo and Metohija cannot exist as an independent whole, let alone a state, because Serbia's southern province shares a border with Albania, which, like Kosovo, is largely populated by Albanians. There would be two Albanian states side by side. I wonder who would stop them for uniting and what they would do to stop that from happening.

Modern history knows no example of a country abandoning a part of its territory to satisfy the appetite of a group desiring that territory.

Without the written consent of Belgrade, any solution dealing with the status of Kosovo will not be a lasting one and will not contribute to stabilization in Serbia and the entire region. On the contrary, it will fuel new tensions and any precedent could cause a chain reaction that would not be limited to the Balkans. I am referring to southern Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, Republika Srpska, the Serb question in Croatia, and possible reactions even in some countries of the EU.

Despite the fact that Kai Eide's report is more than a little contradictory -- it says that the situation is not good, that the standards have not been met, yet recommends the beginning of status talks -- I want to believe in the goodwill of Eide and that part of the international community that is seeking the urgent start of negotiations on Kosovo's future.

These talks will bring no good if they are based on shuttle diplomacy only. We have to sit at the negotiating table, expounding our arguments in regard to every problematic issue in a sober and unlimited debate. Believe me, our arguments are extremely powerful.

In other words, work on achieving the standards should continue, as should the decentralization process in Kosovo and Metohija, together with efforts to find a compromise for the future status of Kosovo and Metohija.

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