First Elections and Then Talks on the Final Status of Kosovo

AIM Pristina, October 30, 2000

As if they had agreed in advance, in the speeches given in the course of the past autumn days by political representatives of Kosovo Albanians, but also by numerous diplomats from the international community the most frequently mentioned words were “the future of Kosovo”. The former used this phrase during the election campaign for local elections followed by their “guarantees” for ensuring independence. However, it seems that the changes in Serbia and “revolutionary” fall of former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic instigated this avalanche of declarations concerning the status of Kosovo. Representatives of the international community in Kosovo, especially of European countries, acted as if they were competing in sending congratulations for the victory of Vojislav Kostunica presenting it as “the announcement of very significant changes for the whole region”. This haste to some cynical observers even sounded as an “apology to Belgrade for the bombs thrown from their airplanes” during the 78-day long NATO bombing campaign on targets in Serbia. For a moment it seemed as if members of the international community and the Albanians had changed positions. The former started speaking about the need for resolving the definite status of Kosovo, and the latter, as if worried by the changed relations within Serbia itself, kept declaring that it was “still too early for opening the discussion about this issue”. Until the beginning of October this year, they were convinced that nobody would even mention the possibility of reintegration of Kosovo into the federation with Serbia and Montenegro, as long as Milosevic was in power. And paradoxically, they seemed to have wished continuation of his rule: after the victory of Mr. Kostunica, they hurried to convince international diplomats that he was the same as Milosevic when Kosovo and the Albanians were concerned.

Therefore, the news that civilian administrator of Kosovo Bernard Kouchner proposed that at the summit conference of Balkan states to be held on November 24 in Zagreb, Croatia, talks with Yugoslav party should begin on the status of Kosovo had the effect of a bomb on the Albanians. Political parties in Kosovo hurried to remind Mr. Kouchner that despite his authority he did not have the mandate to talk about the political future of Kosovo. Majority of Albanian political representatives advocated the stand that Kosovo ought to create its legitimate institutions which would then initiate talks on the future of Kosovo. Some of them established that the time when Kosovo was “represented by various groups” had passed opposing in this way the announcements that administrator Kouchner might travel to Zagreb with a group of Albanian political representatives

And while the Albanians were still recovering from shock, and after Mr. Kouchner had made it clear that he was not even considering the possibility of opening the question of the definite status of Kosovo, a new message arrived from certain circles in Washington according to which American administration supported the idea of giving Kosovo the status of the republic in Yugoslav federation. This was the idea that Kosovo Albanians were opposed to the most. They believe that this “offer” was already used at the peace conference in Rambouillet in France when “Milosevic's negotiators did not agree to any compromise”, and that action of Serbian police and army in Kosovo that followed, especially during the bombing campaign, destroyed the possibility of establishing any connections with Belgrade.

Nevertheless, most of them declared that the definite status of Kosovo is not a taboo topic any more and that it can be openly discussed. However, in order to open any talks with Belgrade, according to them, it is necessary that a few fundamental conditions be met: liberation of prisoners from prisons in Serbia and shedding light on the destiny of thousands of disappeared persons, apology of Belgrade to the Albanians for all war crimes and genocide, withdrawal of all security forces from Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac (municipalities with majority Albanian population in the south of Serbia) etc. All these conditions, according to them, must be met before the beginning of the talks on formal separation of Kosovo from Serbia. In any case, the main stand is that the question of the definite status of Kosovo should be left for some time in the future.

In the meantime, from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the Albanians started to receive signals which do not speak in favour of their commitment to the “step by step” solution. “Friends of the Albanians” claim that the Albanians should accelerate launching of their ideas and projects and that it is necessary that they take initiative in their own hands, since the changes in Belgrade will certainly influence relations in the region in general, as well as the international approach to the region. For a large number of Albanian representatives this was yet another additional convincing argument that things are not “black-and-white” like at the time of Milosevic. Only after a few resolute, especially American, statements that nothing has changed in their policy to Kosovo were the agitated spirits in Kosovo pacified which had already started to believe that international engagement was beginning to fade in Kosovo and that it was increasingly concentrating on Serbia.

On the internal political scene this fact has created the possibility for the leaders of political parties to concentrate in their election campaign on convincing the voters that they will “remain on the bulwark of integrity of Kosovo”. The parties did their best to conceal the lack of specific projects for resolving everyday problems of the citizens (most of which have neither electricity, nor water, nor heating, and nothing to say about jobs and housing problems) by the “mega-project” on independence, democratisation and European and North Atlantic integration for Kosovo, although they were running to win power in municipal governments – which certainly will not have such capabilities and jurisdiction

The question of the definite status of Kosovo has become the Question Number One of all discussions on all levels. The project of an independent international commission handed in to OUN Secretary General Kofi Annan which was given great publicity in the press, envisages some kind of conditional independence for Kosovo. This proposal was assessed in Kosovo as evolution of international public opinion concerning the issue of independence of Kosovo which is not a forbidden or an unattainable issue any more. The adjective “conditional” did not make a significant impression on the Albanians who concluded that it was only natural, since independence of other countries in the region was “conditional” in the same manner. In just a few days things started to change so that the Albanians are already claiming that it is necessary to speed up the process of talking on the status of Kosovo. But, of course, such talks “should be held in conditions in which a legitimate government of Kosovo will be established, which will take over this question”. Such government can be established only through general elections, encouraged Albanians claim after the proposal that they would be scheduled soon made by the architect of Dayton accords Richard Holbrooke who has swept through the region again a few days ago

AIM Pristina

Besnik BALA