Succession without Kosovo

AIM Pristina, December 22, 2000

The governors of central banks of the new states created after 1990, that is after the dissolution of former Yugoslavia, will divide the property that used to belong to their joint state once. But how will they do that? This is the question which is still on the negotiating table.

The Kosovars may state their disagreement because of the division of property without their participation, having in mind that they had participated in its creation. However, the best answer to this is offered by the mediator in the negotiations on succession of former Yugoslavia Sir Arthur Watts. He declared to SENSE news agency that the “process of succession refers to the states sprung up due to the dissolution of former Yugoslavia”. According to that, Kosovo still is not an internationally recognised state, so it cannot participate in these talks.

“It is a handicap that Badintir's commission has left Kosovo out. However, the Kosovars must get organised and make it clear that as a constitutive element of former SFRY they are entitled to participate in succession”, says Prof. Dr. Muhamet Mustafa, director of the Institute for Developmental Research, RIINVEST. This opinion is shared by Nazmi Mustafa, Professor at the Economic Faculty in Pristina and former minister in the government of former Yugoslavia. He comments on the fact that Kosovo does not participate in the talks on succession by the following words: “A constitutive element founded in the Constitution cannot be deprived of its right in an unconstitutional manner as Badintir's commission has done”...

According to their estimate a chance should be sought after the move of Montenegrin government which has lately demanded interruption of the talks on succession denying the authority of the federal government in these negotiations. The Kosovar experts should make the same demand.

The question of participation in the process of succession is expressed by the Kosovars only as a wish, because they still do not have clearly formulated demands. Perhaps it should be linked to the methodology that will be applied. However, numerous data are quite clear. According to Mr. Nazmi Mustafa, participation of Kosovo in the social product of former SFRY was about two per cent. That is how much Kosovo “invested” in creation of joint property in the former state of “brotherhood and unity”.

If together with the property debts would also be split, Kosovo would come out with an acceptable balance, somewhere around zero. According to the data from 1990, or the time when the then autonomy was abolished Kosovo owed about 660 million dollars to international financiers, 133.8 million dollars of which to the World Bank, and 499.8 million dollars to the IMF, Paris Club, London Club. On the other hand, Kosovo has certain claims, too. Banks of former Yugoslavia owe the former Bank of Kosovo 3.4 million dollars, foreign banks owe it 2.1 million, the National Bank of Yugoslavia should pay the citizens of Kosovo 130 million dollars of their foreign currency savings, and 54.9 thousand dollars were left as deposits in banks and various financial institutions. All together its claims amount to about 136 million dollars. “When one takes into account all the elements which are considered in the talks on succession, it turns out that the balance of Kosovo should be equal to the sum of its debts”, says Nazmi Mustafa. If Kosovo does not get its share from the succession of former SFRY, Kosovo economy will be damaged when creditors ask for the debts to be paid back Mr. Mustafa stresses. However, the questions of liabilities and claims of the banks is a problem which must be resolved based on certain methodology, that is, determined whether it will be part of the succession process or of settling accounts among banks.

According to an earlier proposal of the IMF, Yugoslavia would get 36 per cent of the reserves, Croatia 28.49 per cent, Slovenia 16.39 per cent, Bosnia 13.2 and Macedonia 5.4 per cent of the foreign currency reserves and the gold kept in the International Bank for Succession seated in Basel. There is 46 tons of gold in the reserves.

When gold reserves are concerned, their value is twice smaller than ten years ago due to the decrease of the value of this metal on the international market, so that their current value is estimated to amount to about 400 million dollars.

It is at this moment very vague and “complicated” to determine the manner in which Kosovo might join in the process of succession. According to Nazmi Mustafa, the leading authorities must find a convenient moment for the demand to participate in the division of property of former SFRY. He believes that talks between the states will not be successful and that succession will in the end be carried out by international arbitration. That is where Mr. Mustafa wishes to see the possible chance for Kosovo. He assesses that if Kosovo should not be included in the process of succession, “our country should demand its share in the property of former SFRY from Serbia, since Badintir's commission considered it to be its part”. The balance of participation of Kosovo in the succession would oblige FRY to pay certain additional obligations crated in the course of the past 10 years while it ruled Kosovo by force. “The balance of the succession should include reparations, or compensation for war damage”, says director of RIINVEST, adding that in this entanglement such a demand could further complicate the situation.

Last time this demand was put forward by Kosovar delegation at the conference in Rambouillet, but it was not included in the final document. Previously, 170 appeals had been sent to international institutions in connection with Kosovo not being included in the process of succession...

“In any case, every meeting with the representatives of the international community should be used to demand that we get our share from the dissolution of former Yugoslavia, even if it meant just some small building in Belgrade”, Kosovar economic experts insist...

AIM Pristina

Ibrahim REXHEPI