Demaqi, Qosja and Bukoshi, One By One in Tirana

AIM Tirana, 15 January, 1999

In the morning of January 5, an airplane of Albanian airline company ADA AIR, brought political representative of the Liberation Army of Kosovo (OVK), Adem Demaqi, to Tirana. Information for the press from prime minister's office explained that the reason for the visit were "consultations about the crisis in Kosovo".

A day after Demaqi's departure, after a comparatively long absence, member of the academy, Rexhep Qosja, president of the United Democratic Movement, also appeared in Tirana. And just a day after Qosja, prime minister of the Kosovo government in exile, Bukoshi, arrived again in the Albanian capital.

All three leaders from Kosovo met the highest state officials of Albania, gave interviews to TV channels and unexpectedly occupied the front pages of newspapers in Tirana. All three were offered the same protocol and official treatment, perhaps in order to avoid misunderstandings. The first question which arises is why did the leaders of Kosovo Albanians return to Tirana? Or, to put it differently, why is Albania estimated again as a factor in resolving the crisis of Kosovo when for some time it had seemed that it was left aside or believed to be unable to do much about it due to internal disturbances. In the country where every move of internal and foreign policy is believed to be directed by western embassies accredited to its capital, news on Demaqi's arrival coincided with the international strategy to include Tirana in the process of uniting and joining all those who have any influence on Kosovo around a single project which would mark the end of the confusion in stands about the future status of the province or about the "crisis of representation" of the Albanians in Kosovo in negotiations with the international community.

There were no diplomatic doubts nor vague statements. Tirana explicitly offered to play a bigger part in seeking solution. It offered support to the right of the people to self-determination, but respecting borders. However, officials in Tirana demanded from leaders of Kosovo to cooperate with each other and come out with joint stands. Tirana offered mediation for the achievent of this goal.

Such a stand seems to have met with greater accord of Kosovo leaders than it had been expected, which was commented in Albania as "the first step in the right direction". In the talks with Albania's prime minister Majko, Demaqi agreed to meet with Ibrahim Rugova "for the benefit of Kosovo and of the process of resolving the crisis". This statement of the political representative of the OVK was followed by an even more moderate stand of Rexhep Qosja who declared to Albanian officials that he expected "Albania to play the central role in overcoming the crisis and reaching a compromise between the parties". In his TV interview Bukoshi declared himself in favour of creation of a joint platform of all political factors in Kosovo. "It is necessary that we all sit down and achieve this", said Bukoshi.

Statements of Kosovo leaders gave rise to reasonable enthusiasm in Tirana. However, it is impossible to say that the puzzle of the dialogue between Tirana and Pristina has been completely solved. A few days ago president of Albania Maidani invited Rugova to pay an official visit to Tirana. The first signals from Pristina confirm that the president of Kosovo will hardly manifest the same readiness for cooperation with Tirana as his opponents - Demaqi and Qosja or the critical prime minister Bukoshi.

Since April last year, the time when the last messages between the two capitals were exchanged, Rugova has maintained a cold and detached attitude to Albanian governments. Openly opposed to moderate and extravagant moves of Fatos Nano who in autumn 1997 met with Milosevic on the Greek island of Crete, in Tirana Ibrahim Rugova is believed to be the most difficult interlocutor in the process of reconciliation of all-Albanian stands.

There are numerous reasons for such Rugova's stand, but it can be said that among some of very trivial motives which disassociate the official leadership of Kosovo from the policy of the parent state, is the desire of each of them to be the exclusive protagonist in negotiations with the international community. Resorting to silence, Rugova has chosen to ignore the role which Albania could play, so he did not even come to visit refugees from Kosovo who have flooded Albania since May last year.

Although Rugova did not state his attitude to the invitation addressed to him by Meidani, observers in Tirana think that chances are small that he will come immediately after Demaqi and Qosja. However, if Demaqi and Qosja have come to Tirana by suggestion of the international community, sooner or later Rugova will also be forced to come, observers claim.

Diplomatic sources in Tirana comment that the the leader of Kosovo is passing through a very critical period. Rugova is faced with great difficulties in adapting to the situation which is increasingly resembling a battlefield. In such conditions western European circles launched the idea that in current conditions Rugova is the one who should make certain concessions to Demaqi and Qosja. In this context, Rugova will gradually accept an increased role of Tirana in the endeavour to unite Kosovo political protagonists, for as long as that process is blocked in Pristina.

This new role of Tirana seems to be facilitated by easing of political tensions in the country after the meeting between Majko and Berisha. Their rapprochement was in fact motivated primarily by the need for coordination of stands concerning Kosovo. During the visit to Tirana, Demaqi and Bukoshi also met the leader of the opposition Berisha who is very influential in Kosovo. Qosja, bitter enemy of Berisha, although he did not meet him, declared in the interview to daily Koha jone that "he does not eliminate the possibility of meeting anyone". Demaqi, however, who is a sharp critic of Nano, visited the latter in his home, and did not hesitate to ask forgiveness for some earlier statements.

But, there are two sides of the diplomatic initiative of Tirana. For a long time Albanian leadership hesitated to take diplomatic initiative in rapprochement with the politicians from Kosovo. Ever since Pristina rejected Nano's offer in spring 1998 to organise regular consultative round table discussion of Meidani, Nano, Rugova and Bukoshi, the possibility of cooperation between the two sides of the border constantly decreased, along with disassociation of concepts on resolving the crisis, on temporary status of Kosovo and on prospects for the dialogue with Belgrade.

Just a few days ago, well informed sources made it clear that initiative would be taken for organising a meeting with all the main Kosovo leaders, preferably in Tirana. This initiative takes into account numerous demands of western governments addressed in the past months for some kind of integrating role of Tirana in the crisis of Kosovo. Immediately after publication of this initiative, OSCE office in Tirana expressed readiness to find the form and formulate a suitable agenda for a meeting which would probably also have an academic tone.

In such an environment, sources inform that the Albanian government was making preparations for a project which would have two main parts: a proposal of technical procedure for creation of a joint representative body of Kosovo Albanians, but also an elaborated formula for resolving the crisis.

There are information that there have been a few proposals of the place and versions of the meeting, but Tirana would like to complete this process before the end of this month when main leaders of Kosovo were expected to travel to Vienna at the invitation of the Contact Group. This will show how close may be the day when Rugova, Demaqi and Qosja, three great "musketeers" of Kosovo politics, will come out with a joint stand in front of the international community and the Serbian government.

Arben KOLA