BELGRADE BUYING TIME IN RAMBOUILLET?

(For AIM Podgorica by correspondent from Pristina)

AIM Podgorica, 6 February, 1999

Until 18.30 h, journalists waited at Pristina airport expecting that some agreement would after all be reached between representatives of Serbian authorities and representatives of the OSCE verification mission and American diplomatic mission in Kosovo on obtaining guarantees for security of the five-member delegation of the Liberation Army of Kosovo (OVK) which is to participate at peace talks on Kosovo in Rambouillet, France, in other words that the airplane will take off after all. However, this has not happened. News spread among the journalists that representatives of OVK were not permitted to leave because they did not have the necessary papers.

Only late that evening, referring to state news agency TANJUG, did state TV carry news that the delegation of Kosovo Albanians had not left for France, speculating about their alleged disunion and internal conflicts. The background of such a stand of Serbian authorities is probably in their interpretation that they were in fact terrorists with whom they would not negotiate. Reporters of media in Albanian from Belgrade report that the Serb delegation in Rambouillet was ordered to leave the conference if representatives of OVK showed up. The rest of Kosovo Albanians' delegation refuses to travel to Rambouillet without representatives of OVK, but they do not have high hopes that Belgrade authorities will change their attitude. That is the reason why the first reactions were very sharp.

Political representative of OVK and member of ethnic Albanian delegation Jakup Krasniqi declared that Serbian government was undermining efforts to organise talks between Kosovo Albanians and representatives of the regime in Belgrade in Rambouillet. Krasniqi underlined that there had been doubts when they had decided to travel to Paris that Serbian government and the regime would pose numerous obstacles, and that was exactly what happened, he said, because no guarantees were given to the representatives of the international community, OSCE and American diplomatic mission, for security of the five-member delegation of OVK and its journey from the Pristina airport. Failure to give guarantees is an obstacle to the conference in Rambouillet, said Krasniqi and added that "the USA might demand that their journey be organised in another way, for example, by helicopter to Macedonia, although they would prefer to travel via Tirana". But Krasniqi also estimated that if representatives of the EU and the USA exerted sufficient pressure on Belgrade regime, it was possible that the journey would take place as planned after all.

Xhemail Mustafa, Ibrahim Rugova's information advisor, declared that the decision of the Serbian regime was an arrogant and provocative stand for six great powers of the Contact Group which were organisers and guarantors of the conference on Kosovo. Belgrade regime should be aware that the political delegation of Kosovo was one and united and that as such it will travel and participate at the international conference on Kosovo. Another arrogant act and degradation of the conference in Rambouillet is the composition of the delegation which should represent Belgrade, Mustafa concludes. President of United Democratic Movement, Rexhep Qosja, expressed pessimism that the complete delegation would be allowed to travel to France the next day. "In my opinion the question of Kosovo is a question of the conflict between ethnic Albanians and Serbia, although Belgrade composed its delegation mostly of representatives of ethnic groups in Kosovo. This means that the concept of the talks is completely changed", Qosja said and stated the opinion that the Albanian party should not enter talks with such a composition of the delegation, because the question of Kosovo cannot be discussed with representatives of ethnic groups living in Kosovo but with representatives of Serbia with which Kosovo Albanians are in a conflict, Rexhep Qosja believes.

Another question which certainly is not insignificant is the composition of the delegation from Belgrade: the delegation is headed by vice prime minister of Serbian government Ratko Markovic, vice chairman of Serbian assembly Vladimir Stambuk, and for the federal government Vladan Kutlesic and Nikola Sainovic. All the others are from Kosovo. Vojislav Zivkovic, president of Kosovo committee of the Socialist Party of Serbia, is presented as a representative of all the Serbs from Kosovo. The delegation is formed also of representatives of the Temporary Executive Council of Kosovo recently established by the Republican government, that is, representatives of the Turks, the Muslims, the Goranians, the Romanies and Egyptians, and even two representatives of two recently ad hoc founded political parties of the Albanians also at the initiative of the authorities in Belgrade, although nobody even knows how many members they have. Representatives of these ethnic communities are completely unknown persons on the political scene of Kosovo, but this did not stop Serbian authorities from signing with them the agreement on transitional status of Kosovo. At the time, president of Seerbia Milan Milutinovic and constitution writer Ratko Markovic, with certain representatives of the Republican government were in charge then. Of course, this "historical session" was also attended by the usual representatives of the federal government. During those weeks, it was in fact a real show put up for the journalists and the public in Kosovo in general.

Observers believe that it is not impossible that this is in fact a challenge addressed to the international community which certainly has plenty of information and data not to be tricked by information such as the one that there are 150 thousand Egyptians and just as many Romanies and just as many Muslims, or to take it for granted that these unknown persons really represent all the Turks or all the Muslims or all the Romanies... In fact, they had been receiving proof about existence of political parties which operate in Kosovo and which even participated in the elections of Kosovo Albanians and won seats in their parliament.

It is also certainly a challenge for the delegation of Kosovo Albanians, to infuriate them and to cause them to recede from travelling and "show the world who in fact is against negotiations". However, one of Albanian participants, Hydajet Hyseni from United Democratic Movement commented: "It concerns Belgrade alone who will represent it. That this is not the end of the game is perhaps best illustrated by the statement of Ratko Markovic at the press conference held at the Yugoslav Cultural Centre in Paris, who said: "We have Albanians in our delegation and we have who will speak in their name". In other words, Belgrade wishes to put two completely unknown and politically uneducated Kosovo Albanians vis a vis the stand of the delegation from Kosovo which represents opinions of absolute majority of their compatriots. In his comment on the occasion of one of the "offers" and invitations of the Serbian government to talks in Pristina or on the occasion of signing of "Milutinovic's plan for Kosovo when the same protagonists were present like those in the negotiating team in Paris, Fehmi Agani established that they were not at all representatives of ethnic communities and that they had nothing to do with the institution of representation, but were just mere specimen of members of ethnic groups which are close to the regime and who are used by it to simulate the alleged dialogue on Kosovo.

Despite discontent with Milosevic's delegation which is presented in public as the delegation of the government of Serbia, this was not a reason for the team from Kosovo to refuse to travel to Paris. The Albanian negotiating group accepted the game imposed on them on the eve of departure to Paris.

And just a few hours before the list of names on the team which will sit at the table at Rambouillet, the first expected consultations took place of representatives of political groups which will participate in peace negotiations on transitional status of Kosovo with the Yugoslav delegation. In the name of the Democratic League of Kosovo (DSK) Fehmi Agani took part in them, from the United Democratic Movement Rexhep Qosja, Mehmet Hajrizi, Hydajet Hyseni and Bajram Kosumi, and independent participants Veton Suroi and Blerim Shala. After that, to the gathered journalists, Veton Suroi declared that a principled agreement was reached about three items: first, regardless of the number of members of the delegation which will travel to Paris, the proportion will be preserved of the three main pillars - OVK, DSK and United Democratic Movement; second, decisions will be made by full consensus, that is, regardless of how the delegation will operate, without agreement of one of the parties in it it will be impossible to reach decisions in the name of the whole delegation; and third, there will be consultations about nomination of the coordinator or the head of the negotiating team. This would be done at Rambouillet, but based on the previous two principles, declared Suroi.

To the question whether experts would nbe involved, Suroi declared that there is already a certain number of experts who would be present at Rambouillet or in Kosovo. To the question what he expected from Rambouillet Rexhep Qosja said that he was going with hope, because if there had been no hope they would not have decided to go. "We will defend the right of the Albanian people in Kosovo to independence", declared Qosja. Bajram Kosumi did not express optimism about the outcome of the conference based on the experience with the attitude and policy of Belgrade leadership to Kosovo. Fehmi Agani did not give statements to journalists but Koha ditore carries Agani's stand that although the international community does not approve of the aspiration of the Albanians for independence of Kosovo, they were ready to accept a solution through which Kosovo will be enabled to get the proposed status with certain modifications which Agani hopes will be successfully agreed in the course of negotiations. "On the other hand", Agani added, "we think that the Serb ian regime is not interested in solving the crisis in Kosovo and that for that reason the situation is heading towards stationing troops of the international community in Kosovo, deployment of which has been demanded by the Albanians for a long time".

And so, while in Paris it is announced that the peace gathering is going to be opened by president of France himself, in Pristina the number is increasing of those who are not sure even about the beginning of negotiations. Credibility invested by France and Great Britain in this gathering can easily be lost at the very beginning. If this should happen, the next step of the international community is uncertain.

Laura SMAKAJ