By Vesna Peric Zimonjic
BELGRADE, Nov 24 2005 (IPS)

United Nations mediator Martti Ahtisaari began his first fact-finding mission in Kosovo and Serbia this week on the future of the breakaway southern Serbian province.

The southern Serbian province of Kosovo, with a population of two million ethnic Albanians, became practically a UN protectorate in 1999.

The UN Security Council decided in October to solve the future status of Kosovo by the end of next year. Finnish diplomat Martti Ahtisaari was appointed mediator.

His shuttle diplomacy as he visited Kosovo capital Pristina and later Serbian capital Belgrade precedes direct talks between Serbian and Kosovan authorities. No date has been set for these talks.

“The status of Kosovo is a very serious political question for the region, for the European Union (EU) and the United States, who were involved in the situation surrounding the issue,” international law professor Vojin Dimitrijevic told IPS. “It deserves a rational assessment: to find a solution that will satisfy all the involved parties.”

Belgrade must “take a rational and not an emotional approach,” historian Slobodan Markovic told IPS. “The Serb nation should be prepared for an outcome that might be different from what is politically propagated.”

Serbs regard Kosovo as the cradle of their mediaeval state. More than 140 Serb Orthodox monasteries and churches in Kosovo proclaim the glory of the past.

The UN administration and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) peacekeepers entered Kosovo in June 1999 after 11 weeks of NATO bombing of Serbia. The bombing was undertaken due to the repressive policy of former Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic against the ethnic Albanians. That policy resulted in 10,000 deaths and the eviction of some 800,000 civilians from their homes.

Milosevic’s repression followed a struggle by the local Albanian population for independence from Serbia. The Serb regime saw the armed rebellion by ethnic Albanians as “terrorism”.

Following the violence and bombing, some 100,000 Serbs fled Kosovo, fearing revenge by Albanians. But another 100,000 still remain there, in the northern part and in several enclaves.

UN Resolution 1244 of June 1999 describes Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia. That reference has become the basis of a claim to Kosovo by Serb leaders and Serbs still living in the province, who fiercely oppose independence for Kosovo that the ethnic Albanians seek.

“No Serb politician is honestly ready to admit that Kosovo is lost for Serbia,” Dimitrijevic said. “And that is hypocrisy, unreality.”

Serbia’s influential Orthodox Church insists that Kosovo be declared “occupied territory” if independence is given to ethnic Albanians. The ultranationalist Radical Party is threatening to “lead the people into the streets.”

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica told parliament Monday that Kosovo should be given “wide autonomy within Serbia.” He said that granting of full independence to ethnic Albanians on sovereign Serbian land would “undermine the foundations of international law.”

The Serb parliament adopted a resolution saying that Serbia was “ready for compromise but not for any abduction of its territory.”

But the independence drive by ethnic Albanians has become stronger since 1999. Last week the Kosovo parliament adopted a resolution that “the will of Kosovo people for independence is non-negotiable.” It also expressed Kosovo’s “readiness for integration into Euro-Atlantic structures.”

Serbia should think beyond Kosovo, Markovic said. “Serbia should forget the 1,000 years of history and think in a modern way. A faster course to European integration, where it is of no matter where one lives – Serbia, Macedonia or Slovakia – should be the target.”

Dimitrijevic said Serbia’s accent should be on the human rights of the remaining Serbs. “That is something the international community has ears for.”

Ahtisaari is expected to do all he can to solve the issue. Under his mandate no party can leave talks once they are under way. If one of them abandons the talks, this will be regarded as acceptance of the documents under discussion.

“The EU is willing to provide conditional independence for Kosovo, under years long EU supervisory mission with special provisions for Serbs and their religious sites, as well as oversight on the respect of their minority rights,” a top ranking EU diplomat told IPS. “Apart from that, there could be a joint future for Serbia and its neighbours inside the EU and NATO within the next decade.”

Belgrade has so far turned a deaf ear to such proposals. Patriotic rhetoric prevails in media and politicians’ statements.

But Ahtisaari is no stranger to Serbia and the Kosovo problem. Serbian media call him a “tough negotiator” for good reason.

Together with Russian envoy Victor Chernomyrdin, he brokered the deal in June 1999 on withdrawal of Milosevic’s army and police from Kosovo in return for the end to NATO bombing.

According to witnesses’ memoirs, Milosevic agreed only after Ahtisaari pointed to the desk they were talking across, and said bombs would continue to fall until Serbia became as flat as the desk. Milosevic yielded.

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