BALKANS: A Lot to Save in Kosovo

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic Reprint | | Print |

Vesna Peric Zimonjic

BELGRADE, Aug 14 2006 (IPS) - No decisions on the future of Kosovo seem imminent despite months of talks.

Ethnic Albanians, victims of repression of the former regime of Slobodan Milosevic, want nothing less than independence for Kosovo, the southern Serbian province run by the United Nations (UN) and a local administration since 1999. Albanians make the majority of the population in Kosovo.

Authorities in Belgrade are clinging to UN resolution 1244 that describes Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia, and reject demands for independence.

The UN resolution was introduced by the Security Council in June 1999, following the 11 weeks of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) bombing campaign against Serbia that sought to break Milosevic’s repression of two million ethnic Albanians.

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said recently that any trade-off between independence for Kosovo from Belgrade for European Union membership for Serbia, his long-term goal, “is out of question.”

But analysts say that regardless of the outcome of the UN-sponsored negotiations which are due to close by the end of the year, Serbia should abandon pompous political demands for more realistic ones – the ensuring of human rights for Kosovo Serbs and protection of Serbian cultural heritage in the province.

“Kosovo was practically lost for Serbia by Milosevic back in 1999,” Pristina analyst Baton Hahxiu told Belgrade media. “Belgrade should be realistic and struggle for real guarantees for human rights of the remaining Serbs.”

Belgrade international law professor Vojin Dimitrijevic told IPS that “it’s only high standards for the minority and its rights that would save the face of any authority in Kosovo. And that was not the case in the past – neither on the Serbian nor the ethnic Albanian side.”

Before and during the NATO bombing, Serbian security forces are reported to have killed some 10,000 ethnic Albanians and evicted 800,000. Kosovo was under direct rule from Belgrade for the previous decade, as Milosevic abolished its once broad autonomy.

More than 150,000 Serbs fled the province in 1999 after the NATO campaign, fearing reprisals by ethnic Albanians.

In March 2004 31 Serbs were killed and their homes destroyed. Many Serb churches were attacked.

Kosovo leader Veton Surroi told Serbian media that steps should be taken for the security of Serbs in Kosovo, but that the province will “without doubt see the rule of the majority.”

Assessments by the UN administration and Belgrade put the number of Serbs currently living in Kosovo, mostly in the north of the province, at between 60,000 and 90,000.

The exact number will be known soon. A census is due in October. No valid census has been held in the province since 1971 in the face of a boycott by ethnic Albanians.

The rights of remaining Serbs is among other outstanding issues. The province has several mediaeval churches and monasteries. The first Serbian state fell under Turkish occupation in 1389.

“Keeping them as places of particular importance, no matter what the status of Kosovo is and who rules, is of utmost significance for Serbs,” Dusan Janjic, head of the Forum for Inter-Ethnic Relations, a prominent non-governmental organisation told IPS.

Kosovo is often described as an “emotional” spot for Serbs due to the creation of the historic Serb state here more than 800 years ago. Over the centuries it lost the majority Serb population in favour of ethnic Albanians. In recent times it has become overwhelmingly Albanian populated.

“But the relation of Serbs with Kosovo remains a controversy,” a recent survey by the group European Movement of Serbia declared. The survey says that 63 percent of 7.5 million Serbs have never visited Kosovo. But the majority said it has “a special place in their hearts” due to its mediaeval heritage and historic memories.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) decided last month to put three Serb Orthodox churches and monasteries on the World Heritage List.

“We are very glad that the issue has been tackled in an appropriate way,” head of the Serbian national commission for cooperation with UNESCO Jovan Cirilov told IPS.

Kosovo and Serb delegations met last month to set up “special zones” around important Serb religious and historic sites. UN mediator Marti Ahtisaari has proposed 15 such zones that would be exempt from any building or industrial developments.

Reconstruction at seven Orthodox and six Islamic religious sites has also begun.