Post by Bozur on Dec 15, 2007 20:10:21 GMT -5
Editorial
Again and Again in the Balkans
Published: November 12, 2007
The Balkans have a dismal way of living up to their stereotype as a region of ancient, intertwined and irreconcilable feuds. This month was supposed to be the one in which the Kosovo issue was finally put to rest. Now, with Russia’s active meddling, not only does that look unlikely, but the Serbs are threatening to stir new troubles in Bosnia if Kosovo declares independence. This is a time for urgent, creative diplomacy by the major powers.
In February, a United Nations envoy presented a reasonable plan that would grant Kosovo limited independence under continued international supervision, with protection and a degree of autonomy for ethnic Serbs. But after fierce protests from Russia and Serbia, the Security Council called for more talks, with a deadline of Dec. 10. The Kosovars have said they’ll wait that long, but no longer. Neither should the United States and the European Union.
The trouble is that these are conflicts with no good guys, and very little spirit of compromise. The Serbs refuse to admit that Slobodan Milosevic’s repression of the ethnically Albanian majority lost them Kosovo, which has been administered since the NATO intervention in 1999 by the United Nations. The Albanians of Kosovo are woefully unprepared for the independence they demand. The European Commission reported recently that the Kosovo administration is plagued by graft, cronyism and organized crime.
If that weren’t bad enough, Russia has thrown its weight behind the Serbs, and together they have goaded Bosnian Serbs into threatening to break up the Bosnian quasi-federation created by the Dayton accords should Kosovo become independent. This is the Balkan mess that the United States, Russia and the European Union confront when they next meet in the latest, and possibly last, round of talks with the Serbs and Kosovar Albanians.
A unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo, recognized by the United States and part of Europe but not by the United Nations, Russia or Serbia, would be unsatisfactory; a renewal of strife in Bosnia would be an outright disaster. But allowing the Serbs and their Russian backers to endlessly stir strife does nothing but put off the only feasible solution, which is to gather all the feuding Balkan nations under the European Union and NATO umbrellas, where issues of sovereignty, borders and ancient grievances would hopefully fade.
That is what the European Union must impress on all sides. And that is why Washington should make every effort to persuade the Russians that their neo-cold-war games are dangerous, misguided and ultimately futile.
www.nytimes.com/
Again and Again in the Balkans
Published: November 12, 2007
The Balkans have a dismal way of living up to their stereotype as a region of ancient, intertwined and irreconcilable feuds. This month was supposed to be the one in which the Kosovo issue was finally put to rest. Now, with Russia’s active meddling, not only does that look unlikely, but the Serbs are threatening to stir new troubles in Bosnia if Kosovo declares independence. This is a time for urgent, creative diplomacy by the major powers.
In February, a United Nations envoy presented a reasonable plan that would grant Kosovo limited independence under continued international supervision, with protection and a degree of autonomy for ethnic Serbs. But after fierce protests from Russia and Serbia, the Security Council called for more talks, with a deadline of Dec. 10. The Kosovars have said they’ll wait that long, but no longer. Neither should the United States and the European Union.
The trouble is that these are conflicts with no good guys, and very little spirit of compromise. The Serbs refuse to admit that Slobodan Milosevic’s repression of the ethnically Albanian majority lost them Kosovo, which has been administered since the NATO intervention in 1999 by the United Nations. The Albanians of Kosovo are woefully unprepared for the independence they demand. The European Commission reported recently that the Kosovo administration is plagued by graft, cronyism and organized crime.
If that weren’t bad enough, Russia has thrown its weight behind the Serbs, and together they have goaded Bosnian Serbs into threatening to break up the Bosnian quasi-federation created by the Dayton accords should Kosovo become independent. This is the Balkan mess that the United States, Russia and the European Union confront when they next meet in the latest, and possibly last, round of talks with the Serbs and Kosovar Albanians.
A unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo, recognized by the United States and part of Europe but not by the United Nations, Russia or Serbia, would be unsatisfactory; a renewal of strife in Bosnia would be an outright disaster. But allowing the Serbs and their Russian backers to endlessly stir strife does nothing but put off the only feasible solution, which is to gather all the feuding Balkan nations under the European Union and NATO umbrellas, where issues of sovereignty, borders and ancient grievances would hopefully fade.
That is what the European Union must impress on all sides. And that is why Washington should make every effort to persuade the Russians that their neo-cold-war games are dangerous, misguided and ultimately futile.
www.nytimes.com/