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Kosovo Shows Patience, But Frustration Over Status Mounts
19 July 2007 As Kosovo's leaders
prepare for top-level talks in Washington, popular pressure grows to
set a deadline for independence.
By Krenar Gashi in Pristina
Kosovar politicians have agreed to show
patience and refrain from setting a date for independence as
international talks on Kosovo’s status grind towards a dead end.
But President Fatmir Sejdiu will tell
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at a meeting next week that
the people of Kosovo want independence soon.
The United Nations Security Council is
in frequent consultation over the issue but Russian opposition to
Kosovo’s independence from Serbia has blocked any agreement. And
Kosovo’s people and politicians are getting frustrated.
President Sejdiu stated on July 17 that
“despite good efforts to have a joint resolution, the latest
rejection clearly sets a deadlock. If this path is not productive, we
must look for alternative paths”.
Kosovo has been administered by the UN
since 1999, when a NATO air campaign forced the Serbian authorities
to withdraw from the territory.
An international process to determine
Kosovo’s final political status started in late 2005 and was
followed by Vienna-based negotiations between Kosovo and Serbian
politicians. The talks failed to reach agreement so Martti Ahtisaari,
a UN special envoy, was tasked with creating his own proposal for the
territory’s future.
“Kosovo’s status should be
independence supervised by the international community,” said
Ahtisaari’s recommendation to the UN Secretary General. However his
plan could not be endorsed by the Security Council because of Russian
opposition.
In the meantime, frustration among
Kosovo’s population of 2 million is rising. Former fighters who
opposed Serbian rule have threatened that there could be trouble if
the resolution is further delayed. Ordinary people say they are
losing patience and want an end to the process.
“I wouldn’t say we declare
independence on our own right now,” said Valon Dedinca, a young man
from Pristina. “However,” he added, “it would be best if our
politicians set a date beyond which we wouldn’t go. If there’s no
international solution by then, we should go on our own.”
Some politicians are echoing that
opinion. The Unity Team, the group of five negotiators that will meet
Rice on July 23, is split down the middle over the issue.
Sejdiu remains firm on the need for
patience, but Veton Surroi, head of the ORA opposition party,
disagrees, and said: “It is important that we set dates”. Surroi
suggested on Thursday that Kosovo should declare independence before
Christmas.
Agim Ceku, Kosovo’s prime minister,
rushed to agree. “I also think we should set dates”, he said.
David Phillips, a Balkan expert and
former senior adviser to the State Department’s Bureau of European
and Canadian Affairs, told Balkan Insight that Kosovars need to give
a deadline for the UN to make a decision. After a 120-day grace
period, they should say they will declare independence unilaterally.
“They should announce a date at the
end of this 120-day period, when they will declare independence, and
then they should use the interim period between the announcement of
that date and when the date finally arrives to get Kosovo’s house
in order,” he said.
Click here to read the entire interview
with David Philips
Other politicians in Kosovo also
believe that a deadline is needed.
Fatmir Limaj from PDK said the Unity
Team’s visit to Washington “is the right moment when our
delegation should have clear demands and plans for the upcoming 6
months”.
“We should say that we are ready with
the constitution and elections and that we have set a date, the
independence date,” Limaj said in a debate organised by BIRN.
Click here to read the full debate
report
Bajram Kosumi, Kosovo’s former prime
minister, agreed that the negotiators should get tough.
“The essential thing would be to set
a date for Kosovo’s independence,” said Kosumi in the debate.
“If there is no resolution, Kosovo
should declare independence this year”.
In the meantime an Ad Hoc coalition of civil society announced a protest on July 23 in the centre of Pristina.
According to a press release on Thursday signed by seven organizations that make this coalition, the protest will demand from the Unity Team to set a date when Kosovo’s final status would be resolved.
Krenar Gashi is BIRN Kosovo Editor.
Jeta Xharra, BIRN Kosovo Director also contributed to this article.
Balkan Insight is BIRN’s online publication.
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The opinions expressed in Balkan Insight are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.
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