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Kosovo: A ‘Pre-Frozen’ Conflict
September 10, 2008
The less often a country appears in the news headlines, the more likely that it is a peaceful, happy sort of place. But is this true of Kosovo? Its declaration of independence from Serbia in February, and its subsequent recognition by the US and 20 of the European Union’s 27 member-states, were big news at the time. Now Kosovo gets less attention, driven from our TV screens and newspapers by other events in Georgia, or Afghanistan, or Sudan.
An authoritative report by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) makes clear that Kosovo since February has had its fair share of good news as well as bad news. On the plus side, in spite of two outbreaks of politically motivated violence in northern Kosovo in the month after the February 17 declaration of independence, the overall security situation has “remained remarkably stable”, the report says.
Moreover, Kosovo’s ethnic Serb minority has not fled the breakaway province since independence. That suggests fears of severe discrimination, or worse, at the hands of the Albanian majority were overdone. Meanwhile, democratic elections have been successfully held for a Kosovo-wide assembly as well as for municipal assemblies and mayors.
On the other hand, corruption, human trafficking and shortcomings in the judicial system are serious problems. Above all, the Serbs of northern Kosovo are in some ways even less integrated into Kosovo’s life than they were before independence. “The separation of the Kosovo Serbs increased through the establishment of parallel political institutions and the strengthening of parallel social institutions such as education, health care, social welfare and pensions,” the OSCE says.
In other words, the Serbs are doing pretty much what the Kosovar Albanians used to do when they were under the thumb of Slobodan Milosevic, the deceased Serbian autocrat, in the late 1980s and 1990s. Of course, Milosevic treated the Albanians far worse than the Albanians are treating the Kosovo Serbs. And this time round, the Serbs of northern Kosovo are receiving encouragement from neighbouring Serbia to make little or no effort to integrate with the majority population.
But this cannot disguise the fact that the construction of “parallel institutions” among ethnic groups that see themselves under threat is a well-established practice in Kosovo - as in Bosnia-Herzegovina and other places in what used to be communist Yugoslavia.
Northern Kosovo, in fact, appears at risk of turning into Europe’s next “frozen conflict” - or, to put it less felicitously, a “pre-frozen conflict”, since at least there have not been any serious clashes there since March. It is good that a degree of calm has settled on Kosovo over the past six months, but no one should be under any illusions that it will stay that way indefinitely.
rubbish, utter rubbish
Posted by: Maxc | September 11th, 2008 at 12:44 am | Report this commentGood post, it looks politicians would like the whole problem to disappear.
Posted by: Sean Wilson | September 11th, 2008 at 1:39 pm | Report this commentThis reads like Albanian propaganda.
Examples:
“That suggests fears of severe discrimination, or worse, at the hands of the Albanian majority were overdone.” — yes, thanks to 24/7 protection of Serb enclaves by UN military forces.
“Of course, Milosevic treated the Albanians far worse than the Albanians are treating the Kosovo Serbs.” Kosovo was still a multi-ethnic region under Milosevic. Now, thanks to U.S. support, Albanian extremists have either expelled, killed or driven into protected enclaves all Kosovo Serbs and other non-Albanians. Today, almost all of Kosovo is ethnically pure Albanian. A Kosovo Serb entering Albanian territory would be beaten, killed or expelled on sight. It doesn’t get much worse than that.
Posted by: TheWholeTruth | September 11th, 2008 at 1:46 pm | Report this commentYou said, “a Kosova Serb entering Albanian territory would be beaten, killed or expelled on sight” This is completely untrue. I am not a Serb nor an Albanian- I am an American and was recently in Kosova, walking in down town Prizren where I witnessed Serbian families walking right along with the Albanians, shopping and enjoying the beautiful city and weather. No ONE was being threatened in any sort of fashion as you say. Go there and you will see for yourself!
Posted by: The TRUE Responce to "the whole truth" as lies! | September 11th, 2008 at 5:31 pm | Report this commentThis article really is one big joke. If you are looking for evidence of how the Albanians treat the Serbs when given the chance then look no further than the burnt out homes of serbs forced to flee Prizren during the March riots. Yes Prizren! Having lived in the town for 6 months I know full well the way Serbs are treated, when I left I think there were 3 Serbs who were still able to live in the town and that was within the confines of the heavily guarded german Camp. That is the real reason there is less violence.
Of course now that the Serbs have been chased out the attention then turns to the Roma who are equally at risk of beatings and intimidation as the Serbs were.
Best be done with it and just call it an Islamic state.
Thank You America
Thank You Britain
Regards
Posted by: TheHollowTruth | September 12th, 2008 at 8:26 am | Report this commentA disgusted Scot
There are 40,000 Serbs in northern Kosovo, and of them, only about 20,000 in Mitrovica. If Kosovo, EU and NATO can’t handle this problem, then they all better pack up and leave.
Posted by: Arianit Dobroshi | September 12th, 2008 at 2:35 pm | Report this commentI like this post. Thanks
Posted by: Rodrigo | September 15th, 2008 at 1:55 am | Report this commentKosovo is independent because the western countries wanted it. The economy of Kosovo depends on the donation of the western economies. There are a lot of Albanian from Kosovo that lives in western countries. We all know that we will win only if Kosovo will be a multiethnic society. But just try to understand that every thing needs his time, it is not so simple. There are democracies where the multiethnic society is impossible. For instance Italy, where the Islamic are considered as terrorists, and a party of the actual government has proposed to stop the new mosques. So we have to wait.
Posted by: jetmir dinoshi | September 15th, 2008 at 1:41 pm | Report this commentLOL! Another facile view on Kosovo. Kosovo has turned from a subsidy of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to a subisdy of the EU.
Of course, Kosovo was a land of paradise before Milosevic, it’s is not as if the albanians there demonstrated massively for independence in 1981 (and before) and David Binder of the New York Times wrote about the Serbs who left Kosovo out of fear from the albanian discrimination and its economic backwardness.
Kosovo is now the EU’s Potemkin village.
Yes, things really have changed for the better.
Posted by: Aleks | September 20th, 2008 at 6:11 pm | Report this commentDear Mr. Barber,
Posted by: Balky | September 21st, 2008 at 10:25 pm | Report this commentwho are you trying to deceive with this article? People here on Balkans know very well the situation on Kosovo. There are no Serbs there since 1999. Albania had expelled them from their homes long ago. After that, they nicely burned their houses and churches, ancient monasteries, vineyards, life and culture. Who in the world could expect outbreak of violence? Against whom? Or what? The silence down there is best described as “dead silent”.
You say it is good. I say it is criminal!
I agree with some of the comments above - the main reason the security situation in Kosovo is relatively stable is that:
1. most minorities have already been displaced or been forced into guarded enclaves
2. foreign forces are policing the region
3. Kosovo is living on EU subsidies
It is difficult to see how the above is either a desirable or sustainable outcome in the long run.
Posted by: oscar | November 4th, 2008 at 2:11 pm | Report this comment