Albanians vs serbs

 

 

Ethnic Albanians have a name for Kosovo under international command: UNMIKISTAN. A play on the ellipsis for the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the name has of late taken on a tone of unendurable edginess. After years of waiting for the global community to grant self-rule, Kosovo’s Albanians are on the threshold of proclaiming it themselves. During the 90s, ethnic Serbs, with the help of the then premier of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, went for ethnic cleansing of Albanian Muslims and butchered as many as 100,000 of them. NATO’s military intervention brought the peace in the region.

In what may bring a deathblow to the 12-year-long peace in the region, Serbian and Kosovo Albanian leaders failed again to break a deadlock over the future of the breakaway Serb province, but agreed to hold intensive talks ahead of the December 10 deadline. Both sides stuck to their long-standing positions – Kosovo’s Serbs say the province is the cradle of their civilisation and ought to remain part of Serbia, while Albanians will accept nothing less than full independence. Kosovo Albanian negotiators rejected a Serb offer of broad autonomy. Reacting on the incident to TSI, noted Balkan expert from Pearson Peacekeeping Centre and an ex-Municipal Administrator in UNMIK, Stephanie Blair said, “It is hardly surprising...There is no common ground between Belgrade and Pristina. From the perspective of the Albanian population, the Serbian government lost its authority to govern when it launched an offensive against them with all the assets at the disposal of the state: police, military and paramilitary included.”

Internationally, there are three primary positions. The United States is pro-independence and as soon as possible. The European Union is not quite so black and white. Russia has given Serbia its unwavering support, leading to complicated manoeuvres. “Kosovo has always been plagued by interference from the great powers - not always to its advantage. Russia’s support to its proxy Serbia is just the continuation of its support during the NATO air strikes of 1999,” adds Blair. Meanwhile, with almost two years of talks having thus far failed to bridge the divide, efforts are now turning to a unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo.