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Kosovo: A stern test of maturity
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John Norris International
Herald Tribune
Saturday, March 12,
2005
| PRISTINA, Kosovo Tuesday's indictment
of Kosovo's prime minister, Ramush Haradinaj, by the International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia came as no particular
surprise. It has been the elephant in the room during much of the
recent back and forth about Kosovo's yet-to-be-determined political
future. Speculation about the indictment and its potential to spark
rioting, political gridlock, Serbian adventurism and violence by
former Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas has been a staple of hushed
and agitated conversations in Pristina's smoky cafes for months.
The reaction of both Kosovars and the international
community to the indictment and Haradinaj's subsequent resignation,
will say much about whether Kosovo will slowly emerge from its long
trials or accelerate into another round of ethnic reprisals and
mounting frustration. For the moment, everyone is holding their
breath and hoping that the crisis will be a short one, and initial
signs are good. But all the parties on the ground - including the
United Nations, NATO, the United States, the European Union,
neighboring Serbia and Kosovo's Albanians and Serbs - now face a
stern test of their maturity.
Certainly, the indictment
comes at a remarkably difficult time. For many conspiracy-minded
Kosovar Albanians the indictment is being interpreted as a direct
sign of bad faith despite the prime minister's calming words as he
headed for The Hague. They fear that the international community has
rejected any notion of Kosovo emerging from its current limbo as a
UN-protectorate and securing independence. Why else, they reason,
would the international community indict a wildly popular prime
minister who has generally said and done all the right things while
delivering on a wide array of requests made by the UN
administration? Kosovar Albanians suspect the war crimes tribunal
has danced to the tune of the "great powers" and that no measure of
cooperation will be enough to get a yes on independence.
Yet,
almost to a person, UN officials and other internationals in Kosovo
also found Haradinaj to be the most competent, serious and capable
of Kosovo politicians they have worked with to date and view his
indictment as a serious loss. While few doubt that there is at least
some case to be made against Haradinaj, many international officials
wonder if prosecutors in The Hague lost sight of the forest for the
trees in going after Haridinaj at this exact moment.
The
merits of the case are ultimately for the courts to decide, but some
very clear steps need to be taken on the ground to avoid letting the
situation get out of control. First and foremost, the United States
and its European partners need to put dealing with Kosovo's final
status far higher on their agenda than they have to date. For close
to six years, Kosovo has languished awkwardly in a netherworld,
uncertain whether it would become a country, remain a protectorate
indefinitely or be forced back into a desperately unhappy and
manifestly unworkable union with Serbia. This monumental question
mark has made long-term planning, sound economic development and
genuine self-government virtually impossible. Few investors are
willing to gamble their money in a quasi-state governed by a
rotating cadre of UN officials where it is impossible even to get a
clear determination of property ownership.
Kosovo's status
quo is simply untenable, and only the international community can
resolve the situation. Yet for far too long, the international
community has exercised what one UN official called an "intellectual
veto" over any discussion of issues requiring a final status
determination.
Despite the unwillingness of Western
capitals, and the outright resistance of Moscow and Belgrade, there
is a growing body of sentiment that Kosovo should be granted
conditional independence, with this step contingent upon protections
for Kosovo's Serb minority, a strong international monitoring
presence and guarantees that the current provincial boundaries will
be converted to unchanging international borders. Much now depends
on the Kosovar Albanians and their ability to practice something
that has not always been their long suit: restraint.
Rather
than lashing out in anger, they need to understand that the end game
for their aspirations is here, and that by continuing to hold their
anger in check, avoiding attacks on the Serb minority and forming a
government that can make real progress on international standards,
they can show they are ready to assume the mantle of
statehood.
This will require Ibrahim Rugova and Hashim Thaci,
the leaders of Kosovo's two largest political parties, to rise above
a long history of mutual animus and political rivalry. Though both
have their hands full in tamping down those in their own ranks who
would resort to violence, they need to exert real leadership and
maintain the momentum for reform that Haradinaj created.
Political paralysis and clashing egos would be a disaster
and directly play into the hands of those who argue that Kosovo can
wait.
(John Norris is special adviser to the president of the
International Crisis Group and the author of the forthcoming book
ââCollision Course: NATO, Russia and Kosovo.ââ )
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