Looking for a Solution in Kosovo
Friday, August 3, 2007; Page A14
In less than a week, The Post ran two opinion pieces urging the Bush
administration to create, in effect, a new "coalition of the willing" to
circumvent the U.N. Security Council and detach Kosovo from Serbia ["Kosovo
Redux," editorial, July 28; "Standing With Kosovo Again," op-ed, July 23]. Such
calls seem inconsistent with widespread criticism, mainly from self-styled
progressives, of the Bush administration's "unilateralism" on Iraq, rejection
of the Kyoto global warming treaty, withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile
Treaty, and
refusal to join the International Criminal Court or the anti-land-mine
convention.
No one doubts that resolving the future of Kosovo is important to stability in
the Balkan region and the future of the people who live there, regardless of
ethnicity or religion. But a stable and just settlement that balances the
Albanians' desire for self-rule and Serbia's territorial integrity can only
result from negotiations in accordance with international legality under the
U.N. Charter. The difficulty of that task is no basis for trashing accepted
mechanisms for global peace and security just because some in Washington --
whether "progressive" or "conservative" -- insist on getting their way.
JAMES GEORGE JATRAS
Director
American Council for Kosovo
Washington
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The Post blamed Russia for the impasse over Kosovo, but Moscow is abiding by
international norms and respecting Security Council Resolution 1244, which
ended NATO's bombing by reaffirming Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia
["Kosovo Redux"]. The blame lies with those who initiated the bombing; they
claim it was necessary to stop ethnic cleansing.
If there had been any cleansing before NATO's bombing, it eluded the 2,000
international observers who had the run of the province. The observers were
ordered to leave when NATO opted for war. It was the bombing that triggered the
exodus, with the province's Albanians fleeing into Albania and Macedonia, and a
similar proportion of Serbs into inner Serbia.
Only after NATO's occupation of Kosovo did cleansing unarguably take place, and
Albanians were the perpetrators. Then NATO was powerless to stop the organized
and murderous anti-Serb riots of March 2004.
Moreover, NATO was weak in its failed attempt to persuade the province's
Albanians to allow the return of those they expelled and to stop harassing
those Serbs who evaded eviction. An independent Kosovo will lead to a state fit
only for Albanians. Independence would reward ethnic cleansing.
So much for Gen. Wesley Clark's comment during NATO's bombing of Serbia that
"there is no place in modern Europe for ethnically pure states. That's a
19th-century idea, and we are trying to transition into the 21st
century."
YUGO KOVACH
Twickenham, England
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080202238.html
