http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119561138717200039.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Mr. Ceku's Disorderly House
November 21, 2007; Page A17
The recent column by Agim Ceku ("Kosovo Wants Independence," Nov. 15) presents
the critic with what military planners would call a target-rich environment.
Virtually every assertion about Kosovo's prospects as an independent state
screams out for rebuttal.
For the sake of brevity, let us focus on just one: Mr. Ceku's suggestion that
Kosovo, under his U.N.-supervised administration, has "put our structures in
place and our house in order." This month's report by the European Commission
tells a very different story:
"Due to a lack of clear political will to fight corruption, and to insufficient
legislative and implementing measures, corruption is still widespread," the
report said. "Civil servants are still vulnerable to political interference,
corrupt practices and nepotism" and "Kosovo's public administration remains
weak and inefficient," the report added.
Furthermore, "the composition of the government anti-corruption council does
not sufficiently guarantee its impartiality," and "little progress can be
reported in the area of organized crime and combating of trafficking in human
beings."
War crime trials are being "hampered by the unwillingness of the local
population to testify" and "there is still no specific legislation on witness
protection in place," according to the report. "Civil society organizations
remain weak" and "awareness of women's rights in society is low."
If this is the "house" Mr. Ceku claims "is in order" in advance of what he
hopes will be conferral of independence, one shudders to think what disorder
would look like. To be sure, Mr. Ceku makes use of the usual dodge that
Kosovo's progress is limited by the absence of "clarity on our future status,"
namely independence. But Taiwan, by contrast, has gone without such clarity for
over half a century and is nothing like the disaster over which Mr. Ceku
presides.
Instead of falling for his fairy tales about Kosovo's fitness for sovereignty
the international community needs to open its eyes to the reality of this
corrupt, criminal, and nonviable entity. Granting independence to Kosovo, which
would mean handing de jure power to those responsible for this state of
affairs, can only turn a disaster into a catastrophe.
James George Jatras
Director
American Council for Kosovo
Washington
Serbian News Network - SNN
[email protected]
http://www.antic.org/
