http://thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/1037470.html
Canada should steer clear of Kosovo
By SCOTT TAYLOR On Target
Mon. Feb 11 - 5:41 AM
AS DEFENCE Minister Peter MacKay attempts to browbeat, badger or coerce a
NATO partner into reinforcing the mission in southern Afghanistan, most
European countries are keeping their eyes on a possible security crisis much
closer to home.
It is widely expected that Kosovo will unilaterally declare its independence
from Serbia within the next six weeks, and if history repeats itself, this
will trigger yet another round of Balkan bloodletting. In anticipation of an
escalation in ethnic violence in the disputed province, reinforcements have
been sent into Kosovo to bolster the international security force that has
been in place there for the past eight years.
In the spring of 1999, Canada committed 10 per cent of the NATO bombers that
pounded Serbia for 78 days. It was NATO's intention to counter a large-scale
Serbian military offensive against Albanian separatist guerrillas in order
to prevent further suffering among the civilian population. Despite the
aerial bombardment's widespread destruction of utilities and infrastructure
across the country, the NATO air campaign failed to either dislodge or
diminish the Serbian military forces in Kosovo. Although an allied ground
offensive was threatened and a massive troop buildup had taken place in
neighbouring Macedonia, NATO was forced to enter a negotiated settlement
with the Serbs.
Under the terms of UN Resolution 1244, Kosovo was to remain the sovereign
territory of Serbia. As an interim security measure, NATO troops were to
enter Kosovo to supervise the withdrawal of Serbian security forces, oversee
the disarmament of the Kosovo Liberation Army and protect the Serbian
minority from revenge attacks at the hands of the returning 800,000 ethnic
Albanians who had fled the fighting.
Once the Albanian fighters had been disarmed and a secure environment was
restored, Serbian border police were to return to Kosovo along with some
Serb security forces to protect Orthodox Christian religious sites from
Albanian vandals.
The problem was that NATO never intended to implement UN Resolution 1244.
While the Serbs kept their promise to withdraw peacefully, it soon became
apparent that the allied commanders had only signed the agreement to avoid a
costly ground war.
The Kosovo Liberation Army was never disbanded - it was renamed the Kosovo
Protection Corps and within a matter of weeks, had organized bloody
separatist insurgencies among the ethnic Albanian minorities in both
southern Serbia and northern Macedonia.
Despite the presence of almost 50,000 NATO troops - including 800 Canadians
- in the aftermath of the ceasefire, Albanian extremists forced nearly
200,000 Serbs to flee Kosovo. The 40,000 brave Serbs who chose to stay in
their homes have spent the past nine years living in protected enclaves,
subjected to perpetual fear and the occasional full-scale attack by Albanian
nationalists.
Admittedly, the damage caused during the 18-month civil war was extensive.
However, the European Union has poured in billions of Euros towards
reconstruction since 1999. Despite the huge infusion of foreign aid, Kosovo
still has an unemployment rate of close to 50 per cent; its illegal black
market of drugs and prostitution outweighs legal commerce; regular garbage
collection remains a pipe dream; and voluntary civilian payment for public
utilities remains unachievable.
For Albanian Kosovars, such facts are not seen as impediments to their
independence; rather, they are considered excuses used by the international
community to deny them full autonomy.
For those who had carried on the pretence of a peacefully negotiated
reconciliation of Serbia and Kosovo under a form of sovereignty association,
the sands of time ran out last December. After negotiations broke down
between the two parties, and the attempt to steer Kosovo's independence
through the UN bogged down with the threat of a Russian veto at the Security
Council, the only recourse left to the Albanians is a unilateral
declaration.
This is expected to occur on a Sunday sometime in February or March.
Immediate and official recognition of Kosovo's independence from countries
such as the U.S., Britain, and Germany is expected to make this a fait
accompli before the UN Security Council could be reconvened on the following
Monday morning. To play out this charade to the full, the UN mission in
Kosovo has just been renamed a European Union mission. As they are no longer
technically working for the UN, the personnel overseeing the illegal
creation of an independent state - in violation of the UN Charter - can now
do so with a supposedly clear conscience.
Canada has played a shameful role in this fiasco to date - participating in
an unsanctioned illegal bombing campaign in 1999, failing to hold our NATO
partners accountable to the terms of UN Resolution 1244 and withdrawing our
peacekeepers long before a stable environment could be achieved.
Rather than bowing to American pressure to recognize Kosovo's impending
independence, Canada should opt out and instead uphold the UN Charter and
abide by international rules of law. After all, such a unilateral
declaration of independence based on the ethnic majority of a province could
set a precedent that we might soon regret.
Besides, the launching of an independent SS Kosovo is one boat so clearly
destined for disaster we would be wise to steer well clear.
Scott Taylor reported from inside Serbia and Kosovo during the 1999 bombing
campaign and has made more than 20 subsequent visits to the region. Scott
Taylor is editor-in-chief of Espirit de Corps magazine. ( [EMAIL PROTECTED])
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