We should write to Obama's camp to fire S. Power for inciting hate...
...."Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian leaders have belatedly tried to extend an olive
branch to the province's aggrieved 120,000 Serbs. In addition to allowing Serbs
in northern Kosovo to have their own police, schools and hospitals, Kosovo's
new Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, did the unthinkable: he delivered part of his
inauguration speech in the hated Serbian language. ..."
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http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1718556,00.html
Ghosts of Kosovo
Friday, Feb. 29, 2008 By SAMANTHA POWER
On Feb. 17, after almost a decade of legal limbo and two years of unsuccessful
international mediation, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. The U.S.
moved swiftly to recognize the new country, and nearly 2 million ethnic
Albanians celebrated their long-awaited freedom, dancing in city streets,
releasing fireworks and waving flags. Having bristled under Serbian rule and
then U.N. administration, Kosovars were elated by the prospect of at last
controlling their own affairs.
The Serbs weren't quite so thrilled. On Feb. 21, some 200,000 protested in
Belgrade, chanting "Kosovo is Serbia" and holding placards that read, RUSSIA,
HELP. Rioters set the U.S. embassy on fire; Russian President Vladimir Putin
vowed never to recognize Kosovo and threatened to support secessionist
movements in Georgia and Moldova.
Not so long ago, the scenes of unrest would have inspired fears of the kind of
ethnic violence that devastated the Balkans in the '90s. But these are
different times. Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian leaders have belatedly tried to
extend an olive branch to the province's aggrieved 120,000 Serbs. In addition
to allowing Serbs in northern Kosovo to have their own police, schools and
hospitals, Kosovo's new Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, did the unthinkable: he
delivered part of his inauguration speech in the hated Serbian language. Even
in Serbia, whose citizens feel genuine humiliation over losing Kosovo (which
Serb nationalists call their "Jerusalem"), the protests should abate. Prime
Minister Vojislav Kostunica has threatened to retaliate against Kosovo's
becoming independent by suspending talks with the European Union, but Kostunica
can't afford to cut ties with the West. The E.U. supplies 49% of Serbia's
imports and buys 56% of its exports--a far more
valuable trade relationship than Serbia's with Russia.
But Kosovo matters to our future because it underscores three alarming features
of the current international system. First, it exposes the chill in relations
between the U.S. and Russia, which is making it difficult for the U.N. Security
Council to meet 21st century collective-security challenges. Putin has used the
Kosovo standoff as yet another excuse to flaunt his petro-powered
invincibility, sending his likely successor, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri
Medvedev, to Belgrade to sign a gas agreement. If a firm international response
is to be mobilized toward Iran, Sudan or other trouble spots in the coming
years, the U.S. will have to find a way to persuade Russia to become a partner
rather than a rival in improving collective security.
Second, the 27-country E.U., which is bitterly divided over Kosovo, lacks an
overarching defense or security vision. After Kosovo declared independence,
Britain, France and other countries offered recognition, while Spain, Romania,
Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Slovakia refused to do so. Keeping peace in Kosovo
will require European nations to put their citizens at risk. Unfortunately, the
stated desire of many European countries to reduce their commitments to the
nato effort in Afghanistan does little to bolster confidence in Europe's
eagerness to maintain international security.
Finally, the disagreements over Kosovo expose the world's fickleness in
determining which secessionist movements deserve international recognition. If
Kosovo's supporters were more transparent about the factors that made Kosovo
worthy of recognition, they could help shape new guidelines. A claimant has a
far stronger claim if, like Kosovo, it is relatively homogeneous and not yet
self-governing, if it has been abused by the sovereign government and if its
quest for independence does not incite its kin in a neighboring country to make
comparable demands. Not all secessionists can clear that bar. Iraq's Kurds, for
instance, are clamoring for independence. But the Kurds are already exercising
self-government, and their independence could have the destabilizing effect of
causing the Kurdish population in Turkey to try to secede.
Western countries will have to work hard in the coming months to ensure that
Kosovo and Serbia do not descend into violence. The larger problems highlighted
by the impasse aren't going away anytime soon. Unless they're resolved, a U.S.
embassy may not be all that goes up in flames during the next crisis.
TIME columnist and Harvard professor Power also advises Senator Barack Obama on
foreign-policy issues
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