Kosovo's Sovereignty; What next?

World Affairs Talk
Thursday, 11 January 2007
Kosovo, a Serbian province of 2 million people has a long history of conflict due to its geographical location and demographic nature. Kosovo is still a province of Serbia though it has been a UN protectorate since NATO military intervention in the late 90s. Serbia's parliament in 2006 approved a new constitution that claims dominion over Kosovo. This move clearly opposes calls from the ethnic Albanian majority of Kosovo to be given independence; Albanian majority of the province as expected to boycotted the ballot. Kosovo’s leaders claim that the nation was a constitutional element of the Yugoslav Federation and was represented in the federal government. It had its own constitution and presidency thus it has every right to have complete independence. Kosovo is one of Europe's poorest nations, with a per capita income at 1,565 Euro (2004). More than half of its population lives in poverty. Agriculture remains the main economic activity of the nation. Education, finance, health care and security of the nation are largely controlled by the administration in Belgrade. The nation has a high unemployment rate and a weak political leadership. Despite having potential natural resources such as coal, lead, zinc, chromium and silver; it is highly depended on foreign peacekeepers on security measures and foreign aid for democratic and economic reforms. In general, Serbs consider Kosovo as the cradle of their culture and religion. Vojislav Kostunica, Serbia's Prime Minister is quite determined to keep Kosovo under his regime. In 2005, he said in a conference “Kosovo always has been and always will be an integral part of Serbia”. Serbia has been recently awarded membership of the Partnership for Peace. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica in an occasion after receiving this membership re-stated that Kosovo will remain part of Serbia, with an appropriate and substantial autonomy. Serbian politicians might allow some form of independence and autonomy to Kosovo as international pressure is mounting; but complete independence is not in the horizon. Serbia will not accept the full independence of Kosovo as it will loss several Serbian minority enclaves and many sites central to Serbian cultural heritage along. In addition Kosovo has natural resources which are far easier to extract and transport. Four international heavyweights (AES-General Electronics, Siemens, Rusall, and Basic Element) are interested in building a power plant in Kosovo; which gives the nation an extra edge on economic development and Serbs a potential contract possibility to exploit; independence will hamper this allover. All these advantages are hard for Serbia to ignore in case they have to agree to full independence of Kosovo. The international community needs to convince unwilling Serbian politicians that they will gain more from closer ties to the West than they lose by providing complete independence to Kosovo. A significant international presence might exact the outcome of complete independence and Serbs might fall for the option that an EU membership will be offered soon enough if they agree to the Kosovo’s demand. Otherwise, The NATO mission, known as KFOR, with 17,000 troops from more than 30 countries has to stay in Kosovo to provide stability in the region. Share & Bookmark

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