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Emancipating Kosovo



By Eric F. Mallonga

October 9, 2006

KOSOVO Prime Minister Agim Çeku seeks Kosovo’s independence from Serbia after the international community recognized Montenegro’s recent independence. Certainly, the time is ripe for full European integration and peaceful stability in the Balkans to conclude Yugoslavia’s disastrous post-Tito era and its former constitutive units on track for European Union and NATO membership.

There are compelling reasons why Kosovo’s statehood must be granted. Serbia forfeited its right to exercise sovereignty over Kosovo twice in recent history: First, Serbia violated Yugoslavia’s constitution by unilaterally revoking Kosovo’s autonomy in 1989 without securing the required consent of all eight federal units to change the legal status of one of its republics. Second, in 1998-1999, Serbia engaged in systematic ethnic cleansing of Kosovo’s majority Albanian population, while destroying its cultural heritage, properties and thousands of human lives. But transcending these categorical violations, it is the sovereign will of Kosovo’s people to become independent, as clearly expressed in a 1992 referendum.

For seven years, Kosovo has been under an open-ended, hybrid rule of a United Nations international protectorate with institutions for self-governance. Mere replacement of the UN with a European Union equivalent would merely prolong Kosovo’s destabilization and weaken the legitimacy of existing local leadership. Çeku’s observations are entirely correct: Full sovereignty should be the only option. Sovereignty does not preclude international support. NATO’s presence is much welcome in providing security to control ethnic hostilities even with Kosovo’s independence.

But if Kosovo is deprived of statehood, it will be deprived of economic development. Without sovereignty, there will be no functioning property-rights system, and consequently, there can be no market development or attraction of foreign investments. Without sovereignty, allocation of resources will be less efficient. Also, Serbia continues to block the sale of public assets by influencing UN international agencies tasked to carry out the privatization process. Even privatization proceeds are still held in trust outside Kosovo because of the country’s unresolved political status. Ironically, Kosovo cannot even exploit its own mining resources, because of rivaling property claims while its debts to foreign creditors run in the millions as Serbia continues opposing Kosovo’s independence.

Rather than endangering the Balkans, Kosovo’s emancipation from Serbia’s brutal repression spells a more peaceful coexistence with its Balkan neighbors. Kosovo’s people are entitled to self-determination, with no more Serbian ethnic cleansing and genocidal rapes. If Montenegro, comprised of a Serbian majority, was allowed its independence, with more reason should Kosovo be recognized as Serbs constitute only a small minority in Kosovo. There also appears no concern for the repression of minorities as any unresolved minority issues are prioritized on Çeku’s agenda. Public transportation network has been strengthened in minority communities; minority media have been funded; zero tolerance for hate crimes has been promoted; and millions of euros for the reconstruction of private property and religious sites have been allocated. Confidence-building with minorities, especially with Serbs, are promoted for them to realize their stake in an independent Kosovo. Inter-ethnic dialogue has already been initiated with the Roma, Ashkali, Egyptian, Bosniak, Turkish and Gorani communities.

Yet the Serb minority continuously rejects offers for inter-ethnic cooperation and boycotts joint initiatives despite the Kosovo parliament having a substantive Serbian representation, with great concession offered to Serbs, including a decentralization plan that guarantees autonomous governance to Serb-majority municipalities. But Serbia continues to advocate cantonization in undermining Kosovo’s federal devolution plans. Serb leadership keeps on resorting to old scare-mongering technique, spreading misinformation about Serbia’s supposedly being the victims of ethnic violence. Kosovo’s reality manifests sharply declining crime statistics with a possible ethnic motive. While Kosovo’s leaders focus on solving people’s problems, Serbia is still preoccupied with its unfounded territorial claims, and its potential exploitation of Kosovo’s rich natural and mining resources.

A sovereign Kosovo can only play a positive role in the wider Balkan region, within the framework of the European Union and NATO. Albania, with which Kosovo shares a common history, culture and language, is a natural partner. And so could Serbia, when it transcends its continuing obstructionism and division. The Philippines can learn much from the former Yugoslavia’s history—corruption, self-aggrandizement, political patronage, preemptive assaults and calibrated police responses to legitimate dissent can only lead to its division and destruction. From the country’s division, however, can arise a people’s genuine struggle for autonomy and self-rule. Kosovo’s time for genuine emancipation has arrived.


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