Kosovo

Whispering to the deaf

By Miroslav Filipović

The international community takes that Kosovo Albanians have been taken care of: they got a state of their own, they have money enough and they are well on their way to full international recognition. Therefore, the international community is now completely focused on Kosovo Serbs. They are the ones it tries to take care of, to protect from revenge and retaliation, they are the ones it tries to ensure freedom, jobs and a life in peace for – of course within the already “cemented” state of Kosovo.

The official Belgrade still understands nothing and, like in the past decades, has no clear and consequent policy for Kosovo – anyway it has none for anything else that matters. Governments change, officials and parties in power change but what never changes is what we witness these days: state-run underhand dealings, semisecret jargonistic whispers and winks, something unbecoming of grownups, something to be tolerated to children and young bachelors only. What’s going on today is wrong as usual, as wrong as everything Belgrade has done so far but nevertheless calls it the policy for Kosovo. In brief, we now have the project called the community of Serb municipalities that Belgrade wants to impose on all Serbs worldwide as the only rescue plan for Kosovo Serbs and the sole precondition for their survival in Kosovo.

Actually, Belgrade politicians are trying again to con the international community, to take it on a ride. They are trying to rename the incumbent para-political, para-police and para-military parallel structures - employing some thirty thousand Serbs - the Community of Serb Municipalities /ZSO/ Prishtina would be financing after the elections while Belgrade would be controlling it. But no one wants ZSO, Kosovo Serbs in particular. They need it not the same as Prishtina. Only Belgrade politicians need ZSO: they have an eye to some elections and have an eye on Kosovo Serbs as a voting machine that could tip the scales. Many a time have we witnessed the hypocrisy of Belgrade politicians and many a time argued that all they were interested in was Kosovo Serbs’ vote. They care nothing about the blood, sweat and tears of Kosovo Serbs.

Competent people are coming to Belgrade and telling our politicians how things stand in Kosovo, what matters that have already been settled, what matters that are not worth bother and a waste of moneys and what matters we could profit on – but their knowledge falls on deaf ears. They could have instructed many others but cannot teach our politicians. The later are rock-hard in their mission of making life miserable for us, Serbs from Serbia, and making us ashamed of our nation. We had been put to shame for inhuman crimes we had been standing for and now we are ashamed of stupidity of our politicians who would not solve what could be solved but tamper with things the world would not allow them to tamper with.

The international community has a watchful eye on whatever goes on in Belgrade. People that rule the world are -no longer taken aback by cheap tricks our politicians are trying to play on them. From time to time they let them believe that their swindle worked. And then Germans or the British come on the stage or, like this time, they come in together.

Few are those in Serbia who know or even guess the price Belgrade’s petty politicians will have to pay for swindling the international community. The British-German extra request implies progress in the relations with Kosovo in each chapter of accession negotiations. In other words, Kosovo will be not only a chapter by itself, the 35th, but also all other chapters will be dealing with normalization of relations and respect of the fact that Kosovo is an internationally recognized state. So, for instance, the chapter on the territory and borders cannot be closed until the state of Serbia and the state of Kosovo sign an agreement on state borders. And once all chapters close Kosovo will be officially recognized by Serbia and recommended as such for the membership of UN and other international organizations.

For the time being the government meticulously covers up the international community’s plans the same as it keeps under wraps the crucial outcome of Brussels talks: Serbia is not allowed to question Kosovo’s status of an internationally recognized state. No matter how cocky statements Belgrade politicians make, the fact remains that Brussels talks are between two internationally recognized states. No matter what Belgrade politicians say they cannot cross the border with Kosovo unless they officially ask for Prishtina’s permit and Prishtina officially issues the permit. Of course, they can try to smuggle themselves in, through woods, like that pair of ministers did and put us all to shame.

Even more carefully does the government try to hush up that the process of accession negotiations - we are all looking forward to – will treat Kosovo as an independent and internationally recognized state south of Serbia. Therefore, the more so strange are Serbia’s interference into internal affairs of a neighboring state and its attempt to organize and crucially influence elections in it. This is why – using accession negotiations and playing on billions of Euro from IPA funds – the international community has already decided to impose a solution on Serbia and has been preparing itself for this rather unpleasant move since. As the common people would put it, the broth is cooked and it just remains to be seen who will be the one to spoon in it. Before taking this move the international community has several problems to solve – and, although Belgrade nationalists narcistically see themselves as one of these problems, they are not. Because no one cares a straw about Belgrade’s attitude, nationalistically doctrinal, snarling and spleenful as it is. Therefore, Belgrade will not be allowed to decide on anything.

The international community’s first and last problem is in Kosovo: even if willing to, Albanians and their institutions simply cannot ensure the rule of law and safety to Serbs (neither can they to Albanians for this matter). This is why the international community seeks for a mode of making Albanians provide a sustainable package of guaranteed rights for Kosovo Serbs and other minority communities in three domains at least: central government, decentralization and cultural-religious heritage. I say “seeks for” because everyone knows that a solution is not in sight yet. Apart from promises of “I shall do it, cross my heart and hope to die” type, Kosovo politicians have nothing convincing to offer either to Serbs or to their international mentors. The problem is that Serbs and Albanians have bloodied their hands too much and that the antagonism among them has reached incredible proportions that a conflict can break out any time and anyplace. Hence, the international community takes that Kosovo Albanians have been taken care of: they got a state of their own, they have money enough and they are well on their way to full international recognition. Therefore, the international community is now completely focused on Kosovo Serbs. They are the ones it tries to take care of, to protect from revenge and retaliation, they are the ones it tries to ensure freedom, jobs and a life in peace for – of course within the already “cemented” state of Kosovo.

But unlike the international community trying to treat Serbs as “people with rights,” Serb politicians have been smashing everything for decades: rather than solving Kosovo Serbs’ everyday problems, they’ve been giving them empty phrases about “never, ever recognizing Kosovo” and pitiful columns of tractors heading towards Nis and Krusevac. It’s really good that Belgrade has no say about Kosovo. For, although its politicians believe that they are cheating on Europe and the world, that’s far from the truth. Everyone who knows where to look already sees that Belgrade’s petty swindlers will be swindled at the end.