[ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH =?ISO-8859-1?Q?=AB?=ALBEUROPA=?ISO-8859-1?Q?=BB?=} Western Thaw with Belgrade May Radicalize Kosovo

[Nikoll A Mirakaj]

Western Thaw with Belgrade May Radicalize Kosovo 

PRISTINA, Oct 11, 2000 -- (Reuters) The prospect of better relations between the West and Belgrade has shaken ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and may radicalise their drive for independence.

Western diplomats and analysts say the rise of Vojislav Kostunica to be Yugoslav president and his speedy endorsement by the international community as a democrat came "out of the blue" to the leaders of predominantly ethnic Albanian Kosovo.

Local leaders responded with angry denunciations that Kostunica is no different from his predecessor, Slobodan Milosevic, and with renewed calls for Kosovo to be independent.

"If the international community goes too far towards Kostunica...there are people here who will start preparing for the next war," said Louis Sell, Kosovo director of the International Crisis Group.

"There are no Albanians who do not want independence," he said.

Kosovo, Serbia's southernmost province, has been under the administration of the international community since NATO bombing of Yugoslavia drove out Serb forces last year to save the ethnic Albanian population from a campaign of brutal repression.

The West insists that the province remains a part of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic, with many countries ruling out eventual independence, in direct conflict with local ambitions.

While Milosevic was in power any form of discussion about Kosovo's future status with Belgrade was out of the question. Now, analysts say, Kostunica and the West will have a smoother relationship - a prospect that concerns ethnic Albanians.

"It is no coincidence that we have seen so many press reports (since Kostunica's election) of Albanians expressing themselves for independence," said one Western diplomat in Pristina.

"They cannot see or imagine any future with Yugoslavia," he said.

ELECTIONS A FIRST TEST

A test could come as early as October 28, when Kosovo votes in municipal elections, the first step in the West's program to create a local administration.

The election is supposed to be about such issues of local concern as rubbish collection, but all parties involved have begun their campaigns with pledges to bring Kosovo to independence.

In this sense, as a referendum on independence, it has already been won. But analysts will be watching to see whether the vote swings to the more radical parties.

"Independence is a very important issue and it is right to be mentioned," Hashim Thaci, head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, told Reuters.

The problem for the West is squaring the idea that a new democracy may be growing in Belgrade - with a leader pledged to strengthen sovereignty over Kosovo - with the unbending desire of ethnic Albanians to break away.

Veton Surroi, a political analyst and publisher of Kosovo's daily Koha Ditore newspaper, says the key will be time to allow institutions in Serbia and in Kosovo itself to build up.

"We are both, curiously enough, in state building processes," he said. "We will need to communicate, but I think first we will need to communicate as equal partners and certainly within international fora."

Bernard Kouchner, the international community's chief negotiator, said as much on Monday when he warned European Union foreign ministers not to try to force a Kosovo settlement.

"Every Albanian I met, moderate or not, wants independence. Therefore, to try to solve the final status of Kosovo now could lead to a new open conflict," he said.

(C)2000 Copyright Reuters Limited

-------------- next part --------------
HTML attachment scrubbed and removed