[ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH =?ISO-8859-1?Q?=AB?=ALBEUROPA=?ISO-8859-1?Q?=BB?=} NEWS: U.S.: Kosovo Should Be Republic (AP, October 15, 2000)

[Wolfgang Plarre]

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001015/wl/kosovo_s_future_2.html

Sunday October 15 4:12 PM ET

U.S.: Kosovo Should Be Republic 

By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer 

PODGORICA, Yugoslavia (AP) - The United States is proposing that Kosovo
gain republic status, making the province one of three self-governing
republics within Yugoslavia, Western diplomats say.
     Yugoslavia currently is made up of two republics - larger, dominant
Serbia and tiny Montenegro - and Kosovo is a province within Serbia. But
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority is demanding an independent state,
which no country supports. With the Serbs and ethnic Albanians still
ready to fight over Kosovo, Western diplomats say republic status is the
only way to defuse tensions.
     However, the plan, which is being promoted following the ouster of
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites), faces numerous
hurdles.
     It would require both the Kosovo Albanians and the Slavs of
Montenegro to abandon dreams of independence. And Serb nationalists have
long opposed any formula which would loosen Serbia's claim over Kosovo,
the birthplace of Serbian culture.
     Nevertheless, Western diplomats, who outlined the plan on condition
of anonymity, said Washington believes it offers the best chance for
bringing stability to the Balkans and diminishing prospects for more
ethnic conflict.
     ``Kosovo does not want to remain part of Serbia, that is clear,'' a
senior Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity. ``But Kosovo
could become part of a new Yugoslavia.''
     The U.S. plan would require a commitment by Montenegro to remain in
Yugoslavia: If Montenegro were to split with Serbia, Yugoslavia would be
destroyed. A U.S. message opposing Montenegrin independence was
delivered last week by Balkan envoy James C. O'Brien.
     But Montenegro has long talked of splitting with Serbia, and the
U.S. stance is not going over well within Montenegro's government. It
insists independence remains an option, and if talks with new Yugoslav
President Vojislav Kostunica fail, Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic
may call a referendum on whether to remain part of Yugoslavia.
     ``If we don't find a solution to coexist, we can certainly always
ask the people's opinion,'' Montenegrin Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic
told The Associated Press.
     Selling the republic formula to the Kosovo Albanians will not be
easy either, especially after the bitterness of an assault launched
against them by Milosevic: The crackdown and mass expulsions costs
thousands of Kosovo Albanians their lives and only ended last year after
a 78-day NATO (news - web sites) bombing campaign.
     Ironically, the proposal for a Kosovo republic within Yugoslavia
was offered first by the ethnic Albanians themselves decades ago. The
Communist government in Belgrade rejected it, fearing a backlash from
the Serbs.
     As Serb repression intensified under Milosevic in the late 1980s, a
growing number of ethnic Albanians abandoned any formula which would
keep the province within Yugoslavia and instead began agitating for full
independence.
     Independence sentiment reached a highpoint with the emergence in
1997 of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which began ambushing Serb police in
the province.
     Milosevic responded in 1998 with the massive crackdown, triggering
the NATO bombing campaign. The bombing ended in June 1999 under an
agreement in which Yugoslav forces left the province and handed it over
to the United Nations (news - web sites) and a NATO-led peacekeeping
force.

Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press


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