From mentor at alb-net.com Wed Mar 12 16:29:51 2003 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 16:29:51 -0500 (EST) Subject: [Kcc-News] KOSOVO: NO ENTHUSIASM FOR BELGRADE TALKS: Balkan Crisis Report 412 (fwd) Message-ID: http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/bcr3/bcr3_200303_412_1_eng.txt KOSOVO: NO ENTHUSIASM FOR BELGRADE TALKS Albanian politicians and commentators see little point to forthcoming talks with senior Belgrade officials. By Ridvan Berisha in Pristina Michael Steiner, head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, has identified seven "practical issues of mutual interests" which he wants Serbs and Kosovars to discuss in talks which could take place in Pristina as early as next week. The Kosovar side is already expressing scepticism about the dialogue, which will mark the first ministerial level meeting since the Rambouillet negotiations, which preceded the NATO campaign of 1999. On March 3, Steiner announced that a group of Serbian ministers would be invited to attend talks on the issues with their Kosovar counterparts. In a letter addressed to Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic and his deputy Nebojsa Covic, Steiner identified the issues for cooperation as the recognition of car number plates, travel documents, identity cards and driving licenses, social security responsibilities, energy, trade, transport and the return of land registry records. But many Kosovar politicians and commentators argue that since UN Resolution 1244 gives UNMIK total authority for running Kosovo, the Albanian side will enter the conference chamber empty-handed, since they have no power to decide on any of the issues at stake. Moreover, since the future status of Kosovo will not be in the agenda, the Kosovars will not be able to use the talks to push ahead any kind of negotiating platform with Belgrade on that issue. Ramush Haradinaj, leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo party, AAK, is one of several Kosovars to express such reservations. "Steiner's initiative is unlikely to succeed because the Albanian side will be weaker than the Serbs in this dialogue," he said. As the sole power to decide on all of the seven issues under discussion resides with Steiner, the Albanian role in the dialogue will be largely ceremonial, argued Vetton Surroi, editor of the largest circulation daily Koha Ditore. "The Albanian side can sit and make whatever demands they like, but this won't mean anything to Belgrade, which doesn't have to concede anything to a side which will not be making the final decisions," he wrote in a recent column. Political analyst Blerim Shala argued that Belgrade also has little incentive to attend the talks. "For the current Serb regime and its supporters in Kosovo, even the recognition of car number plates, IDs and travel documents represents a move towards Kosovo's independence. In the current circumstances any such recognition would be unbearable for the Serbs," he wrote in the daily newspaper Zeri. Provocative statements from Zoran Djindjic last month, suggesting that Belgrade favours a partition of Kosovo, have put many ordinary Albanians on their guard. The establishment of an association of Serb municipalities in northern Kosovo on February 25 was seen as another step towards federalisation of the province. "There may have been a regime change in Serbia, but the same old thinking about ethnic division colours their thinking on Kosovo. Djindjic's comments show that they lack the good will to be constructive about even the most practical issues," said Mirjeta Ajeti, a history student at Pristina University. Kosovar hostility towards Belgrade is matched by a distrust of UNMIK's ability to handle such sensitive dialogue. It is also thought that the lack of any clear negotiating platform for the Albanians will render the dialogue with Belgrade irrelevant. Whatever the word on the street and in the newspaper columns, however, Kosovar leaders such as President Ibrahim Rugova, Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi, the parliamentary speaker Nexhat Daci and the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, have all agreed to attend the negotiations. On February 28, they signed a declaration confirming that they will join UNMIK in direct dialogue with all neighbouring countries, a definition which apparently includes Serbia. Ridvan Berisha is a journalist at Radio-Television of Kosovo, RTK From mentor at alb-net.com Tue Mar 25 18:43:53 2003 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 18:43:53 -0500 (EST) Subject: [Kcc-News] KOSOVO TALKS STALL AFTER DJINDJIC MURDER (Balkan Crisis Report No 417) Message-ID: http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/bcr3/bcr3_200303_417_3_eng.txt KOSOVO TALKS STALL AFTER DJINDJIC MURDER Discussions aimed at improving relations between Pristina and Belgrade, paving the way for final status talks, likely to be put on the back-burner. By Arben Qirezi in Pristina Talks on Kosovo's future are likely to be postponed for some time following the recent murder of Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic. United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, chief Michael Steiner has confirmed that talks between Belgrade and Pristina were unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future, as Serbia would need time to recover following the March 12 assassination. Pristina will also need time to adapt to the situation, with Kosovar politicians gauging whether Belgrade's approach to the protectorate has changed. While they resented Djindjic's bid to partition the protectorate, Kosovars saw the late premier as a pragmatist with whom it would be possible to negotiate their independence. Hashim Thaci, a former guerrilla leader and the head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, told the media that Djindjic's murder "had left Kosovo without a reliable negotiation partner in Serbia". However, the new Serbian prime minister, Zoran Zivkovic, said at his initial address to parliament that the new government will stay faithful to Djindjic's policies on Kosovo - but did not specify when the planned talks would begin. Belgrade analysts believe that Kosovo will not be seen as a priority for some time. Dejan Anastasijevic, who writes for Time magazine and the local weekly Vreme, said while Zivkovic may follow the same course as his predecessor, he is for the moment preoccupied with rounding up criminals suspected of involvement in the assassination. Before Djindjic's death, Steiner's call for a dialogue met with a reluctant response in Belgrade and Pristina even though his initiative was limited to the solution of practical issues, such as personal and legal documents, electricity and recognition of Kosovo's license plates. Belgrade is not prepared to discuss any proposals that don't include the final status of the region and remains opposed to full independence for the protectorate. Djindjic responded to Steiner's call by proposing discussion on the partition of Kosovo along ethnic lines, with the creation of two federal units governed by Albanians and Serbs respectively following a "civilised and peaceful transfer of populations". Kosovars, not surprisingly, rejected the idea out of hand. UNMIK have been equally dismissive. Steiner has yet to get official word from Belgrade over whether it is prepared to talk about the issues he first raised. The Kosovars, initially, were more willing to discuss the measures. Local Albanian leaders endorsed the idea, but it was subsequently dismissed as being too hasty after failing to acquire broad political support. Kosovo prime minister Bajram Rexhepi at first described the Steiner initiative as a "step forward", then changed his mind saying that Pristina had other priorities such as the transfer of powers from UNMIK and Kosovo institutions. Djindjic's counter-proposal is thought to have turned Kosovars against the Steiner initiative. In a speech before the Kosovo assembly two weeks ago, Rexhepi said that "the only thing Belgarde is interested in is partition, not dialogue". His political adviser Rexhep Hoti explained the government's hesitation more bluntly, saying, "In our century-long experience with Serbia, we learned that dealing with Belgrade is no joke." This was seen as an indication that the authorities in Pristina were not prepared for dialogue with Belgrade on Djindjic's terms. Analysts fear the fall out from the Steiner proposal has led Pristina and Belgarde to become even more suspicious of each other, making any future initiative less likely to succeed. Although the international community is eager to initiate dialogue between the two, both seem to need a break to reconsider their positions. Arben Qirezi is a regular IWPR contributor