The Siege of Kosovo
The declaration of independence by the Kosovo Parliament on the 17th February 2008 comes with mixed feelings. On one hand having worked for almost two years in Kosovo during the post NATO period, I am very happy for the people of this small mountain valley state in finally achieving their sovereignty for self-determination, on the other, I have concerns for the impact that it will have with the rest of the world
That initial feeling goes back to the deplorable condition I first found Kosovo had been left in on the departure of the disgruntled Serbian army and militias, the mayhem and wanton destruction of anything that belonged to the Albanian population, the complete lost of responsibility of the Serbian masters towards its indigenous inhabitants absolved them absolutely from having any further interest or stewardship in the province. Their treatment of this particular ethnic group of citizens of what was once part of Serbia was appalling and warrants no recompense in their favour. I can recall coming from Australia arriving in Prishtina some five or six weeks after the NATO hostilities had concluded and being in a state of bewilderment that one group of people with a similar history and makeup of its neighbours could be so brutal, so vicious in response to their call to serve their own nationalism that there is no doubt in my mind that they no longer deserve to have any say in the matters of Kosovo.
Historically Kosovo has of course has had its power base transferred dozens if not a hundred times in its long and chequered history. The indigenous people can trace their history to the Illyrians from the 4th century BC while the Slavic tribes did not start to appear until the 7th century AD, a thousand years later when it was absorbed under the might of Serbian military domination often switching between the rule of Serbian, Bulgarian and Byzantines from Turkey. Serbia won a more dominant role in 1346 and lost it to the Turks in 1455 under whose control it remained for almost the next 500 years. The prize of course was the extensive mineral wealth the area contains and still has.
Throughout the period of the late 19th century, it was the constant quest between the Serbian Kingdom and the Turks until finally coming under Serbian rule once again after World War 1. At each stage enormous atrocities were committed by the Serbian rule against the local inhabitants, often forced from their land only to repair to it as each wave was dispelled. The oppression the local populations have suffered over centuries now necessitates a more politic way of deciding their future that countless wars have failed to achieve.
At the international level however, the position today maintains the same sad state of affairs as it has over the centuries, the dominant invaders each fighting for the spoils that the local people rightfully own.
It is light of this history and the brutality of the reprisals that led to the invasion by NATO in 1999 and the vanquishing of the claimants, the claim by the local people should be acknowledged yet is still not the fully case. The Serbians still want control, if not for the mineral wealth it contains, then for the historical significance they place on it and was exploited by Milosevic in his rise to power. The major loss at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 in the fields outside Prishtina, a battle the Serbians see as a defining moment in the formation of the Nation of Serbia.
The difficulty comes however to the international arena due to the precedence that recognition for independence places on numerous other political hotspots around the world. Kashmir, Palestine, Kurdistan, Chechnya, TRNC in Cyprus, northern Nigeria, even Wales and Scotland all have their secessionist movements to name but a few.
Serbia does not concern itself with the welfare of the residents of Kosovo. In 1999 it did in fact endeavour to expel totally those people over whom they now want control once more. Serbia’s interest is self-serving and hardly a privilege that the rest of the world is likely to hand to them now that they have been relieved of it. There is also no doubt based on recent history to the brutality with which they would extend to the Albanian communities should that situation arise.
Underlying it all is the plight democracy is experiencing in today’s world. For all the right reasons that it professes, it has its inordinate number of failings that successive governments and events that people often fail to recognise. The idea of replacing autocratic rulers and dictators that rule on their emotions and ideals using their force and power with elected officials who for the most part, rule autocratically on their emotions and ideals using force and power seems incongruous with the basic principles of democracy.
Democracy is about exercising the will of the people over whom the decisions will affect and in the case of Kosovo, the predominant population have expressed their will about how they want to be governed. But is that it? The answer of course is no. Even within the new Republic of Kosovo there are a multitude of opinions that the new leaders will manage their own ideals on how the county should be run with force and power. In a broader context democracy for all its virtues needs to be reconfigured to eliminate the ability of a dominant force within it assuming the power of Kings and Dictators and put the power with the people where it rightfully belongs.
It is far too early to determine the international fallout from Kosovo assuming its independence. It is however a catalyst that needs to be observed. The rights of the individuals in communities have been set-aside in the desire for control by those with the most physical power and ability to dominate. For the moment however, the Declaration of Independence by the Kosovars is the right path to follow and should be given them willingly.
