KOSOVO: Unsteady on its First Birthday

• by Apostolis Fotiadis (pristina)
• Tuesday, February 17, 2009
• Inter Press Service

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia a year back. It had been under international administration since 1999, when North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) bombing drove Serbian security forces, accused of gross violation of human rights, away from what Serbia considers its southern province.

Since then the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) have been tasked with maintaining security. These forces remain the prime source of stability in the region.

UNMIK forces began withdrawal in December to make way for forces from the European Union mission (EULEX). This was a long expected and complicated handover, and one that has brought confusion over authority and legitimacy.

Despite the hope of worldwide recognition for Kosovo in the wake of recognition by the United States and major European countries like France, Britain and Germany, only 54 countries recognise Kosovo's independence. That did not stop Prime Minister Hasim Thaci from describing Kosovo's first year as 'totally successful.'

But beneath the celebrations many fail to see any unmixed reasons for joy. On the contrary, difficulties have been mounting for the local population.

Billions of dollars have been pumped in, but there is little to show by way of impact. Unemployment remains above 40 percent, and thousands of families live on support from relatives abroad. According to official statistics more than 30,000 young Albanians enter the labour market every year but only a fifth of them find work.

The huge foreign investments that Thaci promised never came, and major infrastructure projects are still pending. Kosovo expects to agree a contract this year for construction of 'Kosovo C' a 3.5-billion euro (4.54 billion dollars) power plant intended meet the energy shortfall. Despite efforts to mobilise economic activity, the government in Pristina remains entirely dependent on foreign financial support.

The diplomatic and social situation makes Kosovo a more problematic puzzle than at any time before. Thousands of Serbs in enclaves scattered around western and southern Kosovo and in the north have isolated themselves from their two million Albanian neighbours.

Serbs live solely on aid arriving from Belgrade that helps them maintain parallel educational and social security structures, while Pristina looks for every opportunity to undermine such support.

Albin Kurti from the popular organisation 'Self-Determination' believes the situation is becoming serious. 'The north of Kosovo is de facto divided,' he told IPS. 'Parallel structures of Serbia operate freely there. UNMIK, KFOR and EULEX are tolerating them.'

This is leading to a new round of turbulence, he says. 'Accepting partition would mean rewarding criminals with parallel structures. Moreover, there can't be partition of Kosovo without partition of Serbia: nearly 100,000 Albanians live in the Presheva Valley in the southern Serbia.'

In a symbolic gesture that confirms Kuti's worries, Serbian party representatives visited the municipality of Zvecan Tuesday, an hour's drive to the north of Pristina, where they met members of the Kosovo Serb assembly and adopted a declaration confirming Serbia's sovereignty throughout the region.

The possibility of ethnic violence has never diminished in Northern Kosovo. Many incidents between Albanians and Serbs took place last December, forcing KFOR to upgrade its presence in and around Mitrovica city, the ethnically divided flashpoint in northern Kosovo situated just south of Zvecan.

The increased measures have failed to make everyone feel secure. 'Serbs in the north will not accept any exercise of authority from Pristina,' a KFOR soldier, who asked not to be identified, told IPS. 'Things are calm for now, but they are reaching a point where if they slip off it will not be easy to bring them back under control.'

© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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