Comment: January 5, 2020 - Kosovo's Moment of Truth?
Baton Haxhiu
30 10 2007 The
US
draft proposal to freeze Kosovo’s status until 2020, should not be dismissed,
if it helps achieve Kosovo’s political and economic independence.
By
Baton Haxhiu in Pristina
This
title, January 5, 2020, does not belong to a work of science fiction or a novel
published recently.
It
is grounded in an idea, the date of which shows the finale to resolving
Kosovo's status, which was published on October 29 as a proposal in Express.
That is a detailed American idea, and all the international and regional
partners might agree to it. Read more US Ponders Freezing Kosovo's Status until 2020.
I
am trying to present the good and the bad sides of this proposal, which has not
been officially acknowledged as yet. Based on many political parameters
surrounding us, it would not be good to refuse the idea a priori. So, our
stance should neither be against nor in favour before we have analysed our
position as well as the position of our international partners, in particular
that of the US,
which is our strategic partner.
January
5, 2020 seems to be far away, but when evaluating the years that have passed,
this date has many elements that should be carefully assessed.
Let
us explain the last 20 years. On March 28, 1989 Kosovo was occupied by Serbia. Ten
years later, on June 12, 1999, Kosovo was liberated. During that 10-year period
there were hopes that Kosovo might become independent, and that the US would
declare it. But that did not happen. The US
then brought us freedom - together with its European allies, Great Britain
in particular.
Since
June 12, 1999 Kosovo has been free, but has not had legal sovereignty over all
its territory.
Now
it is 2007. The negotiations are foreseen to end on December 10. There is a
statement by the Troika, that there will be no agreement, unless there is a 50%
compromise; there is another statement by the Kosovo delegation that there is
no alternative to an independent Kosovo; and finally, there is a statement by
Russia and Serbia that the UN Security Council will not endorse a document
which would recognize Kosovo’s independence.
And
besides these political dilemmas and strategies, there is an opportunity to be
free of the fear of crisis in the future. I will mention two questions that
need to be answered. First, are we able to protect our territorial integrity
and political stability after we declare independence? And second, can there be economic development
in Kosovo, if there is a political crisis? If we are not able to answer these
questions then we should be very careful about issuing any rejection before we
have analysed things properly.
On
the other hand, the American idea - which for the time being is not the only
one - offers two things: buying independence until 2020 and a referendum. In
addition, Kosovo will get billions of euros every year.
If
for the past 10 years we have won freedom but not independence, then 10 more
years of negotiations and of building institutions under a protectorate, 10
more years of a frozen independence process should be accepted under one
condition: will we really be economically and politically independent by 2020?
The
question is: what would we get until 2020 if we declare independence now? We might lose Kosovo north; international recognition
of independence could take years; we would be isolated; there would be no
economic development; there would be total insecurity and inter-ethnic
conflict; no possibilities for EU integration.
On
the other hand, if there are guarantees that we will have a referendum on January
5, 2020 and that every year Kosovo will receive funds for its development, and
that we will be ready to join the EU as a developed country, then there is no
reason why such an idea should not be considered. That should certainly the
case, if all these are guaranteed in a document signed by the US, EU, Russia,
China, Great Britain, Kosovo and Serbia, as well as the countries of the region -
Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania.
If
somebody thinks that we can now initiate the independence process and, in case
we fail, we can join Albania,
then this idea should be considered with less optimism. Albania is not ready to cause
political instability and to lose the privileges it has been granted. In the
next 10 years many things would be clarified - in particular after the
construction of the Durres-Kosovo highway.
This
idea should be considered very carefully before giving a positive or a negative
answer. We can declare independence whenever we want, if an eventual agreement
is not respected. But can we survive without others' help? In short, what should be the next step? We
should not forget that in the next 12 years we would have economic development on
our side.
Baton
Haxhiu is director of Kosovo`s Express daily and this comment was published
Express, on October 29. Balkan Insight is BIRN`s online publication.
Komentari:
The proposal seems unrealistic to me. I have one simple question: Who donates the money, i.e. 7 Billion a year? Europe? No way. USA alone? No way.
Therefore, I stronly believe this is yet another Phanton Proposal aimed at confusing the Albanian side and consequently make them hesitate to declare the independence, which is the only way ahead, but at given time causes some problems to Americans. I hope this is not the time for us (kosovar Albanians) to switch to Orient Express. Mr Haxhiu knows what do I mean by this.
u have no idea what r u talking about. Kosovo was never occupied by Serbia because Kosovo is Serbia.
Garbage....
how the hell can u say that kosovo was serbia, by history we all know that use to be a ilirian land and serbia come alone and occupied it.
never heard any serbs living in the kosovo till late when tito got into the power also u will find serbs everywhere in th balkan states in Croatia , Macedonia , Bosnia, Montenegro and even in Albania does that mean all of them are serbian lands as well .
Get real u serbian people stop dreaming as the milosevic died is time to see the reality as it is Kosovo Independen.
Markos,
Yes, and Germany occupied Dutch land, in them Medieval times. Stop this nonsense. Get over this idea of nationalism.
Or you want to give back the US to the Indians also?
I think it's a bit naive to really believe that the international community is ready to donate to Kosovo that much money each year. And even in the best case scenario, that it really does so, can you guess how much money will the actual citizens of Kosovo get to enjoy?
We must learn from the mistakes that were done in the past: look at how many donations have been poured into Kosovo in the last 8 years, and look at the results. There is almost no economic development , the poverty and unemployment rates are high, and even KEK (the energy corporation) that has received so so many donations to repair its ancient plants has not improved its services not even a little bit since 1999. And considering the amount that we received, we all should have been rich by now.
Usually it is the status that is blamed for this stagnation, either by Kosovar institutions or international officials, so I don't see how continuing to freeze the status will help this situation at all. And also I am very pessimistic about the donations as well, because even if Kosovo gets them who is to guarantee that they will not end up in the pockets of corrupted officials and failed projects like it has done so far?
Am I missing something here. How can a State occupy its own province. As far as I am aware, under international law Kosovo is and always was a province of Serbia. Burning Churches, desecrating cemetaries, and murdering old people in their homes, won't change that.
Wouu wouu who’s that “ im I something missing “ darly u are missing everything , how the hell are u talking about the churches when serbs did the worst genocide in europe after ww2.
U forgot what they did in Bosnia, in Croatia and the latest in Kosovo by killing thousandssss innocent people.
Does that mean something to u . . . or maybe you still dream that Milosevic still alive. Get real PN
Kosova has had enough, and without a main CENTRE POINT, which will only be available if the country is independant, then the budget of 7billion a year is a waste, because there is no CENTRE that can divide that money for other areas IN Kosova, so therefore, we need independancy to actually start building an economy, IF england wasnt independant, would there be a gordon brown? would the money that goes towards NHS or any funds that are needed be legite? enough? scattered? would some money be kept in the pocket or what?..without an independant state, you cant start to build nothing. It needs to be recognised, organised and not scattered like it would be without independancy.
Dear friends talking about Republic of Kosova it is a delicate case for those people that don’t know and those who think they are sharp enough to talk about Albanians history (Illyrian Tribes)
It is our duty to
know the truth about our heritage and the religion what
it means in relation to other religions. It is our duty to demand and
exclaim the unity of all our family members from the superficial, unnatural
divisions that have brought upon the Albanians such catastrophes as well as
delays in our attempts in understanding who we are in relation to our
history. It is our duty to share in the beauty of that heritage and not to
be always consumed by the attempts of others to confiscate our identity and
our lands, generation after generation
Unity would diminish that problem
greatly. The renaissance of the Illyr-Albanians is here where one of the part of ALPA now Alba , Father Land of territory taken by Ottoman and Serbs has come to an end and New born Baby has come to Re-generate other babies.
----
Plato had used the old bible and cited on the Air that confronts him and his @ profesional theory that people belive,, Pls read old bible aginst Plato and see where you will come.... suits you
P.S take some time to see tree of Indo-European languages
My Dear friend Kosova is a State and has its Independent fully support by ‘G7’ most powerful State in the world, You keep dreaming as many people dreamt and thought the same ACT ,
IN Fact, in case of SLOVENIA, ( its Independent) , Serbia with it’s so called Diplomacy thought to freeze the independency of Slovenia, to stop in a way not Joining the EU countries and so on, but in FACT when you Realise now that Slovenia is a wealthiest country in Balkan Region has highest GDP per Capital, When it comes Serbia is far behind from its neighbour countries in any aspect of Modern Era,, Question to ask is ,,, ? Why many Serb living abroad ? Well many Serbs are living abroad because of the Crisis Serbia Facing Even Russia Donating Gifts to Serbs for Thanksgiving has Gone Why well THX to EU countries, first to GREAT AMERICA second to thx MOTHER QUIN the GB and so on they had to help us and tell you BIG MAMA ,, so called RUSSIA that you can’t do Nothing but just saty front of TV and Watch your Son in TV Getting Bombed by Greatest NATO,, like in old days in HOLLIWOOD Great Movies, such as ‘AIR FORCE ONE ‘
The Truth and the REALITY Hurts MARKO But is TRUE ...and nothing but the Truth
REP of KOSOVA
Us are ILIRIANS are OLD TRIBES, with Thousand year of CULTURE and VERY WELL CIVILISED PEOPLE which Kept us Alive to Survive and day came with Tactically and Diplomatically we RICH the DAY of FEB 2008 the day of Glory
THE DAY OF INDEPENDNCY of REPUBLIC OF DARDANIA ( Kosova)
Training
Komentari:
Freezing Kosovo's status
Poslao: 2007-10-31 00:34:46,
The proposal seems unrealistic to me. I have one simple question: Who donates the money, i.e. 7 Billion a year? Europe? No way. USA alone? No way. Therefore, I stronly believe this is yet another Phanton Proposal aimed at confusing the Albanian side and consequently make them hesitate to declare the independence, which is the only way ahead, but at given time causes some problems to Americans. I hope this is not the time for us (kosovar Albanians) to switch to Orient Express. Mr Haxhiu knows what do I mean by this.
crap
Poslao: 2007-10-31 06:41:12,
u have no idea what r u talking about. Kosovo was never occupied by Serbia because Kosovo is Serbia. Garbage....
Kosovo issue
Poslao: 2007-10-31 10:35:53,
how the hell can u say that kosovo was serbia, by history we all know that use to be a ilirian land and serbia come alone and occupied it. never heard any serbs living in the kosovo till late when tito got into the power also u will find serbs everywhere in th balkan states in Croatia , Macedonia , Bosnia, Montenegro and even in Albania does that mean all of them are serbian lands as well . Get real u serbian people stop dreaming as the milosevic died is time to see the reality as it is Kosovo Independen.
Poslao: 2007-11-04 06:59:18,
Markos, Yes, and Germany occupied Dutch land, in them Medieval times. Stop this nonsense. Get over this idea of nationalism. Or you want to give back the US to the Indians also?
Poslao: 2007-11-06 11:43:42,
I think it's a bit naive to really believe that the international community is ready to donate to Kosovo that much money each year. And even in the best case scenario, that it really does so, can you guess how much money will the actual citizens of Kosovo get to enjoy? We must learn from the mistakes that were done in the past: look at how many donations have been poured into Kosovo in the last 8 years, and look at the results. There is almost no economic development , the poverty and unemployment rates are high, and even KEK (the energy corporation) that has received so so many donations to repair its ancient plants has not improved its services not even a little bit since 1999. And considering the amount that we received, we all should have been rich by now. Usually it is the status that is blamed for this stagnation, either by Kosovar institutions or international officials, so I don't see how continuing to freeze the status will help this situation at all. And also I am very pessimistic about the donations as well, because even if Kosovo gets them who is to guarantee that they will not end up in the pockets of corrupted officials and failed projects like it has done so far?
Comment. Kosovo's moment of truth.
Poslao: 2007-11-08 22:28:38,
Am I missing something here. How can a State occupy its own province. As far as I am aware, under international law Kosovo is and always was a province of Serbia. Burning Churches, desecrating cemetaries, and murdering old people in their homes, won't change that.
Poslao: 2007-11-13 09:57:32,
Wouu wouu who’s that “ im I something missing “ darly u are missing everything , how the hell are u talking about the churches when serbs did the worst genocide in europe after ww2. U forgot what they did in Bosnia, in Croatia and the latest in Kosovo by killing thousandssss innocent people. Does that mean something to u . . . or maybe you still dream that Milosevic still alive. Get real PN
Kosova
Poslao: 2007-12-02 02:56:17,
Kosova has had enough, and without a main CENTRE POINT, which will only be available if the country is independant, then the budget of 7billion a year is a waste, because there is no CENTRE that can divide that money for other areas IN Kosova, so therefore, we need independancy to actually start building an economy, IF england wasnt independant, would there be a gordon brown? would the money that goes towards NHS or any funds that are needed be legite? enough? scattered? would some money be kept in the pocket or what?..without an independant state, you cant start to build nothing. It needs to be recognised, organised and not scattered like it would be without independancy.
New Born Baby Kosova
Poslao: 2008-05-06 01:38:59,
Dear friends talking about Republic of Kosova it is a delicate case for those people that don’t know and those who think they are sharp enough to talk about Albanians history (Illyrian Tribes) It is our duty to know the truth about our heritage and the religion what it means in relation to other religions. It is our duty to demand and exclaim the unity of all our family members from the superficial, unnatural divisions that have brought upon the Albanians such catastrophes as well as delays in our attempts in understanding who we are in relation to our history. It is our duty to share in the beauty of that heritage and not to be always consumed by the attempts of others to confiscate our identity and our lands, generation after generation Unity would diminish that problem greatly. The renaissance of the Illyr-Albanians is here where one of the part of ALPA now Alba , Father Land of territory taken by Ottoman and Serbs has come to an end and New born Baby has come to Re-generate other babies. ---- Plato had used the old bible and cited on the Air that confronts him and his @ profesional theory that people belive,, Pls read old bible aginst Plato and see where you will come.... suits you P.S take some time to see tree of Indo-European languages
The Rep of Kosova...
Poslao: 2008-09-29 00:40:51,
My Dear friend Kosova is a State and has its Independent fully support by ‘G7’ most powerful State in the world, You keep dreaming as many people dreamt and thought the same ACT , IN Fact, in case of SLOVENIA, ( its Independent) , Serbia with it’s so called Diplomacy thought to freeze the independency of Slovenia, to stop in a way not Joining the EU countries and so on, but in FACT when you Realise now that Slovenia is a wealthiest country in Balkan Region has highest GDP per Capital, When it comes Serbia is far behind from its neighbour countries in any aspect of Modern Era,, Question to ask is ,,, ? Why many Serb living abroad ? Well many Serbs are living abroad because of the Crisis Serbia Facing Even Russia Donating Gifts to Serbs for Thanksgiving has Gone Why well THX to EU countries, first to GREAT AMERICA second to thx MOTHER QUIN the GB and so on they had to help us and tell you BIG MAMA ,, so called RUSSIA that you can’t do Nothing but just saty front of TV and Watch your Son in TV Getting Bombed by Greatest NATO,, like in old days in HOLLIWOOD Great Movies, such as ‘AIR FORCE ONE ‘ The Truth and the REALITY Hurts MARKO But is TRUE ...and nothing but the Truth REP of KOSOVA Us are ILIRIANS are OLD TRIBES, with Thousand year of CULTURE and VERY WELL CIVILISED PEOPLE which Kept us Alive to Survive and day came with Tactically and Diplomatically we RICH the DAY of FEB 2008 the day of Glory THE DAY OF INDEPENDNCY of REPUBLIC OF DARDANIA ( Kosova)