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Kosovo independence; a recipe for disaster pockets
BY JARED DYRDAHL
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
iISSUE: 78/23
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Balance in the fragile Balkan region of Europe is now once again on thin ice. On Feb. 17, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia, much to the chagrin of the international political community. The war-torn province’s declaration was supported by the ethnic majority of Albanians, but was vehemently opposed by the Serbian minority who detest the action as an unwelcome occupation and seizure of their holy land by intruders aided by the West, according to the CNN.com article “Kosovo Celebrates amid Serb Protests.”
According to the same article, experts including former U.S. General Wesley Clark, who led U.S. forces in the 1999 Kosovo conflict, have said that separation was needed so that Albanians could forget the “magnitude of Serb oppression of the Albanian majority,” which prompted the 1999 Kosovo conflict.
Despite this compelling argument of sovereignty based on the will of majority and erasure of the oppressions of the past, one must take a critical look at the potential effects of Kosovo’s independence on the region. Over the past eight years, Kosovo has been under international rule, and during that time, there have been widespread killings and land seizures that have victimized the 100,000 Serbs that still live in the community, according to the same article.
Handing the reigns of legitimate sovereign power to a group that has oppressed the Serb minority while under the auspices of the United Nations is asking for trouble in a region that has sparked some of our globe’s bloodiest conflicts. The decision to allow Kosovo independence would be akin to the United States immediately withdrawing from Iraq and leaving a power vacuum that would be democratically filled by a Shiite majority that would no doubt suppress the Sunni minority for the injustices suffered under former dictator Saddam Hussein.
In addition, it is clear that allowing Serbia to administer the region would also be folly. However, the danger presented by allowing Kosovo independence is far more dangerous because it threatens to upset the fragile peace that (for once) pervades the Balkans. Perhaps an alternative plan could be hatched if the two sides talked while the United Nations watched over the country in a more stringent manner to ensure that no one is being murdered or plundered.
