March 2005

 Kosovo Solution Series # 8 Relevant background links for this series here. Imagine… Imagine we are in the year 2025. If all goes well – which admittedly it doesn’t always – by that time Serbs and Albanians as well as other EU member citizens will have a hard time understanding why so much hurt and harm took place long ago, why there was a war and so much hate in Kosovo. Well, of course, the dissolution of old Yugoslavia was a much more difficult process than the Americans and the Europeans thought at the time. After all, throughout the 20th century, there had been only three cases of federations splitting without bloodshed, namely Norway from Sweden in 1905, Singapore from Malaysia in 1965 and the Slovak from the Czech Republic in 1993. As we know, former enemies have learnt to live and work together. For example Americans and Russians after the Cold...

 Kosovo Solution Series # 7 Relevant background links for this series here. May we recommend that you get hold of a copy of the UNDP’s, Human Development Report of 2004 with the title, Cultural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World? It’s a rich source on the problems we seek to deal with here. It informs us that the world’s nearly 200 countries include some 5,000 ethnic groups. Two-thirds of all countries have more than one ethnic or religious minority group that make up at least 10 per cent of the people. Thus, one way or another every country is a multicultural society. No less than 44 per cent of the people living in Toronto, Canada was born outside Canada. There are some 300 million indigenous people in 70 countries representing 4,000 of the world’s 6,000 languages. The Minorities at Risk project at the University of Maryland estimates that 129 groups, or 518 million people,...

Thus, should the parties – all of them – be able to voluntarily agree on Kosovo becoming an independent state, fine with us. However, it does deserve a more or less philosophical consideration: Will the world be a better place for all if the 50-100 more or less secessionist movements are granted their own states? If Kosovo is, why not most of the rest where similar, sometimes much worse, repression and war has gone on for decades? Is it wise to promote particularistic solutions to humanity’s problems or should we at least try to meet the general challenge of human civilisation with a somewhat larger and more generous vision than one based on exclusivity and nationalism, on ethnically cleaner rather than mixed societies? We would argue, philosophically, that it is a defeat for humanism and for a global civilisation whenever some people slam the door and say that they can...

  The Kosovo Standards Implementation Plan can be downloaded on UNMIK’s website. It describes the Standards in thi manner: “The Standards for Kosovo describe a Kosovo where public institutions are representative and democratic, where the rule of law is effective, respected and accessible to all, where those IDPs who wish to are free and able to return to Kosovo without hindrance, threat or intimidation, where all individuals, regardless of ethnic background can travel and work safely, and use their language (and where that use is respected) anywhere and in any institution in Kosovo, where the framework for a functioning market economy is in place and where the Kosovo Protection Corps operates strictly within its mandate; furthermore, the standards describe a Kosovo where Pristina is participating in successful dialogue with Belgrade and where Kosovo is in a stable and peaceful relationship with its regional neighbours. In short, a truly multi-ethnic, stable...

 Kosovo Solution Series # 6 Relevant background links for this series here. Belgrade has stated clearly that “full independence”, including the “hidden independence” in the form of “conditional independence” is out of question. The “conditional independence” does not change the negative outcome from the point of view of Belgrade: Kosovo is to be independent once it fulfils certain criteria. Belgrade and the Serb community consider “conditional independence” rhetoric — very popular among near-governmental organizations, policymakers and pro-Albanian lobbyists -a “bluff”. Belgrade has, on the other hand, accepted the recent approach by the European Union which argues that there can be no return to the pre-1999 situation. A new solution, between autonomy as it was and complete independence must therefore be found. Atypical solutions are indeed not a novelty in the post-war former Yugoslavia. Such solutions have been found by the international community and the different sides with the creation of two...

What must be Belgrade’s minimum conditions and its media strategy  Kosovo Solution Series # 6    PressInfo # 214  March 30, 2005 By Aleksandar Mitic, TFF Associate & Jan Oberg, TFF director   Relevant background links for this series here. Belgrade has stated clearly that “full independence”, including the “hidden independence” in the form of “conditional independence” is out of question. The “conditional independence” does not change the negative outcome from the point of view of Belgrade: Kosovo is to be independent once it fulfils certain criteria. Belgrade and the Serb community consider “conditional independence” rhetoric — very popular among near-governmental organizations, policymakers and pro-Albanian lobbyists -a “bluff”. Belgrade has, on the other hand, accepted the recent approach by the European Union which argues that there can be no return to the pre-1999 situation. A new solution, between autonomy as it was and complete independence must therefore be found. Atypical...

 Kosovo Solution Series # 5 Relevant background links for this series here. While the ICG, the International Crisis Group, and other pro-Albanian lobby groups argue that the independence of Kosovo is a means or necessity in order to avoid another “March 2004” and general chaos, the counterargument would be this: wouldn’t the granting of full independence to Kosovo be a reward for years of policies of ethno-nationalism and ethnic cleansing led by Albanian extremists? Would it not mean rewarding violent struggle by the KLA and punishment of the largest non-violent movement in ex-Yugoslavia – that of the Kosovo-Albanians before KLA became the dominating force? Would it not mean rewarding the two aggressions that to a large extent was instigated by factors in Kosovo, namely that in Southern Serbia and that in the 8 months war in Macedonia? When the Hague war crime indictee and Kosovo’s now former Prime minister Ramush Haradinaj promises that...

In short, the Albanians – the winners of the war – have monotonously argued the same thing for decades while the Serbs side – losers of the war – have moved positions and views in accordance with changes on the ground. Pro-Albanian lobbyists like Richard Holbrooke and other, primarily American, policymakers and lobbyists are often using the argument of Serbia as “a traditional Russian ally” to argue that the West must put itself on the side of the Serb opponents. This “metaphor of Russia ” must be rejected. Serbia indeed respects Russia due to historical, religious and Slavic ties, but Serbia is far from Russia and punishing Serbia does not mean punishing Russia. Finally, attempts to give independence to Muslim-dominated Kosovo in order to balance the aggressive policy towards the Islamic world in the Middle East should be rejected no matter how convenient they appear to geo-strategic analysts in Washington....

LONDON – It’s the working class who bear most of the cost of absorbing new immigrants, whether it be in France, the U.S. or Malaysia, but it is the middle class who dominate the debate, forging an alliance in its favor across the political spectrum- liberals who want to be multicultural, and conservatives, as Ronald Reagan used to, who argue for the free market and open borders. Two new academic reports challenge the conventional wisdom that immigration is an unalloyed good for the economies of developed societies. George Borjas, a Harvard professor of economics, has published a study for the Center of Immigration Studies in which he argues that when immigration increases the supply of workers the earnings of native-born workers fall significantly. A parallel study by two professors of economics at Colombia, Donald Davis and David Weinstein, shows that the net loss for native-born Americans is $70 billion each...

By Aleksandar Mitic & Jan ObergOn March 24, 2005 it was six years since NATO bombsto create peace began to fall.What peace is there today? What will there be tomorrow? PressInfo # 209, March 16, 2005Kosovo Solution Series # 1Why the solution in Kosovo matters to the worldExecutive summary of a series of PressInfos on Kosovo. Twelve reasons why it is important and a mini-analysis of the role of the international community in conflict-management. With a few words about the approach TFF has taken since it got on the ground in Kosovo as early as in 1992. PressInfo # 210, March 18, 2005Kosovo Solution Series # 2The media – strategic considerationsAn unbalance between Belgrade and the Kosovo Albanians in the means put into PR advocacy campaigns and lobbying efforts has led to a one-sided media war in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Serbs still lack a media strategy and, at...

The Kosovo Solution Series By Aleksandar Mitic & Jan ObergOn March 24, 2005 it was six years since NATO bombsto create peace began to fall.What peace is there today? What will there be tomorrow? PressInfo # 209, March 16, 2005Kosovo Solution Series # 1Why the solution in Kosovo matters to the worldExecutive summary of a series of PressInfos on Kosovo. Twelve reasons why it is important and a mini-analysis of the role of the international community in conflict-management. With a few words about the approach TFF has taken since it got on the ground in Kosovo as early as in 1992. PressInfo # 210, March 18, 2005Kosovo Solution Series # 2The media – strategic considerationsAn unbalance between Belgrade and the Kosovo Albanians in the means put into PR advocacy campaigns and lobbying efforts has led to a one-sided media war in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Serbs still lack a...

On March 24, 2005 it was six years since NATO bombsto create peace began to fall.What peace is there today? What will there be tomorrow PressInfo # 209, March 16, 2005Kosovo Solution Series # 1Why the solution in Kosovo matters to the worldExecutive summary of a series of PressInfos on Kosovo. Twelve reasons why it is important and a mini-analysis of the role of the international community in conflict-management. With a few words about the approach TFF has taken since it got on the ground in Kosovo as early as in 1992. PressInfo # 210, March 18, 2005Kosovo Solution Series # 2The media – strategic considerationsAn unbalance between Belgrade and the Kosovo Albanians in the means put into PR advocacy campaigns and lobbying efforts has led to a one-sided media war in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Serbs still lack a media strategy and, at least until very recently, a...