Make sure to read them all and the implications of the last bolded & italicized line on many places around the world...
Kosovo: Ahtisaari Plan Has 'Broad Support' On Security Council
Rosemary DiCarlo (file photo)
May 23, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- In March, a special UN envoy to Kosovo, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, presented a plan to the UN Security Council recommending granting supervised independence to the Serbian province, which has been administered by the UN since 1999. Ilirijana Bajo of RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Services spoke with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Rosemary DiCarlo about the plan's prospects in the Security Council.
RFE/RL: What are the chances that the [UN] Security Council will adopt the draft resolution on Kosovo's status based on Ahtisaari plan during the U.S. presidency of the Security Council, that is, during May?
"We support the plan that Ahtisaari has on the table, and the plan that Ahtisaari has on the table calls for a Kosovo within the administrative boundaries that we know now."
Rosemary DiCarlo: Let me just say that it our intention to try to have this resolution passed during our presidency. We are working toward that goal. We are very pleased that we have broad support within the council for [former] President Ahtisaari's plan. I think that members of the council appreciate very much the work that President Ahtisaari has done, his efforts to bridge the gap between the two parties. They also, I think, understand that he has come up with a very broad range of protections for Kosovo's Serbs, for minorities in Kosovo. I also think that the Security Council's visit to the region a few weeks ago was very important. It gave members an opportunity to see first hand the situation on the ground. And I think it became very clear to most of the members what President Ahtisaari has said, what UN envoy Kai Eide -- almost two years ago now -- said, which is that...the status quo is not sustainable.
RFE/RL: But Russia continues to oppose supervised independence for Kosovo as it is proposed in the Ahtisaari plan. What are the compromises that the United States and the international community are prepared to make with Russia to avoid Moscow's veto on this issue?
DiCarlo: We are discussing with representatives of the Russian Federation -- as we are discussing with other members of the Security Council -- President Ahtisaari's plan and how to move forward. We have differences of opinion with Russia -- that's very clear -- but we continue to discuss the issue and we hope, indeed, for all of us to be in agreement. Russia has been part of the Contact Group for a long time. We have worked very well with Russia in the Contact Group. Russia was engaged in many of the discussions that President Ahtisaari had with Belgrade and Pristina officials. And I think Russia shares our view in wanting a stable and secure Balkan region -- one that is on its way to the European Union.
RFE/RL: But Russia is insisting that the draft resolution is unacceptable and it is insisting on continuing talks between Pristina and Belgrade. Do you have any thoughts on this? Do you agree with the idea of continuing the talks?
DiCarlo: I think our view is that we have had extensive talks. We have had extensive talks in the last 15 months and longer. The parties have put their ideas on the table. I think that we have reached as many compromises as we can in that particular forum. We do not think that delay is going to bring the parties together, that continued talks on this issue will bring them closer together. Therefore, we think it is time now for the international community to act.
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Kosovo's complicated precedent
By Ioannis Michaletos
The well-known American journalist and writer, Robert Kaplan, during his visits in the Balkans in the late 80’s and early 90’s, had grasped the importance of Kosovo as a focal point of the Balkans and as a potential hot-spot for the region. In his book, “The ghosts of the Balkans”, he described the ongoing trouble in Kosovo, as well as, the complexities involved in trying to address the situation. Since the era of the Ottoman conquest and the historic battle of Kosovo in 1389, this land galvanized generation upon generation of Serbians and operated as a stimulus for the national psyche of the Serbian nation, towards independence and freedom from foreign oppression.
Moreover the ascendance to power by Milosevic was greatly assisted by the urban guerilla warfare led by Kosovo-Albanians that has as a result to enact a state of nationalistic assertiveness by the Serbian side that was already under strain due to the anti-Serbian agenda of “Marshal Tito”. The infamous speech by Slobodan Milosevic in “Kosovo Polje” in 1989 had as a root the organized plan by guerilla groups of Albanian descent, to overthrow the Serbian population and create a monolithic state, an aim being feverously sought after the 1999 war and the subsequent expulsion of hundreds of thousands Serbians and members of other nationalities.
Nowadays the Ahtisaari plan sets a framework by which Kosovo would come under the regime of “Supervised independence” without excluding a typical declaration of independence in the near future. As any reasonable individual, especially anyone acquainted with the complexities of international relations and security; a secession of province from any sovereign state –And up to the size of 15% of the state’s territory as in the case of Serbia” would create an instable social and political climate in the whole of the Balkans region that is composed by minorities scattered across its land. Furthermore it will set a precedent for similar occasions in the future, in Europe and beyond. A real probability would be the reaction of the Arab-Muslim world to request the same from Israel that has similar demographic imbalances in its territory and of course a long-standing conflict with the Palestinian population. Moreover it is imaginable to think of the USA reaction in case Hispanic-American countries make similar claims for the Southern US states that have an expanding Hispanic population and were originally populated and administered by the Spanish Empire and later on by Mexico. On overall a tremendous obstacle for independence is the reality of setting a precedent for the international law that functions on a common law basis and does not have the rigid structure of the penal law. Once the decision is taken and signed upon by the United Nations Security Council; all scenarios for similar aims being sought by the countless minorities worldwide are imminent and completely in the name and the spirit of a probable Kosovo independence.
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Kosovo and external elements: Caucasus and the Turkish connections
By Ioannis Michaletos
Kosovo issue has attracted attention from powers outside the Balkans and independent or not, it will be considered as a region where a multitude of countries will try to either influence or gain from it in indirect mode.
Firstly the Russian side has skillfully rejected any plans for independence, whilst at the same time presses for its plans in the Caucasus area. In simple terms, if Kosovo becomes independent, Russia would not feel obliged to follow international law any more and proceed in dismembering Georgia and establishing fully its role in one of the most strategic areas of the world, from where energy routes trespass. The blow will be severe for the interests of NATO that has a strategic aim of securing a presence in Georgia, as well as, the interests of the Western oil corporations that invested heavily in the pipelines and energy projects in the Caspian Sea Basin. Any alteration on the current status will further empower Kremlin and render Western ability in influencing Central Asian politics.
Apart from the above, the Russian stance is rigidly following the norms of the international law, as it has been enforced since the end of World War Two. An independence proclamation by Kosovo will constitute a Carte Blanche for any minority nation in the world to proceed accordingly, thus erupting conflicts across the globe. Actually over the past few weeks, the issue of Western Sahara is being discussed in the United Nations Security Council, where USA refuses the plight of the indigenous citizens, in favor of the Moroccan state; a staunch ally in the Arab world nowadays. Russia from its side, claims the same, therefore relies in the adherence of the international law and produces the aura of a state following the principles of the civilized world. Moreover as the National Interest Online mentions “Russia, at present, can make a claim of consistency in its position—that it supports the territorial integrity of states as its guiding principle in these issues”.
The immediate plans of Moscow have predominantly in mind the Caucasus region, and there is below a synopsis of the existing situation and the possible outcome of a Kosovo independence move.
Abkhazia, Osetia, Nagorno-Karabakh are three disputed regions that are mostly populated by Russian-leaning populations seeking to break away from the states of Georgia and Azerbaijan and according to the Russian side, they have the exact same concern for the international community, as the Kosovo area. President Putin has stated that in the event of a Kosovo independence move, and then these three disputed regions could follow the same path. The Russian foreign policy has clearly understood how to use a pressure level against the West in order to gain as much as possible in what most pundits call “The Great Game”, which in essence is the control and influence over the oil rich and strategically vital area stretching from the Black Sea and into the heartland of Central Asia.
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Pertinent Links:
1) Kosovo: Ahtisaari Plan Has 'Broad Support' On Security Council
2) Kosovo's complicated precedent
3) Kosovo and external elements: Caucasus and the Turkish connections
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