Kosovo - the next chapter

The tempestuous relationship between Serbia and Kosovo continued yesterday, as Serbia's parliament formally adopted a new constitution reasserting claims over the ethnic Albanian province. Possible independence was also ruled out, with preamble references to Kosovo as part of Serbia, despite its current status as a UN-protectorate and ongoing international negotiations over its future.

Kosovo's place in history was seared by the ethnic cleansing campaigns of 1998/99, and subsequent NATO bombing. Probably a pivotal moment for all three statesman/protagonists involved: Clinton, Milosevic and Blair. For Clinton, it was one final opportunity to define his "Doctrine", that of liberal interventionism and to make up for previous failings in Bosnia and Somalia. For Milosevic, it was the beginning of the end, indicted for war crimes soon after, he would be overthrown in September 2000. For Blair, the war marked his emergence as a leading global statesman, as well as further developing his belief in Clintonian liberal/humanitarian interventionism regardless of UN authority, a policy that peaked in the 2003 Iraq war.

Historic claims over Kosovo are central to Serb identity. The inception of Serb nationalism was in Kosovo; Serb religious and cultural tenets have emerged from the province. Kosovo had rested on the fringes of the Byzantine Empire, inhabited by Slavic and Illyrian peoples, until Serb Prince Stefan Nemanja seized parts of Kosovo in the 1180s. Serb Orthodox churches and monasteries developed in Kosovo throughout the next century, as Serbs became the majority over Albanians, in an economically important part of the Balkans. Ottoman pressure led to the Battle of Kosovo – a seminal moment for Serbia. The defeat of Prince Lazar in June 1389 by the Ottomans is often regarded as the birth date of Serb nationalism.

Fastforward exactly 600 years, and a Serbian nationalist politician Slobodan Milosevic makes a provocative and ultra-nationalistic speech, on his way to becoming Serbia's leader. Kosovo was not included in the 1995 Dayton Accords, and in the final chapter of 1990s Balkan wars, Serb security forces and the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) fought a guerrilla war resulting in 10,000 deaths and thousands displaced.

It's hard to say if this will be the final chapter, Kosovo's prime minister today announced that he might declare independence from Serbia unilaterally, if UN negotiations fail. Serbia will object, but they will ultimately have to accept, given the overbearing threat of NATO force. Serbia is a beautiful country with warm generous people and it would be tragic if another bloody chapter was to begin after these developments.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6202647,00.html
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-11-09T122728Z_01_BYT933611_RTRUKOC_0_UK-SERBIA-KOSOVO.xml&pageNumber=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage2