After New Violence, Serbs Want Kosovo Divided

by Vesna Peric Zimonjic

(IPS) BELGRADE -- Serbs, who fought to prevent the break-up of Yugoslavia, their former homeland, are now seeking another division of what remains.

In the southern province of Kosovo they are making an inventory of their homes and their medieval churches and monasteries destroyed by ethnic Albanians two weeks ago and vow they will stay in Kosovo, even though personal security is poor and promises of a better life are vague.

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica told parliament last week that "a multi-ethnic paradise in Kosovo is a utopia." Territorial autonomy, he said, "remains the only way to ensure peaceful co-existence between Serbs and Albanians."

According to the plan for the division of Kosovo, to be called "autonomy," Kosovo would be divided into Serb and Albanian parts. Serbs would have five municipalities where they ethnically prevail.

EU officials rejected the plan when Kostunica visited Brussels last week, but it is gaining popularity within Serbia. The backing for such a plan comes mostly from local media.

"It is our duty to stay," Oliver Ivanovic, one of the leaders of Kosovo Serbs, told Belgrade media at a press conference. "Leaving our homes would mean the end of our community and our history. A mass exodus will not happen."

Kosovo, administratively a part of Serbia, has been run by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and an interim government implanted by NATO in 1999.

Two weeks ago, 28 people, mostly Serbs, were killed in a wave of violence against Serbs in Kosovo. About 3,600 were evacuated to the Kosovo Forces (KFOR) international peacekeepers bases and to the north where there is a relatively large Serb population.

European Union (EU) high representative for its common foreign and security policy Javier Solana and commissioner for external relations Chris Patten called for immediate aid to the affected Serbs following a visit to the province last week. The Kosovo parliament responded by allocating five million dollars for the affected Serbs.

UNMIK said that more than 300 Serb homes were torched by Albanian mobs, together with 30 Serbian Orthodox Churches and monasteries. Albanians are Muslims, while Serbs are of the Orthodox Christian faith.

President of Serbia and Montenegro Svetozar Marovic appealed to the United Nations Culture and Science Organization (UNESCO) to help "defend the cultural heritage of Europe" in Kosovo. Some of the churches and monasteries dating back to 14th century are listed by UNESCO as precious European monuments.

As the so-called cradle of the medieval Serbian state, Kosovo wears a historic look. Besides monasteries and churches, even small villages have a number of chapels decorated by 14th century Byzantine artists. They survived Turkish rule that lasted for more than 500 years. Kosovo was returned to Serbia after the defeat of the Turks in the First World War.

UNMIK and an 18,500-strong KFOR entered Kosovo in 1999 after 11 weeks of U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bombing against Serbia. The air campaign was launched to end a crackdown on an armed uprising by some of the two million ethnic Albanians by former Serb president Slobodan Milosevic. He was driven from power in 2000 in a U.S.-orchestrated coup.

The UNMIK mandate under Resolution 1244 of the United Nations (UN) Security Council was to restore the multiethnic society in Kosovo. But attacks and sabotage by vengeful Albanians led to an exodus of some 200,000 Serbs. Only 80,000 stayed on in dangerous circumstances.

The UN resolution does not include the key demand of ethnic Albanians -- independence from Serbia. On the other hand, Serbia is using the failure of international efforts to keep peace to demand the partition of Kosovo.

This is leading to an atmosphere similar to the one preceding the wars Milosevic fought in Croatia and Bosnia in the 1990s, claiming to protect the Serbs living there.

More than 200,000 people were killed in those wars, most of them non-Serbs. The wars led to more than 700,000 Serb refugees being driven to Serbia proper by 1995.

The difference now is that Kostunica says the solution in Kosovo "must be a political one" rather than through a call to arms.

"The idea is to follow the model of Cyprus," historian Aleksandar Fatic told IPS. Cyprus was divided into Turk and Greek parts three decades ago after a Turkish invasion. The UN and the EU are now trying to reunite the island.

"One can imagine a more modern solution," international law expert Vojin Dimitrijevic told IPS. "It could resemble the solution for Bosnia-Herzegovina," he added. The country was divided into two parts, one for Serbs and the other for Muslims and Croats by the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995.

Prominent journalist Veton Surroi, a rare ethnic Albanian who can communicate with the Serbian public, told Belgrade media that "the violence against Serbs was a serious blow" to any efforts for multiethnic Kosovo. "It is obvious that the time will come when a kind of decentralization will become necessary," he said.

Decentralization would mean broader autonomy for Serbs in the province. International officials find "decentralization' a less dangerous term than "separation" or "territorial autonomy."

But Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova, a figurehead who has little power, has rejected any idea of territorial autonomy or the creation of Serb entities in the province.

"Any administrative organization is an internal matter for the Kosovo authorities...and can only be considered after recognition of Kosovo's independence in unchanged borders," Rugova said in a statement last weekend.

Analyst Ivan Torov says the situation has reached stalemate. "Subtle diplomacy is needed, but it looks like both sides are dug deep in their trenches. We're having a crisis around Kosovo only five years after the international community thought it was over."