Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Spahiu: Two key challenges of Kosovo’s negotiating team

Koha Ditore carries an opinion piece by Nexhmedin Spahiu, political analyst and director of RTV Mitrovica. In the subheader of his article, Spahiu suggests that President Rugova should appoint Slavisa Petkovic and Oliver Ivanovic alongside Daci, Kosumi, Thaçi and Surroi in the negotiating team.

According to Spahiu, there are two key challenges for Kosovo’s negotiating team: a) the character of talks and b) the ability to discredit Belgrade’s formulas in the eyes of the international community.

The core of the issue, Spahiu says, is whether talks will be characterised as talks between Albanians, internationals and Serbs or talks between Kosovo, the international community and Serbia. “If talks are held according to the first version, the likeliest epilogue is Kosovo’s division along ethnic lines. And if talks start between Kosovo, the international community and Serbia, the likeliest epilogue is the international recognition of the state of Kosovo. But in order to have a desirable instead of an undesirable effect, the approach should be right from the very start. If Rugova found it reasonable for him, Daci, Kosumi, Thaçi and Surroi to be in the team, then given the current circumstances Oliver Ivanovic and Slavisa Petkovic should also have been included,” says Spahiu. He says it is better late than never and adds that Rugova should expand your team from 5 to 7 members.

Spahiu says that Serbian President’s formula “Kosovo – more than autonomy, less than independence” and the explanation that “the Serbian state shall not interfere in the political life of Kosovo Albanians”, seems very attractive for the international community.

Spahiu says that discrediting this formula is easy but it requires concrete steps that start with the appointment of the negotiating team and are then followed by other steps. “Tadic’s formula implies the strangling of Kosovo. This approach keeps tensions alive between Albanians and Serbs. If Kosovo is strangled, the first to suffer will be the minorities, and primarily the minority that hostile relations with the majority,” he adds.

To conclude, Spahiu says that the political duel is similar to a boxing match, “who makes the wrong moves, suffers”. “The political spectrum in Kosovo seems to alternate between the wrong steps and making no step at all. In this case, victory stands only a theoretical chance, if the opponent hits himself as it often happens in the Balkans,” Spahiu concludes.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is where the albanians shoot themselves in the foot. There is no way in hell that the current members of the negotiating team will allow any serb to be a part of it.

Anonymous said...

Spahiu's request seems reasonable at first glance. But how can you include on your team Ivanovic (I don't know if Minister Petkovic has a stand on the final status), who simply doesn't believe in the indepedence of Kosova.
I guess you would invite him to the team just to make a political point to the internationals. But knowing that he has a very different goal within the team, and would be overruled on it by the Albanian majority, he just doesn't stand a chance of achieving his goals through the Albanian side. Which brings us back to him refusing to participate and "another standard completed" by Kosova.
But Spahius general view is correct: K-Serbs will be affected by this and if there is any Serb willing to represent their rights within Kosova through the K-official representation, then President Rugova should accomodate them.

Anonymous said...

It wont happen, because the albanians and the Serbs have different objectives. The albanians will feel threatened by having a serb on there negotiating team who might sabotage their negotiations.

Anonymous said...

Prediction:

In case Kosova gets granted independence, majority of serbs leave for Serbia and add another day to commemorate in their struggle for Kosova.

Anonymous said...

Let's look at it logically. The UN has invested a lot of time and money into Kosovo. Democracy Building and all that. The UN is not going to allow Kosovo to be partitioned. They are going to make sure Kosovo is independent. Anything less would be an admission of failure on the part of the UN. Let's recognize who is really going to be calling the shots here.

Anonymous said...

March 17th was the proof that the UN has failed in Kosovo.

Anonymous said...

"This is where the albanians shoot themselves in the foot. There is no way in hell that the current members of the negotiating team will allow any serb to be a part of it."

Of course not. The albanian leadership as well as the majority of it's citizens want an ethnically pure Kosovo. The past 6 years has shown this to be fact much to the shame of albanians.

Anonymous said...

The past 6 years have shown that a fledgling democracy supervised by the international community is a hundreed times better than the Serb colonialism since the later has plagued the Balkans by victimizing millions of people in 10 years through wars that sought the fullfillment of Fascist project- Great Serbia; under which each of the suffering nations would remain inferior and subjected to abuse.

Anonymous said...

Ah yes, the "greater serbia" myth. Sorry, the international community fears the 'greater albania' drive more.

Anonymous said...

How could you call it "greater Albania" when we have no lands to steal but our own?
Plus "Greater Serbia" has been in use since the time of Ilija Garašanin, minister of internal affairs of Serbia in 1844, who called the policy “Nacertanija”.

Anonymous said...

...And then the paln in 1937 which called for the expulsion and the anihilation of all Albanians.
...And then Seselj's plan in 1997 which called for the anihilation and expulsion of Albanians.
This is not something new. The Colonialist dream of Serbia has continued to exist for centuries and the only way for them to achieve it is by the elimination of the Albanian nation.
However these $hitheads documnet this plans so the whole world is able to see that the wars Serbia has started are based on well planned projects of total ethnical cleansing.

Anonymous said...

Correction: Sesejl published his plan in 1995 when he was a government Official.

Anonymous said...

were your theory true, it would have happened and you would be living in one of those little mushrooms that Enver built all across your native land.

Anonymous said...

Your hero and ally of Hitler, Bedri Pejani, the Muslim leader of the Albanian National committee, called for the extermination of Ortodox Serbian Cristians in Kosovo Metohija and for a union of a Greater Albania with Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Rashka (Sandzak) region of Serbia, into a great Islamic state. So what is your point? That Albanians are victims? The world is too hip to that crap these days.

Anonymous said...

It didn't happen because thirst for blood often leads to failure, as in the case of Serbs, Soviets, Nazis and Kamer Rouge.

The reason those mushrooms (bunkers) were built all over Albania was because the threat from Serbia in the north was real (a fact that they took Kosova).

Either way, fascism fails always, and the will of the peace loving people wins. Kosova is an independent country. See you in Brussels.

Anonymous said...

See us in Brussels, if kosovo does gain independence it will not get into the EU in our lifetime.

Anonymous said...

"See us in Brussels, if kosovo does gain independence it will not get into the EU in our lifetime."

If it doesnt get into the EU, then we have to work harder. Do you want to get into the EU? Then work harder.

Anonymous said...

"See us in Brussels, if kosovo does gain independence it will not get into the EU in our lifetime."

Ethnic Albanians response:

"If Kosova doesn't get into EU by negotiation then by war."

Anonymous said...

Serb response- Ethnically clean the EU countries to join the EU.

Anonymous said...

EU response to Serbia - try genocide first and if that's doesn't work then we'll award you with the membership for backing off. this idea of awards for giving up the conquered lands chips makes me worry for the future of the Balkans. just think about it, what is Macedonia, Albania, Romania and Bulgaria thinking now. after all, looks like it doesn't matter whether you behave or not.
and Croatia is probably thinking now, "damn we should have gone all the way to the border of Serbia and let go about half of it in exchange for fast track membership, with the rest of Bosnia as a prize".

:(

Anonymous said...

The Serbs and Macedonians only want what is theirs. Where as the ethnic albanian guests are trying to steal other peoples property (OPP).

Anonymous said...

How can it be yours when slavs are fresh off the boat imigrants in the Balkans. I can date my dog's family origin to the time right before the slavs started showing up in the Balkans.

Anonymous said...

According to international law which the US and Western Europe follow, Kosovo and Metohija is legally part of Serbia. Now as far as you dating your dog goes that is your business.

Anonymous said...

According to my latest info that's still to be decided.

How come Serbs call Kosova---> Kosovo and dont call Serbia -----> Serbio.