PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro, May 15, 2006 (AFP) -
Kosovo's prime minister appealed Monday for calm among his fellow ethnic Albanians after a series of attacks against minority Serbs in the disputed province's tense north.
"We have to make the first step today, to conquer ... the fear that Serbs who live here represent a danger for us," Agim Ceku said in a radio address.
"They do not. Reducing this fear is the foundation for creating reciprocal trust and feelings of confidence."
Ceku's statement came the week after a spate of attacks against Serbs, including two men who were shot and seriously wounded while working at a petrol station in the northern part of the province.
Following the shooting on Thursday, a Serbian Orthodox Church was damaged in a nearby area and a UN-marked bus carrying Serbs to the divided northern town of Kosovska Mitrovica was stoned.
The Kosovo prime minister's appeal is seen by observers as recognition that the incidents were putting at risk UN-backed talks on the future status of Kosovo.
It is the first of its kind by politicians representing either of the two ethnic groups.
Since Kosovo's 1998-99 conflict, some 200,000 Serbs have fled the province fearing reprisals by Albanian extremists, while the remaining 100,000 live in fear for their lives and property.
Ethnic Albanians, who make up about 90 percent of Kosovo's population of around two million, hope the UN-sponsored talks will lead to its independence from Serbia.
However, in his radio address on Monday, Ceku told his fellow citizens that everyone must be treated equally for there to be "freedom".
"Denying the chance of accepting diversity is a sign of the collective unfitness to walk in accordance with time and overcome challenges of the world around you," he said.
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2 comments:
Lets not get too carried away. Talk is easy but much more important than words are actions.
dimtuc I think you know why Serbs hate Ceku. Its obvious. A warlord who conducted military operations on more than one occasion against Serbs. Be reasonable, Im sure that any people would be highly suspicious of a person who fought against them twice, for different sides. It kind of at least looks like you dont like that people very much doesnt it? And now he wants to rule over them? I know how I'd feel about that or how you would feel if the positions were reversed.
As if that isnt enough he's also been accused of war crimes.
Perhaps he will be a good Kosovo Albanian leader but he will have to do much more to show that he's capable of representing the interests of those in Kosovo, other than Albanians.
dimtuc I agree some of what you wrote referring to Kristian.
I have studied Milosevic and his form of governance closely. The fact is that the man wasnt capable of solving the Kosovo problem.
And not only was he not capable, funamentally he believed that the Serbian people were also incapable of accepting a compromise solution on Kosovo. And after he abused the Kosovo issue in the early 90's he was afraid of being seen as a sell out. Think of it, he raised the tempo, did nothing and then realised he had trapped himself into a corner.
Most importantly of all, he was terrified of losing elections.
But I would dispute his cynicism and lack of courage, generally and on the Kosovo issue.
With his control of the media he could have reached some kind of compromise with the Kosovo Albanians during the 90's (before KLA, because after that it really would be difficult to 'sell' any deal to the Serbian people).
Throughout the 1990's Milosevic made mistake after mistake in his policies and yes Rmbt forced him into a corner and was something other states would not be able to sign. But if Milosevic had made real efforts * to solve the Kosovo problem I cant help but wonder if things would be different and better than they are now.
* Bear in mind the role of Ratomir Tanic who some have dismissed as a nobody.
I watched all his testimony at the Hague and his 'unofficial' missions to Kosovo in the 1990's are in line with Milosevic policy. He did use men like Tanic to conduct conversations with Kosovo Albanians far behind the scenes of the Serbian and Kosovo Albanian media.
How much of Tanics testimony is true or exaggerated is another matter.
dim tuc thanks, you make a number of points and present them in a balanced way. I like that.
Your two observations I'd just like to add a couple of comments to. Theres no question that any of the Balkans (or lets face it leaders in the West too) are angels. But I truly dont like the idea of a militaryman (or to put it another way a killer) as having political functions, let alone leading a country / region / people...
That bothers me deeply and I would be very concerned indeed if a warlord became PM or President of Serbia. Maybe its hypocritical, after all maybe a non military politician could have also inspired (or ordered) paramilitaries to murder civilians too. But I cant get past it. A civilian should represent a country not a warlord or militaryman.
I dont know about Cekus motivations for being a mercenary (again this sounds emotive but think its factually accurate to describe him as such in this case) for Croatia. Did he do it for money or perhaps he doesnt like Serbs too much? I dont know but it seems over the top to expect (especially in the current environment) that Ceku will inspire trust in Serbs. Quite the opposite. You can imagine the groans of Kosovo Serbs, almost their vindication that his appointment shows how (un)serious Kosovo Albanians are in seeking an agreement with Kosovo Serbs.
Yes it, his appointment, is a fact and Im all for dealing with reality. Im not one of those that ever thought that if you shut your eyes that everybody goes away.
So, I suppose that he will need to go a long way in reasuring Kosovo Serbs, some of whom are never likely to trutst him. If he truly is well intentioned then on the one hand one can blame the Kosovo Serbs for being obstructionist but on the other blame the Kosovo Albanians for putting him in that position in the first place and kind of expecting (or dont care whether) the Kosovo Serbs trust him.
But ok lets see what his actions will be and or if its a case of him just going through the motions to please the internationals. In which case he will be well placed in his political career.
Im never certain which is worse in a politician an ideologue or pragmatist. Remember the master pragmatist in this region was one Slobodan Milosevic. At least with a ideologue you know where he is coming from. A pragmatist might have no morals whatever.
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