Dielli | The Sun

Albanian American Newspaper Devoted to the Intellectual and Cultural Advancement of the Albanians in America | Since 1909

Kosovo-Toward True Independence

by

By Alon Ben-Meir- September 24, 2020-Kosovo became the youngest country in Europe when it declared independence in 2008. Sadly though, Kosovo continues to suffer from mounting problems, including a lack of experience in governing, rampant corruption (especially at the top echelons of the national government), dislocation of human and natural resources, bitter political rivalries, and undue influence by foreign powers. Although these problems and others have impeded Kosovo’s progress, the country has tremendous potential if it only mobilizes its human and material resources and establishes a cohesive national agenda aimed at addressing its woes and unraveling the web of problems that have plagued the country from its inception.
As a young country, it is expected that many of the following problems would occur. But given its youth and being that its very existence is still contested, Kosovo must focus on addressing its national shortcomings to enable it to stand on its feet and cement its independence while growing and prospering.
Weeding out corruption: There is nothing more debilitating to the country than widespread corruption and organized crime, which have infected much of the government as well as the private sector. Kosovo ranks low—101—on Transparency International’s 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index listing 180 countries from least to most corrupt.
Whether appointing cronies unqualified to government posts, cutting corners in businesses, wantonly spending government funds, compromising national interest for personal financial benefit, making unsavory deals with foreign entities, and squandering money on projects for political favors, all severely limit Kosovo’s progress and undermine its standing in the eyes of the international community. Weeding out corruption is a must, especially if the country wants to attract foreign investment and financial assistance, which are critical for its flagging economy.
Strengthening democracy: Central to its future wellbeing and eligibility for EU accession, Kosovo must adhere to the democratic principles on which it was founded and strengthen its democratic institutions. Moreover, since Kosovo had successive governments characterized by fragile, dysfunctional, and weak coalitions, it must now focus on repairing its mismanagement by being transparent and accountable and scrutinize scandalous decisions by leaders. It must also allow for independent oversight bodies and the enforcement of the rule of law, as progress on improving human rights protections was slow in recent years according to Human Rights Watch.
Despite Kosovo’s comprehensive legal framework for the independent media sector, little progress was made in implementing this framework in practice. In the first eight months of 2018, the Association of Journalists of Kosovo documented 13 cases of threats and violence against journalists. A free media, speech, assembly, and peaceful protest must be treated as sacrosanct as they are the pillars on which democracy thrives or dies. Moreover, the government must ensure individual freedoms in all walks of life, protect minorities and vulnerable groups, and safeguard human rights and equality before the law.
Mobilizing human resources: Kosovo is one of the continent’s poorest and youngest countries. Unemployment is almost 30 percent, disproportionately affecting the young. Kosovo’s treasure of young people—53 percent of the population is under the age of 25—have futures in limbo due to the limited opportunities to grow and prosper professionally.
Many young adults with university degrees who could become significant contributors to the building, growth, and prosperity of the nation end up leaving the country for better job opportunities. This brain drain is the biggest loss for the country. The government must plan and institute national programs to provide a better future for the young who would otherwise be gone permanently.

Investing in sustainable development: Sustainable development projects involving community input-be that land development, afforestation, collective produce and animal farming, and manufacturing of house-hold products—will be a critical national program. These projects will provide thousands of young professionals the opportunity to work closely with their communities, use their skills, and develop a sense of belonging as well as a vested interest in the development of their projects. This will help improve living standards in rural communities, increase competitiveness in agriculture, and allow the young to develop skills to the benefit of all.
For example, $2 million will achieve profoundly impactful community projects in water management (drinking and irrigation) and school infrastructure, women’s cooperatives and adult education, food security and unalienating production, and enterprises based on local capacities and self-described goals. Kosovo represents a real opportunity for widescale poverty alleviation and sustainability driven by people-powered change. However, it requires investment in strengthening people’s skills in local community planning of life-enhancing initiatives and managing participatory movements for development and social change.
Reforming and expanding education: No country can harness its human resources unless it makes education at all levels a priority. Investing in education is the best investment and most profitable in the long-term. In Kosovo, education is lagging behind.

The government must spare no effort in making education available. Although elementary and high school education is compulsory, the government investment should focus on the quality of education and by giving priority to the sciences and technology. Undergraduate and graduate students should be able to earn their degrees free of charge provided that they commit to perform a community service (such as firefighting, disaster relief, and community elder care) for the same number of years as their schooling years.

Restructuring the energy sector: Kosovo needs to embark on a national program that reforms the energy sector by focusing first on renewable energy sources, harnessing in particular solar and wind while tackling major environmental and health problem which are badly affecting the country.
Since Kosovo aspires to become an EU member state and wants to become energy independent, it should not invite Turkish energy companies to explore its vast reservoir of energy as Turkey wants to control the energy sector. Instead, Kosovo should work in partnership with European and Israeli energy companies to guarantee sovereign control over its energy resources while ensuring a reliable energy supply.
Preventing undue influence by foreign powers: Whereas Kosovo needs to work with and establish good neighborly relations with other countries, it must remain vigilant against undue influence by foreign powers, especially Erdogan’s Turkey. Ankara has its own geostrategic agendas, often contrary to Kosovo’s national interests.
Turkey views Kosovo as a province of its would-be neo-Ottoman Empire, and Erdogan’s investments in mosques and major national projects, including Kosovo’s airport and energy distribution network, are controlled by Turkish companies designed solely to keep Kosovo in Turkey’s influence. Yes, Kosovo needs foreign investments, but it must never accept any investments from foreign governments that compromise its independence.
Russia, on the other hand, has used its veto power at the UNSC against recognizing Kosovo. Putin’s aim in this regard is to isolate Serbia from Europe and bring it into Moscow’s orbit: as long as Serbia does not recognize Kosovo, neither country will be eligible for EU membership, as the EU made mutual recognition a pre-condition to their integration.
Expanding the technological sector: Given the rapid development of digital technology, Kosovo has an unprecedented opportunity to further advance in this area, especially now that Israel has recognized Kosovo. Israel, being the world leader in this field, can assist Kosovo in the development of its technological industry without any strings attached.
There are several IT startups in Kosovo who began at the Innovation Center Kosovo (ICK), a high-tech complex whose mission is to create jobs and business opportunities “in Kosovo’s IT and ‘green energy’ sectors through innovation, entrepreneurship and investment.” Indeed, partly due to ICK, Kosovo enjoys thriving IT startups; it can emulate Israel and become the IT hub of the Balkans.
Certainly, many of these programs and initiatives require significant funding. While the EU, the US, the World Bank, and the IMF will continue to assist financially and provide long-term loans, it is essential that Kosovo harnesses its own natural resources, especially in the energy sector. This would give Kosovo over a period of five years the funding it needs to invest wisely and provide job opportunities for tens of thousands of people, especially the young.
Thousands of Kosovar Albanians have sacrificed their lives to see Kosovo rise from the ashes of war. They bequeathed the country to this generation who must honor their sacrifices and never again allow a foreign power to impede their march toward a real democracy. They must stand tall and strong because it is only from that position of strength and vigilance Kosovo will march confidently toward true independence.

Serbia-Kosovo Agreement Falls Far Short Of Ending Their Conflict

by

By Alon Ben-Meir-

The recent agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, brokered by the US, to normalize economic relations between the two countries fell short of the needed reconciliation process that would lead to full recognition of Kosovo’s independence by Serbia. Some elements of the economic normalization agreement are positive, including operationalizing the peace highway and the rail link between Pristina and Merdare, sharing Gazivode/Ujmani Lake and exploring its use as a reliable water and energy supply, and receiving financial support from the US International Development Finance Corporation and Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) for the above. These and other projects will create job opportunities for several thousand Kosovars and alleviate some of the economic hardship in the country.
Sadly, the agreement will prove to be superficial not only because it does not require Serbia to recognize Kosovo at one point in the future, but it does not even commit Serbia to renounce, once and for all, its illegitimate de-recognition campaign against Kosovo. The fact that Serbia agreed to “refrain from formally or informally requesting any nation or International Organization not to recognize Kosovo [Pristina] as an independent state” amounts to no more than lip service. Belgrade knows that Russia will veto any UNSC resolution to recognize Kosovo, which is the most important international body.
What is also disturbing is that there are a number of side-shows in the agreement designed to boost Trump’s standing in his struggle for reelection that have little or nothing to do with the Serbia-Kosovo conflict. This includes mutual Israeli-Kosovo recognition, which requires Pristina to open its embassy in Jerusalem, to which the EU sternly opposes, and agreeing to designate Hezbollah as terrorist organization. Furthermore, apart from these sidebars, there isn’t anything in the agreement that wasn’t already in the works or fully agreed to prior to US involvement. Finally, the agreement is not a treaty; either country can walk away from it without any penalty.
Customarily, Trump is fixated on economic development as if it were a panacea that can resolve all conflicts, irrespective of history, the psychological dimension (which continues to haunt Kosovo in particular), and the prevailing adversarial political environment they have been living with and continue to embrace. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict offers one example. At an economic summit in Bahrain, it was agreed that the Palestinians would be provided with a massive economic package as a part of the process to lead to peace; however, it fell flat on its face as it ignored past and current economic relations between the two sides, and did nothing to resolve their conflict.
The conflict between Serbia and Kosovo is deeply imbedded in their psyche, and as long as historic reconciliation is absent, no amount of economic normalization will mitigate deep-seeded distrust and their fundamental demands. To end the conflict there indeed must be a process of reconciliation, and economic normalization is only one of several prerequisites for such a process to succeed.
The process of reconciliation, however, must be anchored on Serbia’s permanent renunciation of its de-recognition campaign against Kosovo. To simply suspend such a campaign for a year, as stipulated in the agreement, demonstrates Serbia’s lack of commitment to recognize Kosovo now or at any time in the future.
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hoti made a terrible mistake by not making this requirement a prerequisite to any agreement with Serbia. Indeed, what is the point of developing economic relations when Serbia can after one year resume its de-recognition campaign? Hoti’s failure to insist that on this requirement makes a mockery of the whole agreement, which benefits Serbia economically without requiring it to make the commitment (central to reconciliation and building trust) to end its sinister campaign. Economic normalization should be treated only as a first step in a process of reconciliation, which must be based on the following to lead to mutual recognition:

First: People and goods should be allowed to move freely across the border in both directions to increase people-to-people interactions, which will gradually help heal wounds and nurture mutual trust. Serbians who have habitually looked down on Kosovar Albanians need to reorient themselves to the new realty. Equal treatment of their neighbors is central to reconciliation, especially because Serbia is larger, more affluent, and superior to Kosovo militarily. Kosovo cannot negotiate from a position of weakness and make any significant concessions without public outrage.

Second: A free trade agreement is vital not only to expand and improve relations from which both sides can greatly benefit, but to maximize efficiency and production of items uniquely designed for export to the other. Moreover, without tariffs on all imported goods, they would become more affordable and receive greater demand. The imposition of a 100 percent tariff on Serbian goods imported to Kosovo, which has since been lifted, offers an abject experience from which both countries should draw an instructive lesson.

Third: Serbia must admit to and accept responsibility for the war crimes it committed against Kosovo during the war in 1999. Without such an admission, no economic normalization or any other interaction on any socio-political levels can be sustained. Serbian atrocities and the horror Kosovar Albanians endured during the war will not fade away simply because of economic normalization. Serbia should borrow a page from Germany. Had Germany not admitted to the crimes against humanity it committed during World War II, it would have never been able to move past the horrifying, historic stain, let alone integrate into the European community and become one of the top leaders of the EU.

Fourth: EU observers must be involved in the process of “locat[ing] and identify[ing] the remains of missing persons…and identifying and implementing long-term, durable solutions for refugees and internally displaced persons” as stipulated by the agreement to ensure that this lingering and painful residue of the war is addressed, which is essential to reconciliation. Serbia has been reticent in this regard in the past, fearing that the uncovering of mass graves would provide further proof that it in fact committed war crimes on a large scale. Oversight is necessary to ensure the past is uncovered and wounds can begin to heal.

Fifth: Following this process, Serbia must commit to recognize Kosovo as an independent state within three to four years, during which many of the conflicting issues should be resolved through direct negotiations. When deadlocked, the EU would mediate any disagreement, especially because both countries want to integrate into the EU. Ending their conflict with the EU’s input would help facilitate an agreement, which is a precondition to integration.

In the final analysis, Serbia must accept the irreversible reality of Kosovo as an independent state and that there is nothing it can do to change that reality. Over 110 countries have recognized Kosovo, including the US and a majority of EU member states. It is time for Belgrade to stop dreaming about Kosovo as if it still is or can be restored as one of its provinces.

Serbia, just like Kosovo however, knows well that its future security and prosperity lay with the EU. Entering into good-faith negotiations to settle their conflicts with the objective of reaching mutual recognition will open up a new horizon for both countries, where they can grow and flourish and give the new generation a hopeful future instead of remaining enslaved by the past.