Parallels Abound
When the Ottoman empire was spreading itself far and wide in the near East and sprawled into eastern Europe in the 14th century, Serbs were driven out of Kosovo, the invaders destroyed churches and Orthodox Christian holy places, many of which were converted to mosques. Almost a half-million Christian Serbs who had refused to turn to Islam fled the area after an 'cleansing' effort before the turn of the 20th century, leaving behind an ethnic Albanian majority.The tide turned in favour of the Serbs when the Ottoman Empire began its long decline and Kosovo returned to Serb rule a scant two decades later, becoming a province of Serbia within the federal Republic of Yugoslavia at the conclusion of the Second World War. The majority of the Kosovo population is ethnic Albanian today, with about 1.2 million, while a mere 175,000 Serbs remain after the upheavals which resulted when Slobodan Milosevic, former president of the Yugoslav Republic, sent his troops into Kosovo, where Muslim Albanians were slaughtered in a bloody theatre of war.
Just as the Ottomans a century earlier had 'cleansed' Kosovo of Serbs, Milosovec and his armed forces planned to 'cleanse' Kosovo of its historic Albanian-speaking population. Serbia considers the region to be the ancient centre of the Serbian nation, the Serbian Orthodox Christian Church; their sacred historical homeland.
Prior to the invasion of the Serb army under Milosovec ethnic Albanians and Serbs had lived side by side in peace in the province, as communal neighbours. Post-conflict (the Serb forces had killed ten thousand Albanian civilians), there was a demand for independence and closer ties with Albania; ethnic Albanians could no longer conceive of living under Serbian rule.
Only the intervention of an allied NATO force and a bombing campaign saved the situation from comlete deterioration in 1999, forcing Serb troops to withdraw. Now the United Nations which has been the administrator of the province since withdrawal, has accepted a plan yet to be approved by the UN Security Council that will ensure the Albanian majority in Kosovo will be viewed internationally as a semi-autonomous state with independence likely to follow quickly.
UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan calls for Kosovo to be allowed its "own distinct, national symbols, including a flag, seal and anthem". The plan stresses conformity with "the highest level of internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, promoting peace and a prosperous existence for all its inhabitants".
There are those who feel this to be a just solution. For the ethnic Albanians it is a salve for the atrocities they suffered through the wholesale slaughter of Albanian men and youth by Serb forces under former president Milosevic. For the Serbs it represents a shattering blow to their vision of Kosovo as their historical inheritance as a nation and religious community; their Jerusalem.
There is little consolation for them in the UN proposals which contain provisions to protect the Orthodox church sites, the Serbian language and the non-Albanian minority. The heavy hitters within the UN representing the Western perspective will readily agree to this proposition. "Kosovo shall be a multi-ethnic society, governing itself democratically and with full respect for the rule of law," according to the proposal.
The spoils do not always fall to the aggressors, not in the modern world. The parallels to the situation in the Middle East between the State of Israel and the Palestinian population are striking.
Labels: Political Realities
posted by Pieface @ Monday, February 05, 2007
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