INTERVIEW WITH SERBIA'S VUK DRASKOVIC
"The Time for Demagogues has Returned"
In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic warned about the danger Kosovo's possible independence poses for the Balkans and the legacy of Slobodan Milosevic.
SPIEGEL ONLINE. Mr Draskovic, Serbia is a shrinking state. Are you bitter?Draskovic: I would have liked for Serbia and Montenegro to co-exist under one umbrella. But we accept reality. The disintegration of former Yugoslavia is now complete.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Not necessarily. The province of Kosovo could soon become independent as well.
Draskovic: In that case the Kosovo Contact Group, the UN Security Council and the governments of those states that are calling for the independence of Kosovo ought to come out and say plainly that Serbs have no right to protection in Kosovo, because they're Serbs.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Why would it not be possible to protect the rights of Serbs in an independent Kosovo -- through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) or other international bodies, for example?
Draskovic: The talk about a multiethnic community is farcical. Ever since the NATO entered Kosovo, about 220,000 Serbs and non-Albanians have been driven out of the province; 40,000 Serbian houses have been destroyed and more than 1,000 Serbian civilians have been killed. Now the Albanians want a state of their own as a reward. Europe is just soothing its own conscience with its ostensible concern for these tiny Serbian enclaves in Kosovo. Almost 80 percent of Kosovo's territory is ethnically pure.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: How would Belgrade react if Kosovo should indeed become independent?
Draskovic: If an internationally recognized Albanian state should be formed on Serbian territory, we wouldn't recognize it.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What consequences would an independent Kosovo have for the region?
Draskovic: This criminal solution would turn the entire region into a dangerous flahs point and cause political earthquakes in the neighboring countries. No authority in the world could then explain to the Serbs why they don't have a right to an autonomous state, while the Albanians do.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Would Russia allow for this scenario to become a reality?
Draskovic: Russian President Vladimir Putin certainly doesn't support an independent Kosovo. Speaking to the Kosovo Contact Group in January, he didn't mince his words, but said clearly that if Kosovo becomes independent there will be no guarantees that this won't be cited as a precedent by the Caucasus, Karabakh and numerous other regions. It's also an open question how the Turkish part of Cyprus would react to such a development. And what would happen in Catalonia, in the Basque territories of Spain, in Scotland or in Taiwan?
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What is the maximum you would be willing to concede in negotiations over the future status of Kosovo?
Draskovic: We're making large concessions. We're saying to the Albanians: Rule Kosovo by yourself; you're the majority. You'll receive internal independence for Kosovo -- but within Serbia. You can follow your own path to Europe and become a member of international organizations directly -- with the exception of the United Nations, NATO and those organizations that strictly represent international independence. The only demand would be that the current borders of the Serbian state are respected, that the Serbs living there are protected along with their churches and monasteries and that there be special cultural and economic relations between the Kosovo-Serbs and Serbia.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Such a model doesn't exist anywhere in the world...
Draskovic: Specific situations require specific solutions.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What do your discussion partners from Western governments have to say about this proposal?
Draskovic: They agree as far as the right to the inviolability of our borders is concerned. But they point out that the Albanians would be very unsatisfied with this solution and would perhaps opt for terror. But isn't it absurd for the world to go as far as to congratulate the Albanians just because they're giving their "word of honor" that they will respect the rights of Serbs in case of independence?
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Belgrade doesn't rank behind the Kosovo Albanians as far as empty promises are concerned. Don't you think it's shameful how the Serbian government is making a fool of the international community with its ostensible search for Ratko Mladic? Now it's been openly admitted that he was in Belgrade until the end of 2005.
Draskovic: I have no explanation and no justification for the fact that Mladic is still a free man. But I believe Premier Vojislav Kostunica when he says Mladic has become a nightmare and that he would do anything to arrest him. Kostunica will present his plan of action for better cooperation with the Hague War Crimes Tribunal to the EU in mid-July. There will be a radical break with the legacy of Milosevic -- in all areas. Then Europe should tell us where it can help us -- especially in the seizure of war criminals.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: You say support for Mladic comes mainly from the army, the police and the intelligence service. Why did the current government not purge dangerous individuals from these institutions when it overthrew Milosevic?
Draskovic: We've lost much time and paid dearly for our fatal mistakes. Following the overthrow of Milosevic, we should have used the referendum in order to destroy the intelligence service, open the secret files and build a new security agency with the help of European experts. The remaining functionaries from Milosevic's regime have killed our former Prime Minister Djindjic, and they've tried to murder me twice.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: But why are the murderers still being protected? Consider how slowly the trial against the assassins of Zoran Djindjic is proceeding, and you'll understand the people's disappointment.
Draskovic: Of course something isn't quite right there. The trial is being slowed down and obstructed. It almost seems as if someone wanted to gain time.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Time? To do what?
Draskovic: To re-establish the system we had before October 5, 2000 -- before the fall of Milosevic. Look at the polls. If elections were held tomorrow, the radicals and the socialists could get back into power. The people quickly forget their misery and who was responsible for it. The time for demagogues has returned.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Given the danger of a return to the Milosevic regime, why don't you form an oppositional democratic bloc, instead of bickering within the government?Draskovic: Of course the current government deserves to be criticized not just on 100, but on 1,000, and we've made thousands of mistakes. But there is one mistake we haven't made: We haven't played with human lives, we haven't provoked war and no one has lost their life because of our policies. But Milosevic hasn't just left us a political catastrophe -- several million people were also shaped mentally by his regime.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is Serbia's population even still interested in EU membership today?
Draskovic: More than 80 percent are in favor of EU membership; 60 percent are in favor of the Partnership for Peace. But if Kosovo should become independent, the pro-European attitude could change quickly. Then our people would feel humiliated, and that's no foundation on which to build a European policy.
-- Interview conducted by Renate Flottau
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