The following is from today’s Financial Times.
Kosovo cannot wait http://www.ft.com/cms/s/3ba4939a-72bb-11db-a5f5-0000779e2340.html
Published: November 13 2006 02:00 | Last updated: November 13 2006 02:00
The international deadline set for the settlement of the Kosovo question - the last big territorial issue left by the collapse of
While a few weeks' delay is tolerable, any longer postponement could undermine hopes of a peaceful settlement and of a brighter future for one of
Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians want independence for a province that has been UN-ruled since 1999, when Nato troops forced out Slobodan Milosevic, former Serb leader. But Kosovo remains legally a part of
Mr Ahtisaari is expected to propose conditional independence in which Kosovo wins limited de facto sovereignty minus the full trappings of statehood. But even this will be too much for most Serbs. So he has delayed his announcement until after Serbian elections on January 21 - for fear that his plans would fuel extremist support.
Moderate Serb leaders are playing for time. Their tactics are not utterly hopeless.
There are risks in imposing an early settlement.
However, the dangers of international inaction are greater. Delay poisons Kosovo by preventing ethnic Albanians taking responsibility for their future and hampers economic development, as few companies will invest in a stateless zone. And, worst of all, it risks provoking renewed violence from frustrated ethnic Albanians.
An early settlement would give maximum political benefit to moderate ethnic Albanian leaders, creating the best environment for them to deal in future with Kosovo's Serbs and with
The likely settlement would also, rightly, impose tough conditions on Kosovo, including the presence of foreign troops and of a European Union supervisory mission. Local Serbs would have a lot of autonomy under decentralisation plans. Kosovo would be forbidden from merging with next-door
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006
