Serbs oppose recognition of Kosovo independence

Serbs oppose
recognition of Kosovo independence

Relationship with Europe colored by
war over province

By Nicholas Wood, New York Times News Service | September
14, 2007

BELGRADE, Serbia - Eight years after it was hit by NATO
airstrikes, the former Yugoslav Defense Ministry still lies in ruins on
Boulevard Knez Milosa, a reminder of what the Serbs consider unwarranted
aggression by the West in the war over the Serb province of Kosovo.

Their anger is flaring up again as Western governments,
particularly the United States, speak of recognizing Kosovo this year as an
independent state. The governments say that in the absence of reconciliation,
doing so would help stabilize the region by officially separating the Serbs
from the Albanians who are the majority population of Kosovo.

Serbian politicians, even pro-Western ones, said they worry
that a recognition of Kosovo would introduce a new era of Serbian isolation and
hostility toward the West - leaving Europe with little sway here.

Since the war ended, in 1999, Europe has tried to integrate
Serbia into NATO and the European Union. And as a regional power, Serbia
expected an easy pathway into Europe, especially since many of its neighbors
have joined the union.

But Europe has also demanded that Serbs make a fresh start
by chasing down important war crimes suspects wanted at the tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia in the Hague. Serbia has complied only fitfully.

If Western countries do recognize Kosovo, then "we do
not need the European Union," Velimir Ilic, Serbia's minister for
infrastructure and a key political ally of the Serbian prime minister, said in
an interview. "It means they are not our friends."

He added: "It is a tough choice, but Serbia has its
pride and its integrity."

Ilic, who has a reputation as populist politician, is the
only senior government politician to issue such a statement. But others agree
that a nationalist backlash would chill relations with the West.

A widespread recognition of Kosovo "could lead to a
chain of events with unforeseen consequences, including the loss of Serbia's
European perspective," Leon Koen, the former head of Serbia's negotiating
team on Kosovo, wrote in the daily Dnevnik.

And Serbia's senior diplomat for European integration
predicted that whatever support there is among Serbs for arresting war crimes
suspects and sending them to the Hague would vanish if Kosovo were recognized.

"I can't see how anybody would be ready to support
cooperation" with the tribunal, said Milica Delevic, a reformist who is
Serbia's assistant foreign minister responsible for relations with the European
Union. "We will be in trouble."

Western governments are determined to resolve Kosovo's
future to stabilize the province and calm the ethnic Albanians who make up more
than 90 percent of the population and who largely clamor for independence. The
United States has spoken openly of recognizing Kosovo and is pushing the
Europeans to settle on a policy.

But the Europeans have painted themselves in a corner,
having pushed for a deal at the Security Council that Russia has blocked. That
leaves Europe divided just as it is trying to display a strong foreign policy.

Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since
1999, after a NATO bombing campaign there to oust Serbia forces who had
committed widespread atrocities against ethnic Albanians.

The wartime Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, was
defeated in elections in 2000 and turned over to the war crimes tribunal in the
Hague, where he died while his trial was under way. Yugoslavia continued its
devolution, with Montenegro finally claiming independence from Serbia in May of
last year.

Meanwhile, Serbia has made faltering progress toward
membership of both the European Union and NATO.

© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper
Company.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2007/09/14/serbs_oppose_recognition_of_kosovo_independence/

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