Judah on Kosovo: "Some problems don't get resolved"

01/02/2011

A veteran journalist assesses the latest elections and the prospects ahead.

By Muhamet Brajshori for Southeast European Times in Pristina -- 31/01/11

Economist reporter Tim Judah. [Muhamet Brajshori/SETimes]

Journalist Tim Judah covers the Balkans for The Economist and was in Kosovo immediately proceeding and following the December 12th snap elections, watching the process first hand.

Revotes had to be held in several municipalities due to various irregularities at the polls.

Judah sat down with SETimes to discuss the elections and more.

SETimes: You have been here; how do you see the situation now in Pristina?

Tim Judah: Well, what happened has been unfortunate. It's unfortunate for the country and for the reputation of the country. The results have been tainted. We must see what's going to happen now, I mean wait and see. We don't know which way things will go, but I think it's very unfortunate for Kosovo.

SETimes: It's clear that Kosovo and Serbia will start a dialogue, for Pristina it's about technical issues, for Belgrade, it's about everything, including status. Will there be an end point?

Judah: I don't know if there's ever going to be an end point. I mean I don't think in the foreseeable future that Serbia is about to recognise Kosovo; therefore, I think instead of an endpoint, there will just be a constant dialogue about resolving those problems which can be resolved and about managing the situation. You must know that some problems don't get resolved, like Cyprus or the Middle East. Those are just managed and keep going forever … I'm not 100% sure why Kosovo should be particularly different. So, I don't think there is necessarily an end point.

SETimes: You are outspoken about the idea of a "Yugosphere". What is it, and where does Kosovo fit in?

Judah: The idea of the Yugosphere was simply to explain to people what I saw, the reforming of a lot of links in all spheres -- political, social, economic and cultural -- within the former Yugoslavia. And I think there has been a lot of that in the last years, in fact much more than people have realised. A partial exception to that-- because of its people and history and because of a different language -- is Kosovo. So Kosovo is partially part of this Yugosphere.

I think it's there to a certain extent due to trade, business and connections with Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia and Slovenia, one of the biggest investors in Kosovo, [maybe] the biggest investor here. There are several links but it's a different order than in other parts of the former Yugoslavia.

SETimes: How you see the situation in post-election Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Judah: Well, I mean it's early to say but it's possible that Mr. Izetbegovic and Mr. Dodik could achieve some form of a political deal which would end the stagnation of the last four years there. It's not certain, but they could come up with a deal to end this stagnation.

You see Josipovic of Croatia was given the prize of Nezavisne Novine as the Man of the Year, and we saw a Yugosphere there. There were Josipovic, Dodik, Tadic, Izetbegovic, and the President of Montenegro Filipovic as well.

The atmosphere, in general terms, has been better in Bosnia, but as for whether that can be translated into an end to the deadlock -- it's too early to say. And otherwise Bosnia would just stagnate.

SETimes: Can relations between Croatia and Serbia be an example for the relations between Kosovo and Serbia?

Judah: I would not compare the relations between Croatia and Serbia in the context of Kosovo because, I think, the history of Serbian-Croatian relations has been different from that of Kosovo-Serbia relations. That's not to say Serbia and Kosovo can't live as neighbours and have good relations. But the historical relations between Serbs and Croats are of a completely different nature and order than the relations between Serbs and Albanians. I would not draw a direct comparison because it's a different history.

SETimes: Albania has not received a positive opinion from the EU. What's happens next? Judah: Albania knew and Albanian politicians were told what happened, and it's not a surprise. One side says this and another side says that no, Europe can wait as this is more important, and so European integration has to wait.

SETimes: We have seen, over the years, a change in Balkan-Turkish relations. Is what is really happening a kind of neo-Ottomanism?

Judah: Well, no. The Turkish foreign minister said he doesn't like the expression neo-Ottomanism and that's the way they are thinking. If it's useful for people in the Balkans to conduct more trade and business with Turkey -- I don't know if it will be useful -- but I also know that Brussels looks weak at the moment.

But still I would ask if it would be a better option to be part of a neo-Ottoman cycle and where this would lead. It might be good for Turkey, but I'm not sure if the same is true for everyone here. Good relations with Turkey are fine but in certain strategic political options, the EU is still better.

This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.

http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/articles/2011/02/01/reportage-01