17 Aug 2011 / 15:42

Kosovo's Successful Use of Violence

Violence has been used repeatedly and successfully in Kosovo to advance political goals, but US mediation is now required to solve the current crisis, says Balkans' expert David Phillips.

David L. Phillips

Kosovo Albanians have a track record of using violence to advance their political goals. Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's bid to seize Kosovo's border crossings with Serbia fits the pattern: create a crisis, get the international community involved, and enlist foreign mediators in service of Kosovo's agenda.

The current crisis occurred when Thaci seized customs stations on the Kosovo-Serbia border in a bid to end the de-facto partition of Kosovo.

While the Kosovo government has an absolute right to assert its sovereign rights, European leaders criticized Thaci's recent gambit as reckless and provocative. Brinksmanship may achieve some goals in the short term, but it also risks discrediting Kosovo and undermining its goal of gaining  greater global recognition.

Kosovars successfully took matters into their own hands on two previous occasions. In the 1990s, their impatience with peaceful non-violent resistance led to an armed rebellion against Serbia's tyrannical rule. Slobodan Milosevic responded with atrocities and war crimes.

Kosovo rebels calculated that the United States would never let happen in Kosovo what happened in Bosnia. They were right. In 1999, the Clinton administration launched a 67-day air campaign resulting in Serbia's surrender.

A confrontation between Serb and Albanian youths in the divided city of Mitrovica sparked riots across Kosovo during the spring of 2004. Frustrated with their lack of progress towards independence, Kosovars launched a seemingly coordinated attack on Serbian enclaves and UN personnel.

The Bush administration condemned Albanian-led violence, while concluding that the status quo was untenable and launching a diplomatic process that culminated in Kosovo's US-led coordinated declaration of independence.

Serbia rejected the outcome. So-called bridge watchers, Serbian thugs allegedly financed and coordinated by Serbia's Interior Ministry, enforced a partition of Kosovo. Serbia's goal is to annex 20% of Kosovo north of the Ibar River.

The international community turned a blind eye. It also ignored Serbia's embargo of goods bearing a customs stamp with the state insignia of Kosovo.

On July 28, Kosovo Special Forces took control of two northern border crossings to enforce a ban on imports from Serbia in retaliation for a ban on Kosovo's exports in a dispute over customs regulations.

When NATO forces regained control, they were attacked by a mob of armed Serbs. The border crossing at Jarinje was burned to the ground. One Kosovo policeman was killed.

Thaci's provocation paid off. He consolidated his nationalist political base by issuing an emotional appeal to protect the country's "sacred sovereignty. The confrontation with Serbia comes at a time when Thaci's credentials have been tarnished by allegations of vote rigging, rampant corruption, and ties to human organ trafficking.

Thaci may have instigated the current crisis, but international public opinion holds Serbia responsible. President Boris Tadic has tried to distance Belgrade from the hooliganism of Kosovo Serbs. However, Serbia's EU membership has been seriously compromised.

Europe is suddenly paying attention. Violence in Kosovo could escalate conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, resulting in its ethnic partition.

In addition, it could destabilize Macedonia where a fragile power-sharing agreement keeps the peace between ethnic Macedonians and Albanians. Another spasm in the Balkans would fuel anti-immigration sentiments on the rise across Europe.   

Seized by the dangers of Kosovo's partition, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has called for dialogue. She castigates both sides insisting, "Violence will never be tolerated." In fact, violence has served a purpose by mobilizing international mediation.

Thaci may look like a winner in the short term, but crisis has a cost. EU member states that refuse to recognize Kosovo's independence will harden their position. The visa liberalization dialogue enabling visa-free travel for Kosovars to Europe will be delayed. EU member members opposing expansion will be validated.

The United States does not want to reward violence. However, letting the current problem fester or punting responsibility to the EU risks an even greater crisis.

Bill Clinton is beloved for leading NATO's intervention and George W. Bush for stewarding Kosovo's independence. It is Barack Obama's turn to lead an international diplomatic effort restoring Kosovo's sovereignty and stabilizing the Western Balkans.

David L. Phillips is Director of the Program on Peace-Building and Rights at Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights and a Fellow at Harvard University's Project on the Future of Diplomacy. His upcoming book is entitled "Liberating Kosovo: Coercive Diplomacy and U.S. Intervention."

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/phillips-kosovo-s-successful-use-of-violence