Breaking Away
January 8, 2008
Kosovo's designated Premier Hashim Thaci from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (LDK) and President Fatmir Sejdiu from the Democratic League of Kosovo (PDK) announced on Monday, Dec. 7, that they had formed a majority coalition.
Together, their pro-independence government now holds 62 seats in the 120-seat assembly. The legislature, elected in November, is to vote on a speaker and cabinet on Wednesday.
"The number one commitment of this government, and of all Kosovo citizens, is to formalize Kosovo as an independent, democratic state," said Thaci, whose ethnic Albanian guerrilla army fought Serb forces in 1998-1999 to end repression under the late Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic.
"This is a state-building partnership between two parties committed to cooperate in building an independent, sovereign and democratic state for all its citizens," he added.
EU to circumvent Russian refusal
The LDK and PDK have said they plan to declare independence after the first round of elections in Serbia's presidential race on Jan. 20.
Western powers have expressed concern that a declaration before that would fuel the chances of ultra-nationalist candidate Tomislav Nikolic, who is running against pro-EU incumbent President Boris Tadic.
On Jan. 28, the EU is expected to decide on law-enforcement missions to replace the UN administration that has governed Kosovo since 1999.
Russia, which has adamantly refused to support independence for the predominantly Albanian province, has held up calls for independence in the UN Security Council. The United States and the major EU powers have nevertheless said they will go ahead with a plan for EU-supervised independence even without a green light from the UN.
Serbia has threatened to turn its back on the EU if the plan goes through. Formal accession negotiations between the EU and the former Yugoslav country have not yet begun as the EU has made handing over war criminal Radovan Karadzic a prerequisite.
Belgrade has said Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia and insists on sovereignty over the province. Talks between Serbian and Kosovar leaders held in 2006 and 2007 have failed to bring the hostile sides any closer to a mutually acceptable outcome of the province.
A matter of how, not if, says EU president
The majority of EU member states support independence for Kosovo. Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Slovakia and Romania, however, have expressed concern, fearing that independence for the province could set an example for other major ethnic minorities wanting to secede.
A week after his country took over the rotating EU presidency, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa indicated on Monday in Ljubljana that Kosovo's independence was inevitable.
"For Kosovo, it's clear what will happen, it's more a question of how to do it," said Jansa.
Talking with reporters, Jansa recalled the brutality against ethnic Albanians -- which make up 90 percent of Kosovo population of 2.2 million -- under Milosevic during the 1990s.
"It's not possible after all this" to force the people of Kosovo to live with the Serbs, he said. "It's better to start building new relations."