Start Looking at the Man in the Mirror

By Whit Mason

Among a journalist’s opportunities to canvass local views, perhaps none rivals getting a haircut. Sitting still in the chair, looking at the other men in the mirror as they sheer or are shorn, seems to yield an unusual degree of candor. Such was the case when I had my hair cut on Saturday in central Prishtina and told the barber that I needed to look presentable for Kofi Annan’s visit. He answered that he had a number of grievances against UNMIK that he blamed on the Secretary General. Before he had a chance to elaborate, another customer chimed in that the UN Secretary General received his marching orders from the United States. It was that same old tiresome game that one sees played around the world but with particularly self-defeating regularity in the Balkans: looking for some remote and powerful figure to blame for all of one’s own problems. I suggested that this blame game was not the most productive use of anyone’s time. The barber and customer, who turned out to be a prominent doctor, responded with what they evidently viewed as the key question for Kosovo: What did I think its future status would be?

That depended, I answered, on what they meant by status. Did it mean being allowed to fly whatever sort of flag Kosovans regarded as their own with no interference from outside powers? Or did it mean being ready to join the European family as a respected partner with a viable economy, functioning institutions and the rule of law operating equally for all its citizens? They answered that they were talking about independence. Fine, I said, but the question is whether independence means being free only of the particular form of tyranny to which Kosovo was subject during the nineties or whether it means being truly free in the full sense of the term. Real freedom - as opposed to the merely formal, symbolic sort - requires achieving the standards necessary to be a respected and functioning society that Europe views as a partner rather than a problem. And by this definition of freedom – the only one that would fulfill the hopes of Kosovo’s people and the only one worth discussing – I told them I have no idea what the future holds. What I do know is that it ultimately depends on the people of Kosovo themselves far more than on UNMIK, the U.N. or the U.S.

Many Kosovans seem to make an implicit assumption that formal independence is the unique prerequisite for lasting security, prosperity and all the other things they want for their society. The fact is, though, that political independence may not be a necessary condition for progress in any area and it certainly is not sufficient for it.

Let’s consider these in reverse order. That independence in itself is not sufficient to guarantee progress in any area of life is obvious from looking at the many independent states in the world with a lower standard of living and less physical security than Kosovans already enjoy. In particular, dependence in itself is no guarantee of security. Despite the proliferation of civil wars in recent years, most armed conflicts are still between sovereign states.

Many Kosovans might consider independence necessary for security, investment and credit and integration into European structures. But Kosovo has never been more secure from outside aggression than it is now thanks to the presence of 35,000 KFOR troops; sovereignty has not been necessary to deliver this unprecedented security. It’s true that the lack of clarity over Kosovo’s final status has bedeviled efforts to attract investment or apply for credit, but so have circumstances within Kosovo itself, especially continuing interethnic tensions. UNMIK and the EU have won promises for hundreds of millions of euros over the next three years. The privatization process, moreover, will create attractive new opportunities for foreigners to invest in Kosovo. Nor is sovereignty necessarily prerequisite for integration into European structures. On Cyprus, for instance, leaders are now considering a UN proposal that would make the island an indissolubly unified political entity composed of two states. I am not suggesting that such a formula has any direct relevance to Kosovo, only that this novel idea illustrates that the very concept of sovereignty is flexible and changing. In this regard, many Kosovans’ preoccupation with independence-qua-sovereignty is simply out of date.

Now if attaining any particular political status is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for making Kosovo the kind of society that most of its people want it to be, then what should Kosovo’s political main goals be? The foundation for progress in every aspect of life that matters to anyone in Kosovo – and for that matter, to their neighbors and the wider international community – is embodied in a handful of standards that have nothing to do with political status per se: building functioning democratic institutions, the rule of law, property rights, returns of displaced people, freedom of movement, economic development, dialogue with Belgrade and the KPC behaving as a civil emergency organization, as Kosovo’s supporters expect it to be.

Back to the barbershop. In view of these priorities that depend on the exertions of Kosovans themselves, I asked the barber and the doctor, how could they justify wasting time and energy criticizing the UN and the U.S. Isn’t it a patriotic duty instead to contribute to the development of Kosovo’s civil society by forming or joining groups to advance individuals’ particular priorities?

Governments anywhere are only as accountable as their constituents force them to be. If Kosovans want progress, they have to find ways encourage the Government, Assembly and Municipal Assemblies to address Kosovo’s actual problems.

For example, everyone must know that the status question can’t be seriously addressed until Kosovo has normalized relations with Belgrade. The contacts over the weekend in Lucerne between Serbian Deputy PM Nebojsa Covic and Kosovo PM Rexhepi and Assembly President Nexhat Daci should be applauded and citizens should demand that their leaders plan further contacts with the Belgrade leadership.

Or consider the muted reaction to attacks on displaced people who have returned to Kosovo. As the SRSG, Michael Steiner, has repeated many many times, multiethnicity is the key to Kosovo’s being welcomed to join European structures. Let me put it more bluntly: if members of minority communities can live in Kosovo in security and dignity, Europe will conclude that Kosovans share their commitment to fundamental human rights, opening the door to integrating Kosovo into a family that provides incomparable advantages in terms of material prosperity, physical security and collective political clout.

If, on the other hand, minorities suffer persecution, Europe will infer that Kosovo simply does not share its values and will do everything possible to keep Kosovo at bay. As Michael Steiner warned, Kosovo could become an enclave within Europe, with all of the economic, political and cultural isolation that this implies.

Assuming this elemental fact of life is clear – and that Kosovans don’t want to live in a bleak enclave – then they should join PM Rexhepi and Hashim Thaci in condemning the shameful terrorist attack against Orthodox churches over the weekend. If Kosovans want to demonstrate that it shares Europe’s respect for diversity and human rights, condemnation of such cowardly acts must become more consistent and more outspoken.
When a crowd threw Molotov cocktails at a small group of Serb pensioners last month, for instance, why did no one speak out?

The doctor answered, “If you meet a family who lost 5 members in the war, do you expect them to hug Serbs?”

First, blaming all members of a given ethnic group – irrespective or their age, gender or individual characters or actions - for what one has suffered at the hands of other individuals who happen to belong to the same group is morally indefensible. Second, no one should expect the most devastated families to take the lead. On the contrary, Kosovans who are doing relatively well who should feel obliged to take the lead. Third, no one is asking Albanians to hug Serbs, just to respect their fundamental legal and political rights as people who live in Kosovo. If this is too much to expect of Kosovans, it’s too much for Kosovans to expect support or respect from the international community. Assuming, once again, that most Kosovans want the support and respect of the international community, I said to the doctor and the barber, then why shouldn’t Kosovo Albanians find a public way to express their disapproval when a group stains Kosovo’s image by attacking a group of defenseless people? A demonstration by 100 Kosovo Albanians on behalf of the rights of members of minority communities would do more to advance Kosovo’s real interests than a billion flags and demands for independence.

The doctor said he recognized these points. But I had to understand, he said, that Kosovans had no experience with democratic self-government. They don’t necessarily even want independence immediately, he said; many would prefer international institutions to hang on for another 10 or 15 years. Independence is just something they’re used to demanding. As for supporting the rights of non-Albanians, well I had to understand that most people know that multiethnicity is the key to Europe but they’re apathetic. They’re not accustomed to demanding political efforts of themselves or of their own leaders.

Ah, but I think I do understand. The point is that this inertia among Kosovans themselves is Kosovo’s biggest problem. Neither UNMIK nor the UN Security Council nor the US can transform Kosovo into a functioning and respected society. Only Kosovans themselves can do that.

The irony is that it’s only Kosovo’s formal sovereignty – which is not what will determine the shape and quality of Kosovo society - that’s at all controversial. What matters most is having a state of mind and a set of habits that are un-dependent. Being un-dependent isn’t about waving flags, chanting slogans and criticizing the leaders of international organizations charged with aiding Kosovo. It means shaking off apathy. It means ordinary citizens keeping themselves informed, taking responsibility for changing the things they can and pushing their elected representatives to work in their best interests. In this deeper sense, you can be sure that the entire world would be delighted to see Kosovans become un-dependent sooner rather than later.

As my many Kosovan friends will know, I’ve written this not because I feel offended by criticism of UNMIK, but because I’m frustrated by seeing Kosovans continuously divert their attention from what they and only they can do to improve life in Kosovo. After all, this is your home.

Whit Mason is a long-time journalist who has reported on transitional societies around the world and is now working for UNMIK. These are his personal views and do not necessarily reflect UNMIK policy.