UNMIK ON AIR

17 July 2003

VIOLANCE ANGAINST RETURNS

By Zoran CULAFIC

The talk of the town the past weeks, in Kosovo has been the appeal made by most K-Albanian political leaders, calling internally displaced Serbs and other minorities to return back to their homes. This was the very first time since the war ended that such a strong massage was sent out encouraging IDP’s, to come back and restart a new life in a new Kosovan reality.

The violence against returnees was strongly condemned by the international community and described as the main cause obstructing the process of returns; today K-Albanians leaders understand the fact that a peaceful returns process is on of the inevitable preconditions for joining the European democratic path.

Ibrahim Rugova, President of Kosovo and Hashim Thaci, PDK leader recently visited Urosevac to see what the serb minority there had to say. Ibrahim Rugova

Ibrahim Rugova: We listened to some Serb minority citizens, their wishes, we need to create better security conditions, and possibility for free movements for displaced within Kosovo. You know this is a process, it requires time and efforts by the majority and by minorities, which need to show good will towards integration. As you know in the entire Kosovo 7000 people have returned, and we will review to which other municipalities they can return, in this case in Ferizaj. There have also been returns of Albanians, in Vitia, Sterpce. But, please we cannot forget the past; however we need to look towards the future, all citizens of Kosovo, and we need to guarantee all minorities in Kosovo, by all means that Kosovo is the place for all those who want to live here, in order to have an integrated society, an integrated state in EU in NATO and a continued friendship with the USA.

Hasim Thaci, the second strongest party in Kosovo, sent a similar massage to IDP’s.

Hasim Taci: The successful return of refugees does not mean division of Kosovo, but freedom of movement for all citizens all around Kosovo. It does not imply a biased solution to solving Kosovo’s political status; therefore I call all the citizens of the country to support the process of return of refugees; Albanians, Serbs, Montenegrins, Hashkalies, Turks, we have responsibilities towards all, Kosovo is a motherland to all.

Clear massages, one must agree, but still the Serbs are a bit suspicious given the past experience. Most of them will return, not asking for any additional political conditions, just for safety and opportunity to live in their homes without fear for their lives. The latest triple murder of a Serb family in Obilic was just the last horrible warning that still, more must done.

Mira Petrovic is a Serb and she is a member of the Urosevac/Ferizaj local parliament, but the fact that she is still living in Leskovac, and not in her mother’s town, shows in some respect the level of mutual mistrust. The joint political massage sent by Rugova and Taci is encouraging, she said, but we need to see concrete steps.

Mira Petrovic: I can say that that is a positive step in the sense that it is the first step taken in Urosevac municipality. Till now there had been no returns here, nor individual or family ones. But now we see that some projects are underway, but are not realized yet. The problem is the money and they promised us that they would provide the money. We’ll see …Time will be the judge and we’ll see if they stand behind the joint appeal to IDP’s or not.

The huge majority of K-Albanians are expressing their will for an independent Kosovo and many analysts claim that the key step in reaching that goal is indeed the return of Serbs and other IDP’s. Baton Hazhiu, a prominent Pristina journalist.

Baton Hazhiu: Imagine Kosovo with only Albanians! If Kosovo is without minorities, without Serbs, Turks and others … then we the Albanians will face horrible problems, then we’d have problems with ourselves. The safety for Kosovo in the future, lays on the mosaic of its different ethnic groups. Without them Kosovo won’t be stable, I’m completely sure of that. Kosovo will face the danger of, not to say a civil war, but a strong political conflict between political parties if there are not Serbs, Turks and others living here. Believe me, I’m afraid of Kosovo being without Serbs and Turks.

The joint appeal to IDP’s to return was strongly praised and supported by top USA and EU representatives, but it has been received in Belgrade with reserved optimism, though recognizing it as a clear positive step. The main concern, as Belgrade officials claim, is still unsolved: the serious issue of safety, which must be much improved if Serbs and other IDP’s are sincerely welcomed back in their villages.

Nenad Radosavljevic, return and minorities senior advisor to the head of UNMIK, agrees that safety is not at the level it should be, but he stresses, the number violent acts based on ethnicity, i.e. murders and attempted murders, are fortunately decreasing.

Nenad Radosavljevic: I think that kind of violence, is one of the most serious ways of obstructing the returns process, it is happening less and less; but there are some other administrative ways of obstruction i.e. through municipal working groups, the resistance of members of local municipal parliaments, bad organized transport of IDP representatives … The necessity is indeed the process of general stabilization and it is inevitable. We can witness it on the ground; mainly thanks to the fact that time passes, similar, as we have seen in Croatia or Bosnia. Time is maybe slow, but it does heal the biggest of all the wounds, which could be a reason for new violence and for new problems.

And time will also prove that only through dialogue and mutual understanding can problems be solved. Time will heal the wounds of the past and life will continue and Kosovo will be proud of its present and look towards a future of prosperity.

And that was all for today, thanks for listening and stay tuned for more