UNMIK ON AIR
23 July, 2003
DIALOGUE SHOULD START NOW
By Zoran CULAFIC
Reno Harnish: I think it’s a good thing that everyone is talking about the beginning of direct dialogue. This is one of the standards that we need to get through in order to get to the question of political status.
The head of the US office in Prishtina Reno Harnish speaking after a meeting last week with representatives of the so called Quint group of nations – France, Germany, Britain, Italy and the US before his departure from Kosovo.
Hello and welcome to this edition of UNMIK on Air with Sputnik Kilambi and Martin Redi
The meeting, organized before Harnish’s departure from Kosovo, stressed the strong public support for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and left no room for doubt that democratic standards must be fulfilled before opening the issue of Kosovo’s political status.
The strong position adopted by Quint members comes amongst increasing speculation that Kosovo has ceased to be a priority for the big powers, believed to be more preoccupied with Iraq and the issue of European enlargement.
But insists Victoria Whitford, political secretary in the British office in Pristina, London and the EU have been urging for direct dialogue for a long time. The problem was that neither Belgrade nor Pristina were ready until now to start the dialogue, on the grounds that their public opinion would not see such a move as a positive step. That perception has now changed she says with both sides now apparently convinced that the time for direct talks has finally come.
Victoria Whitford: In the last six months there has been lot of public debate about dialogue and the benefits the dialogue would bring. The normalization in Kosovo is in everybody’s interest. And what the normalization means – the practical and friendly links with your neighbors at all levels, between villages, municipalities, territories and regions. It means trade and cooperation with your neighbors and I think the public has become aware of those benefits. And since public opinion has changed, politicians now feel that they are able to enter into dialogue, which before they felt would be dangerous for them.
Speaking to UNMIK ON AIR before his departure, the head of the US office in Pristina Reno Harnish stressed that Washington and the EU saw eye to eye on the need for democratic dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. But he cautions, the process should be given the time it needs since the talks need to be well prepared.
Reno Harnish: I can’t speak about Belgrade, but I know the people here – I think they need to form a common platform, politically, and also to get their specific goals in mind for the talks. Then I think it’d be very practical and an achievement for both the people in Serbia and Kosovo to smooth out matters like cadastral records, which need to be returned if private property is to be made here. Or to smooth out the question of KS license plates. But there should be clear goals on both sides. People should not just sit down to sit down. So, if that doesn’t happen until September or some other day, that’s not crucial. We know that politically everyone wants to discus and now it’s just a matter of doing it in the right way.
Talks will not focus exclusively on Kosovo’s final status, adds Victoria Whitford but it’ll be a dialogue about particular issues of mutual interest, and UN, EU and USA will be there to support and forward the process, said..
There are many on both sides who now realize there is no alternative to dialogue. Moma Trajkovic, one of the Serb political leaders in Kosovo for example, has good contacts with many prominent K-Albanian leaders. For him, it is clear that both Serbs and Albanians should work hard to learn what political and cultural behavior is all about.
Moma Trajkovic: I’d invite ordinary Serbs, Albanians and all of the others to talk. Everyday, to educate themselves in dialogue. We lack education and a democratic process cannot not be led by uneducated communities. This kind of education is important and has to begin while the international community is here. Then we could begin a sincere political dialogue. The sooner we understand this, the sooner we’ll start to overcome the crisis.
A view shared by Fadil Lepaja, prominent member in Hasim Thaci’s PDK party and the head of the Balkans Institute in Pristina. Serbs and Albanians, he says simply have to find a compromise in order to have a better future.
Fadilj Ljepaja: Is it going to be a future characterized by cooperation between the two people, and mutual will to integrate into global structures, or will it be characterized by wars, quarrels, and problems between the two peoples? It depends on political leaders and even on their intellectuals. I think we should work harder and find a way to ensure that the main issues for both nations are mutually acceptable.
Direct talks between Prishtina and Belgrade are now set to start as soon as new the UNMIK chief is appointed. The two sides have no choice but to talk, adds Victoria Whitford of the British Office, if they really want to be part of the European family.
Victoria Whitford: The quicker we start the dialogue and the quicker we start confidence measures then the quicker the problem of Kosovo will be solved. If Serbia is going to join EU then it needs to have a normal dialogue with its neighbors, and that includes Kosovo. So the sooner we can have real confidence measures in place, the sooner Kosovo and its leaders can meet the standards, then the sooner Kosovo and Serbia proper would be in Europe.
And that comment from Victoria Whitford brings us to an end of this edition of UNMIK ON AIR. Thanks for listening.