UNMIK ON AIR
IS THE NEW UNMIK CHIEF WELCOMED IN KOSOVO?
By Zoran CULAFIC
“I know that I might have taken over the most difficult task of my life, but the fact that it is a difficult task is no excuse for not taking it”, said incoming UNMIK chief Harri Holkeri at a press conference in the Finnish capital Helsinki last Monday announcing his acceptance of his new job.
Hello and welcome to UNMIK ON AIR with…
So the news is now official – Finland’s former Prime Minister Harri Holkeri replaces Michael Steiner as the next head of the UN mission in Kosovo. And the honeymoon period newly appointed top bosses usually enjoy before the brickbats begin to fly seems to have begun even before his arrival. Prominent Kosovar Albanian and Serb politicians have for the most part made approving noises even if their expectations from the new UNMIK chief differ. His lack of experience with the Balkans is also apparently to his credit – for both sides, this means no preconceived notions regarding the area and hence the hope that he will be open-minded and receptive.
Holkeri’s conservative leanings and financial expertise are hailed by some as good news for Kosovo’s economy while others cite his experience in mediating in the northern Ireland conflict as good enough to take on Kosovo. Holkeri himself says his new job will be the biggest challenge in his career and that he is determined to get Serbs and Albanians to talk and to make Kosovo a truly multiethnic democracy.
And joining us to look ahead are two analysts from Prishtina and Belgrade -
Ejupi: It would be good
if Holkeri learned from Steiner’s mistakes, to continue the transfer of
competencies to the Provisional Institutions of the Self Government. It will be
his big responsibility to start the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. The
mistakes of Steiner were that he came here with big ideas, like in Mitrovica,
and did not undertake anything during his 18 months in Kosovo. Then the process
of transfer of competencies has been delayed, it just started and it kept being
postponed. He did more to set up
priorities than to meet them, he was a media man, he began things but never
finished them.
Filip Pavlovic also feels Holkeri is a good choice and says starting the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina will be his main challenge.
Pavlovic: What Steiner left to him as a kind of
political testament is establishing the dialogue with Belgrade and I think it
is something what the new SRSG will have to do. And definitely, I think it is
one of the key points. Edit to but by
establishing dialogue I don’t mean only talks and meetings but rather a complex
political operation to prepare for dialogue
The issue of Kosovo’s final status is obviously on
everyone’s mind, but for Filip Pavolvic that issue will not be solved during
Holkeri’s one-year mandate.
Pavlovic: Personally I don’t believe that there
will be any serious progress in solving the status issue before elections in
Serbia and in Kosovo, which are expected to take place next year. And that
corresponds to his mandate, so I don’t think the new SRSG will end the UN
mission in Kosovo
But this is not how most K.Albanian analysts see the incoming UNMIK chief’s mandate. Encouraged perhaps by recent statements by prominent US politicians about the need for and inevitability of Kosovo’s independence, they feel the international community will have to bite the bullet on the status issue. Burim Ejupi.
Ejupi: I believe the new SRSG will be the last
and will end the mission of the UN here in Kosovo. Since the end of the UN mission
in Kosovo means the end of the status-quo for the status of Kosovo.
His
objectives will be achievable, since the provisional institutions of self government
are strengthening, the appeal of institutions for the return of minorities as
well as the transfer of responsibilities to Kosovo institutions will enable the
new SRSG to work his magic.
Judging from the Bosnian experience however, there is good chance that the international community will be present in Kosovo for a long time, whether it is under UN or EU auspices. The moot point though is what will be achieved during Holkeri’s tenure. Expectations are as high as the challenge and it’s little wonder that the Pristina press already refers to Harri Holkeri as the Harry Potter of the Balkans. He will certainly need all the help he can get, even magical powers to continue the Harry Potter analogy, to maintain the fine balance between Belgrade and Pristina, but also between Washington, Brussels and New York. Still, says Pavlovic, it is a matter of diplomacy rather than miracles.
Pavlovic: I think the mandate of the SRSG is
pretty complex and that’s something that should not be underestimated, but neither
should it be exaggerated. The key responsibility centres on negotiation and the
international community. (So, it is very responsible task, very responsible
role and very responsible momentum,) but I think it is a matter of human effort
rather than supernatural intervention.
Filip Pavolvic of Fractal – you also heard Burim Ejupi of the Prishtina based NGO Forum. Thanks for listening.
.