A day before dialogue

(By Valon A. Syla)

Hello and welcome to UNMIK ON AIR with Sputnik Kilambi and Martin Redi

The old city of Vienna will host the first dialogue between the Kosovo government and the new authorities in Belgrade - all the international institutions have endorsed this dialogue including the UN Security Council, NATO, the European Union and the OSCE. The US government has also made a strong plea for the talks to take place.

The dialogue between Prishtina and Belgrade was initiated by the former Chief-Administrator of Kosovo Michael Steiner, but is the top priority for his successor Harri Holkeri. The new UN chief has made it clear that it is in the interest of Kosovo Albanians to walk through the door currently open or see it shut indefinitely.

SRSG Harri Holkeri: “We all recognize that the dialogue between Prishtina and Belgrade is in the direct interest of Kosovo and the peoples’ institutions. The issues to be discussed are the issues that matter the daily lives of Kosovans. If and only if we talk can we make progress on resolving the fate of missing persons, helping the Kosovo’s economy by solving the outstanding sectors of energy, transport and communications.

The difference amongst Kosovan political leaders on whether or not to participate in such talks before certain conditions were met are, surprisingly perhaps, not paralleled in the Kosovan public. Many ordinary people say they are ready for dialogue and seem to know which issues should be given priority.

Most Kosovans hope that October 14 will be the day of a new beginning, a day that will end hostilities between Prishtina and Belgrade.

Safet Kabashaj, editor of Blue Sky Radio, speaks for many Kosovans when he says that the fact of starting the dialogue is enough for starters.

Safet Kabashi: I expect the Vienna dialogue to end hostilities between Serbs and Albanians. My opinion is that the international community does not expect any concrete results from the first meeting. I think it is enough that both sides sit at one table and try to resolve their problems through dialogue.”

Others, like journalist Olivera Stojanovic see the Vienna talks as only the start of a long period of talks that begin with simple issues and move progressively to tougher subjects and hopefully a final agreement.

The priority, she says, should be the return of internally displaced and missing persons.

Olivera Stojanovic: I think that if people don’t start talking now, we would miss the boat and both sides would achieve nothing

Fis Halimi is a researcher with Kosova Action for Civic Initiatives – like many other commentators, he too sees these talks taking place under duress and that Kosovo Albanian politicians don’t have any other choice but to travel to Vienna. The problem, he says, is that October 14 leaves them little time to spell out their agenda nonetheless, he too endorses the importance of these talks as a way of making the lives of ordinary people simpler.

Fis Halimi: I think that the priority in this dialogue should be the removal of legal barriers, meaning that people should not have legal problems with documents, which are issued by UNMIK.

Resolving the issue of missing persons on both sides, he adds, would be a key first step towards reconciliation between Albanians and Serbs.

Fis Halimi: Not much can really be expected from such a short meeting. We have witnessed in many cases that even on the simplest issues, it was extremely tough for Serbs and Albanians to agree. And from this I conclude that the dialogue in Vienna will end with a famous picture by photo reporters, who have the ability to catch the politicians smiling, even if they did not mean that smile.

Of course, no on expects miracles from Vienna – the meeting there is very much about symbolism – a demonstration of the willingness to negotiate on the part of Belgrade and Prishtina, and from the international community, that peace and stability in Kosovo and this part of the world is still a key part of their agenda.

That does it for this edition of UNMIK ON AIR. Thanks for listening.