PR-BG
DIALOGUE
(Zoran
Culafic)
The countdown has started for the long-awaited dialogue
between Prishtina and Belgrade. The dates have not yet been set and both sides are
trying to come up with a “mediator” who will suit their goals. And in both
capitals, frenzied movement and discussions both behind closed doors and in
public.
But what can really be expected from the upcoming talks?
With the Serbian side re-stating their position by drafting a constitution
insisting Kosovo is still a part of Serbia and the K-Albanians holding on
firmly to their claims of independence, there doesn’t seem to be a middle
ground for talks to start.
For Fatos Lubonja, a Tirana-based analyst the situation is
simple. Dialogue will neither bring unexpected nor immediate results; on the
contrary, he believes, it will prove to be a very long and slow process:
Fatos Lubonja: I am not very enthusiastic and
I do not believe that this dialogue will bring a solution that will please the
Albanians and I have an impression that this will be a dialogue that will
continue to keep the current status quo when it comes to Kosovo.
Still, despite the
opposition to dialogue from both Serbs and Albanians with both sides claiming
that whoever talks to “the other side” is betraying the national interests, the
international community continues to maintain that talks are the only way to
reach any solution. But there is no
other way, says Slobodan Arezina, Radio Free Europe’s Belgrade Office editor in
chief.
Slobodan Arezina: Dialogue is the best
way to solve both potential and real problems. When I say potential problems I
mean that many things could have been solved in the past and in the interest of
the citizens of Kosovo, many things could have been better for them if the
dialogue started earlier.
Nonetheless, there are
real fears that both sides will show up only because of the international
pressure without any real intention to actually discuss matters. The lack of
trust is a huge problem according to Fatos Lubonja.
Fatos Lubonja: The things that have happened
tell us that Albanians are warning the Serbs to be more flexible, the Serbs
think that after 2 or 3 years and maybe the failure of the international
community and the failure of Albanians to create more trust in their
self-governing capacities, they can throw in the argument of not allowing
Kosovo to separate.
Radio Free Europe’s
Slobodan Arezina agrees - in the days of shaky governments and political crises
he says, the issue of dialogue is also being used for domestic point scoring,
especially with elections coming up in both Serbia and Kosovo. And if there is
no clear strategy or willingness on both sides, there is a real danger that the
talks could last forever.
Slobodan Arezina: I think that readiness
exists; it is obvious on both sides, but there exists no common agreement on
the subject of dialogue. The issue is what are the questions to be addressed.
And if they do not manage to agree on that, it is possible that we’ll see a
kind of ceremonial meeting, which would deal with a few issues, then a gap of a
few months. And this would be then described as dialogue, but essentially it
wouldn’t amount to much.
And he adds that the person
chosen to mediate between Belgrade and Prishtina should remember that if the
international community wants real results:
Slobodan Arezina: If he finds the means to force
them to start a real dialogue, and if those means are powerful enough, then it’ll
be possible to achieve something, which is not just ceremonial and symbolic.
Fatos lubonja meanwhile has these words of warning to Kosovar
politicians - they better first learn how to survive in the current situation,
otherwise they might find themselves out-maneuvered.
That does it for this
edition of UNMIK ON AIR. Thanks for listening.