Partition of Kosovo
The partition of Kosovo has been suggested as a solution to the
History
1990s: proposals from last days of Socialist Yugoslavia to period of Kosovo War
Serbian politician
During the
On April 30, 1999, Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1979–1990), gave a speech in which she strongly opposed a partition.[2]
Proposals in the aftermath of the Kosovo War
Vice-President of the Serbian government
In 2002, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić stated that "Serbia has neither the mechanism nor the resources to reintegrate Kosovo into its legal system, or to create a form in which it will be under its sovereignty. The division of the province, therefore, is nothing else than an attempt to rescue what can still be saved."[3]
The policy of partitioning Kosovo and unification of Republika Srpska with Serbia was seen as offering "long-term security and stability for the region", according to Aleksandar Jokic (2003).[4]
In 2004, Anatol Lieven of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace stated that the "Partition of Kosovo is the most realistic solution, but the Albanians' insisting on independence will lead to a new conflict."[3] Čedomir Antić of G17 Plus said that the "Partition of Kosmet is not an ideal solution, but it is the maximum that can be obtained at this time."[3] Albanologist Miranda Vickers said that the partition of Kosovo would be the best solution.[3]
In 2005, part of the Serbia-Kosovo negotiation was the Serbian side's call for the establishment of Serb municipalities and constitutional and legal protection of Serbs.
In 2006, Sanda Rašković-Ivić, President of the Coordination Centre for Kosovo and Metohija, said that "If both sides, both Serbs and Albanians, face the fact that for both living in cohabitation is impossible, and if the international community is faces the same fact, then a kind of partition of Kosovo would represent a solution for both sides."[3] Slobodan Samardžić, adviser to the Serbian PM, said that a long-term solution would be partition, "given the fact that the Albanians so far clearly do not want to live with the Serbs."[3][failed verification]
In 2007, political analyst Andrey Piontkovsky said that "Serbia needs to stand up for the partition of Kosovo with the argument that there are no international forces that can keep Kosovo Serbs safe in an independent Kosovo."[3] Law professor Timothy William Waters said that "The division is possible and it is possible that this is the right thing to do."[3] Erhard Busek said that "the partition of Kosovo is perhaps the least bad solution".[7] Ivor Roberts, the former British Ambassador to Yugoslavia, supports the partition of Kosovo, stating that "the Partition of Kosovo will please neither side, but the equality of pain is more likely to lead to stability than present Western plans which will undoubtedly destabilise Serbia, and through Serbia the whole region."[8]
Proposals in the aftermath of Kosovo's declaration of independence
On 17 February 2008, representatives of the people of Kosovo, without any Serb representatives, declared independence.
In 2010, US diplomats warned that European 'vacillation and weakness" could entrench Serbian control over the northern part of the territory. "Failure to act soon means losing northern Kosovo and will reopen the
Former EU Kosovo Envoy Wolfgang Ischinger, in August 2011, stated regarding the partition of Kosovo that in his opinion "such ideas are absolutely unacceptable". He added that without a solution of the conflict, a Serbian European Union membership "will not happen, it must not happen".[10]
In September 2011, James Ker-Lindsay, senior research fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, stated that the partition of Kosovo is a logical solution. In an interview for Politika, he stated that Belgrade, in the next few months, might have a chance to fight for the division of Kosovo and the establishment of large autonomy for Serbs in North Kosovo.[11]
In May 2011, Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić proposed the partition of Kosovo as a solution to the Kosovo dispute. He stated, "This is my opinion, although neither Belgrade nor Priština like it. However, I am a realistic politician and I don't see any other solution. ... I think that the only realistic solution is that places where Serbs live stay in Serbia and that the other part where the Albanians live secedes. This is the only realistic way that can lead us to a quick solution. ... Other solutions are a waste of time and years and decades would go in an attempt to solve those small issues".[12] Former Yugoslav President Dobrica Ćosić stated, "I have been talking and writing about Kosovo and Metohija in vain for 40 years now, proposing a democratic, just, compromise and permanent partition. This is the only way to overcome centuries-long antagonism between Albanians and Serbs ... [and] stop the great Albanian expansion and create conditions for normal life of both peoples".[13]
In October 2011, former Austrian Vice-Chancellor
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha stated in November 2011: "Dividing Kosovo is an absurd idea and respecting the borders of Kosovo is of essential interest for all the countries in the region."[16]
In January 2012 Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović said he did not support the idea to partition Kosovo because it could "open the door for similar solutions in other countries in the region".[17]
On 14–15 February 2012, a referendum on accepting the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo was held in the Serb-dominated regions of north Kosovo. The result saw 99.74% of voters reject the Republic of Kosovo's institutions.
The Community of Serb Municipalities is planned to be established according to the Brussels Agreement (2013) (see section), but it has since been paused due to opposition on the Albanian side.
In October 2014, Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said that the partition would be one of the better solutions and in the interest of both Serbs and Albanians.[18]
Steven Meyer, former Deputy Chief of the CIA's Balkan Task Force, believes that Kosovo should be divided along ethnic lines.[19]
Drawing the line
The partition of Kosovo along the line of the
In 2008, the
Miroslav Marjanović, a top intelligence agent during the 1990s and Kosovo War, in 2016 made public classified information regarding the Kosovo War, among which were DST telegrams from 1998 about the Kosovo Liberation Army and the evaluation that France and Germany were closer to agreeing on a partition of Kosovo into a Serbian and an Albanian part, with the Albanians receiving status similar to that of Republika Srpska. Among documents were also maps depicting the potential partition.[citation needed]
Community of Serb Municipalities
The 2013 Brussels Agreement between the governments of Kosovo and Serbia agreed to create the Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo. Its assembly will have no legislative authority and the judicial authorities will be integrated and operate within the Kosovo legal framework. The association was expected to be formed in 2015, but opposition riots and a petition signed by over 203,000 citizens slowed it down.[24] The Constitutional Court of Kosovo ruled that the formation of the Association was in compliance with the constitution of Kosovo, but that certain aspects of its proposed implementation were not.[25]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Vreme 542.
- ^ "MEMORANDUM TO: OPINION LEADERS". Project for the New American Century. April 30, 1999. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Blic & 27 March 2007.
- ISBN 978-1-55111-545-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-134-11718-5.
- ^ "Kontakt-grupa protiv podele Kosova". Radio Slobodna Evropa. Slobodna Evropa. 13 December 2007.
- ^ "Busek: Podela Kosova je možda najmanje loše rešenje". Blic. 15 August 2007.
- ^ "Ivor Roberts: Partition is the best answer to the Kosovo question". The Independent. 5 December 2007. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ Traynor, Ian (9 December 2010). "WikiLeaks cables: Kosovo sliding towards partition, Washington told". The Guardian.
- ^ "Partition of Kosovo is unacceptable". B92. 10 August 2011. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ Radičević, Nenad (25 September 2011). "Подела Косова је логично решење". Politika.
- ^ "Partition of Kosovo only solution, minister says". B92. 15 May 2011. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ "Kosovo partition only solution, ex-Yugoslav president says". B92. 29 May 2011. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ "Partition possible solution for Kosovo problem". B92. 5 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
- ^ "Ivanov: Podela Kosova može da destabilizuje region". SMedia (in Serbian). 6 October 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
- ^ "Albania: Ethnic Division of Kosovo Is Absurd Idea". novinite.com. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- ^ "Montenegro 'repaid Albanians for support'". B92. 11 January 2012. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ "Dačić: Podela Kosova jedno od boljih rešenja". Blic. 10 August 2014.
- ^ "Stephen Meyer: Kosovo Should Be Divided Along Ethnic Lines". Nedeljnik. Archived from the original on 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
- ^ "Kosovo partition on the table". BBC News. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ "Serbia Formally Proposes Ethnic Partition of Kosovo". New York Times. 25 March 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ "Could Balkan break-up continue?". BBC News. 22 February 2008.
- ^ "Serbs form rival Kosovo assembly". BBC News. 14 June 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ "203000 people signed the petition against the Association". Indeksonline. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ^ "The verdict of the Constitutional Court". GJK. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
Further reading
- Books
- Mearsheimer, John J. (2000). "The Case for Partitioning Kosovo" (PDF). In Carpenter, Ted Galen (ed.). NATO's Empty Victory: A Postmortem on the Balkan War. Cato Institute. pp. 133–138. ISBN 978-1-882577-85-9.
- Majstorovic, Steven (2014). "Autonomy of the Sacred: The Endgame in Kosovo". In Safran, William; Máiz, Ramón (eds.). Identity and Territorial Autonomy in Plural Societies. Routledge. pp. 167–188. ISBN 978-1-135-30394-5.
- Journals
- Downes, Alexander B. (2006). "More Borders, Less Conflict? Partition as a Solution to Ethnic Civil Wars". SAIS Review of International Affairs. 26 (1): 49–61. S2CID 154496363.
- Economides, Spyros; Ker-Lindsay, James; Papadimitriou, Dimitris (2010). "Kosovo: four futures". Survival. 52 (5): 99–116. S2CID 153905973.
- Franks, Jason; Richmond, Oliver P. (2008). "Coopting liberal peace-building untying the Gordian knot in Kosovo". Cooperation and Conflict. 43 (1): 81–103. S2CID 144428922.
- Hamilton, Daniel (2012). "Kosovo: time for partition". The Commentator. 7.
- Ker-Lindsay, James (2011). "Principles and the Partition of Kosovo". Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice. 23 (2): 228–234. S2CID 145796210.
- Majstorovic, Steven (1999). "Autonomy of the Sacred: The Endgame in Kosovo". Nationalism and Ethnic Politics. 5 (3–4): 167–190. .
- Roberts, Ivor (5 December 2007). "Partition is the best answer to the Kosovo question" (PDF). Kosovo Compromise 2007.
- News articles
- "Moguća podela KiM u dve faze". Blic. 27 March 2007.
- Lukač, Jasmina (30 November 2005). "Sve srpske ideje podele Kosova". B92.
- "Podela Kosova vodi velikoj Albaniji". Politika. 14 August 2007.
- "Život priča - Kosovo je srce Srbije". Prva Srpska Televizija. 2 November 2016.
- "Kako je Atos pre 18 godina srpskom državnom vrhu nacrtao današnju sudbinu KiM-a". Kosovo Sever portal. 4 November 2016.
- "Kosovo partition 'on the table'". BBC. 12 August 2007.
- "Pomirenje prava Srba i Albanaca". Vreme. 23 May 2001.
- "Krizna grupa i kosovska rupa". Vreme. September 2010.