Serbia Whole, Kosovo in Two

The twice postponed meeting of Serbian intellectuals on Serbian national and state policies in Kosovo will be held on May 20 in an unspecified location, the organizers said.

The idea was launched by the moderators of Serb discontent in Kosovo in the late 1980s and won the support of a large number of intellectuals in the opposition and among nationalists; The Serbian Democratic Party (DSS), Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and Democratic Party (DS).

The organizers would like to see some 150 participants debate a draft document on the Basis Of National Policy in Kosovo and Metohija and elect representatives for the Serb National Council. The haste to set a date and hesitation to reveal the venue casts doubts on May 20 itself. The latest postponement was explained with technical, internal and external problems by the organizers; the authorities are undermining the gathering, little time for consultations...

DSS leader Vojislav Kostunica feels that it is not important whether the gathering (so far scheduled and canceled for April 8 and 29) will be held in a few weeks. He said the important thing is to get the talks going.

In all discussions, Kosovo is presented as a demographic problem, very often as exclusively demographic. Statistical estimates from 1991 said the 1,707,000 ethnic Albanians (boycotted the '91 census) made up 90% of the total population.

SRS leader Vojislav Seselj advocates measures to determine the exact number of Albanian who came to Serbia with the help of Albania's quisling authorities since 1941 and the removal of their citizenship. "Someone who isn't from here can live here but under certain conditions," Seselj said. The main "certain condition" is no right to vote.

VREME has learned unofficially that the draft document treats the citizenship problem in a similar way to Seselj. To counter the ethnic Albanian demographic superiority it proposes abolishing a 1945 law which abolished the right to the return of property to all Serbs who escaped Kosovo in 1941. The organizers said there are around 100,000 of them. It also proposes the resettling of Serb refugees from other parts of the former Yugoslavia; creating a large number of small local communities to increase the number of communities with Serb majorities; regulating birth rates and stimulating economic growth to prevent more emigration.

The meeting participants all agreed on all those points. There are some party political differences on a political solution: whether the Albanians should be given national minority rights or whether to resolve everything at the level of civil rights. It seems that differences of views on the model of regionalization in Serbia and the FRY cannot be overcome. The model was proposed by academic Miodrag Jovicic, Kosta Cavoski and historian Rados Ljusic.

Seselj told VREME that this kind of division was a step backwards. "Division into regions are a federalization of Serbia. They imagined every region with its own parliament which would have a government no matter what it is called. I don't see who would be satisfied with this solution except for an old man in Dedinje who had an unbelievable opportunity in politics but didn't use it," Seselj said alluding to Dobrica Cosic and the ideas of dividing Kosovo which have been attributed to him.

Kostunica said most of the people who prepared the meeting informally support the idea of resolving the Kosovo issue through the regionalization of Serbia since this is not a question of dividing Kosovo into two parts but a need to introduce regional self-rule in Serbia. "Now in Serbia, we have provinces as privileges with no principles for their foundation. Regionalization would solve questions of inherited provinces in a better way and on the other hand it would solve some national minority issues."

The fact that the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) is not part of the meeting is obvious. SPO spokesman Ivan Kovacevic said the party feels this is the last twitch of the war lobby which is looking for a new area to cause a war. He didn't comment the SPO's failure to participate.

The one thing the Serbian opposition agrees on is that the authorities have achieved nothing. "By doing nothing they allowed the Albanians to set up a para-state in Kosovo," party leaders all said.

Regardless of the assessments of the authorities, none of the organizers hid their wish to see ruling party figures at the meeting; primarily Mihajlo Markovic and Ratko Markovic. "We don't care who's going to solve the problem but we demand a solution," Miroslav Solevic said.

Mihajlo Markovic's stand (voiced in the independent Albanian language newspaper Koha) that "there could be talks on the Albanians getting certain political rights" is remembered among the initiatives launched by the Socialists. His stand is in agreement with the stands of many potential meeting participants who feel national minorities should be defined first (under international standards) before giving them something more.

Mihajlo Markovic said the first condition for the Albanians to get more than just national insignia is for them to stop ignoring the state of Serbia.

SPS deputy Zoran Grujic (Kosovo Polje constituency) said something last week that echoed among Kosovo's Serb population. One of the organizers, who refused to reveal the details of the draft document, told VREME: "Almost everything that Grujic said, is what we Serbs want."

Grujic demanded: a definite end to provincial status, abolishing 1945 laws to prevent the return of Serbs who fled Kosovo in 1941, mechanisms to prevent the majorization of Serbs, laws on citizenship and establishing the number of �migr�s from Albania, a program to assist the return of Serbs, financial aid, a census, sorting out property records.

The only thing bothering people is whether Grujic spoke for himself or on behalf of his party, i.e. did the SPS get hold of the opposition program for Kosovo and is now promoting it as its own.

 

ANTRFILE

VREME learned unofficially that the draft Basis Of National Policy in Kosovo and Metohija document has 10 points:

- reorganizing the state, abolishing autonomous provinces;

- establishing regions: regional parliaments would have two chambers in multi-national regions with one chamber being parity elected and both being equal in decision making;

- a census;

- a law on citizenship: sorting out citizenship records and documents on everyone who came into the FRY territory since W.W.II;

- the urgent return of Serbs who fled Kosovo or are refugees from other parts of former Yugoslavia;

- new demography policies with mechanisms to direct it;

- securing guarantees of human rights with the conclusion that the rights of all nationalities are endangered;

- reorganizing the local self-rule system with a proposal to increase the number of small communities;

- promoting economic development;

- forming a Serb National Council.

 

THE KOSOVO CALENDAR

1987. 24 April - Rally in Kosovo Polje: Milosevic: "No one has the right to beat the people".

1988. 7 January - Vojvodina and Kosovo provincial assemblies

agree to changes of Serbian Constitution.

28 June - On the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo, the earthly remains of Prince Lazar leave on a year-long journey from the Orthodox Cathedral in Belgrade to the monastery of Gracanica.

9 July - Solevic holds rally in Novi Sad.

1989. 4 February - Miners from "Stari trg" go on strike and demand that the Serbian Constitution is not changed.

27 February - SFRY Presidency proclaims a state of emergency in Kosovo. A rally of support to rebellious ethnic Albanians held in Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana. Big demonstrations in Belgrade. Milosevic promises arrest of Azem Vlasi.

3 March - Azem Vlasi arrested.

28 March - Amendments to Serbian Constitution adopted, making it a single republic - great celebrations in Belgrade. Demonstrations and death in Pristina.

28 June - Over one million people converge on Gazimestan to mark 600 years since the Battle of Kosovo. Milosevic says: Six centuries later, today, we are in battles and face battles again. They are not armed, but even such are not excluded."

1990. 1 February - JNA troops in Kosovo streets leaving 27 dead and 54 injured demonstrators.

16 April - Serbian police take over from Kosovo police.

18 April - State of emergency in Kosovo lifted.

19 April - Azem Vlasi freed of accusations.

2 July - Ethnic Albanian delegates adopt declaration proclaiming the Republic of Kosovo.

5 July - Serbian Assembly dissolves Kosovo Assembly and all organs of authority. Ethnic Albanians stage mass strikes.

7 September - Group of delegates of the dissolved Kosovo Assembly proclaim the "Constitution of The Republic of Kosovo" in Kacanik. Serbian Government proclaims this act illegal.

13 September - Democratic Alliance of Kosovo entered in SFRY registry of political parties.

28 September - Republic of Serbia Constitution proclaimed.

29 September - Vuk Draskovic kisses stone thrown at him by SPS sympathizers at SPO rally in Kosovo Polje.

1991. 16 January - 1,444 Kosovo police members of ethnic Albanian nationality demand that all decisions on their dismissals be annulled.

2-3 February - Ethnic Albanian teachers in Kosovo stage strike.

30 September - Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo hold referendum and proclaim "Republic of Kosovo".

16 October - Serbian Assembly dissolves Kosovo Academy of Arts and Sciences.

1992. 17 March - Illegal ethnic Albanian university enrolls 7,231 first year students.

8 May - Serbian Prime Minister Radoman Bozovic invites all political parties in Kosovo and Metohija to talk on all questions. Representatives of ethnic Albanian opposition refuse to come.

24 May - Rugova elected President of "Republic of Kosovo" at elections organized by ethnic Albanian parties.

14 August - CSCE proposes standing mission for Kosovo and temporary missions for Vojvodina and Sandzak.

31 August - After Yugoslav Prime Minister Milan Panic's announcement of impending lifting of state of emergency in Kosovo, inhabitants of Kosovo polje protest in front of FRY Assembly.

1 September - Vote of confidence in Milan Panic's Government initiated in FRY Assembly.

19 December - Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan wins six deputy seats in Kosovo.

1993. 28 January - Serbian Government and ethnic Albanian representatives meet in Geneva to talk on education - without results.

1 July - The CSCE assembly turns down FRY request to regain membership in the CSCE and Yugoslavia refuses to prolong CSCE mandate in Kosovo.

1994. 9 May - Pristina University Dean suggests that Serbian Patriarch Pavle move to Kosovo.

7 June - Informal meeting between Mihailo Markovic and Gazmenda Pulja proves to be unsuccessful test of willingness to negotiate.

20 October - Serbian resistance movement in Kosovo reactivated.

5 December - Rugova talks of Kosovo's status in Washington.

5 December - Serbian resistance movement demands of the Yugoslav and Serbian assemblies the setting up of a National Council.

1995. 16 January - Yugoslav Government adopts decree which mentions settlement of 100,000 Serbs in Kosovo, plots for returnees and credit repayable over 40 years.

19 January - Three ethnic Albanians agree to be elected to Djakovica Municipality receivership administration.

7 April - Charges brought against 71 former policemen, for founding illegal Ministry of the Interior.