Mutual Fear

Will Europe's advocacy for "maximum autonomy" of Kosovo open another front on the territory of former Yugoslavia, or will we live in peace with our neighbors? In these times of uncertainty and even panic, these are questions that reasonable people among Serbs and Albanians try to answer.

Pristina (the capital of Kosovo) has in the past few months become the destination of many foreign diplomats. The recent visit by the American ambassador to Yugoslavia, Warren Zimmermann, had an unhappy ending. During the opening of an exhibition dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the "Voice of America", probably anticipating Mr. Zimmermann's views on the situation in Kosovo, the Provincial Education Minister, Mr. Djuricic, left the celebration in protest, explaining his anger by the fact that the Ambassador's speech was first translated into Albanian. This little incident might not have attracted so much attention had the public not been shocked by the way Mr. Zimmermann's wife was treated. During her meetings with the representatives of the local medical institutions she was rudely reminded that "her husband shouldn't do what he's been doing" (???). Mr. Zimmermann also met with "the other side". In an interview to a local newspaper, he announced America's support for the "maximum autonomy" Kosovo. His German colleague, Mr. Hans-Joerg Eiff, said that Serbia should take into serious consideration EC's proposition to provide "special status" for the Albanians of Kosovo. He further explained that it would not necessarily mean changing borders, but would imply that legislation, police, administrative and legal institutions would respect the fact that an ethnic minority is the majority population on this territory. The former governor of the Province rejected any comparison between the political status of the Krajina Serbs and the Albanians in Kosovo, repeating once again that the demand for the Republic of Kosovo represents a military goal, which Serbia will resist by every mean that it has at its disposal.

Despite the food shortage, Albanian merchants have their hands full: citizens are making supplies and turning their cellars into bomb shelters. A local newspaper commentator concluded that a possible war in Kosovo would be "Serbia's last defeat in the Balkans" and a lost chance to preserve good relations with Albanians.

"The war in Bosnia-Herzegovina has a direct impact on Kosovo. We are involved since this conflict was caused by the same forces that annexed Kosovo a few years ago and are still active here. In a way, the war in Bosnia is also a war for Kosovo and other regions. Serbia is keen on proving to the EC that it won't make concessions any longer, and it wants to show the Albanians that they can't have their autonomy without a war", said Mr. Agani, the vice-president of the Kosovo Democratic Union. "To us Albanians, Serbia has nothing new to say. We're aware of the sacrifice we'll have to make, but we don't intend to give up our claims".

In an article entitled: "Pack your things and wait", the "Jedinstvo" magazine informed of certain groups in Pristina which have under the pretense of working on national defense matters, visited Serbian and Montenegrin families and promised them arms and organized an evacuation in case of an emergency. They have been advised to pack their bags and wait...

Reliable sources said that after the first clashes in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the population of Gracanica (a Serb-populated town near Pristina), asked to be armed. There have also been rumors that certain buildings in Pristina have been marked as targets in case of an air attack and that paramilitary units have been formed. Bearing all this in mind, the old saying "where there's smoke, there's fire" sounds very ominous.

There are rumors that the Serbs in Kosovo are living in a state of fear of a massive evacuation and an armed "defense", and their Albanian neighbors in expectation of EC's final word and a possible armed conflict. Since the latter claim that they have nothing to defend themselves with, they all share a common fear which may have very dangerous consequences.