Fog Over Pristina

Robert Gelbard, the US special envoy for the former Yugoslavia, can be satisfied with the results of his recent Balkan tour. First, he did big things in Belgrade and Podgorica, helping Milo Djukanovic take over as Montenegrin president. Then he secured Slobodan Milosevic’s support for the new government in Banja Luka, practically K.O.ing Krajisnik’s gang. And three, he contributed to the peaceful and dignified ceremony of establishing Croatian sovereignty over Eastern Slavonia; the crown in what was probably the most efficient US engagement in the former Yugoslavia.

There are two thing Gelbard failed at in his work with the FRY president: cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal and Kosovo.

Diplomatic sources said Milosevic remained firm in his stand that the Yugoslav constitution prevents him from handing over the three former Yugoslav National Army officers (Mile Mrksic, Veselin Sljivancanin and Miroslav Radic) who have been indicted for the killings of patients in the hospital in Vukovar. That was expected since the US diplomatic service believes Milosevic isn’t ready to give way on that just yet.

As for Kosovo, Gelbard’s ambitions were slightly higher because the unstable situation in Serbia’s southern province is now a cause for serious concern with the US and Europe.

Diplomatic sources told VREME that Gelbard came to the FRY with two files; one for Milosevic, the other for the ethnic Albanian leaders in Kosovo.

Milosevic’s file included a detailed analysis of the economic situation in Serbia drawn up by the US finance department to show what will happen if the outer wall of sanctions stays in place. Gelbard said the lack of will to start serious talks with the ethnic Albanians is the main reason why it is still in place. The US expects Milosevic to show his cooperation by first implementing the agreement on normalizing the school system in Kosovo which he signed over a year ago with Ibrahim Rugova with Vatican mediation. Under a nine point plan, drawn up last year by the Americans and Germans, the next stage would be an agreement on the health care system and a final solution to the problem via a number of practical issues, giving the ethnic Albanians a form of self-rule but leaving Kosovo within the FRY.

There was no effect this time. Milosevic asked for the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (which Gelbard condemned prior to his tour) to be placed on a list of terrorist organizations whose members are banned from the US. Also, he demanded economic exemptions as a reward for normalizing the school system which is unacceptable to the Americans who think the Milosevic-Rugova agreement is a done deal. At one moment, VREME sources said, the talks with Milosevic literally turned into an argument and the residence echoed to the shouting of the two men.

Gelbard didn’t get lucky with the ethnic Albanian leaders either. During his planned visit to Pristina on Friday, January 16 (with his German counterpart Ischinger), Gelbard planned to force Rugova to publicly accept the fact that Kosovo will remain in the FRY. He also planned a meeting with Adem Demaqi who he was going to warn to stop flirting with extremists. Gelbard’s plans included ethnic Albanian student leaders and a message warning them not to sabotage the possible normalization of the school system with radical demands or demonstrations.

Unfortunately, the fog that covered Pristina airport on Friday morning prevented the visit and the diplomats were forced to talk to Rugova on the telephone.

This was the third time that Gelbard’s visit to Kosovo has been postponed: the first time there were organizational problems, the second he was too tired and now fog.

All that’s left for Gelbard, who’s widely seen in Serbia as the instrument of the despised new world order, is to come back to Yugoslavia with a list of demands that Milosevic can’t refuse.