Each to His Own Flock

Serbian Prime Minister, Radovan Bozovic, returned from a two-day visit to Kosovo with his task unacomplished. In talks with local leaders, it was admitted that in this area, apart from the police and some tax departments, nothing works: the top Kosovo business elite, even though Serbianised, gives no results; instead of all the rage being directed towards the Albanians, the fight for power and seniority is ever more the apple of dissension between the Serbs and Montenegrins themselves. And most important: dialogue with the Albanians has not been achieved.

The pompous welcome at Pristina airport, with strong security as if for a foreign statesman, was something the inhabitants of Kosovo haven't had a chance to see for decades. On the first day of his visit, the Prime Minister talked of the need to reaffirm the principles of living together, "because there are no prospects in any kind of conflict for any nation". And the Kosovo reality confirms that nowadays everyone most definitely and exclusively flies with his own flock. Radoman Bozovic encouraged those who follow his way of thought with the words: "Kosovo is, at last, definitely and exclusively Serbian territory!"

Because of this "the government of the Republic of Serbia does not approach Kosovo as some separate and special part of the Republic in which special or specific measures must be taken in dealing with matters that arise from the Constitution and law." In this spirit, Bozovic called the Albanian political leaders for talks, even though "they represent opposing interests and manifest a form of enmity towards their own state". At the same time he repeated that the efforts to break up Serbia would not be condoned. Talks are needed about the way to establish the structural question of autonomy, but only under the condition that this be within the framework of Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In order not to put fear and trepidation into the hearts of Serbs and Montenegrins here regarding the establishment of a parallel government of Albanians, Bozovic said that, as in all other parts of the Republic, there was no chance of dual government coming into force in Kosovo. Thus the necessity to organize local elections.

What do the Albanians think about all this?

"As the Coordinating Board of the political parties of Albanians, we salute the initiative, which was long ours, to establish dialogue," says the Vice-President of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo, Mr. Fehmi Agani, adding: "We suggested that a date be set long ago, as well as the points to be discussed and participants, but we received no answer. We heard through the media that Bozovic was in Pristina. The problems of Kosovo are serious, and therefore deserve serious consideration, and not incidental talks which can only harm the realistic deliberation and resolution of the question of Kosovo and the Albanians".

In an announcement the Coordinating Board said that Bozovic "completely ignored the many years of political terror and repression in Kosovo towards the Albanians; he gave his blessing to the coercive and emergency measures in Kosovo and presented wholeheartedly the false doctrine of alleged voluntary abandonment of work, school and institutions by Albanians, thus presenting the abolition of the constitutional rights and independence of Kosovo and the Albanians as a fait accompli and rejecting the consideration that anything could be changed". In any case, say the Albanians, Bozovic made clear the real reason for his coming to Kosovo. On his own, and through his associates, he said loud and clear that the two basic goals of Serbian policy in this area were the economic, political and cultural integration of Kosovo in Serbia and the Serbianization of Kosovo. And it is therefore not surprising that Prime Minister Bozovic did not officially protest against some of the proposals. On the contrary, he supported the efforts of his associates, and demanded they persevere in these fields, promising the support of the Serbian government and "in future looking to the Kosovo Serbs and Montenegrins for advisers on the answers to all concrete questions in the interest of this area".

And what to say at the end of this muddle. The premier of the Serbian government who set off to talk to the Albanians must have known that the "parallel government" of Bukosi is in exile, and that two of the most influential representatives of the Albanian people, Mr. Ibrahim Rugova and Mr. Veton Suroi, are out of the country, visiting the West....