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KOSOVO AT RISK OF PARTITION, THINK-TANK WARNS
Agence France Presse
March 18, 2008 Tuesday 5:01 PM GMT
A month after declaring independence from Serbia, Kosovo is in danger
of partition a respected think-tank warned Tuesday in a new report,
urging the EU and NATO to act before it is too late.
The warning came a day after a Ukrainian police officer was killed
and more than 150 people were injured in pitched battles between
international security forces and Serbs in Mitrovica, an ethnically
divided north Kosovo town.
"There is a real risk... that partition will harden at the Ibar River
in the north, and Kosovo will become another frozen conflict," like the
breakaway regions of Abkhazia or Nagorno-Karabakh, the International
Crisis Group said in its report.
It urged more countries to "recognise and embrace the new state" --
Japan became Tuesday one of almost 30 countries to have done so --
and the European Union and NATO to "be more proactive and coordinate
their operations."
On the board of the Brussels-based think-tank are many former premiers
and foreign ministers, and one of its chairmen emeritus is Martti
Ahtisaari, the UN envoy whose blueprint Kosovo is using to guide its
independence drive.
"While Serbia has a strategy to divide Kosovo, the international
community does not have a clearly defined and coordinated response,"
the report said.
It described the UN and KFOR forces move to storm Mitrovica's court
house on Monday as "more an ad hoc reaction to provocation than part
of a carefully choreographed plan."
"Legitimate questions have arisen as to whether its timing, tactics
and potential consequences were fully considered in advance."
The Crisis Group urged the EU and United States to encourage more
countries to recognise Kosovo's independence, declared on February
17, and to provide immediate financial aid and capacity-building
assistance.
"The EU, UN and NATO should agree on a common, comprehensive strategy
for the Serb north of Kosovo," the report said, adding that they
should reject Belgrade's efforts to set up parallel institutions in
Albanian Serb areas.
Ethnic Albanians make up most of the population of Kosovo, which Serbs
consider a cradle of their civilisation. Kosovo has been UN-run since
1999 when NATO bombed Belgrade to end a crackdown on Albanian rebels.
Agence France Presse
March 18, 2008 Tuesday 5:01 PM GMT
A month after declaring independence from Serbia, Kosovo is in danger
of partition a respected think-tank warned Tuesday in a new report,
urging the EU and NATO to act before it is too late.
The warning came a day after a Ukrainian police officer was killed
and more than 150 people were injured in pitched battles between
international security forces and Serbs in Mitrovica, an ethnically
divided north Kosovo town.
"There is a real risk... that partition will harden at the Ibar River
in the north, and Kosovo will become another frozen conflict," like the
breakaway regions of Abkhazia or Nagorno-Karabakh, the International
Crisis Group said in its report.
It urged more countries to "recognise and embrace the new state" --
Japan became Tuesday one of almost 30 countries to have done so --
and the European Union and NATO to "be more proactive and coordinate
their operations."
On the board of the Brussels-based think-tank are many former premiers
and foreign ministers, and one of its chairmen emeritus is Martti
Ahtisaari, the UN envoy whose blueprint Kosovo is using to guide its
independence drive.
"While Serbia has a strategy to divide Kosovo, the international
community does not have a clearly defined and coordinated response,"
the report said.
It described the UN and KFOR forces move to storm Mitrovica's court
house on Monday as "more an ad hoc reaction to provocation than part
of a carefully choreographed plan."
"Legitimate questions have arisen as to whether its timing, tactics
and potential consequences were fully considered in advance."
The Crisis Group urged the EU and United States to encourage more
countries to recognise Kosovo's independence, declared on February
17, and to provide immediate financial aid and capacity-building
assistance.
"The EU, UN and NATO should agree on a common, comprehensive strategy
for the Serb north of Kosovo," the report said, adding that they
should reject Belgrade's efforts to set up parallel institutions in
Albanian Serb areas.
Ethnic Albanians make up most of the population of Kosovo, which Serbs
consider a cradle of their civilisation. Kosovo has been UN-run since
1999 when NATO bombed Belgrade to end a crackdown on Albanian rebels.