Letter From America
America shows its pro-Muslim side in Kosovo
QUIETLY, America has enjoyed one resounding foreign policy success in the last fifteen years -- in the Balkans. And it has been a bipartisan, pro-Muslim success.
By bombing Serbia in 1995, the Clinton administration halted the late Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic's mayhem of rape and ethnic cleansing pogroms (1992-95), and led to the Dayton Peace Accord later that year. When Milosevic was at it again, murdering, raping, and expelling the ethnic Albanians from Kosovo in 1999, America and Nato bombed Serbia once again to stop him in his tracks. From 1999 till earlier this month, the UN administered Kosovo, with Nato soldiers keeping the peace.
But, Nato could not police Kosovo forever. Therefore, in November 2005, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari as his special envoy for the Future Status process for Kosovo.
Mr. Ahtisaari held political discussions to determine the future status of Kosovo in the context of Resolution 1244 (1999). After prolonged negotiations, Mr. Ahtisaari recommended "supervised independence" for Kosovo, with guarantees for the safety of the Serbian minority (5%) and their places of worship.
When it was clear that even after years of negotiations the Serbs would never accept Kosovo's independence, the Bush administration quietly encouraged Kosovo to declare unilateral independence. Soon after, Kosovo declared its independence on February 17.
President George W. Bush called it a victory for freedom and recognised the new state. Seventeen states, including Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Australia followed, with many more recognising in the coming weeks.
The Serbs and their Slavic ally, Russia, opposed Kosovo's independence. Last week, Serb youths went on a rampage and, ignoring the sanctity of diplomatic protocol (the US embassy is supposed to be sovereign US soil), entered the US embassy compound and burnt part of the US embassy complex in Belgrade.
It took the Serbian security forces 45 minutes to respond to the trespass. Russia has threatened military action if Nato sends additional troops to keep the peace in Kosovo.
Although Russia's saber rattling is reminiscent of the Cold War mentality, the actual reasons are more mundane. Nations that have separatist movements within their borders are worried that Kosovo's breaking away from Serbia may serve as a precedent for separatist movements everywhere and encourage their own separatists.
That is why nations in Europe and Asia, with separatist movements within their borders, such as Russia (Chechnya), China (Xinjiang), Spain (the Basques) and Sri Lanka (the Tamils) all opposed Kosovo's independence. Such opposition is not necessarily principled; it is more self-serving.
Although the Serbs constitute only 5% of Kosovo's population, Kosovo is the cradle Serb civilisation to them. The northern enclaves of Kosovo are predominantly Serb and is where their historic monuments and churches are located. The majority Albanians (92%) must respect Serb holy places if peace is to reign in Kosovo, and Serbia must be prevented from whipping up anti-Albanian sentiments among the ethnic Serbs of Kosovo.
The Bush administration ought to be congratulated for championing Kosovo's independence. America now has a beachhead in a corner of Europe, which favours Russia over America. The Serbs are instinctively pro-Russian, their Slavic brothers. After the American-sponsored Nato bombings of Serbia in 1995 and 1999, the Serbs are not going to be in America's corner anytime soon.
On the other hand, Albanians and Kosovars are the most pro-American people on earth! President George W. Bush is not only the most popular person in Albania, he is a hero to most Albanians and Kosovars. An overwhelming majority of the Albanians support President Bush's Iraq war!
When President Bush visited Albania last year, many Albanians named their newborn boys "George" in his honour. It would have been a mistake for America not to champion the independence of such a pro-American nation.
Albanians of Kosovo are secular Muslims; some say they are too secular. Kosovo's father of the nation, the late Ibrahim Rugova, saw no problem with drinking alcohol and being a Muslim! Nevertheless, the Albanians occupy an important place in Islamic history. The man credited with entrenching Islam in Egypt at the behest of the Ottomans, Muhammad Ali, was an Albanian.
With a history of coming to the rescue of the Bosnian Muslims in 1995 and the Kosovar Albanians in 1999, and by being the first nation to recognize Kosovo, America can justifiably publicise to the Muslim world that America may be anti-Al Qaeda and anti-Taliban, but has certainly been staunchly pro-Muslim in the Balkans.
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