Refleksi : Apakah NKRI belum mengakui kemerdekaan Kosovo? Bila belum apa alasannya?
ttp://main.omanobserver.om/node/18881 The long road to trust, reconciliation in Kosovo Sun, 08 August 2010 Kosovo Albanians, their confidence boosted by a UN court opinion backing independence, want to reach out to the territory's Serb minority but ingrained distrust is hampering efforts at reconciliation. "Without reconciliation ... we will not be able to improve our lives as citizens and people who want clear perspectives for themselves and their children," said Veton Nurkollari, the Kosovo Albanian organiser of Doku Fest, an international documentary film festival, aiming to use culture to bridge differences. "There is a need for reconciliation, an urgency even," he said. Nearly 95 per cent of Kosovo's population of two million are ethnic Albanians, who feel empowered by the recent International Court of Justice's verdict that its unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in February 2008 - opposed by Belgrade - was not illegal. The UN high court's non-binding opinion was followed by urgent calls to both Albanians and Serbs to turn a new page and start a constructive dialogue. However, overcoming a long divisive history is no easy task. Kosovo's ethnic Albanian and Serb communities have lived isolated from each other for decades. Tensions came to a head during the 1998-1999 conflict that pitted Albanian separatists against the forces of Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic. The war left some 13,000 people dead, mostly ethnic Albanians. For Jetmir Idrizi, 26, a Kosovo Albanian photographer, reconciliation should start with bringing to justice "all those, Serbs and Albanians" responsible for crimes committed during the conflict."It will be better if we reach an understanding amongst ourselves, without foreign interference," he said, sipping a tea on the terrace of a Turkish-style tea house in the old centre of the town of Prizren. Another Albanian, Genc Salihu, 29, said economic development is the key to overcoming the past. Easing of tensions "We need a 700-euro ($900) monthly income per person to become closer; money is needed to overcome fear," said Salihu as he enjoyed a jazz-filled afternoon in a bookstore-cafe in the capital Pristina. At the moment the average monthly salary in Kosovo is just under 200 euros. In Gracanica, a major Serb-populated enclave near the capital, there was a notable easing of tensions as Serbs appeared open for reconciliation as long as their community in Kosovo could be preserved. "Without recognising their state, it is necessary to find an understanding with the Albanians, for us to be able to remain on our land here," 24-year-old Serb farmer Miloje Glisovic said. But in the north of Kosovo, the area bordering Serbia proper and populated by a Serb majority, the tone is less conciliatory. Sasa, 38, an employee of a non-government organisation who did not give his last name, dismisses the idea of living together in harmony as implausible. He cited as an example that 45,000 Serbs used to live in Pristina. "Now there are no more than 68," he said - a figure that Kosovo Albanian observers agreed sounded about right. More than 200,000 Serbs fled Kosovo after the territory was placed under UN administration in June 1999 following a Nato bombing campaign that drove out Milosevic's Serb forces. They were afraid of reprisal attacks by Albanian extremists. "The international community insists nowadays on a development of one community, the Albanian one," insisted Sasa, who lives in the Serb-populated northern part of ethnically divided Kosovska Mitrovica. He warned that "it would be necessary first to work equally on the development of both communities and then talk about reconciliation." Milan Ivanovic, one of the hardline Serb leaders in Mitrovica, insisted: "There cannot be reconciliation if I take all you have and demand, after I rob you, to reconcile with me." Kosovo's independence has been recognised by 69 countries, including the United States and most members of the European Union. But Serbia and its ally Russia remain opposed to the separation and Belgrade has tabled a draft resolution in the UN General Assembly that calls for new negotiations on Kosovo to find a mutually acceptable solution, but does not insist on status talks. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: prole...@egroups.com Subscribe : proletar-subscr...@egroups.com Unsubscribe : proletar-unsubscr...@egroups.com List owner : proletar-ow...@egroups.com Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! 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