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'Neither Side Wants War Here'
PRISTINA, Yugoslavia, April 26 (Reuters) — Shooting incidents in majority Albanian Kosovo have raised ethnic tension and set Serbian police on edge but both Belgrade and Albanian leaders are keen to avoid open conflict in the province, analysts say. Serbia has been careful not to stir up already hostile relations in its southern Kosovo province after five Serbs, including a policeman, were killed by unidentified gunmen.

Not long ago, such attacks on Serbian police and civilians in Kosovo would have prompted a torrent of nationalist rhetoric from Belgrade and threats of retaliation. With his country exhausted by supporting Serb war efforts in Croatia and Bosnia and the resulting international sanctions Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic has nothing to gain by worsening ethnic tensions in Kosovo. He is just beginning to reap the benefits of supporting the Dayton peace accord for Bosnia.

The leaders of the Albanian Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) violence have long felt violence would lose them support from western governments crucial for their separatist campaign. "Whoever is responsible for these incidents has nothing to do with Belgrade or the LDK," said one Albanian analyst who asked not to be named. "Neither side wants a war here."

Albanians Oppose 'Terrorist' Campaign
The direct targeting of Serbian police raised the possibility that a militant element was ready to pursue violent resistance against Belgrade, but it remains unclear if any organized group has opted to take up arms. The vast majority of Albanians would oppose any "terrorist" campaign, preferring to protect the parallel network of schools and administration they have built up outside Serbian authority.

Yet the aftermath of Dayton has triggered an internal debate among the Albanians over tactics, with a number of politicians pushing for a more aggressive political stance. Albanian leaders were angered that Dayton failed to address the Kosovo issue and allowed Belgrade to win diplomatic recognition this month from European Union countries.

Ibrahim Rugova, head of the LDK, has come under mounting criticism that his patient policy of non-violence has failed to bring the Albanains any closer to their goal of independence. A number of Albanian politicians want the LDK to resume street demonstrations which were abandoned four years ago out of fear they would provoke further police repression. "We could see some changes along those lines" said Azem Vlasi who was sacked from Kosovo's administration when Milosevic stripped the province of its autonomous status in 1989. "We could use permitted methods of expressing our political dissatisfactions. That would be a way of exerting pressure to force some political action to be taken."

If the LDK approach does not change, Vlasi said Kosovo Albanians may find themselves struggling to gain the attention of an international community preoccupied with Bosnia. "We are organized to survive but not to change the situation."

Privately, Serbian officials admit demographics are working against them. The small Serb minority continues to dwindle and the two million Albanians, already 90 percent of the population, are increading in number. The province resembles a colony and the ruling minority has serious doubts it can hold on to Kosovo in the long run. Analysts say Milosevic may have already begun preparing the ground for a compromise on Kosovo, sighting the demotion of hard-line nationalists in the local administration.

Milosevic may open negotiations on Kosovo's status once his ruling party secures a victory in elections later this year.


Apr 25 · Kosovo Deaths Stir Albanian-Serb Issues
Apr 23 · Four Killed in Kosovo Shootout
OTHER WEB SITES
Calling Attention to Kosovo
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Kosovo Syndrome and its Political Background
On Political Manipulations with the Albanian Minority in Yugoslavia
The Truth about Kosovo and Metohija Orthodox World News
Kosovo and Metohija Today
The Future of Kosovo
Cultural page about Albania and Kosovo
Albania and Kosovo


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