Security Council deadlocked over Kosovo
Thalif Deen
When the United States and some of the members of the European Union
(EU) expressed admiration for Kosovo's "patience" in its longstanding
quest for a new nation state in the Balkans, Russian Ambassador Vitaly
Churkin dismissed their "naivety" with a degree of political sarcasm.
"They sound as if they had never heard of the Palestinians, or let's
say, the West Sahrawi," he told the Security Council.
Churkin's contention was that Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied
territories and the Polisario in Western Sahara have remained more
"patient" than Albanians, and have more urgent claims for statehood than
the newly- created Kosovo, Serbia's breakaway province.
The Palestinians have remained homeless for over 60 years and the
Polisario has been battling Morocco for a separate nation state in
northern Africa since it declared a government-in-exile in February
1976.
In contrast, Kosovo's rising cry for independence goes back primarily
to its conflict with Serbs in 1998-99. The break-up of Yugoslavia took
place about 17 years before. So far, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
has been walking a political tightrope, refusing to make any judgments
on the ongoing dispute.
Asked Monday if the declaration of independence of Kosovo was legal
or illegal, Ban avoided a direct answer. "I'm not here to say if it is
legal or illegal," he responded bluntly.
But Churkin took a passing shot at the secretary-general when he
hinted that the U.N. Secretariat might be taking sides on the issue.
"We are aware of the attempts to make use of the office of the U.N.
secretary- general in order to provide the EU Mission under preparation
with some semblance of legal competence," he said. "We consider such
efforts unacceptable in view of the serious damage that could be
inflicted to the neutrality and legitimacy of the U.N. role in the
settlement of regional conflicts in the world, including those that are
far from Balkans."
The five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council -
the U.S., Britain, France, China and Russia - remain divided over U.N.
recognition of Kosovo and its unilateral declaration of independence
(UDI) Sunday.
The three Western nations - U.S., Britain and France - have expressed
their support for the recognition of Kosovo, potentially the U.N.'s
193rd member state.
During a visit to Tanzania over the weekend, U.S. President George W.
Bush tried to soothe the angry Serbs by saying "the Serbian people can
know that they have a friend in America."
But both Russia and China are strongly opposed to any recognition,
thereby derailing Kosovo's chances of joining the world body.
At the same time, three non-permanent members of the 15-nation
Security Council - namely Indonesia, South Africa and Vietnam - have
also expressed reservations over Kosovo.
Russia - which is protective of Serbs who are a minority in Kosovo -
is conscious of the political implications of the Kosovo UDI for the
separatist movement within its own borders, in Chechnya.
The Russians have threatened to use their veto to prevent the U.N.
from giving its political blessings to the new nation state.
Addressing an emergency meeting of the Security Council Monday,
Churkin said: "The illegal acts of the Kosovo Albanian leadership's and
of those who support them set a dangerous precedent."
China, another veto-wielding member, fears possible UDI by Taiwan and
Tibet, both of which the Chinese claim are under its sovereignty and
jurisdiction.
Liu Jianchao, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said in Beijing:
"Kosovo's unilateral act could produce a series of results that will
lead to a seriously negative influence on peace and stability in the
Balkan region." China, he said, is "deeply concerned" about this.
The UDI by Kosovo is also threatening to raise a political hornet's
nest outside European borders.
Sri Lanka, which has long fought a Tamil separatist movement in its
northern and eastern provinces, has warned that Kosovo's declaration of
independence could set "an unmanageable precedent in the conduct of
international relations" and is a violation of the U.N. charter which
guarantees sovereignty of nation states.
Since the 1960s, the Philippines has been fighting the Moro National
Liberation Front seeking a Muslim nation-state in Sulu Mindanao.
The Thai government has been battling the Pattani United Liberation
Front, founded in 1968, and whose ultimate objective is a Muslim state
in southern Thailand. In Europe, the reservations over Kosovo's
independence have come from Romania, Spain, Greece, Slovakia and Cyprus
- some of whom are either facing potential secessionists or distraught
minorities.
Russia has warned that it will retaliate against Kosovo's
independence by recognising the two breakaway regions of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia, which are now integral parts of Georgia, a U.N. member
state.
"Europe after centuries of wars and feuds opted ultimately for
international legality as its foundation," says Churkin.
The Russian envoy also pointed out that attempts to decide the future
of peoples through arbitrary interpretation of international law and
unilateral steps bypassing the U.N., out of "political expediency," are
"destructive to the collective effort to strengthen international
anti-crisis capacities based on the fundamental principles of the U.N.
Charter."
Since 1999, Kosovo has been a U.N. protectorate governed by Security
Council resolution 1244.
"Any wanton steps bypassing the Security Council to reform at the
international presences in Kosovo or to change their mandates with the
purpose of formalising or giving support to a unilateral declaration of
independence of Kosovo would run counter to international law, above all
to the Charter of the United Nations, and the universal principles of
peacekeeping," Churkin told delegates.
Inter Press Service
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