Kosovo's Liberation: Challenges Ahead

Strategic Insights -

The opening phase of Kosovo's liberation has gone surprisingly well, with the Yugoslav army and Serb police withdrawing ahead of schedule. NATO-led peace-keeping forces, K-For, have moved in quickly and efficiently, and the issue over Russia's participation has been resolved. However, two pressing tasks must be addressed for the second phase to be successful: stopping the exodus of Serb civilians and clearing unexploded cluster bombs, mines, and booby-traps from the Kosovo countryside.

Key Takeaways:

  • K-For must stem the flow of Serb civilians out of Kosovo, providing good security for those willing to live under Albanian rule in a multiethnic state. The KLA must also issue a public statement condemning violence against Serbs and vowing to protect their rights.
  • Treating the KLA as an important political factor, offering it a chance to form the country's new police force and national guard, is crucial in maintaining stability. The KLA's commitment to a genuinely multiethnic state is crucial for Kosovo's future.
  • Fierce discussions have been ongoing between NATO and the United Nations over who should remove the unexploded ordnance and who should pay. NATO has a clear responsibility to remove its unexploded ordnance, and the alliance should deploy its thousands of deminers to Kosovo to speed up the process.
  • The KLA, comprised of many of Kosovo's best and brightest, is a generally popular force commanding the loyalty of most Albanians. Treating it as a disruptive nuisance would be disastrous and undermine its commitment to a multi-ethnic state.
  • Hundreds of thousands of unexploded cluster bombs, mines, and booby-traps litter the Kosovo countryside, posing a significant threat to civilians. NATO and the UN must work together to clear these deadly remnants, with NATO taking the lead in removing its own unexploded ordnance and the UN footing the bill.

Statistics:

  • 80 years: the length of time Kosovo has been a colony of Serbia
  • Hundreds of thousands: the estimated number of unexploded cluster bombs, mines, and booby-traps in Kosovo
  • 3 months: the time frame for the KLA to disarm
  • 19: the number of NATO member nations with de-miners to deploy in Kosovo
  • 1999: the year Jonathan Steele began covering Kosovo

Sources:

Jonathan Steele, "Kosovo's liberation: challenges ahead," Global Beat Syndicate, 1999, distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services, http://www.nyu.edu/globalbeat/syndicate, accessed [date unknown].