Euro-Korrespondent

NO TIME FOR TRIUMPHALISM

On the eve of the ICJ ruling, a friend asked me what I thought about the case. Look, I said, whatever you might think about it, you have to accept that this is a great improvement. The case is being settled in the court and not on the battlefield. And no matter how much time or money might have been wasted, there has been no loss of life because of it.

At that time, it was a common belief that the ruling would be ambiguous. A draw was what most of the international analysts were predicting. Expectations were not much higher in the region itself, where politicians on both sides were already declaring victory. As a Belgrade friend of mine put it, Serbia had already made up its mind. They “knew” that the judges had divided 7-7. Emotions were running low on both sides of the divide with most ordinary citizens barely taking any notice of the forthcoming event.

ICJ ruling was anything but ambiguous. Kosovo’s declaration of independence did not violate general international law, the Court decided in its non-binding advisory ruling. Ten judges voted in favour of this ruling, four against. The case was brought to the court by Serbia after Kosovar Albanians declared independence in February 2008. The declaration itself came after a two-year negotiation process led by an international envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, which failed to find a compromise solution. In December last year, 29 countries presented arguments in support of or against the independence of Kosovo. The court then took another seven months to deliver its verdict.

For Serbia the ruling represents a major blow. Having insisted on taking the case to the Court, it is hard to see how Belgrade can now dismiss its findings.

For Kosovars, though, the ruling should be seen not as a victory but as an opportunity. Tempting as it is, the Kosovo government and people should not indulge in triumphalism or jubilation. Instead, they should see this as a chance to initiate a new relationship with their neighbours; a dialogue that pays due respect to Serbia’s decision to contest the case and the right of others to give their views. For, as stubborn as it may seem, Serbia’s decision to take this route is a vast improvement on the 80s and 90s, when the government of the day refused to listen to anyone who questioned their right to absolute power in Kosovo. And however predictable Serbia’s reaction to this latest setback, there has been no reversion to 1990s-style street protests against the West or indeed Albanians.

The government in Pristina, which did not seek the court’s approval of the independence declaration itself, should now open a meaningful dialogue with the Serbian government on practical issues. As partners from a broken marriage, and ones with many interests and aspirations in common, they should make every attempt to advance the interests of their citizens and not their own populist agendas. It is time for the region to start worrying more about its people than about the troubled history that still haunts so many of its politicians.

posted by Euro-Korrespondent @ 12:48 AM