Serbia and Kosovo: Lessons for Sri Lanka and Tamil Eelam
By Kusal Perera
Kosovo not only divided Serbia into two independent States, it also divided the world into two differing blocs. One that supports cessation and the other that does not. The major power blocs in the West had consented to accept Kosovo as an independent state even before it made the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) on 17th February. The USA was thanked by thousands of Kosovans who came on to the streets of Pristina for giving them an independent country. Yet it was a difficult acceptance for all of those big powers. Bush therefore qualified their stand by saying cessation of Kosovo and accepting it, would not be made a precedent. For most who opposed, there were ample reasons to do so. Russia is pained with separation and still fights against more cessations. China has not given up on Taiwan. Spain has Basque wanting to secede. India has at least Kashmir fighting a liberation struggle. Pakistan has Baluchistan rebelling for freedom. Cyprus torn in two is still sore. So is our own Sri Lanka, waging a war that claims to keep the country as a Unitary State.
[Kosovars celebrated in central Pristina, Kosovo, on the night of Sat Feb 16th-ahead of the region’s declaration of independence from Serbia, expected to come on Sunday-Photo Courtesy of NYTimes.com]
The Sri Lankan government cannot therefore felicitate Kosovans over their liberation and would be left in a tight patch, if Palestinians liberate to establish their own State too. Yet the Sinhala South that expects the war to deliver a unitary State for them, needs to learn a few lessons from the Kosovo issue, what ever this government says about wining the war and annihilating the LTTE. A few words about the war and negotiations with all stakeholders to the conflict as per “Mahinda Chintanaya” to begin with would indicate where this country is being led right now. In the Sinhala version of the Mahinda Chinthana booklet, Presidential candidate Rajapaksa promises to conclude all negotiations within 03 months from assuming office (page / 29) as Executive President. A pledge there would be no war in this country, there after from March 2006. Having assumed office in November 2005, the war was dragged on for two years for now without any semblance of negotiations, but with promises thrown in between by different personalities of high authority on winning the war. Once it was before end 2007 and then before Sinhala New Year 2008. There was the promise of eliminating 10 Tigers every day to finish the war by June this year. The crowning glory to all these promises came from the President himself about a fortnight ago when he told the Indian media he would need “about an year, or may be one and a half years” to finish the war. That would keep this country bleeding in agony at least till mid 2009. And then who knows for how long there after ?
But that had been the war with every government, starting with President JRJ who wanted General Weeratunge to report back to him after finishing off the Tamil insurgents by end December 1979. That is not all about waging war against an insurgency that has a political reason for its brutal presence. It’s all about the Kosovo Albanians gaining independence with a separate State, for SL to learn a lesson or two.
Kosovo Province with 90 percent Muslim Albanians since the Turks ran over all that Balkan land from 1389 stretching up to the doors of Vienna and established the Ottoman rule for over five centuries, enjoyed a fair degree of autonomy since 1963 within the Yugoslav Republic under President Josip Bros Tito. President Tito was a Socialist maverick who opposed Stalin, allowed religious freedom and schemed a different social system that allowed for profit sharing within a state controlled economy. Tito believed in defusing tensions through loosening state controls and the Yugoslav Republic underwent another major constitutional reform in 1974 that gave education, health and housing to the autonomous regions and provinces and Kosovo gained self – government in many areas of social life including police and the judiciary.
Like most Eastern European States with the Yugoslav Republic running into dissenting politics in the decade of 80, Serb nationalism was a rallying call in Belgrade that paved the way for Slobodan Milosevic to rise to power. This on the other hand catalysed Kosovo Albanian sentiments and in 1981, a student protest broke out in six of the major Kosovan cities with a call for a “Kosovo Republic within Yugoslavia”. The protests were brutally suppressed by Belgrade and thus began the organised Kosovo Albanian nationalist movement with a political agenda. The Kosovo Albanian nationalism gained further legitimacy with Milosevic ascending to power in Serbia in late 1987.
The last straw on the camel’s back was the Serbian referendum in 1989 that allowed curbing of autonomous powers in the provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina. Most national minorities and Kosovo Albanians boycotted the referendum. Milosevic’s government was accused of rigging the elections, controlling of media and abuse of human rights. Constitutional reforms that had to be ratified by the provincial governments were done so with tanks and armoured cars lined in front of provincial assemblies. The constitutional reforms thus affected gave the Serbian government of Milosevic, total control over police, the judiciary, economy, language policy and the education system, previously enjoyed by the provincial governments.
The results were obvious. Initial non violent protests led by Kosovo Albanian populist Dr. Ibrahim Rugova failed to resolve the Kosovo conflict. Instead they swelled the presence of Serbo-Yugoslav military and police in Kosovo. The rest is history of ethnic cleansing. Over 100,000 Albanians within the Kosovo province were sacked from state enterprises by the Serbian government. The provincial media was shut down and the Pristina University closed. In 1995, Croatian Serbs were settled in Kosovo in an attempt to change the ethnic balance within Kosovo. With non violent politics of Rugova unable to deliver justice to Kosovo Albanians, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) came into existence in 1996 and the struggle to establish an independent Kosovo took a violent turn. With Milosevic’s government choosing war, Albanian villages in Kosovo were looted and burnt down. Whole villages were displaced and thousands of ethnic Albanians sought refuge in neighbouring Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro. Fleeing ethnic Albanians were killed and dumped in mass graves. In return, Serbs in Kosovo had to flee to Serbia.
The entry of NATO, the formation of UNMIK and the facilitation of stability and peace within the Kosovo province under UNMIK since 1999, were all results thereof. The NATO took 78 days of heavy bombing to compel Milosevic’s government to agree to withdraw all its military and police from Kosovo. The UN Security Council Resolution 1244 accepted Serbian sovereignty over Kosovo but the majority of the Kosovo Albanians refused to accept Serbian rule. This compelled the UN to facilitate negotiations between Serbia and KLA on the “status of Kosovo”. UN backed negotiations began in February, exactly two years ago.
Lessons to learn are not very complicated. One, even 02 mn people would not accept ethnic or religious ideology based centralised rule over them. Two, military interventions in controlling nationalist aspirations leads to violent protests that over time changes into armed conflict that we prefer to call “terrorism”. Three, hyped State nationalism can not compensate a protracted war, breaking down of social stability, economic devastation and criminalising of social forces. Four, what we label as “terrorism” that emerges out of political suppression can not be suppressed militarily and negotiations to end that terrorism have to be with those terrorists themselves. In short, war is no answer to a politically triggered conflict although it turns into an armed conflict due to authoritarian and sectarian politics of a governing party.
This basic fact was perhaps understood by the post Milosevic Serbian government that negotiated the status of Kosovo with the KLA leadership, although it had to accommodate Serb sentiments. There was no room left any more to compromise on the old autonomous rule that was given by the Yugoslavian State under Josip Bros Tito. It now had to be something more than what was there thirty years ago. This left the Serbian government of Vojislav Kostunica to choose between another war and an independent Kosovo. He chose the latter by protesting, instead of going back to war even with the backing of the Russian super power.
What is important to us is the strategy that was developed by the KLA which was classified a “terrorist organisation” by the CIA, the USA and the UN. The BBC’s Correspondent in the Balkans, Paul Wood wrote in March 2001 that “the Kosovo Liberation Army became the most successful guerrilla movement of modern times”. They had proved to the international community the Serbian authorities are not only violating human rights within a genocidal war, they would not accommodate the Kosovo Albanian aspirations within a democratic power sharing system. That Kosovo Albanians have no alternative but to be independent from Serbian hegemony to achieve peace for both societies. It is therefore worth reading how the Sri Lankan situation would evolve with Indian backing that may not be enough to plug leaks of robust Southern hegemony. One that avoids accommodating Tamil aspirations with actual power sharing, substituted instead by war for another one and a half years to satisfy Southern sentiments within an economy that holds no promise even for the Sinhala majority.
Ratna said,
February 25, 2008 @ 1:23 pm
There are some differences:
1) Mahinda R. is not like Milosevic (maybe close).
2) Kosova or Serbia does not have a ‘big’ neighbour with a long term plan to take over those nations.
3) Unlike Kosova, in Lanka, majority of LTTE supporters still prefer a federal solution.
dingiri said,
February 25, 2008 @ 1:49 pm
Great article Kusal, your analysis on lessons to be learnt for Sri Lankans are spot on. I Wish Dayan Jayatilleka was blessed with your intellect! All he could take away from this episode was that Sri Lanka should never allow a foreign power to set foot on our land on “humanitarian” grounds!! — Lets first push the 10,000 strong LTTE a few yards inland from Mannar before we start talking about taking on foreign super powers shall we…??
MuttuRaj said,
February 25, 2008 @ 2:40 pm
Excellent analysis. This should be an eye-opener to Mahinda and his followers who are deceiving the Lankans & IC to believe that there is only a terrorist
problem in SL. The govt is taking the country on a destructive path. Act before it is too late.
Suresh M said,
February 25, 2008 @ 6:41 pm
Kusal Perera,
Good article.
Your comparison Kosovo to Tamil Eelam (NE Lanka) is a real prospect. This will be an ‘eye opener’ for many of our fellow Southerners. The way the last sixty years of post independent governments have conducted themselves pushed the minorities to seek separation.
I wish someone should publish your writing in Sinhala.
I agree with #1 Ratna on all three points, especially 2, & 3.
Thru.m said,
February 25, 2008 @ 11:16 pm
A good analysis by Kusal with elucidation on Cheif puppeteer next door.
“It is all coming back”. I mean 1987 and 13th amendment under a pact signed by a muppet himself and a puppeteer, on Tamils’ behalf. JVP showed it aggression to the pact through their mini muppet for the world to see. The main muppet EPRLF had to flee to puppeteer’s home for safety.
This time chief puppeteer and her local counterpart are relying on :
one man TULF muppet, one man LSSP cum APRC muppet, EPDP muppet, PLOTE muppets, TMVP muppets to plug leaks from both sides.
It is going to be another series of puppet and muppet show by local and regional puppeteers. Who will bear the cost of this puppet and muppet shows ?
PS : Oscar Wilde wrote about puppetry, “There are many advantages in puppets. They don’t argue with you, they don’t have any tastes in art (or politics), and they don’t have anything to lose.”
harshana somapriya said,
February 26, 2008 @ 1:24 am
The problem in Sri Lanka is that the LTTE is not ready to negotiate. They have faith only in terrorism.
(The way they behaved during the previous ceasefire proved that they only have a military agenda & they do not posess political wisdom, maturity or commitment to find a peaceful solution)
They also terrorize their own community. They have destroyed many Tamils who stood for a negotiated settlement. And still they continue to kill members of other Tamil groups like TMVP, EPDP, TULF etc.
One cannot blame MR since he was dragged to war by LTTE.
Successful military campaign has lead LTTE’s Nadesan to express their willingness to fully implement ceasefire which was blatantly violated by them many thousands of times.
Having said that MR has a big responsibility to implement the 13th amendment in full (immediately) & go for a constitutional reform after receiving the full APRC proposal.
He should stop relying on JVP & JHU, & call for an early election after mid 2009 ( since by that time the fate of terrorism will be decided). If JHU & JVP were put to contest alone they would never get any bargaining power in the parliament. Then the amending of the constitution would not be a big issue, since the vast majority of the Sinhalese are moderates. ( JHU & some in JVP are in one extreme while the people like Vikramabahu, Lasantha Wikramatunga & maybe Kusal Perera are on the other extreme – i.e Blind patriotism vs. Traitors)
Gee Sampanthan said,
February 26, 2008 @ 2:06 am
Kusal, You always find good subjects to write and I like your clarity and understanding of your subjects. If all the journalist are that good..the society would have been transformed… but then there are the others….Yes It is sad.
Canaga said,
February 26, 2008 @ 3:14 am
Excellent article! Wish Mahinda could read and understand.
Why do we not federate and live in peace? We can develop SL to an excellent country.
Time is running out, before we are divided!
Dias said,
February 26, 2008 @ 2:18 pm
Sri Lanka has never been closer to seperation as it is today. Sinhalese-Buddhists naturally prefer to take solace in the thought that Sri Lanka will never be seperated as division would destabalize India and the latter will never allow it. What they do not want to recognize is, it is India who has been insisting upon a federal-like setup as a solution to the problem. In the event the Sinhalese do not deliver this formula, India will not idly standby. With the full support of the EU + US +UN, India will take upon the lead to force a federal solution. If the Sinhalese refuse, India will have little choice but concur with the big powers to draw-up the boundaries and bifurcate the nation. The SInhalese must note that as a tiny minority that represents less than .25% (point-2-5) of the world’s population, despite their lofty sense of importance, they are not an economic force of any significance. It is India, and in particular South India and Bangalore that have risen as the economic powerhouses of South Asia that are of greater strategic importance to the Americans and the Europeans.
In Summer 2006 when president Rajapaksa appointed the Experts Panel there was a lot a hope in the IC that a political solution will be forthcoming. The president was highly respected as a true statesman. Since the, all what the administration has done is to confirm what the separatists have been saying all along, that the SInhalese are an intransigent people unaccomodative of minorities aspirations. The Marga public polls that also confirmed a vast majority of the Sinhalese are in favor of the war has further solidified this idea in the minds of many US legislators.
Unless the Sinhalese reverse their position, and adopt a broadly concilliatory approach, we are on the way to a Kosovo-like seperation. I am a Sinhalese and this thought hurts me deeply.
Kusal Perera said,
February 27, 2008 @ 12:25 am
Thanks for all the appreciation by all of you. Yes, I do agree this is a discourse that needs to be carried in Sinhala and on my part I had this very same line of argument on Kosovo, as it applies to us in SL published in the daily Lakbima (Sinhala) news paper yesterday (26 Feb). Wonder whether it would help start a discussion. I doubt, in this country.
Suresh M said,
February 27, 2008 @ 10:11 pm
Thank you Kusal Perera for taking your message to our Sinhala people.
It is only Sinhala majority can solve this divisive issue amicably. I personally don’t want to live in a small corner alone, but live as a proud Lankan among all other communities.
Dias said,
February 28, 2008 @ 2:49 am
Kusal: “I doubt, in this country.”
It is truly sad that a serious dialog is not taking place among Sri Lankan people about their future. Kusal, in your view, what are the reasons for this apathy? What needs to be done to change this attitude and get them interested in a searching dialog? What can we in the Disaporas do? How can we help? Thanks!
Kusal Perera said,
February 28, 2008 @ 3:14 pm
Thanks for your concern Dias.
Its another discourse by itself. But let me try to condense it.
1. the media itself has its own constraints, ideological and editorial.
2. There are social pressures on the media too in gong into self censorships.
3. Social structures are politicised to the extent, people do not want to voice their independent positions, less they antagonise the political authority in the locality and thus would fail in getting their needs addressed.
4. Political leaderships don’t allow internal democracy withi their parties. This is a major issue.
Finally we lack intellectual debate even within the academia and at present, WE ARE GOING THROUGH AN INTELLECTUAL LEADERSHIP CRISIS IN THIS COUNTRY.
Wonder how this whole gamut of issues could be addressed.
Hope I got the issues in a nutshell.
Kusal
Dias said,
February 29, 2008 @ 1:21 am
Kusal … Thanks for you insights … valuable and helpful.
Gayan said,
March 2, 2008 @ 5:31 pm
Sorry to burst your bubble Kusal & your day dreaming supporters. The US congrass has adopted this resolution very recently (After your article)
‘Whereas, in light of NATO’s military intervention in Kosovo and the United Nations trusteeship established in Kosovo pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), the international community has recognized the political circumstances in Kosovo as unique, and the settlement of Kosovo’s status therefore does not establish a precedent for the resolution of other conflicts;’ ***states the resolution
Basically no more international (atleast US) support for unilateral declaration or attempted declaration of independence for any other conflict in the world
The resolution was backed by Barrak Obama & John McCain the front runners for USA presidency.
Oh that bubble…so short and sweet
Kusal Perera said,
March 2, 2008 @ 11:30 pm
Gayan,
There was no day dreaming and no bubble to burst. That happens to those who enter discussions with vengeance or hatred only. I have discussed the issue very realistically and for me the best would have been, the two nations to exist DEMOCRATICALLY as a single country. What I have tried to explain are reasons why they could not and the lessons we (ie., those who are living in SL) could learn from that conflict that led to separation.
I have also not gone taken the big powers for granted. Just read this quote from my article. [quote] Yet it was a difficult acceptance for all of those big powers. Bush therefore qualified their stand by saying cessation of Kosovo and accepting it, would not be made a precedent. [unquote]
Also, don’t forget, it takes only another resolution in another int. forum or the same congress for all of them to change their stand and accept yet another “separate State” if they want to, for their own geo-political advantage.
Thanks for that opportunity to clear another issue.
Gayan said,
March 4, 2008 @ 2:54 am
Kusal,
Your response adds more ammo to the theory of day dreaming and the bubble.
“Two nations to exist “democratically” to exist in a single country “.Is the Ealam sepretist war waged by LTTE is democratic?.is VP goal of “a ethnicly pure tamil state” democratic?.
You have accused me of “who enter discussions with vengeance or hatred only” And im finding a it to deficult to locate a line from my earlier response resembling “hatred/Vengence”.Again proves my theory of your day dreaming.
But advocating two nations divided on racial lines by you in a single is RACISM isn’t it ???
Im very much aware of superpowers shiting policy to their own benefit as we have seen since the WW2.But you and your supporters assesment that comparing Kosovo to elusive Ealam,no matter how hard you try is my friend is DAY DREAMING !
Saravanaraj said,
March 8, 2008 @ 9:52 am
I agree with Ratna,
Yes most of Sri Lankan Tamils are still have some hope in federal solution but The number is reducing day by day.
Hope Gayan can understand the Tamils feelings.
Thanks Kusul for the well written article, Please don’t giveup just because few selected extreme facters. We must rightly explain to those extreme factors and bring them into right side of the world.
Still I have some hope that We can Live together just like my school days.
Saravanaraj