Walk the talk

Kosovo President-elect Thaci spoke recently at the Hague Institute for International Justice. A friend urged me to have a careful look at his speech, I suppose in part because of my open letter to him upon his election to the Presidency.

I’m not inclined to respond in detail on the first four historical points Hashim makes. I’ll leave it to others to offer evidence on whether he is correct or not in claiming that the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during its rebellion against Serbian rule in the late 1990s did not use terrorism against civilians, did not rely on revenue from criminal activities, truly embraced Western values and kept away from religion. I would prefer that all these things be true, but I understand that some will want to challenge them, especially the first, second and third of these points.

Hashim makes a fifth historical point of particular relevance today: that Kosovo independence was a compromise between Belgrade, which wanted the former autonomous province re-incorporated into Serbia, and those among the Albanians who wanted Kosovo to join Albania. I think he is basically correct: the Kosovars accepted a deal with the international community (Serbia never signed on) that permitted independence but prevented union with Albania.

Maintaining that deal is vital to a good relationship with the Americans and Europeans, not least because any departure from it in the direction of union with Albania (or surrender of the northern municipalities to Serbia, which would ensue) would provide Russia with the justification it seeks for its several border change propositions: annexation of Crimea and its de facto rule in Ukrainian Donbas, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Transnistria. The Kosovar political movement known as Vetvendosje! (Self-Determination) is challenging the deal that led to independence, along with some Serbs who want to incorporate the northern part of Kosovo into Serbia. In doing so, they risk opening Pandora’s box and making Kosovo into a pariah.

When the President-elect looks to the future, he makes four points: Serbia and Kosovo should

• help Europe, especially on immigration, extremism and organized crime, which he associates in part with Russia;
• cooperate economically, in particular to create jobs;
• engage regionally, especially on security (including via NATO) and infrastructure;
• establish the rule of law, including the Kosovo Special Court that will look into allegations of post-war KLA crimes some believe implicate Thaci himself.

He makes lots of other points along the way, but I wanted to strip the talk down to its policy-relevant essence, which seems to me eminently reasonable.

Many readers will want to raise questions about the President-elect’s sincerity, about post-war attacks on Serbs and destruction of Serb churches and monuments in Kosovo, about criminal allegations against and convictions of some KLA commanders and fighters, and widespread perceptions of corruption and illicit enrichment. I have no objections to those issues being raised and hope that the President-elect will respond in the same even-tempered tone as his speech in the Hague.

But I think it is appropriate to remind that diplomacy is getting other people to say, and do, what you want them to say and do.

Hashim is saying a lot of the right things, at least so far as the international community is concerned. Kosovo needs to govern effectively, clean up corruption, grow its economy, protect Serbs as well as other minorities, and end the trafficking, organized crime and extremism that are giving it a bad name. What it boils down to is instituting much improved governance.

That requires more than saying the right things to convince the skeptics. It requires doing the right things. Even with the best of intentions, it will not be easy: the president in Kosovo is elected in parliament and has limited powers. Many will be skeptical that Thaci is really committed to doing rule of law in a serious way. But Hashim has set his sights high. That’s good. Now let’s see if he can walk the talk. That would be far better.