Vol. 72/No. 14      April 7, 2008

“[I]ndependent Kosovo is a reality,” a Hungarian diplomatic official told Reuters, “and recognition cannot be avoided.”

Croatia, Hungary, and Bulgaria all border Serbia. Croatia was part of the workers state of Yugoslavia, as were Serbia and Kosova. Capitalist property relations were also overturned in Hungary and Bulgaria, and those countries were ruled by bureaucratic Stalinist castes until the early 1990s.

“I do understand this is a difficult one for Serbia to swallow,” said Croatia’s prime minister Ivo Sanader. “But I don’t expect a worsening of political and economic relations because there is no alternative to good neighborly relations.”

“[R]ecognition of Kosovo is certainly not an act of good will between neighbors,” said Serbian president Boris Tadic. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica assured business leaders that the political differences between the governments would not hinder economic relations. Trade between Belgrade and the three countries totaled nearly $1.2 billion in 2006.

The government in Belgrade has divided over how best to undermine the new nation of Kosova. Ninety percent of Kosova’s population are ethnic Albanians, who have been systematically discriminated against by the Serbian government.

On March 14, Serbs in Mitrovica, a city in northern Kosova with a majority-Serb population, occupied a UN-run court. Two days later, UN police raided the court and arrested 53 people. Serb rebels attacked a UN convoy with automatic weapons and grenades.

The UN police withdrew from Mitrovica and were replaced by French, Belgian, and Spanish troops under NATO command. Some 150 U.S. troops were deployed on the Albanian side of Mitrovica. Dozens were wounded and a UN cop was killed in the ensuing fighting.

UN officials accused the Serbian government of direct involvement in the violence. Tadic said that his government was only interested in “helping” Kosovar Serbs. His government has called on the 120,000 Serbs who live in Kosova to ignore Kosovar authorities, and promised rewards to those civil servants who remain loyal to Belgrade.

Tadic also criticized Serbia’s minister for Kosova for pursuing policies among Kosovar Serbs that could potentially harm Belgrade’s interests.

The Serbian government collapsed March 10 over whether or not to pursue membership in the European Union—an avenue toward increasing much-needed foreign investment—now that the majority of EU member states have recognized Kosovar independence.

More than 30 governments have recognized Kosova’s independence. Romania, Bosnia, and Macedonia, which also border Serbia, have not yet done so.  
 
 
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