Divide and rule was and is a common strategy used by empires or superior political entities to control those of weaker political, militaristic or economic strength by breaking up the larger concentrations of those entities into individual ones with less power.

 

As a people and nation, the Albanians were often victim of this strategy of rule which has arguably resulted in Albanians being divided and existing in several different countries today. One of the two majority Albanian countries, Kosova (Kosovo), is now seeing the consequences in its leadership of enduring this strategy for centuries. Kosova’s self-rule, legitimized on February 17th, is itself divided amongst the government, EULEX, ICO and even UNMIK. Several power-wielding vessels such as these allow for vacuums of responsibility to be created, therefore one entity excusing its responsibilities upon the shoulders of another. The problem which arises is one of a blurred chain of command, so while this chain of command seems to be clear in theory and structure, it is rather unclear in practice and implementation.

 

Kosova dailies nonetheless cite various political leaders including the head of state and head of government reiterating the fact the territorial integrity of Kosova is uncompromising and that the development of parallel institutions in the Northern part of Mitrovica are illegal. However, the lack of law enforcement and general implementation of rule in this part of Kosova is making partition a de facto reality which becomes more and more pronounced with this lack of action. In such a delicate situation, one is understandably unsure how to act, nevertheless it is time for initial maneuvers to be taken. Firstly, UNMIK’s departure should be completed so that we clear up the question of who is to act. Once that is done, it is clear that the Kosovar government and EULEX with supervision by the ICO slowly and carefully take measures to make sure that the territory on Kosova’s flag is not redrawn.

 

Apart from the aforementioned Serbian minority which has itself been against Kosovar Albanian rule, unsurprisingly, Serbia is not acting as a stabilizing factor in this conflict. Serbian President, Boris Tadic recently stated “I’m ready to think about that option, [Kosova’s partition] if we exhaust all other options”. He went on to stay “all options are legitimate”, when dealing with a fair solution to the issue of Kosova. First of all, Tadic has refused any option including Kosovar independence which would contradict him stating that “all options legitimate”. He mentioned this “alternative” in his policy if all diplomatic efforts were exhausted. One following the diplomatic efforts against Kosovar independence and therefore Balkan stability realizes that this effort is now solely led by Serbia, and not so much so by Russia. Russian media, with its apparent censorship and bias, recently released an article stating that acceptance of Kosova’s independence recently increased in Russia to 31% of those polled. Is this just an independent opinion or is it the beginning of a slow change in the policy of Russia towards the Republic of Kosova?

Serbia’s most recent diplomatic effort is requesting the legal opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), a request which realistically can only slow down the recognition process for Kosova. We note however, that this is actually not the only thing this request can do, it can also simultaneously speed up the partition of the Northern part of Mitrovica by the Republic of Serbia. So, it would seem that Tadic may have been “thinking” about the option of partition for quite some time now. The Northern part of Mitrovica as of February 17th 2008 is de jure foreign territory for Serbia and any attempt of its partition is hereby illegal. 


The question is will the Kosovar leadership allow Serbia to once again illegally occupy and usurp its territory? This would further divide Albanians, now even within the territory of Kosova! Of course this division does not come without a pretext for a sphere of influence over Kosova and therefore rule, yet again the strategy for domination reappears. The Kosovar government must not let this happen; it would make independence illegitimate, it would thwart domestic efforts via the Ahtisaari Plan to ensure peace among the Albanians and the minorities, lastly, it would taint the mission and efforts of the international community and independent nations in guiding the future of the Republic of Kosova. Unity in the structure of rule on behalf of Kosova is an important step towards avoiding partition, this unity and a clear chain of command cannot sacrifice stability any longer.

 

Drilon is an Albanian-American who works in Kosova