My Irish grandmother used to tell me a story.
A man found himself in the back of beyond, totally lost. Finally, after driving round in the dark for hours, he comes across an old farmer on a horse and cart. Winding down the window, he leans across and asks "Excuse me - I'm not from round here; could you help me get back to Dublin?"
The old farmer thinks for a while, then says: "Oh, I can get you back to Dublin all right - but I wouldn't start from here".
The point is, we can only deal with the situation we find ourselves in. Despite our efforts during the 1990s, the policies of Slobodan Milosevic and his government created the situation in Kosovo in early 1999 where NATO had no option but to intervene in order to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe (for background, look at the FCO Kosovo profile, or at the International Crisis Group website - for another perspective). Yes, Kosovo has a history of ethnic conflict that reaches back into history. Yes, Albanians weren't the only victims. But one cannot get away from the central issue; what the Milosevic regime did in Kosovo changed everything - and limited the possible solutions.
I often quote the example of Veton Surroi to my Kosovo Serb friends. Here is the son of a Yugoslav diplomat, who was closely involved in the Yugoslavia-wide drive for democracy at the start of the 1990s. A decade later, he is part of the 'Unity Team', leading Kosovo's efforts for independence. The events of the 1990s led him on this journey.
So, we are where we are. We have to deal with the situation as best we can. And we do have to deal with it, right now; this is vital for European Security, but, most importantly of all, to give all the people of Kosovo a hope for a better life. With all of this in mind, that's why the British government supports President Ahtisaari's proposal for the final status of Kosovo as the best way forward. This settlement gives us all a way of dealing with the past, and, importantly, a range of protections for those who feel most vulnerable and isolated in Kosovo, especailly the Kosovo Serb community.
We are right at the end of the political process now - the crucial time. The EU is ready to assume its responsibilities in dealing with Kosovo [PDF] (paras 65-71). The process is ready to move forward. That's why communication and dialogue are so important.
And so to the blog. I hope that this blog can provide a place to discuss the process that Kosovo is about to go through, and the work of what we in the British Office do to support this process. It's clear that Kosovo incites considerable passions (just look at comments on any Kosovo video on youtube). But equally, we have a responsibility to explain our views, to engage with people with different perspectives, and to keep communicating. That's diplomacy - and a large part of my job in the British Office (which will feature in a future entry in this blog). So I hope that people will add comments - and I will make every effort to reply to your comments, questions and ideas.
Posted at 13:20 23 January 2008 by Ruairi O'Connell | Comments[8]
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