A Kosovo Constitution Is Best Chance of Peace
By Tim Judah
THE West bombed Yugoslavia for 78 days because of Ko so vo. For the last two years we have been pumping money into this benighted province by the millions; thousands of soldiers are stationed there. But we are still wondering: What are we to do with Kosovo? Suddenly, we know the answer. Last week Hans Haekkerup, the UN governor for Kosovo, promulgated a constitutional framework for the province. He laid out plans for an assembly, a government and elections to be held in November. Haekkerup's plan is a sensible compromise. It will let Kosovo's Albanians and Serbs - if the latter participate - run the territory until they are ready to talk about its final status. Yet, inevitably, both are grumbling about the plan. The question now is whether they'll be farsighted enough to support it. Kosovo's assembly will have 120 seats, including 10 reserved for Serbs and 10 for Kosovo's other minorities. The assembly will elect a president, who in turn will nominate a prime minister, who will form a government. The UN will still be responsible for justice, law and order and for the Kosovo Protection Corps, which most Kosovar Albanians believe to be the nucleus of their future army. But on other issues, it will take a back seat. In other words, Kosovars will handle their own day-to-day affairs. But Albanian leaders wanted a referendum on independence from Serbia. Not only did the Albanians not get it, but the future arrangements have no time limit, and resolution of Kosovo's final status has been put off indefinitely. In effect, the lack of a time limit serves as a "no confidence" vote in Albanian leaders, who have done little or nothing to end violence against Serbs in Kosovo. Despite their objections, the Albanians will grudgingly participate in the elections. And that may have a bracing effect. They might be forced to go beyond demanding independence and develop some actual policies on issues like creating sorely needed jobs. The Serbian leadership in Kosovo rejected the constitutional framework out of hand, declaring that it will boycott the elections. They wanted a veto in the parliament. In Belgrade, Serbia's leaders called the plan a concession to Albanian separatists. And they continue to insist that Kosovo is part of Serbia, even if they have no way of re-establishing a political link with some 2 million Albanians who hate them. Given that depressing prospect, the constitutional framework may be the best we can hope for. If Albanians and Serbs accept the plan, then there's hope yet for the region. If not, they may eventually be doomed to decades of Middle East-style violence. Tim Judah is the author of "Kosovo: War and Revenge." He contributed this comment to The New York Times.
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