Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Partition again

BBC monitoring brings a discussion on Pink TV on partition of Kosovo. The BBC brings it is "both sides agree that partitioning is not a solution". As an advocate of partition I think that that is a distortion of the discussion.

First of all: partition can never be the only solution: many Serbs live in isolated villages and some in mixed villages. You cannot solve the problems of those people with partition. But that doesn't mean that partition cannot be part of the solution. Let's be honest and admit that being a minority is always less agreeable than being part of majority. So if you can reduce the number of people who live as a minority without creating impossible borders that is a definite advantage.

Some quotes from the discussion and my reaction:

[Deda]Should Kosovo be partitioned, then two monoethnic entities will be created.
Nonsense. Partition is something different than a population exchange. You will still have minorities on both sides who need minority rights. You are just reducing the number of people that has to live as a minority.
Or is Deda threatening with ethnic cleansing???

[Unidentified UNMIK official] It is very important that it is one political space
Why? One space means that one group is in control. The core of minority rights is that you give people some control over their own fate when due to discrimination the majority doesn't provide adequate government.

[Unidentified UNMIK official] the entire Contact Group, all the principle players, have agreed that partition is not an answer here in Kosovo.
Resolution 1244 does not exclude the option of partition. It is unfortunate that instead of dealing with the actual situation in Kosovo - what is their job - the Conatct Group instead has indulged in abstraction like this "no partition" principle. Principles are the job of the Security Council, not of the Contact Group.

About partition: [Reporter] Everyone agrees that such a solution would be bad for both sides.
This is a lie and he knows it.

[Reporter] Serbs living south of the Ibar River fear that, if the EU mission [EULEX] fails, Americans could take control in spring, who would then verify the current state of affairs, which could prompt new migrations, and even regional upsets.
Translation: the US is threatening to repeat their ethnic cleansing of the Krajna. They oppose partition when it doesn't suit them and instead favor cleansing the minorities that they don't like.

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