Time to spoil the vicious circle of the past

From Catherine Schenkel

Citizens of Kosovo with different ethnic affiliations believe it is time for Kosovo to come up with a strategy for a national and inclusive approach to the past. However, each group has its own priorities that do not necessarily match. All concerns should be addressed in a comprehensive strategy so that Kosovo can move towards a peaceful future. These are the findings of research conducted by Kosovo civil society.

After 21 years of violent conflict, Kosovo still has no comprehensive framework to deal with its past, while Kosovo society continues to suffer from unresolved war issues 1998-99 and its consequences. Unresolved issues of violent conflict in Kosovo continue to dominate political discourse in Kosovo and Serbia. This is continuing to hinder the possibility of Kosovo citizens becoming reconciled to the past and heading towards a peaceful future. More importantly, these inherited ones continue to serve as a source of contention among ethnic groups in Kosovo and are often used for political agendas. Now is the right time to break this vicious circle of the past.

During 2020, civil society organizations I NTEGRA, the New Social Initiative and PAX, with the support of a broader civil society coalition, have conducted two research studies on the needs of different sectors in society for dealing with what has been inherited from the violent period. The first study has reviewed all previous efforts to deal with the past in Kosovo and has identified gaps there. So far, we have witnessed initiatives that have largely been specific and sectoral and successive, as well as institutional and legal routes, to address separate issues concerning the conflict. Much of the attention has been devoted to war crimes trials conducted by internationalised, hybrid and national courts in Kosovo and Serbia. The dominant focus on such judgments has influenced other important aspects of confrontation with the past, such as searching for truth and documentation, commemorations, compensation and compensation, as well as recognition and support for all victims and survivors of the conflict, regardless of their identity and status. A small number of civil society organisations have been at the forefront of promoting civic and inclusive approaches to telling the truth, documentation and support of victims and survivors, adding here to the likelihood of ethnic reconciliation. However, these have not yet led to a steady positive transformation of society. The latest study highlights what the different groups of citizens consider important to be treated in order to move forward. COVID-19 has limited the scope of the research, but still 156 people have joined 10 focus group sessions while individual interviews have been held.

KU TIA: [transitional justice implies a series of measures and actions to bring justice to victims and survivors of a conflict and usually included war crimes judgments, finding the truth, compensation and guarantees of non-relapsion]

The study has revealed that the understanding of transitional justice in Kosovo is deeply combined with ethnic identity and, therefore, there is no consensus among different ethnic groups on how to handle issues inherited from the past. There is a way to reduce the needs for transitional justice processes in justice that are only mono-ethnic and one-dimensional. The truth is perceived differently by each ethnic group and all are predisposed to seek truth, memory and record of the past with monoethnic views. There is still widespread lack of reliable data on pre-war, war and post-war crimes and on serious human rights abuses. As a result, there is very little sensitivity and understanding of the prospects and experiences of conflict. In general, all groups consider the traces of war crimes important to deal with the past, but the general perception of the performance of war crimes courts is negative and there is the belief that the relevant ethnic group is selectively targeted and that many alleged perpetrators are free. Each group also has particular socioeconomic concerns about the pre-war or post-war period. Moreover, there is also the reality of political scenes in Serbia and Kosovo, which are dominated by politicians or wartime warriors, who are perpetuated the unilateral ethno-nationalist avours.

More specifically, for Kosovo Albanians, resolving unresolved issues such as recognising the fate of missing persons, prosecuting war crimes authors, claims of compensation and compensation for war damages, as well as strengthening independent citizenship by convincing Serbia to recognise Kosovo independence are priorities. On the other hand, for Kosovo Serbs, transitional justice is seen as they do not believe it will bring justice to their victims, or that it would contribute positively to current and future ethnic relations in Kosovo. They focus on the post-conflict period and address the limited space for the Serb community in Kosovo to exercise their political, socioeconomic and linguistic rights, including the right to free movement and return to the pre-war settlements. For other smaller ethnic communities, transitional justice remains aspiring, as they have an impression that their communities have not received due attention and support in seeking truth and justice for war crimes in the past, nor have they benefited from various post-war socioeconomic schemes, as have other dominant communities.

The findings of research show that there is no consensus and that there is little co-ordination among ethnic groups on how to deal with what is inherited from the past, how to make a commitment to the experiences and prospects of other ethnic communities, and how to become their accession and how to move forward and how to predict a common future. In addition, citizens have a negative perception of the international community's willingness and capacities, Serbian authorities and the Government of Kosovo to promote justice and fight impunity for war crimes and serious human rights abuses in the past. While these are big challenges, the study revealed the expression of the need by many participants for a comprehensive strategy that takes into account the concerns and needs of all individuals and groups affected by violent conflict, regardless of their ethnic or social affiliation.

The argument for a comprehensive approach to address the past is strong. A comprehensive national strategy is the only way to ensure that the past is not avoided and that a measure of justice is offered to all affected communities, that the truth be revealed and that new generations are not held hostage to the past but that they go towards a peaceful society. Only through a process from the bottom-up, which is central to citizenship and inclusion, will a future strategy and institutional action likely enjoy broad public legitimacy and make a positive impact on closing the chapters of the past and opening new chapters for a better future. In this way the study makes the following recommendations:

1. The next strategy should be taken into account that transitional justice has different meanings from different ethnic communities in Kosovo and must be drafted from the bottom-up, including all affected communities. This requires that it be designed through a process of participation and which is at the centre of the citizen, which provides local ownership and involvement in the entire transitional justice process.

2. The next strategy should serve as a platform for revealing many sides of the truth, for justice to be placed for victims on a non-selective and non-ethnic basis, and for the rights called to be distributed in a fair and comprehensive process. The strategy should integrate various pillars of transitional justice so that the needs of affected communities are addressed in a comprehensive and comprehensive way.

3. To ensure that a strategy is implemented in practice, there is a need for an institutional mechanism that unites existing transitional justice initiatives and mechanisms in Kosovo. The odds of a future successful strategy depend on consensus across the country on the importance of becoming a priority policymaking and implementation of transitional justice, and therefore pledge by all political parties, ethnic groups, civil society groups and affected communities, as well as international missions and donors in Kosovo.

4. State institutions and judicial bodies must work closely with the community of civil society and the media to promote accurate and fact-based reporting on issues involving war. There is an urgent need to draw up educational and informative programmes that enhance general public knowledge of transitional justice.

5. The EU-led dialogue on normalising relations between Serbia and Kosovo should address pressing and unresolved issues to deal with the past and an eventual agreement should take into account the needs and prospects of all affected communities.

This article relies on studies democratising Transitional Justice to a Cussing Infrastructure for Treatment