Kosovo does not need Albin Kurti, an anti-Western hero

Serbs in northern Kosovo have declared they are launching the process of boycotting Kosovo institutions where they are represented, from parliament and the government, and to the justice system, police and local administration.

In essence, their attempt is to imitate the movement of Albanians after 1989, when Serbia eliminated the autonomy that Kosovo enjoyed and made it impossible for them to live together.

In fact, nothing common exists between what Albanians do and the reasons they had and what Serbs in the north are doing.

The Albanians received the autonomy they had in March 1989, and a year later in June 1990, wiped out what they left a year ago, smelting up Kosovo's government and its parliament, closing the radio television newspapers and leaving Albanians from the administration.

The Albanian decision to self-organised politically was a decision based on the Western spirit, democracy, and respect for the fundamental rights of Albanians.

In 1990, Albanians in Kosovo were organised as a Western-based society entitled to political freedom, freedom of the press, economic freedom, and the right to choose and be elected.

They were organised, not in nationalist gangs, but in pro-Western organisations, political parties and a parallel system based on Western values.

Serbia's biggest enemy in 1990 was democracy, as it threatened Slobodan Milosevic's authoritarian system that was being strengthened in Serbia and took Kosovo away. This was the historic genius of Ibrahim Rugova, who decided that in the battle of Albanians, he would make Western allies and base his fight on Western values.

Thanks to this battle, and this approach, Kosovo from an unknown province in the West that had an entirely opposite image with the good image of the former Yugoslavia returned gradually to a territory fighting for Western values, avoiding the first clash, avoiding war and waiting for the moment when the West became its spokesman and along with the resistance of Albanians organised through the KLA, managed to gain freedom as a Western project.

What is happening with Serbs in the north, there is no common circumstance with what Albanians did, but there is a dangerous approach for Albanians who must pass as Westerners.

Kosovo is “condemned” to be either a pro-Western democratic state or not. Kosovo cannot exist as a military state, as a state of strong leaders, or even worse as a state run by nationalist leaders.

This “ming” which is actually a blessing, is why it's become a state. It has become a state because in Serbia a crazy nationalist ruled and set fire to the Balkans for his power ego.

He gave all the reasons for Kosovo, which had chosen to believe in Western values, to finally gain its rights.

Albin Kurti now stands in danger of perception as strong “lider” seeking to dictate his political agenda, using conflict with Serbs in northern Kosovo, while witnessing an unWestern approach.

He is ignoring remarks, then warnings and finally the nervousness of the European Union and the US on this issue, losing its ruling policy priorities.

If it is classified as anti-Western, and isolated by many Western factors in this battle, there is danger, that its anti-Western approach is presented as a lack of Western values in the rights of Serbs in the north, which is not true. But it could be a badly lost battle, and very serious, for a reason that was not worth it.

Chris Hill, the US ambassador to Belgrade, is the man who has negotiated for at least two years, 1998-1999, the entire crisis between Kosovo and Serbia, which turned into an international problem.

He has not left Kosovo village without going, and has walked from Ibrahim Rugova's office to that of Slobodan Milosevic.

He knows what is good and what is bad for Kosovo. And when he's nervous with Kosovo, he's a little nervous and with his life story.

So the cleverness of a leader, in this case the prime minister of Kosovo is to avoid high-priced battles and are not the priority of Kosovo.

The world today has a high priority on peace in Ukraine at the beginning of a harsh winter and speaks of nuclear danger by day. Imagine how nerve and time the president of the US or European Union may have so that a Kosovo prime minister explains in detail the work of the license plates in the north, explaining that those with the RKS are old and those with Kosovo maps are new.

I can't get you two seconds to listen.

So there is the danger that what remains of Kurt's battle is his conflict with the West on this issue, and what remains of Serbia's rhetoric will be the fundamental human rights of Serbs.

If the issue is decided in this context, Albin Kurti is missing and north and its battle for Kosovo.

On the other hand, if you do all of this to victimize and leave power with the feeling of “heroit” that does not succumb to pressure from the West for the rights of Serbs, because there is no courage to deal with this problem, within Western standards would be even more serious.

As I stressed, Kosovo does not need an anti-Western hero, but for someone who is really Western in the way that government Kosovo is and preserves the alliance from the West to preserve Kosovo. Not his chair!