Blood in the Balkans
A murder illuminates still-simmering disputes
The assassination Tuesday of moderate Kosovar Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic reminded the world again of how the unresolved problems of small Balkan states can continue to mar the reputation and development of Europe in the 21st century.
Kosovo has been independent since 2008. However, it is still unrecognized by some European countries, including Serbia, from which in principle it became independent. Its majority is ethnically Albanian and, by religion, Muslim. It also has a militant Serb, mostly Orthodox Christian, minority that for the most part is clustered in the north of the country, around Mitrovica.
It was there that Mr. Ivanovic was gunned down. He reportedly was planning to run for mayor of North Mitrovica, the Serb part. He could not have been described as pro-Albanian, but his reputation included a willingness to talk with Albanians, which may have led to his death. His killer or killers remain unidentified.
In the meantime, Serbia, with an application in to join the European Union, has been told that it will not be admitted until it recognizes Kosovo’s independence. It is reluctant to agree to that seemingly reasonable request for its own internal political reasons. One of these is that Kosovo is the location of the Field of Blackbirds, a 1389 battle site which is, roughly, the equivalent to the Serbs of the Gettysburg battlefield for some Americans.
What Serbia continues to insist on is that the Kosovo government, based in Pristina, the capital, assure the safety and civil rights of ethnic Serbs living in Kosovo. In that regard, it will be interesting to see who is ultimately tagged with the killing of Mr. Ivanovic. Will it be Serb extremists? Will it be Albanian Kosovars? Or will it turn out to be some personal, nonpolitical settling of accounts with him?
The Albanian-Serb contest in Kosovo is not the only remaining dogfight in the Balkans, most but not all of them in the pieces of the former Yugoslavia, the remnants of the 1990s wars that were features of its breakup. Croatia and Slovenia have a land and sea border dispute. Croatia and Serbia have a border dispute, as do Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia and Kosovo and Montenegro.
Bosnia-Herzegovina remains a mess in terms of government. The 1995 Dayton accords, brokered by the United States, ended its three-year war but left in place an unworkable, ethnically based governmental structure. Nobody, starting with the United States, wants to reopen the bidding, refereeing old quarrels and seeking agreement among the country’s Serbs, Croats and Muslims. Russia backs the fellow Orthodox Serbs.
The European Union has sought to calm matters in the Balkans, both by pouring money on the quarrels but also by offering the soothing balm of EU membership, if the countries can resolve their quarrels. Knocking on the EU door are Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. Each one has what for it is a high hurdle to cross. Don’t hold your breath.