Kosovo can hardly be a state
The precedent of Kosovo independence recognition, as expected, resulted in radical change of the situation in Transcaucasia, where three territorial conflicts involving ethnic and religious elements have been smoldering.
(Detlef D. Pries, Neues Deutschland) Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Kosovo has since Sunday not only a flag and an anthem, but a Constitution, as well. According to this Constitution, which came into effect on Sunday, Kosovo - a region taken away from Serbia by sheer military force - is an "independent, sovereign, democratic, unified and inalienable State of all its citizens".
But in reality, Kosovo is none of these things.
The reason for this is less in the fact that Serbia considers the self-declared independence of Kosovo and its Constitution illegal and void according to the international law. It is rather in the fact that the Belgrade politics, torn between national pride and ingratiation, is for the moment incapable of exerting any influence on the course of events.
That does not mean, however, that Kosovo, despite its Constitution, can actually be a State. Pristina has no authority whatsoever over the Serbian North. Moreover, the UN Resolution 1244 is still being applied in the Albanian part of the region, as well, giving to the United Nations important sovereign rights. It is under the "umbrella" of this UN Resolution that the EU mission - EULEX, to be in charge of the maintenance of the rule of law in Kosovo, is now trying to creep in, hoping to be able to supervise the justice system there.
It is true that the EULEX mission has been approved by all EU members, but it is also true that seven of them do not recognize Kosovo as a State. That is why, NATO will continue, as its Secretary General has announced, "to make sure" that the Alliance has "the right troops in the right place".
This announcement makes it crystall clear who is the real sovereign in Kosovo.
