Recognition of Kosovo can yet be withdrawn

From Mr James Dancer.

Sir, On the anniversary of the independence of Kosovo ("Kosovo at One", Editorial, February 16) you reminded us that "Kosovo is still a long way from securing its future". That anniversary was followed swiftly by the creation of a new military force in the disputed territory, the Kosovo Security Force, based on the rump of the "disarmed" Kosovo Liberation Army. This might be a cause for celebration for some in Pristina. Revelations last week from the BBC should, however, give us cause for concern.

In a Radio 4 documentary, the BBC reported in detail on the horrors of KLA prison camps, where hundreds of Serbs kidnapped from Kosovo were taken both before and after the arrival of Nato forces in June 1999.

Carla del Ponte, the former International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) prosecutor, has tried in the past to publicise similar grim reports, though little action has been taken against the perpetrators, some of whom now hold power in Pristina. Until these cases have been pursued by independent courts, and resolved to international satisfaction, we should consider the remilitarisation of the former KLA a step too far. Action is also required of the semi-independent Kosovo authorities on the safe return or self-determination of Serbs and other ethnic minorities, and on the restitution of property and assets misappropriated as Nato and the UN moved in. If progress cannot be made, in agreement between Belgrade and Pristina as required under international law, then Kosovo should consider independence to be provisional: diplomatic recognition can be withdrawn as quickly as it can be given.

James Dancer,
London SW6, UK
Second Secretary (Political and Economic), British Embassy, Belgrade 2001-03

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