Tuesday, June 05, 2007

ICG: No good alternatives

As the UN Security Counsel continues to debate the "Ahtisaari Plan" for nominally granting Kosovo's independence, few attractive alternatives have immerged.

This is essentially the message of the International Crisis Group's latest report:

The debate on Kosovo’s future status has reached a crucial point. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has begun to consider elements of a draft resolution to determine the entity’s future, which could be put to a vote in the coming weeks. The best way of ensuring regional peace and stability and lifting Kosovo out of an eight-year-long limbo, with a tired, temporary UN administration and an undeveloped, low-growth economy, is a resolution based squarely on the plan of UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari. This would supersede UNSC Resolution 1244 (1999), define Kosovo’s internal settlement and minority-protection mechanisms, mandate a new international presence and allow for supervised independence.

This is the problem with real world problems.  There are never any perfect solutions.  Unfortunately, those in power have to weigh the options and finally make decisions that have real effects on real people.  But the clock is ticking on people's patience.

 

Full report here (pdf).

via Free Kosova

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I understand your wish to see these people succeed. I spent time there in the U.S. Army in 2000 as part of Task Force Falcon. I was down south in the city of Vitina and Letnica. I constantly wish I could go back and do more to help them but have no idea how to even go about getting back into the country. Please keep up the good work!

Bryant
airassault3@yahoo.com

Jeff said...

Bryant, thanks for your comment and for your service in Kosovo! I've been through Viti (Vitina) many, many times.

While speaking in NC I was talking to an Army major who felt like he was the only soldier in his generation who hadn't served in Kosovo.

We appreciate you guys!

Anonymous said...

The Balkans deployments were more of the opened ended deployments that are common. While there I had my mother go the the church and other areas and collect clothes and school supplies which we distributed in Klokot and Vrbovac.