What Would Croatia Do?
by Troy Carter ‘08
Staff Writer··································
On February 18, 2008, the United States immediately accepted Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia. The U.S. acknowledgement was highly unsurprising, given the United States’ support of Kosovo in recent decades, including the Kosovo War. This was joined by other unsurprising recognitions from France and the United Kingdom, both US allies and both historically on the side of the Albanians in their struggle against the Serbs. When these recognitions of Kosovo’s sovereignty are coupled with an ardent denounciation from Russia and hesitance from China and you have yourselves the makings of a massive-geopolitical situation, with the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council split along old Cold War lines over an issue of independence and national autonomy. Bear in mind that this is all occurring in a region of the world that has been plagued by war and ethnic cleansing, and Kosovo, an issue many Americans probably haven’t given any thought to, suddenly seems like it could be a bit of a situation.
With rioting ongoing in this small Balkan nation and global powers positioning themselves politically, this columnist would like to take some time to step back from the brink of global conflict to ask an important question.
How do the Bosnians feel about all this?
In a time when the most powerful nations in the world are weighing in on what is an often overlooked portion of the world, it becomes important that we not lose sight of the regional politics. While the United States, Western Europe and the Near East were quick to acknowledge Kosovo’s declaration of independence, two Balkan countries have managed to get away with dragging their feet on the issue. Nearly a month after the declaration of independence, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, have not yet officially recognized Kosovo as independent. The outsider’s perspective would dictate that these countries, both former Yugoslav republics that went through violent separatist movements against the Serbs, would be major allies for Kosovo.
Of these two, the lack of a Croatian acknowledgment is the more baffling. Like Kosovo, Croatia is an ethnically homogenous state that broke away from the preposterous idea of the Balkans being a Greater Serbia. Even with the Albanians and the Croats not being overly similar ethnically, one would assume that all of the general principles that applied to Croatian independence would apply to Kosovar independence. However, attempting to aid its bid to join the EU, Croatia is yet to acknowledge Kosovo’s independence, waiting only until a majority of EU countries have acknowledged Kosovo. This is not a time for Croatia to position itself politically for its own needs when it can be playing the role of a leader in the region. Given its current seat on the UN Security Council as well as its role as an important Balkan nation, Croatian support for Kosovo could be a major help to advancing the independence cause.
Bosnia and Herzegovina offers a more complicated situation. Unlike Kosovo and Croatia, Bosnia has a significant Serbian minority. Because of this vocal minority, all three members of the Bosnian presidency have suggested that Bosnia will not be acknowledging Kosovar independence any time soon. While understanding the oppositions of the Serbian minority in the region, for a territory whose secession from Serbia was as contested as Bosnia’s, to then deny Kosovo the right to separate is nothing short of a crime against freedom. To refuse to acknowledge Kosovo, an area which has been distinct from Serbia for an extended period of time, simply because a percentage of your population identifies with their oppressors is ludicrous.
There is plenty of history to go on when it comes to ethnic states separating themselves from Yugoslavia/Serbia. All of it suggests that Kosovar independence is inevitable. It is time for Kosovo’s Balkan neighbors to get on what will invariably be the winning side. There is no valid Serbian claim to Kosovo. The imagined “Greater Serbia” is nothing more than the imperialist dream of rampant Serbian nationalists and the time has come for all good nations, especially those in the Balkan region, to join the United States and others in recognizing Kosovo and denouncing Serbia and Russia’s attempt to continue oppression in this region.
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