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Peace in Kosovo: Rebuilding a Future for the Balkans

© Peter Weber

After 78 days of relentless aerial bombing peace has finally arrived for the harassed populations of former Yugoslavia. On 10th June NATO-airplanes have finally stopped their raids against Yugoslavian military and infrastructure, while the Serbian troops have started to retreat from the Kosovo province. Peacekeepers (K-For) from NATO countries and from Russia have occupied the province and the first refugees are already returning to their homes, searching for relatives and friends among the survivors as well as in the mass graves. Now it is the turn of the Serbian to fear the revenge of their former victims. Many have taken up what they could grasp and left their former homes, maybe forever, heading along with the Yugoslavian soldiers and Serbian militia towards Belgrade and what remains still Serbian ground. Under these circumstances the first days of precarious peace in Kosovo have seen more bloodshed, when NATO soldiers as well as Russians and KLA freedom fighters rushed in on the heels of the leaving Serbs.

Unresolved questions

But many questions are still unsolved: Will there be occupation zones or a unique military command of the Kosovo-Forces ? Can peace be guaranteed by the Kosovo-Force and how will the difficult cooperation between NATO and Russian forces work ? How many innocent Kosovar civilians were slain by the Serbian militia during the conflict ? Can the murderers be put on trial ? Is a peaceful living together of Serbs and Kosovar Albanians still possible ? Can the freedom fighters of the Kosovar Liberation Army be disarmed ? Who will politically represent the Kosovars and form the civil government of the province ? What will be the future status of Kosovo ? Will Serbia find the way to a democratic regime ? What will be the destiny of Slobodan Milosevic ? Can Serbia find the way back to democracy ?

Which conclusions can be made for the development of modern arms technologies and the validity of military strategies ? Which impact will this war have on the international system and especially on the relations between the European Union, the United States and Russia ? Who will pay for the reconstruction of the destroyed countries ?

The peace conditions

When the Yugoslavian government finally accepted the peace conditions, they agreed to immediately stop all Serbian violence and withdraw their military and police forces from the Kosovo province within two weeks. While an international "Kosovo-Force" mainly composed by NATO military forces and under a unified command enters and takes control of the province, the Serbian sovereignty over Kosovo will be symbolically represented only by a few control posts on the Macedonian and Albanian border. All Kosovar refugees, and with them the members of the KLA, are guaranteed a safe return to their homes.

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