The creator of the Kosovo “state” in the formal and legal sense, Finnish diplomat Martti Ahtisaari, is active again, after a long hibernation, in the work he had once begun. Namely, few days ago, right after the forming of the Serbian Government, he recommended that the EU should not accept Serbia among its ranks until Belgrade recognizes the independence of Kosmet! Ahtisaari also claims that Serbia had treated Kosovars badly, thus loosing rights over the Province. Following his stance, the Serbs should not be given any leeway anywhere, especially not in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
From the elderly Fin diplomat, who is known to be lobbying for the Albanians, these neurasthenic acts towards Serbs are not new and can be expected at any time. His bias and stubborn approach to the Serbian people, which could have freely been described as hatred at some points of his “peacemaking” mission, were demonstrated on several occasions. Ahtisaari’s plan for Kosmet, which was once presented, was also the fruit of the position that the Albanians should be given everything, while the Serbs should be deprived of everything.
However, Ahtisaari’s latest act is at the very least a prime example of incorrectness and disrespect to some basic human and diplomatic norms. Without doubt, he has his reasons, and unfortunately they are obviously beyond diplomacy and decency. What was it that had disturbed and awoke the Fin? After almost three months of election process, Serbia has got new authorities, who are facing serious challenges. Some of the biggest are certainly the issue of Kosmet, continuation of the Belgrade-Pristina dialog and European integrations. The world watched attentively which way would Serbia take, and got a clear answer in the coalition agreement of the ruling majority, as well as in the program guidelines of the government. The pro-European orientation is openly stressed, along with the readiness to resume the dialog with Pristina and take it to a higher level, with possible involvement of UN representatives and some new ideas and suggested models are offered for the solving of the problem of northern Kosmet. All that seems to have disturbed Ahtisaari. The belief that all those could shake the foundations of his “quasi-state” of Kosovo has probably provoked his reaction.
But, the voice of Martti Ahtisaari does not resound as it once did. There is plenty of reasons for that, but mostly the abovementioned inconsistency and pathological bias, along with practical impossibility to apply his state model, hiding the crimes against Kosmet Serbs and continuation of the ethnic cleansing, instead of the return of the expelled. The Fin had his chance to at least pretend being neutral, to condemn the brutal murders and wounding of Kosmet Serbs that have been increasing in frequency lately, to appeal for the punishing of at least some of the perpetrators, to shed light on some earlier mass crimes etc. He could have acted correctness by declaratively asking for setting conditions before the Pristina authorities too, asking for the solving of crimes. Well, instead of those pressures, Thaci’s government is having their dream of European future reheated, in which Ahtisaari plays certain role. Maybe he will have a street in Pristina named after him, like it was with Bill Clinton, but his aureole of a peacemaker, if he ever had it among the objective viewers, is now even further out of reach.