The International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague has rejected Belgrade's argument that the declaration of independence of Kosovo had no legal basis. The judges of the UN's highest court have given their opinion (by 10-4 votes) on July 22, 2010 that the declaration of independence from Serbia in February 17, 2008 did not violate international law.
The world community is divided on the issue of the Western-backed international recognition of Kosovo. The UN Security Council could not take decision and remains divided on the issue because of the split among the veto carrying permanent members of the Security Council: of its five members with veto power, three (the US, UK and France) have recognised the declaration of independence, while China has expressed concern, urging the continuation of previous negotiation framework. Russia has rejected the declaration and considers it illegal. On May 2008, Russia, China and India released a joint statement calling for new negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina. The OIC-member states are also split up on the issue. In fact, the global recognition seems to be the new 'power game' between the US and its allies and Russia and China.
Kosovo is a disputed territory in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo, a self-declared independent state which has de facto control over the territory; the exceptions are some Serb enclaves. Serbia does not recognise the secession of Kosovo and considers it an UN-governed entity within its sovereign territory.
The Assembly of Kosovo declared independence of Kosovo from Serbia as the Republic of Kosovo on February 17, 2008 with unopposed majority. So far 69 out of 192 sovereign UN member states have formally recognised Kosovo, which include some big guns of the Muslim world such as Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, the UAE and Turkey. Majority member states of the EU (22 out of 27) and NATO (24 out of 28) have also recognised Kosovo, of the four countries that border Kosovo, only Serbia refuses to recognise it. Currently 14 countries maintain embassies to the Republic of Kosovo. The countries that oppose recognition of Kosovo consider that its recognition as an independent state in the Balkans will boost the ethnic demand for greater autonomy and independence.
Kosovo is landlocked and bordered by the Republic of Macedonia to the south, Albania to the west and Montenegro to the northwest. The largest city as well as capital of Kosovo is Pristina. Kosovo, with a total area of 10,887 sq km, is a developing country with per capita income US $ 2,300. It was the poorest province of Yugoslavia. With around 2 million populations, 37% are below poverty line. Majority of the population are Albanian Muslims with few Serbian Orthodox and Roman Catholic. The literacy rate is over 90%.
During ancient time, Kosovo formed the central part of the Kingdom of Dardania. Afterwards it became the part of Roman, Byzantine, Bulgarian and Serbian empires. In 1389, Kosovo became the part of the Ottoman Empire, which brought the region into close contact with the Middle East and subsequently introduced Islam to the population. During the late 19th century, it was the centre of Albanian national awakening. In 1912, the Ottoman province was divided between Montenegro and Serbia, and both of which became part of Yugoslavia in 1918, During World war II, the majority of Kosovo was part of the Italian occupation of Albania before becoming an autonomous province under The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Following the armed conflicts in Kosovo (in early 1998 to 1999: war between Yugoslav police forces, Yugoslav paramilitaries and the Kosovian Albanian paramilitaries; and in 1999: NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), the territory came under the interim administration of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in 1999, most of whose roles were assumed by the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) in December 2008.
Pristina hopes the recent outcome due to the judgment by the ICJ will lead to more nations recognising its independence. Bangladesh, the third largest Muslim-majority nation, with a meaning of certainly not taking a side has not yet firmed up its stance on the question of recognising the independence of Kosovo, despite persistent diplomatic presentation by the US. However, the people of Bangladesh were overwhelmingly in support of the people of Kosovo. From the very beginning of the formation of UNMIK, the members of Bangladesh Armed Forces and Bangladesh Police are participating in UNMIK. From 2000, Grameen Bank is operating microcredit in Kosovo.
Obviously the people of Kosovo are having the right of self determination and freedom, and Bangladesh has also a constitutional obligation to support that right. Recognising Kosovo will open the door of new opportunities for Bangladesh. Moreover, the declaration of the independence of Kosovo, in many ways, is similar to Bangladesh. In fact, it is a matter of time before Bangladesh recognises Kosovo as an independent and sovereign state.
The author is a researcher and columnist (E-mail: ferdous3820@yahoo.co.uk) |