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June 24, 1999
Experts Meet in Europe to Discuss the Next Steps in Kosovo
An unprecedented gathering of experts on Kosovo and the surrounding regions met last week in Liechtenstein for a colloquium titled "Peace and the Future of South-Eastern Europe." The 60 experts discussed the next steps necessary for bringing lasting peace and prosperity to the region.
Organized and chaired by Wolfgang Danspeckgruber, director of Princeton University's Liechtenstein Research Program on Self-Determination, the conference attendees included H.S.H. Prince Hans Adam of Liechtenstein; H.S.H. Crown Prince Alois of Liechtenstein; His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia; Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Kosovo; former Prime Minster of Sweden Carl Bildt; Christopher Hill, U.S. ambassador to Macedonia; philanthropist George Soros, chairman of the Open Society Foundation in New York City; German State Secretary Wolfgang Ischinger; the state secretaries from Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland, and officials from Albania, Macedonia, Greece, and Turkey.
The conference coincided with the end of NATO's bombing of Kosovo. Although their discussions during the conference were off the record, the participants released the following preliminary recommendations:
• Prioritize the establishment of internal security throughout Yugoslavia, Albania, and Macedonia, including the confiscation of all firearms and arresting all dangerous criminals immediately, especially those recently released from prison.
• Forge an agreement about comprehensive disarmament of the region and impose it consistently on all concerned parties.
• Cut Slobodan Milosevic out of the negotiation process and eliminate the role of his government whenever possible. Demonstrate to the population that the region can be pacified and reconstructed without his authorization.
• Involve military engineers in building bridges and urgent infrastructure projects to save costs and reduce the necessity of negotiating with Milosevic and his party. Pontoon bridges, which can be quickly and inexpensively constructed and would have the added benefit of being under military control, were suggested.
• Hold the leadership responsible for breaches of law, for unconstitutional laws, and for all those infractions which can be clearly determined by the outside. Enforce travel and other restrictions against members of the Milosevic group.
• Don't push for elections in Kosovo for the time being. Premature elections might consolidate the division of political allegiances along ethnic lines and result in renewed victory for the nationalists.
• Encourage the development of civil society by bringing young leaders (the generation under the age of 30, which has not had extensive involvement in communist politics and the region's past controversies) into the decision-making process.
• Support the formation of an independent media in the region by providing the population -- especially opposition groups -- with radio receivers and other means of accessing and distributing information.
• Distribute humanitarian assistance equally, regardless of ethnic or religious affiliation.
• Support the formation of new legal and financial institutions and begin forming a new "social contract."
• Adopt a hands-on approach to the reconstruction of the region, involving the local populations, especially young people, in objective needs assessments, then give them the tools and materials to start reconstruction projects.
• Create a customs union in South-Eastern Europe to allow for greater interregional interaction and the possibility of interregional currency arrangements in conjunction with the European Union. This has the added benefit of combating organized crime and corruption.
• Encourage bilateral cooperation among neighboring states such as Albania, Macedonia, and Bulgaria, especially in areas such as education, industrialization, trade, and infrastructure.
• Start the process of disarmament, pacification, and reconstruction immediately. The time frame is limited by the oncoming winter, the upcoming elections in the U.S.A, the increasing resentment of refugees in host countries, and growing donor fatigue in the European Union.
The Colloquium was sponsored by the Liechtenstein Research Program in Self-Determination, a research center located in the University's Center of International Studies, a division of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and by the royal House of Liechtenstein.