Kosovo Push for Independence Raises Some Concern

Dinah Spritzer
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

PRISTINA, Kosovo

Hashim Thaci may be the tough-talking prime minister of Kosovo and ex-commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, but he gushes over Israel like a kid recalling a trip to Disney World.

"I love Israel. What a great country! Kosovo is a friend of Israel," the grinning Thaci, 39, says in a Pristina hotel crowned by a miniature statue of liberty. "I met so many great leaders when I was there -- Netanyahu, Sharon -- I really admire them," Thaci continued, referring to former Israeli prime ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Ariel Sharon.

With the province of Kosovo preparing to declare independence from Serbia following years of failed negotiations and the expiration of a United Nations deadline on Dec. 10 for an agreement with the Serbs, Thaci is poised to become the prime minister of Europe's newest country.

Kosovo is home to some 2.2 million people, 90 percent of whom are ethnic Albanians with Muslim roots.

A mosque on one of the main streets in southern Mitrovica, part of Kosovo, which is seeking independence from Serbia

Despite Kosovo having the most pro-American vibe in Europe and a profoundly secular stance on Islam, as well as Thaci's supportive line on Israel, some Israeli analysts are warning that recognizing its independence from Serbia is not in Israel's interest.

These analysts argue that recognition sets a precedent for foreign interference in bilateral disputes that could affect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

There is also general concern among Israeli officials over encouraging Muslim separatist movements, and that Kosovo's independence will help create a new Muslim corridor within Europe where radical Islam could take root.

Pro-American Muslims
Kosovo is intensely pro-America -- U.S. sponsorship of NATO's bombing of Belgrade in 1999 is widely viewed in Kosovo as having saved the province from Serbian aggression -- and Thaci is expected to coordinate recognition of his new country with the United States and the European Union. Serbia and its key ally, Russia, vehemently oppose Kosovo independence.

Kosovo, the southernmost province of Serbia, has been run as a U.N. protectorate since 1999, when Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic waged a brutal war to purge Kosovo of its ethnic Albanian population and quash a bid for independence by Kosovo rebels.

Israel is concerned that if it recognizes Kosovo's independence from Serbia, it will be more difficult for the Jewish state to oppose unilateral Palestinian independence in the West Bank, should that moment ever arrive.

In any case, strong U.S. support for Kosovo's independence makes it unlikely Israel would withhold recognition of Kosovo for very long.

Most worrisome for Israel is the fear that Islamists will establish a foothold in the country while it struggles with its identity fresh after independence.

In neighboring Bosnia, Islamists have made noticeable inroads, and following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, Bosnia reportedly granted citizenship to hundreds of people with links to terrorist groups.

But Kosovars say that there's little basis for concern. For one thing, they point out, Islam has been successful in Bosnia because Bosnians have united around religion. In Kosovo, by contrast, nationalism is what has united ethnic Albanians.

In Kosovo -- where Thaci's campaign adviser was an Israeli, and where a recent candidate for Parliament used a picture of himself embracing U.S. President George W. Bush on his promotional poster -- fears about radical Islam seem far-fetched.

Asked whether Kosovo was pro-Israel, Vlora Citaku, a spokeswoman for Thaci, laughed. "There is only one answer," she said. "We are pro-U.S."