Serbia's Ambassador On Violence in Kosovo
Wednesday, March 31, 2004; Page A24

Morton Abramowitz's March 19 op-ed article, "Going Backward in the Balkans," dismisses Serbia as a country still burdened by a "criminal society" and overlooks the remarkable democratic progress in Serbia since 2000, including strong efforts against organized crime. He recommended that Serbia abandon Kosovo.

However, Mr. Abramowitz overlooked the criminal society in Kosovo and the responsibility of local Albanian leaders for the violence against Serbs and other non-Albanians in the past five years. Recent violence organized by Albanian extremists in Kosovo has jeopardized the U.N. mission there.

The Serbian population suffered from attacks that, according to one NATO commander, amounted to ethnic cleansing. The United Nations has said that about 3,500 Serbs fled their homes. Twenty-eight people were killed, and more than 600 were injured. Hundreds of Serbian houses were burned and 30 Serbian Orthodox Churches, some of them under the protection of UNESCO, were destroyed.

Considering that out of 230,000 Serbs who fled the province in 1999 amid similar violence, only 1,500 Serbs returned, it is obvious that five years of international efforts were canceled in two days.

Regrettably, the first reaction of the Kosovo Albanian political leaders was not to condemn the violence but to demand independence for Kosovo. Mr. Abramowitz's notion that irresponsibility should be rewarded with wider responsibility defies logic.

Any solution for Kosovo must be acceptable for Serbs, Kosovo Albanians and the whole region.

IVAN VUJACIC

Ambassador
Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro
Washington

C 2004 The Washington Post Company