LONDON, 21 February 2008 — It was the logical conclusion to the final disintegration of the old Yugoslavia that the world’s latest independent nation was born last Sunday, albeit to the chagrin of Serbia and her allies and to those states which have separatist movements within their borders.

The independence declaration has largely passed without any violence, although the Serbian and Russian governments have saved their vitriol for the diplomatic sphere. But NATO, to its credit, ordered its KFOR troops yesterday to restore order and seal off the northern borders of Kosovo after an angry Serbian mob protesting at the weekend declaration of independence ransacked and burned two customs and police posts at Jarinje and Brnjak, manned by UN and Kosovo police.

Serbia, however, seems to be bent on brinkmanship. Newly elected Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica defiantly warned that “today, this policy of force thinks that it has triumphed by establishing a false state. As long as the Serb people exist, Kosovo will be Serbia.”

Perhaps it is understandable because in the heat of the moment he had no option, given that he is the moderate face of Serbian nationalism and a man the European Union (EU) “can do business with,” especially with the carrot of future membership to the exclusive European club and even NATO.

Serbia’s minister for Kosovo, Slobodan Samardzic, said his government intended to take control of the customs posts to establish what he called the full authority of Serbian statehood. Whether the attacks on the crossings and the NATO response put the international community on a collision course with both Kosovo Serbs and the Serbian government remains to be seen. It will depend on how far the US and NATO are prepared to back its political actions with force.

Already the EU representative for Kosovo, Dutch diplomat Pieter Feith, has taken residency in Pristina, which is an important psychological and physical statement of intent.

Feith heads the international civilian office that is due to take over from the UN, and a 2,000-strong EU police and justice mission is on its way to be deployed throughout Kosovo despite Serb hostility. “We need to reach out to the Serb communities here in Kosovo and we are, of course, in touch with Belgrade,” he said.

US President George Bush for once got it right supporting the cause of Europe’s newest Muslim nation. Kosovo has a population of two million of which 90 percent are of Albanian Muslim origin and the remaining 10 percent of Christian Orthodox Slav stock.

“We have strongly supported the Ahtisaari plan (for Kosovo’s independence). We are heartened by the fact that the Kosovo government has clearly proclaimed its willingness and its desire to support Serbian rights in Kosovo. We also believe it is in Serbia’s interests to be aligned with Europe and the Serbian people can know that they have a friend in America,” Bush declared during his African tour last week.

The Americans and some of their European allies rightly see this as a one-off situation of what UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband called “supervised independence” of the last vestige of the Old Yugoslavia, and not a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from Britain in the mold of Ian Smith in Rhodesia in the 1960s and 1970s. They reject any notion that Kosovo would precipitate a knock-on effect for a motley of separatist movements around the world, including the Basques in Spain and Turkish Cypriots in Northern Cyprus.

Both Spain and Cyprus have ostensibly refused to recognize Kosovo after EU foreign ministers meeting yesterday in Brussels decided against a unanimous recognition of Kosovo’s independence and left it up to individual states to decide their own policy.

How ironic that former Spanish foreign minister and current EU foreign policy chief Xavier Solana is supporting Kosovo’s independence declaring: “I am in permanent close contact with Kosovo and leaders in the region. I want to underline that stability in Kosovo as well as of the whole Balkan region is essential. Therefore, I urge everybody to act calmly and in a responsible way. I am convinced that the Kosovar leaders will be up to their responsibilities at this crucial moment.”

Belgrade on the other hand claims that UN Security Council Resolution 1244 still gives Serbia sovereignty over Kosovo under international law. That resolution pertained to Yugoslavia which has since then disintegrated.

Kosovo in fact has been under UN control since NATO forces drove out Serb forces in 1999 in a short sharp attack on the ultranationalist government of Slobodan Milosevic, who was subsequently arrested and faced an indictment for war crimes in the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

The truth is that Kosovo’s majority Albanian population have been agitating for self-determination and independence for more than a century for the enclave. Even during the time of Yugoslav strongman Josef Broz Tito, Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian leaders were incarcerated by the Yugoslav state for daring to seek even autonomy at the time, when trumped up charges as undermining the socialist state and nurturing separatist ideas were only too common under the totalitarian regime.

Leaders such as professor Adem Demaci were sentenced to long periods in the notorious Foca Prison in the 1980s and 1990s. International human rights organization, Amnesty International, in fact adopted professor Demaci and some of his colleagues as “prisoners of conscience” because they campaigned for freedom without advocating or resorting to violence.

Professor Demaci’s health suffered badly during his incarceration and he was effectively blinded in one eye because of torture.

To its credit, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), normally slow to respond to such developments, was quick off the mark with Secretary-General Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu declaring that “a very important event took place on Sunday, Feb. 17. Kosovo has finally declared its independence after a long and determined struggle by its people. As we rejoice this happy result, we declare our solidarity with and support to our brothers and sisters there. The Ummah wishes them success in their new battle awaiting them which is the building of a strong and prosperous state capable of satisfying all of its people. There is no doubt that the independence of Kosovo will be an asset to the Muslim world and further enhance the joint Islamic action.”

Nor surprisingly, Turkey, Albania and Afghanistan were the first OIC and Muslim countries to recognize Kosovo’s independence. Other countries to declare their support for Kosovo include Germany, Italy, France, UK, Austria and the US. Serbia, Russia, Spain, Romania, Slovakia, China, Israel and Cyprus were the first rejectionist states.

Turkey has traditionally had close relations with Kosovo, which has been home to a Turkish minority since the days of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled the region for five centuries. On Monday, Ankara was the first capital to exchange letters of recognition with Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.

“Hereafter we expect both Kosovo and its neighbors to implement peaceful policies,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Parliament yesterday. “Our sincere wish is the success of the Republic of Kosovo for peace and comfort in the Balkans, with which we have close historical and cultural ties. Kosovar officials have a responsibility to treat all citizens of Kosovo equally. Serbia has an important role and responsibility in the future of the Balkans. Turkey places importance on improving relations and cooperation with Serbia, both on a bilateral and regional basis,” he said.

Belgrade’ immediate response was to withdraw its ambassador from Ankara as a sign of strong protest against Turkish recognition of Kosovo.