On March 17, in Mitrovica, a city some 50 miles Northwest of the Kosovan capital, Pristina, there was a dramatic and dangerous, but not unexpected, outbreak of violence. A crowd of Serbian protestors, several hundred strong, forced the withdrawal of a United Nations police force. Three days before angry Serbs had seized the local courthouse, which has been used by the United Nations in that capacity since 1999, when NATO pushed out the Serbian armed forces from Kosovo.

On March 17 the United Nations police and NATO troops, who have been working well together to maintain the peace in Kosovo, had automatic weapons fired at them and grenades thrown. They replied with teargas and shots over the heads of the crowd. 150 Serbs and 25 policemen were injured. Elsewhere in Kosovo a Ukrainian policeman was killed and thirteen of his colleagues, all serving with the United Nations, were wounded when a police station was attacked. The United Nations decided to withdraw its police, as a temporary measure, to the southern part of Mitrovica. During these disturbances some ten United Nations or NATO vehicles were set on fire.

In Brussels a NATO spokesman stated:

“NATO condemns, in the strongest terms, violence that we have seen today. NATO will respond firmly to ensure a safe and secure environment.” The violence in Mitrovica had been building up for days. 300 Serbs, who were campaigning to assert Serbian authority in the north, seized the courthouse and said they wanted their own court and refused to leave. Negotiations with UN officials over the weekend were unsuccessful. The UN believed the Serbs planned to take over another building as well.

There is a long and bitter history to this dispute, and the Arab world tends to blame Western Europe for not intervening earlier in the horrendous happenings in the former Yugoslavia, following the death of President Tito in 1980. Centuries-old ethnic feuds came back into play. In the early 1990s, at a time when there were 25 substantial conflicts and 80 potential flashpoints in the world, I, for one, was cautious over the size of the UN commitment, and that of the United Kingdom which was anxious to reduce its worldwide responsibilities and badly swollen defense budget. There was also the traditional feeling in the United Kingdom that the Commonwealth, Africa and the Middle East had a greater priority.

When NATO did subsequently get heavily involved over Kosovo it had a considerable success. 750,000 refugees, mainly Muslims, were returned to the homes. (By chance, 750,000 is also the number of Palestinian refugees linked to the birth of the State of Israel in 1948). British Prime Minister Tony Blair obtained much international credit for his powerful and successful leadership role over Kosovo.

Last December the British media, not without reason, were suggesting the Balkans, in particular Kosovo, could be facing another conflict in 2008. David Miliband, Britain’s foreign secretary, let it be known to some of his friends that the Balkans could prove to be a “big test” for the European Union as well as the United Kingdom. He said, correctly in my view, that the European Union needed to build up its military and defense capabilities. The European Union foreign ministers spent much time debating Kosovo. On Feb. 17 Hashim Thaci, the prime minister of Kosovo, who led the guerrilla force that took on the much stronger Serbian troops, said: “We never lost faith in the dream that one day we would stand among the free nations of the world and today we do. We will never be ruled by Belgrade again.”

It was noticeable that the excited crowds in the snowy streets preferred the red and black Albanian flag to the newly designed Kosovan flag.

Only 30 countries at the last count have recognized Kosovan independence, including 16 European Union members. Greece has strong opinions on Macedonia. Spain wishes to take no steps abroad that will encourage the Basque secessionists at home. Cyprus, with its problems over the Turkish Occupied Northern Cyprus, does not want to encourage the independence of any part of an existing member of the United Nations.

Gordon Brown, the prime minister, has welcomed Kosovo into the international fold on behalf of the United Kingdom and I think he is right to do so. Of the nearly 2 million people in Kosovo some 90 percent are ethnic Albanians. There can be no doubt that they are not demanding maximum autonomy from Serbia; they are clearly proud to be independent.

There is a big risk that Kosovo is now heading for de facto partition between the Serbian North and the Albanian-dominated South. I trust the European Union will press more states to recognize Kosovan independence and will take a robust stance. It is going to be difficult.