Eid for "The Guardian": Exchange of territories, ethnic cleansing by another name

The Balkans are boiling again. This time because there are many speculations that Kosovo and Serbia will finally be able to end their dispute and normalize relations. The President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, and his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic, are said to be close to reaching an agreement that could stabilize the Balkans and open the door for both countries to join the European Union. The negotiations are taking place under the mediation of the EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini. Ten years after Kosovo declared its independence, the last chapter of the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia can be closed.

This is how the editor-in-chief of the daily "Koha Ditore", Agron Bajrami, begins his writing in the prestigious daily, reports Koha.net.

He says that all this seems like a fairy tale since the two leaders, during the war of 1998-99, when thousands of Kosovar civilians were killed, tens of thousands of houses were burned and destroyed, more than 1 million citizens were expelled from their homes - were on opposite sides, while now, suddenly, they have overcome all hatred and enmity for the sake of a better future for their peoples. Finally, a breakthrough?

"It's the opposite, everything can turn into a nightmare. The agreement being considered is sometimes called 'adjustment of borders' and sometimes 'exchange of territories'. Neither Thaçi nor Vuçiqi have given many details, but it seems that with this agreement, a part of the northern territory of Kosovo, with a Serbian majority, would join Serbia; in the meantime, a part of southern Serbia, a region widely known as the Presheva Valley, whose majority population is Albanian, would join Kosovo", says Bajrami in his editorial for "The Guardian".

According to him, this land exchange will result in fewer Serbs living in Kosovo and fewer Albanians in Serbia. Both countries would become more "ethnically pure". Many people will have to leave their family homes and places of birth. In other words, there would be an exchange of populations, not just territories.

"Charles Kupchan, a former adviser to Barack Obama and now a professor at Georgetown University, has described the tentative plan as 'peaceful ethnic cleansing.' A supporter of the land swap idea, he believes that 'pragmatism needs principle'. Politely, but I don't agree", emphasizes Bajrami in the article, which you can find in full at THIS link.