Do not divide the friends of Kosovo, because we will need them again

In the time of internal political battles, brutal, dishonest, immoral and dangerous, the politicians in Kosovo are causing division even among the friends of Kosovo. They have created unprecedented dilemmas: are we with America and Europe, are we with Grenell or Eliot Engel, are we with Trump and Trump's son, or with Biden and his son, with Merkel or with Erdogan. Let's leave the friends of Kosovo comfortable, because there aren't many left. And in these moments they also have their own problems; how to survive, how they will face the devastating consequences of the economy. They do not act according to momentary feelings, bitterness and impulses, therefore even when the crisis is over they will not condemn Kosovo because Isa Mustafa or Albin Kurti or Ramush Haradinaj did not listen to them. If all that is said in Kosovo were true, then Kosovo would have to be forgotten by our "lied" or "betrayed" friends.

Let's clarify two things: The first is that a new coalition of political parties has been created in Kosovo, inclusive, oriented against the Vetëvendosje Movement, and they managed to vote for the downfall of the Government. The second is that the great majority of the friends of Kosovo were against the overthrow of this government at this time, even though they do not favor one party or the other, and that they reiterated that they will work with any government that the people of Kosovo choose.

All the rest are things that can be debated, discussed and analyzed at length. What were the real goals for overthrowing the Government? Who betrayed him?

Apart from being a deplorable act, unnecessary at this moment and dangerous, the fall of the Government at this moment surprised even the true friends of Kosovo. From Brussels, Berlin, London and Paris to Washington.

Those who had divided their minds earlier to overthrow the Government, first of all the chairman of the LDK, Isa Mustafa, ignored the demands, even in the form of prayers, of the two main European states, Germany and France, in an unprecedented way. . Isa Mustafa thus made an experiment to come out immediately after achieving the goal with the order that Kosovo does not have the conditions to do experiments. And he and his new and old partners, from PDK and AAK to Nisma, mentioned America and the friendship that the Government is destroying.

They also joined those who wanted the fall of the Government because it is not removing the tax and also those who dismissed it because it is removing the tax. American economic sanctions were also mentioned as a reason. It was forgotten that the tax was imposed before the new Government was established, and then the friendship may have been broken. It was not mentioned that Kosovo was on the list of the Millennium Challenge Program because it is very poor (the only one besides Moldova and Georgia) and not because of its friendship with the USA. Even in a report published on September 6 (a month before the elections in Kosovo), among the states that qualify for these Millennium Challenge projects for 2020, Kosovo does not appear. Unless I didn't read this report correctly. But it doesn't matter, just like the facts don't matter at all in this timeless debate in Kosovo.

Prime Minister Kurti defended himself. Maybe he made a mistake when he said that "there is a secret agreement" and especially when he started talking about what the interlocutors had told him in face-to-face meetings. This may be transparency, but it is not custom. The tradition is that everyone can speak in public about what he said himself and not what the interlocutor told him. As for the "secret deal" job, he may know more, but this was used for attempts to present him as a man who does not tell the truth.

And for this, American diplomats were used. They gave a statement, which was widely read in Kosovo. Three American diplomats said that "there is no secret plan", that they "have not seen it".

In all likelihood, there is no secret written agreement for the exchange of territory between Kosovo and Serbia. But the chances are high that this topic has been discussed and there are many sources that say that the presidents of Kosovo and Serbia were ready to discuss such a thing. Likewise, there are many in both the EU and the USA who were ready to accept such a solution "if this would be the result of the agreement of the parties". Even if there was a "secret agreement" in written form, it should not be expected that someone would confirm its existence. In this newspaper, in more than 25 years that I have been working, I have also published texts from "secret agreements" or "secret letters" or "secret reports". Often those who have given it to me, have told me that, if they are asked, they will say that they "don't know about any such document".

Kosovars would do well to leave Kosovo's friends alone and not involve them in internal political battles. They don't even want to be involved in it. And for Kosovo, the separation of its friends is to its detriment. They did not come with different attitudes about Kosovo, but it was the Kosovar politicians who took steps that caused division among our friends. Who is to blame for what? Let them demand responsibility among themselves for not liberalizing visas, as for other issues.

Is it their fault why we don't have liberalization Hashim Thaçi, Isa Mustafa and Skënder Hyseni why in Vienna they signed the Agreement for the demarcation of the border with Montenegro and "promised" or "lied" to their international friends that they have the votes for ratification, which caused this to become an additional condition for visa liberalization. Or is Ramush Haradinaj to blame for not allowing ratification for a while, giving arguments to PDK and LDK that "momentum was lost", that's why we were left without visa liberalization. Or is it the fault of the prosecutors and judges who did not ensure high-level punishments for corruption and organized crime and confiscation of property. Let them take it upon themselves and find the culprit, if they really want to. Only then should they transfer the blame to "our friends".

In the time of internal political battles, brutal, dishonest, immoral and dangerous, the politicians in Kosovo are causing division even among the friends of Kosovo. They have created unprecedented dilemmas: are we with America and Europe, are we with Grenell or Eliot Engel, are we with Trup and Trup's son, or with Biden and his son. Leave it to the friends of Kosovo, because there are not many left. And in these moments they also have their own problems; how to survive, how they will face the devastating consequences of the economy. They do not act according to momentary feelings, bitterness and impulses, therefore even when the crisis is over they will not condemn Kosovo because Isa Mustafa or Albin Kurti or Ramush Haradinaj did not listen to them. If all that is said in Kosovo were true, about how "bitter" they are and how much they have broken our "permanent relations and alliances", then Kosovo would have to be forgotten by our "lied" or "betrayed" friends. ".

There are differences between them. Germany does not want to change the borders and France is more open to this idea. In the US there is no clear position. At least now we know that Ambassador Grenell "personally" does not think this is a "good idea", which is a blow to those who wanted to gain support for the territory exchange by presenting it as an "American idea". Germany wants visa liberalization for Kosovo, and France does not.

There are many differences, but around the main principles, the friends of Kosovo are still together. Kosovo must have a democratic government, the Constitution must be respected (although in Kosovo they interpret it differently), it must fight organized crime and corruption, and, above all, it must face the coronavirus crisis. All other dilemmas about whether Kosovo should choose between Europe and America, is the Government anti-American and has the LDK become "anti-European" for the first time in history, are artificial dilemmas created by the politicians in Kosovo themselves for the sake of theirs. Let's spare our friends in these difficult times for them too, because we will need them in the future.