http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?f=/stories/20001028/444850.htm\
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NATIONAL POST, Saturday, October 28, 2000

The main issue for Kosovar voters is independence

Violence mars campaign: First test of whether breakaway province is
ready for democracy: analyst

Juliette Terzieff
National Post

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia - Voters in Kosovo go to the polls today in
landmark elections most see as the first step toward statehood.

For ethnic Albanians, the only issue in the municipal election is
independence from Yugoslavia. For the rest of the world, it is whether
Kosovars can run fair and free elections.

The winner will be able to set terms for co-operating with the United
Nations and NATO administrators currently overseeing the province, with
the new government in Serbia and the international community.

"This is the Kosovars' first real test to see if they are ready for
democracy, and how they handle it. If they fail, hopes for 'national'
elections and independence are in serious trouble," added Louis Sell,
Kosovo director for the International Crisis Group think-tank.

However, campaigning in some areas has been marked by violent incidents
and accusations of intimidation, including death threats and drive-by
shootings.

In one instance, the Organization for Security & Cooperation in Europe
ordered a candidate for the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), the
political wing of the disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army, struck from the
ballot.

"The situation has forced us to cancel some rallies and limited the work
of activists performed during the campaign season," said Fadil Gecu, a
leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) in Skenderaj, south of
Pristina.

"People of Kosovo want peaceful, normal lives, not more fighting," he
added.

Kosovars have been pushing for independence from Serbia for more than a
decade, unheeded by most outsiders until 1998, when Slobodan Milosevic's
forces cracked down on a fledgling guerrilla movement calling itself the
Kosovo Liberation Army.

This led to the NATO airstrikes against Mr. Milosevic and Kosovo became
an international protectorate operating under United Nations
supervision.

Hopes of greater autonomy were dashed earlier this month, when Mr.
Milosevic was toppled by a popular revolt in Serbia.

Vojislav Kostunica, the new Yugoslav President, has already made some
conciliatory gestures toward Kosovo -- he has formally apologized for
atrocities committed by Yugoslav forces in the province in 1998-99 and
some of his allies have hinted at possibly granting Kosovo republic
status within the Yugoslav Federation.

But the bottom line for Belgrade remains restoration of its authority in
the breakaway province.

Politicians in Kosovo want to hold parliamentary elections next spring,
the second step toward full autonomy, before opening any dialogue with
Belgrade.

Although there are 19 parties contesting today's elections, the focus
has been on the LDK, headed by Kosovo's unofficial president, Ibrahim
Rugova, and the PDK, led by Hasim Thaqi, the former KLA leader.

Mr. Rugova, viewed by the West as easier to deal with, advocates
dialogue and compromise as the route to independence.

Mr. Thaqi favours the more radical approach of armed resistance and
intimidation. His vision of Albanian independence also embraces
communities in Macedonia, where Albanians make up 30% of the population,
and the Presovo valley in eastern Serbia.

Western analysts differ widely in their predictions, but most believe
Mr. Rugova's party will take between 25% and 50% of the vote, with Mr.
Thaqi's PDK getting most of the rest. Preliminary results are expected
by Monday morning.

Mr. Thaqi's campaign has repeatedly attacked Mr. Rugova, undoubtedly the
province's most trusted public figure, portraying him as soft and too
eager to please.

"We have the possibility for free democratic elections thanks to the
fight and courage of the KLA, all those who died for Kosovo," the former
guerrilla leader told a screaming crowd of 30,000 crammed into
Pristina's sports stadium for the party's last pre-election rally on
Thursday.

Though the KLA no longer officially exists, supporters roared out
choruses of "UCK! UCK!" -- the Albanian acronym for the rebel army. PDK
officials lauded those who died with a moment of silence after a
half-hour warm-up of KLA fighting songs.

Mr. Thaqi also told the crowd any attempt by Yugoslav security forces to
return to Kosovo, a provision included in the agreement that ended the
NATO campaign, would be met by violent resistance. "It is up to you
whether you vote for the new political class that brought you your
freedom today and the most powerful [U.S.] allies we have ever had, or
for the old political class that made compromises to the detriment of
Kosovars," he said.

A strong PDK showing would radicalize the Albanian position on
discussions with Belgrade, while a poor showing may push more radical
elements even further underground.


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