How would the Serbian community react to the proclamation of Kosovo and Metohija's independence?

Glas Javnosti daily, Belgrade Sunday, September 10, 2006

 

Against independence but too tired for action

 

Aleksandra Jankovic: Although there is a position in our community denying that Kosovo will become independent but that is more or less verbal and I don't have the impression there is a clear readiness to defend such a position

 

Milenko Radic: In the event that Kosovo independence is proclaimed, the same thing would happen as in the past, i.e. there would be some short-range reactions like after the regime change, the arrest of Milosevic, the assassination of Premier Djindjic or the expulsion of the Serbs from Krajina

 

Two thirds of Serbia's citizens or 65.3 percent want Kosovo and Metohija to remain a part of Serbia but at the same time 46.5 percent believe Kosovo independence is realistic, a survey by Factor Plus Agency shows. These ambivalent feelings by the electorate perhaps best illustrate the general situation in Serbia 15 years after the beginning of clashes in the former Yugoslavia because, certain psychologists claim, "after everything that has happened, there is tiredness and resignation". In the last few days Serbs have gotten messages from different sides to "accept reality" and comprehend the inevitability of Kosovo independence but few people dare to predict the reaction of the local community in the event the southern Serbian province is proclaimed independent. Clinical psychologist Aleksandra Jankovic emphasizes that although there is a position in our community denying that Kosovo will become independent, it is more or less verbal and she adds that she "doesn't have the impression there is a clear readiness to defend such a position. By any means."

 

"What is evident is that the territory of Kosovo is occupied and that no one is reacting to that occupation differently than by commenting that it's awful. Everything ends with this. It is difficult to predict how our citizens would react to the proclamation of the independence of Kosovo and Metohija. It would certainly cause tumultuous reaction among people from Kosovo itself and those who have relatives there but I'm afraid that would be a sporadic tale. We're tired of reacting. Reaction leads to tiredness and tiredness leads to a specific type of passivity. This is a depressive position in which you become cognizant of the fact that you don't really have a choice. And when you say you don't have a choice, you very actively or passively accept the present situation and become resigned with the fact that you have no power to change it. There appears to exist a conviction that no individual action can result in a change in the situation. However, such behavior is logical because nothing happens without a reason. An experiment in vivo has been conducted here that has lasted for quite a few years, and people have gotten used to every possible variant," says Aleksandra Jankovic.

 

Milenko Radic, president of the Fund for the Development of Democracy, believes that the reaction of the citizens will depend on the general atmosphere created by the politicians themselves. He is convinced that even in the event that Kosovo independence is proclaimed, the same thing would happen as in the past, i.e. there would be some short-range reactions like after the regime change, the arrest of Milosevic, the assassination of Premier Djindjic or the expulsion of the Serbs from Krajina.

 

"The story from Kosovo would be quicker and easier because the people are used to it already and aware of what is happening. I think that no option for Kosovo will cause major turbulence among the citizens, especially because no [Serbian] politician will sign for independence, leaving the entire issue open. The politicians will rationalize that nothing is over yet, that we will return to Kosovo in one hundred or one hundred and fifty years when political circumstances changes, emphasizing that they signed nothing and so on and so forth. By taking this stance they will attempt to convince the citizens to accept this type of status for Kosovo," explains Radic.

 

Aleksandra Jankovic emphasizes that in Serbia the issue of Kosovo and Metohija has been stripped of its emotional charge, which benefits the advocates of the anational option "who are growing in number and enjoy increasing coverage in the media".

 

---

 

TRIUMPH OF EXPERIENCE OVER HOPE

 

"I completely understand the statement of President Tadic a few days ago that he acknowledges the position of the U.S. despite the fact that he disagrees with it because the U.S. is a very important partner for our country. This creates the impression among the public that the global police are going to rule Serbia regardless of what we do. I don't believe we have an outbreak of cowardice in Serbia but the triumph of experience, whereas hope seems to have waned. What we are seeing is not the triumph of hope over experience but that of experience over hope, says Aleksandra Jankovic.

 

By S. Dedeic - B. Ristic

 

(Translated on September 19, 2006 by sib)