The New York Times
Friday, March 17, 2000
The Albanian Challenge in Kosovo
American troops took firm action this week against one of the most dangerous problems now confronting NATO in Kosovo. In a series of raids, they seized weapons and ammunition that ethnic Albanian guerrillas in the American-patrolled eastern part of the province have been using to launch cross-border raids into Serbia. Unless the guerrillas are forcibly disarmed and turned away from the border, their actions could embroil NATO in an unwanted new war with Belgrade.
Ethnic tensions have been building in Kosovo. In the city of Mitrovica, Serbian militants supported by Yugoslavia's president, Slobodan Milosevic, have been blockading bridges and streets to keep Albanians away from their homes on the north side of the Ibar River and have been trying to partition the province along ethnic lines. With French and Italian reinforcements on the way to Mitrovica, NATO troops began pushing back against the blockades. Gen. Wesley Clark, NATO's military commander, would like to see American reinforcements sent to eastern Kosovo as well.
Most citizens of Kosovo would like to focus on re-establishing personal and economic security. But those who try to cooperate with their neighbors across ethnic lines face threats and intimidation from extremists in both communities. Militant leaders do not really want to see the United Nations succeed in building a civil society in Kosovo. Neither the Albanian guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army nor the Serbian nationalists favor the compromise political arrangement that followed last year's war. With this formula, Kosovo enjoys autonomy under continuing Serbian sovereignty. Both sides must understand that they cannot impose new goals on the international community by returning to armed conflict.
The most acute problem these days comes from the ethnic Albanian guerrillas. American entreaties to stop the violence seem to have had little effect. It is disheartening that the United States, which went to war in Kosovo to protect Albanians, now must use its military forces to confront the Kosovo Liberation Army and its armed offshoots.
