POINT OF VIEW/ Rober DujarricKosovo’s independence will impact on Japan
Special to The Asahi Shimbun

Kosovo became the latest state inFebruary to emerge from the wars ofthe former Yugoslavia’s succession.
Opponents of its sovereignty fear thatit could spark a chain reaction, especially in the former communist world,
where Transnistria, Abkhazia, South
Ossetia might formally break awayfrom Moldova and Georgia, respectively.
This argument forgets that there
was no alternative to Kosovar selfdetermination. Under the dictatorship of Slobodan Milosevic, Serbianpolice and soldiers persecuted Albanian Kosovars, driving hundreds ofthousands of people from theirhomes. After these events, it was obvious that no Kosovar would accept
anything less than full separation fromSerbia.
Moreover, in the case of Transnistria, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia, it
may be that independence is the bestsolution. Moldova and Georgia havefailed to develop strong institutions.
It will be easier—or at least less difficult—for them to develop successfully if they are freed from the burdenof these troublesome provinces.
Another line of reasoning pertains
to Russia, “Serbia’s historic ally.” Infact, anybody familiar with the bloody
history of the Balkans knows that despite their shared Orthodox faith andSlavic roots, Russians, Serbians, Montenegrins, Macedonians and Bulgar-ians have been at each others’ throats
as frequently as they have been allies. Moscow, led by nostalgics of theglorious days of Soviet power, is engaged in an anti-EU and anti-American campaign. Kosovo and Serbia are
not the issue, but rather Russia’s refusal to live with the outcome of theCold War.
Finally, there is Serbia itself. Theend of its dominion over Kosovo may
fuel nationalism and extremism. Butthe problem is not primarily Kosovo,
but rather the difficulty its society
faces in emerging from communism
and several lost wars. Kosovo independence has the advantage of making clear to all Serbs what has been
obvious to the rest of the world for a
decade: Serbia has lost the “mandateof heaven” to rule the Kosovar nation.
Now that Kosovo is Europe’s
newest country, the world confronts
two challenges. The first one is Kosovo’s development. It lacks an effective government apparatus—reliablepolice forces, courts, tax collectors
and so on. The West provides muchof the needed state infrastructure, butmuch remains to be done to help
Kosovars transition to independence.
At the same time, Albania and Macedonia (which has a large Albanianminority) also need support since
they are an integral part of the Kosovo equation.
Second, Serbia cannot be abandoned. Many Serbs, even as theymourn the loss ofKosovo, know that
their country faces
an easy choice. Itcan reject theWest, be ruled bywar criminals andthieves, tie itself
to the KGB veterans of Russia, andcondemn itself toimpoverishedpariah status. Or it Robert Dujarric
can accept reality,that is reject its Milosevic past, extradite war criminals to The Hague,
live with its new borders, and gradually integrate itself into the EU—
and NATO—to become a free andprosperous European country.
Many Serbs have traveled orworked in Western Europe. They
know full well that this is the best
path for their homeland. Unfortunately, nationalism is often more potent than rationalism. Consequently,
the international community has toprovide overt and covert support toSerb liberals while offering the people of Serbia a clear path to EU membership. It needs to include sufficienteconomic and political incentives tomake it possible for Serbia to follow
the road to rehabilitation.
In the years since Junichiro Koizumi took office as prime minister,
Japan has proclaimed loudly its ambition to play a role on the worldstage. During his visit to NATO lastyear, former Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe declared that Japan is ready tocarry out what is required of it on
the international level while implicitly
calling for Europe to pay attention toNorth Korea and China. Therefore,
one would expect Japan to be readyto assist NATO in Kosovo, especially as America played the key role inthe birth of Kosovo. Japanese support would be consistent withstrengthening the Japan-US Alliancebeyond East Asia. Japan could obviously contribute economically toKosovo. It could dispatch personnel
to help the local authorities. It could
also engage Serbia, providing economic and trade incentives while
showing that not only Europe but also Asia stands by Kosovo while trying to help the Serbs.
But, the Japanese government chosea different path. Though it will probably follow Washington’s lead, it has
yet to even recognize the country.
Recognition is symbolic, but it is an
important step in showing the Kosovars that the world supports themand demonstrating to Serbia that theinternational community has turned
the page on Serbian control of Kosovo. Tokyo’s slow response will
strengthen the arguments of skeptics
who doubt that Japan can contributeto global security.
The author is director of the Institute of Contemporary Japanese Studies at Temple University Japan.