They aren't here, more importantly. Kouchner, a physician and a co-founder of Doctors Without Borders, argues that the world community should not expect such an immediate transformation in Kosovo. No one in charge. Conditions have improved in all areas, Kouchner said, but the process will require a long-term commitment from the international community, both in manpower and in financial aid. The policy of the United Nations and the NATO-led peacekeepers is to develop an autonomous Kosovo within Yugoslavia.
Some observers doubt such a goal can be achieved.
These are people who want an independent state, who wanted an independent state before the war, who were certainly strengthened in that belief because of what the Serbs did to them. The OSCE says plans are in the works to hold municipal and national elections in Kosovo late this year, perhaps in September or October. Only once those seats are filled can Kosovo's new government begin to tackle the cornerstone issues of future authority. Tito's Communism didn't solve it. I'm not suggesting it will take 50 years to end the tension and challenges here, but it will take a lot of time.