Bloodied Ground

Animosity between Serbs and Albanians, which has been a fact of life for years, may be difficult to repair, especially after reported Serb atrocities. According to The New York Times, about 250,000 ethnic Albanians have been forced from their homes in the past five months, leaving refugees homeless and without food.

John F. T. Shattuck, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, and a former Harvard vice-president, told The Times for a recent article that a U.S. delegation to Kosovo had found "horrendous human rights violations, violations of humanitarian law and acts of punitive destruction on a massive scale."

"Regrettably now there is fear that the events of the last few months have so alienated much of the population that they will no longer acquiesce to remaining inside Yugoslavia," Elias-Bursac said.

As long as Milosevic is in power, the Yugoslavgovernment will not engage in open dialogue,Elias-Bursac added.

"He forged his reputation on Kosovo'sdisenfranchisement and he cannot back down fromthat without losing his stature," she said. In1989, she added, Milosevic appealed to Serbs andsecured his power base by limiting the autonomy ofKosovo.

"Regrettably now there is fear that the eventsof the last few months have so alienated much ofthe population that they will no longer acquiesceto remaining inside Yugoslavia," Elias-Bursacsaid.

Because of the existing divisions, Todorovasaid she is in favor of granting Kosovo "veryextensive autonomy, short of formal independence"in the future. But the limited-autonomy plan,which is currently being advocated by most Balkanobservers, will not offer any real long-termsolution, she said.

Giving Peace a Chance

Yet Elias-Bursac said there is hope for peace.A moderate faction of Albanians more willing tomake peace with the Serbs exists, she said.

According to Todorova, the idea that people inthe Balkans are so consumed by hatred that theyare unable to make peace is a myth.

However the U.S. decides to help solve theproblem, it needs to work with other countries,said Shelly Leanne, a lecturer in public policywho will teach the Kennedy School's ISP-203:"Human Rights and American Foreign Policy" thisspring.

If the U.S. is going to intervene, it should doso through multilateral, international initiativesrather than bilateral initiatives, she added.

Meddling in another country's affairs outsidethe auspices of NATO or the United Nationsviolates the very principle of sovereignty whichthe U.S. wants to uphold, she added.

There are other forms of internationalintervention that we are beginning to see more of,Elias-Bursac said. The international community isbeginning to explore the possibility of holdinggovernments responsible for atrocities.

"War crimes tribunals and the implementation ofobservers, verifiers and peacekeepers are ways inwhich the world can enter communities where eventsare out of control and at least make public thesituation on the ground," she said