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To the Kosovo Liberation Army leadership:
The world knows that the people of Kosovo have suffered a great tragedy. The media have revealed the evidence of shattered lives and ruined property. Many Western leaders have come to Kosovo to show support for the hundreds of thousands of Albanians now returning to their hometowns and villages.
All share the joy of the Kosovar Albanian people at the end of Belgrade's brutal rule. Now, however, Kosovo stands on the brink of another tragedy: the loss of a future of freedom and prosperity -- the kind of future that would mean renewal for the tens of thousands of families that have been devastated by the loss of their loved ones, homes and livelihoods.
In Kosovo last month, I spoke to many people. Nearly all said they could bear their losses and rebuild meaningful lives, but only if the future is free of oppression.
During this transition time, NATO can bring security, and the United Nations can bring order and administration. Kosovo's long-term future, however, lies in the hands of its own Albanian leaders, who must choose a Kosovo where law and order rule, where positions of authority are filled through free and fair elections, and where those who work can truly reap the rewards of their labors.
Unfortunately, the news is filled with ominous reports of power grabs, town-hall occupations, murderous reprisals, black marketeering, extortion, violent intimidation of Albanians and Serbs alike, and property confiscation by self-appointed ethnic Albanian "commissars" reputedly acting with the knowledge or approval of Hashim Thaci and others among your leaders.
Risking loss of support on several fronts
If this continues, the KLA will lose not only the support of its people, whose euphoria can quickly turn to despair, but also of others whose assistance is essential for the achievement of a free Kosovo. These include:
NATO. Despite the valiant efforts of many Albanians to defend their families, Kosovo's Albanians would not have been able to return home without NATO. Today, only the alliance can provide the security essential to building a genuine and sustainable peace, and only the alliance can serve as a bulwark against further aggression from Belgrade.
Donor countries. The European Union and the United States have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild Kosovo. KLA attempts to create parallel, pseudogovernmental structures and engage in other criminal activities will alarm donor countries, reduce financial aid and thus hinder economic reconstruction. Assistance will be given only if donors are certain their funds and materials will not be used to line the pockets of corrupt political leaders. The West learned in Bosnia that aid intended to help the people can be easily diverted.
Albanian diaspora. U.S. and European ethnic Albanian communities have provided extraordinary political and financial support to Kosovo. The diaspora gave this aid with the hope that democracy and a free-market economy eventually would come to Kosovo. You can be certain that if criminal behavior and corruption dominate, the Albanian diaspora will not only withhold further aid, but also refuse to invest in Kosovo.
A collaborative effort is a must
In short, as I told Thaci and others among your leaders, all of Kosovo's leaders must work closely with NATO and the U.N. administration to rebuild and lay the groundwork for free and fair elections. The U.N.-mandated transitional council should be the primary vehicle for Albanian leaders' involvement in their people's civil lives. Leaders must cooperate not only with NATO and the United Nations, but also with each other. The KLA must stop undermining the council and the democratic process by installing, often at gunpoint, its loyalists in self-declared mayoralties and governorships. The people and the common good must prevail over personal and party politics.
If Kosovo's leaders can cooperate and demonstrate a genuine respect for the rule of law and democratic processes, the case for an independent Kosovo will be evident. But if the KLA or any other political force acts to replace Belgrade's brutal oppression with a tyranny, "kleptocracy" and cronyist regime of their own, support from all constructive sources will wither. So, too, will all hope of a free and prosperous Kosovo.
We all have been impressed by the fortitude of the Albanian people, who recognize that the coming months will be extremely trying, yet face the future with courage, dignity and strength. These people deserve responsible leadership. I pray that you will join Kosovo's other political forces in helping to provide it.