Service Beyond Gold in the Balkans- An Eye on Serbia
August 16th, 2009
Contributed by: Mustafa Izzuddin
The Balkans is one of the most misunderstood regions of the world. From its political history to its ethno-religious diversity to its healing process being influenced by divergent political agendas of leaders and by the international community, this is a region that warrants greater scrutiny. From this standpoint and thirst for curiosity, I embarked on a 3-week study trip in April 2009 to the Balkans beginning from Serbia and ending off in Croatia with Bosnia-Herzegovina (Bosnia) in between. Hosted by the Serbian Society of the London School of Economics, this trip was aimed at dispelling misconceptions about the region, particularly Serbia, with the hope that the 12 participants would take away with them some useful learning points alongside the appreciation of the rich cultural diversity of the Balkan region. The added interest for me, as a youth leader in Singapore particularly with the Gold Award Holders’ Alumni, was to understand how young people viewed the Balkan region, and what roles they have played in the healing process of their respective countries.
Starting in Belgrade, the Serbian capital, we met with the returning Prince of Serbia, the Governor of the Bank of Serbia, and the current Serbian Foreign Minister. Serbia was the centrepiece of Tito’s Socialist Yugoslavia, which disintegrated in a series of wars in the 1990s, and culminated in Serbia becoming an independent state in 2006. Slobodan Milosevic was perceived as the man responsible for the dissolution of Yugoslavia and its attendant Genocide Wars in Bosnia (1992-1994) and Kosovo (1998-1999). As a newly independent state, Serbia has had to deal with 3 major foreign policy challenges as the Serbian Foreign Minister explained in great length.
The first is the issue of Kosovo. Serbia views Kosovo as its autonomous province managed by the United Nations (UN) which comes to imply that Kosovo remains an inalienable part of Serbia and not an independent state as was declared by the parliament of Kosovo in February 2008. International response has been mixed and the global community remains politically divided on the issue of the international recognition of Kosovo. Kosovo is important to Serbia as it is crucially a cultural bastion of Serbia’s historical legacy of Orthodox Christianity. Concurrently, Kosovo Albanians, who are Muslims, believe that they are starkly different from the Serbians and desire their own independent state. It has become a zero-sum game in which Serbia’s loss will be Kosovo’s gain and vice-versa. No country wants to lose its territory, and so this remains one of Serbia’s key foreign policy challenges both locally and globally. What struck me was how Serbia valued relations with countries that supported its stance vis-à-vis Kosovo. When I introduced myself as from Singapore, the Foreign Minister was quick to respond with delight: “We respect Singapore. Singapore is a beautiful city”. I returned the compliment by praising Belgrade as a warm and cosy city. Serbia and Singapore may be worlds apart in distance but they appear to converge on the Kosovo issue in their consistent support of the UN resolutions on this matter.
The second is the issue of European integration. According to the Foreign Minister and reiterated by the representative of the European Commission in Serbia, Serbia has worked hard to put in place measures to quicken its European integration. Alas, she remains only a potential candidate for membership of the European Union (EU) and has yet to become an official candidate, let alone a full member of the EU. One could feel a sense of disappointment mixed with frustration among Serbian policy-makers towards the EU. One sticking point is the perception among some EU member-states that Serbia has not done enough to bring the genocide perpetrators to justice. However, Serbian policymakers feel this is a misconception because they have been successful in doing just that, sometimes at the expense of its own populace. For Serbia, European integration is a risky venture. On one hand, European integration is crucial in many respects not least the appeal of the Euro given that the Serbian Dinar is valueless, a point vividly made by the Bank Governor. I had a tough time converting the Serbian Dinar to any other currency as the banks simply refused to accept it for obvious reasons. On the other hand, Serbian policymakers have had to incur the wrath of its domestic constituents who are not in favour of the EU (as portrayed by anti-EU signs all over the city) because European integration would mean that domestic markets will not be protected and many Serbian small and medium businesses may apparently go bust. Taken together, I foresee Serbia having to build up its own economic pillars rather than becoming an EU member anytime soon. As the Foreign Minister put it, it may take eons for European integration to be possible since Serbia’s efforts have apparently not been appreciated by some EU member-states, and it comes a time when Serbia has to move on with its pride intact.
The third is the relations with countries in its neighbourhood. Historical baggage has continued to be a sore point in Serbia’s relations with its neighbours particularly Bosnia and Croatia in the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. Mending relations with its neighbours is a key foreign policy initiative for Serbia especially since the people in countries like Bosnia and Croatia appear to still harbour anti-Serbian sentiments as they heal from the scars of past wars. According to several Croats whom I spoke to, they were upfront in their views that Serbs were not welcome in Croatia. While Croatia has healed itself quite quickly to the extent of becoming a candidate for EU membership, Bosnia is still picking up the pieces with scars visible throughout its capital, Sarajevo. The added challenge for Serbia is to revive diplomatic ties with Montenegro which became independent of the Union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, and later infuriated Serbia with its recognition of Kosovo’s independence. A hostile backyard does not bode well for Serbia especially when it attempts to open up a new chapter in its history that is post-Milosevic, democratic and neighbourly in its outlook. How quickly Serbia is able to mend ties with its neighbours to the extent that these neighbouring countries recognise a new Serbia, the more diplomatic recognition and goodwill it will then receive from the European and global community.
On the socio-cultural front, I was heartened to learn from the returning Prince of Serbia that NGOs have been sprouting all over the country and that more young people have been getting themselves involved in civil society. Such a development would have been unthinkable under a Socialist regime which had also banished the royalty and sent them into exile. At the same time, more and more educated youths have become heavily involved in the political process. Some, as young as 21 years of age, have stood for elections and won seats in parliament. I asked a young lady parliamentarian what motivated her to join politics at such a tender age and she replied that “…only when youths get involved in the political process can Serbia shed its past image and move into the future with its head held high…” With such fervour and vibrancy among youths in both the political and NGO circles, I have no doubt in my mind that it is just a matter of time before the recognition of a new Serbia is rightfully given.
There is much to admire about Serbia. Its capital, Belgrade, is a hallmark of tourism and boasts a rich cultural heritage amidst tumultuous historical times. While predominantly Orthodox Christianity, there are also other religions being practised in Serbia. Not least Islam with a half-destroyed mosque operating in a central part of Belgrade. The mosque tells its own remarkable story of struggle and survival. After countless meetings, talking to numerous people and immersing myself in Serbian culture, I left Belgrade with a more educated opinion about a country that is arguably the most misunderstood in a misunderstood region called the Balkans.
Entry Filed under: Feature: GAHA Member
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