Increasing radicalism threatens stability in the Balkans. Just last week at a Serb-led rally against Kosovo governing authorities in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica, a hand grenade exploded leaving one dead and ten injured. Serb and ethnic-Albanians leaders blamed each other for the attack. Balkan leaders need to begin acting on principle rather than narrow self-interest. Although the international community can support this process, ultimately regional leaders need to stand-up and be counted.
The Balkan region continues to be a hotbed for homegrown and imported extremists groups. Serbian nationalism is on the rise while missionaries of Wahhabi interpretation of Islam and other radical Islamic groups continue their efforts to establish a presence in Bosnia, Kosovo and other Muslim populated regions of the Balkans. The weak governing structures combined with growing unemployment and poverty make the region fertile ground for radical recruits.
US Congress is on the right track with their proposed bill that will provide assistance to the Balkan region to strengthen and implement counter-extremism and counter-terrorism efforts. The bill will compliment similar efforts by European governments and provide the region with much needed financial and logistical assistance in combating extremists. But this is not enough to prevent the spread of radicalism. Balkan leaders need to play a greater role. After 20 years and billions in international aid, ample time has passed where Balkan leaders can no longer excuse their neglect of responsibility under the guise of "states in transition." On the other hand, internationals need to evaluate their state-building efforts.
Most of the Balkan states have been dominated by a symbiotic relationship between the internationals and government leaders. The internationals took it upon themselves to build the state from the top down, layer by layer. The process of building this edifice of a new state did not work as it was supposed to, and was compromised by the inexperienced, opportunistic, low-trust voter-politician relationship in new, fragile states. The engineers (the internationals) and the design remained constant, but the construction crews (elected officials) changed at every floor. And they tended to be opportunistic in pursuing personal gain, assuming that fickle new voters, or other forces, would reject them at any moment. Once this wobbly structure was completed, the occupants were less interested in how and why it was built and more on the view it provided to personal prosperity. This cycle has led to loss of confidence in the governing structures, increase in unemployment and the continuous spread of poverty -- an ideal recruiting environment for political radicals and organized crime (too often they are one in the same). This environment is for the most part found in many parts of the Balkans but its best, unfortunately, exemplified in the countries of Serbia and Kosovo.
Recent days have seen examples of a dangerous hands-off treatment of radicalism, and a more assertive principled approach. An example of the dangerous hands off approach, or the wrong kind of leader, is the Serb extremist rally. On the other hand, Kosovo's Minister of Education campaign to maintain Kosovo's status as a secular state is a step in the right direction.
At a recently rally marking the Serb-Ottoman battle 621 years ago in Kosovo, which was addressed by the powerful new head of Serbia's Orthodox Church, a few thousand Serb nationalists took an oath to kill Albanians until they are exterminated and burned the Albanian and the American flags. In 1989, Slobodan Milosevic launched his ethnic-cleansing war from the same site with a call for a rise in Serbian nationalism to correct the past. Belgrade authorities, once again, remained silent.
In Kosovo, where 90% of the population is Muslim, Minster of Education Enver Hoxhaj, a Muslim, is leading the charge in ensuring Kosovo remain a secular state. The Minster has banned head scarves in secondary and primary schools. For the most part, the Minister's decision is supported by the general public. However, this does not excuse the Kosovar government from addressing the concerns of a questioning minority if the Minister's decision is violating their right to freedom of religion. Such neglect will only further isolate the group and make them more vulnerable to join extremists.
With the ongoing economic crisis in Europe, the Balkan region will continue to experience poverty and unemployment, in particular among the youth. In the absence of policies to alleviate poverty, the government leaders can at a minimum begin to build greater confidence and trust in governing structures. This means applying the rule of law to unpopular issues as in the case of Kosovo regarding freedom of religion and as to Belgrade bringing Serb extremists that encourage hate crime to justice.
In the long run, Balkan governments need preventive action to combat extremists by investing in education and in civil society. To prevent young people from wandering towards extremists movements, schools must step up their programs to include courses on tolerance, citizenship, leadership, and social justice. The programs should be coordinated with civil society organizations that promote these values through town hall meetings and workshops with young adults at the community level.
In the short term, Balkan leaders need to lay the foundations of this long term reality, and to take immediate, assertive principled actions to that end. Minister Hoxhaj's banning of headscarves is one such example; silence in the face of a new Serbian nationalism is a warning of a possible alternate future.
As a heritage of the war there are still over 200,000 refugees who can't return to their homes in Kosovo. If you want to put pressure on Kosovo do it about that, because its government only sabotates efforts by refugees to return. Believe me, as long as real issues like refugees are not addressed courses on tolerance will be viewed like lessons in hypocrisy.