Al-Arabiya, United Arab Emirates
Feb 21 2008
[Facts] Precedent?
The West supports independence for the Albanian-majority territory,
but insists it would not set a precedent. Other breakaway regions
around the world disagree. Following are a few that might look with
interest at the Kosovo case:
WEST BANK / GAZA
** Following Kosovo’s declaration of independence, senior Palestinian
negotiator Yasser Abed Rabbo said Palestinians had the "right to
proclaim independence as the people of Kosovo did" as talks with
Israel "have made no progress" since they were re-launched in
November. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ruled out any
unilateral declaration of statehood in the near future, and fellow
negotiator Saeb Erekat said Palestinians needed "real independence,
not a declaration." U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack
called Kosovo a "unique" case which is "not a precedent for any other
situation around the world."
THE KURDS – Turkey/Iraq/Syria/Iran
** Around 20 million Kurds are scattered between northern Iraq,
Syria, Iran and Turkey, describing themselves as the world’s largest
stateless minority. Most live in southeastern Turkey, where Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) guerrillas have fought an insurgency since 1984
in which more than 30,000 people have died. A ceasefire was called in
1999, but fighting resumed in 2004. Turkey fears that Kurds in
northern Iraq plan to set up their own state, stirring tensions among
Turkish Kurds.
WESTERN SAHARA – Morocco
** The Polisario movement of Western Sahara fought a low-level war
for independence after Morocco annexed the desert territory with the
pullout of colonial power Spain in 1975. U.N. troops have monitored
an uneasy peace since 1991. It is Africa’s oldest territorial
dispute, over land the size of Britain, inhabited by 260,000 people.
A U.N. ceasefire agreement in 1991 promised a referendum on the fate
of the territory, but it never took place and Morocco now rules it
out, saying autonomy is the most it will offer.
NAGORNO-KARABAKH – Azerbaijan
** Sporadic clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh between Azeri and local
ethnic Armenian irregulars began in 1988, escalating by 1992 into
full-scale hostilities between Azeri forces and troops from Armenia.
About 35,000 people died and hundreds of thousands fled before a
ceasefire was signed in 1994. The territory remains part of
Azerbaijan but is controlled by Armenian forces. A major BP-led
pipeline linking Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea oil fields to world markets
passes a few kilometres from the conflict zone.
PAPUA – Indonesia
** In the remote eastern province of Papua, activists have led a
campaign for more than 30 years to break away from Indonesia, while a
low-level armed rebellion has been rumbling for decades. Critics say
military abuses and dissatisfaction over Jakarta’s distribution of
wealth generated by the mineral- and gas-rich province has fuelled
grievances. A 30-year insurgency in Aceh province, killing 15,000
people, ended in a European Union-monitored peace accord in 2005.
BASQUE COUNTRY – Spain
** Basque separatist movement ETA has spent the past four decades
fighting for an independent Basque state in northern Spain and
southwestern France, killing more than 800 people. The
semi-autonomous Basque region in northern Spain is home to 2.1
million people. More than 750 suspected members have been detained
since 2000. ETA declared a ceasefire last year, but the Spanish
government scrapped peace talks in December 2006 after ETA bombed
Madrid airport, killing two people.
ABKHAZIA AND SOUTH OSSETIA – Georgia
** Home to 200,000 people, Abkhazia is sandwiched between the Black
Sea and the Caucasus mountains and was once a renowned tourist
destination. It fought a 1992-3 war against Georgia and effectively
rules itself. It was isolated for years after the war but has since
forged closer ties with Russia, which has given Abkhaz residents
passports and pensions. South Ossetia fought to throw off Georgian
rule in the early 1990s. A ceasefire was signed but the violence has
threatened to reignite. Russia has peacekeepers in both regions.
TRANSDNIESTRIA – Moldova
** A tiny sliver of land on the Dniestr river, Transdniestria broke
away from Moldova in September 1990. A brief war killed hundreds
before Russian troops intervened. The region of 550,000 people is
dominated by Russian-speaking Slavs, who pressed for independence
fearing Moldova’s Romanian-speaking majority would one day join
Romania to the south. Around 1,200 Russian troops remain.
Transdniestria covers one eighth of Moldovan territory but is home to
the bulk of Moldova’s industrial base.
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