Oct 29th 2010, 14:52 by T.J.
YOU often hear Balkan-watchers say that there is nothing they yearn for more than to see the former warring states and peoples of this troubled region melt back into a humdrum obscurity, punctuated only by the odd sporting victory. In truth though, nothing gives them greater pleasure than to see the Balkans emblazoned on the front page of a major western daily newspaper.
Today is a slight exception. Anyone with a smattering of knowledge about Kosovo can have only found the sight of the country's name on the front page of the (London) Times—today's splash is “Boris puts the coalition in a spin with Kosovo gibe” [no link as the newspaper is behind a paywall]—annoying.
The story is about housing benefit reforms in Britain, which, says the newspaper, could see as many as 82,000 poor households in London having to move. Yesterday, Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, said: “We will not accept a kind of Kosovo-style social cleansing of London… On my watch, you are not going to see thousands of families evicted from the place they have put down roots.”
A cartoon in the Guardian today depicts David Cameron, the British prime minister and the leader of Mr Johnson's Conservative Party, in military uniform with an identifiable traditional Serbian military cap, recalling oft-published pictures of Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military leader who has been indicted for genocide.
YOU often hear Balkan-watchers say that there is nothing they yearn for more than to see the former warring states and peoples of this troubled region melt back into a humdrum obscurity, punctuated only by the odd sporting victory. In truth though, nothing gives them greater pleasure than to see the Balkans emblazoned on the front page of a major western daily newspaper.
Today is a slight exception. Anyone with a smattering of knowledge about Kosovo can have only found the sight of the country's name on the front page of the (London) Times—today's splash is “Boris puts the coalition in a spin with Kosovo gibe” [no link as the newspaper is behind a paywall]—annoying.
The story is about housing benefit reforms in Britain, which, says the newspaper, could see as many as 82,000 poor households in London having to move. Yesterday, Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, said: “We will not accept a kind of Kosovo-style social cleansing of London… On my watch, you are not going to see thousands of families evicted from the place they have put down roots.”
A cartoon in the Guardian today depicts David Cameron, the British prime minister and the leader of Mr Johnson's Conservative Party, in military uniform with an identifiable traditional Serbian military cap, recalling oft-published pictures of Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military leader who has been indicted for genocide.
The Times says that Mr Johnson's remark, which embarrassed the prime minister, suggests that the mayor would eventually like to take over the top job from Mr Cameron. Interestingly, that presents a parallel with Kosovo, where Isa Mustafa, the mayor of Pristina, is seeking to topple Fatmir Sejdiu, the former president and prime ministerial hopeful. (One more comparison. Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, now sports London black cabs on its streets—see right.)
Mr Johnson’s comment is, needless to say, idiotic in the extreme. At a stretch you could argue that before the Balkan wars, the phenomenon of big Albanian families in Kosovo buying scarce land and houses from Serbs, who would then move to Serbia, was a form of "social cleansing", but that is clearly not the point of Mr Johnson's remark.
A quick (and slightly simplified) history lesson. In 1999 the Serbs "cleansed" hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, who returned following the NATO attack on Serbia. Kosovo's Serbs then fled in turn, or were themselves ethnically cleansed. For poor British families, while being moved from a plush pad in Kensington to the dingy suburbs may be irritating, even traumatic, it is hardly on a par with ethnic cleansing, murder and mass graves.
By coincidence Mr Johnson’s remark comes at the same time as the publication of a new Human Rights Watch report about Kosovo Roma. In it, the NGO appeals to western countries not to deport Kosovo Roma refugees back to their home country, where they face “discrimination and severe deprivation amounting to human rights abuse”. Those who have been sent back, says the report:
experience problems getting identity documents as well as regaining possession of any property they own. They also have difficulties accessing housing, health care, employment, and social welfare services. Many end up in places where they are separated from family members. The deportations are especially hard on children, few of whom stay in school due to the lack of language skills, curriculum differences, and poverty.
The report goes on to note:
About 50,000 Roma, most of them Serbian-speaking, and two Albanian-speaking minorities—Ashkali and Egyptians, who claim origins in ancient Egypt—have been deported to Kosovo since 1999. The numbers look set to rise, with as many as 12,000 people facing deportation from Germany alone. Lack of assistance from international donors and the Kosovo government to those who are deported means that the burden of helping them once they arrive in Kosovo falls on the Kosovo communities of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians, the majority of whom live in acute poverty.
Kosovo’s Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians are historically its poorest and its most economically, politically, and socially marginalized minority. In recent years, many have been displaced because of the war, ethnic conflict, extreme poverty, and political instability. Their numbers decreased from more than 200,000 before the war in 1999 to 38,000 today. The Roma have often been the targets of violent attacks, spurned by some Kosovo Albanians—the largest ethnic group in Kosovo—as “collaborators” with the minority Serb population.
It would be interesting to know if any Kosovo Roma in London risk being socially cleansed before being deported back to the country that they were ethnically cleansed from.
Mr Johnson’s comment is, needless to say, idiotic in the extreme. At a stretch you could argue that before the Balkan wars, the phenomenon of big Albanian families in Kosovo buying scarce land and houses from Serbs, who would then move to Serbia, was a form of "social cleansing", but that is clearly not the point of Mr Johnson's remark.
A quick (and slightly simplified) history lesson. In 1999 the Serbs "cleansed" hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, who returned following the NATO attack on Serbia. Kosovo's Serbs then fled in turn, or were themselves ethnically cleansed. For poor British families, while being moved from a plush pad in Kensington to the dingy suburbs may be irritating, even traumatic, it is hardly on a par with ethnic cleansing, murder and mass graves.
By coincidence Mr Johnson’s remark comes at the same time as the publication of a new Human Rights Watch report about Kosovo Roma. In it, the NGO appeals to western countries not to deport Kosovo Roma refugees back to their home country, where they face “discrimination and severe deprivation amounting to human rights abuse”. Those who have been sent back, says the report:
experience problems getting identity documents as well as regaining possession of any property they own. They also have difficulties accessing housing, health care, employment, and social welfare services. Many end up in places where they are separated from family members. The deportations are especially hard on children, few of whom stay in school due to the lack of language skills, curriculum differences, and poverty.
The report goes on to note:
About 50,000 Roma, most of them Serbian-speaking, and two Albanian-speaking minorities—Ashkali and Egyptians, who claim origins in ancient Egypt—have been deported to Kosovo since 1999. The numbers look set to rise, with as many as 12,000 people facing deportation from Germany alone. Lack of assistance from international donors and the Kosovo government to those who are deported means that the burden of helping them once they arrive in Kosovo falls on the Kosovo communities of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians, the majority of whom live in acute poverty.
Kosovo’s Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians are historically its poorest and its most economically, politically, and socially marginalized minority. In recent years, many have been displaced because of the war, ethnic conflict, extreme poverty, and political instability. Their numbers decreased from more than 200,000 before the war in 1999 to 38,000 today. The Roma have often been the targets of violent attacks, spurned by some Kosovo Albanians—the largest ethnic group in Kosovo—as “collaborators” with the minority Serb population.
It would be interesting to know if any Kosovo Roma in London risk being socially cleansed before being deported back to the country that they were ethnically cleansed from.
the economist
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