UN Kosovo mission not popular

THE popularity of the United Nations mission running Kosovo has fallen to its lowest level in two years, a UN development agency poll showed yesterday, as Kosovo nears a decision on the province’s future that could see it become independent.

The UN mission, which has run Kosovo since mid-1999, “has again surpassed most ranked institutions as the institution with lowest approval rating and has reached its worst performance rating for the past two years,” said the Early Warning report, conducted by the UN Development Program quarterly.

Only 26% of the 1,250 people interviewed in the poll said they approved of the UN mission’s work, while only slightly more — 30% — approved of Kosovo’s government.

The poll also showed that 50% of respondents were pessimistic about their political future — the highest percentage recorded since mid-2002.

Kosovo has been under UN administration and patrolled by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation peacekeepers since a 78-day NATO-led air war halted a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in 1999. The province’s ethnic Albanian majority — who make up 90% of the Serbian province’s population — is demanding independence, while Serbia insists Kosovo remain must within its borders.

A UN proposal for Kosovo’s future calls for eventual independence from Serbia, initially supervised by the international community, and offers rights to the province’s Serb minority to run their daily affairs. Serbs have rejected the plan, while Kosovo’s government supports it. However, some ethnic Albanians have protested against the plan, saying it does not give them full independence fast enough.

The plan must be approved by the UN Security Council — which is divided over the issue — to take effect. No deadline has been set for a vote. The proposal has the support of US and key European Union countries, but Russia has indicated it could use its veto power in the council if Serbia’s interests are not addressed.

The survey showed that 57% of 851 ethnic Albanians interviewed have a positive attitude toward the plan, while 82% of the 206 Serbs asked held a negative view on the proposal, and 9% were neutral. Some 47% of 192 respondents from other Kosovo minorities, such as Bosnians, Turks and Roma, also supported the plan.

The majority of the Serb respondents said they did not know how they would react if the Security Council approves the UN plan, while 13% would work to improve ethnic relations and some 10% would leave Kosovo.

Questioning for the survey was conducted in face-to-face interviews across the province. No margin of error was provided.