“The concept of Tamil "Eelam" is thus very different from the concept of an independent Kosovo”

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(February 26, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Kosovo is no more a part of Serbia and has become a free state. Nation after nation have begun to recognize this new status. This development has become a popular news story throughout the world and questions have begun about how this would influence various liberation movements, and in the case of Sri Lanka, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Nilantha Ilangamuwa set his task to get a cross-section of views from experts in various parts of the world particularly concerned with liberation movements. How did Kosovo achieve this status?

Here we present what R. Swaminathan shared with the Sri Lanka Guardian.

“The sovereignty over Tamil majority areas in Sri Lanka has never been contested in history. Tamil and Sinhala peoples had been living in harmony for centuries, till the post-independence phenomenon of aggressive Sinhala nationalism and chauvinism imposed severe discrimination against the Tamils. Essentially, this is perhaps the only common feature between Kosovo and the Tamils in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.”
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The Declaration of Independence (not UDI, i.e. Unilateral Declaration of Independence, as in the case of Rhodesia) by Kosovo is very different from the LTTE's demand for a separate Tamil State.

Historically, Kosovo had been the battleground where contesting entities had been fighting (for centuries) for sovereignty over the territory. The fight was between the Turkish Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire at one time, then between the Turks and the Serbs and later between the Albanians and the Serbs. When the victor-imposed Treaty of Versailles (28 June 1919) created the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Kosovo was made a part of Serbia. The Kingdom was renamed in 1929 as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During World War II, Kosovo was a strong base for Tito-led AVNO (Anti-Fascism Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia). After the war, when the new state of SFRJ (Socialist Federated Republics of Jugoslavia) was proclaimed, Kosovo (along with Vojvodina) became an "autonomous" province of the Republic of Serbia. Many places in Kosovo are of religious and cultural significance to the Serbs; and Kosovo has many important landmarks (like Jajce) of the Partisan struggle during World War II. The resentment of the Albanian majority in Kosovo against discrimination caused by Serbian nationalism and chauvinism was held in check during the Tito (who hailed from Croatia) era, mainly because of his iconic staus. However, when SFRJ ultimately broke up into its component units, the demand and justification for an independent Kosovo became stronger. The Declaration of Independence by Kosovo could, in effect, be termed as a reversal of the earlier non-consensual and externally-imposed inclusion in Serbia.

The status of Kosovo since 1999 has been of a territory under UN administration and NATO (read EU in recent years) protection. An independent status for Kosovo had been recommended in 1997 by the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General, but was not accepted by Security Council. Even now, Kosovo's Declaration of Independence may not get the approval of UNSC, because of possible veto by Russia and China. The new state, however, has received and would receive recognition from many powerful states.

Kosovo is a new addition to the list of religion (Islam) based states. It is likely to remain non-viable (politically, economically and militarily) for a long time. A realistic assessment would be that it would effectively be an EU protectorate for the foreseeable future.

The historical facts and Kosovo's claim to being an independent state would not apply to many guerrilla movements, including LTTE. It would therefore not be easy for it to become a precedent for them to follow.

The sovereignty over Tamil majority areas in Sri Lanka has never been contested in history. Tamil and Sinhala peoples had been living in harmony for centuries, till the post-independence phenomenon of aggressive Sinhala nationalism and chauvinism imposed severe discrimination against the Tamils. Essentially, this is perhaps the only common feature between Kosovo and the Tamils in northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The concept of Tamil "Eelam" is thus very different from the concept of an independent Kosovo. A Unilateral Declaration of Independence by Pirabhakaran is very unlikely to find any supporters in the international community. If one looks at the analogy of Kosovo,

I doubt if the Tamils in Sri Lanka would appreciate the idea of their homeland becoming a "vassal" or "client" of any external state or group of states.

(R. Swaminathan , President & DG of the International Institute of Security and Safety Management (New Delhi); and a Trustee of the Catalyst Trust (Chennai). R. Swaminathan joined Indian Police Service in 1954 also served for nearly 33 years in central intelligence and security organizations. He was retired in 1990 as Special Secretary, DG (Security), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt of India. He has been actively associated with a few think-tanks since his retirement from service; and has published a number of papers on different issues related to national security and international relations.)