Kosovo: Mixed Feelings at Steiner Exit

Michael Steiner has announced that he is stepping down as head of the UN's mission in Kosovo, marking the end of a controversial tenure during which he was assailed by Serbs and Albanians alike.

Steiner confirmed on May 29, that he was leaving Kosovo in order to take up a job as Germany's ambassador to the UN in Geneva.

Although an exact date for his departure has not been given, he is expected to hand over to his successor in late July or August.

Commenting on the year-and-a-half that he had spent trying to steady ethnic relations in the protectorate, Steiner said, "One year is too short and two years are too long for the job."

The main points of his tenure include presiding over the creation of a parliament; an initiative for decentralising local government; improving trade with neighbouring countries and efforts to bring the Mitrovice enclave under control of UNMIK, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo.

Throughout his period in office, Steiner has walked a tightrope between Serb claims on Kosovo and its ethnic Albanians' ambition for independence - and perhaps inevitably, this has made him many enemies in both communities. For them, news of his departure has not come a moment too soon.

Steiner became the UN's special representative to Kosovo in February 2002, at a time when ethnic Albanian political parties were still tussling over government posts, following elections to the central assembly in November.

UNMIK was also in disarray after the sudden resignation of Steiner predecessor, Hans Haekkerrup.

Steiner's first move in office was a success. He earned early plaudits by forging a coalition between the squabbling leaders of the three biggest ethnic Albanian parties - Ibrahim Rugova, Hasim Thaci and Ramush Haradinaj of the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, the Democratic Party, PDK, and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, respectively.

The government they formed was meant to assume administrative responsibilities from UNMIK.

However, the honeymoon between Steiner and the Kosovars did not last long. When he blocked their attempts to give the assembly greater powers, the Albanians accused him of being authoritarian and heavy-handed.

This criticism was to grow louder as his term progressed. Last month, he stopped Kosovar officials from attending three international meetings, after the assembly passed a controversial resolution recognising Kosovo's "century-long efforts for freedom".

However, although Steiner got tough on Albanian desires for autonomy, this did not endear him to Belgrade, which repeatedly accused of trying to prise the protectorate away from Serbia.

In an early meeting with Serbian deputy premier, Nebojsa Covic, Steiner is reported to have said, "The rules of the game are clear: Pristina is not Belgrade. I do not interfere in Belgrade's affairs and Belgrade should not interfere in Kosovo's affairs."

When Steiner approved a law for the protectorate's state-owned enterprises to be privatised, Covic accused him of robbery. Steiner hit back by saying he had consulted the Serbs on every aspect of the privatisation - but this admission landed him in hot water with the protectorate's Albanians.

Observers say Steiner's stance towards Belgrade softened during office, as he gradually realised that he needed its help in dealing with Kosovo's intransigent Serb minority.

According to them, Steiner's solution for the troublesome Serb enclave of Mitrovice reflects this. He gave his approval last week to a panel of six Serbs, one Albanian and one Bosniak, that would advise UNMIK on how to run the entity.

The Serb names on the advisory panel include Vladimir Rakic, leader of an informal security outfit in Mitrovice called the Bridge Watchers, which has been accused of extortion and violence against Albanians.

The list of six Serbs was provided by Covic, and many Albanians regard this as a betrayal of Steiner's earlier assurances that the Mitrovice panel would be multi-ethnic.

Although Kosovo's top leaders have mostly avoided criticising Steiner since his announcement, their advisers are less guarded.

Speaking after Steiner's statement, Rexhep Hoti, an adviser to the prime minister, Bajram Rexhepi, told IWPR, "Steiner's dialogue with Belgrade has come to nothing. Take the Mitrovice issue - in spite of his promises to integrate the town into UNMIK's administration, in reality he didn't deliver anything."

Ramush Tahiri, an adviser to the president of the assembly, Nexhat Daci, told IWPR, "For all his nice talk and promises, Steiner had little to deliver."

However, Tahiri paid tribute to Steiner's "dynamic personality" and blamed the slow progress in Kosovo on the system within which Steiner operated.

"Steiner had to function as a part of the UN, which is known for its long and bureaucratic procedures," said Tahiri. "Because of this, the assembly has not had the use of laws that would transform Kosovo's economy and society, and has instead focused on adopting laws of secondary or tertiary importance."

Belgrade's reaction to Steiner's departure has been largely muted, although he was criticised by Momcilo Trajkovic, president of the Serbian parliamentary committee for Kosovo.

Trajkovic told IWPR on June 3 that during Steiner's mandate, "Kosovo's institutions have become the instruments of the Albanian separatist movement."

As one of his final initiatives in office, Steiner hopes to get Rexhepi talking to the Serbia's prime minister, Zoran Zivkovic. As an incentive to dialogue, the EU has offered both men a place at its upcoming summit in Thessaloniki, Greece.

A successor to Steiner has yet to be named and all eyes will be on the UN Security Council's next session on Kosovo, scheduled for July. Frontrunners for the job are believed to include the former EU representative to Macedonia, Frenchman Alain Leroy and the former head of OSCE in Belgrade, the Italian ambassador, Sanino.

Arben Qirezi is a regular IWPR contributor