EDITORIAL: Kosovo independence

No word has been so potent in igniting people's emotions than "independence." However, in these global times, it seems no other word is so risky in terms of averting people's eyes from reality.

The matter of Kosovo's independence is one example. The autonomous province of Kosovo, located in the former Yugoslav republic and the current Serbian republic, announced its independence in February 2008, after a long conflict that led to military intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Recently, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague issued an advisory ruling that said the independence declaration "did not violate general international law." That ruling has sparked controversy.

Japan and many Western nations support the ruling. On the other hand, Serbia is openly disappointed and angry since it asserts that "Kosovo is part of Serbian territory."

China is also wary because this ruling may affect various secession movements within its borders. In contrast, regions like South Ossetia and Abkhazia, with their own claims of independence from Georgia, have welcomed the ruling.

Kosovo's independence was the result of desperate measures by international mediators to provide a way out of the conflict toward a peace accord. They had failed to produce a settlement in the former Yugoslavia, which was then full of discord and hatred born out of parochial nationalism.

What the ICJ said is that Kosovo's declaration of independence is not against international law. Whether the international community recognizes Kosovo's independence is a matter for each country to determine, according to the court, which was not trying to encourage separatist movements.

Moreover, despite its declaration, Kosovo remains under U.N. administration while its security is maintained by NATO forces. In reality, Kosovo can hardly be called a politically and economically autonomous state.

In the mid-20th century, many countries in Asia and Africa were freed from colonial rule, and people were dizzy with the joys of independence. Our ancestors during Japan's Meiji Restoration were also determined to safeguard the country's independence.

However, in this day and age when interdependence of countries and people is rapidly increasing, independence does not immediately mean the country is on its own.

For Serbia and Kosovo, there is more to lose than to gain from glaring at each other across the "border" over this pretext of "independence."

We urge them to use the ICJ ruling as a catalyst to cooperate with the European Union and walk the path toward co-existence and reconciliation.

It is of course natural for oppressed ethnic minority groups to seek independence. However, setting up more unnecessary barriers by stressing national or religious differences will only serve to confine people within a parochial sense of camaraderie, which would keep them away from liberation.

These are times when transborder solutions are required to tackle grave issues like the financial crisis. Independence that is politically divisive needs to be treated with extra sensitivity.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 2