To one Albanian family in Espoo, yes, Martti Ahtisaari IS a peacemaker
"We were delighted when we heard who got the prize"
|
|
|
By Jessikka Aro in Espoo
A Kosovar Albanian couple, Ilir and Kimete Avdiu, moved to Finland from the Kosovo capital Pristina sixteen years ago, fleeing the conflict that was engulfing the former Yugoslavia and the cultural oppression of the ethnic Albanian population.
While the Avdius were learning a new language and producing three daughters and acquiring Finnish citizenship, things were also moving ahead in their former homeland.
Peace returned to Kosovo and eventually the former Serbian province declared itself independent in February of this year.
If you ask the Avdius, a great part of the credit for this rests with the former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.
"When we heard about the award, we were delighted for Ahtisaari and for Finland as a whole", says Ilir Avdiu.
He reports that Ahtisaari became known to the Kosovars as a peacemaker back in 1999, when he was still President of Finland.
It was then that he helped secure the withdrawal of Serbian forces from Kosovo, negotiating directly with Slobodan Milosevic , the President of the Federal Republic of Serbia, as one of a troika that also included the former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and the then U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott.
At the same time, Kosovo's status as an autonomous province was recognised under UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which had been guided in part by Ahtisaari's hand.
"We learnt to see him as a man who was working on behalf of the people of Kosovo."
Ilir recalls that he met Ahtisaari in person in the spring of 2005, when he thanked Ahtisaari personally for his efforts on behalf of Kosovo.
"Ahtisaari replied that it was a bit premature and that the work was unfinished and had to be continued."
The Avdiu family were able to enjoy the fruits of that work on February 17th of this year, when Kosovo declared itself independent on the basis of a draft UN Security Council Resolution drawn up by Ahtisaari which proposed "supervised independence" for the province.
Russia and Serbia had opposed independence for Kosovo from the outset, and Russia's threat of a veto led ultimately to the discarding of that Security Council Resolution.
"Ahtisaari nevertheless was firmly of the opinion that the negotitations should be taken to their conclusion. Ahtisaari's most important assets have been honesty, a refusal to quit, and a determination to stick to the agreed timetables."
In the view of Ilir Avdiu, it is very much down to Martti Ahtisaari that independence was achieved relatively quickly and that many Western countries acknowledged the unilateral declaration of independence when it came.
"He should have got the Peace Prize last year already."
Now Kosovo's independence has been recognised by 50 countries, most recently by its neighbours Macedonia and Montenegro, who signed on just a day before Ahtisaari's Peace Prize was announced.
Finland formally recognised Kosovo on March 7th, 2007.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 12.10.2008
More on this subject:
 Blessed are the peacemakers
JESSIKKA ARO / Helsingin Sanomat
jessikka.aro@hs.fi
|
|
