Statement of the POR, Spanish state: `We welcome an independent Kosovo!'

Executive Committee of the Revolutionary Workers Party, Spanish state (POR)

February 19, 2008 – The independence of Kosovo was necessary. This independence has come after 1989, when Milosevic suppressed the autonomy of the region, and after 1999, when Milosevic started a war of ethnic cleansing. When Serbia lost the last Balkans war, it was a fact that the people of Kosovo would fight to get ride of the Serbian boot.

Before all that, there was an idea of some sort of Democratic Republic of the Balkans, but this idea was wiped out by the reactionary, militarist pan-nationalism of Milosevic's Great Serbia, supported by Russia. Also, Germany and the NATO favoured the dismantling of the Yugoslavian Republic into Slovenia and Croatia. The European powers created this “balkanisation'' to bring the Balkan peoples into conflict.

The legal and official side of this independence gets sealed now. But the POR welcomed that independence in 1999, and does it again. Long life to a free and independent Kosovo!

The members of the POR, along with some other supporters, contributed to help Kosovo population to fight for their independence. We did it by organising the solidarity movement in the Balkans with the people who were against Milosevic's genocidal wars; and we also contributed politically when we mobilised and demanded “Neither NATO nor Milosevic. Freedom for Kosovo''. We also cooperated with the Serbian, Bosnian, Kosovan and Croatian unions in the region.

The independence of this little state is one more step in the long fight of the small peoples for their right to exist. As it was the case in Montenegro, the freedom of Kosovo will bring democratic progress in the Balkans, and also to Europe, its bourgeoisie and its transnational companies. Some other new states will be born in Europe as a democratic expression of the will of their peoples.

Spain and Russia are on the defensive. They fear the reaction of the peoples in their states. In Spain, namely, the independence of the Basque Country or Catalonia would upset the status quo, and it would weaken the bourgeoisie, especially the Spanish one. That is why, far from adopting the “pragmatic'' stance of the other powerful states, they have refused the evidence in a useless and reactionary way, but evidence says that 90% of Kosovo population advocated for independence.

With this decision in mind, it is possible to organise this state in the most democratic way. The first thing to do is to recognise the Serbian, Gorani and Romani minorities and to intensify the relationship with Albania. Kosovo does not claim its independence against Serbia or the Serbs. The question is to organise the economy according to the needs of the working class and the population. Currently, small states are not a problem in a world where the transnational corporations organise the market within large economical frames. On the contrary, it is necessary to have a tool to defend the rights of the citizens. Because of all these reasons, as an independent country, Kosovo will be able to take better care of its population, Serbs included, than as an oppressed and Serbian province, away from Belgrade's interests.

The Spanish government must recognise the State of Kosovo. The Spanish president, Zapatero, said once in the parliament that no country could ever claim the right to self-determination, for there would not be changes in the European borders. The European Union does not recognise the democratic right of the peoples to decide on their sovereignty and their institutions. When Montenegro split from Serbia, the Spanish left-wing claimed that Montenegro was already a state, and thus, its situation could not be compared with the Spanish case and its different peoples. Now, Zapatero says that Kosovo is “a special case'', and refuses to recognise it as a sovereign state. The point is not the comparison, but the respect for the democratic decision of the people of Kosovo.

From now on, the working class and the Balkan peoples will establish some realistic relationships and will fight for their own interests as a working class. They will defend their countries from the bourgeoisie -– some of which behave like mobsters – and the rapacity of the transnational companies, and will set some common standards in the region.

Solidarity and cooperation among the working class!

Let's respect the decision of the people of Kosovo!

Recognition of the new State of Kosovo!