ROUND TABLE OF THE PEACE OF KARLOWITZ (2): Dialogue is the only effective solution

Written for Kosovo Online: Zeljko Sajn

Armed conflicts not only cause material destruction but also leave unhealed wounds in the hearts and souls of affected peoples who have personally experienced the horrors of suffering. War has no winners because every whirlwind of war is a defeat for humanism and humanity. Unfortunately, the Serbian people know the definition of war all too well, thanks to the bitter experience of their nation, which has suffered through war's hardships.

The Treaty of Karlowitz was one of the decisive events in the history of the Serbs, as the Great Turkish War largely took place on Serbian ethnic territory. As the Minister of Labor of the Republic of Serbia, Nemanja Starovic, points out, until the conclusion of that peace, our people were unified, "almost entirely located within one state, living under harsh but relatively similar conditions – political, economic, social, and cultural."

Before the establishment of the Treaty of Karlowitz, Serbs emigrated in waves from today's territories of Kosovo and Metohija, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, seeking better livelihoods. The Great Migration of the Serbs occurred at the beginning of 1690, led by Arsenije III Carnojevic. In this migration, the ancestors of Dositej Obradovic, our esteemed educator, Pavle Jovanovic, a renowned artist and student in Vienna whose works are globally recognized, including the famous Migration of the Serbs, and Mihajlo Pupin, a Serbian son who became a citizen of the world and distinguished himself not only in science but also in diplomacy, arrived in the then Austro-Hungarian territories. Thanks to Pupin, Yugoslavia preserved its territories at the Paris Peace Conference. Interestingly, before the Great War, Mihajlo Pupin was a great rebel against the Habsburg Monarchy, even burning their flag in Pancevo, which led to his expulsion from school, after which he went to Prague and later to the USA.

Upon arriving in Hungary, by Leopold's decree, Serbs were granted land, the right to practice their religion, and to receive education, and Arsenije III Carnojevic was appointed both their spiritual and secular leader. Leopold had only one condition: that men capable of fighting join the defense against the Ottomans in the Krajina region around the Sava and Danube rivers.

"The Treaty of Karlowitz brought a turning point for our people, especially politically and culturally. With this peace, a significant portion of our people remained under Austrian rule. From the Treaty of Karlowitz onward, the Ottoman Empire began to disintegrate, and Austria started to expand, all of which occurred on Serbian ethnic territory. Divided within foreign empires, our people were in servitude until the victories of Serbian arms in the Balkan Wars and World War I in 1918," Minister Starovic emphasized.

That the Treaty of Karlowitz was one of the decisive events in the history of the Serbs is also the view of Metropolitan Vasilije of Srem, who addressed those gathered on behalf of the Serbian Orthodox Church. He agreed with Pietro Parolin in a brotherly approach to resolving peace, emphasizing that the Treaty of Karlowitz carries multiple and powerful symbolism and metaphorical messages and lessons that are relevant for all times.

"[The Treaty of Karlowitz] contains two great warnings and signs. First, to successfully face today's challenges, which, even more subtly than in the 17th century, threaten Christianity in decisively upholding its faith, Christians must be united, with sincere respect and understanding of other religious traditions and cultures. If they had not been, the Chapel of Our Lady of Peace would never have been built in Sremski Karlovci, and probably neither would we, gathered here as brothers today, be here."

Today, we witness the creation of a new global division of the world. Wars in Ukraine and Gaza knock on the world's doors. Dialogue is the only effective solution for achieving peace, but how can we implore the warring sides to sit at a round table? Can history help us in this? Can the Treaty of Karlowitz provide some guidance, or at least hope, that this chapter of armed conflict will also end?

Minister Nemanja Starovic wondered what lessons from the Great Turkish War and the Treaty of Karlowitz we can draw today, emphasizing the following: "First, that no conflict is insurmountable. Peace can always be reached, no matter the cost of war or the hatred between the warring sides. Instead of total destruction, the negotiating parties in Karlovci chose compromise and showed that war, despite the sacrifices, must have an alternative in peace.

The decisions made in Sremski Karlovci shaped the future of Europe, changing the balance of power and initiating new alliances. The general impression is that the Treaty of Karlowitz, reached at the round table, did not have a hegemonic leader and succeeded because of the respect for the dignity of each participant. Thus, if we may be allowed to observe, the Minsk and Brussels peace negotiations fail due to the lack of respect for the dignity of the participants by depriving them of equality, as well as the domination of hegemonism by great powers that do not come from the East. Russia was not invited to commemorate the Treaty of Karlowitz due to the special operation in Ukraine – there is no other explanation. Also, considering the West's silent and hypocritical diplomacy, and the fact that the Minsk agreements served the West to prepare for the war in Ukraine, may we ask what the Brussels agreement on establishing peace between Belgrade and Pristina is preparing?

When the Treaty of Karlowitz was signed, just a few minutes before midnight on January 26, 1699, four doors opened simultaneously, allowing the people to witness the moment and the signing of the agreement based on the principles of international law, which later became an accepted diplomatic practice at the round table.

For the construction of a sustainable international order, the victory of law over force is necessary, along with the promotion of peace, security, stability, acceptance of diversity, and control of global injustices. "The war will have no winner, and the peace will have no loser," said Turkish President Erdogan.

History is the teacher of life. It certainly contains guidelines that could be useful today, at least as a first step towards the goal that the whole world desires – peace, a universal, timeless need of every individual and nation.