Senator Biden's comments on Kosovo

From: Milana Bizic />Date: January 3, 2007 12:02:19 PM EST

To: letters.editor@ft.com

Subject: Senator Biden's comments on Kosovo



It is hard to argue with someone of Senator Biden's stature as a member of our most distinguished leaders in the U.S. Senate, and as the in-coming Democratic Chairman of the U.S. Senate foreign relations committee. Also, one can say Senator Biden has knowledge of the situation as he has been "associated" with Kosovo issues for more than fifteen years.



However, I have no trouble in refuting his arguments and his slanderous accusations of Kostunica, the Serbs and the Russians. Perhaps thinking people would ponder and say, "Methinks he protests too much. Something is rotten and its not the state of Denmark. What kind of MUSLIM DEMOCRACY is there in Kosovo? He mentions the date of March, 2004, but fails to acknowledge the Kristlknact against the Serbs that killed many and injured hundreds more, destroying Serbian churches, monasteries, monuments and even graveyards to remove historical evidence of who the original inhabitants of this land were. Is this what he means by a "better future for south-east Europe?" He's already preparing us mentally for the "mob violence" that will shake Kosovo if the "inflamed frustrated" Albanians don't get their sought-after independence.



Senator Biden knows that bombing the Serbs in Kosovo and then, incredibly throughout Serbia was NOT a judicious use of American power. We violated many laws and treaties. We made a grave error in providing a GREEN BELT throughout Europe through which terrorists, drugs, illegal sex operations and weapons pass readily. Biden is trying to cover up for all the many mistakes we've made there already. We must not compound that thinking by rewarding this violent behavior.



Senator Biden asserts that the "citizens of south-east Europe are mentally prepared for an independent Kosovo." Well, that 15% of Serbian land isn't theirs to give away!



If these Kosovar Albanians are already "the most pro-Americans in the Islamic world"- God help America! No amount of renaming of streets formerly named for Serbian rulers or saints with signs of Clinton Avenue suddenly doesn't make one pro-American. Actions speak louder than words and the constant bombings and terroristic threats to those Serbs and other non-Albanians remaining aren't delivering messages of peace and goodwill. And don't the Serbs as well as the Russians deserve equal opportunities for world peace?



Kosovo was sacrificed to the idea of a "US-Muslim partnership" before for several of the wrong reasons. Let's not make the same mistake again! God bless us all!



Sincerely yours,

Milana Karlo Bizic

Opponents of new Kosovo must be stopped

By Joseph Biden

Published: January 2 2007 19:12 | Last updated: January 2 2007 19:12

Years
of hand-wringing and chest-thumping over the future status of Kosovo
may finally be drawing to a close. In the next few months, adroit
diplomacy to secure Kosovo’s independence could yield a victory for
Muslim democracy, a better future for south-east Europe and validation
for the judicious use of American power.

But along with the
potential for triumph in Kosovo, there is a growing risk that Serbia
and Russia will conspire to seize defeat from the jaws of victory.
Extremists in Belgrade and Moscow are – for very different reasons –
hoping to use Russia’s United Nations Security Council veto to quash
Kosovo’s bid for independence. If they succeed, the Balkans will emerge
as another source of bad news in a world already crowded with crises.

During
the seven years since Nato ended Slobodan Milosevic’s reign of terror
in Kosovo, a UN-backed administration has largely succeeded in bringing
stability to the province. However, Kosovo’s people are justifiably
tired a status quo marked by uncertainty and economic privation.
These two intertwined problems will continue so long as the debate over
the province’s future remains unresolved. Its ambiguous status is also
leading to stagnation in Serbia.

Nationalist politicians in
Belgrade have embraced the fight against Kosovo’s independence to
divert public attention from their own failures and Serbia’s stalled
bid for European Union membership. The actions of Vojislav Kostunica,
Serbia’s prime minister, have been particularly disappointing. In
addition to refusing international requests to call for the arrest of
war crimes fugitives Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, Mr Kostunica
has rejected every attempt at compromise on Kosovo. Serbia’s moral
authority on the issue hit a new low in October when the 1.5m ethnic
Albanian residents of the province were denied the right to vote in a
deeply flawed constitutional referendum that declared Kosovo an
integral part of Serbia.

To their great credit, the people of
Serbia have proved more realistic about Kosovo than their elected
leaders. Opinion polls show that many Serbs foresee that the province
will gain independence. Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, meanwhile,
overwhelmingly expect to sever ties with Serbia. With citizens on both
sides of the issue ready to finish the debate and move on to more
constructive challenges, leaders who block a solution will do so
at peril.

Historically, trouble in the Balkans is almost
always the result of false expectations. On the whole, the citizens of
south-east Europe are mentally prepared for an independent Kosovo.

If
Belgrade postpones a settlement it will reopen the issue for many Serbs
previously resigned to Kosovo’s independence and further inflame
frustrations among the region’s ethnic Albanians. The result could be a
return of the mob violence that shook Kosovo in March 2004.

A
Russian effort to delay a deal on Kosovo would be in keeping with the
Kremlin’s habit of fostering weak, subservient governments in formerly
communist states. Moscow has apparently reached the conclusion that
impoverished, unstable regimes are easier targets for manipulation than
prosperous, independent countries. It has made extensive, public use of
oil and gas diplomacy to undermine the budding democracies of eastern
Europe. Less attention has focused on the Kremlin’s quiet efforts to
exacerbate territorial conflicts in Georgia, Moldova and Azerbaijan.
Serbia could become the latest victim of this strategy.

Kosovo is
not ready for full sovereignty. Even after independence, Nato and the
international community will need to provide security guarantees for
Kosovo’s minorities and strengthen its economy and institutions. But it
is time to grant the province independence. The longer the status
debate continues, the further Kosovo and Serbia will fall behind other
rapidly progressing former Yugoslav republics such as Croatia and
Slovenia.

Success in Kosovo, if realised, will have implications
far beyond the Balkans. A responsible Russian approach to the issue
could demonstrate the Kremlin’s commitment to global order at a time
when its credibility is in tatters. The people of Kosovo – already the
most pro-American in the Islamic world – will provide a much-needed
example of a successful US-Muslim partnership. Stability in south-east
Europe would be a welcome bit of good news and offer hope in a season
of tremendous foreign policy challenges.

The writer is the incoming Democratic chairman of the US Senate foreign relations committee

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e0aa1a94-9a8a-11db-bbd2-0000779e2340.html

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