January 06, 2007

Crossfire War - Kosovo - "Supervised Independence" Condemned by Belgrade

Crossfire War - Kosovo - "Supervised Independence" Condemned by Belgrade



By Willard Payne



Crossfire War - BELGRADE WATCH - Southeast Europe Theatre: Belgrade - Tehran - Athens/Vienna - Brussels; Diplomatic Rhetoric in the Balkans Intensifying - "Supervised Independence" Concept Condemned by Serbia PM Kostunica

Night Watch: BELGRADE - "The Vienna talks resemble a badly directed theatre show in which Serbia doesn't accept a role of marginal player." That was the excellent quote by Serbia Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica in registering his contempt and hatred for the eight rounds of dead end negotiations orchestrated by Vienna, conducted by the UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, who stupidly set the tone for the negotiations by saying the Serbs were "guilty as a people" for Serbia's policies in Kosovo, as if the entire population is consulted on policy issues. It reminds me of an infamous quote of German Kaiser Wilhelm II before the First World War who admitted that he didn't know why but he just hated Slavs. Ahtisasri, being from Northern Europe, may also possess the same prejudice. [AKI]



Kostunica continued, "No one in Belgrade has seen Ahtisaari in the past half a year and he's now talking about completed negotiations, on the basis of which he will make his proposal. It is not clear at all how and with whom he has negotiated, and how he arrived at this proposal." AKI says the Vienna daily Press reported Thursday that Ahtisaari on January 26 will submit his proposal for Kosovo's future to the six nations out of Contact with reality Group for Kosovo: Germany, Russia, Britain, France, Italy and the U. S. In his self-delusion musings, based on imaginary influence, Ahtisaari has devised a concept of "supervised independence" for the Albanians in Kosovo who have insisted on full statehood while Belgrade offers them a continuation of their current status of autonomy.



At best this idea can be called a policy of condescending benign ignorance. Somewhat similar to the "deus ex machina" of ancient Greek theatre, when a deity is brought in by stage machinery to intervene and solve all problems. That is the role the EU-NATO has assumed with suspicious eagerness since 1991, in the name of their New World Order production and their recognition of the divided republics within Yugoslavia as independent states, the same demand the Albanians in Kosovo are demanding. After all, Croatia's twisted borders were recognized, so why not Kosovo? It has resulted in a pandemonium production instead called Old World Chaos - Descent into the Abyss of ethni-religious nationalistic identity and divisions. Modern day Greece signed a security agreement with Serbia last year. It is further proof that the division of Yugoslavia divided more than Yugoslavia. Southeast Europe is opposed to the rest of Europe and all of them have excellent relations with Iran.



Either Kosovo solution-situation suits Tehran's purpose of wanting to see the war resume in this theatre which will enable Tehran to silence Vienna and destroy the UN agency there that has been investigating Iran's nuclear weapons program. At the same time fighting in the Balkans will restrict Brussels - NATO to the area and reduce their potential presence on other fronts like the Mediterranean, in support of UNIFIL and the Caucasus-Caspian region in support of Moscow. That is the reason Tehran signed a security agreement with Belgrade last year. [AKI]



NATO is about to be at war with itself. Its defeat began when it recognized the ridiculous division of Yugoslavia, which I suspect it encouraged behind the scenes. In 1990 CNN showed a meeting, somewhere in Europe, between military representatives of NATO-Warsaw Pact countries announcing, laughingly, they were going to merge their military commands, but they wouldn't say how they were going to do it. Moscow wisely exited this theatre after 1999.



Night Watch Information Service

http://www.crossfirewar.com



powered by performancing firefox

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





powered by performancing firefox