EU Council of Ministers plans to discuss the political crisis in Serbia including the early parliamentary elections scheduled for May 11. Ministers will aslo talk about problems with the EU's unilateral mission to Kosovo, the EULEX, that Serbs in Kosovo view as the occupying force because it lacks legality and any international legitimacy.
Kosovo Serb leader Rada Trajkovic said that the political crisis in Belgrade will make the position of the Serbs in the province more difficult because "now Serbs who live in Kosovo will not have an address to go to in Belgrade."
"Still, a policy that was not united and that strategically differed could not have survived. Such policy confused the international community,” Trajkovic said noting that the Kosovo Serbs situation is more precarious because a political body representing them has not been formed.
However, Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic said that the collapse of the government and the early elections in Serbiawill not affect implementation of Serbia's policy in Kosovo. Samardzic said that Serbs in Kosovo need not worry about the early elections saying that the current government will perform its duties as before.
Serbian Minister of Defence Dragan Sutanovac said that isolating Serbia from the EU will preclude flow of funds into the coutntry and make defense of Kosovo extremely hard.
"If we do not have the possibility of access to European funds, we will be unable to maintain stability in Serbia proper let alone in Kosovo. It is naïve thinking that, by stopping the train or taking over a checkpoint, we are stabilizing the country or realizing some influence in Kosovo," said Sutanovac.
Internationally, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero repeated that his government would never recognize the unilateral proclamation of independence of Kosovo, nor would support its EU membership.
According to Zapatero, unilateral proclamation of independence by Kosovo was not a solution to the region, but rather, increases tensions in it.
President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Klaus fears that Kosovo's independence "will be a very good example for other parts of countries that are not happy with what is going on around them. A domino effect -- let's put it that way. So this is for me a very, very serious issue."
Klaus declined to name specific examples of regions in Europe that could be emboldened to follow Kosovo's lead.
"I am... afraid that there are some countries where it's just the opposite, a bigger country has a minority somewhere and wants to create a bigger original 'mother country' as it's sometimes called. And that's for me a problem because that could destabilize the situation in Europe," said Klaus in an interview for the Wall Street Journal.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Kosovo PM welcomes Kostunica's resignation
Prime Minister Hashim Thaci has unveiled a 'Welcome to the Republic of Kosovo' sign at its newly declared border with Serbia. Thaci used the opportunity to comment on yesterday's resignation of Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica. He said it was sparked by Kosovo's declaration of independence and is a sign of new beginnings in Serbia, just like after the fall of late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic.
Kosovo's 90% ethnic Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia three weeks ago. Western powers say their recognition of that independence is irreversible. Serbia has rejected it as illegal under international law.
Serbia's government collapsed because the nationalist prime minister Kostunica clashed with pro-Western president Boris Tadic. Kostunica wants Serbia to pursue European Union membership only if the EU withdraws its recognition of Kosovo.
Kosovo's 90% ethnic Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia three weeks ago. Western powers say their recognition of that independence is irreversible. Serbia has rejected it as illegal under international law.
Serbia's government collapsed because the nationalist prime minister Kostunica clashed with pro-Western president Boris Tadic. Kostunica wants Serbia to pursue European Union membership only if the EU withdraws its recognition of Kosovo.
A new state still living on its old wits
KASTRIOT Beqiri was nine when he started selling counterfeit cigarettes in 1993 from a cardboard box on the streets of Kosovo's capital, in the bad old days of then-President Slobodan Milosevic's autocratic regime.
Fifteen years later Kosovo is weeks into newly-declared independence from Serbia, while the province is still run – just – as a UN protectorate as it has been since 1999.
Kastriot, now 24, rubs his hands together as he stands in the dusty wind outside the sliding glass doors of Pristina's Grand Hotel. Clutching mobile phone cards for Kosovo's Alcatel network in his hand and rolls of dollars and euros in the pocket of his Turkish jeans, he cuts a figure as the typical Kosovo Albanian street entrepreneur.
The economy in Europe's newest state can be broadly divided into three – the official one, the "black" one of pirated and criminal goods, and the "grey" one which he inhabits.
Kastriot employs five other vendors of phone cards and cigarettes, aged between 17 and 25; owns a shop run by his brother which sells mobile phones; supports his family; and plans to go to university.
"I dropped out of school when I stopped getting straight As," he says, "and started getting Bs. But I like what I do now. It gives me freedom."
Kastriot's business is not only legitimate, but he also has the best pitch in town. He patrols the concrete forecourt and the tiled lobby of "The Grand", as it is known, the 14-storey monument to grisly old Yugoslav hotel architecture that dominates downtown Pristina.
In the chaotic left-and-right of post-conflict former Yugoslavia, people like Kastriot are known as mucke, which translates as "ducker and diver". Not for nothing is Only Fools and Horses one of the most popular TV shows in the Balkans.
"I've got a permit from the hotel to operate," he says, sipping a macchiato coffee in the lobby café, "and my monthly profit is about 500 euros. I just do phone-cards now, but when I started, aged nine, it was before mobile phones, so I did cigarettes."
Referring to NATO's 78-day bombing campaign in spring 1999 that forced Milosevic's atrocity-prone forces out of the province, he adds: "Before the war, things were much harder. Serb policemen used to chase and beat us every day."
The paranoia of those days still lingers, for Kastriot insists that his real name is not used in print.
Sit in any café in the dusty spring sunshine of central Pristina, and it won't be long before a Kosovo Albanian aged between seven and 25 walks in, cardboard box full of Marlboro Lite, Winston Lite, and local brands such as Memphis and Ronhill under his or her arm, and the familiar cry of "sigara?" preceding them.
A pack of 20 Marlboro Lite sells for 1½ euros, about £1, on the street in Pristina, depending on whether or not it carries the UN-stamped banderol on the pack, which means it is not counterfeited in some factory in Albania or Bulgaria.
Kastriot buys his phone cards from the Alcatel network office, making a mark-up of one euro per ten-euro card. Kosovo does not currently have its own mobile phone dialling code and uses Monaco's, which is where the Alcatel company is based. Kastriot and his fellow street-vendors may be thriving, but in terms of the official economy, the world's youngest state is certainly Europe's poorest.
In 2007, the UN budget for Kosovo was $220 million, and the average monthly income is $220 or £160. An estimated 70 per cent of the official Kosovo budget comes from UN customs revenues.
Kosovo's economy is propped up with an additional $540 million in annual remittances from Kosovars living abroad, according to estimates from the International Monetary Fund.
Meanwhile, the former Serbian province has vast amounts of high-quality lignite coal. It also has deposits of nickel, lead, zinc, bauxite and even small seams of gold that could be tapped. The Kosovo Police Service estimates that 35 per cent of its illicit economy comes from pirated and counterfeit goods.
On the cracked pavements of Kosovo's capital, dusty and splattered with the ubiquitous guano from the thousands of jack- daws that circle in the Pristina sky, pirated CDs, DVDs and counterfeit designer watches are for sale, the tip of the province's "black" economy.
DVDs such as Greatest Hits of Buns 'n' Roses, and CDs of films like The English Patience display their pirate origins. And outside the NATO base above Pristina stands Mini-Max, a "black" economy supermarket.
FIGHT GOES ON OVER KOSOVO'S PLACE IN THE WORLD
FOLLOWING the Kosovo war in 1999, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1244 authorising the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to begin the long process of building peace, democracy, stability and self-government in the shattered province.
After UN-sponsored negotiations failed to reach a consensus on an acceptable constitutional status, Kosovo's provisional government declared independence from Serbia on 17 February this year.
The US, the UK, France, Germany, Albania, Italy, and Turkey have all declared recognition of Kosovo as a sovereign state. As of last week, 27 states formally recognise the Republic of Kosovo while at least another three have declared their intention to do so.
Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence is disputed by Serbia, Russia, Spain and 18 other nations.
Fifteen years later Kosovo is weeks into newly-declared independence from Serbia, while the province is still run – just – as a UN protectorate as it has been since 1999.
Kastriot, now 24, rubs his hands together as he stands in the dusty wind outside the sliding glass doors of Pristina's Grand Hotel. Clutching mobile phone cards for Kosovo's Alcatel network in his hand and rolls of dollars and euros in the pocket of his Turkish jeans, he cuts a figure as the typical Kosovo Albanian street entrepreneur.
The economy in Europe's newest state can be broadly divided into three – the official one, the "black" one of pirated and criminal goods, and the "grey" one which he inhabits.
Kastriot employs five other vendors of phone cards and cigarettes, aged between 17 and 25; owns a shop run by his brother which sells mobile phones; supports his family; and plans to go to university.
"I dropped out of school when I stopped getting straight As," he says, "and started getting Bs. But I like what I do now. It gives me freedom."
Kastriot's business is not only legitimate, but he also has the best pitch in town. He patrols the concrete forecourt and the tiled lobby of "The Grand", as it is known, the 14-storey monument to grisly old Yugoslav hotel architecture that dominates downtown Pristina.
In the chaotic left-and-right of post-conflict former Yugoslavia, people like Kastriot are known as mucke, which translates as "ducker and diver". Not for nothing is Only Fools and Horses one of the most popular TV shows in the Balkans.
"I've got a permit from the hotel to operate," he says, sipping a macchiato coffee in the lobby café, "and my monthly profit is about 500 euros. I just do phone-cards now, but when I started, aged nine, it was before mobile phones, so I did cigarettes."
Referring to NATO's 78-day bombing campaign in spring 1999 that forced Milosevic's atrocity-prone forces out of the province, he adds: "Before the war, things were much harder. Serb policemen used to chase and beat us every day."
The paranoia of those days still lingers, for Kastriot insists that his real name is not used in print.
Sit in any café in the dusty spring sunshine of central Pristina, and it won't be long before a Kosovo Albanian aged between seven and 25 walks in, cardboard box full of Marlboro Lite, Winston Lite, and local brands such as Memphis and Ronhill under his or her arm, and the familiar cry of "sigara?" preceding them.
A pack of 20 Marlboro Lite sells for 1½ euros, about £1, on the street in Pristina, depending on whether or not it carries the UN-stamped banderol on the pack, which means it is not counterfeited in some factory in Albania or Bulgaria.
Kastriot buys his phone cards from the Alcatel network office, making a mark-up of one euro per ten-euro card. Kosovo does not currently have its own mobile phone dialling code and uses Monaco's, which is where the Alcatel company is based. Kastriot and his fellow street-vendors may be thriving, but in terms of the official economy, the world's youngest state is certainly Europe's poorest.
In 2007, the UN budget for Kosovo was $220 million, and the average monthly income is $220 or £160. An estimated 70 per cent of the official Kosovo budget comes from UN customs revenues.
Kosovo's economy is propped up with an additional $540 million in annual remittances from Kosovars living abroad, according to estimates from the International Monetary Fund.
Meanwhile, the former Serbian province has vast amounts of high-quality lignite coal. It also has deposits of nickel, lead, zinc, bauxite and even small seams of gold that could be tapped. The Kosovo Police Service estimates that 35 per cent of its illicit economy comes from pirated and counterfeit goods.
On the cracked pavements of Kosovo's capital, dusty and splattered with the ubiquitous guano from the thousands of jack- daws that circle in the Pristina sky, pirated CDs, DVDs and counterfeit designer watches are for sale, the tip of the province's "black" economy.
DVDs such as Greatest Hits of Buns 'n' Roses, and CDs of films like The English Patience display their pirate origins. And outside the NATO base above Pristina stands Mini-Max, a "black" economy supermarket.
FIGHT GOES ON OVER KOSOVO'S PLACE IN THE WORLD
FOLLOWING the Kosovo war in 1999, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1244 authorising the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to begin the long process of building peace, democracy, stability and self-government in the shattered province.
After UN-sponsored negotiations failed to reach a consensus on an acceptable constitutional status, Kosovo's provisional government declared independence from Serbia on 17 February this year.
The US, the UK, France, Germany, Albania, Italy, and Turkey have all declared recognition of Kosovo as a sovereign state. As of last week, 27 states formally recognise the Republic of Kosovo while at least another three have declared their intention to do so.
Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence is disputed by Serbia, Russia, Spain and 18 other nations.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Thousands rally in Sydney against Kosovo independence
Several thousands members of Sydney's Serbian community have rallied in the city this afternoon calling on the Federal Government to reverse its decision to recognise Kosovo as an independent state.
The protesters marched from Martin Place to the Federal Government offices in Sydney this afternoon.
They carried signs saying "Kosovo is Serbia" and the "United Nations is dead".
They are angry the Australian Government recognised Kosovo's declaration of independence last month.
The protesters, who were mostly members of the Serbian community, are calling on the Federal Government to reverse its decision to recognise Kosovo as an independent state.
They say Kosovo's declaration breaches international law and have called for an apology.
Putin: Russia only to recognize Kosovo's independence within international law
Russia could only recognize Kosovo's independence within the framework of international law, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.
"If such a compromise is found, we will agree," Putin was quoted by Russian news agencies as telling the press after meeting with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the first foreign leader to visit Russia since the country's March 2 presidential election.
The recognition of any country's independence is possible "within the framework of the negotiating process and upon consent of all parties," including Serbia, Putin said.
He stressed that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence is very dangerous, setting a precedent for the breakup of European countries.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian authorities unilaterally declared the independence of the Serbian province on Feb. 17, which was recognized by a number of countries, including the United States, Germany and France, but has been strongly opposed by Serbia, Russia, Romania and some other countries.
Russia believes that the unilaterally-declared independence runs counter to international law and Resolution 1244 passed by the United Nations Security Council and warns about negative consequences of that move to the region and the whole world.
Divisions over Kosovo cripple Serb government
The government of Serbia has collapsed amid increasingly bitter divisions within the country over the independence of Kosovo.
Serbian prime minister Vojislav Kostunica admitted his government was no longer functioning and tendered his resignation, a day after accusing his coalition partners of abandoning the former Serb province.
His fragile government had only been in power for 14 months. "The government of Serbia has no united policy any more on an important issue related to the future of the country - Kosovo as a part of Serbia," he said.
"Such a government could not function any more. This is the end of the government and we should return the mandate to the people," he added, appealing for early elections to be held on May 11. Earlier in the week he had conceded that the government was in "deep crisis".
He indirectly accused his coalition partners of giving up on defending Serbia’s claim to Kosovo in favour of better ties with the West, which backs Kosovo’s secession. The dispute between Mr Kostunica and his pro-European coalition partners over the two key issues is threatening to bring down the government and lead to early parliamentary elections in Serbia in the aftermath of the Feb. 17 independence declaration by Kosovo.
On Thursday, pro-Western government ministers in Mr Kostunica’s Cabinet rejected demands by his nationalists that Serbia abandon its bid for EU membership because nations in the bloc have recognized Kosovo. The following day, Mr Kostunica turned on his coalition partners: "I no longer trust the current coalition partners that they are sincerely fighting for the preservation of Kosovo [within Serbia’s borders]," he said.
Mr Kostunica will hope to play on anger in Serbia at the international reaction to Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence last month. Angry crowds took to the streets of Belgrade following the announcement and one person died when the US embassy was set alight. But although Kosovo remains a highly emotive issue in Serbia, many voters are reluctant to pass up the opportnuity to join the European Union.
In the recent presidential elections, held in two rounds in January and February, voters backed the more moderate Boris Tadic, who opposes Kosovo’s independence but argues that Serbia has no alternative than to seek closer ties with Europe. Mr Kostunica’s nationalist Democratic Party of Serbia had been in coalition with Mr Tadic’s Democratic Party. Parliament speaker Oliver Dulic, from the Democratic Party, suggested that the vote could be held in May, along with the municipal elections. He said any other solution would only "prolong the agony."
Mr Kostunica insists that EU governments that recognized last month’s Kosovo independence declaration must rescind their decisions before Serbia resumes pre-membership talks with the 27-nation bloc. Mr Tadic opposes tying Serbia’s EU membership to the issue of Kosovo, which has been recognized as an independent state by several leading EU nations, including Britain, France and Germany.
Kosovo, whose population is predominantly ethnic Albanian, had been under UN control since 1999, when NATO launched an air war to stop Slobodan Milosevic’s crackdown on separatists. Serbia considers the territory its historic and religious heartland and has rejected Kosovo’s statehood as illegal. Russia, China and other nations support Belgrade’s position and yesterday Russian president Vladimir Putin warned that Kosovo’s independence would only encourage separatism in Europe.
He called it a "harmful and dangerous precedent."
Serbian prime minister Vojislav Kostunica admitted his government was no longer functioning and tendered his resignation, a day after accusing his coalition partners of abandoning the former Serb province.
His fragile government had only been in power for 14 months. "The government of Serbia has no united policy any more on an important issue related to the future of the country - Kosovo as a part of Serbia," he said.
"Such a government could not function any more. This is the end of the government and we should return the mandate to the people," he added, appealing for early elections to be held on May 11. Earlier in the week he had conceded that the government was in "deep crisis".
He indirectly accused his coalition partners of giving up on defending Serbia’s claim to Kosovo in favour of better ties with the West, which backs Kosovo’s secession. The dispute between Mr Kostunica and his pro-European coalition partners over the two key issues is threatening to bring down the government and lead to early parliamentary elections in Serbia in the aftermath of the Feb. 17 independence declaration by Kosovo.
On Thursday, pro-Western government ministers in Mr Kostunica’s Cabinet rejected demands by his nationalists that Serbia abandon its bid for EU membership because nations in the bloc have recognized Kosovo. The following day, Mr Kostunica turned on his coalition partners: "I no longer trust the current coalition partners that they are sincerely fighting for the preservation of Kosovo [within Serbia’s borders]," he said.
Mr Kostunica will hope to play on anger in Serbia at the international reaction to Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence last month. Angry crowds took to the streets of Belgrade following the announcement and one person died when the US embassy was set alight. But although Kosovo remains a highly emotive issue in Serbia, many voters are reluctant to pass up the opportnuity to join the European Union.
In the recent presidential elections, held in two rounds in January and February, voters backed the more moderate Boris Tadic, who opposes Kosovo’s independence but argues that Serbia has no alternative than to seek closer ties with Europe. Mr Kostunica’s nationalist Democratic Party of Serbia had been in coalition with Mr Tadic’s Democratic Party. Parliament speaker Oliver Dulic, from the Democratic Party, suggested that the vote could be held in May, along with the municipal elections. He said any other solution would only "prolong the agony."
Mr Kostunica insists that EU governments that recognized last month’s Kosovo independence declaration must rescind their decisions before Serbia resumes pre-membership talks with the 27-nation bloc. Mr Tadic opposes tying Serbia’s EU membership to the issue of Kosovo, which has been recognized as an independent state by several leading EU nations, including Britain, France and Germany.
Kosovo, whose population is predominantly ethnic Albanian, had been under UN control since 1999, when NATO launched an air war to stop Slobodan Milosevic’s crackdown on separatists. Serbia considers the territory its historic and religious heartland and has rejected Kosovo’s statehood as illegal. Russia, China and other nations support Belgrade’s position and yesterday Russian president Vladimir Putin warned that Kosovo’s independence would only encourage separatism in Europe.
He called it a "harmful and dangerous precedent."
US condemns Serb "provocations" in north Kosovo
The United States on Friday condemned Serb "provocations" in Kosovo and rejected Russian suggestions its Western-backed declaration of independence left the new country destined for partition.
"Independence is a fact. This is a reality. History is only going to move forward," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried told a news conference in the Kosovo capital, Pristina.
Backed by Russia, Serbia has rejected the Feb. 17 secession of its former province and is instructing the 120,000 remaining Serbs to sever ties with the 90 percent Albanian majority, deepening the ethnic divide.
Customs, police, courts and transport infrastructure have all been hit in a widening Serb boycott of the new country. The Serb-dominated north stands out as a potential flashpoint, and a challenge to Kosovo's new European Union overseers.
"There have been various provocations in the north," Fried said after meeting Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu.
"I think the Kosovo leadership has responded to these provocations with, frankly, a maturity that vindicates the decision of the United States and two thirds of the European Union members to recognise it."
Russia and Serbia say the secession cannot be imposed on Kosovo Serbs. Less than half live in the north, the rest in scattered enclaves guarded by a 16,000-strong NATO peace force.
WORDS, NOT REALITY
Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said on Tuesday Moscow had warned repeatedly that a unilateral declaration of independence might lead to the de facto partitioning of Kosovo, and "this is exactly what is happening there."
Fried rejected the suggestion.
"We don't believe in partition," he said. "These are words, this isn't reality. There are obviously issues in the north. There are problems that need to be resolved. This will take time."
Kosovo's declaration of independence last month came almost nine years after NATO went to war to drive out Serb forces and halt their killing and ethnic cleansing of Albanians in a two-year counter-insurgency war.
Serbs rioted in Belgrade and attacked the U.S. embassy, actions Fried described as "deeply disturbing", "outrageous and unacceptable".
The loss of its southern province, steeped in Serb history and legend, has deepened a long-standing rift within Serbia's governing coalition over its EU future.
Nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said on Friday he no longer trusted his coalition partners, fuelling media speculation he could turn to the hardline nationalist Radical Party to replace the pro-Western Democratic Party in government.
Fried urged Serbia to stick to its European path. Kosovo, he said, faced its own challenges.
"The challenge is to build the state that so many Kosovars have struggled for. A state rooted in law, with strong democratic institutions. A state for all of its people."
"Independence is a fact. This is a reality. History is only going to move forward," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried told a news conference in the Kosovo capital, Pristina.
Backed by Russia, Serbia has rejected the Feb. 17 secession of its former province and is instructing the 120,000 remaining Serbs to sever ties with the 90 percent Albanian majority, deepening the ethnic divide.
Customs, police, courts and transport infrastructure have all been hit in a widening Serb boycott of the new country. The Serb-dominated north stands out as a potential flashpoint, and a challenge to Kosovo's new European Union overseers.
"There have been various provocations in the north," Fried said after meeting Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu.
"I think the Kosovo leadership has responded to these provocations with, frankly, a maturity that vindicates the decision of the United States and two thirds of the European Union members to recognise it."
Russia and Serbia say the secession cannot be imposed on Kosovo Serbs. Less than half live in the north, the rest in scattered enclaves guarded by a 16,000-strong NATO peace force.
WORDS, NOT REALITY
Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said on Tuesday Moscow had warned repeatedly that a unilateral declaration of independence might lead to the de facto partitioning of Kosovo, and "this is exactly what is happening there."
Fried rejected the suggestion.
"We don't believe in partition," he said. "These are words, this isn't reality. There are obviously issues in the north. There are problems that need to be resolved. This will take time."
Kosovo's declaration of independence last month came almost nine years after NATO went to war to drive out Serb forces and halt their killing and ethnic cleansing of Albanians in a two-year counter-insurgency war.
Serbs rioted in Belgrade and attacked the U.S. embassy, actions Fried described as "deeply disturbing", "outrageous and unacceptable".
The loss of its southern province, steeped in Serb history and legend, has deepened a long-standing rift within Serbia's governing coalition over its EU future.
Nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said on Friday he no longer trusted his coalition partners, fuelling media speculation he could turn to the hardline nationalist Radical Party to replace the pro-Western Democratic Party in government.
Fried urged Serbia to stick to its European path. Kosovo, he said, faced its own challenges.
"The challenge is to build the state that so many Kosovars have struggled for. A state rooted in law, with strong democratic institutions. A state for all of its people."
Finland recognizes Kosovo's independence
Finnish President Tarja Halonen has recognized Kosovo's independence and authorized the government to establish diplomatic ties with Pristina.
The official recognition came a day after the government proposed the move and more than two weeks after the former Balkan province declared itself independent of Serbia on Feb. 17.
More than two dozen countries have recognized Kosovo's independence, including the U.S., Britain, France and Germany. However, the Canadian government has yet to take an official position.
Finland's Foreign Ministry also says the Scandinavian country, which has representatives covering 80 different fields of expertise in the European Union's mission in Kosovo, KFOR, will increase the number of its peacekeepers to 450.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Jeremić urges countries to reconsider Kosovo decision
Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić yesterday addressed the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
He called on the countries that have recognized the unilaterally declared Kosovo independence to rethink their decisions and appealed to those that have not acknowledged it yet not to do so, Beta news agency reports.
Jeremić praised the UN for "resisting the pressure from a loud minority of countries seeking that jurisdiction over Serbia's southern province be taken by the illegitimate EU mission and thereby violating Resolution 1244."
Jeremić added that the hoped the UN would continue this practice.
The foreign minister once again stressed that Serbia would never acknowledge "the attempts of the Priština authorities to unilaterally break away from Serbia," and added that Belgrade "will use all diplomatic and political means to hinder, prevent and finally annul the unilateral, illegal, and illegitimate proclamation of independence of its southern province."
"It is not a current policy or stand, but rather a part of the national strategy to keep Serbia whole and free, fully integrated in Europe and actively engaged in the world, which we will pursue as long as Serbia exists. Kosovo will always remain a part of Serbia," Jeremić underlined.
Speaking about respect for human rights, Jeremić said since the ouster of Slobodan Milošević in October 2000, Serbia has made enormous progress in this field.
Jeremić further said that unlike in the territories that are under the direct control of the government, the human rights situation in Kosovo is very poor.
He stressed that prior to the deployment of UN and NATO forces in June 1999, hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Serbs, Roma, Bosniaks and others were ethnically cleansed from Kosovo and added that hundreds of people were killed and thousands reported as missing.
He called on the countries that have recognized the unilaterally declared Kosovo independence to rethink their decisions and appealed to those that have not acknowledged it yet not to do so, Beta news agency reports.
Jeremić praised the UN for "resisting the pressure from a loud minority of countries seeking that jurisdiction over Serbia's southern province be taken by the illegitimate EU mission and thereby violating Resolution 1244."
Jeremić added that the hoped the UN would continue this practice.
The foreign minister once again stressed that Serbia would never acknowledge "the attempts of the Priština authorities to unilaterally break away from Serbia," and added that Belgrade "will use all diplomatic and political means to hinder, prevent and finally annul the unilateral, illegal, and illegitimate proclamation of independence of its southern province."
"It is not a current policy or stand, but rather a part of the national strategy to keep Serbia whole and free, fully integrated in Europe and actively engaged in the world, which we will pursue as long as Serbia exists. Kosovo will always remain a part of Serbia," Jeremić underlined.
Speaking about respect for human rights, Jeremić said since the ouster of Slobodan Milošević in October 2000, Serbia has made enormous progress in this field.
Jeremić further said that unlike in the territories that are under the direct control of the government, the human rights situation in Kosovo is very poor.
He stressed that prior to the deployment of UN and NATO forces in June 1999, hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Serbs, Roma, Bosniaks and others were ethnically cleansed from Kosovo and added that hundreds of people were killed and thousands reported as missing.
Kosovo makes bad law for possible Scottish secession
Sir, Anthony Aust, a former legal adviser to the Foreign Office, and John McInally are right that Scotland is not Kosovo in relation to potential membership of the European Union (Letters, February 28). If a democratic and lawful secession of Scotland from the UK is achieved, the EU will have no choice but to accommodate the consequences.
But this all invites the question of what is "democratic" and "lawful". It is now said that the make-up of the UK is the quintessential question for a plebiscite, but by and of whom? It is not within the present power of the Scottish parliament to organise a referendum on the question of secession; that can only be done by the Westminster parliament. Scottish secessionists say that the question would be exclusively for the people in Scotland (and some even say that it would be democratic to be answered on a bare majority of those voting); people in Wales, Northern Ireland and England would get no say. And yet the question of secession significantly affects the interests and rights of all of us in the present Union. So if the Westminster parliament sanctioned and then acted on a plebiscite on these proposed terms, would that be legitimate?
The legitimacy of the declarations of secession of the American southern states in 1861 was settled by civil war. Today such legitimacy (which would touch on the interests of all citizens of the American Union as well as the application of the US constitution and the rule of law) would surely be determined by their Supreme Court.
The United Kingdom (ie, including Scotland) will shortly have its own Supreme Court. By statute the Westminster parliament has now recognised our "existing constitutional principle of the rule of law", a principle that the Supreme Court is expected to uphold. How could it be consistent with that principle (which requires all citizens to be treated equally under the law) for people outside Scotland to be disenfranchised on the question of the break-up of their state?
Kosovo is a hard case but it is making bad law.
Prayer for Kosovo
Kosovo's declaration of independence last month brings with it both dangers and opportunities. The reaction of some world leaders and the violent demonstrations in Serbia and Mitrovica show that the road ahead is challenging.
The record of strife and ethnic cleansing in this part of the world shows the enormous need of preventing passions from getting out of control. Many are striving to counter the forces trying to inflame the situation further. The Monitor quoted a longtime UN official who said, "What we need now is a gigantic leap out of the Balkans and into Europe, mentally and culturally. Both Serbs and Albanians need to stop thinking about the past, revenge, history, and focus on the future"
Many have lost their families and homes; entire villages have been wiped out. How can one start anew?
The most effective and healing method of getting beyond past hurts and the desire for revenge is prayer that's based on a conviction that God actually is governing the nations and the world. Such prayer relies on Him as the omnipotent source of all wisdom, so its guidance is workable and intelligent. But it is also transforming, as this promise of God's care makes clear: "Behold, I make all things new" (Rev. 21:5).
The renewing power revealed by prayer is expressed on the human scene as Christ, God's message of love to each of us. Christ transforms seemingly untransformable situations because it expresses God's equal measure of love for all His children. It makes all things new; never favors one over the other or makes one "newer" than the other. The effect is that all hearts change, although some may change at a different rate from others.
The newness that comes from Christ lifts off the burdens of the past, removes the self-justification and hatred that lead to revenge. It brightens the future. But to receive this blessing, people need to be open to it, and here is a place where those of us who are not in Kosovo can contribute to that nation's peace and stability.
This statement in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" can help give focus to our prayers. It's by Mary Baker Eddy, who founded this newspaper and discovered Christian Science, who kept a sharp eye on national and international affairs during her long lifetime. She wrote, "One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars ..." (p. 340).
Mrs. Eddy introduced the concept of God as one infinite Mind, and of creation as composed of Mind's spiritual ideas, or children, all dwelling in harmony within this Mind. In our prayers, it's possible to affirm that all individuals – including those in Kosovo – are responsive to the one Mind, and can see past old mental habits that would divide society up into "us" and "them."
Because God is one, He sees His creation as one, with all its elements united in infinite Love and infinite Truth. This creation is spiritual, not material. When issues reach a stalemate, taking the time to see them from a spiritual standpoint can open the way to a healing outcome. For example, of the possible choices a government may be considering, which is the highest right – the one closest to expressing love for all citizens? Or to establishing the loving but firm approach to law that divine Principle expresses? Praying about the motivation for government action can make a big difference. It can enable one to discover hidden political agendas, racism or other prejudices, or to discern other motives that are actually driving the demand for change.
This kind of prayer can benefit any country, but right now, with Kosovo newly minted and working through the issues that involve nationhood, giving Kosovo some extra prayer would provide support for that country and its neighbors.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Ireland recognizes Kosovo's independence
DUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland has formally recognized the political independence of Kosovo, arguing that past warfare made its continued place within Serbia "unthinkable."
Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern said the entire Cabinet voted Thursday night to accept the Kosovan parliament's Feb. 17 declaration of independence from Serbia.
"I know that the independence of Kosovo is painful for Serbia, and difficult to accept. And I want to underline that recognition of Kosovo is not an act of hostility toward Serbia," Ahern said.
"The reality is that the legacy of the conflict of the late 1990s made the return of Serb dominion in Kosovo unthinkable, and also undermined the prospects for a long-sought compromise," he said.
Ireland joins the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Denmark, Belgium, Latvia, Estonia, Luxembourg, Australia and Turkey in extending recognition to the breakaway republic.
Five European Union members — Spain, Romania, Greece, Cyprus and Slovakia — say they will not recognize Kosovo because this would inspire nationalist breakaway movements worldwide.
Ireland, which fought a successful 1919-21 war of independence from Britain, traditionally sympathizes with independence movements.
Serbia considers Kosovo to be the foundation stone of its own national identity. Russia, a U.N. Security Council member allied to Serbia, has vowed to block U.N. recognition of Kosovan independence.
Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern said the entire Cabinet voted Thursday night to accept the Kosovan parliament's Feb. 17 declaration of independence from Serbia.
"I know that the independence of Kosovo is painful for Serbia, and difficult to accept. And I want to underline that recognition of Kosovo is not an act of hostility toward Serbia," Ahern said.
"The reality is that the legacy of the conflict of the late 1990s made the return of Serb dominion in Kosovo unthinkable, and also undermined the prospects for a long-sought compromise," he said.
Ireland joins the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Denmark, Belgium, Latvia, Estonia, Luxembourg, Australia and Turkey in extending recognition to the breakaway republic.
Five European Union members — Spain, Romania, Greece, Cyprus and Slovakia — say they will not recognize Kosovo because this would inspire nationalist breakaway movements worldwide.
Ireland, which fought a successful 1919-21 war of independence from Britain, traditionally sympathizes with independence movements.
Serbia considers Kosovo to be the foundation stone of its own national identity. Russia, a U.N. Security Council member allied to Serbia, has vowed to block U.N. recognition of Kosovan independence.
Two U.N. vehicles blasted in northern Kosovo
Two vehicles of U.N. mission were damaged in an explosion near a U.N.-administrative court and the police station in northern Kosovo, police said Friday.
The NATO-led peacekeeping forces cordoned off the scene in the northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica after the explosion late Thursday, and the case is under investigation by U.N. security forces.
It remains unclear whether the grenade was "thrown to or placed under the cars," said a Kosovo police spokesman.
The latest blast has worsened the situation in northern Kosovo, where nearly half of Kosovo Serbs are living. The staff of the European Union were withdrawn last weekend from northern Kosovo due to security reasons.
The local court has been one of the few institutions in northern Kosovo under the administration of the U.N. Mission sincemid-1999. On the night of Feb. 17 when Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, the court was hit by an explosion.
After the incident, scores of Serbs protested near the court, demanding their return to the job they used to have before 1999.
Kosovo Serb police officers refused to obey the orders from their ethnic Albanian superiors in the Serb-dominated north since Kosovo self-declared independence from Serbia. But they remained in the job and admitted the authority of the U.N. Mission in Kosovo.
Some 120,000 Serbs are living in the ethnic Albanian-dominated Kosovo with about half of them being in the north.
The EU is planning a 2,000-strong EU police and justice mission in Kosovo.
Iceland to recognize Kosovo's independence
Iceland's government has decided to recognize Kosovo as an independent state, according to reports reaching here from Reykjavik on Friday.
Iceland supports Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia, provided security and stability in the region will be established, Iceland's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Kosovo's declaration of independence spells out clear obligations to respect human rights and the rights of minorities. It is imperative that this obligation be honored," the Foreign Ministry said.
Iceland regrets that a solution based on the Comprehensive Proposal of UN Special Envoy Martti Athisaari was not achieved and believes a permanent solution to reconcile the different views of the Kosovo-Albanians and Serbs must be found, it added.
Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence on Feb. 17, 2008.
Ghosts of Kosovo
On Feb. 17, after almost a decade of legal limbo and two years of unsuccessful international mediation, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. The U.S. moved swiftly to recognize the new country, and nearly 2 million ethnic Albanians celebrated their long-awaited freedom, dancing in city streets, releasing fireworks and waving flags. Having bristled under Serbian rule and then U.N. administration, Kosovars were elated by the prospect of at last controlling their own affairs.
The Serbs weren't quite so thrilled. On Feb. 21, some 200,000 protested in Belgrade, chanting "Kosovo is Serbia" and holding placards that read, RUSSIA, HELP. Rioters set the U.S. embassy on fire; Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed never to recognize Kosovo and threatened to support secessionist movements in Georgia and Moldova.
Not so long ago, the scenes of unrest would have inspired fears of the kind of ethnic violence that devastated the Balkans in the '90s. But these are different times. Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian leaders have belatedly tried to extend an olive branch to the province's aggrieved 120,000 Serbs. In addition to allowing Serbs in northern Kosovo to have their own police, schools and hospitals, Kosovo's new Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, did the unthinkable: he delivered part of his inauguration speech in the hated Serbian language. Even in Serbia, whose citizens feel genuine humiliation over losing Kosovo (which Serb nationalists call their "Jerusalem"), the protests should abate. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has threatened to retaliate against Kosovo's becoming independent by suspending talks with the European Union, but Kostunica can't afford to cut ties with the West. The E.U. supplies 49% of Serbia's imports and buys 56% of its exports--a far more valuable trade relationship than Serbia's with Russia.
But Kosovo matters to our future because it underscores three alarming features of the current international system. First, it exposes the chill in relations between the U.S. and Russia, which is making it difficult for the U.N. Security Council to meet 21st century collective-security challenges. Putin has used the Kosovo standoff as yet another excuse to flaunt his petro-powered invincibility, sending his likely successor, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, to Belgrade to sign a gas agreement. If a firm international response is to be mobilized toward Iran, Sudan or other trouble spots in the coming years, the U.S. will have to find a way to persuade Russia to become a partner rather than a rival in improving collective security.
Second, the 27-country E.U., which is bitterly divided over Kosovo, lacks an overarching defense or security vision. After Kosovo declared independence, Britain, France and other countries offered recognition, while Spain, Romania, Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Slovakia refused to do so. Keeping peace in Kosovo will require European nations to put their citizens at risk. Unfortunately, the stated desire of many European countries to reduce their commitments to the nato effort in Afghanistan does little to bolster confidence in Europe's eagerness to maintain international security.
Finally, the disagreements over Kosovo expose the world's fickleness in determining which secessionist movements deserve international recognition. If Kosovo's supporters were more transparent about the factors that made Kosovo worthy of recognition, they could help shape new guidelines. A claimant has a far stronger claim if, like Kosovo, it is relatively homogeneous and not yet self-governing, if it has been abused by the sovereign government and if its quest for independence does not incite its kin in a neighboring country to make comparable demands. Not all secessionists can clear that bar. Iraq's Kurds, for instance, are clamoring for independence. But the Kurds are already exercising self-government, and their independence could have the destabilizing effect of causing the Kurdish population in Turkey to try to secede.
Western countries will have to work hard in the coming months to ensure that Kosovo and Serbia do not descend into violence. The larger problems highlighted by the impasse aren't going away anytime soon. Unless they're resolved, a U.S. embassy may not be all that goes up in flames during the next crisis.
TIME columnist and Harvard professor Power also advises Senator Barack Obama on foreign-policy issues
Kosovo police suspended for refusing to take orders
About 150 Serb police officers in Kosovo have been suspended from duty for refusing to take orders from ethnic Albanian authorities in the capital, Pristina.
The Serbs are all thought to be based in one area of south-eastern Kosovo.
It appears that all these officers are demanding to be put under the direct command of international police structures rather than directly take orders from Pristina.
They are reluctant to do this after Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanian population declared independence.
Kosovo has just over 7,000 police officers, 10 per cent of whom are Serbs.
Until now they have all served in one police structure.
But tensions have been heightened during the past two weeks and one senior Serbian minister in Belgrade has suggested there should be a separate Serbian police service in Kosovo.
The Serbs are all thought to be based in one area of south-eastern Kosovo.
It appears that all these officers are demanding to be put under the direct command of international police structures rather than directly take orders from Pristina.
They are reluctant to do this after Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanian population declared independence.
Kosovo has just over 7,000 police officers, 10 per cent of whom are Serbs.
Until now they have all served in one police structure.
But tensions have been heightened during the past two weeks and one senior Serbian minister in Belgrade has suggested there should be a separate Serbian police service in Kosovo.
Kosovo overseers say no split and no separate police
The newly formed International Steering Group (ISG) that will monitor Kosovo's progress after its declaration of independence on Thursday rejected partition or separate security institutions in the new country.
Serbia's former province seceded on Feb 17. The Serbian government has vowed never to accept the secession and to extend its authority over Serb areas in the territory's north.
"There will be no partition of the country. That is not foreseen and that is not the intention of this group," said ISG head Pieter Feith, who is also the EU civilian representative.
A European Union mission that is taking over supervision of Kosovo from the United Nations pulled out of the north over a week ago for security reasons, after mobs attacked embassies in Belgrade and burned down border posts in north Kosovo.
Analysts say that the violent protests, and signs that Belgrade is consolidating its rule, point to a deepening ethnic divide that could lead the new republic to a de facto partition between Serb north and Albanian south.
Dozens of Serb policemen have also failed to report for duty in an eastern region while a Serb minister said Belgrade planned to have its own police service in Serb towns in Kosovo.
Feith said he was not aware of Kosovo police not performing their duties or Serb police being present in Kosovo at this time.
"We will not admit any parallel security institution to manifest itself on the territory of Kosovo," he told a news conference following the ISG's first meeting.
Feith said the ISG would also demand that international peacekeepers and police be deployed throughout the territory of Kosovo and have freedom of movement.
The ISG is made up of 15 countries that have recognized Kosovo and want to play a part in its development, among them the United States, Germany, France and Britain.
It aims to implement a plan drawn up by United Nations special envoy Martti Ahtisaari for Kosovo's future path, including links between the Serb minority and Serbia, protection of religious monuments, minority rights and decentralization.
The road of discontent
MORE than a week after Kosovo declared its independence on February 17th the dust has not settled. But the outlines of what might become a new Balkan reality are starting to emerge. As expected, Kosovo has been recognised by America and most European Union countries. But the number of recognitions from other parts of the world have been few. At the same time, Serbia's politicians are split about which way to take their country.
Kosovo was—and according to Serbia still is—a Serbian province that had been under the jurisdiction of the United Nations since the end of the war in 1999. Some 90% of its 2m-odd people are ethnic Albanians. About half of its 120,000 Serbs live in the north, close to Serbia proper, and the rest in enclaves scattered through the rest of the territory.
On every day since February 17th Kosovo's Serbs have protested in the north of the divided city of Mitrovica. There have been several violent incidents, mostly around Kosovo's borders, but also in the Serb part of Bosnia. Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo's police force are no longer working together in northern and eastern Kosovo. But so far in the enclaves, life has carried on with little change. Vojislav Kostunica, Serbia's prime minister, has said that “Serbia intends to rule parts of Kosovo where loyal citizens still look to Belgrade for government.” It seems that his policy is to take full control of northern Kosovo first but to adopt a slightly slower approach to the enclaves, so as not to provoke an Albanian backlash and Serb exodus. How the EU, which is supposed to replace the UN mission in Kosovo, plans to tackle this is the next big question.
In Serbia itself the question is whether the government can survive. It is split between those like Mr Kostunica who think that Serbia should abandon the path of European integration and those like Bozidar Djelic, the deputy prime minister, who argue that, although Serbia must not recognise Kosovo, it should not abandon its EU ambitions. Pointing out that China, Brazil, India and Russia all support Serbia, he says cheerfully that “the future world is ours.” On February 25th Dmitry Medvedev, the next Russian president, flew to Belgrade to pledge his support.
A few days earlier, some 200,000 people gathered in central Belgrade to protest against Kosovo's independence. Mobs peeled off to loot shops and set the American embassy on fire. Fearing a hostile reception, the pro-European president, Boris Tadic, had contrived to spend the day in Romania. Inevitably some Serbs drew contrasts. Twenty years ago Serbs in mass rallies were listening to emotion-laden speeches about Kosovo by Slobodan Milosevic, who later led them to war, while Romanians were still crushed under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. Mr Kostunica's speech was shockingly reminiscent of Milosevic's—but Romania is now in both the EU and NATO.
Marko Blagojevic, a pollster, notes that although Mr Kostunica's ratings are pitifully low, “you can't deny he is a very skilful politician.” Mr Kostunica's tactic seems to be to use the emotional issue of Kosovo to rebuild his support and trade on his patriotic credentials against those of his pro-European coalition partners. They are now being branded as traitors in much of the Serbian press.
Ivan Vejvoda, who heads the Balkan Trust for Democracy, a donor to good causes, thinks the government will keep going at least until autumn when, after all the emotion dies down, pro-Europeans can mobilise what he calls Serbia's silent majority. This is clearly Mr Djelic's strategy. He is bitter about the EU, arguing that since the fall of Milosevic in 2000 Serbia “has got nothing”. But he adds that now is not the time to retreat into a hole saying “we hate you”.
Serbia was recently blocked by the Netherlands from signing a stabilisation and association agreement with Brussels, the usual first step to EU membership. Hauling out a copy of the vast document, Mr Djelic says that Serbia needs to be deft. It will fight Kosovo diplomatically, he says, but he hopes that the situation on the ground will cool and insists that it remains in Serbia's best interest to implement the agreement anyway, to gain time. Mr Djelic believes that such canny politics might even yield full EU candidate status by the end of the year, plus visa-free travel to most EU countries to boot.
If Mr Djelic were in charge, this might happen—but he is not. Mr Blagojevic cautions that, since Kosovo is an emotional not a rational issue, predictions of how the Balkans will look after the dust from Kosovo settles are risky.
Kosovo was—and according to Serbia still is—a Serbian province that had been under the jurisdiction of the United Nations since the end of the war in 1999. Some 90% of its 2m-odd people are ethnic Albanians. About half of its 120,000 Serbs live in the north, close to Serbia proper, and the rest in enclaves scattered through the rest of the territory.
On every day since February 17th Kosovo's Serbs have protested in the north of the divided city of Mitrovica. There have been several violent incidents, mostly around Kosovo's borders, but also in the Serb part of Bosnia. Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo's police force are no longer working together in northern and eastern Kosovo. But so far in the enclaves, life has carried on with little change. Vojislav Kostunica, Serbia's prime minister, has said that “Serbia intends to rule parts of Kosovo where loyal citizens still look to Belgrade for government.” It seems that his policy is to take full control of northern Kosovo first but to adopt a slightly slower approach to the enclaves, so as not to provoke an Albanian backlash and Serb exodus. How the EU, which is supposed to replace the UN mission in Kosovo, plans to tackle this is the next big question.
In Serbia itself the question is whether the government can survive. It is split between those like Mr Kostunica who think that Serbia should abandon the path of European integration and those like Bozidar Djelic, the deputy prime minister, who argue that, although Serbia must not recognise Kosovo, it should not abandon its EU ambitions. Pointing out that China, Brazil, India and Russia all support Serbia, he says cheerfully that “the future world is ours.” On February 25th Dmitry Medvedev, the next Russian president, flew to Belgrade to pledge his support.
A few days earlier, some 200,000 people gathered in central Belgrade to protest against Kosovo's independence. Mobs peeled off to loot shops and set the American embassy on fire. Fearing a hostile reception, the pro-European president, Boris Tadic, had contrived to spend the day in Romania. Inevitably some Serbs drew contrasts. Twenty years ago Serbs in mass rallies were listening to emotion-laden speeches about Kosovo by Slobodan Milosevic, who later led them to war, while Romanians were still crushed under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. Mr Kostunica's speech was shockingly reminiscent of Milosevic's—but Romania is now in both the EU and NATO.
Marko Blagojevic, a pollster, notes that although Mr Kostunica's ratings are pitifully low, “you can't deny he is a very skilful politician.” Mr Kostunica's tactic seems to be to use the emotional issue of Kosovo to rebuild his support and trade on his patriotic credentials against those of his pro-European coalition partners. They are now being branded as traitors in much of the Serbian press.
Ivan Vejvoda, who heads the Balkan Trust for Democracy, a donor to good causes, thinks the government will keep going at least until autumn when, after all the emotion dies down, pro-Europeans can mobilise what he calls Serbia's silent majority. This is clearly Mr Djelic's strategy. He is bitter about the EU, arguing that since the fall of Milosevic in 2000 Serbia “has got nothing”. But he adds that now is not the time to retreat into a hole saying “we hate you”.
Serbia was recently blocked by the Netherlands from signing a stabilisation and association agreement with Brussels, the usual first step to EU membership. Hauling out a copy of the vast document, Mr Djelic says that Serbia needs to be deft. It will fight Kosovo diplomatically, he says, but he hopes that the situation on the ground will cool and insists that it remains in Serbia's best interest to implement the agreement anyway, to gain time. Mr Djelic believes that such canny politics might even yield full EU candidate status by the end of the year, plus visa-free travel to most EU countries to boot.
If Mr Djelic were in charge, this might happen—but he is not. Mr Blagojevic cautions that, since Kosovo is an emotional not a rational issue, predictions of how the Balkans will look after the dust from Kosovo settles are risky.
Serb Police Deserting Kosovo Force
Dozens of Serb officers have deserted the Kosovo police force since the new state declared independence, snubbing ethnic Albanian leaders and shattering the only institution in which real cooperation existed between the ethnic groups.
Some 170 of the force's Serb 800 officers have either quit or not shown up for work since the Feb. 17 declaration, police officials said Thursday. Dozens of others have threatened to follow suit.
Authorities in Belgrade have been encouraging Kosovo Serbs to boycott the fledgling government's institutions. The desertions are a setback for Kosovo's U.N. mission, which has poured millions of dollars and years of effort into creating and training the force.
"We have enough police to handle anything," said Luis Cisneros, a spokesman for the U.N. police. "But we want everybody to be happy, both Serbs and Albanians. That's the main point."
The 7,000-strong multiethnic police force had been praised as one of few successful cases of Kosovo's Serbs and ethnic Albanians working together. But the police have been under strong pressure since the declaration of independence, which was followed by violent protests by Serbs.
"They see us as traitors," said Capt. Stojan Denic, 44, a Serb and police commander who lives in the village of Kusce, about 40 miles southeast of the capital, Pristina.
"So we decided to end cooperation with the regional command," Denic told The Associated Press from outside his home. Down the street, dozens of Serbs in Kosovo police uniforms crowded around a table drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes as they boycotted the force.
Also Thursday, an evening explosion shattered the uneasy calm in the ethnically divided northern city of Kosovska Mitrovica, damaging two U.N. vehicles. No one was hurt, police said.
Serbia intends to take legal action against governments that recognized Kosovo's move, and the government voted Thursday to form a team to determine which international courts would have jurisdiction.
Making good on its pledge to try to block Kosovo from joining international organizations, Serbia's foreign minister walked out of a meeting of his counterparts in Sofia, Bulgaria, when a delegate from Kosovo took the floor to speak.
"Kosovo will not be a member of the United Nations; it will not be a member of the OSCE, Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told delegates at the meeting, referring to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. "And as such, it will not belong to the world community of sovereign nations."
But the groundwork for greater international integration was being laid in Vienna, Austria, where the International Steering Group for Kosovo — made up of representatives from countries backing Kosovo's independence — held its inaugural meeting. The group will help guide the new nation.
The estimated 100,000 Serbs who remain in Kosovo have ignored Kosovo's declaration and threatened to set up their own institutions in Kosovo's northern tip, where most of the minority Serbs live.
The vast majority of Kosovo's population is ethnic Albanian. Serbs represent just 10 percent of the region's 2 million people, but they view Kosovo as the cradle of their culture and Orthodox Christian faith.
Reshat Maliqi, an ethnic Albanian and senior police official, said he hoped those Serbs who walked off the job will change their minds.
"We expect at least a part of them to continue with their work," Maliqi said. "But even that would be optimistic."
US Rules Out Kosovo Partition
The Bush administration notified Serbia on Thursday it was "absolutely opposed" to any attempt to partition Kosovo so that the Serbian minority could have its own homeland.
"We will not support any form of partition," Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said at a news conference. And, he said, "the great majority of countries would not stand for that."
Kosovo, which has declared independence with strong U.S. support and over the anger of Belgrade, has a majority ethnic Albanian population. Many Serbs view Kosovo as the cradle of their culture and Orthodox Christian faith.
There are some 100,000 Serbs living in Kosovo, most of them in the north, with several enclaves in southeastern Kosovo. They have ignored Kosovo's declaration and threatened to set up their own institutions.
In Belgrade on Wednesday, Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica demanded that the United States reverse its recognition of Kosovo. Russia also is strongly opposed to an independent Kosovo.
"As a nation and a state, we will put up resistance every day until the United States is convinced that the rule of international law must be re-established in the Balkans and the illegal declaration of the fake state (of Kosovo) is annulled," Kostunica said.
Burns said most countries support an independent Kosovo. In contrast, Serbia's foreign minister, Vuk Jeremic, writing in The New York Times on Wednesday, said it will not be recognized by a vast majority of U.N. nations. He called the unilateral declaration of independence an illegal act and a "historical injustice" to Serbia.
Burns, asked about the article, fired back that the Serbs were forgetting the history of the 1990s when the Serbs were accused of ethnic cleansing of ethnic Albanians in the Balkans.
"It is hypocritical for the Serb foreign minister to go to our newspapers and our media and act as if nothing happened in 1998 and 1999, when those terrible injustices were suffered by the Kosovar Albanian Muslim population," Burns said.
Serbia tried to force one million ethnic Albanians out of the country, and because of that history the United Nations took Kosovo away from Serbia, Burns said. "We have not forgotten," he said.
Rioters, protesting U.S. support for Kosovo independence, set fire to the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade last week. Burns said the United States would hold Serbia responsible for "what happens in the streets of Belgrade."
Serb president wants Kosovo and EU keys
Serbia will not give up its claim on breakaway province Kosovo or its bid to become a member of the European Union, Serbian President Boris Tadic said in an interview published Thursday.
Kosovo declaration of independence sparked anger in Serbia, but picked up quick support from EU nations including Germany and the UK.
Serbia and Kosovo's minority Serb population considers the province the heart of the Serb nation, but the majority ethnic Albanians wanted independence from Belgrade.
The Associated Press reported Thursday that about 170 of the 800 Serb officers in the Kosovo police force have either quit or not shown up for work since the independence declaration.
Dozens more are threatening to leave, police officials told AP. The 7,000-strong force, which is considered one of the few successful examples of Serbs and ethnic Albanians working together.
Tadic told the Spanish newspaper El Pais: "We are not going to relinquish Kosovo. We are going to utilize all of our diplomatic and political recourses in defense of this, but without violence."
He added, "The people understand that we should be EU members, that this is in our national interest. We're not going to relinquish Kosovo or becoming EU members."
Kosovo's parliament declared the country's independence from Serbia on February 17, setting up a confrontation with Serbia and its longtime ally Russia, which demanded that the move be declared "null and void."
"What's important is to find a compromise," Tadic said in the newspaper interview. "If the Albanians are going to get everything and the Serbians are going to lose everything, there will be a problem."
Asked whether the compromise he envisioned would include partitioning Kosovo, Tadic said, "I'm not speaking of partition, but of compromise. ... We want a solution that is acceptable for both parties."
He added, "This is also in Europe's interest. Some of the countries that have illegally recognized Kosovo have committed a historic error."
The United States, Britain, and Germany have recognized Kosovo's declaration of independence; Spain, Russia, China and others have not.
Last week, thousands of Serbs in Belgrade demonstrated against Kosovo's declaration of independence and hundreds attacked Western embassies and shops.
Police there said they detained 192 people in the protests, and said 130 people were hurt in the violence. One protester died; his burned body was found in the U.S. Embassy complex.
Tadic said an investigation is looking into the attacks, and declined to comment on them extensively. But he said: "The violence was foreseeable, because the people were angry."
As far as the Serbia's EU membership prospects, Tadic appeared gloomy. "To be honest, I'll not expect that the EU is going to facilitate the process," he said. "There have been many promises, but not opportunities for Serbia."
Tadic, who was narrowly elected to a second term earlier this month, supports Serbia's eventual membership in the EU.
In late January, the EU offered Serbia a package of incentives as part of a deal to put it on the path toward membership, including closer political ties, a free trade agreement, visa liberalization, and cooperation in education.
Despite Tadic's re-election, the Serbian government blocked the February 7 signing of that package in an attempt to delay the independence of Kosovo, according to Mattias Sundholm, an EU spokesman based in Washington.
Despite widespread media reports indicating otherwise, Sundholm said the EU had not changed its stance on Serbia since the attacks on the embassies in Belgrade.
Serbia says Bulgaria's recognition of Kosovo to affect bilateral relations
Serbia's Ambassador to the European Union (EU) Roksandra Nincic said that Bulgaria's potential decision to recognize the independence of Kosovo was disappointing and might affect bilateral relations, Sofia News Agency reported Wednesday.
Nincic told Bulgarian National Radio that even though Bulgaria had decided not to recognize Kosovo immediately and to do so only under certain conditions, its readiness to establish relations with the Serbian province would inevitable compromise the relations between the two countries.
"First we will pull our ambassador out of Bulgaria, as we have already done in other countries which recognized independent Kosovo," the report quoted Nincic as saying.
Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov said on Feb. 18 that his country's position on Kosovo's independence will mainly depend on how the Kosovo leadership fulfills the Ahtisaari plan, which Bulgaria has been supporting.
According to Parvanov, other factors affecting Bulgaria's stance would be institution-building in Kosovo, its respect for human rights and for the rights of minorities including Serbs.
Switzerland recognizes Kosovo independence
The Swiss government announced on Wednesday that it had decided to recognize Kosovo as an independent country.
In a statement, Swiss President Pascal Couchepin also said Switzerland would establish diplomatic relations with the breakaway Serbian province after it unilaterally declared independence 10 days ago.
Couchepin said the decision was made on Wednesday on the recommendation of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and following consultations with two key parliamentary committees.
"Switzerland has always adopted balanced positions on issues concerning the Balkans, taking into account the legitimate interests of all parties involved," the statement said.
The Swiss government "wished to emphasize that Switzerland's recognition of Kosovo goes hand in hand with its desire to develop further its good relations with Serbia and to strengthen the very close cooperation that exists between Serbia and Switzerland," it added.
Switzerland is home to about 170,000 Kosovars, one of the largest Kosovar expatriate communities in Europe. There are also about 40,000 Serbs in Switzerland.
Russia's Medvedev Warns Kosovo Independence Could Trigger Unrest
The man nearly certain to win the Russian presidency Sunday, Dmitri Medvedev, says Kosovo independence has jeopardized security and stability in the Balkans.
Medvedev, campaigning Wednesday in central Russia, said Western recognition of the February 17 independence declaration by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority has put Europe in what he called a difficult situation.
By comparison, he said the United States, which backs Kosovo independence, is not facing the same political risks as Europe.
Russia, Serbia's strongest ally, has condemned the Kosovo declaration, saying it will spark secessionist movements elsewhere in Europe and beyond. Today, Medvedev promised continued political support for Belgrade.
In other developments, the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch is accusing some Serbian ministers of using Kosovo's secession to enflame regional tensions.
In a statement, the organization cited five incidents of violence in the past week, and urged Belgrade to speak with "one voice" against unrest in the region.
In northern Kosovo Wednesday, Serbia's Tanjug news agency says about 100 Serbs in the divided town of Mitrovica were continuing to protest the loss of their jobs. Demonstrators are demanding that the two local courts that employed them be returned to Serbian jurisdiction.
Serbia recalls envoy to Switzerland in reaction to Kosovo recognition
Serbia on Wednesday recalled its ambassador to Switzerland in an immediate reaction to the country's recognition of Kosovo independence.
Belgrade's move was taken shortly after the Swiss government announced its decision to recognize the breakaway Serbian province as an independent country and to establish diplomatic relations with it, the official Swissinfo news website reported.
The Serbian embassy in Bern said the ambassador recall was only a "first measure."
"Others will follow. The government of Serbia still has to decide on this issue," embassy counselor Bozidar Jovanovic was quoted by Swissinfo as saying.
The diplomat noted that Belgrade had recalled its envoys from all those countries that had recognized the independence of Kosovo.
In a statement, the embassy said the "unilateral recognition" of Kosovo's independence was "an attack" against the sovereignty and integrity of Serbia.
It added that the consequences could be far-reaching for the stability of the region and for Europe.
Belgrade's move was taken shortly after the Swiss government announced its decision to recognize the breakaway Serbian province as an independent country and to establish diplomatic relations with it, the official Swissinfo news website reported.
The Serbian embassy in Bern said the ambassador recall was only a "first measure."
"Others will follow. The government of Serbia still has to decide on this issue," embassy counselor Bozidar Jovanovic was quoted by Swissinfo as saying.
The diplomat noted that Belgrade had recalled its envoys from all those countries that had recognized the independence of Kosovo.
In a statement, the embassy said the "unilateral recognition" of Kosovo's independence was "an attack" against the sovereignty and integrity of Serbia.
It added that the consequences could be far-reaching for the stability of the region and for Europe.
Kosovo envoy stands firm against partition
Kosovo's new European Union special envoy has taken a tough line against ethnic partition within this latest, and supposedly final, Balkan breakaway state.
"This country. . . should not end up even with soft partition," Peter Feith, the EU chief diplomat, told the Financial Times in an interview. The veteran Dutch diplomat, who arrived last week as special representative, will also head the western-backed supervisory office ensuring safeguards for ethnic minorities, including the 120,000 Serbs who overwhelmingly reject independence from Serbia.
His parallel mandate as International Civilian Representative (ICR) could start by next week, assuming the US and leading EU countries can persuade the United Nations secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, to cede responsibilities without the consent of Russia, Serbia's ally on the UN Security Council.
The UN would make the handover in most parts of Kosovo 120 days later, in line with the status package embraced by Brussels and Kosovo's government, Mr Feith says.
"The clock starts ticking the moment I'm appointed as ICR." Two thousand EU-led police and justice officials will be deployed in the same four months "over the whole territory of Kosovo", says Yves de Kermabon, the commander of the "rule of law" mission.
The UN protectorate admin-istration, in place since 1999, has already ruled too long, damping the initiative of an entrepreneurial-minded population, Mr Feith says. Anticipating the hand-over, EU officials are gearing up for a donor conference in June to jump-start the economically crippled state with €700m-€1bn ($1.1bn-$1.5bn, £530m-£760m) worth of aid for the first two years.
Yet in the economic sphere, Mr Feith will be no more than the government's "close adviser". He plays down the potential for disagreements, or for the local authorities to deflect responsibility on to him for unpopular fiscal belt-tightening.
Although he will be empowered to dismiss elec-ted officials, this will not be another Bosnia-Herzegovina, where international viceroys have become the foil for local politicians to avoid responsibility, Mr Feith promises.
Nato's peacekeeping force of nearly 17,000 troops is due to stay in Kosovo indefinitely. James Lyon, Balkan adviser for the International Crisis Group, says: "Knowing how to play both sides the EU-Nato equation is essential to get things done."
The other big lesson from Bosnia, Mr Feith says, is the importance of multi-ethnic integration. While Serbs can have decentralisation to preserve their culture and identity, that does not mean Kosovo must accept a stubborn "entity" that answers to Belgrade rather than Pristina, Mr Feith says.
Even Martti Ahtisaari, the UN envoy and chief architect of the status plan, admitted that decentralisation could mean de facto partition for the north. Not so, Mr Feith insists. If Serb-dominated northern Kosovo requires a "more gradual approach", the UN can remain the main authority there - but only temporarily.
In the long run, Kosovo must become a multi-ethnic state. Serbs could orient themselves to Pristina over time if the EU does what it does best. "Open the taps and pour in money," a US diplomat saysRUSSIA'S SUPPORT OF SERBIA IS MORE ABOUT OIL THAN KOSOVO
Since the end of the Balkans wars in the 1990s, the European attitude toward Serbia has been that this renegade of Europe would eventually, inevitably, join the European Union (E.U.).
Of course, Serbia had started the horrific ethnic-nationalist wars that ended with tens of thousands dead. Of course, Serbia's greatest backer was the former Soviet Union, with whom it shared a heritage of the Orthodox Church.
But the world had changed. The U.S.S.R. had become simply "Russia" once again, or the "Russian Federation." Now one could argue that during these last two weeks everything has changed once more -- back to the past.
The transformed Russia of Vladimir Putin -- who will step aside temporarily as Russian president in putative elections this Sunday (March 2) -- has dramatically reinstated its historic relations with Serbia through its partnership with the Serbian gas and oil industry. Along the way, it has taken two other Eastern European nations who are already E.U. members with it into the transaction.
Serbia, with its mix of a political leadership of the old ethnic-nationalists of the '90s and some more pro-European Serbs, has angrily turned eastward once again. Any remaining pro-American tendencies have been decidedly dampened.
And one would not be too far off the mark by speculating that this could be part of Russia's potentially threatening move back into Europe, this time using its energy resources as the pivot, and that new Balkans conflicts could well be arising that we had thought settled.
It is easy to find, in little, long-oppressed Kosovo, that formerly Yugoslav and then Serb enclave of 2 million mostly ethnic Albanians, an excuse for Moscow to move closer again to Belgrade -- for both the United States and the E.U. supported Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia on Feb. l7. Meanwhile, anyone left in Serbia's more moderate political class proceeded immediately down the road to oblivion.
For comic relief, listen to the words of Serbian President Boris Tadic. At an emergency U.N. Security Council session, he warned that Kosovo's unthinkable act of wanting to rule itself would embolden other separatists across the world. "If you allow this illegal act to stand," he declared, "you will show that right and justice may go unrespected in the world. You will show that, unfortunately, this body of the world organization is losing its authority."
Now it may well be that the United Nations' authority is forever dicey, but to claim "right and justice" for the marauding Serbs of the 1990s should be saved for a Belgrade version of "Saturday Night Live."
Meanwhile, in an ominous sign in Kosovo itself, many Serb policemen in the Serb majority areas were pledging loyalty to Belgrade while separate Serb government and law enforcement bodies were being formed, this probably marking attempts to partition Kosovo still further.
As the new "candidate" for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Medvedev, said with unmistakable clarity, "We proceed from the understanding that Serbia is a single state with its jurisdiction spanning the entire territory."
It was, furthermore, Medvedev, already chosen as interim president by Putin, who traveled in the interesting period between Kosovo's independence and the upcoming Russian elections to Belgrade to sign -- what? -- amazing deals with Serbia on a gas pipeline and almost certainly on buying into the rundown Serb oil refinery in Pancevo.
Medvedev's pipeline deal for Moscow clears the way for the construction of the planned 550-mile South Stream pipeline through Serbia en route to Western Europe. Costs are reported to be in the area of $1.5 billion.
In addition -- and substantively expanding the energy ambitions of Russia toward Europe -- the president presumptive said that the deal to buy Serbia's state oil refinery, NIS, would be signed soon. Russia has offered $600 million for the refinery, with an additional $730 million to modernize the company.
But perhaps surprising for the publicly "progressive" Medvedev, who often speaks out on behalf of liberal issues and personal freedom, was the fact that he spoke out clearly on these deals with Serbia, saying that these energy treaties and agreements "form the foundation of energy stability for all of Europe in the future."
Let's repeat part of that: "for ALL of Europe in the future."
Perhaps it is not all that surprising for the man who is chairman of Gazprom, Russia's natural gas monopoly -- and, yes, that has been his main job -- to take an interest in energy monopolization and its rewards.
What is surprising is that other recent E.U. members are also embracing deals with Russia and Gazprom. In the same week that the Serbian gas deal was consummated, Hungary also backed it; Bulgaria had already done so.
But then, "outgoing" President Putin -- who is scheduled to return as president when Medvedev's term is over -- is rumored to be "suspiciously wealthy." According to a remarkable article, "Putin's Choice," by respected scholar Zbigniew Brzezinski in the upcoming issue of The Washington Quarterly, Putin is reported by Russian sources to have a calculated wealth of billions, "most of it in shares of state-controlled energy enterprises ... including 4.5 percent of Gazprom."
The purport of all of this? To see that the genie of radical nationalism, released so tragically 20 years ago in Serbia, is threatening to pop up again in the Balkans. An angry Russia is attempting to use its energy wealth to move once again into Europe. And the West had better look out.
Of course, Serbia had started the horrific ethnic-nationalist wars that ended with tens of thousands dead. Of course, Serbia's greatest backer was the former Soviet Union, with whom it shared a heritage of the Orthodox Church.
But the world had changed. The U.S.S.R. had become simply "Russia" once again, or the "Russian Federation." Now one could argue that during these last two weeks everything has changed once more -- back to the past.
The transformed Russia of Vladimir Putin -- who will step aside temporarily as Russian president in putative elections this Sunday (March 2) -- has dramatically reinstated its historic relations with Serbia through its partnership with the Serbian gas and oil industry. Along the way, it has taken two other Eastern European nations who are already E.U. members with it into the transaction.
Serbia, with its mix of a political leadership of the old ethnic-nationalists of the '90s and some more pro-European Serbs, has angrily turned eastward once again. Any remaining pro-American tendencies have been decidedly dampened.
And one would not be too far off the mark by speculating that this could be part of Russia's potentially threatening move back into Europe, this time using its energy resources as the pivot, and that new Balkans conflicts could well be arising that we had thought settled.
It is easy to find, in little, long-oppressed Kosovo, that formerly Yugoslav and then Serb enclave of 2 million mostly ethnic Albanians, an excuse for Moscow to move closer again to Belgrade -- for both the United States and the E.U. supported Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia on Feb. l7. Meanwhile, anyone left in Serbia's more moderate political class proceeded immediately down the road to oblivion.
For comic relief, listen to the words of Serbian President Boris Tadic. At an emergency U.N. Security Council session, he warned that Kosovo's unthinkable act of wanting to rule itself would embolden other separatists across the world. "If you allow this illegal act to stand," he declared, "you will show that right and justice may go unrespected in the world. You will show that, unfortunately, this body of the world organization is losing its authority."
Now it may well be that the United Nations' authority is forever dicey, but to claim "right and justice" for the marauding Serbs of the 1990s should be saved for a Belgrade version of "Saturday Night Live."
Meanwhile, in an ominous sign in Kosovo itself, many Serb policemen in the Serb majority areas were pledging loyalty to Belgrade while separate Serb government and law enforcement bodies were being formed, this probably marking attempts to partition Kosovo still further.
As the new "candidate" for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Medvedev, said with unmistakable clarity, "We proceed from the understanding that Serbia is a single state with its jurisdiction spanning the entire territory."
It was, furthermore, Medvedev, already chosen as interim president by Putin, who traveled in the interesting period between Kosovo's independence and the upcoming Russian elections to Belgrade to sign -- what? -- amazing deals with Serbia on a gas pipeline and almost certainly on buying into the rundown Serb oil refinery in Pancevo.
Medvedev's pipeline deal for Moscow clears the way for the construction of the planned 550-mile South Stream pipeline through Serbia en route to Western Europe. Costs are reported to be in the area of $1.5 billion.
In addition -- and substantively expanding the energy ambitions of Russia toward Europe -- the president presumptive said that the deal to buy Serbia's state oil refinery, NIS, would be signed soon. Russia has offered $600 million for the refinery, with an additional $730 million to modernize the company.
But perhaps surprising for the publicly "progressive" Medvedev, who often speaks out on behalf of liberal issues and personal freedom, was the fact that he spoke out clearly on these deals with Serbia, saying that these energy treaties and agreements "form the foundation of energy stability for all of Europe in the future."
Let's repeat part of that: "for ALL of Europe in the future."
Perhaps it is not all that surprising for the man who is chairman of Gazprom, Russia's natural gas monopoly -- and, yes, that has been his main job -- to take an interest in energy monopolization and its rewards.
What is surprising is that other recent E.U. members are also embracing deals with Russia and Gazprom. In the same week that the Serbian gas deal was consummated, Hungary also backed it; Bulgaria had already done so.
But then, "outgoing" President Putin -- who is scheduled to return as president when Medvedev's term is over -- is rumored to be "suspiciously wealthy." According to a remarkable article, "Putin's Choice," by respected scholar Zbigniew Brzezinski in the upcoming issue of The Washington Quarterly, Putin is reported by Russian sources to have a calculated wealth of billions, "most of it in shares of state-controlled energy enterprises ... including 4.5 percent of Gazprom."
The purport of all of this? To see that the genie of radical nationalism, released so tragically 20 years ago in Serbia, is threatening to pop up again in the Balkans. An angry Russia is attempting to use its energy wealth to move once again into Europe. And the West had better look out.
Kosovo Serb Leaders Call for Return of Russian Peacekeepers
Serb leaders in northern Kosovo are calling for the return of Russian peacekeepers, following last week's declaration of independence by Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian majority.
The Serb National Council, a grouping of Serb leaders in the divided northern Kosovo city of Mitrovica issued the call Wednesday. Russia withdrew its troops from the NATO-led Kosovo peacekeeping force in 2003.
Kosovo's 120,000 ethnic Serbs - almost half of whom live near the Serbian border - have rejected the February 17 declaration, as have Russia and Serbia.
In a new sign of a deepening ethnic divide, dozens of Serb officers in the Kosovo police service failed to show up for work Wednesday in the Gnjilane region of eastern Kosovo. Reports from the region say the officers have decided to enforce policies in line with Belgrade's action plan for the territory.
Reuters news agency quotes an unnamed minister in Belgrade as saying the police boycott is part of Serbia's plan to isolate Kosovo and strengthen the Serbian government's grip on Serb areas of the territory.
Separately Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade reopened, nearly a week after demonstrators set fire to part of the facility to protest U.S. backing for Kosovo independence. Workers were still cleaning refuse at the facility, where the charred body of a protester was found after rioters stormed the building February 21.
Bosnian Serbs try to storm U.S. Consulate during Kosovo protest
The police fired tear gas at Bosnian Serb rioters Tuesday to prevent them from storming the U.S. Consulate during a rally to protest Kosovo's declaration of independence.
Hundreds of protesters split away from the almost 10,000 peaceful protesters in Banja Luka and headed toward the consulate, breaking shop windows and throwing stones at police officers who blocked the streets leading to the building with armored vehicles.
A rain of stones poured down on the police before they fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Several officers were seen limping.
The police were also seen detaining several demonstrators as they tried to flee to a nearby park.
The latest violence came as Kosovo told Serbia on Tuesday that it would not yield one inch of its territory.
Responding to a pledge by Belgrade to rule Serb-dominated parts of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, the ethnic Albanian prime minister of Kosovo, said, "I am constantly in contact with NATO to prevent anyone from touching even one inch of Kosovo's territory."
About 120,000 Serbs remain in Kosovo, just under half in the north in a slice of land that runs adjacent to Serbia and where Serbs seem intent on cutting remaining ties with Pristina.
The attempt on the consulate on Tuesday follows a violent protest Thursday in which hundreds of hooligans attacked the U.S. Embassy in central Belgrade, setting part of it on fire and smashing windows. One person died and hundreds were wounded and arrested.
The protest Tuesday began with participants gathering peacefully at the main square in central Banja Luka, carrying Serbian flags, pictures of President Vladimir Putin of Russia and banners reading "No America." At least one U.S. flag had a swastika drawn on it.
Some bystanders returning from the peaceful part of the protest Tuesday yelled "Shame on you!" at the rioters and one man, apparently a former Bosnian Serb soldier, shouted, "This is not what I fought for!"
The incident occurred despite repeated calls by organizers to hold a peaceful protest. The police secured diplomatic missions in the city ahead of the rally and warned that it would use all legal means to prevent violence.
Bosnia consists of two mini-states, one run by Bosnian Serbs, the other by Bosnians and Croats. The Bosnian Serb Parliament has condemned Kosovo's declaration of independence and said it would consider a referendum to secede from Bosnia if more countries considered Kosovo independent.
The United States and major European Union powers have recognized Kosovo, nine years after going to war to save its Albanian majority from ethnic cleansing by Serbian forces.
Russia is Serbia's main ally in rejecting Kosovo's secession, promising political and economic support.
A NATO peace force of 16,000 has stepped up security in the north of Kosovo, particularly Mitrovica, where Serbs and Albanians are divided by the Ibar River. The NATO force took control of two northern border crossings last week after they were burned down by Serbian mobs.
The EU, which is deploying a 2,000-strong police and justice mission to Kosovo, withdrew its small team from Mitrovica because of security concerns.
Ottawa warns of violence in Serbia in response to Kosovo declaration
Kosovo's declaration of independence has prompted the Foreign Affairs Department to issue a warning to Canadian travellers in the region.
Several demonstrations and political gatherings have been held in Serbia and Kosovo in response to the declaration on Feb. 17.
Rioting broke out Feb. 21 in Belgrade, where demonstrators stormed the U.S. Embassy and set part of it ablaze.
"Canadians are advised to exercise extreme caution" when travelling in Serbia and to "keep a low profile," the department said in an online advisory. They should also register with the Canadian Embassy in Belgrade.
"Demonstrations, public gatherings and roadblocks should be avoided at all times since they may lead to sudden violent clashes."
Russian, American Disagree on Kosovo's Independence
US-based Russia specialist Dimitri Simes told a Washington audience Tuesday that fundamental disagreement over Kosovo's independence from Serbia will drive Russia and the United States even further apart. But a U.S. diplomat says there were no other choices. VOA's Barry Wood has more.
Russian scholar Dimitri Simes seldom finds himself in agreement with decision makers in the Kremlin. But on Kosovo he is siding with Moscow. By actively promoting Kosovo's independence and sidestepping the United Nations, Simes says, Washington is violating international law.
"I think what we have done [in sponsoring and recognizing Kosovo's independence] was wrong and counterproductive," said Simes. "And it contradicts the Helsinki final act [1975] that we are using everyday to criticize Russia and others on human rights violations. But the Helsinki final act, of course, was not just about human rights but about territorial integrity of European states."
After NATO bombing forced Serbian forces out of Kosovo in 1999, U.N. Security Council resolution 12-44 gave the United Nations jurisdiction over the territory.
Simes, who heads the Nixon Center-a Washington-based non-governmental agency that examines global security issues, says the United States has acted arbitrarily in choosing to set aside a U.N. resolution.
"Without changing this resolution, the dismembering of Serbia in no way complies with international law," he said.
Simes says Kosovo's secession from Serbia sets a precedent.
American triumphalism, he says, is wrongly leading Washington to promote NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia. And most worrisome of all, he says, Washington's disregard for Russia's opinions almost guarantees that Moscow will not align itself with the west in opposing Iran's nuclear program.
Frank Wisner, the US diplomat who worked nine months with envoys from Moscow and Brussels trying in vain to bring Kosovo's Albanians and Serbia together, said Kosovo's declaration of independence, on February 17 closes the matter. Wisner says he is mystified as to why Russia remains so opposed to Kosovo's independence. He rejects the suggestion that Kosovo sets a precedent.
"Kosovo resulted from a particularly ghastly event of ethnic cleansing, of repression and killing," said Wisner. "It resulted from a NATO intervention. The problem resulted from the agreement of the Security Council to bring resolution 1244."
Wisner also rejects the assertion that Washington and Brussels have violated international law. After nine years of waiting, he said, it was time to choose. The options were either returning Kosovo to Serbian rule, continuing the UN administration, or independence. The latter choice, he argues, was the only viable choice, one that not only closes the matter but promotes stability in the Balkans and in Europe.
Russian scholar Dimitri Simes seldom finds himself in agreement with decision makers in the Kremlin. But on Kosovo he is siding with Moscow. By actively promoting Kosovo's independence and sidestepping the United Nations, Simes says, Washington is violating international law.
"I think what we have done [in sponsoring and recognizing Kosovo's independence] was wrong and counterproductive," said Simes. "And it contradicts the Helsinki final act [1975] that we are using everyday to criticize Russia and others on human rights violations. But the Helsinki final act, of course, was not just about human rights but about territorial integrity of European states."
After NATO bombing forced Serbian forces out of Kosovo in 1999, U.N. Security Council resolution 12-44 gave the United Nations jurisdiction over the territory.
Simes, who heads the Nixon Center-a Washington-based non-governmental agency that examines global security issues, says the United States has acted arbitrarily in choosing to set aside a U.N. resolution.
"Without changing this resolution, the dismembering of Serbia in no way complies with international law," he said.
Simes says Kosovo's secession from Serbia sets a precedent.
American triumphalism, he says, is wrongly leading Washington to promote NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia. And most worrisome of all, he says, Washington's disregard for Russia's opinions almost guarantees that Moscow will not align itself with the west in opposing Iran's nuclear program.
Frank Wisner, the US diplomat who worked nine months with envoys from Moscow and Brussels trying in vain to bring Kosovo's Albanians and Serbia together, said Kosovo's declaration of independence, on February 17 closes the matter. Wisner says he is mystified as to why Russia remains so opposed to Kosovo's independence. He rejects the suggestion that Kosovo sets a precedent.
"Kosovo resulted from a particularly ghastly event of ethnic cleansing, of repression and killing," said Wisner. "It resulted from a NATO intervention. The problem resulted from the agreement of the Security Council to bring resolution 1244."
Wisner also rejects the assertion that Washington and Brussels have violated international law. After nine years of waiting, he said, it was time to choose. The options were either returning Kosovo to Serbian rule, continuing the UN administration, or independence. The latter choice, he argues, was the only viable choice, one that not only closes the matter but promotes stability in the Balkans and in Europe.
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