David Cameron, the British Conservative leader and probable next British Prime Minister, has been coming under harsh criticism for his decision to take the British Conservatives out of the conservative Euro-federalist bloc in the European Parliament, the European People’s Party, and to form a new anti-federalist group: the European Conservatives and Reformists, whose most prominent other members are Poland’s Law and Justice Party and the Czech Republic’s Civic Democratic Party. Critics have pointed out that the new group includes racists, homophobes, climate-change-deniers and politicians with far-right backgrounds. The European Conservatives and Reformists is chaired by Michal Kaminski, an admirer of Augusto Pinochet and opponent of Polish moves to apologise for the Polish massacre of Jews at Jedwabne during World War II. They have argued that Cameron is marginalising Britain within the EU.

So far as Cameron’s critics from the ranks of the Euro-federalist wing of the Conservative Party and of Britain’s Labour Party are concerned, it is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. The European People’s Party, supposedly the voice of moderate, centre-right conservatism, includes the ruling Italian party, Silvio Berlusconi’s ‘People of Freedom’. The latter, formally founded this spring, includes the heirs to Italy’s Fascist movement, including Gianfranco Fini’s National Alliance and Alessandra Mussolini’s Social Action. Poland’s homophobic Civic Platform is also a member of the European People’s Party. Stefan Niesiolowski, deupty speaker of the Polish Sejm and a member of Civic Platform, has described lesbians as ‘sickening‘ and as a ‘pathology‘. The European People’s Party includes also as observers or associates Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), which denies the Armenian Genocide and flirts with anti-Semitism, and Serbia’s Democratic Party of Serbia, whose leader Vojislav Kostunica presided over the burning down of the US embassy in Belgrade last year.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party’s members in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe sit in the Socialist Group, which includes Russia’s fascist Liberal Democratic Party, headed by the overtly racist and anti-Semitic Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who called publicly for the ‘preservation of the white race’ and warned that ‘it’s all over for you once you’re Americanised and Zionised’. The Socialist Group also includes ‘Just Russia’, which incorporates the racist, far-right Rodina party – several of whose members in the Russian Duma have called for all Jewish organisations in Russia to be closed. Another member of the Socialist Group is Turkey’s anti-Kurdish Republican People’s Party, which not only denies the Armenian Genocide but opposed even the Turkish government’s own measures to lift restrictions on the Kurdish language.

This sort of point-scoring is very easy. Geopolitical alliances are not equivalent to domestic political alliances, in which there can be no excuse for allying with bigots or fascists. The reality of geopolitics is that the majority of the world’s states have not achieved Western-democratic standards of democracy, tolerance and human rights. Consequently, even democratic states are frequently forced to have unsavoury allies. We had to ally with Stalin to defeat Hitler; with Saudi Arabia and Hafez al-Assad’s Syria to drive Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait in 1991; with the Northern Alliance to defeat the Taliban in 2001. NATO has long included the highly chauvinistic states of Turkey and Greece, which discriminate against their national minorities in a manner that is wholly at odds with the standards of democratic Europe. The UK shares membership of the EU with states, such as Italy and Poland, that tolerate fascism or bigotry to an extent that would be unacceptable to the UK’s politically conscious public. We share membership of the Council of Europe with states whose democratic credentials are still more flawed, such as Turkey and Russia. A British party sitting in the European Parliament or the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, that does not wish wholly to isolate itself, has little choice but to join blocs that include some highly unsavoury members.

Of course, one could take the principled position that international isolation would be preferable to any alliance that includes bigots or extremists. Yet this is the opposite of what Cameron’s critics, such as Denis MacShane and Nick Cohen are saying, which is that he should have kept the British Conservatives in the European People’s Party in order to preserve British influence through membership of the dominant mainstream centre-right bloc, as represented by Angela Merkel’s German Christian Democrats and Nicolas Sarkozy’s Union for a Popular Movement. 

I have great respect for both Denis MacShane and Nick Cohen, but I must beg to differ. The biggest internal threat to the EU is not the homophobia or anti-environmentalism of Polish and Czech rightists – disgusting though these are. A rather bigger threat comes from the Euro-federalist project that, with only slight oversimplification, can be defined as follows: forge a strategic partnership with Russia at the expense of Eastern Europe; undermine the Western alliance in the interests of ’independence’ from the US; keep Turkey out of the EU, at whatever cost to Western strategic interests; keep Ukraine and Georgia out of NATO, consigning them to the status of buffer zone vis-a-vis an appeased Russia; and build a narrow, inward-looking ’Fortress Europe’ that would certainly not pull its weight in the global struggle with the enemies of freedom and human rights. Such is the policy of the dominant Franco-German bloc in the EU, currently led by Merkel and Sarkozy.

Sarkozy hardly scores higher in terms of political correctness than does Kaminski. He is on record for opposing Turkey’s entry into the EU on the grounds that ‘Turkey is in Asia Minor’ and that ‘I won’t be able to explain to French school kids that Europe’s border neighbors are Iraq and Syria.’ (This from the head of a state that, via its overseas department of French Guiana, shares a land border with Brazil). Treating Turkey, which was part of the Ancient Greek world and the Roman Empire and whose largest city was for a time the Roman capital, as an Asian ‘other’ with no right to be part of Europe, scarcely marks Sarkozy out as a respectable centre-right statesman free of bigoted views. Nor does his vocal support for the Greek-nationalist campaign to force the Republic of Macedonia to change its name, motivated as this is by the racist belief that a Slavic-speaking people has no right to use the Macedonian name of the ‘Greek’ Alexander the Great, and that the Macedonian nation has no right even to exist.

Sarkozy and Merkel were responsible in April 2008 for the failure to grant a NATO Membership Action Plan to Georgia and Ukraine, effectively announcing to Moscow that the Western alliance was not standing by these countries – a message that Vladimir Putin took to heart when he attacked Georgia soon after. Sarkozy and Merkel were then in the forefront of the appeasers who pushed to ensure that Moscow’s aggression would not be allowed to stand in the way of EU-Russian collaboration. At the height of Russia’s aggression against Georgia, while France held the EU Presidency, Sarkozy travelled to Moscow to reassure the Russians that ‘It’s perfectly normal that Russia would want to defend the interests both of Russians in Russia and Russophones outside Russia.’ Sarkozy’s negotiations, in Toby Vogel’s words, ‘yielded a badly drafted ceasefire agreement and provided space for numerous Russian violations that the EU was in no position to counter’. Merkel, meanwhile, is in coalition with the German Social Democratic Party – the champion of collaboration with Russia, whose former leader Gerhard Schroeder described Putin as an ‘impeccable democrat’.

The Franco-German policy of excluding Turkey permanently from the EU – an integral element in the Euro-federalist strategy – has borne bitter fruit. The once reformist government of the AKP in Turkey, persistently disappointed in its ambition to join the EU, is turning away from the West and toward an increasing alignment with Russia, Iran and other tyrannical states of the Islamic world. For the current leaderships of France and Germany, cementing strategically crucial Turkey’s membership of the Western alliance is simply less important than their goal of an introverted federalist Fortress Europe that they would dominate. Meanwhile, Poland, the Czech Republic and other NATO members from the former Communist bloc are increasingly apprehensive at the possibility of a Western rapprochement with Russia that would see their security interests sacrificed – as the recent open letter to the Obama Administration from a stellar panel of Eastern and Central European statesmen makes clear. We can be certain that it will not be Sarkozy and Merkel who will be reassuring our Eastern and Central European allies.

In sum, Sarkozy and Merkel are taking the EU down the wrong path – a path, moreover, with which British public opinion is deeply uncomfortable. The policy of Gordon Brown’s government so far has been to keep rank with the French and Germans. This policy has not achieved results.

It would be wrong to read too much into Cameron’s move, which is apparently the result principally of internal Conservative Party politics rather than geostrategic considerations. Despite promises to the contrary made at the time of the Georgian war last summer, the Conservatives are continuing to sit with Putin’s United Russia party in the European Democrat Group in the Council of Europe. But in principle, Cameron’s formation of the European Conservatives and Reformists shows a welcome readiness to shake up EU politics and power structures and break ranks with elements that are taking Europe down the wrong path. The European Parliament is not where power lies in the EU, but in principle, the new group – small as it currently is, and containing as it does some undeniably unsavoury elements – could grow to provide a powerful voice for Europeans, particularly East and Central Europeans, who are uncomfortable with the federalist project and with the Franco-German preponderance in the EU, and who staunchly support the US alliance. It is to be hoped that this new group will serve as a building block for a new, alternative European project in keeping with Cameron’s professed vision of ‘progressive conservatism’, and not as a haven for European reactionaries.

This article was published today on the website of the Henry Jackson Society.

Update: Stephen Pollard has written a convincing defence of Kaminski from the charge of anti-Semitism.

Hat tip: Dave Weeden, Aaronovitch Watch.

Hat tip:

Извор: Нова Српска Политичкла Мисао

Ко сме данас да нас погледа у очи

Маринко М. Вучинић

уторак, 30. јун 2009.

(на) иван

19 уторак, 30 јун 2009

Читајући чланак закључио сам да је Коштуница био нека врста цара, апсолутни господара Србије, са влашћу на којој би му завидели и Фараони, а о ситној диктаторској боранији да и не говорим. Још само један овакав текст и потуно ћy зборавити да је ДСС увек био у мањини у тој власти, да су га избацивали чим су могли и примали кад су морали, игнорисали и радили шта су хтели, и на крају понизили јавним надгласавањем …

da, on sme

29 среда, 01 јул 2009

1. Kad je Kostunica otisao sa vlasti, evro je bio 78 din. Danas je 94 din.
2. Kad je Kostunica otisao sa vlasti, moja plata je bila oko 600 evra. Danas je oko 450 evra.
3. Kad je Kostunica otisao sa vlasti, komunalije su mi bile 3700 din. Danas su 5000 hiljada.
4. Kad je Kostunica otisao sa vlasti, markica za prevoz je bila 1400 din. Danas je 2200 dinara.
5. Kad je Kostunica bio na vlasti, struju sam placao 900 din. Danas je 1300 din.
6. Kad je Kostunica bio na vlasti, nosio sam flase vina za useljenje u novokupljene stanove na kredit mojih prijatelja. Danas vise nema razloga za to.
7. Kad je Kostunica bio na vlasti, moji roditelji su kupili novo pokucstvo (frizider, sporet, tv, kompjuter). I dan danas ih zovu “novi frizider”, “novi sporet”…Danas, od penzije, to ne bi mogli.
8. Kad je Kostunica bio na vlasti, moji prijatelji su se zaposljavali po stranim firmama. Danas dobijaju otkaze ili strahuju za posao.
9. Kad je Kostunica bio na vlasti, drzao sam novac na stednji u banci. U novembru sam ga podigao.
10. Kad je Kostunica bio na vlasti jedne godine sam letovao u Grckoj, druge u Egiptu. Danas sedim u svom stanu, na godisnjem sam odmoru i pisem ovaj komentar.

Posle svega, svaki napad na Kostunicu smatam ili spinom ili cinizmom.

Љиљана

32 четвртак, 02 јул 2009

1. Kad je Kostunica otisao sa vlasti, evro je bio 78 din. Danas je 94 din.
2. Kad je Kostunica otisao sa vlasti, moja plata je bila oko 1000 evra. Danas je oko 600 evra.
3. Kad je Kostunica otisao sa vlasti, komunalije su mi bile 3700 din. Danas su 5000 hiljada.
4. Kad je Kostunica otisao sa vlasti, markica za prevoz je bila 1400 din. Danas je 2200 dinara.
5. Kad je Kostunica bio na vlasti, struju sam placao 900 din. Danas je 1300 din.
6. Kad je Kostunica bio na vlasti, nosila sam poklone za useljenje u novokupljene stanove, na kredit mojih prijatelja. Danas vise nema razloga za to.
7. Kad je Kostunica bio na vlasti, kupila sam nov sporet, tv i kompjuter, deca su se radovala, a ja se danas kajem, što ne platih keš, mogla sam a ne kreditom jer nikako da ga otplatim sa nepodnošqivo velikom kamatom banke.
8. Kad je Kostunica bio na vlasti, moji prijatelji su se zaposljavali po stranim firmama. Danas dobijaju otkaze ili strahuju za posao.
9. Kad je Kostunica bio na vlasti, drzala sam novac, namenjen školovanju dece, na stednji u banci. U novembru sam ga podigla i svi su izgledi da ću ga koristiti za tekuće potrebe, jer su primanja nedovoljna za porodicu.
10. Kad je Kostunica bio na vlasti jedne godine sam prvi put posle 24. god rada, letovala na Krfu. Danas se pitam smem li da rizikujem i odem u vikendicu, koja je na sreću od tate ostala, šta ću u septembru?

Ja znam da su ovo činjenice, a bilo bi dobro da svako odgovori na indentična pitanja, možda bi pomoglo.

Газда Груја

34 четвртак, 02 јул 2009

1. Кад је Коштуница био на власти, евро је био 78 дин. Данас је 94 дин.
2. Кад је Коштуница био на власти, због јасне подршке ДОМАЋЕМ приватном сектору и потреба посла, отворио сам себи фирму, лако и јефтино.
3. Кад је Коштуница био на власти, измиривао сам све комуналије без освртања на њихову цену. О лакоћи плаћања пореза, плата и доприноса за раднике, које сам имао тада, сада, данас – причам са оном истом сетом к`о сви “маторци” о Трсту и фармеркама.
4. Кад је Коштуница био на власти, гориво је било јефтиније од 0,80 евра, па сам купио и ауто да не идем превозом и возио сам оним Вељиним, новим путевима.
5. Кад је Коштуница био на власти, струју сам плаћао око 1000 динара, а данас је 2000.
6. Кад је Коштуница био на власти, сви моји пријатељи који већ имају породице су или купили стан на кредит или су се распитивали за стамбени кредит. Ови млађи су се одвојили од родитеља и кренули да живе… Данас се враћају код родитеља, масовно. Док не “запале преко”.
7. Кад је Коштуница био на власти, моји родитељи су отишли у заслужене пензије, накуповали “свашта нешто” од отпремнина и још им је остало вишка.
8. Кад је Коштуница био на власти, моји запослени пријатељи су купили аутомобиле и запослили се у страним фирмама, а многи су попут мене, отворили своје. Сад су или добили отказ или су одјавили своје фирме, или су у потпуном минусу. Опет причају о емиграцији.
9. Кад је Коштуница био на власти, сливао се новац ОД ПОСЛА, без муке на фирмин жиро-рачун. Није било “платићу ти – о светом газда груји”, него одмах сутра уплата. Понуда, предрачун, обављен посао, рачун, уплата. Цивилизовано. Легално. К`о човек.
10. Кад је Коштуница био на власти летовао сам у Грчкој. Водио и девојку,наравно – 15 дана. И данас ћу моћи, само краће и нећу ићи својим колима. Продао сам их.

11. Кад је Коштуница био на власти дилер није стајао на мом ћошку.

А онда је дошла слобода и “директне стране инвестиције”…
Није био идеалан, али је био бољи. Тачка.

Dimitrije_31. oktobar 2008.

Koštunica je ozbiljan političar. A koliko je on ozbiljan najviše se vidi po tome što protivnici ne mogu da mu nađu ni jednu pogrešno izgovorenu rečenicu. Da nije rekao ono „o devetoj rupi na svirali”, ne znam šta bi mu drugo mogli zameriti.

Koštunica je političar ispred svog vremena. Naš najveći političar svih vremena. Neki ga porede sa Pašićem a ja mislim da je jači od Pašića. Jedini problem Koštunice je u tome što ne može svoje znanje i vizuju da prenese narodu. Ovde je narod nepismen. Ovde se ljudi pale na gluposti, na obećanih 1000 evra, na povećanju penzije od 10%, na 200.000 novih radih mesta, na šengenske vize itd.

Ovde se ljudu ponašaju kao somovi…hvatanje na bućku, na galamu. Što veća laž i buka, to veći uspeh. Koštunica se time ne bavi. Princip laži ne može da funkcioniše u ozbiljnim društvima. Kada bi se sve svelo na to ko će veću laž da iznese, i ko će više da obeća, onda bi se to svelo na takmičenje prevaranata i lažova a ne takmičenje elite koja treba da vodi državu.

U našem narodu imamo 10% svesnih ljudi i to je to. Tih 10% glasa za Koštunicu a ostali glasaju za prodavce magle.

Извор: Serbiancafe.com (дискусије)

In the US, the 2008 election is just around the corner (bet you didn’t know that). And I got to thinking about a time eight years ago when Gore and Bush vied for the White House. No wait, never mind, no political analysis today.

Here is the breaking news from The Onion:

Serbia Deploys Peacekeeping Forces To U.S.

November 15, 2000 | Issue 36•41

BELGRADE–Serbian president Vojislav Kostunica deployed more than 30,000 peacekeeping troops to the U.S. Monday, pledging full support to the troubled North American nation as it struggles to establish democracy.

“We must do all we can to support free elections in America and allow democracy to gain a foothold there,” Kostunica said. “The U.S. is a major player in the Western Hemisphere and its continued stability is vital to Serbian interests in that region.”

Kostunica urged Al Gore, the U.S. opposition-party leader who is refusing to recognize the nation’s Nov. 7 election results, to “let the democratic process take its course.”

“Mr. Gore needs to acknowledge the will of the people and concede that he has lost this election,” Kostunica said. “Until America’s political figures learn to respect the institutions that have been put in place, the nation will never be a true democracy.”

Serbian forces have been stationed throughout the U.S., with an emphasis on certain trouble zones. Among them are Oregon, Florida, and eastern Tennessee, where Gore set up headquarters in Bush territory. An additional 10,000 troops are expected to arrive in the capital city of Washington, D.C. by Friday.

Though Kostunica has pledged to work with U.S. leaders, he did not rule out the possibility of economic sanctions if the crisis is not resolved soon.

“For democracy to take root and flourish, it must be planted in the rich soil of liberty. And the cornerstone of liberty is elections free of tampering or corruption,” Kostunica said. “Should America prove itself incapable of learning this lesson on its own, the international community may be forced to take stronger measures.”

by Andreas S. von Warburg

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the first international institution to formally recognize Kosovo’s independence and to consider the application for admission to membership from the newly-formed Balkan nation, according to a statement by the Washington-based multilateral institution.

“In the context of this application, it has been determined that Kosovo has seceded from Serbia as a new independent state and that Serbia is the continuing state,” states the press release. “Accordingly, Serbia continues its membership in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and retains all of its quota in the Fund, and all assets in, and liabilities to, the IMF.”

The IMF points out that the application for admission to membership received from Kosovo will be considered in due course.

“Under the IMF’s prescribed procedures for membership applications, the application must first be investigated by the IMF’s Executive Board,” explains the press release. “After its investigation, the Executive Board submits a report to the Board of Governors of the IMF with recommendations in the form of a Membership Resolution. These recommendations cover the amount of quota in the IMF, the form of payment of the subscription, and other customary terms and conditions of membership. After the Board of Governors has adopted the Membership Resolution, the applicant country may become a member once it has taken the legal steps required under its law to enable it to sign the IMF’s Articles of Agreement and to fulfill the obligations of IMF membership.”

IMF’s statement is an important break through for Kosovo, which broke away from Serbia in February and has been recognized by 42 nations, including the United States and 20 of the 27 members of the European Union.

Its independence is still opposed by Serbia, with strong Russian backing. Belgrade’s government has vowed to block it from joining international institutions such as the IMF and its sister organization, the World Bank.

After a gut wrenching blow suffered by the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo in February 2008, Serbia was left empty handed and outraged by international backing for Kosovo’s statehood.

This move seemed to be yet another piece taken from those who believe that reconstituting Greater Serbia should continue to be ultimate goal of the state. For the more moderate thinkers and mainstream Serbs, Kosovo’s Western-backed move toward independence has delivered a stinging sense of both anger and betrayal.

Some have focused their anger on Western powers and large backers for Kosovo statehood, including attacks on foreign embassies and threats against their interests in the region. For instance, the U.S. Embassy in the Serbia’s captial, Belgrade, was attacked by rioters and partially set ablaze after Kosovo’s announced independence. This did not draw immediate reaction from the government of Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, suggesting tacit support for the actions.

Others in Serbia have focused their anger on the failure of their government to prevent Kosovo from seceding from Serbia, thereby making Serbia’s pro-Western politicians increasingly unpopular.

Anti-EU Strains Swell

One result of the fallout from Kosovo independence is the increasingly unpopularity of the European Union in Serbia and divisions among its leaders over joining the 27-nation bloc.

This was on display Tuesday as Serbia’s pro-Western president, Boris Tadic, placed Serbia on a path toward membership by signing a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU. Such an agreement is a necessary precursor to any successful membership bid.

Makfax vesnik reports on these divisions…

Tuesday’s signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between Serbia and the European Union triggered diametrically opposite reactions among Serbian public.

In a number of towns across Serbia, President Boris Tadic’s supporters celebrated the signing of SAA, which puts Serbia on the track to EU membership.

The outgoing Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, on the other hand, threatened that after elections, the new government and the new parliament will annul the SAA.

EU Agreement Stirs Feelings of Division and Betrayal

The BBC notes that “Belgrade’s pre-membership deal with the EU is revealed by Serbia’s press as deeply divisive both for its political establishment and its people.”

Most dailies focus on the divisions between pro-Western President Boris Tadic and his Prime Minister, Vojislav Kostunica, who has promised to have parliament annul the agreement at the first opportunity.

“Agreement with EU signed, Serbia divided,” says the top headline in the pro-government daily Politika.

“The signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU has caused divided reactions among the parties,” the paper says, adding that that the deal looks set to make parliamentary elections in May “even more tense”.

The respected evening tabloid Vecernje Novosti agrees, predicting that both the pro-Western and nationalist camps will try to make political capital out of the deal.

While division is one aspect of the reaction from the Serbs over the SAA signing, betrayal is another.

The BBC goes on to list some other newspapers highlighting “the anger of nationalist Serbs, who were infuriated by most EU member states’ recognition of Kosovo’s declaration of independence.”

“Serbian pigs celebrate: They have given Kosovo away,” the top-selling populist tabloid Kurir sneers in its front-page headline, acidly contrasting the EU members’ stance on Kosovo with EU regulations requiring the humane treatment of pigs and cows – including the “2001 Pig Welfare Directive”.

“Betrayal of Serbia” is the even more strident headline in the nationalist tabloid Pravda, while a commentator laments what he says is Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica’s failure to oppose the pro-European course of President Tadic.

“In addition to goodwill, one needs to have strength, courage and readiness to solve problems. Had Kostunica had that, Serbia would not have been in the dark today, without hope,” the commentator laments.

EU is an Increasingly Hard Sell in Serbia

Certainly, EU membership is a formidible goal for any European nation seeking integration with its neighbors. The financial gains and immediate seat at the table of Europe’s decision-makers is a guaranteed boost for any country formerly under the flag of communist domination and now struggling to survive both as a democracy and a market economy.

For Serbia, a nation that has been plagued by war, divisive and deadly nationalism, and ruthless political leaders like Slobodan Milosevic, an opportunity to gain a foothold in the European community via the EU is an especially important step in its post-war development and move toward the West.

The problem is that the betrayal and anger left over from Kosovo and after a decade of many ‘promises made and promises broken’ by the West, the Serbian public is not rushing with grand excitement to join the EU, let alone signalling readiness to make the necessary sacrifices to fulfill the EU’s grueling membership criteria.

Agreement Signed Despite Failure to Turn Over War Criminals…

Tuesday’s signing of the SAA, has also reignited concerns that Serbia is getting a nod on EU membership progress, despite its failure to meet international demands that it hand over Serbia’s indicted war criminals to The Hague. This includes ex-Bosnian Serb leaders Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, accused of involvement in the murder of 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995.

One leader, Chairman of the Bosnian tripartite Presidency Haris Silajdžić, exclaimed his anger and frustration with the EU, while accusing Serbia of getting special treatment.

Belgrade news outlet B92 reports…

Silajdžić said that “she (Serbia) is refusing to arrest those indicted for genocide in Bosnia-Hercegovina.”

By signing this agreement, the EU has once more ignored the verdict of the International Court of Justice, “which Serbia is flagrantly violating by refusing to bring to justice the people responsible for the massacre of more than 8000 civilians,” reads a statement from Silajdžić’s cabinet.

“Although the EU’s practice is to strictly insist on the fulfillment of given conditions before intensifying relations with potential members, this last act proves that Serbia enjoys privileges like no other state,” he fumed.

He said that “some countries are lagging behind in the European integration process because of far less important conditions than the arrest of individuals responsible for the only genocide in Europe since the Second World War.”

Mr. Silajdžić fails to point out, however, that the SAA will not be implemented if these war criminals are not handed over. Germany’s Der Speigel reported, “Belgium and the Netherlands initially blocked the deal because of this lagging noncompliance (of handing over these war criminals). However, this week they softened their stance, settling for a compromise resolution that would make Serbia’s cooperation with the tribunal a necessary requirement for further steps towards EU membership.”

Serbia’s Domestic Politics Wrapped Around EU Agreement

In the Balkans, politics are very complicated indeed. Of course, some view the urgency for Serbia to secure an SAA with the EU a necessary political chip for pro-Western reformers heading into a parliamentary election on May 11th against a much-strengthened nationalist opposition.

EUBusiness has more on how signing the SAA will impact domestic politics in Serbia and the looming parliamentary elections…

Analysts say the signing of the SAA will influence the outcome of the snap parliamentary elections on May 11, effectively by shaping it as a referendum on Serbia’s European integration.

Pro-Western President Boris Tadic says Serbia has no alternative but to join the EU, while nationalists like outgoing Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica have sought to paint him as a traitor for doing deals with a group of nations that has backed Kosovo separatists.

“The signing of the SAA should clarify” the situation for voters confused by Serbia’s relations with the EU after Kosovo’s independence, said Svetlana Logar of political research institute Strategic Marketing.

“After this act, the EU certainly won’t send a message that Serbia has recognised the independence of Kosovo, which up until now has been the premise of some parties.

“The biggest confusion was caused by the status quo, and in this way a clarification of the situation is useful” to the pro-Western forces in the elections, Logar added.

Clarifying Serbia’s EU status post-Kosovo independence is just one of the many factors driving Tuesday’s agreement. Political forces on both sides of the country’s scheduled elections have seized the SAA as a chance to draw distinct differences between each other.

From the LA Times…

“Many enemies of the European future of Serbia have been frightening the citizens of Serbia that in the EU our identity will be endangered,” he said, referring to the ultranationalist political parties at home. He spoke in Serbian, and the remarks and signing ceremony were broadcast live on major Serbian television stations.

But Tadic’s rivals immediately seized on the accord as an election issue, portraying it as a sellout because, they maintain, Europe is trying to buy Belgrade’s acquiescence to Kosovo’s independence.

Vojislav Kostunica, the caretaker prime minister of Serbia, said Tadic was in effect accepting the independence of Kosovo, a “shameful and illegal” act. He said the next government would cancel the pact.

“We will never allow to anybody to sign [away] the independence of Kosovo on behalf of Serbia, and that is why today’s Tadic signature is worth absolutely nothing,” Kostunica said.

His party likened the signing of the pact to “the seal of Judas,” and others said they would move to have the president impeached once a new parliament is seated after the May 11 vote.

Tadic and his supporters argue that Serbia needs closer relations with the West to end its long, crippling isolation after atrocities committed by Serb forces in the Balkan wars made the nation a pariah.

“From today on, the path toward Serbia’s full EU integration is irreversible,” said Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, a Tadic ally.

By Andreas von Warburg

Serbia is planning to ask the International Court of Justice of the United Nations to assess the legality of Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence, according to Novosti, Russian news and information agency, quoting Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic.

Belgrade’s government is expecting the Court, the main UN judicial body, to rule the move illegal, and not in accordance with international law.

Novosti quoted Jeremic as saying that would that be the case, Serbia will gain the support of most members of the United Nations General Assembly, which will deter any further recognition of its breakaway province.

As of today, Kosovo’s independence has been backed by 36 countries, including the United States and most members of the European Union. Russia has consistently backed Belgrade’s position that Kosovo will always remain a part of Serbia.

More articles:
- Serbia asks U.N. for partitioning of Kosovo
- Kosovo searches the world for friends to back independence
- The future of Serbia and Kosovo in the E.U.
- Kosovo: world first reactions to declaration of independence

Source: The International Herald Tribune | by Dan Bilefsky

Serbia proposed dividing newly independent Kosovo along ethnic lines on Monday, a move that was immediately rebuffed by Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian leadership in Pristina.

The proposal, submitted to the United Nations, is the culmination of a campaign by Serbia to entrench its political and administrative control over the northern part of Kosovo, which has a Serbian majority. Analysts said it was a largely symbolic gesture as the ethnic Albanian leadership in Pristina has vowed never to accept partition, while European countries and the United States would reject it at the United Nations Security Council.

“This proposal is a provocation from Belgrade, and we reject it 100 percent,” Kosovo’s deputy prime minister, Hajredin Kuqi, said in a telephone interview from Pristina. “We want to help create cooperation between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo – not divisions.”

Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia on Feb. 17, has been under UN administration since 1999 after NATO intervened to halt the Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic’s repression of the ethnic Albanians, who make up 95 percent of Kosovo’s population.

Serbia regards Kosovo as its medieval heartland and rejects its independence, arguing that it is a breach of international law.

The proposal, which UN officials said they were reviewing, was submitted to coincide with the ninth anniversary of the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia. According to The Associated Press, the document acknowledges UN jurisdiction over Kosovo, but calls for the Serbian majority to take charge of the border customs, judiciary and police services in the north of Kosovo, which accounts for 15 percent of Kosovo’s overall territory.

Belgrade’s aim of asserting its control over the northern part of Kosovo has contributed to violent confrontations in recent weeks, including a clash on March 17 in which a UN police officer was killed and dozens of others were wounded when peacekeepers seized a courthouse in the northern city of Mitrovica that was being occupied by Serbian protesters.

Many Western analysts and leaders believe that Serbia lost its moral and legal right to govern Kosovo after Milosevic’s ethnic-cleansing campaign against the territory’s ethnic Albanians. But in Belgrade, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said the NATO bombing had been part of an attempt by the alliance to take control of Kosovo.

To read the article in its entirety, please click here.

Srbija je na pragu raspisivanja još jednih sudbinskih izbora. To će se, po milosti predsednika Tadića, a na predlog premijera Koštunice, dogoditi sutra. Danas je 9. mart, dan kada je jedna ubedljiva hrabra manjina počela borbu protiv kolektivnog ludila devedesetih. Nikada se nije činilo da će ta borba biti toliko duga. Ona se privremeno okončala 5. oktobra 2000, a već sledećeg dana započela je kontrarevolucija. Ona se najpre konsolidovala, potom je počela da grabi duše revolucionara. Danas je Srbija podeljena u dve i po kolone. Jednu kolonu čine protivnici Evropske unije i Zapada, koji su danas čvrst blok radikalsko-socijalističko-narodnjački. Drugu kolonu čine nevešti, nejasni, neambiciozni, neshvatljivo mlitavi na rečima za Evropsku uniju – na rečima za Kosovo u sastavu Srbije, i za jedno i za drugo, i protiv jednog i protiv drugog, nekonzistentni, neaktivni – jednom rečju DS sa pertnerima i svojih kapitalnih 2,3 miliona predsedničkig glasova, na centru političke scene. Ovu polukolonu čine jasni i praktični evropejci liberalno-demokratski, koji svoju ulogu crpe u izazivanju rada savesti druge kolone. Te tri kolone će se suočiti na izborima. Prva kolona izaći će u tri ključne liste – SRS, DSS-NS i SPS.  Osim da pričaju, za druge stvari su nesposobni. Ni kadrovski, ni ideološki. Ostaje žal što se u Srbiji nije formirala odgovorna i ozbiljna konzervativna opcija. U evropskom žargonu umerena desnica, pragmatična, koja neće kod svakog nacionalnog izazova skliznuti u primitivni nacionalizam. Glavni adut im je Kosovo i glasovi koje mogu dobiti izazivanjem emocija. Ovo im je poslednja jasna šansa da na emocije i svetsku nepravdu dobiju vlast. Siguran sam da će je obilato koristiti u cilju nametanja svoje jedine teme.

Druga kolona sa svojom polukolonom je doživela svoj procvat zbog nerezolutnosti i neodređenosti politike koju vode. Paradoksalno zvuči, ali Srbi su paradoksalan narod. Njima je kao kandidat protiv Miloševića bio prihvatljiv samo najtiši, i najnesposobniji, i najmlitaviji opozicionar. Danas je tu ulogu srednje-mlitavog puta Srbije preuzeo Boris Tadić. Političar bez stava, što nadoknađuje fizičkom lepotom, prosekom u svakom smislu što godi i prosečnom Srbinu sa 500 evra prosečnih mesečnih primanja, od nedavno smo upoznali Predsednika u elementu mahnitog urlanja na javnim skupovima. Što je bilo teško za gledanje, o slušanju ne bih ovom prilikom. DS-ovska politika je politika na kašičicu koja se u najkraćem sastoji u sledećem – dozirati Srbima količinu zapadnjaštva koju mogu svariti. I ne talasati.

Ova druga kolona i njena mlađa sestra polukolona ima dobre šanse da postane ponovo jedinstvena kolona DS-LDP-G17+–LSV-SPO-SDPO-Mađari-Bošnjaci-Romi-Albanci-SDU-DHSS, jednom rečju “Zajedno za Evropu”. Ali da li je to pametno? Jedan deo te koalicije ima sinergiju prilikom ujedinjavanja, a to je DS, SPO i G17+ uz možda manjine. Ali veliko je pitanje da li će ulazak LDP-a u predizbornu koaliciju doneti ili pak odneti glasove. Moje je mišljenje sklonije ovom drugom. Prosečnog glasača DS-a koja će biti stub te druge kolone iritira i sama pojava lidera polukolone, a kamoli njegovi stavovi po “ključnim državnim pitanjima”.

Stoga je bolje da se ova evropska opcija ide sa dve liste. Da LDP mobiliše svoju podršku, a DS okupi svoje i ide sa pričom i Evropa i Kosovo, uz blagi prioritet dat ovom prvom.

Uz dobru propagandu i referendumsku atmosferu, moguće je da ova proevropska kolona sa polukolonom ostvari većinu i formira novu DOS vladu. Ali svakako je da će obezbediti mirnu promenu iz faze fiktivnog suvereniteta Srbije nad Kosovom, u fazu nepostojećeg suvereniteta Srbije nad Kosovom.

Mirna promena bi trebalo da bude cilj svake politike.

Although both are resolutely against Kosovo’s independence, a political battle has heated up between Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and President Boris Tadic.  It boils down to this. Kostunica does not want Serbia to join or even negotiate with the European Union until it has Kosovo under its control.  Tadic, on the other hand, wants to push on with European Union membership, even without Kosovo. 

What started out as a seemingly innocuous disagreement has turned into a full-fledged battle between the country’s highest government officials.  Government officials on both sides of the fence have dug in their heels behind either Kostunica or Tadic.  The official term for this is “institutional deadlock.”  The question on everyone’s mind is whether the deadlock will be allowed to continue or whether something will give, either in the form of a referendum or an early election.

Serbia’s circumstances as of late suggest that something will have to give, as such dischord within the government cannot sustain itself.  In the last two months, the Dinar has lost five percent and the index of the most active stocks is down eight percent.  Serbia, just like Kosovo, needs some serious financial investment to invigorate its fragile markets.

Will the expediency of a sagging economy trump a hardline nationalistic stance?  Will Serbia’s quest to avoid both cultural and economic isolation trump Serbia’s claim to Kosovo at all costs?  Who is truly speaking for the Serbian people, Vojislav Kostunica or Boris Tadic?

We will soon find out.

Serbia’s ruling coalition is so divided on the European Union that citizens might be asked to decide in a referendum whether the country should seek or reject EU membership, Serbia’s parliament speaker said. The prime minister does not want an EU link up without breakaway Kosovo, while the president advocates pushing on with membership.

Oliver Dulic, Serbia’s third most senior official, told daily Danas the government of nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and pro-Western president Boris Tadic would find it “impossible to survive” in such a climate of discord.  Analysts say the disharmony is deterring much-needed investment and rattling the country’s fragile markets. The dinar has lost five percent in two months and the index of most active stocks was down eight percent in the same period.

Kostunica wants Serbia to reject ties with the EU until the bloc withdraws its backing for Kosovo, Serbia’s former province which seceded last month. Tadic says these issues are not related, and nothing should jeopardise Serbia’s development. Dulic, a member of Tadic’s party, said that unless Kostunica backs down, a snap election or a referendum would be the only ways to break a possible “institutional deadlock”.

“We should go for early elections as soon as possible and let citizens decide on the future,” he said in an interview published on Wednesday. “Whether at elections or at referendum, we have to ask citizens what they think.”

Kostunica recalled ambassadors from the United States and major EU nations that recognised Kosovo and wants to cool ties as long as the EU insists on sending a supervisory mission to guide the territory to full statehood. He backs a parliamentary resolution saying Serbia cannot join the bloc without Kosovo inside its borders. Dulic said the re-election of Tadic on Feb. 3 over a nationalist challenger showed Serbs see an EU future.

After months of sitting on the sidelines while Kostunica worked up nationalist fervour, top liberals such as Dulic have started going on the offensive, especially after violent attacks against foreign embassies and firms in Belgrade late last month. The potential for crisis has not been lost on the EU. Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn called on Serbia to reaffirm it still sought closer EU ties. The bloc is due to set out plans on abolishing visas, increasing scholarships and offering more development help for all Balkan states in a bid to maintain public support.

Analysts say Kostunica is single-minded in his campaign to save territory seen by Serbs as the national heartland, and is unlikely to be swayed by Western cajoling. “Since all parties are in favour of EU membership, there is no point in organising a referendum on whether we want to join the EU,” the spokesman of Kostunica’s party, Andreja Mladenovic, told Beta news agency on Wednesday.

“We should rather have a vote on the issue of whether Serbia should go into the EU with Kosovo or without.”

The quoted article was published by The Guardian and can be found here.

Let the game of ping pong officially begin. 

Yesterday, it was reported in most major news outlets that the Serbian government “reclaimed” a 50-kilometer stretch of rail line in northern Kosovo.  One of many lapdogs for Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, the always entertaining Branislav Ristivojevic (chairman of Serbia’s state-owned railroad company), proclaimed with great gusto and bravado that the Serbian government was “restoring control” over the stretch of rail line.

Apparently, Mr. Ristivojevic’s heroic pronouncement proved short-lived.  This morning, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo “reasserted control” of this 50-kilometer stretch of rail line in northern Kosovo.

Fortunately, all of this happened without either fanfare or incident.  Border Police at the train station in Leshak simply explained to an employee of Serbian Railways that the train would not be allowed to travel south.  The railway company said, “Okay,” and that was that.

Sorry guys.  No drama.  No shots fired.  Not even an argument.  Maybe the representative from Serbian Railways forgot what Mr. Ristivojevic had said less than 24 hours earlier. 

Of course, let’s see what tomorrow brings.

“The successful intervention of UNMIK Border Police today reverses the challenge to UNMIK’s authority that occurred yesterday when Serbian Railways illegally sent two of its trains south of Leshak/Lešak,” said Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Kosovo (SRSG) Joachim Rücker.

“Any movement of trains south of Leshak/Lešak by Serbian Railways is a clear challenge to UNMIK’s authority as well as a breach of the 2003 Memorandum of Understanding that Yugoslav Railways signed with UNMIK Railways and will not be tolerated,” the SRSG said

“UNMIK and its partners will continue to meet any challenges to law and order throughout Kosovo,” the SRSG said.

The above-quoted section was from an UNMIK press release.

Written by Tony Dolz

Every nation has the right to defend its borders and the obligation to protect the people that it serves. …. 

   …. Muslim Albanian insurgents funded by Bin Laden, the same Bin Laden that funded the 911 act of terrorism against America, defied the sovereignty and authority of Serbia over its Kosovo Province. When the Serbian government used its political and military power to defend its territory, it was attacked viciously by the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in violation of its own charter.

Years later, America was attacked by Muslim terrorists funded by Bin Laden and it used this incident to wage war against Afghanistan and Iraq.  Ironic?

At the same time U.S. federal elected representatives (The United States Congress) under the seductive and corrupting influence of corporate interests that employ cheap legal and illegal labor, has allowed 20 million aliens from Mexico to invade the United States (cheap labor).

Mexico has taught its school children for 160 years that the United States stole it southwestern states from Mexico and that Mexico will take them back one day.  This is a dangerous situation similar to the demographic takeover of Kosovo by Albania.  If Mexican insurgents attempt to take territory, will the United States use its political and military power to retain its states, like California?  In light of its 78 day merciless bombing of Serbia for protecting its territory – that would be ironic also.

Kosovo insurgents declared independence from Serbia, Sunday, February 18, 2008.  In Europe alone there are 23 separatist movements in the balance of renewed flare ups.  Many anxious Europeans can hear in their heads war plans being made in a plethora of ethnic minority languages and accents as real as if they were present in the room.

Who hasn’t been on vacation in Spain and not worried ever so slightly about becoming an accidental victim of Basque separatist terror? 

This past weekend the Turkish government clashed with Kurdish Separatist (Kurdish Worker’s Party) leaving 41 Kurds and 2 Turkish soldiers dead.  While also the same weekend Muslim Pattani United Liberation Separatists claim responsibility for bombs that left serveral people dead in Thailand.

The green flag to Kosovo and other separatists movements leave us who vacation with our families in many of these locations with terrorial claims, which also happen to be vacation paradises, with something to worry about.  

Separatist rebellions and civil wars are among the most bloody of conflicts.  One in ten living Americans died in the American Civil War!

What if a foreign power had interveened militarily to force President Lincoln to surrender the southern states during the Civil War?   How would today’s history books treat the meddling role of the imperial power that forced America to lose half of its territory to the Confederacy?

Will this recognition of separatist independence ignite a firestorm in Turkish Northern Cyprus?  Are we going to see Georgia go up in flame torn by separatist violence?  Will the Serbians living in Kosovo’s northern part now declare their independence and will America, which has disrespected Serbia’s territorial integrity, be forced to protect militarily the territorial integrity of the ludicrous independent Kosovo, a country that has never existed before last Sunday?

Are we prepared to risks peace and stability in Europe in order to reward ethnic Albanian Muslim terrorist’s for their takeover of Serbia’s ancestral homeland, the province of Kosovo?

The Muslim terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army was established in the mid 1990s. Its goal was to create a greater Muslim Albania out of Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. Kosovo has been under a United Nations protectorate since the end of the war that saw Kosovo taken from Serbia in 1999. Life in Kosovo has been a nightmare for Serbians, Jews and Roma (gypsies) ever since.

Muslim Albanians civilians have burned many Christian churches, forced Serbians to flee the province and terrorized those that remained. Law enforcement by the United Nation forces have been colossally ineffective at maintaining the peace and to complicate matters the Muslim terrorists who grappled the province from Serbia were given police roles by the UN protectorate. Under UN protection the insurgents also have control of the Parliament.  This is like assigning the mice to guard the cheese.

Serbia after the war was corrupted into a puppet government role by the United States, which promised economic aid and a path for elitists in Serbia to get rich on post war reconstruction in exchange for submission and tolerance of the UN protectorate of Kosovo.

After more than 8 years, the inevitable is happening. The Albanian terrorist who were exempted by the United States government of Bill Clinton from signing the UN agreement over the role of the UN in the province have unilaterally declared independence in violation of the United Nation resolution that created the protectorate.

The post-war government of Serbia which since its establishment has been happy to bank the money the United States government provides and stay neutral is now forced to take a nationalistic stand (at least temporarily) to assuage the anger of the Serbian people. As it stands today, the Serbian government has categorically declared that the Serbian people will never accept Kosovo’s independence at the hands of Albanian Muslim insurgents.

The United Nations has been put into a difficult situation. The Albania Muslims in Kosovo have declared their independence from both Serbia and the United Nations. Should the UN accept the declaration of independence or should it maintain its grip of authority?

Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, and Serbia have lodged a complaint claiming that only the United Nations has the authority to accept or reject Kosovo’s independence. It is also believed by international legal scholars that Serbia must have a say in the matter of independence if there is to be one.

Incidentally, the European Union is trying to elbow in. The EU got involved indirectly through NATOs participation during the 78 day bombing of Serbia.

The Kosovo Liberation Army had foot soldiers but not a navy or an air force. The United States and NATO filled in as the air force of the Muslim insurgents without going as far was flying the KLA flag on the airplane tails. The KLA was handed a victory by the U.S. and NATO’s air force.

NATO meddling was a violation of its charter. NATO is not authorized to be an offensive force. Its charter only allows NATO member participation when another NATO member comes under attack. The fighting took place exclusively within Serbian territory. The CIA secretly provided armament to the Muslim insurgents invalidating any semblance of neutrality for the United States in the post war accommodations. The fighting in Kosovo was a civil war fought within Serbian territory. No NATO country was threatened or invaded. NATOs bombing were the first time its military power was used offensively in its 50 year history.

The inappropriate use of force by NATO sets a tarnished precedent for its relevancy and credibility.   European Union meddling in Serbia’s internal affairs is controversial and its prodding is contradictory.  For example, the politically ambitious EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, became the first EU bureaucrat operative to land in Pristina to prop up the insurgent Muslim regime after its declaration of independence.

The first contradiction is that Kosovo is ruled under a United Nations protectorate not an EU protectorate.  While Solano paraded through Pristina, back in his homeland of Spain, the Spanish government trembled at the thought that the Kosovo insurgency may serve as justification of the Basque ETA separatist organization to continue or step up its struggle for independence from Spain. 

Is the EU prepared to deploy troops to Kosovo for the next 99 years?  That would be humorous.  The EU, some argue, does not have a mandate to act as a government.  Lately it failed to muster enough support for a “Constitution”, something that only a nation requires.  In any case, the EU has no armed forces, nor is it authorized to raise an army.  So if the EU has no role as a “government” and it has no armed forces, then what is Javier Solano doing in Kosovo negotiating with the Muslim separatist government?

The area is a tinderbox.  There are preparations for a massive protest in Belgrade in the coming days.

Many separatists’ movements around the world, Cyprus, for example, may be ironically waiting their turn for support from the NATO air force to press their separatist demands.

Let’s puts this mismanagement of international affairs by the United States’ Bill Clinton and George Bush in perspective. There are troubling parallels between Serbia’s civil war and the loss of Kosovo, which we witness today; and grave political mistakes now brewing in the United States.

Only a derelict and corrupt government would allow its nation to be invaded by over 20 million illegal aliens from a bordering country that has taught its school children for 160 years that it has legitimate territorial claims against it. Mexico has claimed for 160 years that the Southwestern states of the United States belong to Mexico and that one it day it will retake it.  20 million Mexican illegal aliens is not a static numbers, the numbers increase annually at the rate of 1 to 2 ½ million per year.  Mexico has already deployed in the United States an reconquest civilian force equivalent to 10% of its population. 

Making matters worse, an Illegal alien could trespass the United States’ border 8 months pregnant and the child, still in the womb, can be enrolled for tax paid pre-natal care. Upon being delivered at taxpayer expense in a county hospital it will be presented with a birth certificate that says – U.S. Citizen. The millions of children born to illegal aliens in the United States are said to be U.S. citizens and become charges of the state and national treasury.

One day, not in our lifetime but possibly in our children’s lifetime, terrorist separatists, the equal of Hashim Thaci in Kosovo, may emerge to lead millions with loyalty to Mexico towards civil war in America. It is not an unrealistic scenario.

Do the remaining Serbians in Kosovo have anything to fear from the insurgent Albanian Muslims declaration of independence today?

George Bush, from a press conference while on his tour of Africa, assured the Serbian people Sunday that they are safe living in Kosovo. But wait, before you die laughing: George Bush also assured them that the border between Serbia and Kosovo will be secured – guaranteed!

Tony Dolz website, www.dolz.com 

Article here: http://nationalwriterssyndicate.com/content/view/399/2/ Related article, http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/29255

Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, finally broke his silence with regard to the recent inflammatory comments by government officials in both Serbia and Russia about Kosovo’s independence.  Thaci vowed that Kosovo will guard every ”inch” of its territory — clearly referring to the heavily disputed area of North Mitrovica.  Obviously, though, that is easier said than done.  

Indeed, a showdown is in the making.  Will NATO and KFOR force the issue in North Mitrovica?  Or will the international community let sleeping dogs lie and let North Mitrovica essentially be a no-man’s zone?  As of now, the ball is in Serbia’s court.  If Serbia keeps the status quo, I think the answer will lie in the decision to make no decision about North Mitrovica.  However, if Serbia takes affirmative steps to establish itself in North Mitrovica, then a likely showdown between Serbia and the international community will come to fruition.  In the end, a test of diplomatic will and skill will be demonstrated . . . or not.

Serbia, for their part, promised to sue all countries that have recognized Kosovo’s independence.  Serbia’s Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica promised to turn the dispute into a legal “minefield” (interesting choice of words, Kostunica).   In light of their lawsuit, Serbia’s Branislav Ristivojevic warned the United States — and by extension all other countries — to annul their recognition of Kosovo’s independence.  I assume that if the United States and other countries annul their recognition of Kosovo’s independence, Serbia will withdraw the lawsuit. 

Good luck with that.  I’m on the edge of my seat. 

Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci vowed Tuesday to guard jealously every “inch” of its territory, as Serbia threatened to sue the United States for recognising a “phoney state.”  “We will never allow Kosovo’s territorial integrity, which has been internationally recognised, to be jeopardised,” Thaci told reporters on a visit to Racak, the scene of a massacre by Serb security forces in 1999 which prompted a NATO air war on Serbia in defence of the ethnic Albanian community.

The authorities were in “permanent touch” with the UN mission in the former Serbian province and also cooperating with NATO-led peacekeepers (KFOR) deployed in the territory, he said. With the rhetoric nearing fever pitch, an advisor to Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica threatened to turn the dispute into a legal minefield, the Beta news agency reported.” Since this outgoing US administration has recognized the phoney state of Kosovo, Serbia’s charges will follow,” Branislav Ristivojevic told Beta.

Ristivojevic said “it would be best for the (present US) administration to annul the decision to recognise the phoney state, or for the new administration to do it immediately” after America’s November presidential elections. “If the US does not annul this decision, than we will file suits against America before all international courts,” Ristivojevic told Beta.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 Kosovo Serbs rallied on Tuesday in a 10th consecutive day of protests in the ethnically-divided northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica. Hundreds of Serbs also clashed with police outside the US consulate in their Bosnian stronghold of Banja Luka. Six people including four policemen were injured with a teenager suffering serious head injuries, a hospital official said. Police detained 20 of the demonstrators including 15 minors, spokeswoman Bojana Gasovic said.

After a five-hour National Security Council meeting, Serbian officials insisted “all those taking part in (all) violence must be identified with necessary justice measures taken.” However, Tanjug news agency said the meeting “praised” the police and “the way they conducted their activities during all protests in Serbia.”

Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic will come face to face for the first time with Kosovo representation in round-table talks on Wednesday and Thursday in Bulgaria.  Despite important energy deals with Russia, economic insecurity is beginning to bite, going by Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic comments Tuesday.

“At the moment, foreign investors do not consider Serbia as a heaven for financial investment,” Dinkic told reporters.

Quoted article can be found here.