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http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/032002/opi_8920317.html The Florida Times-Union Wednesday, March 20, 2002 -If he really wants to do a good deed in the Balkans, Solana should try to persuade his former cohorts at NATO to return Kosovo to Serbia. Kosovo is a Serb province, the cradle of Serb civilization and a "holy land" for Serbia's pre- dominant religion. NATO militarily annexed it to stop a civil war. But NATO and the United Nations haven't been able to restore order. Not only are ethnic Albanians killing Serbs on a regular basis, the Voice of America reports that criminal gangs have turned the province into "a center of drug smuggling, arms contraband and the trafficking of human beings." -International control of Kosovo has been a disaster. That's the issue that Solana should be addressing. YUGOSLAVIA: Saving the extinct The international media overstated reality when it reported European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana had prevented the disintegration of Yugoslavia. In reality, Yugoslavia dis- integrated long ago. Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Bosnia- Herzegovina seceded in the early 1990s, and NATO annexed a chunk of Serbia in 1999. That left only tiny Montenegro and a piece of Serbia. Solana did broker a deal to keep them together in a loose federation, under a new name. But, as a practical matter, they will be independent states with separate economies, currencies and laws. The central government will handle only defense and foreign policy. That assumes the new arrangement is approved by the parliaments of both republics, which is not a certainty. There almost certainly will be resistance in Montenegro, where sentiment runs overwhelmingly in favor of outright independence, and opposition also seems likely in Serbia because of the harsh terms of the agreement. Montenegro, population 650,000, is to have equal representation in the new unicameral national parliament with Serbia, which has 10 million people. Also, many of the government ministries will be moved from Belgrade to the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica. Even if the plan is approved, and the new alliance is formed this summer, it might not last long. Both entities would have a right to hold binding referendums on independence in three years. If he really wants to do a good deed in the Balkans, Solana should try to persuade his former cohorts at NATO to return Kosovo to Serbia. Kosovo is a Serb province, the cradle of Serb civilization and a "holy land" for Serbia's pre- dominant religion. NATO militarily annexed it to stop a civil war. But NATO and the United Nations haven't been able to restore order. Not only are ethnic Albanians killing Serbs on a regular basis, the Voice of America reports that criminal gangs have turned the province into "a center of drug smuggling, arms contraband and the trafficking of human beings." The VOA quotes one NATO official as saying it's difficult to restore order because "a crackdown on criminals might cause a backlash since several ethnic Albanian politicians are suspected of being linked to the gangs." Some of those gangsters and politicians also allegedly have links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network. Unemployment, meanwhile, is running at close to 50 percent -- another poor reflection on NATO-U.N. rule. International control of Kosovo has been a disaster. That's the issue that Solana should be addressing. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - live college hoops coverage http://sports.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
