From: Miroslav Antic <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: U.S. foreign policy contributing to instability in Balkans HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- Monday, November 26, 2001 Back <http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2001/11/26/fOpinion.html#131.raw> The Halifax Herald Limited _____ U.S. foreign policy contributing to instability in Balkans By Scott Taylor ON TARGET Trebosh, Macedonia - AFTER SEPT. 11, the international media focus remains firmly fixed on two major theatres: the war in Afghanistan and the American home front. Almost completely forgotten is the violent turmoil and political upheaval that remain a constant concern in the Balkans. Over the past few weeks a number of dramatic events have taken place in Yugoslavia, highlighting a continued instability within both Serbia and Kosovo. In addition, despite the presence of NATO troops and international monitors, the tiny Republic of Macedonia continues to hover on the brink of an all-out civil war. While it certainly cannot be cited as the root cause of the present ethnic strife, America's altered foreign policy in response to the terrorist attacks has undoubtedly heightened tensions here and further destabilized the region. With President George W. Bush anxious to keep Arab allies onside with his coalition against terrorism, it has become a U.S. State Department imperative not to appear anti-Muslim. To this end, many U.S. politicians have been trumpeting their past efforts to militarily aid the Bosnian Muslims and Albanians in the Balkans. The Hague tribunal, in response to this U.S. political pressure, has accordingly stepped up its efforts to bring in Serbian commanders accused of alleged war crimes against Bosnian Muslims. In Belgrade, Serbian President Zoran Djindic (the man who turned over Slobodan Milosevic to The Hague) has been anxious to co-operate with the West in this regard. For Djindic, such appeasement is viewed as an economic necessity for the recovery of his war-ravaged republic. However, not all Serbs share Djindic's vision. In early November, when the "red-beret" police unit was tricked into turning over two suspects to The Hague, this elite force took to the streets in protest. Squads of armed, masked policemen used their armoured vehicles to block major highways throughout Serbia as they demanded the resignation of the minister of the interior. While a bloody confrontation was narrowly avoided through peaceful negotiations, the red berets remain a defiant and formidable nationalist threat to Djindic's already unpopular coalition government. The Nov. 17 elections in Kosovo were relatively uneventful, but extremely significant. As expected, the overwhelming Albanian majority dominated the voting, and Ibrahim Rugova, the moderate leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo, won a clear-cut victory over his more extremist rivals. With a large-scale participation of Kosovo Serbs (40,000 still reside in NATO-protected enclaves, while 160,000 refugees are now living in Serbia), the UN authorities could consider the election results a best-case scenario. In a separate deal signed in Belgrade earlier this month, the UN decreed that no matter what the outcome, there could be "no immediate" move to declare Kosovo independent. In the meantime, the UN will continue to administer this region as a protectorate and Kosovo will technically remain a part of Yugoslavia. What remains to be seen is how patient the Albanian Kosovars will be in waiting to be granted their independence. The UN had promised to create a utopian multi-ethnic Kosovo, but all of those officials directly involved realize that this is an unachievable pipe dream. The former Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) remains an extremely powerful and belligerent force in the region, and it is exercising an increasing independence from NATO control. Nowhere is this more evident than in the embattled valleys of northern Macedonia. It was here last March that the Albanian UCK from Kosovo began launching their first attacks against Macedonian security forces. In short order, the veteran UCK had mobilized support from the Albanian minority and had successfully gained control of over 30 per cent of Macedonia. Following the signing of a mid-August peace agreement, a NATO force, including 200 Canadians, was deployed to disarm the UCK. In exchange for the UCK's demobilization, the Macedonian parliament was to make amendments to their constitution thus granting Albanians increased civil rights. On Sept. 26, Operation Essential Harvest was proclaimed a success by NATO after having collected nearly 4,000 weapons in just over 30 days. However, the NATO soldiers involved in the weapon collection did not believe they had collected anything but "old garbage" and "castoffs." Ali Ahmeti, the political leader of the UCK in Macedonia, proclaimed his forces to be disbanded on Sept. 27, but he ominously warned that any future armed clashes would be the responsibility of the Albanian National Army. Since that time, there have been a number of violent skirmishes between Macedonian police and Albanian guerrillas. The most recent battle erupted on Nov. 13, just outside the village of Trebosh, which is located near the heavily contested city of Tetovo. Coincidental with their parliament approving the constitutional amendments, Macedonian police units seized seven former UCK commanders at a checkpoint; they also began to secure a suspected mass grave. It is believed that up to six missing Macedonian civilians may have been buried at this Trebosh site following UCK offensives in July. In response to the police "provocation," armed Albanians immediately began seizing hostages. Up to 100 people were taken from local villages, some even off the main streets of Tetovo. Although NATO officials were able to secure the safe release of the hostages, guerrillas ambushed a police patrol, killing three and wounding an additional three. Inside Trebosh, the Albanians have now erected a barricade and fortified their perimeter in anticipation of a counterstrike. Just 400 metres down the road Macedonian police established a strong cordon and are proceeding with the exhumations. In her visit to Skopje last week, The Hague tribunal's chief prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, stated that she intended to investigate alleged war crimes committed by both parties in the Macedonian conflict. However, she also issued a curious directive that no media be allowed access to the mass grave site. Presumably, now is not the right time to publicize Balkan atrocities committed by Muslim extremists. The UCK guerrillas manning the barricade in Trebosh were only too happy to comply. http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2001/11/26/f131.raw.html _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
