"Kosovo Serbs, Balkan Palestinians” 8 August 2007 | 12:58 | Source: B92, Beta NEW YORK -- The Wall Street Journal deemed Kosovo Serbs the Balkan version of Palestinians, and described them as "useful pawns".
An editorial published Wednesday said that, "if Western will flags, they could get their own Gaza strip.” “Caught between a pushy Kremlin, weak-kneed Europe and otherwise-occupied Washington, the Kosovars are being denied their happy ending. Unless the U.S. forcefully steps in to usher this province of two million to independence without any messy compromises, Southeast Europe could fall off track again, with nasty repercussions for everyone,” the articles says. “The U.S. and its allies have put billions in aid, political capital and boots on the ground to bring the former Yugoslav states to the doorstep of the West's elite clubs. Now comes the hitch." "When NATO agreed to put its status in limbo at the end of the 1999 war and sent in a U.N. government, no one could know that a future President Vladimir Putin would turn Kosovo into a proxy for his larger fight with the West, along with missile defense and Iran,” the Wall Street Journal writes. “This patience may not hold long. Fresh elections are due in November, coinciding with the end of the latest negotiation period. Pressure is on them to declare independence unilaterally." "Among the consequences could be that barely dormant ethnic nationalisms flare up. Kosovo's Serbs may try to cut away the northern sliver of the province, while Albanians feel emboldened to press anew for a 'Greater Albania' uniting in a single state a nation currently scattered among four. Violence is a good bet,” the article continues. “A different Europe might unite in response to the Kremlin's provocation. This one is splintering, as in the early 1990s also over the Balkans. Britain wants to push ahead on independence, while the Germans fear antagonizing Moscow. In between, the French claimed the diplomatic lead and pushed the three-month delay,” the newspaper states. At stake isn't Serbian national sovereignty but liberty for the Kosovo Albanians, it continues. "This province was part of Yugoslavia, a state that no longer exists; Serbia effectively lost its claim in the 1990s. The EU plays softly-softly with Belgrade, even recently restarting talks toward eventual membership. Instead, Belgrade should be given a stark choice: a future in league with Russia, or the EU and NATO. Kosovo is the test,” the Wall Street Journal writes. http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=08&dd=08&nav_category=93&nav_id=42896
