Typically loathsome Guardian editorial: in a strange twist of logic they suggest that it is the Albanians who are in danger and for some reason they think that their status as "Muslims" should elicit more concern from Europeans. This is a good example of how Bosnia and Kosovo are viewed as valuable examples of the West siding with Muslims against Christians to be used to counter Islamist rhetoric. Strange how the Christian persecution by Muslims in Muslim countries is brushed under the carpet. But the comments are mostly good and as the last one points out there are not that many... yet...!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2213225,00.html Snaking towards independence Leader Monday November 19, 2007 The Guardian Even if they wanted to - and unfortunately some do - European governments cannot look in the other direction over Kosovo any longer. Weekend elections in the predominantly ethnic Albanian former province of Serbia now point more clearly than ever towards an imminent declaration of independence. Such an outcome has been widely expected for many months. But it does not make the consequences any easier to manage. The prospects for Kosovo and the Balkans now look more dangerous and uncertain than they have done for a decade. Saturday's Kosovo polls were poorly supported, in part because of a total boycott by the small Serb minority but mainly because of bad weather and because so many Albanians themselves are disenchanted with the drifting economic and political situation since Nato drove the Serbian regular troops out in 1999. Nevertheless, two important things happened this weekend - and neither of them can be ignored. The first is that pro-independence parties were re-elected. This means a declaration of independence around December 10, the deadline for currently deadlocked talks with Serbia on Kosovo's future. The second is a shift in power within Kosovo from the old prewar Albanian leadership to the younger generation that came of age during the war against Serbia. Saturday's main winner, the Democratic party led by the former guerrilla leader Hashim Thaci - known by his soldiers as "the snake" - has long been the bridesmaid of Kosovan politics. This time, however, the party boosted its share of the poll at the expense of its main rival, the more moderate Democratic League, the party of the late Kosovan leader Ibrahim Rugova. The shift was not total, so the two parties are likely to form a coalition government in the coming days. Independence is the number-one goal on both parties' agendas - so the results boost that cause. But Mr Thaci's victory bears some comparison with the emergence of Gerry Adams and Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland at the expense of the more moderate SDLP. It will be seen in Belgrade as a sign that Kosovo and its backers cannot be trusted. The immediate goal is that an explosion can be averted by Serbia agreeing before the deadline to a version of the "supervised independence" set out in the UN mediator Martti Ahtisaari's plan. Yet the gap between Serbia, encouraged by Russia, and the Nato powers is vast. In that case everything will depend on how Kosovan Serbs - and crucially Serbia itself - respond to the inevitable declaration. If law and order break down, the humanitarian and military situation in Kosovo could deteriorate very quickly. Conflicts in neighbouring Bosnia and Macedonia may also be reignited, while even Serbia itself could become unstable. European governments will then face existential decisions. Do they intervene in their own regional backyard - possibly in a Balkan winter? Or do they stand aside and allow - or appear to allow - Kosovo's Muslims to be abandoned to their fate? There is a great deal at stake. It remains possible that a decisive diplomatic embrace of an independent Kosovo next month may dissuade the ethnic groups from starting to shoot it out and may also discourage Belgrade from ratcheting up the tension. The United States, Britain and France are all clearly set on this course. Germany is more hesitant. Yet there is significant international opposition, not just from Moscow. Spain as ever is nervous about encouraging separatists, while Greece fears the knock-on effects in Macedonia. Belgrade, moreover, cannot easily stand aside if crowds take to the streets demanding defence of their Serb brothers. Either way, the level of Nato's involvement is likely to rise, whether as a guarantor of an uneasy peace or more directly. And since the US is neither in a position nor a mood to sort this one out for us, the buck may stop with Europe. It will be no use hiding under the duvet over Kosovo when duty calls. Comments usini November 19, 2007 7:22 AM What appalls me is the fact that the US state department is clearly backing one solution. Given their incapacity to understand that encouraging the Kurds would offend the Turks, or that arresting Iranian trade officials would offend the Kurds etc, I have serious doubts about their professional competence. Presumably after the Twin Towers attack there was a similar clean out as the one that occurred after China went communist in 1949, and as we know that lack of professionalism was partly responsible for the US not understanding the dynamics of South East Asia, and thus getting involved in Vietnam. Offensive? Unsuitable? Email us peekaboo November 19, 2007 7:28 AM "Or do they stand aside and allow - or appear to allow - Kosovo's Muslims to be abandoned to their fate? There is a great deal at stake." "How can they be abandoned to their fate?" Such platitudes are laughable. And hypocritical. The 800,000 Rwandans were abandoned, as were the 1 million Iraqi Christians without a single line of editorial comment. Offensive? Unsuitable? Email us Knightly November 19, 2007 8:13 AM "ethnic Albanian former province of Serbia" What?? Did I miss something - Kosovo is still a province of Serbia and always was. It is the cradle of Serb Orthodox Christianity. It is not ethnically Albanian. This like saying ethnically English, - Albanian is a nationality. These people are ethnically Muslim, and until the ethnic cleansing drove the Serbs out there was no Muslim majority. '' the former guerrilla leader Hashim Thaci - known by his soldiers as "the snake" -' You mean off course the former terrorist, murderer and war criminal Hashim Thaci "Do they intervene in their own regional backyard - possibly in a Balkan winter? Or do they stand aside and allow - or appear to allow - Kosovo's Muslims to be abandoned to their fate? There is a great deal at stake." The desire to look like John Wayne riding to the rescue of poor Muslims is what caused this mess in the first place. The KLA were a bunch of terrorist just like ETA in the Basque region of Spain, I do not see NATO plotting an invasion of Spain to ensure the independence of that province. Europe should support the Serbs, not demonize and undermine them. They after all are the legitimate government of the province of Kosovo. Offensive? Unsuitable? Email us livingwill November 19, 2007 8:43 AM Yes its a tricky one for European governments, with no Bill Clinton around this time. I can't help feeling that the last NATO intervention gave encouragement to the idea of an independent Kosovo, and we are now seeing the consequences. Offensive? Unsuitable? Email us joseph1832 November 19, 2007 9:31 AM Admittedly Serbia had little choice in the deal it did with NATO. But any country that has a choice will be wise to ignore the promises of the West. We always intended to give Kosovo its independence, and it was fairly mendacious to have suggested that there would be any other outcome (except, maybe, integration with Albania.) Of course, being wildly inaccurate over Kosovo is a Western habit. The 100,000 dead failed to materialise. Also, I am not sure if the Serbian methods for putting down the KLA were as bad as those Britain and America have used in Afganistan and Iraq. But the language of anti-terrorism and human rights involves many irregular verbs: -I conduct a successful operation against militants. -You use grossly disproportionate force. -I inflict unfortunate collateral damage. -You massacre civilians. Offensive? Unsuitable? Email us nimn2003 November 19, 2007 9:47 AM There have been numerous blogs on the Kosovo situation this week. Regrettably they are all the same, in that the pro-Albanians choose their version of 'history' to defend their right to exist, often claiming unsupported, and already disputed 'incidents' as justification. On the other hand the pro-Serb lobby choose their version of 'history' to do the same thing. And of course, can also present horror stories of atrocities committed by Albanians on the minorities in Kosovo. The gulf between them is wide indeed. My own experience in working in every single country in the Balkans since 1998, is that the western media were extremely selective in how the conflicts were reported. Here I am being kind to the 'reporters', as the overwhelming stories were anti-Serbian and generally unsubstantiated. I went to Slovenia for the first time in 1998 with a very anti-Serbian attitude. My experiences there and in the other Balkan countries changed my opinion completely. The Serbian people have unjustifiably been labeled as the perpetrators of ALL the serious war crimes. That there are war crimes is IMHO undisputed, but the facts for me are that EVERY nation and ethnic group were equally culpable, and that EVERY combatant at some point was probably guilty of excessive behaviour, and in extreme case war crimes. However, the west appears to have decided that only one nation should be 'punished' - Serbia. Why is that? The situation in Kosovo was fermented by, among others, the USA, Germany, Slovenia, and the UK. Either overtly or covertly the terror organisation, the KLA, were transformed into freedom fighters' despite years of their own abuse of the ethnic minorities in the Serbian province of Kosovo i Metohija (to give it its proper title and classification). The wild exaggerations of the 'events' taking place there to justify the bombing campaign were repeated some years later with the lead up to Iraq. There was NO genocide (approx 8,000 bodies have been found in mass graves (I think that is the current figure), not only Albanian, but also a high number of Serbs and other ethnic groups, not inconsistent with the population demography). There was NO mass exodus of 1,000,000 Albanians that lead up to the war. In fact the exodus of some 800,000 OF ALL ETHNICITY only began AFTER the NATO bombing campaign. Of this number approximately 220,000 Serbs are STILL displaced. Who is the victim here? After WW2 the ethnic split was approximately 65% Albanian, 30% Serbian, 5% others. Today it is 95% Albanian. How come? Who has been ethnically 'cleansed' here? And who is going to be rewarded for this? These figures come from official reports and fro independent organisation. Despite a requirement to build 'an modern multi-ethnic country' - the aspiration of the EU, KiM is anything but. How many Serbs were supported to return to their homes this year? Less than 1,000! So much for the PISG (the provisional Albanian government) supporting ethnic diversity. It is now past the time when justice could have been done, as the International community has already abrogated its responsibilities. All that is left is to try and make the transition to some form of independence as bloodless as possible. I do not count on that from the current politicians either in Serbia, KiM, or the IC. War is coming. The only question is how big, and how fierce. I am a UK ex-pat living and working here. I have friends in both main communities, we don't want a war, but it seems the political thugs leading this process are more interested in their own corrupt practices than in their own people. If there is a God(s) I hope it's a benevolent one, we will need it. Offensive? Unsuitable? Email us camera November 19, 2007 10:48 AM nimn2003, your statistics after world war 2 were irrelevant even before the Serb exodus from Kosovo. Until Milosovic entered the scene it was not ethnic cleansing that altered the demographics but the fact that Serbs had less children than Albanians and a steady influx of Albanians fleeing the Hoxha regime in Albania. Also I wouldn't blame the EU for not wanting a multi-ethnic Kosovo - the EU technocrats were supportive of a multi-ethnic Kosovo and are now simply clueless. Solana had hoped that Montenegro would vote to not break away thus placing pressure on Albanians to give up on claims to independence. But once Montenegro broke off, the EU was left fumbling in the dark as regards its policy on the Balkans. Offensive? Unsuitable? Email us DesperateDan November 19, 2007 4:56 PM The Albanians in Kosovo are in no danger whatsoever. There are thousands of NATO troops who are supposedly there to keep the peace but did nothing in March 2004 when rioting Albanians killed a score of Serbs and burnt ancient churches and monasteries across the area. Indeed however angry (and justifiably so) Serbia and Serbs generally are that 15% of their land has been forcibly taken away from them, they are not suicidal enough to attack NATO which is the only way any significant number of Albanians could be killed. The province was never disarmed and the KLA just morphed into the Kosovo Protection Force. According to the official line only 5% of Kosovo are Serbs so how are they going to threaten the heavily armed 95% Albanians who are also protected by NATO! If it wasn't so obscene it would be a joke! No doubt many readers will already have an unswerving opinion one way or the other (it was ever thus in matters Balkan) but I would urge any with an open people to read the report from Minority Rights Group from July 2006 written by a former OSCE observer from 1998. It starts as follows: "Nowhere in Europe is there such segregation as Kosovo. Thousands of people are still displaced and in camps. Nowhere else are there so many 'ethnically pure' towns and villages scattered across such a small province. Nowhere is there such a level of fear for so many minorities that they will be harassed simply for who they are. And perhaps nowhere else in Europe is at such a high risk of ethnic cleansing occurring in the near future - or even a risk of genocide. "This is not a description of Kosovo in 1998 or in 2003. It is a description of Kosovo today. For the Serbs and 'other minorities' who suffer from expulsion from their homes, discrimination and restrictions on speaking their own language, the pattern of violence they have endured for so long may be about to be entrenched as law in the new Kosovo, as the future status talks continue behind closed doors in Vienna." http://www.minorityrights.org/download.php?id=158 Offensive? Unsuitable? Email us livingwill November 19, 2007 7:57 PM Only 8 comments posted , the CIFers seem a bit wary of this issue.
