http://thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/1048122.html
Chronicle Herald (Canada)
April 7, 2008
Here’s hoping world comes to its senses on Kosovo
By SCOTT TAYLOR On Target
When travelling through Kosovo. it would be easy to
mistakenly believe it has just become the 51st U.S.
state rather than a self-proclaimed independent
country. On most homes, the American Stars and Stripes
are fluttering alongside the Albanian flag — even on
many public institutions.
Prior to Kosovo’s Feb. 17 unilateral declaration of
independence, the U.S. had designed a new
yellow-on-blue Kosovo flag. Thousands of these flags
were produced and distributed for free in the hope
that they would be a proud visual symbol of the new
and distinct state of Kosovo.
Unfortunately, for the planners in the U.S. State
Department, the Albanians living in Kosovo do not
regard themselves as a separate Kosovar nation.
Instead of flying the new flag, they continue to
display the black double headed eagle on a red
background — the official flag of the neighbouring
Republic of Albania.
They are unrepentant, proud Albanians, and they fly
the American flag in recognition of the fact that only
through a decade of U.S. military aid and political
pressure, have they taken control of a province that
is Serbian sovereign territory and proclaimed it as
their own.
In addition to the flags, the Albanians pay fawning
tribute to former U.S. president Bill Clinton in the
form of 20-metre-high posters of him hanging in
Pristina, the capital.
It was Clinton who pressured NATO into supporting the
separatist Albanian guerrilla force known as the
Kosovo Liberation Army in its struggle against Serbian
security forces in 1999.
Ironically, it was only the year before that the U.S.
State Department listed the KLA as a terrorist
organization because of its tactic of targeting
innocent Serb civilians in order to provoke
retaliation from Serbian troops.
However, once NATO air power entered the equation, the
tables were turned firmly in favour of the Albanians,
and they now have no qualms about publicly showing
their appreciation.
At the southern end of Pristina, a scale-model Statue
of Liberty sits atop the Victory Hotel, and Hillary
Clinton even has a street in the Kosovo capital named
in her honour. Strangely enough, the U.S. scheme to
create an independent Kosovo has not garnered much
support from Muslim countries. With the exception of
Turkey and Afghanistan, the Islamic republics have
refused to recognize Kosovo because they see it as an
American puppet state. Go figure.
Although the 1998 U.S. assessment of KLA fighters as
terrorists was an accurate one, that’s not how they
are depicted in Kosovo these days.
In the course of the 18-month-long insurgency and NATO
offensive, the KLA did not win a single standup
engagement with the Serbs. Their dubious martial
accomplishments include the widespread murder of
Serbian civilians and Albanian collaborators after
NATO entered the province and became responsible for
security.
Nevertheless, there are innumerable monuments all over
Kosovo to honour these "heroes" and "martyrs."
Given that this conflict in Kosovo was a bloody
inter-ethnic civil war, and the fact that the original
NATO mandate was to provide a safe environment for all
Kovoso minorities, many international observers
recognize that these monuments to KLA fighters only
serve to intimidate non-Albanians.
Kosovo was admittedly dependent on the U.S. for its
creation, remains dependent upon NATO troops for
security and protection and requires massive amounts
of foreign aid to survive, and the Albanian majority
openly rejoice in the fact they now live in greater
Albania.
One has to wonder just what the hell Prime Minister
Stephen Harper was thinking when he decided to include
Canada among the handful of countries that recognize
this "independent" Kosovo.
One can only hope that at the UN General Assembly
meeting in September, Kosovo’s unilateral declaration
of independence is declared illegal. Canada can then
use the opportunity to reverse Harper’s decision and
uphold the UN Charter.
( [EMAIL PROTECTED])
Serbian News Network - SNN
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http://www.antic.org/
