NATO Tourists
NATO Tourists Fear For Their Safety in Kosovo
On Tuesday, NATO (KFOR) commander, German General Roland Kather stationed in Serbian Kosovo province conveyed to the AP news agency his fears that “the further deterioration of the situation” is possible if the Kosovo Albanian separatists and Serbia representatives fail to reach agreement on the future of the province within the next 120 days.
This is not the first time NATO and UNMIK officials have been threatening with escalation of the violence in attempt to exert additional pressure on Serbs and the international community ahead of negotiations to quicken the process and secure the hasty severing of Kosovo province.
Serbian Labor and Social Policy Minister Rasim Ljajic reacted on Wednesday, describing constant warnings that violence could break out in Kosovo and Metohija if agreement on the status of the province is not reached within 120 days as an entirely wrong and counterproductive approach to the problem.
“This is a completely wrong approach and a very bad model for the resolution of a certain political problem, since it implies that only violence and extremism can bring about the realization of certain political goals,” Ljajic set out.
He stated that the 120-day period should not be a set timetable, because the problem of Kosovo-Metohija province is too complex to be prearranged in such a manner.
“This does not mean that Belgrade would obstruct the talks and that they should last forever. However, it is necessary to strive towards a sincere political compromise that will not be possible if violence and the threat of violence are used to reach a certain political outcome,” Ljajic stated.
NATO’s Duty to Ensure Peace and Security for All Kosovo-Metohija Residents
State Secretary for Kosovo-Metohija Dusan Prorokovic on Wednesday also commented on the statement of NATO general, reminding that NATO troops stationed in southern Serbian province are not exactly tourists, and it is their duty to ensure peace and security for everyone in the province, as well as the normal functioning of the system.
If KFOR has any knowledge about the planned violence against the Serbs in their enclaves, then it must act to prevent it, or at least share the information with UNMIK police so that it can investigate and take the necessary preemptive measures, stressed Prorokovic.
Kosovo Serbs: Bring Serbian Army and Police Back
Member of the Serbian special police unit.
Since NATO commander in Kosovo-Metohija started sounding the alarm yet again, making the remaining non-Serbs apprehensive and suspicious of NATO’s will to protect them from new waves of violence, today Serbian National Council requested that Serbian government demands the return of Serbian army and police to Kosovo-Metohija from the UN Security Council.
Serbian National Council President Milan Ivanovic said in a statement to Tanjug that the initiative, which was sent to the Ministry for Kosovo-Metohija, is the right way for ensuring protection for Kosovo Serbs and other non-Albanians, since the serious announcements have been made that violence will break out in the province.
“Being that the KFOR (NATO) commander has personally stated the violence may explode once again, the only guarantee of proper protection Serbs can count on is the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and the Serbian army and police,” Ivanovc told Tanjug.
Of course, we demand that Serbian security forces be deployed in those areas of Kosovo-Metohija which are inhabited by Serbs, so that this can in no way irritate the ethnic Albanians, he specified.
Serbian Forces Will Assist NATO in Protecting Non-Albanians
President of the Association of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo-Metohija Marko Jaksic has said that the return of Serbian security forces to the province would be aimed at assisting KFOR/NATO to ensure a safe environment for the Serbs and other non-Albanians remaining in the province.
The UN SC Resolution 1244, signed by all the relevant parties in 1999 has confirmed that “after the withdrawal [of Yugoslav Army from Kosovo province] an agreed number of Yugoslav and Serb military and police personnel will be permitted to return to Kosovo.”
This is one of many provisions of the United Nations Kosovo Resolution that has not been honored by the NATO and so-called international community to date.
Cartoon by Nikola Otas (Serbia)
Comments
Apart from the obvious psychological warfare NATO is actively practicing against the Serbs, is it really that intelligent to intone that NATO won't be able to handle any outbreak of violence? This is very odd as often as NATO representatives talk of the threat of violence, they equally announce that they are 'prepared for all possibilities'. Reading between the lines, if they are prepared and the violence comes, are they hinting that they choose not to act??? Not only is this patently ridiculous in that it would show NATO for the joke it is, it would be a PR disaster (even if the MSM is on side to blame the Serbs for kosovo albanians going on the rampage again), but then what is the point of being in NATO. Exactly who is it protecting against whom?
NATO died in 1989 when it lost its purpose. Ever since it has been struggling for it's 'mission'. How do we know this, because NATO itself announces that it has a 'new mission', a 'new objective'. This is the talk of an insecure organization that doesn't really know what it is for apart from making big bangs. Still, with the adoption of CEEC's, it's probably even more riddled with spies than it was in 1999. It wouldn't suprise me if a number of those who would pass on information are not pro the opposition, but they believe NATO has become an out of control monster and needs a balance (where have we heard that before? (clue, Klaus Fuchs)).
Unfortunately, the standard bearers of NATO all seem to be into voodoo. Better walking dead than properly dead...
Posted by: Aleks | August 16, 2007 11:43 AM
Oh, Aleks, you can make me laugh out loud! The voodoo thing just cracked me up :-)))
Posted by: Svetlana | August 16, 2007 07:56 PM
Meanwhile, all so-called "free main-stream media" in the so-called "free-western-world" are parroting the NATO dictate about their glorious intervention in Serbia. Perhaps it was a glorious intervention for NATO because them suffered no human losses during the aggression on Serbia, when the NATo (also termed as NAZO in Serbia) murdered many hundreds if not thousands of Serbs. NATO termed those murders of civilians in Serbia as "collateral damage" - demonstrating clearly how much they care about human life (not at all, eds). Fortunatelly for the Serbs, Russia increasingly seems to be taking an active interest into propaganda of so-called the free western press (mainstream).
Posted by: Tide | August 17, 2007 06:25 PM
Yes, it is quite bizarre!
I thought I'd seen and read everything during the 1990s showing what levels so called professional journalists fail to make 4 from 2+2, but I still haven't seen 'my' clear logic anywhere else (ok, I haven't read the world's press).
Did you see this piece in the FT last week? "Kosovo waiting for funds" by Neil MacDonald in Pristina, August 13 (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/7d377074-48ef-11dc-b326-0000779fd2ac.html). It is the most damning piece I've seen for such a long time, though if you don't read it carefully you would never guess.
They did quote an expert who said that the Serbs could just stop trading with the Albanians if there is violence which would be very bad for the albanians, a point I've been making for a very long time. It could be the start of some proper journalism...
My favorite quote is that of the owner of a Kosovo mobile phone company who says that "...competition over patronage among local politicians has made Kosovo a more difficult place to invest in recent months. “They’re driving away good FDI,” he says..."
Recent! LOL!
Patronage! People who read the FT know that means rampant corruption!
The real golden nugget (well, there's quite a few throughout the article) is how the article finishes by mentioning that investment firms are ignoring Kosovo because Serbia, with 8 million people, is a much more valuable market. Duh!
Looks like the Kosovo Albanians didn't have enough babies in the 1980s after all, ultimately damning their own future by making Kosovo even less sustainable than ever and condemning most of it to endless grinding poverty, shafted by their 'leaders' once again who ponce about in expensive cars and take foreign holidays...
Pity the poor albanians and how they had such a terrible time under Tito. If only they had been living together in one state, under the dynamic leadership of Enver Hoxa and that famous global powerhouse, Albania....
A funny old world indeed.
P.S. If you really want a good laugh, look up the 'Polonium files' on YouTube - it's a cynical/sarcastic/parody series of hilarious 'interviews' linked to Litvinenko affair. Enjoy!
Posted by: Aleks | August 20, 2007 05:41 PM