Byzantine Blog

Without Law, There is Just One “Unique Case” After Another

Couple of days ago in her superb commentary titled "Independence in the Brave New World Order: NATO's Kosovo Colony", Diana Johnstone dismantled utterly ridiculous claims by the Western powers about the alleged uniqueness of southern Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija in two brief paragraphs:

“Russia has warned that Kosovo independence will set a dangerous precedent, encouraging other ethnic minorities to follow the example of the Albanians and demand secession and an independent State. The United States has dismissed such concerns by flatly asserting that Kosovo is "unique". Well yes, Kosovo is a unique case, and is the only one recognized by the United States until the next "unique case" comes along. When legal criteria have been thrown out, we just have one "unique case" after another.

“The "uniqueness" claimed by the United States is a propaganda construction. It is based on the supposed "uniqueness" of Milosevic's repression of the armed secessionist movement, which was not unique at all. It was standard operating procedure throughout history and the world over, in such circumstances. Deplorable, no doubt, but not unique. It was minor indeed compared to the similar but endless and far bloodier anti-insurgency operations in Colombia, Sri Lanka, and Chechnya, not to mention Northern Ireland, Thailand, the Philippines. And unlike the counter-insurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which kill incomparably more civilians, it was carried out by the legal, democratically elected government of the country, rather than by a foreign power.”

Precedent Created, Pridnestrovye Foreign Ministry

And, sure enough, on the very same day when Johnstone's article was published, February 18— just one day after the lawless unilateral declaration of independence by Pristina separatists—Foreign Ministry of yet unrecognized Pridnestrovye (or Transdnistra), which broke away from Moldova, issued a statement demanding the earliest possible recondition of its own independence, pointing that declaration and recognition of Kosovo and Metohija had created a precedent for resolving all similar conflicts throughout the world.

"The declaration of the independence of Kosovo and the recognition that ensued has principled significance, as it creates a new model for resolving conflicts," the statement of Transdnistra Foreign Ministry reads, adding that “this model should be applied to all conflicts which have similar political, legal and economic bases.”

The statement stresses that “the recognition of Kosovo was a result of the expansionist policy, which the United States and NATO pursued contrary to the fundamental provisions of international law,” while “all the institutions of power in Pridnestrovye were created by a direct expression of people's will and not by the establishment of a totally foreign administration.”

The independence of Pridnestrovye was declared in referendums in 1990-1991, confirmed by the adoption of a constitution in 1995, and again at a referendum in 2006. After Albanian separatists in Serbia have been encouraged and allowed to unilaterally secede from Serbia, even though Kosovo and Metohija province represents cultural, historical and religious cradle of Serbian state, and especially after it was recognized as an independent state by the Western powers, citizens of Pridnestrovye see no valid reasons to be further denied international recognition.

Basque Separatists: Kosovo Example to Follow

On the same day, the Basque regional authorities in northern Spain issued a very similar statement from San Sebastian. Though Spain has expressly said it will not recognize southern Serbian province as an independent state, because the "unilateral act" by the Pristina Albanians "is in contravention to the international law", the Basque separatist government welcomed the declaration from Pristina as a "new example of the right of self-determination" and a "lesson to be learned from," and even criticized Spain "for not granting formal recognition."

"It's a lesson to be followed when it comes to peaceful and democratic solutions of the identity and allegiance problems", a regional government spokeswoman told reporters in San Sebastian.

"It shows that respect of the citizens' will is the key to solving difficult political problems," she added.

In other words, the Basque separatists have just been given a master key to perverting democracy and dropping it on its ear, by turning a national minority into a regional majority, so whichever building, village and town you can find with majority of "us" verses "them" — play the "local majority" card, go for it and tear the state up.

Corsican Separatists "Delighted" Over Kosovo Amputation

When the French fascist clown Nicolas Sarkozy visited a school in Perigueux, France, two days before the illegal declaration by the Albanian Pristina separatists, he pointed to the map of Europe on a classroom wall which showed Kosovo and Metohija province as part of Serbia, and told schoolchildren they'll have to change their map to show Serbian province as a separate state.

No doubt he was pleased to discover that, four days later, the Independent Corsican Nation (CNI) welcomed with "delight" unilateral declaration of independence by Pristina separatists. At least the evil little gnome Sarkozy has one thing in common with the nation that wants to dismember the state he's presiding over: they are equally delighted over dismemberment of Serbia, although for entirely different reasons.

According to the French media, the Independent Corsican Nation saluted amputated Kosovo province and the "brotherly Kosovo people", which kinda goes to show how much do they know when they think there is such a thing as "Kosovo nation". But the ignorance knows no bounds:

"Our movement is aware of the courageous struggle that you and the Kosovo people have fought to overthrow the sham sovereignty that Belgrade wanted to impose with the rump status of autonomy which did not offer a single basic guarantee to your people," CNI told the war-criminal-turned-prime-minister Hashim Thaci in a letter.

CNI said that they hope that a delegation of the provisional Kosovo government would shortly take part in the so-called International Days, an annual event held each August in Corsica, dedicated to the celebration of Corsican nationalism and rallying European separatists from the Basque country and Catalonia in Spain, the French Bretagne, Sardinia and Sicily, Tyrol and other separatist regions in Europe.

Hopefully, their unrecognized president Sarkozy will be equally gracious in helping schoolchildren in France get used to the new look of French map.

Serbs Consider Seeking Revision of Former Yugoslav Republics' Borders

Apart from the other European regions and territories clamoring for independence oftentimes for much longer than ethnic Albanians in Serbia, there are ever-louder requests by the Serbs for revision of borders in the former Yugoslavia. They are pointing to the fact that Republic of Serbian Krajina (in unilaterally seceded Croat republic) should have no lesser rights to exist and be recognized as a separate entity than Serbian Kosovo province, an integral part of Serbia for the past ten centuries.

Serbian Krajina leadership in Exile has confirmed that possible recognition of the amputated Kosovo province by the Croat state will immediately cause the issue of the Republic of Serbian Krajina to be internationalized and subject the present Croat borders to requests for revision.

Bosnian Serbs, who have raised the issue of Republic of Srpska secession from the artificially pasted Bosnian state many times before, have requested the referendum to be called in the Serbian Republic in Bosnia to give their vote for divorce from the imposed marriage with Muslim-Croat federation only a day after the severed Kosovo and Metohija has been recognized by the Western powers:

"The Serb Democratic Party is demanding Republika Srpska’s institutions provide (Bosnian Serbs) the same rights being given to Kosovo Albanians," said the Republic's SDS party.

"We expect the (Bosnian Serb) government to meet previous promises and check the will of Republika Srpska citizens in a referendum," the SDS said in a statement sent to media on February 19, 2008.

“After Kosovo, It Would be Kashmir”

Number of separatist regions outside the Europe are equally thrilled with Kosovo amputation from Serbia and, contrary to laughable US and British claims, see absolutely nothing "unique" about the Serbian province.

The representatives of a long disputed separatist region of Kashmir in India have too rushed to draw parallels between their situation and that of Albanian minority in Serbia, pointing to Serbian Kosovo province as an example they should follow:

“It is a moment of delight for Muslims all over the world,” veteran Kashmir's secessionist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani told the media from New Delhi, adding that “the creation of a Muslim state within the European Union has strengthened the resolve of the people of Kashmir to achieve their right to self- determination.”

“The day is not far away,” Geelani said, “when the people of Kashmir will announce their Independence from imperial India.”

Kashmiri senior leader Hurriyat Conference (M) Shabir Shah said, “Independence of Kosovo should serve as an eye-opener to those who say that (Kashmir’s) Accession with India is final and rule out the creation of an independent Kashmir.”

“Such people and parties should stop serving the interests of their masters for petty interests and join hands with us towards the formation of an independent Kashmir as the day is not far away when the people of Kashmir will announce their independence as done by the people of Kosovo,” Shabir Shah said.

Islam's Main Achievement Since the Siege of Vienna in 1683

No one should be surprised to find that the Islamic world is generally as delighted the fake Muslim state on the territory of Serbia was recognized by the Western powers, as Bush, Brown and Sarkozy. The world was forewarned many times over of the dangers of allowing the creation of Muslim states in the heart of Europe, especially if such entities were a direct result of terrorism and jihad, such as Bosnia and Kosovo province in the Balkans.

Dr. Shaul Shay, Colonel in the Israeli Army and the author of the book "Islamic Terror in the Balkans", made it crystal-clear quite a while back that "In the eyes of the radical Islamic circles, the establishment of an independent Islamic territory including Bosnia, Kosovo and Albania along the Adriatic Coast, is one of the most prominent achievements of Islam since the siege of Vienna in 1683. Islamic penetration into Europe through the Balkans is one of the main achievements of Islam in the twentieth century."

The confirmation came less than a day after the unilateral declaration of independence by the Albanian Muslims in Pristina, when the Islamic Umma showed its unrestrained joy:

“With regard to the declaration of independence by Kosovo yesterday, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu made the following remark today (18 February 2008) in Dakar at the opening of the OIC Senior Officials Meeting preparatory to the forthcoming OIC Summit to be held there on 13-14 March 2008:

"…a very important event took place yesterday. Kosovo has finally declared its independence after a long and determined struggle by its people. As we rejoice this happy result, we declare our solidarity with and support to our brothers and sisters there. The Islamic Umma wishes them success in their new battle awaiting them which is the building of a strong and prosperous a state capable of satisfying of its people. There is no doubt that the independence of Kosovo will be an asset to the Muslim world and further enhance the joint Islamic action."

“If Kosovo Can Be Free, Why Not Palestine?”

And while the state of Israel allows itself to mull over and weigh and think about whether to join in with the world's modern-day fascist leaders and issue its own recognition to the shameless seizure of Serbia's most precious territory, even the more unpleasant parallels are being drawn and, however painful, expected to grow much louder the moment Israel would accept the monstrous Western creation in Serbia.

John Whitbeck's article titled "If Kosovo Can be Free, Why Not Palestine?", published on February 19 in the Arab News, has received significant attention in the Muslim world. Viewing unilaterally declared independence of the Albanian minority for severing part of Serbia's territory as destabilizing and worrisome, Whitebeck argues that this act of lawlessness might have "one potentially constructive consequence", that of "Palestinian independence".

“[...] The American and EU impatience to sever a portion of a UN member state (universally recognized, even by them, to constitute a portion of that state's sovereign territory), ostensibly because 90 percent of those living in that portion of the state's territory support separation, contrasts starkly with the unlimited patience of the US and the EU when it comes to ending the 40-year-long belligerent occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (no portion of which any country recognizes as Israel's sovereign territory and as to which Israel has only even asserted sovereignty over a tiny portion, occupied East Jerusalem). Virtually every legal resident of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip seeks freedom - and has for over 40 years. For doing so, they are punished, sanctioned, besieged, humiliated and, day after endless day, killed by those who claim to stand on the moral high ground.

“In American and EU eyes, a Kosovar declaration of independence from Serbian sovereignty should be recognized even if Serbia does not agree. However, their attitude was radically different when Palestine declared independence from Israeli occupation on Nov. 15, 1988. Then the US and the EU countries (which, in their own eyes, constitute the "international community", to the exclusion of most of mankind) were conspicuously absent when over 100 countries recognized the new State of Palestine, and their nonrecognition made this declaration of independence purely "symbolic" in their own eyes and, unfortunately, in most Palestinian and other eyes as well.

“[...] [T]he Kosovo precedent offers the Ramallah-based Palestinian leadership, accepted as such by the "international community" because it is perceived as serving Israeli and American interests, a golden opportunity to seize the initiative, to reset the agenda and to restore its tarnished reputation in the eyes of its own people. If this leadership truly believes, despite all evidence to the contrary, that a decent "two-state solution" is still possible, now is an ideal moment to reaffirm the legal existence (albeit under continuing belligerent occupation) of the State of Palestine, explicitly in the entire 22 percent of Mandatory Palestine which was not conquered and occupied by the State of Israel until 1967, and to call on all those countries which did not extend diplomatic recognition to the State of Palestine in 1988 - and particularly the US and the EU states - to do so now [...]”

While Serbia most certainly did not deserve to be treated like this by the United States, Great Britain, France and the rest of American-client states, there is no question whether those same powers and their puppets will deserve absolutely everything that befalls them after this act of truly unprecedented lawlessness and as a direct consequence of their own actions.

Cartoons by Petar Pismestrovic, Austria (Delusional Sarkozy) and Steve Bell, Guardian, UK (Steve Bell on Kosovo's Independence)