Vichy Serbs Prevent Real Serbs From Entering Kosovo

By Vojin Joksimovich, Ph.D.
Modern Tokyo Times



Bare-handed Kosovo Serbs continue to fight the NATO/KFOR and the EU mission of law and order (EULEX) over their support for the Kosovo Albanian police and customs officers in the takeover of checkpoints in Jarinje and Brnjak on the administrative border between Serbia and Kosovo. The purpose is to forcefully incorporate northern Kosovo into the US/EU created separatist Republic of Kosovo, an amputated cradle of Serbian civilization. Northern Kosovo is the last part of Kosovo that the US/EU is trying to submit to the Kosovo Albanian “thugocracy.” Both KFOR and EULEX, supposedly “status neutral” peacekeepers, have been violating the UNSCR 1244. Former UN official and a retired US diplomat Gerard Galucci has written: “When the international peacekeepers act outside the international law, they become outlaws.”

In addition, the Kosovo Serbs have to fight their own Vichy Government in Belgrade. In my previous articles I have explained the term Vichy Serbia. It stands for the contemporary Serbian Government in Belgrade, which has become vassals or quislings supported by mentors in Washington and Brussels at the expense of Serbian national interests. They desperately want their capital to be Brussels rather than Belgrade. This Vichy government has now prevented 2000 real patriotic Serbs from entering Kosovo in their show of support for their compatriots on the barricades in Northern Kosovo.

KFOR and EULEX have decided not to remove the barricades until the Godfather, Hashim Thaci, top thug masquerading as the Kosovo Prime Minister (PM), returns from New York, where he is lobbying governments of remaining UN members that the US has not arm-twisted thus far to recognize Kosovo. Meanwhile, KFOR and the Kosovo Serbs have been waging the war of leaflets. Popularity of the Russian ambassador Konuzin among the Serbs, living in Serbia or in diaspora, Serbia has risen exponentially as illustrated with his visit to Topola. In order to prevent the bloodshed, the EU is reportedly contemplating to institute a Northern Kosovo protectorate.

Vichy Serbia Betrays Kosovo Serbs

Dr. Marko Jaksic, a Kosovo Serb political leader in former PM Kostunica’s Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), has revealed a plan negotiated by the Serbian interior minister and the vice VP Ivica Dacic (he calls him Tacic after Thaci) and EULEX. Dacic is the head of Milosevic’s Socialist Party, which is a part of the yellow ruling coalition with President Tadic’s Democratic Party (DS). The Dacic/EULEX plan was already implemented as the Serbian police have prevented some 2000 patriotic Serbs from arriving at the administrative border. In doing so, Dacic has protected the Albanian customs officers and enabled the Albanian flag to fly on the administrative border. Jaksic has also revealed that the Kosovo Serbs are being pressured by Belgrade to “relax” (remove) the barricades and thus expose themselves to a possible slaughter by the Muslim Albanians. He says that Tadic was ordered to do so by Brussels in order for Serbia to become an EU candidate in December.

Titoist Police Revamped

www.vidovdan.org, frequently hacked by the Albanians, published a blog written by a distinguished Serbian lady, Kosara Gavrilovic, titled (in translation) “Day when Serbs prevented Serbs from entering Kosovo and Metohija.” Ms. Gavrilovic, in her late eighties, left Baltimore in 2008 to join Bishop Artemije of Raska and Prizren (Kosovo) at the Gracanica monastery to become his interpreter. She is the daughter of Milan Gavrilovic, a Serbian minister, diplomat, writer and journalist in before WWII Yugoslavia. After WWII she lost everything in communist Yugoslavia and ended up in Washington DC where she taught Russian and was a State Department interpreter. The Serbian Orthodox Church yielded to the pressure from the Serbophobic international community and forcibly exiled Bishop Artemije from his eparchy.

On September the 17th, the Serbian police removed forcefully the passengers from five buses in Belgrade destined for Kosovo and even took away some of their cell phones. All public transport leading to Kosovo was suspended. Bishop Artemije’s car initiated his trip from Ljuljake, a village roughly half way between Belgrade and Kraljevo, but he was soon harassed and ordered back to Ljuljake by the Serbian police. Bishop wanted to deliver food to the Kosovo Serbs. Ms. Gavrilovic’s car was stopped once but allowed to continue because she had an American passport. The second time her car was ordered to return too.

Ms. Gavrilovic realized that now the Serbs in Serbia and the Serbs in Kosovo lead essentially the same kind of life. They live both under the NATO occupation. The Kosovo Serbs haven’t had the freedom of movement since 1999, but the Serbs in Serbia are now caught up with them. For this unification of Serbs president Tadic and his Vichy Serbs deserve the credit.

A friend of mine pointed out that there was a precedent when Milosevic in 1995 established a blockade on the Drina River between Serbia and Bosnia at the request of US/NATO. It is true that he did that. However, it was applied to weapons and ammunition, not to the freedom of movement. I can verify that because I crossed the border from Serbia into Bosnia without being harassed. I did have an American passport but my driver did not. Of course, US/NATO “reciprocated” for Milosevic’s services by bombing Serbia in 1999.

Godfather Thaci Indispensable

Nothing happens in Kosovo without Thaci’s approval. That applies to removal of the Serbian barricades as well. Thaci was in New York, together with the Kosovo president Arifete Jahjage to lobby world leaders during the annual UN General Assembly session. Incidentally, it was a smart move for the Kosovo Albanians to elect a woman as the president. Presumably, her hands do not have any blood stains. I have no doubt that the US or the British PR experts had a role in this. According to the Belgrade’s Beta agency she met president Obama, who was smart enough not to meet with the organ and drug-trafficking blood-stained chief. On the other hand his predecessor met with Thaci as well as with three US Secretaries of State: Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton. None of them had problems shaking his blood-stained hand and reportedly were even charmed by him.

Thaci gets even published by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Julia Gorin has written a brilliant blog titled Why Does The Wall Street Journal Publish Terrorists? “This year brought the Council of Europe’e report on the murder-for-organs scandal involving top echelons of the Kosovo Liberation Army, now wearing suits as Kosovo “legitimate” rulers. While top Albanian and Kosovo officials are being indicted for corruption, war crimes and deep mob ties, a Brooklyn man from Albania was arraigned last week on charges of providing material support to terrorists and planning to join a radical Islamic group in Pakistan—just months after an Albanian Kosovar shot five American servicemen in Frankfurt, killing two.(Which hearkens back not only to last year’s “North Carolina Eight” that included two Kosovo Albanians who targeted a Marine base, but also to the 2007 Ft.Dix plot in which three Albanian-Americans wanted to “kill as many American soldiers as possible.) She alludes that that WSJ might “finally feel a tinge of reservation if not shame about unequivocally following the Foggy Bottom (State Department) line on the Balkans.” In addition Ms. Gorin has made an effective use of the 2008 Italian documentary Infinite War and the February Foreign Policy article titled Thug Life. The Italian documentary shows a Serbian monk serving liturgy surrounded by NATO tanks and troops. The journalist Riccardo Iacona narrates: “In liberated Kosovo, this is the maximal possible freedom for Christians to profess their faith.”

While KFOR was waiting for Thaci to return they have been dropping leaflets telling the Serbs that barricades are illegal and therefore aren’t a part of peaceful demonstrations. NATO is telling the Serbs what falls into the category of “illegal.” This must be the ultimate in hypocrisy. After braking seven international laws, as discussed in my book Kosovo is Serbia and dropping 23,000 bombs and missiles in 36,000 sorties on Serbia in 1999, NATO is now lecturing the Serbs about what is illegal!! Shame on NATO! The Serbs on the barricades staged a home-made cabbage soup feast and served it to cabbage loving German soldiers. In addition, the Serbs organized a wedding on the barricades with the Serbian band playing folk music and participants dancing. Due to the barricades, KFOR can only use helicopters while the Serbs have to use goat trails to get their supplies from Serbia.

President Tadic was in New York too and met with Secretary Clinton allegedly telling her that Serbia will not recognize Kosovo. A friend in Belgrade interpreted that he actually said Kosovo is yours but do not bother us any longer. While his reading might be correct, I do not believe that amputation of Kosovo from Serbia would be the end game. During his speech he repeated that Serbia has two goals: to find a solution for the Kosovo issue acceptable to all parties involved and to join the EU. He emphasized that both issues are achievable and outlined key elements for protection of Kosovo Serbs.

Ambassador Konuzin Popularity

In my previous article I quoted the Russian ambassador Konuzin: “Are there no Serbs in this room?” As Jim Jatras wrote (savekosovo.org) Konuzin attempted to “shame the shameless” as none of them spoke in defense of their own country. The participants in a NGO, funded by the EU/US entities, global security conference were the “European Serbs”. On dozens of occasions I have been told that the Russians can’t be more Serbian than the Serbs when it comes to Kosovo. Well, ambassador Konuzin has demonstrated that he could be. His popularity in Serbia and even more so in the Serbian diaspora rose exponentially.

Ambassador Konuzin delivered a speech at Topola below the statue of Karadjordje, the leader of the first Serbian uprising against the Ottoman Empire. Topola was celebrating the two-hundred year anniversary as well as the Karadjordjevic dynasty family day. The citizens massively approached him and kissed his hand. His speech was interrupted with much applause. The Topola mayor, Dragan Jovanovic, sent the following message to the ambassador: “There are Serbs here, your Excellency. We salute our brothers on the barricades in Kosovo and hope that Serbia will help them.”

EU Ponders Solution

The Pristina paper Zeri reported: “International sources in Pristina said that under current conditions it is nearly impossible to find a quick solution. Therefore, to avoid an escalation of tension and conflict the issue of deploying of temporary international administration in the north is seriously discussed in international circles.” Needless to say, this in all likelihood would be another blow to Serbia’s control of the cradle of its civilization. Tanjug reported that the ongoing Pristina/Belgrade technical negotiations will be concluded by the year-end. Political negotiations would follow the Serbian parliamentary elections in April.

Vojin Joksimovich, Ph.D. is the author of three books and some 100 articles about the Balkans
The Revenge of the Prophet by Dr. Vojin Joksimovich is another classic book which gives great insight and knowledge about the Balkans, radical Islam, US foreign policy and other important areas. If you would like to buy the book then please email vjoksimovich215@gmail.com and forward your details.



Dr. Vojin Joksimovich wrote an in depth book called Kosovo is Serbia and please check this at http://www.gmbooks.com/product/Kosovo-GM.html – it is a must read if you want deep knowledge about this complex topic.



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‘’KOSOVA’’ or ‘’KOSOVO’’

‘’KOSOVA’’ or ‘’KOSOVO’’

J.P. Maher Ph. D. Professor Emeritus of Linguistics Northeastern Ilinois University Chicago
To the Editors of City.Net

‘’Kosovo’’ is a Serbian place name, more fully ‘’kosovo polje’’, meaning ‘field (or plain) of blackbirds’. ‘’Kosovo polje’’ lies just outside the city of Prishtina.

Ornithology lesson:
Among North Americans, Australians, and South Africans, only ornithologists can identify the species in question. Kosovo’s ‘’black bird’’ is no crow, nor raven, no starling nor grackle, but ‘’turdus merula’’, European cousin of the North American rusty-bellied thrush (‘’turdus migratorius’’), which Yanks call the ‘’robin’’.

In Britain and Ireland ‘’robin’’ is the name of another species, ‘’erithacus rubecula’’. (The ‘’four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie, of the English rhyme, were of the species’’merula’’, in Serbian called ‘’kos’’. From this term ‘’kosovo’’ is derived possessive adjective. Like America’s harbinger of spring, the black bird called ‘’kos’’ in Serbian language sings sweetly in the springtime and early summer.

For North Americans the feel of the Serbian place name ‘’Kosovo’’ can only be from a translation, Field of Robins’’.

Albanians have borrowed the word from the Serbs, whose once overwhelming majority was driven down, especially since the Congress of Berlin, by savage aggression from Albanians incited then and in WW I by Austria-Hungary and Germany, in World War II by Musolini’s puppet Albanians, and after WW II by the discriminatory ethnic cleansing of the Stalinist dictator Josip Broz.

Native Indian place names in America have no meaning in English:Eg. ‘’Michigan’’ means nothing in English. In Ojibwa ‘’Mishshikamaa’’ means ‘it is a big lake’.

Just so the place names of Ireland have transparent meaning in Gaelic but are meaningless tags in the colonialist English, eg. ‘’Dublin’’ is Gaelic ‘’dubh lin’’ ‘black pool’, and ‘’Kildare’’ is ‘’cildara’’ ‘church of the oak’.

Just so the name of the Serbian province of Kosovo are clear Serbian formations, but have no meaning in the Albanian language.

Proof of the Serbian origin of the name and the loanword status of the immigrant Albanian term is that the word ‘’Kosovo’’ has a clear etymology to anyone who knows a Slavic language, while Albanian ’’Kosova’’ is an opaque, meaningless place name in the Albanian language.
Kosovo is Serbian.
1997.


КОСОВО ИЛИ KOSOVA?

J.P. Maher, умировљени професор Лингвистике на Универзитету Илиноис, Чикаго

Косово је српски назив, потпуније, Косово поље, што значи поље, равница, пуно црних птица. Косово поље лежи непосредно уз град Приштину.

Орнитолошка лекција:
Међу Североамериканцима, Аустралијанцима, и Јужноафриканцима, само орнитолози могу да препознају врсту у питању из наслова. Црна птица косовска није врана, нити гавран, ни чавка, нити сврака, већ ``turdus merula``, европски рођак Североамеричке птичице сивкастог стомака (turdus migratorius), коју Јенкији зову `црвендаћ`.

У Британији и Ирској црвендаћ је назив за једну другу врсту, ’erithacus rubecula. (‘’ four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie``) -24 црне птичице испечене у пити“: из ове енглеске брзалице су ’’merula’ примерци на српском језику „кос“. По овоме се види да је термин „косово“ присвојни придев именице „кос“.

Као и амерички весник пролећа, ова црна прица која се зове кос, пева лепо у пролећно и летње доба. За Североамериканце осећај за српски назив „косово“ може бити по преводу фразе „Field of Robins’’ (поље косова).

Албанци су позајмили ову реч од Срба који су некад као већина протеривани са Косова, нарочито после Берлинског конгреса, бруталном навалом Албанаца подстрекиваним Аустроугарима и Немцима у Првом светском рату, у Другом светском рату Мусолинијевим слугама Албанцима, и после Другог светског рата дискриминаторским етничким чишћењем стаљинистичког диктатора Јосипа Броза.

Изворни индијански називи места у Америци немају значење на енглеском језику:
Нпр.‘’Michigan’’ ништа не значи на енглеском, али на Ojibwa језику ‘’Mishshikamaa“ значи „Велико језеро“.

Такође називи места у Ирској имају шире значенје на галском, али су без значења на колонијалистичком енглеском језику, нпр. ’Dublin’’ је Gaelic ‘’dubh lin’’ ‘Црно језеро’, и ‘’Kildare’’ је ‘’cildara’’, ‘Храстова црква’.

С тим у вези српски назив за покрајину Косово је чист српски израз и нема значење на албанском језику.

Доказ српског порекла овог назива као и позајмљен статус овог појма од Албанаца имиграната је тај да реч „Косово“ има јасну етимологију свакоме ко мало познаје словенске језике, док албанско „Kosova’’ је нејасан беззначењски термин на албанском језику.
Косово је српско!
1997.

10/10/2008 06:44 PM

INTERVIEW WITH NOAM CHOMSKY

'The United States Has Essentially a One-Party System'

The linguist and public intellectual Noam Chomsky has long been a critic of American consumerism and imperialism. SPIEGEL spoke to him about the current crisis of capitalism, Barack Obama's rhetoric and the compliance of the intellectual class.

SPIEGEL: Professor Chomsky, cathedrals of capitalism have collapsed, the conservative government is spending its final weeks in office with nationalization plans. How does that make you feel?

AP

A happy purchaser of a new iPhone. "Consumption distracts people. You cannot control your own population by force, but it can be distracted by consumption."

Chomsky: The times are too difficult and the crisis too severe to indulge in schadenfreude. Looking at it in perspective, the fact that there would be a financial crisis was perfectly predictable, its general nature, if not its magnitude. Markets are always inefficient.

SPIEGEL: What exactly did you anticipate?

Chomsky: In the financial industry, as in other industries, there are risks that are left out of the calculation. If you sell me a car, we have perhaps made a good bargain for ourselves. But there are effects of this transaction on others, which we do not take into account. There is more pollution, the price of gas goes up, there is more congestion. Those are the external costs of our transaction. In the case of financial institutions, they are huge.

SPIEGEL: But isn't it the task of a bank to take risks?

Chomsky: Yes, but if it is well managed, like Goldman Sachs, it will cover its own risks and absorb its own losses. But no financial institution can manage systemic risks. Risk is therefore underpriced, and there will be more risk taken than would be prudent for the economy. With government deregulation and the triumph of financial liberalization, the dangers of systemic risks, the possibility of a financial tsunami, sharply increased.

SPIEGEL: But is it correct to only put the blame on Wall Street? Doesn't Main Street, the American middle class, also live on borrowed money which may or may not be paid back?

Chomsky: The debt burden of private households is enormous. But I would not hold the individual responsible. This consumerism is based on the fact that we are a society dominated by business interests. There is massive propaganda for everyone to consume. Consumption is good for profits and consumption is good for the political establishment.

SPIEGEL: How does it benefit politicians when the populace drives a lot, eats a lot and goes shopping a lot?

Chomsky: Consumption distracts people. You cannot control your own population by force, but it can be distracted by consumption. The business press has been quite explicit about this goal.

SPIEGEL: A while ago you called America “the greatest country on earth.” How does that fit together with what you've been saying?

Chomsky: In many respects, the United States is a great country. Freedom of speech is protected more than in any other country. It is also a very free society. In America, the professor talks to the mechanic. They are in the same category.

SPIEGEL: After travelling through the United States 170 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville reported, "the people reign over the American political world as God rules over the universe." Was he a dreamer?

Chomsky: James Madison’s position at the Constitutional Convention was that state power should be used "to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority." That is why the Senate has only a hundred members who are mostly rich and were given a great deal of power. The House of Representatives, with several hundred members, is more democratic and was given much less power. Even liberals like Walter Lippmann, one of the leading intellectuals of the 20th century, was of the opinion that in a properly functioning democracy, the intelligent minority, who should rule, have to be protected from “the trampling and the roar of the bewildered herd.” Among the conservatives, Vice President Dick Cheney just recently illustrated his understanding of democracy. He was asked why he supports a continuation of the war in Iraq when the population is strongly opposed. His answer was: “So?”

SPIEGEL: “Change” is the slogan of this year’s presidential election. Do you see any chance for an immediate, tangible change in the United States? Or, to use use Obama’s battle cry: Are you "fired up”?

Chomsky: Not in the least. The European reaction to Obama is a European delusion.

SPIEGEL: But he does say things that Europe has long been waiting for. He talks about the trans-Atlantic partnership, the priority of diplomacy and the reconciling of American society.

Chomsky: That is all rhetoric. Who cares about that? This whole election campaign deals with soaring rhetoric, hope, change, all sorts of things, but not with issues.

SPIEGEL: Do you prefer the team on the other side: the 72 year old Vietnam veteran McCain and Sarah Palin, former Alaskan beauty queen?

Chomsky: This Sarah Palin phenomenon is very curious. I think somebody watching us from Mars, they would think the country has gone insane.

SPIEGEL: Arch conservatives and religious voters seem to be thrilled.

Chomsky: One must not forget that this country was founded by religious fanatics. Since Jimmy Carter, religious fundamentalists play a major role in elections. He was the first president who made a point of exhibiting himself as a born again Christian. That sparked a little light in the minds of political campaign managers: Pretend to be a religious fanatic and you can pick up a third of the vote right away. Nobody asked whether Lyndon Johnson went to church every day. Bill Clinton is probably about as religious as I am, meaning zero, but his managers made a point of making sure that every Sunday morning he was in the Baptist church singing hymns.

SPIEGEL: Is there nothing about McCain that appeals to you?

Chomsky: In one aspect he is more honest than his opponent. He explicitly states that this election is not about issues but about personalities. The Democrats are not quite as honest even though they see it the same way.

SPIEGEL: So for you, Republicans and Democrats represent just slight variations of the same political platform?

Chomsky: Of course there are differences, but they are not fundamental. Nobody should have any illusions. The United States has essentially a one-party system and the ruling party is the business party.

SPIEGEL: You exaggerate. In almost all vital questions -- from the taxation of the rich to nuclear energy -- there are different positions. At least on the issues of war and peace, the parties differ considerably. The Republicans want to fight in Iraq until victory, even if that takes a 100 years, according to McCain. The Democrats demand a withdrawal plan.

Chomsky: Let us look at the “differences” more closely, and we recognize how limited and cynical they are. The hawks say, if we continue we can win. The doves say, it is costing us too much. But try to find an American politician who says frankly that this aggression is a crime: the issue is not whether we win or not, whether it is expensive or not. Remember the Russian invasion of Afghanistan? Did we have a debate whether the Russians can win the war or whether it is too expensive? This may have been the debate at the Kremlin, or in Pravda. But this is the kind of debate you would expect in a totalitarian society. If General Petraeus could achieve in Iraq what Putin achieved in Chechnya, he would be crowned king. The key question here is whether we apply the same standards to ourselves that we apply to others.

SPIEGEL: Who prevents intellectuals from asking and critically answering these questions? You praised the freedom of speech in the United States.

Chomsky: The intellectual world is deeply conformist. Hans Morgenthau, who was a founder of realist international relations theory, once condemned what he called “the conformist subservience to power”on the part of the intellectuals. George Orwell wrote that nationalists, who are practically the whole intellectual class of a country, not only do not disapprove of the crimes of their own state, but have the remarkable capacity not even to see them. That is correct. We talk a lot about the crimes of others. When it comes to our own crimes, we are nationalists in the Orwellian sense.

SPIEGEL: Was there not, and is there not -- in the United States and worldwide -- loud protest against the Iraq war?

Chomsky: The protest against the war in Iraq is far higher than against the war in Vietnam. When there were 4,000 American deaths in Vietnam and 150,000 troops deployed, nobody cared. When Kennedy invaded Vietnam in 1962, there was just a yawn.

SPIEGEL: To conclude, perhaps you can offer a conciliatory word about the state of the nation?

Chomsky: The American society has become more civilized, largely as a result of the activism of the 1960s. Our society, and also Europe's, became freer, more open, more democratic, and for many quite scary. This generation was condemned for that. But it had an effect.

SPIEGEL: Professor Chomsky, we thank you for this interview.

Interview conducted by Gabor Steingart

URL:

• http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,583454,00.html

© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2008
All Rights Reserved
Reproduction only allowed with the permission of SPIEGELnet GmbH

S. Ossetia, Abkhazia and New Political Reality

September 01, 2008 3:00 AM
By Ivan Simic - Belgrade PalestineChronicle.com

On August 25, 2008 the Federal Assembly of Russia unanimously voted to urge President Medvedev to recognise Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. On the following day, President Medvedev agreed, and signed a decree in which Russia officially recognized the two entities.

Georgia has rejected Russia's move. Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia, Giga Bokeria said: "This is an unconcealed annexation of these territories, which are a part of Georgia."

On August 26, 2008 Russian President Medvedev has instructed the foreign ministry to open talks with Abkhazia and South Ossetia on establishing diplomatic relations with Russia.
President Medvedev issued a statement saying: "This was not an easy choice to make, but it is the sole chance of saving people's lives" and calling on other countries to follow suit. In a televised address, he echoed the language of genocide used by Western leaders to describe Serbian attacks on Kosovo Albanians in 1999. Medvedev described Georgia in much the same way as Western leaders had once described Serbia.

Later, on August 26, a spokesman for the Palestinian group Hamas welcomed the diplomatic recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. He said that there were similarities between the situations of the Abkhazian and South Ossetian people, and the Palestinian people. The spokesman said: "We, Palestinians, also struggle to attain recognition for our rights, the main of which is the right to be an independent state. We hope that the decision of Moscow becomes the beginning of recognition of peoples which combat for freedom and justice."

On August 28, Vasily Dolgolyov, the Belarusian Ambassador to Russia said that Belarus would in the next day or two recognise the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The Russia's move was also supported by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, with China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan issuing a joint statement vouching support for Russia's "active role" in resolving the conflict.

So far, no other recognized state has recognized them; however there have been intensive international disapprovals.

The unilateral recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia by Russia was met by much disapproval from some members of the international community and other members of the United Nations, the NATO, the OSCE, and the European Council.

The United States President George W. Bush condemned the actions taken by the Russian authorities and called on them to reconsider their irresponsible decision. President Bush also said, "the two areas are within the internationally recognized borders of Georgia, and they must remain so."

The UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband accused Russian President Dmitry Medvedev of "inflaming" the crisis. He also called on Russia to stand by International Law as the basis for resolving this crisis and stated that he will assemble the "widest possible coalition against Russian aggression."

Eastern European capitals lined up in support of Georgia, with the Czech Republic in a statement calling Russia's action an attack on the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia.

The European Union leaders have condemned Russia's decision to recognise the Georgian breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, while Georgian rebels compared the move to the creation of Republic of Kosovo earlier this year.

The EU has tried to avoid parallels between Georgia separatism and the newly-created state of Kosovo in the past, saying Kosovo is "unique" despite the fact that 20 out of 27 EU states recognised its unilateral declaration of independence in February without an EU mandate.
Authorities in Abkhazia were happy to make the link, saying: "We use the same arguments as those used by the West with regard to Kosovo: All other possible means were exhausted. There was no possible way to reconcile with Georgia. This is purely a continuation of the Kosovo precedent. Of course some Western leaders will say that there is no link between Kosovo and Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but what can they say without contradicting themselves about what they said regarding Kosovo?"

The Ambassador of Russia to the NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, replied to accusations that Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is "irreversible", but called upon the NATO countries to withdraw and review their recognitions of independent Kosovo and subsequently act on the premise that this is the new political reality. He assures, moreover that any NATO attack on Russia-supported regions would mean "a declaration of war on Russia".

In relation to the current event in Georgia, in Moldavia, Moldovan rebels called for independence of the breakaway territory of Transnistria.

Currently, 15 EU states are confronted with secessionism, including Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia, and the UK, among others.

Question is: who is next?

Ivan Simic lives in Belgrade, Serbia. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com

Kosovo independence splits EU on Geogia

September 2, 2008 SERBIANNA

Diplomatic sorces say that EU countries that have recognized Kosovo came under ferocious criticism by the EU states that have not recognized Kosovo during the summit of EU heads of state in Brussels.

EU countries that have not recognized Kosovo are Spain, Portugal, Slovakia, Romania, Greece and Cyprus.

Serbian state agency Tanjug, citing diplomatic sources, says that these countries blamed Kosovo recognition for crisis in Georgia and the Russian recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The source says that Fance, which chairs the EU presidency, wanted to avoid any linkage between Kosovo and Georgia but the states that oppose Kosovo recognition insisted that Kosovo recognition has destabilized the security of the international order.

Romanian President Trajan Basesku said in Brussels that Romania remains consistent with its position not to recognize the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo.

Basesku confirmed that Romania had been given a document by Russia where Moscow explains why it has recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

At the summitt, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that Kosovo could not be a precedent for South Ossetia and Abkhazia because its a unique case. Negotiations on Kosovo status have already been held with no results says Sarkozy.

Sarkozy said that Eu has to be consistent because just as Russia condemned recognition of Kosovo so must Europe condemn Russia.

However, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said that his country protects the territorial integrity of Georgia just as much as it protects the territorial integrity of Serbia over Kosovo.

Serbia: Kosovo Fuelled Georgia Conflict

21 August 2008 Belgrade--US and western support for Kosovo’s secession from Serbia has helped fuel tensions in Georgia's separatist province of South Ossetia, Belgrade’s Foreign Minister insists.

Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic was quoted by Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti on Thursday as saying the recognition of Kosovo's independence on February 17 by the United States and its NATO allies has "destabilised" other parts of the world."We have pointed out to the international community from the very start that the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo could present a dangerous precedent," Vuk Jeremic was quoted as saying. "Unfortunately, this has proven to be true much sooner than anyone expected." Jeremic was not immediately available for comment, but his spokeswoman confirmed the authenticity of the newspaper interview.Serbia lost control over Kosovo in 1999 after it launched a military campaign there against Kosovo's ethnic Albanian separatists.

Then-President Slobodan Milosevic was forced to pull out of Kosovo after Serbia was bombed by NATO for 78 days in retaliation for its brutality against civilians in Kosovo.Serbia's new, pro-Western leadership that came after Milosevic was ousted in 2000 has refrained from using force in Kosovo but has refused to give up its claim on the territory. Earlier this month, Jeremic sought support in the United Nations for Serbia's request that the Netherlands-based International Court of Justice rule on the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence. Read more: http://balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/12366/If approved at the upcoming UN General Assembly session, the Serbian request would present an important diplomatic victory for Belgrade, although the court's ruling would be nonbinding.

Serbia has refused to acknowledge the secession of predominantly ethnic Albanian region. Russia has supported Serbia while the United States and its EU allies have stood by Kosovo.In Georgia, fighting broke out on August 7 when Georgia moved to take control of its separatist South Ossetia region. This triggered a massive intervention by Russia, which recaptured South Ossetia and then moved deep into other parts of Georgia.Georgia’s move may have been prompted by the likelihood that South Ossetia and Abkhazia were preparing to follow Kosovo's example and declare independence, while Russia says it is unfair of the West to back one people’s independence and deny it to another.

Read more: http://balkaninsight.com/en/main/analysis/12332/Jeremic said Serbia condemns the use of force in Georgia, and urged countries to find a "peaceful way through the United Nations, with respect to international agreements and international law.

Copyright BalkanInsight.com 2008

What comes around, goes around

04 July 2008 Pristina

Kosovo’s Prime Minister said on Thursday that attempts by Kosovo Serbs to set up parallel institutions are "in vain" and "illegal."

“The creation of parallel structures and other non-institutional bodies is destined to be a failed, useless, illegitimate, unacceptable and illusionist policy,’’ Hashim Thaci said.

“We urge Belgrade to play a positive role for peace and stability in the region and refrain from any attempts to provoke negative actions in Kosovo,’’ he added.

Last weekend, Kosovo Serbs inaugurated their own parliament in the ethnically-divided town of Mitrovica with a declaration that Kosovo is a part of Serbia, defying criticism from the United Nations and ethnic Albanian leaders that the assembly is illegal.

The assembly is created based on the results of local elections held by Serbia in Kosovo, which Pristina and the UN also said were illegal. The assembly has no executive authority but reflects a deepening ethnic partition of Kosovo since its Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia in February, backed by the West but opposed by Belgrade and its ally Russia.

The United States condemned the creation of the assembly while Russia said it was a logical revolt against the declaration of independence.

Earlier this week, Kosovo’s President Fatmir Sejdiu condemned the formation of the assembly saying that local Serbs are being manipulated by Belgrade. For more, read:
http://balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/11419

Speaking on Thursday, Thaci also reacted against local governance in the Serb-dominated municipality of Strpce in southern Kosovo, where a new mayor took his post based on the results of the May 11 polls.

“I emphasise again, everything related to this issue is illegal, irresponsible and non-functional,’’ said Thaci.

BalkanInsight.com 2008