Kosovo and Roma

http://www.lopinion.fr/blog/secret-defense/leonarda-souvenirs-mitrovica-5246

Quoi qu'il en soit, les Roms ne sont pas vraiment les bienvenus à Mitrovica. En 1999, Roma Mahala, le quartier rom de cette ville industrielle peu attrayante, avait été entièrement pillé, brûlé et ses 8000 habitants chassés (photo ci-dessus) par la résistance albanaise antiserbe, l'UCK, qui s'installait au pouvoir dans le fourgon de l'Otan - de l'armée française en l'occurrence. Durant l'été 1999, des gendarmes français patrouillaient dans cette zone dévastée où le moindre montant de porte avait été détruit. Il n'y avait plus âme qui vive : les habitants avaient fui vers la Serbie, le Monténégro voisins, voire en Europe occidentale.

Les Roms du Kosovo subissaient alors la vengeance de la majorité albanaise, qui les accusait d'avoir collaboré avec le régime nationaliste serbe, honni et vaincu. Une accusation non dénuée de fondement, qui rappelait celle des Roumains dénonçant, quelques années plus tôt, la collaboration des Tziganes avec la Securitate (police politique) de Nicolas Ceauscescu. Dans les années 90, alors que les Kosovars d'origine albanaise boycottaient les institutions officielles, dans une forme de résistance passive, les Roms ont souvent pris leur place pour faire tourner l'économie ou l'administration. Beaucoup d'entre eux vivent encore aujourd'hui au sein des enclaves peuplées de Serbes, et, comme eux, s'aventurent rarement dans les villes ou quartiers albanophones."

The uttered word - tactlessness

This is from the man who stated: 

“western democracy is akin to a bus station but the final destination is the Islamic caliphate.”

1. He's at it again but this time at promoting (dreaming of?) a  neo-Ottoman revival and ... He's has upset the Greeks, (again).  Obliviously he does not believe in the laws of reciprocity, (as he so claims).  

"Erdogan said that Thrace is very important to Turkey.

During the municipal elections tour he said that “Thrace is also Thessaloniki, Komotini and Xanthi. It’s Kardzhali and Vardar. If we go a little further it’s Skopje and Pristina, it’s Sarajevo.”

 He continued: “Thrace is the living witness of our common history with Europe. It represents our past in the region. Today, Thrace is in the center of all our Balkan relations along with Adrianople, Tekirdağ, Kırklareli and of course Instanbul.” Source: Greek Reporter, December 2013

 Compare his statement with that of the Greek response by Konstantinos Koutras;

"Today, the only criteria is to abide by the international law and the rules of good neighborly relations based on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all the nations in the region."

There is a deafening silence in the EU fortress in Brussels and as well NATO.  Erdogan conveniently forgets that once upon a time, Greeks lived in most of modern-day Turkey for a very very long time, in fact up to the 1950's.

2. Previously he went to Kosovo a in late October and managed to upset the Serbs.In Prizren, he uttered the words “Turkey is Kosovo, and Kosovo is Turkey.” Kosovo is seen as being under a Neo-Ottoman tutelage, (not far from the truth given the mosque building & revision of school textbooks. Now, judging back his latest statement, he also include Pristina and also Sarajevo.   He also added that both nations shared the same history and civilization. “My family, I and ministers of my delegation feel like at home. Today I greet all Albanians, Bosnians, Turks and Gorans,” he said. (Look at the flags).  He continued his speech with the need for stability, peace and a mutual future.  There is a glaring disparity in the words spoken. Of course, the Serbian government picked up on this and condemned his words just as the Greeks have done lately.  He also flashed the sign of the rabia, the 4 fingered hand, the synonymous with Egypt's anticoup protests and the Muslim Brotherhood. Additionally, Erdogan was accompanied by the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who said “Erdoğan is our brother who will be with us for better and for worse” in his speech in Prizren.

3. Next clue with regards to the Neo-Ottoman dreamer is from the 6th of June in Istanbul:"I want you to shout so loudly that Sarajevo and Zenica can hear you,". Why would he say that in Istanbul to a Turkish crowd of supporters. It doesn't make sense nor is it a throw-away line, as he had previously mentioned Sarajevo in his election victory speech in 2011. On a visit to Bosnia, Erdogan spoke about the words uttered to him by Izetbegovic, shortly before he died, - "Bosnia is entrusted to you", you being Turkey. That did stir up a debate in the region. To add this is a comment made by the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who in Sarajevo in 2011:
“In our traditions, we celebrate Eid at home. This is what I am doing, I celebrate the Eid with my family in Sarajevo. Bosnia is our home and Bosnians are our family members.”
 Furthermore, Davutoğlu spoke about "that he wished to see regional cooperation that would enable people to travel from Bosnia to Sudan without a passport". 

By joining the dots, a picture is emerging, some kind of Turkish vision of regional unity and cooperation.  It seems to be based unique on a shared faith too, based on Islamic values. Maybe this vision of cooperation is something of a mirror reflection of what is happening within Turkey's borders.  There has a slow realisation by the Turkish authorities that are not just Turks, per se but there are many different entities and ethnics living in Turkey, all brought together during the Ottoman rule.  This has resulted in moves to recognise these different groups for who they are, drawing upon the common past of the Ottoman period. 

This vision, which is heavily depend on Turkey's historical legacy, is a recurring theme which is being played out across the former lands of the Empire, notably Syria and Egypt of late. It is viewed by some as "Turkish interference" in other countries' internal affairs. What remains to be seen is how serious is this message being considered? This vision is destined to fail if it the diversity of cultures, languages, different religions of both the Balkans and the Middle East is deliberately ignored. 


Footnote:

1.Ahmet Davutoğlu wrote a paper in 1997, " THE CLASH OF INTERESTS: AN EXPLANATION OF THE WORLD (DIS)ORDER", in which he described the following:

The collapse of the Soviet system has strengthened the strategic position of the Muslim world from the following perspectives:

 (iii) the geographical link of Muslim communities in the Balkans (Bosnia-Albania-Kosova-Macedonia-Western Thrace) has become a significant regional access for

Muslims to reach Europe;

2a.   1.6 million migrants coming to Turkey (mostly from the Balkans) between 1923 and the mid-1990s. Getting to Zero Report,The Transatlantic Academy.

2b. Having ruled for the better part of six centuries as the Ottoman empire, Turkey as a post-imperial successor state has now come to demand a certain level of respect in its international dealings. p23, Getting to Zero Report,The Transatlantic Academy.
 

References:

 http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=121375

http://www.tol.org/client/article/24082-kosovo-education-turkey-erdogan.html

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/11/turkey-egypt-relations.html#

http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Digital-Library/Articles/Special-Feature/Detail/?lng=en&id=155131&contextid774=155131&contextid775=155129&tabid=1453402631

http://sam.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/AhmetDavutoglu3.pdf

http://www.bosch-stiftung.de/content/language2/downloads/Report_TA_GettingtoZeroFINAL.pdf

Kosovo without Serbs is not Kosovo

ARTICLE – In Serbia, Maja Radojcic, 24/04/13

PRISTINA – Ambassador of Great Britain in Pristina Jan Cliff stated on Wednesday that Kosovo without Serbs is not Kosovo, which is why all the displaced need to return, and added that the Belgrade-Pristina agreement opens the door to return of a greater number of the displaced.

Kosovo Minister for Communities and Return Dalibor Jevtic and Cliff signed a memorandum between The Embassy of Great Britain, the Ministry for Communities and Return and DT company as the technical partner in implementation.

Jevtic and Cliff agreed that the agreement reached between Belgrade and Pristina is very important and opens the door to the return of a greater number of the displaced to Kosovo.

Kosovo needs more Serbs, Roma, Ashkalis, Bosniaks and Egyptians, the British diplomat said and added that Kosovo is not Kosovo without Serbs and they need to return to their Kosovo. The government of Great Britain will fiercely back the projects aimed at return, he said.

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MY COMMENTARY  - SHALLOW/HOLLOW WORDS 

“There cannot and must not be one justice for the winners and another for the losers.” Dick Marty

I read this article and initially I was pleased that someone in “authority” had actually talked about “displaced persons”.  I agree with the statement made that “Kosovo without Serbs is not Kosovo”.  The Ambassador is implying that there many people who have not returned to Kosovo, however he does not mention why there is reluctance in returning to Kosovo. Why were these people displaced and how did this happen?

“Displaced people” will only return when they feel that they will not be harassed, persecuted or discriminated.  As such, I really do hope that in the words of His Excellency Jan Cliff that “The government of Great Britain will fiercely back the projects.  [Did he really say ‘fiercely’& what are projects?].   Actions speak louder than words, so it remains to be seen if these words get translated into real action by the international community and the Pristina authorities as well. 

Moreover, the Ambassador failed to mention the hundreds of Croats from Letnica, the Gorani and Albanians who also had to flee for their lives, as they were deemed, by their Albanian neighbours, not to be worthy inhabitants in the post-war NATO/ KLA state. It was often the Albanian neighbours who actually instigated the exodus in the first place, encouraged & aided by the ruthless KLA. A number of KLA ex- commanders are the very same leaders; whose government is now calling for them to come back!    In all seriousness, can the Ambassador really give assurances to these people, or are they just empty words? 

The question is how these displaced people get to go back as they are often considered in many Kosovo Albanian circles as the losers. How is the UK, the QUINT, the UN, the EU going to convince these people that they can live in security and in peace, back alongside Albanian neighbours. 

The Ambassador fails to mention the cause of this upheaval.  There was an intense and brutal orgy of violence that took place on NATO’s watch in 1999.  NATO troops on the ground just stood by as hundreds of thousands “displaced people” fled for their lives.  If it wasn’t bad enough in 1999, there was a repeat of this in March 2004, where the international community didn’t even raise a little figure to stop the bloodshed and extreme violent. Instead, the UN and KFOR actually assisted & facilitated the ethnic cleansing, by displacing even more victims.

The exodus of the “displaced people” was accompanied by the subsequent looting,  businesses stolen, destruction of hundreds of Orthodox churches, land & animals stolen, stealing of belongings, and wanton vandalism of cemeteries, monuments, churches as well as illegal occupation of homes.  Given this background, is it no wonder that these “displaced people” do feel safe to return? There is an urgent and strong need to actively transform ‘nice’ words into real tangible action.

The UK mentioned projects as part of the package to get the returnees back to Kosovo. Are there projects dealing with the restitution of stolen land, properties and businesses?  What steps are being made about the reconstruction of the Orthodox churches?  If there aren’t any, then how are these “displaced people” supposed to feel ‘re-integrated’ if there are no structures to support these communities?

There are still episodes of desecration of Serb graves and the destruction of monuments, which does not send an encouraging message to the Serbs. There are too many unexplained, under-investigated ‘incidents’ involving violence, shootings, grenade, arson & physical attacks predominantly against Serbs. The police in Kosovo seem to have no real desire or inclination to solve these crimes. To date, there has been well over 30 serious incidents, involving firearms and explosives that have taken place in northern Kosovo since the beginning of 2013. It seems that there is no “welcome back mat” for Serbs in Kosovo. The underlying message sent out is still loud and clear, “don’t come back and if you do, you won’t feel safe”. Since 2008, KFOR, the UN or EULEX have made no serious attempts to actively decrease the violence & hatred by ensuring that Justice is applied fair and square.  

Although there are tentative steps towards re-integration, it is not clear how the authorities in Pristina will accommodate the non-Albanians amongst the wider Albanian community. There is still continued discrimination, (especially in education), harassment and obstacles put in the way of “returnees”.

On another related subject, Ms Mimoza Kusari-Lila, the Deputy Prime Minister, 'wants good neighbourly relations' with Serbia, (BBC Interview 08/04/13). Fine words…. but how about creating a sustainable conducive environment inside Kosovo, in Pristina and in every town, village & hamlet.  She SHOULD be encouraging all Albanians to be “neighbourly” and help with the integration of Serbs, Roma, Croats, Ashkalis, Bosniaks and Egyptians. Or is this another case of selective hypocrisy? 

How hard is Pristina working to accommodate the returnees, to enable them safely re-build their shattered communities? According to the SETimes, the Pristina government built and fixed 76 houses in 2013 for the returnees throughout Kosovo.  I suppose that this is a start, a weak one, though, given that there are over  estimated 17,600 individuals internally displaced within Kosovo, according to the UN.  This does not include the tens of thousands who had to flee to other countries. More than often, the people are ‘resettled’ in a different location to where they originally lived.

Governmental entities such as the police need to actively recruit & retain personnel from all communities, so that there is fair representation and not just the 10% quota filling.  There is still an intrinsic fear that non-Albanian communities could once more be the target of ethnic violence.  This fear is widely-acknowledged in the Serb and Roma communities and it can only be effectively counteracted if the likes of the UK government ‘fiercely’ ensure safety and fair representation of these communities.

Normalization

Meanwhile in Kosovo

Today there are a dozen Serb families out of a total of 200 households in Belo Polje near Pec as many as before the 1999 conflict in the province. Tanjug.

Belo Polje today is the scene of an unexplained death (of a Serb).. That is until you read between the lines..

His son Petar stated to the radio that he does not know if his father was killed or died when he fell into the canal, adding that he intended to return to Belo Polje for good and that he did not have good relations with his Albanian neighbors.

Serb Stefan Cerovic, 71, was a returnee to Kosovo.  

Il faut sauver les soldats Thaci et Wisner

Source : « Kosovo : un nouveau Rambouillet imposé à la Serbie », par Slobodan Despot, Réseau Voltaire, 2 avril 2013, www.voltairenet.org/article178031.html

Une résolution onusienne (n° 1244 du 10 juin 1999) reconnaissant la souveraineté de la Serbie sur le Kosovo, une souveraineté que l’OTAN et ses alliés kosovars (essentiellement mafieux) allaient miner sans relâche durant la décennie ultérieure, non sans la complicité naïve ou cynique de certaines forces politiques serbes.

Politiquement inexistant, gouverné par les clans mafieux, il est devenu une plaque tournante du trafic d’armes et de drogue et de la traite de femmes en Europe. Ses minorités, serbe d’abord, mais également monténégrine, turque, rom, etc., ont été expulsées violemment (pogromes de mars 2004) sous le regard passif des soldats de l’OTAN. Plus de 150 églises, couvents et monuments religieux chrétiens ont été incendiés, dynamités ou saccagés, les autres intégrés au « patrimoine culturel » de ceux-là même qui s’ingéniaient à les détruire. Les Serbes qui y vivent sous autorité otano-kosovare sont exposés à des violences constantes et traités en citoyens de seconde zone. Les enlèvements de civils, de 1999 à nos jours, sont généralement restés irrésolus. 

Le blanchissage du nouveau régime  n'est pas fini.. Aider par la Serbie, elle même!

Freedom in Kosovo

Freedom of speech is paper thin in Kosovo, as this recent attack in March shows:

On 27 March 2013, Kosovan human rights defender Ms Nazlie Bala was attacked upon entering her apartment building and severely beaten.

She has also received death threat. Motive: unknown and perpetrators: unknown. Your usual fare then of indifference and subterfuge and denial of human rights. It becomes more understandable if you know more about the previous career paths of a number of the Pristina government leaders: 1. Mafia thug 2. Ruthless (terrorist) rebel leader in KLA. 3. General (absolved by the international community of war crimes)

Serbia to normalise ties with Kosovo

 News from the Balkans.....

So Serbia has signed an agreement with Pristina on the future of the Serbs in Kosovo.  The EU is pleased with the situation, however on the ground, things are not so rosy....... In this topsy-turvy world of ours.

The global media network (AKA GMN) lavished praise on the agreement but as usual failed miserably to explain why this document was created in the first place.  The common perception is why can't they just shake hands and hug it each other or that the Serbians are sore losers ( so lets just ignore any of their points of view). Not one media outlet gave the reasons as why the Serbs feel threatened. It is all swept under the carpet of "ethnic tensions".

There are still serious issues  about attacks against anyone perceived to be a Serb,  attacks against Serbian Orthodox religious sites.   There are still " ethnic tensions" in the region.  The "agreement" will do nothing to address the real underlying problems, not even  the UN and KFOR have dealt with these issues in a serious and concerted manner.  These issues aren't even succintly acknowledged in the document.  So in effect there are no concrete garantees for any of the ethnic minorities living in Kosovo, no Serb, Croat, no Roma, no Gorani...

To quote the often remarked expression of this decade: criminal enterprise.  There is a failure to act in  the interests of all concerned in the region, by the US,  UN, the EU and by NATO.   There is a criminal enterprise quietly actively engaging in massively whitewashing the corrupt Albanian authorities of any sins since the violent take over in 1999, helped largely by the over hysterical media reports at the time. The "humanitarian intervention"- actually facilitated the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo of most of its non-Albanian population. Neither  any of these entities actually trying in way   to prevent ongoing tensions.   

Terrorism is TERRORISM.  But there are double standards, because as you can see below are some events in April 2013, and yet it's not terrorism.  Clearly I'm not reading from the same script.  

Terror attacks are designed to shock, terrorize, install fear into ordinary people. It is the seeming arbitrariness of the violence inflicted that distinguishes  terror attacks. 

Here is some of the latest news from Kosovo - 

1. Physical and verbals attacks on Slavic speakers.   

27 April 2013.

Two boys, aged 15/ 16 were attacked  & stabbed by a group of Albanians in Bosniak Mahala as they were riding their bikes, one was a Serb and the other a Gorani.  The response by the police

"Deputy Regional Director of the Kosovo Police Service Ergin Medic told Tanjug that the motives for the attack are still unknown and that the attackers have not been identified yet."

2. Freedom of Speech
 
16th April

An attack with automatic weapons on the building and studio of the radio station Kolasin in Zubin Potok in Kosovo, which occurred on 16 April 2013 in the morning hours. No motive and barely any investigation either.

3. The safe return of Serb and other non-Albanian people to their destroyed dwellings, as a result of ethnic cleaning in the 90's and 2000's, particularly in March 2004.

The reality is....... 16 April 2013 Istok - Grenade attack on a Serb house. "The attack upset the Serb returnees because this is the first such incident in Istok since they returned to the town in 2006. Only nine Serbs live in Istok now." in Serbia news.