These are the participants of the regional anti-organized crime conference taking place in Serbia.
There's only one thing missing: a Kosovo representative. Yes, the same Kosovo that is supposedly washed in crime (and thus shouldn't get independence).
Truthiness I was talking about:
While choosing among various topics like sports, music, movies and websites, I have decided to write on a small part of my country called Kosovo and Methojia. The territory occupies the southern part of the country called Serbia, including borders with Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro. Major historical events regarding Serbian history and culture occurred in Kosovo and Metohija during the 11th and 12th centuries, so the significance this part of my country has to me and Serbian people is tremendous. No matter what others say or do, I believe that Kosovo is Serbia. (Progressive U)
Fabulous!
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B92 brings excerpts on article 16 of the Serb Constitution discussed on Life in Kosovo in the previous post:
“If you read this constitution, it states in article 16 that any decision made on an international level, and also includes resolutions by the United Nations Security Council, automatically becomes a part of the national law. If the Security Council states tomorrow that Kosovo is independent, the decision automatically takes effect.” Nosov said.
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Their victims were their neighbhors. Jasmina Tesanovic on the war crimes indictees in Belgrade:
These Serbian policemen from kosovo would do it all again, with even more vigor, even when not ordered to do it. Their only regret is not having done more and better. That their regime lost the war. They had to flee instead of killing all the Albanians. As 10 percent of the Kosovo population, they had to leave their property to the 90 percent majority. They were Orthodox and Serbs, the superior race in their holy land, living in paranoid agression for centuries on end.
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From Radio Television Kosova' Life in Kosova comes a program about the new Serb constitution. Participating are a lawyer from Kosovo, two Serbs from Kosovo, and a civic leader from Belgrade. Unfortunately it's in Serbian and Albanian only and available until 26 October. There will be a special bonus at the end when "Kosova's son in-law" (a Yankee) goes to Gracanica to ask its citizens to sign a petition for an independent Kosovo and Metohija.
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Out of the blue the so-called democratic forces in Serbia pulled their joker card to delay Kosovo's independence. Like seven years weren't enough. Serbs have been working on a replacement for what is a Milosevic constitution since the "democratic" forces took power. They were never able to do it because of the delicate balance of power in the parliament. In September political leaders struck a deal with the Radicals and then the parliament voted on the constitution three days later without much discussion. A referendum is scheduled for this month. Elections might be held in December or as late as next March.
Albanian voters will not be allowed to vote (necessary to make the 50% voter threshold possible) and yet president of Serbia according to this constitution will take the oath to defend Serbia "and Kosovo and Metohija as it's inseperable part." This is where Web 2.0 part comes in. If Serbia makes it's constitution a Wikipedia-like wiki, immediately after Kosovo's gone, they will be able to edit it to fit their new truthiness. Or they might choose to leave it alone even if there isn't a Kosovo to defend; just like in Wikipedia, as long as enough Serbs agree on Kosovo is a part of Serbia in a referendum, it is truthiness enough.
From Tadic's viewpoint, the goal of all this is to win time in discussions on Kosovo's final status. By puting Contact Group capitals in a checkmate where ultranationalists would win if Kosovo is given away before an election, Tadic is able to argue for a delay. Yet this is a crisis that the "democrats" initiated by hastening elections. London and Washington right now should be asking themselves: why should the victim bear the burden of democratcratization of its agressor? Hasn't Kosovo gone through enough pain during the war and more than seven years since?
Bishop Artemije has recruited TV evangelists Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell to his "Kosovo is a Muslim hellhole" crusade. How's that for an opener?
However, another supporter to Artemije's cause, The Washington Times, is changing its editors. The Washington Times was close to the Serb lobby and has consistently published more editorial pieces from Artemije & Co than news on Kosovo itself. But it was the support of Confederacy and other extreme right causes that got them.
Still Kosova has more pressing issues at hand than whether we the faithful have prepared the landing sites for Jesus' comeback. For Kosovo winter is close and nobody can guarantee power during it.
This brings me to the most ridiculous news this week: an international manager at Kosova's public power company KEK has accussed the union for a E2 million collection rate drop last month. Earlier the KEK union had published the exorbitant salaries that the local and international managers get while accusing them of incompetency for producing only debatable levels of power. Local and international managers threatened with firing the employees that divulge company secrets and undermine KEK's competiviness. In other words: they think Kosovars are idiots. Boy we're lucky Kosovo doesn't have ships otherwise they would all be at the bottom of the seas now.
P.S.
EU citizens might want to write Brussels about the fact that EU "experts" in KEK are making more than Mr. José Manuel Durão Barroso.
When diplomatic solutions to a crisis are delayed, the situation begins to fester.
from Anna Di Lellio
Slightly strong language, but she hits it on the head.
She also mentions the fact that there is very little communication of what will come out of the status talks. Kosovars have been left in the dark from their delegation and some of the points agreed will be painful so nobody from the delegation wants to give the bad news. Realizing this, last week UNMIK's vice Steven Schook blasted (sq) again Kosovar leaders for not arguing their decisions to the population. However, I believe this to be disengenious of him since UNMIK and UNOSEK were glad to deal only with the leaders and put the people affected by their decisions in front of a closed case.
Despite poverty and high unemployment, issues of ethnicity and nationalism have dominated the election campaigns, says the BBC's Nicholas Walton in Sarajevo.
The office of the International High Representative, which oversees the peace process, will close in mid-2007.
But if it judges that Bosnia's politicians are unable to take on the responsibility for taking the country forward, the international community has warned that it might not hand over power after all, our correspondent adds. (BBC)
As we witness the cutout in Kosovo with decentralization it is important to take in the lessons of Bosnia. When economy and laws (and ways to enforce them) are concerned, a strong central government should take precedent. The primary motive for the EU was not because Europeans were in love of each others langueages, cultures, and beaches. At the end of the day, a common market and the laws that enforce it are what will unite Bosnia.
Sarajevo should also do more to discourage ethnic homogenization of the population. If it wants a unified Bosnia, Serbs living in the Federation and the other way around is the best demoracratic way to ensure it.
Now, RS Serbs should be able to promote their cultural ties with Serbia. Just like a teenager that can't let go of home, this nationalism will also pass. Ties with Serbia will pacify Serbs of Bosnia and take away the cause away from the rebels. (Cultural rights are sacred in Europe, so I wouldn't argue against them anyways). It is often repeated about Kosovo the the opening of the border with Albania was when Kosovar Albanians stopped wishing for unification. Although even before that it was mostly a rebel rally call rather than a sincere wish.
So, economic unification in exhange for cultural ties with Serbia should do the trick. If it doesn't, EU, or more like the US, will have to bring in the hammer one more time.
Serbs want Kosovo but not the Kosovars. Not that it matters, though it's an exercise in interestingness.
Kosovo and Croatia sign Free Trade Agreement
The trade exchange between Croatia and Kosovo in the first 2006 semester amounted to 55.4 million euros. The export operations from Croatia to Kosovo totaled 55.3 million euros, while Kosovo exported 107.000 euros worth of goods to Croatia.
I don't see what Kosovo has to lose from this.
Serbia has a new constitution ready for approval.
It also grants a form of self-rule to the northern province of Vojvodina, said Dusan Petrovic, from the pro-Western Democratic Party. No other details about the draft's contents were immediately available. (IHT)
Radicals (SRS) have said they will fight the proposed document because of the Vojvodina clause, despite the fact that it is designed to "show to the international community that Serbia is united in its bid to preserve its identity" (i.e. Kosovo) (IHT). Could Vojvodina end up the unexpected winner in all this?
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Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) trained minority journalists in Kosovo at the end of which they came up with the following articles:
Belgrade Media Keep Kosovo Serbs in the Dark
Relentlessly negative reporting from Serbia isolates Kosovo minority more than ever
With no jobs for the young and no security for the old, no wonder entire Serbian villages are on the market.
Serbs and Albanians Play Politics with Heritage Sites
After a deal looked close, both sides appear to have decided that scoring points is more important than making a breakthrough.
Kosovo Serb Political Divisions Grow
With final status talks seemingly no nearer a conclusion, the politicians representing the Serb minority are growing further apart.
In June for the first time any dissatisfaction with Belgrade was recorded among Kosovo Serbs. Although the number was still a paltry 15% and affected by events at the time, it's a move in the right direction. Of course, others favor a whole new and sad direction.
Kosovo Serbs Seek Radical Salvation
Hard-line rhetoric and grandiose pledges are winning hearts and minds in isolated Serbian enclaves.
A roundup of important political events in Kosovo and about Kosovo this week.
There have been four bomb attacks. The first three caused some material damage and were definitely designed to send a message to government officials. Details are missing yet but the the ones in Gjilan might be realated to decentralization and the unsatisfaction in that area about what is being planned.
The fourth one happenned in Klina with four members of a Serb family wounded from it. This was also designed to send a massage. The fact that it happened just a day before imporant decision-making meetings of the UNSC and the Contact Group - and the fact that every such meeting is preceded by similar attacks - makes me think it was well planned and with clear intentions. Just when arguments for independence are most needed these heineous crimes against defensless Serbs will happen. I would love to know who's doing them - they definitely are not friends of Kosovo.
British conservationists are working with Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania on creating a protected zone in the Accursed Mountains shared by the three countries. Here is a map of the area they intend to include (600 kb). As blogged previously on this blog, this area is underdeveloped and often cut-off from the world during the winter months. Underdevelopment can hurt the environment as much as development does. This could be a sustainable way of using this area to promote cooperation in the border area and preempt any undesirable development or destruction down the road.
I don't know about you but this just seems too enticing to me:
Whilst traveling in the region you will be able to sample some of the local produce. Local industries include honey-making, raki-making, cheese-making, baked goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, including wild strawberries and herbs (such as to make mountain tea).
Head to the official Balkan Peace Park Project web site and see if you can help them out.
Cafe Babel brings a topic not familiar even to people familiar with Kosovo. You see we're builing a new nation but can't figure out what it means to be a Kosovar. This issue will become important once we start accepting national symbols designed in blue and yellow by our international friends.
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Kosovo refugees in Prokupjle, Serbia struggle to make ends meet
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Kosovo Parliament has voted down a request to make Turkish the third official language in the Prizren municipality. This is absolutely unacceptable.
Serb President Boris Tadic visited Washington last week. The outcome of the meetings was/ was not opportune for Belgrade, as he relayed it live from Washington to his home audience. One has to genuinely wonder whether he really believed that he would achieve anything.
Serb lobby had actually tried to soften up the stance in Washington by playing these infomercials on two DC radio stations inviting the public to write to their congressmen. Have a listen!
Serb President Boris Tadic visited Washington last week. The outcome of the meetings was/ was not opportune for Belgrade, as he relayed it live from Washington to his home audience. One has to genuinely wonder whether he really believed that he would achieve anything.
Serb lobby had actually tried to soften up the stance in Washington by playing these infomercials on two DC radio stations inviting the public to write to their congressmen before Tadic's visit. Have a listen!
From the good old days of 1989 Albania comes a full set of photographs on Flickr.
(Through peshkupauje.com.)
Belgrade, 5 September 2006. (Beta) - Leader of Spot Momcilo Trajkovic stated that Serbs in Kosovo since June 1999 have sold property worth three billion euro and that money has ended up in Serbia.
"I have two hectares of land. If I sold that land, I could get 1.5 million euro. But selling land, house in Kosovo, that means to sell territory, state and national interests," said Trajkovic on the show Openly on Kosovo.
