"Pristina receives Afghans and violates Resolution 1244. Danger"

"Pristina receives Afghans and violates Resolution 1244. Danger"

According to daily "Politika", Serbia has reasons to worry and be careful.

Analysts believe that the situation is cautious due to the decisions, primarily of the authorities of the interim institutions in Pristina, but also the authorities in Albania and North Macedonia, to respond to the US call to accept, as they say, temporary care of Afghan refugees, because it potentially represents security risk for our country, but also for the whole region.

Some of them also point out that the call of the USA to Pristina to place Afghan refugees on the territory of Kosovo is a direct violation of the Resolution 1244 of the United Nations Security Council, and that our government must insist on that.

Immediately after the outburst of the chaos in Afghanistan, the United States called, among others, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to accept Afghan refugees, people who cooperated with the Americans and their allies, but these countries categorically refused. Turkey reacted by announcing the construction of a wall to stop the influx of refugees. In contrast, Pristina, Tirana and Skopje also responded quickly by accepting the invitation. Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright spoke out even more quickly, doing everything, including the bombing of Serbia, for Kosovo's independence, thanking "Albania", Canada, Kosovo and North Macedonia for providing refuge to Afghan allies, women and civil society leaders, I hope and expect others to follow suit."

Interlocutors of "Politika" state that they are not surprised by the decisions of Pristina, Tirana and Skopje, nor by Albright's gratitude. Retired diplomat Zoran Milivojevic says that Albania and North Macedonia are members of NATO and that it is logical to accept the invitation of the United States, which has a strong influence in those countries, and "what to say about Kosovo, where the United States has a superior influence."

"As for the arrival of Afghans, these are people who are not tied to radical Islamism, which the Western centers of power, primarily Washington, are trying to save because they were in the service of their interests, and whether they will, after some time, go to the western countries remains unknown. It is a demographic problem for the region, because it certainly strengthens the presence and influence of the Islamic factor in this area, and if these people stay permanently, it can affect the demographic structure and the whole situation in this area. It is also important how these people will behave, in any case, this is a new security threat that countries in the region will have to deal with because after what is happening in Afghanistan, we can expect a new wave of refugees," he explained.

Dejan Miletic, president of the Center for the Study of Globalization, says that the decision of Albania and North Macedonia "to accept people from the risk area with open arms, without serious insight into the whole situation, speaks of a submissive attitude and a certain irresponsibility."

"As for Kosovo and Metohija, the arrival of Afghans is unacceptable, it is irresponsible, but also a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which speaks of a problematic approach to international law. I would say I do not see how these people will leave Afghanistan when everything is closed there, nor I see that there was an evacuation", Miletic said.

To the conclusion that he is talking about international law and its violation, we know from experience, when it comes to the United States, that this is something that absolutely does not affect them, Miletic says: "We have no illusions, but such a relationship between the United States and Kosovo would further complicate our relations, and that could be the interest of the United States. From my point of view, the arrival of people from Afghanistan would complicate problems in Kosovo and Metohija and worsen security in the region."

Political analyst Dragomir Andjelkovic says that, on the one hand, the authorities in Pristina maintained good relations with the authorities in Kabul and with the Americans, so they will receive people from that regime, and on the other hand, the Albanian people in Kosovo and Metohija supported the Taliban, Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

"Albanians, like no other people, were represented in these Islamist organizations. This speaks of a deep gap between them. All this is a danger, but it can also be a good opportunity to send a sacred message about the participation of Albanians in these extremist organizations, because among who knows how many infiltrated members of various Islamist organizations will be infiltrated by those refugees, who allegedly flee from those organizations, enter Europe, and then they can serve as cells for their further activities," said Andjelković.

Historian and publicist Srdja Trifkovic believes that there will not be a large number of Afghan refugees "because the Taliban more or less control all border crossings, and they will not allow the members of the security forces of the now former regime, translators and support staff, who assisted the Americans and their allies to leave the country".

"In essence, pro-Westerners in Afghanistan were left in the lurch, more or less like the Vietnamese in Saigon in 1975. However, the very expressed intention of the United States to dispose of Kosovo's territory as its own fief is contrary to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and principles. This gives the Government of Serbia an additional argument to demand strict adherence to Resolution 1244, which for Serbia is the alpha and omega of preserving the southern province. "Whether this will be achieved or not, they did themselves a disservice and gave official Belgrade an additional argument for respecting international law and for the return of the Kosovo issue from Brussels to the United Nations Security Council," Trifkovic said.

Serbia will be exposed to growing pressure

Politika's interlocutors expect additional pressure on our country regarding the Kosovo issue, but they point out that Serbia must endure and help its people in the southern province.

Zoran Milivojevic says that "Americans resort to force when they cannot solve a problem."

"As Kosovo grows to be a space through which they will solve their problems, such as this one with Afghanistan, the US interest in resolving the Kosovo issue faster will grow, bearing in mind that Kosovo listens blindly. A lot of issues in central Asia, especially relations with Russia and China, will face these problems, so there is growing pressure to resolve the Kosovo issue more quickly in favor of American interests, meaning recognition at all costs and as soon as possible", he said.

"It is not a coincidence that Albania, North Macedonia and Pristina had immediately accepted the invitation of the United States. We have no choice but to be even stronger in our positions and even more energetic in protecting state and national interests," Milivojevic pointed out.

Dragomir Andjelkovic says that we are constantly exposed to pressure, but "America is now much less powerful than it was in 2008, when Kosovo declared independence, and if Serbia did not succumb to pressure then, it should not be even today, whatever the pressure might be". He added that "there is no reason for special security concerns", noting:

"The concern is well-founded, but even earlier, Albanians who fought in extremist Islamic organizations returned to this field, until the Americans pressed the button. They could have pressed that button five years ago, as they can now, and it is our job to prepare and fight if someone threatens us. We do not provoke conflicts, but Serbia certainly has a responsibility to come to the aid of its people in Kosovo and Metohija, if they are endangered". Srdja Trifkovic believes that the United States, by its actions, gave Serbia an argument for categorically rejecting further pressures, because "it is obvious that nothing is being offered."

"Such a spectacular collapse of the US position in Afghanistan, which has been built for 20 years, including investments in infrastructure and Afghan forces of 88 billion dollars, which are known, can only contribute to further collapse of American credibility and stronger arguments for the Serbian government not to accept any pressure", he concluded.