Matthew
pre 17 godina
"Mathew,
You must not be serious when you say “the EU has nothing left to offer Serbia anyways...” You may think of it however you want but, thus far, Serbia has been offered more than they deserve -NATO partnership… What county, in their right state of mind, would not want to join coalitions and integrate into a union that opens doors to social-economic prosperity with neighboring countries?"
For those of you completely unfamiliar with the History of Yugoslavia, Tito, and the non-aligned movement it might come as a shock to you that a country such as Serbia might want to consider the middle ground and not take sides in World Politics between East and West. Tito had an excellent foreign policy and modern Serbian leaders would be wise to study it. Yugoslavia experienced a Golden Age by refusing to participate in the Cold War, we should likewise reject the "New World Order" as dictated by President Bush.
We have no reason to want to join NATO, which is only being used by the US as an excuse to be the World's Police. We can not pursue a non-aligned position, especially with Russia, if we belong to Western European military alliances. The US is like a bull in a china shop right now, invading countries like its going out of style. Do we really want to be dragged into such situations? I say, NO! Serbia has had enough wars! Its time to live in Peace.
"Second class status in the EU is better than having no class at all."
Luciano, your comments are probably the best on this site in my opinion, however I am not convinced Serbia is ready to directly compete economically with the more powerful and established economic power houses of Europe. We need to learn the basics first, I've lived in Serbia and the level of customer service is seriously lacking although it is much better then when I visited during the Milosevic Era. Serbs will not be allowed to work abroad, which would bring much needed capitalistic experience and knowledge, as well as allow for a flow of money into Serbia to invest at the grassroots level. All joining the EU will do at this point is put Serbia into a position of competing on an unequal playing field with more developed countries under their terms and regulations. The result would be foreign companies owning all the profitable sectors of the economy with money flowing out of Serbia (One only need look at how the International Community handled the privatization of the Trepeca mines in Kosovo to see what is in store for Serbia, check it out Luciano, its amazing what the West did there). Massive loans and economic stimulus would only result in Serbia becoming the new "Sick Man of Europe" constantly taking out new loans to pay the old. We need to learn to walk first before we can learn to run in a race against strong opponents. We need visa's first and foremost. Visa's to work abroad, attend universities, go on vacation, and see how a proper Western Capitalist country works first. Once the EU becomes stable and offers all its members equal rights, then we will be in a position to evaulate whether the EU is a good fit for Serbia.
"Mathew,
So, you think EU would deny Kosovars the right to self-determination because they don't want a nationalist government in Serbia?"
No, I didn't say that. If the EU wants a Western Orientated Serbian government offering not to unilaterally recognize Kosovo's independence would be far more effective then offering EU membership. Actually, I think many Western Countries (like the US) would be more then happy to have a hostile nationalistic government in Serbia. The West needs bad guys and villains. Besides, it would be too hard to re-brainwash the American public at this point into thinking the Serbs are not completely evil on the level of Hitler. So basically, I think its easier for the EU to grant Kosovo Independence if the Government in Serbia is Nationalistic and refuses to negotiate. I personally support the Right to Self Determination for the Albanians, just as I do for the Serbs. Personally though, I would like to see all options on the table for negotiation over Kosovo. Clearly the boundaries set by the EU only led to Independence for Kosovo. The option for Kosovo to join with Albania MUST be included as an option. The option for partition MUST be discussed rationally. The option to swap land in Presevo Valley for areas of important cultural significance MUST be available. We must demand a regional solution that deals with Serbs and Albanians in all the countries in which they live. We have the exact same issues, we must not let the International Community divide us when we should be working together. Clearly, the Serbian government should have been more cooperative in finding Mladic & Co. in the past. Clearly the Serbian government should reach out to the EU and establish ties. However, Serbia should do the same with Russia and China. At this point its clear the EU supports the Kosovar position and Russia and China support the Serb position. Saying Serbia should rely on the EU and only consider the EU as the only option for Serbia's future is short-sighted at best.. Clearly, Serbia would be better served in strengthening their ties to China and Russia, while at the same time reaching out to the EU. Its Serbia's natural position to take the middle ground, geographically, spiritually and historically.
"Matthew, the EU cant offer anything on Kosovo - according to 1244 the UNSC is in charge of Kosovo's future."
That would be very nice if it were true. However, Kosovo will probably get Independence through the US and EU members unilaterally recognizing Kosovo's Independence. They could in fact offer not to do that and ensure that it is up to the UNSC. We all know that even though the UN opposed Croatia's bid for independence based on their poor record of human rights, unilateral recognition lead to no Serbs remaining in Croatia. A little bit of compromise and patience could have avoided that terrible situation.
"Serbia needs to start building its own future, not looking to the EU or UN or Russia or China for help. Howabout looking within Serbia? Reconciling the past..."
I agree 100%. We must take the middle ground and work towards a better tomorrow for our people. The problem with reconciliation is with the massive distortion of the truth during the propaganda wars of the 90's, its often very difficult for us Serbs to figure out what is true and what is not. Clearly crimes were committed. However, we are in the unfortunately position of having to question the accuracy of many of the allegations because Western Countries and their media went Propaganda happy during the 90's and made up a bunch of stuff. I still say many people on this site even claiming crazy stuff that was patently disproved by the ICTY. Yet, when moderate Serbs such as myself question allegations or make allegations against the other sides in the conflict, we are labeled Nationalists and automatically put into the same category as Milosevic. Acknowledging the crimes committed against the Serbs, such as Operation Storm would go very far in helping the Serbian people take a real look at what happened during the 90's. The propaganda on all sides needs to stop!
If you are implying that Serbia should simply give up Kosovo as it would benefit our people the most, I disagree. There is nothing wrong with peacefully attempting to explain why Kosovo means so much to us and to try to find an alternative that is better for both Albanians and Serbs everywhere. We consider it the cradle of our civilization, and its understandable that we would want to hold onto certain areas of Kosovo. I agree the Albanians have been abused and need to be compensated for what happened to them. However, I think what's best for the future of Albanians and Serbs is for us to learn to work together and learn to compromise and negotiate. We MUST learn how to talk civilly with one another if an end to the cycle of violence is ever to come.
Its actually rather funny, I support turning over Mladic & Co. and offered this suggestion as the carrot that might work to do so. I find the response rather amusing actually.
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