Nikolić: Brutal, savage action by UNMIK, KFOR

I'm with Nikolic on this one. I kinda support Tadic by he has to realise that Europe will always be one sipulation away. Kosovo, Mladic and whatever else EU may have in mind. There will always be something Serbia must do to get into the EU. Nikolic is makeing sence and I think the people of Serbia think the same way. Being in the EU is nice, but to dance to their music as long as it entertains them is out of the question.

See, this is the main problem resulting from UNMIK's ill-thought decision. Less than 24 hours have gone by and this is already turning into political symbolism. It doesn't even matter anymore what exactly happened; what matters is that "Serbs are once again being victimized in their own country by double standards set by international forces". That's how it's going to go down in Serbian collective memory, especially within the nationalist circles.

And, to make matters worse, it happened on March 17, a day already remembered for the pogroms. This is all being churned into symbolic rhetoric for the upcoming elections.

Even here on this site, we have a clear division of opinion. On one side the Albanians and their supporters see this as a restoration of law and order against a bunch of unruly Serbs. On the other, we see it as another breach of international law, and the stronghand of foreigners punishing Serbs. One side's "legitimate authority" is the other side's "occupying power". How in the world can both sides ever see eye to eye? Again, as I wrote this morning, if there were negotiations taking place between UNMIK and the K-Serbs over the courthouse, why were they suspended and force used? Even if the Serbs were to leave the courthouse under a negotiated settlement and UNMIK to "restore authority", had it been done peacefully, we wouldn't be all in an uproar. But because force was used, and force was met by greater force, chaos ensued, people get injured, fingers ger pointed, and trust erodes even further. Plus, both sides will now fiercely line up behind their own interpretation of the same event.

Kosovo Province is sadly turning into the West Bank of the Balkans and all of this could have been avoided if people were really interested in hammering out a compromise solution. I fear what happened today will facilitate a worsening of conditions.

Mike, I couldn't agree with you more. This was a stupid decision from UNMIK and NATO, because everyone knows they didn't have to do this, and their actions today will have ramifications in the future. For example, the radical nationalist parties may have just been handed the next govt in Serbia.

Also, I think NATO likes this instability. Maybe it gives them job security.

Those guys in K-Mitrica are real heroes ! Whatever the West say it's a good fish bone in their throat. The longer the riot lasts the better ! But Belgrad and Moscow must provide them with urgent moral and other support.

I think K-Abanistan crisis is one of the big items at the running US-Russian talks in Moscow. Today Putin said they are close to a compromise.

The bad guys need Russian support in Afghanistan where they are loosing the war. They don't know how to supply their troups after they sent Bhutto to revenge on Musharraf ... And that war is really important for them especially on the eve of the US Presidentials this November.

So Russia has got much stronger positions than the US. To say nothing we are able to aggravate their economic crisis and ruin the puppet Ukrainian clique with European gas prices. Let's wait and maybe tomorrow they will say something good .

Oh, Mr. Nikolic, you are so predictable. As if you ahev any real cocern about the people. i would wager that you are seeing ballot papers, rather than the faces of those bein hurt down in kosovo. Your comparison of UNMIK forces to Nazis is disgusting. You should be ashamed of yourself, but you won't be. Put your money where your mouth is and get down there and help negociate.

to EA:

Do YOU know why Mr. Seselj is there? Well he is there because america needs a scapegoat. They have no eveidence on the guy for how many years? Is it normal to hold someone that long without evidence? They want to charge him for his "freedom of speech."

By the way: Go TOMO go!

EA,
Milsoevic was never proven guilty on any account. Now, for you to make your statement, you must know something regarding Milosevic's activity. Please share this information with all B92 readers. Milosevic is more of an angel than Clinton, Cohen, Albright, Clarke ...etc
Where are the other remaining Balkan instigators such as, Thaci and Mesic.

Even though he represents the far right, and his leader Seselj supported some pretty crazy stuff in the past...his position is simply making more sense. Unfortunately, after months now, it seems more and more that justice and peace are becoming incompatible.

He is one of the Serbian "angels". His leader is in Hague if you don't know....) Do you know why?

Nicholas,

Good to see you again on this site. Your comments have been missed.

I think nobody can be proud about what is happening in Kosovo, but Nikolic´s radical comments are just fanning the flames higher.

If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

JB (#1),

So Nikolic should come to Kosovo to negociate?

To my knowledge the Serbs have been trying to negociate with the K-Albanians for a long period, but all forms of compromise were rejected by the Albanians (probably because the "great" USA told them that they would be recognize Kosovo regardless of the outcome of the negociations). You must have known about these negociations, unless of course you solely watch news on CNN.

PS. I do agree with you that comparing UNMIK to the Nazis is ridiculous.

EA,

I know why. The same reason Ramush Haradinaj is there.

I really hope we all find a peaceful solution to this in the end.

But whatever the circumstance, it took a lot of guts from those Serb civilians to go out there and put up resistance against armed soldiers and police. They could have just scuttled home and hid in their houses. But instead they tried to save those people from being packed up and send to Pristina where god knows what kind of fate awaits them -- but we are almost 100% sure that a fair trail in court it was not going to be.

So here is my spin on today's events. "See through the fog"
This has been a well thought out move by the, how shall we call them? ah, the west. They need these wild reactions from Serbs and Serbia. They Need Nikolic in power. They need the rest of the worlds to view Serbia in a bad light so that they can drive through their plans for the Provence of Kososvo. With Nikolic in Power the west can validate every thing they do. Nikolic is a God send to the west. Infact Nikolic is their man not Tadic
"See through the fog"

Nikolic knows that having a mess in serbia is his best chance of being elected so why not fuel the flames. Every day its grimmer and grimmer for serbs due to them themselves imploding. This is what Kostunica and Nikolic have been waiting for. They advertise themselves as "saviours" of serbs. How this is so, I am not even sure serbs even know.

Nikolic wants to make things look very one-sided.When looking at news where people were arrested, the soldiers quided people "politely" out of the court-house even helping the women to carry their handbags.Who started the problems? what about the dead UN-soldier? No violence used by the attackers?

To Orthodox.RU,
I am getting the impression that you are a bt of an agitator...i mean who on earth would encourage further violence in Kosovo, as you have. How is it better for it to carry on..oh i see...you aren't there to suffer. Shame on you! I think your opinions are somewhat blinkered. You seriously believe that Russia would not cooperate with the USA over Afghanistan? From where i'm sitting my friend, i think the USA is doing a better job than the Soviets did a long while back!Besides, i think the Russians would rather have an moderate Afghanistan that what used to be. Get a grip my friend, to wish more violence shows no regard for human life or peaceful progress in the region. Oh and Mr Bush talking to Putin, i think it's great, perhaps they can talk sense to each other for a change!

JB,

“... i mean who on earth would encourage further violence in Kosovo, as you have. How is it better for it to carry on..oh i see...you aren't there to suffer… “

Anyone who is concerned about Serbs. If Kosovo is left to Albanians to do as they please, not a single Serb will remain in Kosovo in a couple of years, and all Serb cultural and historical monuments will desepear without a trace, as if they never existed. Negotiated compromise would be always preferable, but Albanians refuse to talk, so, it might come to the violence once again …

“… You seriously believe that Russia would not cooperate with the USA over Afghanistan? … “

Why should Russia help US to get out of the mess of their own making? It is perfectly in Russian interest to let US bleed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Maybe soon in Iran as well? If I was Russian, I would just sit back and enjoy the view. Just a few more adventures like that and American conquest of Universe is finished, so Russians doesn’t have to worry being encircled by US bases and rocket shield making nuclear first strike possible.

Then again, Russia might still help bail them out, but that help will come at the a high price… By the way, am I the only one seeing irony here, US asking Russian help in Afghanistan?

“.. From where i'm sitting my friend, i think the USA is doing a better job than the Soviets did a long while back! …”

I don’t know were I you sitting but there are plenty of sines that it doesn’t go well at all. The main difference between US and SSSR in Afghanistan is that Mujahedin were helped by US advanced weaponry (Stringers e.c.t.) and Russia didn’t help Mujahedin’s (yet).

“ … Russians would rather have an moderate Afghanistan that what used to be…”

Russia only had a problem with Afghanistan because of CIA project there …If US loose appetite for prolonged war and retreat, I don’t think that Mujahidin’s will attack Russia.

“.. Mr Bush talking to Putin, i think it's great, perhaps they can talk sense to each other for a change!..”

V. Putin is perfectly sensible, Americans are the ones that need to come back to their senses.

Stevan,
"Anyone who is concerned about Serbs. If Kosovo is left to Albanians to do as they please, not a single Serb will remain in Kosovo in a couple of years, and all Serb cultural and historical monuments will desepear without a trace, as if they never existed. Negotiated compromise would be always preferable, but Albanians refuse to talk, so, it might come to the violence once again … "

Of course, K-Alb learned this from a very good teacher, Serbians.

“… K-Alb learned this from a very good teacher, Serbians…”

Really Gap? I would say that Albanians became experts in terrorizing other ethnical groups long time ago. You had a plenty of opportunities and plenty of time to practice during the Turkish period… And we both know who was your favorite victim.

And in our time, numbers speak for themselves. Compare ethnical structure of Serbia and ethnical structure of Kosovo. Compare numbers of Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo over the years.

Oh, Mr. Nikolic, you are so predictable. As if you ahev any real cocern about the people. i would wager that you are seeing ballot papers, rather than the faces of those bein hurt down in kosovo. Your comparison of UNMIK forces to Nazis is disgusting. You should be ashamed of yourself, but you won't be. Put your money where your mouth is and get down there and help negociate.

He is one of the Serbian "angels". His leader is in Hague if you don't know....) Do you know why?

I think nobody can be proud about what is happening in Kosovo, but Nikolic´s radical comments are just fanning the flames higher.

If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

I'm with Nikolic on this one. I kinda support Tadic by he has to realise that Europe will always be one sipulation away. Kosovo, Mladic and whatever else EU may have in mind. There will always be something Serbia must do to get into the EU. Nikolic is makeing sence and I think the people of Serbia think the same way. Being in the EU is nice, but to dance to their music as long as it entertains them is out of the question.

So here is my spin on today's events. "See through the fog"
This has been a well thought out move by the, how shall we call them? ah, the west. They need these wild reactions from Serbs and Serbia. They Need Nikolic in power. They need the rest of the worlds to view Serbia in a bad light so that they can drive through their plans for the Provence of Kososvo. With Nikolic in Power the west can validate every thing they do. Nikolic is a God send to the west. Infact Nikolic is their man not Tadic
"See through the fog"

Nikolic knows that having a mess in serbia is his best chance of being elected so why not fuel the flames. Every day its grimmer and grimmer for serbs due to them themselves imploding. This is what Kostunica and Nikolic have been waiting for. They advertise themselves as "saviours" of serbs. How this is so, I am not even sure serbs even know.

Nikolic wants to make things look very one-sided.When looking at news where people were arrested, the soldiers quided people "politely" out of the court-house even helping the women to carry their handbags.Who started the problems? what about the dead UN-soldier? No violence used by the attackers?

See, this is the main problem resulting from UNMIK's ill-thought decision. Less than 24 hours have gone by and this is already turning into political symbolism. It doesn't even matter anymore what exactly happened; what matters is that "Serbs are once again being victimized in their own country by double standards set by international forces". That's how it's going to go down in Serbian collective memory, especially within the nationalist circles.

And, to make matters worse, it happened on March 17, a day already remembered for the pogroms. This is all being churned into symbolic rhetoric for the upcoming elections.

Even here on this site, we have a clear division of opinion. On one side the Albanians and their supporters see this as a restoration of law and order against a bunch of unruly Serbs. On the other, we see it as another breach of international law, and the stronghand of foreigners punishing Serbs. One side's "legitimate authority" is the other side's "occupying power". How in the world can both sides ever see eye to eye? Again, as I wrote this morning, if there were negotiations taking place between UNMIK and the K-Serbs over the courthouse, why were they suspended and force used? Even if the Serbs were to leave the courthouse under a negotiated settlement and UNMIK to "restore authority", had it been done peacefully, we wouldn't be all in an uproar. But because force was used, and force was met by greater force, chaos ensued, people get injured, fingers ger pointed, and trust erodes even further. Plus, both sides will now fiercely line up behind their own interpretation of the same event.

Kosovo Province is sadly turning into the West Bank of the Balkans and all of this could have been avoided if people were really interested in hammering out a compromise solution. I fear what happened today will facilitate a worsening of conditions.

EA,

I know why. The same reason Ramush Haradinaj is there.

Even though he represents the far right, and his leader Seselj supported some pretty crazy stuff in the past...his position is simply making more sense. Unfortunately, after months now, it seems more and more that justice and peace are becoming incompatible.

Mike, I couldn't agree with you more. This was a stupid decision from UNMIK and NATO, because everyone knows they didn't have to do this, and their actions today will have ramifications in the future. For example, the radical nationalist parties may have just been handed the next govt in Serbia.

Also, I think NATO likes this instability. Maybe it gives them job security.

JB (#1),

So Nikolic should come to Kosovo to negociate?

To my knowledge the Serbs have been trying to negociate with the K-Albanians for a long period, but all forms of compromise were rejected by the Albanians (probably because the "great" USA told them that they would be recognize Kosovo regardless of the outcome of the negociations). You must have known about these negociations, unless of course you solely watch news on CNN.

PS. I do agree with you that comparing UNMIK to the Nazis is ridiculous.

to EA:

Do YOU know why Mr. Seselj is there? Well he is there because america needs a scapegoat. They have no eveidence on the guy for how many years? Is it normal to hold someone that long without evidence? They want to charge him for his "freedom of speech."

By the way: Go TOMO go!

Nicholas,

Good to see you again on this site. Your comments have been missed.

EA,
Milsoevic was never proven guilty on any account. Now, for you to make your statement, you must know something regarding Milosevic's activity. Please share this information with all B92 readers. Milosevic is more of an angel than Clinton, Cohen, Albright, Clarke ...etc
Where are the other remaining Balkan instigators such as, Thaci and Mesic.

Those guys in K-Mitrica are real heroes ! Whatever the West say it's a good fish bone in their throat. The longer the riot lasts the better ! But Belgrad and Moscow must provide them with urgent moral and other support.

I think K-Abanistan crisis is one of the big items at the running US-Russian talks in Moscow. Today Putin said they are close to a compromise.

The bad guys need Russian support in Afghanistan where they are loosing the war. They don't know how to supply their troups after they sent Bhutto to revenge on Musharraf ... And that war is really important for them especially on the eve of the US Presidentials this November.

So Russia has got much stronger positions than the US. To say nothing we are able to aggravate their economic crisis and ruin the puppet Ukrainian clique with European gas prices. Let's wait and maybe tomorrow they will say something good .

I really hope we all find a peaceful solution to this in the end.

But whatever the circumstance, it took a lot of guts from those Serb civilians to go out there and put up resistance against armed soldiers and police. They could have just scuttled home and hid in their houses. But instead they tried to save those people from being packed up and send to Pristina where god knows what kind of fate awaits them -- but we are almost 100% sure that a fair trail in court it was not going to be.

To Orthodox.RU,
I am getting the impression that you are a bt of an agitator...i mean who on earth would encourage further violence in Kosovo, as you have. How is it better for it to carry on..oh i see...you aren't there to suffer. Shame on you! I think your opinions are somewhat blinkered. You seriously believe that Russia would not cooperate with the USA over Afghanistan? From where i'm sitting my friend, i think the USA is doing a better job than the Soviets did a long while back!Besides, i think the Russians would rather have an moderate Afghanistan that what used to be. Get a grip my friend, to wish more violence shows no regard for human life or peaceful progress in the region. Oh and Mr Bush talking to Putin, i think it's great, perhaps they can talk sense to each other for a change!

JB,

“... i mean who on earth would encourage further violence in Kosovo, as you have. How is it better for it to carry on..oh i see...you aren't there to suffer… “

Anyone who is concerned about Serbs. If Kosovo is left to Albanians to do as they please, not a single Serb will remain in Kosovo in a couple of years, and all Serb cultural and historical monuments will desepear without a trace, as if they never existed. Negotiated compromise would be always preferable, but Albanians refuse to talk, so, it might come to the violence once again …

“… You seriously believe that Russia would not cooperate with the USA over Afghanistan? … “

Why should Russia help US to get out of the mess of their own making? It is perfectly in Russian interest to let US bleed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Maybe soon in Iran as well? If I was Russian, I would just sit back and enjoy the view. Just a few more adventures like that and American conquest of Universe is finished, so Russians doesn’t have to worry being encircled by US bases and rocket shield making nuclear first strike possible.

Then again, Russia might still help bail them out, but that help will come at the a high price… By the way, am I the only one seeing irony here, US asking Russian help in Afghanistan?

“.. From where i'm sitting my friend, i think the USA is doing a better job than the Soviets did a long while back! …”

I don’t know were I you sitting but there are plenty of sines that it doesn’t go well at all. The main difference between US and SSSR in Afghanistan is that Mujahedin were helped by US advanced weaponry (Stringers e.c.t.) and Russia didn’t help Mujahedin’s (yet).

“ … Russians would rather have an moderate Afghanistan that what used to be…”

Russia only had a problem with Afghanistan because of CIA project there …If US loose appetite for prolonged war and retreat, I don’t think that Mujahidin’s will attack Russia.

“.. Mr Bush talking to Putin, i think it's great, perhaps they can talk sense to each other for a change!..”

V. Putin is perfectly sensible, Americans are the ones that need to come back to their senses.

Stevan,
"Anyone who is concerned about Serbs. If Kosovo is left to Albanians to do as they please, not a single Serb will remain in Kosovo in a couple of years, and all Serb cultural and historical monuments will desepear without a trace, as if they never existed. Negotiated compromise would be always preferable, but Albanians refuse to talk, so, it might come to the violence once again … "

Of course, K-Alb learned this from a very good teacher, Serbians.

“… K-Alb learned this from a very good teacher, Serbians…”

Really Gap? I would say that Albanians became experts in terrorizing other ethnical groups long time ago. You had a plenty of opportunities and plenty of time to practice during the Turkish period… And we both know who was your favorite victim.

And in our time, numbers speak for themselves. Compare ethnical structure of Serbia and ethnical structure of Kosovo. Compare numbers of Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo over the years.