Samardžić: Somebody wanted war

For the first (and the last) time, I completely agree with Mr Samardzic. It is true that somebody wanted to start a war. That somebody is called Slobodan Samardzic.

....to give Serbs “a violent lesson once and for all.”

Mr Samardzic is probably right. Reminds me of the British intentions on Bloody Sunday in Derry (13 shot dead)as revealed at a later enquiry: "to teach them a lesson"

I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the truth. It seems that the EU and their American friends wanted to solve the Serbian question as soon as possible by exterminating them all from their Kosmet province. They tried to create huge crisis in order to force those Serbs who survive to leave the province. This must be Thachi’s strategy genuinely welcomed by UNMIK officials. However, Krajina strategy failed in Kosovo province.

'Samardžić: Somebody wanted war'

This heading would have been more appropriate:

'Samardžić wanted war'

Yes, Mr Samardzic. It was you!!!

Samardžić: Somebody wanted war
Yes.
You.

Samardzic is right, somebody wanted war, and that somebody who wanted war was Samardzic himself and nis alikes.
But like President of Serbia Tadic said " If we start another war, we will loose another war". So therefore serbs can have more wars but they will loose just like they lost every single war in the last 18 years.

While I am an avowed cynic when it comes to politicians, given the circumstances (UNMIK's irresponsible &/or provocative raid & now proven bias by none other than del Ponte), will be watching (reading) the development of these allegations by 'Samardžić' very closely.

Would certainly explain action by UNMIK, as just seems improbable that UNMIK high command would be stupid enough to launch such a provocative raid.

'fishy' smell is getting stronger..

The war has never ended. It started way before 1999 and is excalating now with new participants in it, not only the Albanians and Serbs...we've just got an European Israel now...

What a hypocrit this Samardzic seems to be, its YOU provoking UNMIK and the Kosovar government to act they way they do to maintain order in whole of Kosovas territory. If you want to help them, do it but stop provoking them to take the law on their own hands. Its a matter of time befor they ban you from entering the state.

Mr.Samardzic is the person who wanted the war.
Kosovo already has its independence, UNMIK and KFOR are concerned that they would not be able to handle a chaotic situation in the North and the West worries that violence will scare other countries from recognizing Kosovo.
So, the only party interested in "war" is Mr. Smaradzic, Kostunica and all those who are looking for a scenario to bring the Russians in Kosovo.

Tough chance though: It seems to me that the Russians now that they got the Gazprom deal are beginning to like this Kosovo's independence a bit too much for Serbia's taste. Now, they can play around in the Caucasian area. Good friends indeed.

All along the Serb and Russian nationalists have been saying that K-Independence will create more violence in the region, insinuating that the Serb minority would get under attack by Albanians. Well, even after all the provocations the Serb side has tried so far, the Albanians have shown to the world who the aggressors are (again). None of the Serb enclaves (north of the river/south of the river) were attacked by ANA, KLA or any other Albanian group. There is only one side opting for violence and the Albanians are letting them show their true colours. The Serb and Russian nationalists are getting very frustrated that they are running out of options, they just can’t find a real enemy to fight against.

This one goes far beyond any imagination: UN that wants a WAR.

This could be said only by SERBIAN politician.

And bizarrely there will be Serbs that will believe him.

Who are you voting people in Serbia????

How can it be a coincidence that this illegal aggression was done to Serbs on the same day they were ethnically clensed a few years back? We all know america wanted to provoke Serbia into another war in another cowardly way. What a disgrace! It makes me sick. american soldier shooting at a crowd?? What are these occupiers doing in Serbia? Where are the mass graves of albanians and the 100,000 slaughtered albanians by the evil Serbs? There are none! It was all a hoax. nato attacked Serbia to occupy its province nad set up a base in the balkans.

In Balkans a moustache bearing man means something.
It is time this guy shaved his off.

samardzic is becoming a popular politician here. no wonder dss made him vicepresident recently. he is extremely articulate, very intelligent, has this demeanor without a trace of aggression or nervousness of any kind which you often see in polticians here, but sends an image of someone you can rely on, which is what people want and need to see. that he was there bang in the middle of kosovo when all that took place and that he's there so often on other days is just excellent.

One person already died, because Mr. Samardžić did nothing for to de-escalate the situation before it could end in riots of civil persons. For two days Mr. Samardžić refused to call the Serb judges for to leave the court. They were obviously told to wait on him until he appears on the scene in Mitrovica. If Serbia allows to breach public order in this way, UNMIK police was doing absolutely right to detain those who started the conflict. There is no evidence UNMIK was doing that in an inappropriate way. Aggression outside the court was started by Serbs outside the court. All that could have been avoided, if Mr. "someone wanted war" would have reacted with responsibility and early enough.

I can quite understand that Kosovo is a higher priority for many Serbs than is the EU. Eventually Serbia can join the EU whatever happens, but accepting the secession of Kosovo would be irrevocable.

Logically therefore, there are three ways of getting Kosovo back that might work.
1. Terrorism/War.
2. Reoccupation with large numbers.
3. Negotiation.

As 3. won't work, it is obvious there will be people thinking in terms of 1 and 2.

There is too the defacto split at Mitrovica. This, if successful, will make Kosovo much more likely to fail as a state. So, defacto, there will be a conflict at this boundary because the people north of it are not going to be governed by Pristina. Personally, I hope that the conflict will be peaceful. The best way to achieve peace is to let the northern provinces return to the state they were in before Tito put them into Kosovo.

The argument that this will set of a chain of events elsewhere is not true - the chain stated with the UDI.

This article proves one thing only, some Serbian politicians aren't interested in moving forward towards the European Union but instead want to further destabilize the region.

Some of the comments that Serbian politicians make are so out of this world, it's unbelievable. So the rest of the world is wrong to call the riots in Mitrovica as orchestrated?

It's a very primitive mentality to have, in such high places as the government, at least. If history can teach us one thing, and one thing only, is that - THIS JUST DOESN'T WORK.

Sniped? How come they lived?

IF those people got snipped at such close distance their hand would be off, they would be handless.

Remeber March 17, 2004. Albanian did horrible crime and ethnic cleasing. You are under protect of USA for now but it will not be forever. But serbian fight alone and always won through the history and we will. You albanians have never been free nation and you'll never be.

Kosovo is Serbia!!! Just 35 countries recognise Kosovo vs 192

- To all those people saying "Samardzic want's war". Could you explain to me why UNMIK chose to attack on 17 March, could you explain to me why they waited two hours inside the courthouse after having tied the prisoners, for word to spread of what they had done. They wanted this, it's just a shame that an innocent Ukranian soldier had to die. And you don't hear the Ukranian minister of Foreign Affairs blaming the Serbs, he was criticising the UN.

-All along the Serb and Russian nationalists have been saying that K-Independence will create more violence in the region, insinuating that the Serb minority would get under attack by Albanians. Well, even after all the provocations the Serb side has tried so far, the Albanians have shown to the world who the aggressors are (again). None of the Serb enclaves (north of the river/south of the river) were attacked by ANA, KLA or any other Albanian group. There is only one side opting for violence and the Albanians are letting them show their true colours. The Serb and Russian nationalists are getting very frustrated that they are running out of options, they just can’t find a real enemy to fight against.
(BH_NYC, 20 March 2008 13:14)

They never said that Albanians would attack Serbs, they said there wouldn't be stability in the region, and they were right. One soldier dead, over a hundred people wounded, and this is just the begining. By the way, the Albanians are not responding for two reasons.
1)There were no Albanians attacked, just UNMIK and NATO troops.
2)Who would complain if they were being given a state that shouldn't exist (I'm saying this because there is no Kosovar nation, everybody identifies themselves as Serbs or Albanians). I would like to remind you that Serbs have a thick population in 4 Balkan states, as do the Albanians. If we were to take the parts where the Serbs are living, we would take FYROM territory, Croatian territory(1/3 belongs to Serbs), Bosnian territory(49% belongs to us) and Montenegrin territory (50% belongs to us). That would make a mess, wouldn't it. And that's what is going to happen because of UDI, rebels from all around the world are asking for independence now.

It's the thief calling "catch the thief". Read his comments before and after, and his role in radicalizing K Serbs. UNMIK should not allow Samardzic to enter Kosova ever again.

It is no secret who gave the order (to storm the courthouse), and there is no question as to the motive. This all could have been resolved peacefully, but one side only wants what it wants and in their eyes compromise is a non-starter. The tactic for them (as with anyone hiding the truth) is to blame the victims. My question is why the UN was involved when they don't even recognize this fake NATO colony, and why they took orders from this illegal entity?

"I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the truth. It seems that the EU and their American friends wanted to solve the Serbian question as soon as possible by exterminating them all from their Kosmet province. They tried to create huge crisis in order to force those Serbs who survive to leave the province. This must be Thachi’s strategy genuinely welcomed by UNMIK officials. However, Krajina strategy failed in Kosovo province.
(bmrusila, 20 March 2008 11:38) "

To bad that you people won't realise yet , Kosova is indipendent, and if you say Krajina strategy has failed, you are so wrong, if that would have started , today Serbija, would have an incrase in population, but as usually you throw the stone, and try to hide the hand, but it is to late, the technology of 21st centry , makes that impossible.
So try to live your life where ever you are , and do not mix in policy of a foraign contry, because the only one to lose, are the serbs in Kosova, listening the people like your beloved Samardzic, and Kostunica.

To the pro K-albanian camp on this thread:

Earlier, I wasn't sure that UNMIK's raid on the 17th was a deliberately planned action of provocation. Now, there's virtually no doubt.

Your comments above mean that either,
(a): you truly believe that UNMIK acted responsibly, or
(b): you are so blinded by your own propaganda that you can not see the truth, or
(c): you are merely spreading propaganda in an attempt to hide the truth.

My guess is that most of you fit in category (b) or (c), in which case, there will not be any response / reasoned response.

To those of you who are in category (a), I invite debate.

Here are my arguments.


1. UNMIK planners were either stupidly irresponsible, or deliberately wanted to provoke the serbs to riot.

The raid was launched on the aniversary of the 2004 Kosovo riots - a day on which serbs suffered province-wide attacks by masses of K-albanians & a day of special sensitivity to them.

And there was no urgency - they could easily have waited a day or so.

In fact, by waiting a day or so, the whole situation could have been resolved peacefully through negotiation as Samardžić was due in Kosovska Mitrovica that very day.

The action was an unannounced dawn raid, to minimise interference with the actual arrests. The natural consequence of this was that the local serb population found itself suddenly confronted with what they perceived as a hostile force - leaving no time for more moderate heads to prevail.

The situation at the court-house then rapidly went from confrontation, to escalation, to widespread violence.

Will not elaborate here as have no proof as to exactly what happened, save to mention that UNMIK said that they did not fire on the crowd, but hospital staff verified that most of the serb casualties were from bullets - & verification of the latter would be easy.

Anyway, the point is that it was wholly predictable that the raid itself would cause a riot.


2. The higher echelons of UNMIK, led by Joachim Ruecker are biased for the K-albanian faction.
Therefore they are biased against the serbs.

Carla del Ponte, who is no friend of the serbs has categorically stated that UNMIK officials have interferred with her erstwhile prosecution of Haradinaj in the Hague by withholding & altering evidence, & by refusing to provide adequate protection to prosecution witnesses testifying against Haradinaj.

And although I personally dislike del Ponte & disagree with some of her findings (judges only see things in black or white), I have no doubt that she is telling the truth - she headed both the ICTY & the Hague Tribunal which means that her veracity must be beyond dispute.

And would be extremely easy to verify her claims - paper trails must be miles long at the Hague.


3. Kosovoska Mitrovica Regional UNMIK chief Gerard Galluci has resigned his post. After the raid, he sent off a report to UN HQ. In it, he stated that UNMIK's leadership in Pristina gave the go-ahead for this raid in order to provoke the serbs - so not only does he level the blame at Ruecker et al, he also labels the act pre-meditated.

UN HQ say they have not accepted his resignation. My speculation here is that as a member of UNMIK, his freedom of speech is curtailed - so he cannot embarrass the UN &/or incriminate UNMIK. I do not know whether Galluci needs UN HQ approval to resign.


Further, High officials from the UN have expressed 'serious concerns at UNMIK's behaviour. This tends to support point 1.

I might add that some of you are confusing the UN with UNMIK. They are not the same. as the latter are drawn from participating countries. The problem with UNMIK is that the leadership is pursuing national agendas rather than obeying the UN mandate.

Carl Bildt, former UN special envoy to the balkans has agreed with point 1.

So have the Ukrainians - they actually explicitly blame UNMIK for their soldiers death, even though he was actually killed by the serbs in the riot.

And even some in your own camp support point 1 - go figure.. there's hope afterall.

Points 1 & 2 support point 3 - One would think that UNMIK's leadership is reasonably intelligent, so that rules out stupidity, & UNMIK's bias against the serbs supports the idea that they sent that raid in to provoke the serbs. which is what Galluci said.

And, his report is the most damming indictment of all.

When he starts talking, UNMIK will have some serious questions to answer. Am looking forward to it.

absolutely right, absolutely right, i'm a moderate serb, but i keep thinking to myself they are really pushing it now. next election i'm switching from tadic and voting for the radicals. i can't even believe i'm saying this but ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! provocations cannot keep going on like this.

serbs are being taken for a ride. Please let extremism and the feeling of being pick on go.These guys are picking on you.They are enrticing violence and will make Serbia even more isolated than before. GOOD LUCK TO ALL

A link posted on another subject,frightning but unfortunately the bitter reality

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8304

Once again the Albanians are up to no good. Looks like they failed to ethnically cleanse Kosovo of Serb and Roma.
I hope the EU is watching and keeps an eye on Albanian aggression.

Remeber March 17, 2004. Albanian did horrible crime and ethnic cleasing. You are under protect of USA for now but it will not be forever. But serbian fight alone and always won through the history and we will. You albanians have never been free nation and you'll never be.

Kosovo is Serbia!!! Just 35 countries recognise Kosovo vs 192
(DU BOSTON, 20 March 2008 13:37)

Serbians started as the victims of Kosovo, and now they are portraying themselves as victims. Vuk Draškovic said of the Serbian Army, “This is an army with the soul of a girl, the behavior of a priest, and the heart of Obilic.”
As the recent fighting history goes, everyone wants peace, all around the Balkans, it is sad that nationalism in many country's involves to pick up a gun to achieve means.

DU,
It is actually 35 VS 157.
Or, are you doing political thing and counting other peoples votes as yours.
If you said 35 out 192 recognised that would be true.
But 35 VS 192 makes 227 Countries.

It's clear that the only way for Serbia to get back Kosovo is not by war, as wanted by Messrs. Samardjic et al., but by joining the EU.

"How can UNMIK and KFOR be the irresposible ones when the crowd was throwing hand grenades, guns and molotov cocktails. I bet if they didnt use force there would be tens of soldiers killed!
(odi, 21 March 2008 02:40) "

I presume you are responding to my last post on this thread (#30) & so will answer.

And I suggest you 'proof read' your comments before you post them - you said the crowd 'was throwing guns'. I presume you mean the crowd was 'using' guns.

My reply:

As I've stated before, I don't know precisely what went on (have only seen limited footage), but here's the sequence of events as a see them. Note that this is conjecture on my part based on footage seen, but I think it is reasonable.

Unannounced UNMIK mission arrives at the court-house & arrests protestors. Crowd starts to form. For whatever reason, arrests & loading of protesters takes a couple of hours giving crowd time to form in large numbers.

UNMIK mission tries to leave with protestors but are surrounded by crowd so can't. UNMIK uses 'tear-gas' AND 'flash-bangs' in an attempt to clear a path. Crowd resists. Situation escalates into use of violence by one side. Other side responds with violence. Further escalation.

UNMIK forces it's way through the crowd incuring casualties & causing them, in the process of which many of the protesters are freed. UNMIK withdraws with those protesters they still hold.

KFOR enters in force. Situation stabilises.

I haven't a clue as to who 'fired the first shot', given conflicting statements issued by both sides.

All I will say about this is that using 'flash-bangs' in this particular situation is a little questionable - those who cannot see but can hear what is going on, would hear the sounds of explosions, which might very well have been the 'trigger' for the violence that ensued.

Anyway, the issue here isn't whether the crowd acted responsibly, as the crowd was 'reacting' to the situation at hand. A sitation that was suddenly thrust upon them by the unannounced & unexpected arrival ot the UNMIK raid.

The issue is whether UNMIK acted responsibly in planning & executing the raid in the given circumstances in the first place.

Note that I didn't even mention KFOR in my original post, as this was UNMIK's mission - KFOR was only there in support, & as such bear no responsibility for the 'planning' of the mission. The people who 'planned' the mission were the UNMIK heads in Pristina.

So, how can I say that UNMIK's senior command in Pristina were irresponsible for executing this mission on the 17th?

1. The responsible thing to do in these situations is negotiate first & when all avenues of negotiation are exhausted, only then do you consider the use of force.

Was that the case?

Wasn't Samardžić due to visit Kosovska Mitrovica that very day?

Couldn't he have persuaded the protesters to leave, & in doing so, have earned himself some free political 'brownie points'?

I personally don't care who gets the credit, as long as the situation get's resolved peacefully.
The point is, we will never know as he never even got the chance to try.

Why not?

2. The mission was executed on the aniversary of the 2004 riots.

What 'responsible' person would pick the aniversary date, given that there was no particular urgency to get those people out of the court-house - could easily have waited a day or so - didn't do so.

Why not?

3. UNMIK's local chief in Kosovska Mitrovica, Gerard Galluci was against this mission & advised his superiors against it predicting that it would lead to violence. After 'the dust settled', he resigned 'in protest'.

As chief for the local area, his knowledge of the local situation was far superior to theirs, & yet his advice was ignored.

Why didn't the UNMIK heads in Pristina listen to him?

This is what Galluci had to say in his report to the UN:

"The report says that the raid was a "badly planned operation to restore law and order in the north, which has led to the disappearance of law and order".

"The choice of the date – March 17 – the fourth anniversary of the last episode of the ethnic cleansing of the Kosovo Serbs, and the decision to arrest and transport the Serbs to Priština looks as if it was created in order to inflame the Serb feelings," Galluci adds. "

I personally think it is a damning indictment of the UNMIK leadership in Pristina.

Do you?

4. The UNMIK soldier who died was a Ukrainian. One would expect that the Ukrainians would blame the person who killed him for his death. They didn't.

Instead the Ukrainians blamed UNMIK's planners - it seems that they too agree with Galluci.

Why did the Ukrainians blame the UNMIK leadership in Pristina for the death of their soldier?

5. Why did Carl Bildt, former UN special envoy to the balkans criticise UNMIK's mission?

Why have some many 'posts' on this website called into question the 'wisdom' of UNMIK's mission basically agreeing that riots were the predictable result?

And before you argue that they are all K-serb supporters, think again. Some of them were from the pro K-albanian camp.

So why?

odi & others:

A debate is about answering ALL points made by the opposing party.
You have answered none of mine.

I invite you to try again, although I do not expect you to do so, as the evidence overwhelming is against the heads of UNMIK in Pristina.

Until & if you do so, I categorically assert that UNMIK bears the responsibility for the riots, & the death & injuries that resulted from them.

I also assert that this was a deliberate ploy on their part to provoke a serb response.

Unfortunately for the UNMIK leadership, it backfired, & their plans were exposed, seriously damaging their credibility not only with ALL serbs, but with many others.

UNMIK should be reformed, starting from the top echelons.
UNMIK head Joachim Ruecker should resign pending further investigations into these actions.

next?

How can UNMIK and KFOR be the irresposible ones when the crowd was throwing hand grenades, guns and molotov cocktails. I bet if they didnt use force there would be tens of soldiers killed!

Wouldn't it be possible for B92 to do some investigation in those snipers? It is well known that the US has a group of specialized snipers that they used for crowd control in the march 2004 riots. Their job is to shoot guns, hand grenades and molotov cocktails from the hands of protestors who want to use them.

Samardzic is right, somebody wanted war, and that somebody who wanted war was Samardzic himself and nis alikes.
But like President of Serbia Tadic said " If we start another war, we will loose another war". So therefore serbs can have more wars but they will loose just like they lost every single war in the last 18 years.

In Balkans a moustache bearing man means something.
It is time this guy shaved his off.

Yes, Mr Samardzic. It was you!!!

Mr.Samardzic is the person who wanted the war.
Kosovo already has its independence, UNMIK and KFOR are concerned that they would not be able to handle a chaotic situation in the North and the West worries that violence will scare other countries from recognizing Kosovo.
So, the only party interested in "war" is Mr. Smaradzic, Kostunica and all those who are looking for a scenario to bring the Russians in Kosovo.

Tough chance though: It seems to me that the Russians now that they got the Gazprom deal are beginning to like this Kosovo's independence a bit too much for Serbia's taste. Now, they can play around in the Caucasian area. Good friends indeed.

"I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the truth. It seems that the EU and their American friends wanted to solve the Serbian question as soon as possible by exterminating them all from their Kosmet province. They tried to create huge crisis in order to force those Serbs who survive to leave the province. This must be Thachi’s strategy genuinely welcomed by UNMIK officials. However, Krajina strategy failed in Kosovo province.
(bmrusila, 20 March 2008 11:38) "

To bad that you people won't realise yet , Kosova is indipendent, and if you say Krajina strategy has failed, you are so wrong, if that would have started , today Serbija, would have an incrase in population, but as usually you throw the stone, and try to hide the hand, but it is to late, the technology of 21st centry , makes that impossible.
So try to live your life where ever you are , and do not mix in policy of a foraign contry, because the only one to lose, are the serbs in Kosova, listening the people like your beloved Samardzic, and Kostunica.

For the first (and the last) time, I completely agree with Mr Samardzic. It is true that somebody wanted to start a war. That somebody is called Slobodan Samardzic.

'Samardžić: Somebody wanted war'

This heading would have been more appropriate:

'Samardžić wanted war'

This article proves one thing only, some Serbian politicians aren't interested in moving forward towards the European Union but instead want to further destabilize the region.

Some of the comments that Serbian politicians make are so out of this world, it's unbelievable. So the rest of the world is wrong to call the riots in Mitrovica as orchestrated?

It's a very primitive mentality to have, in such high places as the government, at least. If history can teach us one thing, and one thing only, is that - THIS JUST DOESN'T WORK.

serbs are being taken for a ride. Please let extremism and the feeling of being pick on go.These guys are picking on you.They are enrticing violence and will make Serbia even more isolated than before. GOOD LUCK TO ALL

What a hypocrit this Samardzic seems to be, its YOU provoking UNMIK and the Kosovar government to act they way they do to maintain order in whole of Kosovas territory. If you want to help them, do it but stop provoking them to take the law on their own hands. Its a matter of time befor they ban you from entering the state.

Samardžić: Somebody wanted war
Yes.
You.

All along the Serb and Russian nationalists have been saying that K-Independence will create more violence in the region, insinuating that the Serb minority would get under attack by Albanians. Well, even after all the provocations the Serb side has tried so far, the Albanians have shown to the world who the aggressors are (again). None of the Serb enclaves (north of the river/south of the river) were attacked by ANA, KLA or any other Albanian group. There is only one side opting for violence and the Albanians are letting them show their true colours. The Serb and Russian nationalists are getting very frustrated that they are running out of options, they just can’t find a real enemy to fight against.

It's the thief calling "catch the thief". Read his comments before and after, and his role in radicalizing K Serbs. UNMIK should not allow Samardzic to enter Kosova ever again.

Once again the Albanians are up to no good. Looks like they failed to ethnically cleanse Kosovo of Serb and Roma.
I hope the EU is watching and keeps an eye on Albanian aggression.

absolutely right, absolutely right, i'm a moderate serb, but i keep thinking to myself they are really pushing it now. next election i'm switching from tadic and voting for the radicals. i can't even believe i'm saying this but ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! provocations cannot keep going on like this.

Remeber March 17, 2004. Albanian did horrible crime and ethnic cleasing. You are under protect of USA for now but it will not be forever. But serbian fight alone and always won through the history and we will. You albanians have never been free nation and you'll never be.

Kosovo is Serbia!!! Just 35 countries recognise Kosovo vs 192

Sniped? How come they lived?

IF those people got snipped at such close distance their hand would be off, they would be handless.

Remeber March 17, 2004. Albanian did horrible crime and ethnic cleasing. You are under protect of USA for now but it will not be forever. But serbian fight alone and always won through the history and we will. You albanians have never been free nation and you'll never be.

Kosovo is Serbia!!! Just 35 countries recognise Kosovo vs 192
(DU BOSTON, 20 March 2008 13:37)

Serbians started as the victims of Kosovo, and now they are portraying themselves as victims. Vuk Draškovic said of the Serbian Army, “This is an army with the soul of a girl, the behavior of a priest, and the heart of Obilic.”
As the recent fighting history goes, everyone wants peace, all around the Balkans, it is sad that nationalism in many country's involves to pick up a gun to achieve means.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the truth. It seems that the EU and their American friends wanted to solve the Serbian question as soon as possible by exterminating them all from their Kosmet province. They tried to create huge crisis in order to force those Serbs who survive to leave the province. This must be Thachi’s strategy genuinely welcomed by UNMIK officials. However, Krajina strategy failed in Kosovo province.

One person already died, because Mr. Samardžić did nothing for to de-escalate the situation before it could end in riots of civil persons. For two days Mr. Samardžić refused to call the Serb judges for to leave the court. They were obviously told to wait on him until he appears on the scene in Mitrovica. If Serbia allows to breach public order in this way, UNMIK police was doing absolutely right to detain those who started the conflict. There is no evidence UNMIK was doing that in an inappropriate way. Aggression outside the court was started by Serbs outside the court. All that could have been avoided, if Mr. "someone wanted war" would have reacted with responsibility and early enough.

This one goes far beyond any imagination: UN that wants a WAR.

This could be said only by SERBIAN politician.

And bizarrely there will be Serbs that will believe him.

Who are you voting people in Serbia????

It's clear that the only way for Serbia to get back Kosovo is not by war, as wanted by Messrs. Samardjic et al., but by joining the EU.

A link posted on another subject,frightning but unfortunately the bitter reality

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8304

....to give Serbs “a violent lesson once and for all.”

Mr Samardzic is probably right. Reminds me of the British intentions on Bloody Sunday in Derry (13 shot dead)as revealed at a later enquiry: "to teach them a lesson"

- To all those people saying "Samardzic want's war". Could you explain to me why UNMIK chose to attack on 17 March, could you explain to me why they waited two hours inside the courthouse after having tied the prisoners, for word to spread of what they had done. They wanted this, it's just a shame that an innocent Ukranian soldier had to die. And you don't hear the Ukranian minister of Foreign Affairs blaming the Serbs, he was criticising the UN.

-All along the Serb and Russian nationalists have been saying that K-Independence will create more violence in the region, insinuating that the Serb minority would get under attack by Albanians. Well, even after all the provocations the Serb side has tried so far, the Albanians have shown to the world who the aggressors are (again). None of the Serb enclaves (north of the river/south of the river) were attacked by ANA, KLA or any other Albanian group. There is only one side opting for violence and the Albanians are letting them show their true colours. The Serb and Russian nationalists are getting very frustrated that they are running out of options, they just can’t find a real enemy to fight against.
(BH_NYC, 20 March 2008 13:14)

They never said that Albanians would attack Serbs, they said there wouldn't be stability in the region, and they were right. One soldier dead, over a hundred people wounded, and this is just the begining. By the way, the Albanians are not responding for two reasons.
1)There were no Albanians attacked, just UNMIK and NATO troops.
2)Who would complain if they were being given a state that shouldn't exist (I'm saying this because there is no Kosovar nation, everybody identifies themselves as Serbs or Albanians). I would like to remind you that Serbs have a thick population in 4 Balkan states, as do the Albanians. If we were to take the parts where the Serbs are living, we would take FYROM territory, Croatian territory(1/3 belongs to Serbs), Bosnian territory(49% belongs to us) and Montenegrin territory (50% belongs to us). That would make a mess, wouldn't it. And that's what is going to happen because of UDI, rebels from all around the world are asking for independence now.

How can UNMIK and KFOR be the irresposible ones when the crowd was throwing hand grenades, guns and molotov cocktails. I bet if they didnt use force there would be tens of soldiers killed!

While I am an avowed cynic when it comes to politicians, given the circumstances (UNMIK's irresponsible &/or provocative raid & now proven bias by none other than del Ponte), will be watching (reading) the development of these allegations by 'Samardžić' very closely.

Would certainly explain action by UNMIK, as just seems improbable that UNMIK high command would be stupid enough to launch such a provocative raid.

'fishy' smell is getting stronger..

The war has never ended. It started way before 1999 and is excalating now with new participants in it, not only the Albanians and Serbs...we've just got an European Israel now...

It is no secret who gave the order (to storm the courthouse), and there is no question as to the motive. This all could have been resolved peacefully, but one side only wants what it wants and in their eyes compromise is a non-starter. The tactic for them (as with anyone hiding the truth) is to blame the victims. My question is why the UN was involved when they don't even recognize this fake NATO colony, and why they took orders from this illegal entity?

How can it be a coincidence that this illegal aggression was done to Serbs on the same day they were ethnically clensed a few years back? We all know america wanted to provoke Serbia into another war in another cowardly way. What a disgrace! It makes me sick. american soldier shooting at a crowd?? What are these occupiers doing in Serbia? Where are the mass graves of albanians and the 100,000 slaughtered albanians by the evil Serbs? There are none! It was all a hoax. nato attacked Serbia to occupy its province nad set up a base in the balkans.

I can quite understand that Kosovo is a higher priority for many Serbs than is the EU. Eventually Serbia can join the EU whatever happens, but accepting the secession of Kosovo would be irrevocable.

Logically therefore, there are three ways of getting Kosovo back that might work.
1. Terrorism/War.
2. Reoccupation with large numbers.
3. Negotiation.

As 3. won't work, it is obvious there will be people thinking in terms of 1 and 2.

There is too the defacto split at Mitrovica. This, if successful, will make Kosovo much more likely to fail as a state. So, defacto, there will be a conflict at this boundary because the people north of it are not going to be governed by Pristina. Personally, I hope that the conflict will be peaceful. The best way to achieve peace is to let the northern provinces return to the state they were in before Tito put them into Kosovo.

The argument that this will set of a chain of events elsewhere is not true - the chain stated with the UDI.

samardzic is becoming a popular politician here. no wonder dss made him vicepresident recently. he is extremely articulate, very intelligent, has this demeanor without a trace of aggression or nervousness of any kind which you often see in polticians here, but sends an image of someone you can rely on, which is what people want and need to see. that he was there bang in the middle of kosovo when all that took place and that he's there so often on other days is just excellent.

DU,
It is actually 35 VS 157.
Or, are you doing political thing and counting other peoples votes as yours.
If you said 35 out 192 recognised that would be true.
But 35 VS 192 makes 227 Countries.

To the pro K-albanian camp on this thread:

Earlier, I wasn't sure that UNMIK's raid on the 17th was a deliberately planned action of provocation. Now, there's virtually no doubt.

Your comments above mean that either,
(a): you truly believe that UNMIK acted responsibly, or
(b): you are so blinded by your own propaganda that you can not see the truth, or
(c): you are merely spreading propaganda in an attempt to hide the truth.

My guess is that most of you fit in category (b) or (c), in which case, there will not be any response / reasoned response.

To those of you who are in category (a), I invite debate.

Here are my arguments.


1. UNMIK planners were either stupidly irresponsible, or deliberately wanted to provoke the serbs to riot.

The raid was launched on the aniversary of the 2004 Kosovo riots - a day on which serbs suffered province-wide attacks by masses of K-albanians & a day of special sensitivity to them.

And there was no urgency - they could easily have waited a day or so.

In fact, by waiting a day or so, the whole situation could have been resolved peacefully through negotiation as Samardžić was due in Kosovska Mitrovica that very day.

The action was an unannounced dawn raid, to minimise interference with the actual arrests. The natural consequence of this was that the local serb population found itself suddenly confronted with what they perceived as a hostile force - leaving no time for more moderate heads to prevail.

The situation at the court-house then rapidly went from confrontation, to escalation, to widespread violence.

Will not elaborate here as have no proof as to exactly what happened, save to mention that UNMIK said that they did not fire on the crowd, but hospital staff verified that most of the serb casualties were from bullets - & verification of the latter would be easy.

Anyway, the point is that it was wholly predictable that the raid itself would cause a riot.


2. The higher echelons of UNMIK, led by Joachim Ruecker are biased for the K-albanian faction.
Therefore they are biased against the serbs.

Carla del Ponte, who is no friend of the serbs has categorically stated that UNMIK officials have interferred with her erstwhile prosecution of Haradinaj in the Hague by withholding & altering evidence, & by refusing to provide adequate protection to prosecution witnesses testifying against Haradinaj.

And although I personally dislike del Ponte & disagree with some of her findings (judges only see things in black or white), I have no doubt that she is telling the truth - she headed both the ICTY & the Hague Tribunal which means that her veracity must be beyond dispute.

And would be extremely easy to verify her claims - paper trails must be miles long at the Hague.


3. Kosovoska Mitrovica Regional UNMIK chief Gerard Galluci has resigned his post. After the raid, he sent off a report to UN HQ. In it, he stated that UNMIK's leadership in Pristina gave the go-ahead for this raid in order to provoke the serbs - so not only does he level the blame at Ruecker et al, he also labels the act pre-meditated.

UN HQ say they have not accepted his resignation. My speculation here is that as a member of UNMIK, his freedom of speech is curtailed - so he cannot embarrass the UN &/or incriminate UNMIK. I do not know whether Galluci needs UN HQ approval to resign.


Further, High officials from the UN have expressed 'serious concerns at UNMIK's behaviour. This tends to support point 1.

I might add that some of you are confusing the UN with UNMIK. They are not the same. as the latter are drawn from participating countries. The problem with UNMIK is that the leadership is pursuing national agendas rather than obeying the UN mandate.

Carl Bildt, former UN special envoy to the balkans has agreed with point 1.

So have the Ukrainians - they actually explicitly blame UNMIK for their soldiers death, even though he was actually killed by the serbs in the riot.

And even some in your own camp support point 1 - go figure.. there's hope afterall.

Points 1 & 2 support point 3 - One would think that UNMIK's leadership is reasonably intelligent, so that rules out stupidity, & UNMIK's bias against the serbs supports the idea that they sent that raid in to provoke the serbs. which is what Galluci said.

And, his report is the most damming indictment of all.

When he starts talking, UNMIK will have some serious questions to answer. Am looking forward to it.

"How can UNMIK and KFOR be the irresposible ones when the crowd was throwing hand grenades, guns and molotov cocktails. I bet if they didnt use force there would be tens of soldiers killed!
(odi, 21 March 2008 02:40) "

I presume you are responding to my last post on this thread (#30) & so will answer.

And I suggest you 'proof read' your comments before you post them - you said the crowd 'was throwing guns'. I presume you mean the crowd was 'using' guns.

My reply:

As I've stated before, I don't know precisely what went on (have only seen limited footage), but here's the sequence of events as a see them. Note that this is conjecture on my part based on footage seen, but I think it is reasonable.

Unannounced UNMIK mission arrives at the court-house & arrests protestors. Crowd starts to form. For whatever reason, arrests & loading of protesters takes a couple of hours giving crowd time to form in large numbers.

UNMIK mission tries to leave with protestors but are surrounded by crowd so can't. UNMIK uses 'tear-gas' AND 'flash-bangs' in an attempt to clear a path. Crowd resists. Situation escalates into use of violence by one side. Other side responds with violence. Further escalation.

UNMIK forces it's way through the crowd incuring casualties & causing them, in the process of which many of the protesters are freed. UNMIK withdraws with those protesters they still hold.

KFOR enters in force. Situation stabilises.

I haven't a clue as to who 'fired the first shot', given conflicting statements issued by both sides.

All I will say about this is that using 'flash-bangs' in this particular situation is a little questionable - those who cannot see but can hear what is going on, would hear the sounds of explosions, which might very well have been the 'trigger' for the violence that ensued.

Anyway, the issue here isn't whether the crowd acted responsibly, as the crowd was 'reacting' to the situation at hand. A sitation that was suddenly thrust upon them by the unannounced & unexpected arrival ot the UNMIK raid.

The issue is whether UNMIK acted responsibly in planning & executing the raid in the given circumstances in the first place.

Note that I didn't even mention KFOR in my original post, as this was UNMIK's mission - KFOR was only there in support, & as such bear no responsibility for the 'planning' of the mission. The people who 'planned' the mission were the UNMIK heads in Pristina.

So, how can I say that UNMIK's senior command in Pristina were irresponsible for executing this mission on the 17th?

1. The responsible thing to do in these situations is negotiate first & when all avenues of negotiation are exhausted, only then do you consider the use of force.

Was that the case?

Wasn't Samardžić due to visit Kosovska Mitrovica that very day?

Couldn't he have persuaded the protesters to leave, & in doing so, have earned himself some free political 'brownie points'?

I personally don't care who gets the credit, as long as the situation get's resolved peacefully.
The point is, we will never know as he never even got the chance to try.

Why not?

2. The mission was executed on the aniversary of the 2004 riots.

What 'responsible' person would pick the aniversary date, given that there was no particular urgency to get those people out of the court-house - could easily have waited a day or so - didn't do so.

Why not?

3. UNMIK's local chief in Kosovska Mitrovica, Gerard Galluci was against this mission & advised his superiors against it predicting that it would lead to violence. After 'the dust settled', he resigned 'in protest'.

As chief for the local area, his knowledge of the local situation was far superior to theirs, & yet his advice was ignored.

Why didn't the UNMIK heads in Pristina listen to him?

This is what Galluci had to say in his report to the UN:

"The report says that the raid was a "badly planned operation to restore law and order in the north, which has led to the disappearance of law and order".

"The choice of the date – March 17 – the fourth anniversary of the last episode of the ethnic cleansing of the Kosovo Serbs, and the decision to arrest and transport the Serbs to Priština looks as if it was created in order to inflame the Serb feelings," Galluci adds. "

I personally think it is a damning indictment of the UNMIK leadership in Pristina.

Do you?

4. The UNMIK soldier who died was a Ukrainian. One would expect that the Ukrainians would blame the person who killed him for his death. They didn't.

Instead the Ukrainians blamed UNMIK's planners - it seems that they too agree with Galluci.

Why did the Ukrainians blame the UNMIK leadership in Pristina for the death of their soldier?

5. Why did Carl Bildt, former UN special envoy to the balkans criticise UNMIK's mission?

Why have some many 'posts' on this website called into question the 'wisdom' of UNMIK's mission basically agreeing that riots were the predictable result?

And before you argue that they are all K-serb supporters, think again. Some of them were from the pro K-albanian camp.

So why?

odi & others:

A debate is about answering ALL points made by the opposing party.
You have answered none of mine.

I invite you to try again, although I do not expect you to do so, as the evidence overwhelming is against the heads of UNMIK in Pristina.

Until & if you do so, I categorically assert that UNMIK bears the responsibility for the riots, & the death & injuries that resulted from them.

I also assert that this was a deliberate ploy on their part to provoke a serb response.

Unfortunately for the UNMIK leadership, it backfired, & their plans were exposed, seriously damaging their credibility not only with ALL serbs, but with many others.

UNMIK should be reformed, starting from the top echelons.
UNMIK head Joachim Ruecker should resign pending further investigations into these actions.

next?

Wouldn't it be possible for B92 to do some investigation in those snipers? It is well known that the US has a group of specialized snipers that they used for crowd control in the march 2004 riots. Their job is to shoot guns, hand grenades and molotov cocktails from the hands of protestors who want to use them.