President reacts to ICJ decision

Dear Mr. President, don’t waste more money, effort and energy on Kosovo, accept the reality and let’s move on as two neighboring countries in future developments.
Shqipe Kosova

Those whom are against Kosovos independence have dirt on their own hands and fear secession from the people they repress.

Tadic! Take a strong slivovica tonight with your close friends and think seriously how to bring Serbia to the level of Croatia, Slovenia or even Slovakia and due your job to help Serbs to come back in the reality. You can get Kosovo back if you work hard together with allt the Serbs to make a secure, prosperous, friendly, European Serbia. All the rest is in the hands of history. Kosovo belongs to the people living there including Serbs. Give them a chance to decide about their future. Dreams of Milosevic are over. You wanted to hear internationally. Here we go.

Sure Mr. Jeremic can further fight to preserve Kosovo but it's a lost fight and by further continuing this fight Serbia only keeps it's citizens in a deadlock and it is not nor should it be in their interest as it clearly known that Serbia has lost Kosovo. Now, Serbia should move on and look forward to work together with the region including Kosovo even if it does nit recognize it. To further fight this true fact only keeps Serbia and the region back socially, and economically. There is no point fighting anymore and waisting time and the energy of the two regions. Enough fighting now time has come to move on as Serbia has lost its own fight today.

Let's just drop it and move on. Years of sanctions and war have taken their toll on the average Serbian citizen. Serbia does not have to recognize Kosovo, but the rest of the population deserves better. Let's build up the economy and infrastructure and let Kosovo fend for itself. Far too much time and effort has been spent on this black hole.

That's the spin and we are sticking to it.

My Response to ICJ Kosovo Ruling:
"They can't have their cake and eat it too"

The Western powers and the financial interests that guide them are likely very pleased with their maneuverings in the International Court of Justice's treatment of the Kosovo issue. They have found a strictly grammatical way of getting an opinion out of the court that they can present as a "ruling" to pressure more countries to recognize the U.S.-EU annexation and remote control of Kosovo through their selected Albanian agents on the ground in the Serbian province. The Serbian people now have to stand up for their national heartland by telling the West that "they can't have their cake (Serbia) and eat it (Kosovo) too".

The tricky wording of the "opinion" leaves the door open to continued resistance. The fact that the ICJ says there is no prohibition on declarations of independence means nothing more than to say anyone can declare whatever they want. But the important corollary must be trumpeted to the world by us: neither is anyone obliged to recognize whatever the Kosovo Albanians have declared as having any meaning either. Each world state is free to choose to accept the declaration or not. This obviously serves the globalist agenda of dividing and conquering the world by breaking strong defensive state unions into divisible morsels ripe for swallowing by rich oligarchies able to pay the price to their new vassals. Countries like Russia and China need to now use their vetoes to demonstrate that this advisory opinion actually leads nowhere.

The Western capitalist objective here is obviously the destruction of states that do not have the money, military and sheer power to defend themselves.

Serbia is under no obligation to change its current stance, nor are its core supporters. The number of countries recognizing Kosovo will now soar unless Serbia starts playing ball harder:

1. Serbia needs to say like China does when someone recognizes Taiwan, that you no longer can have diplomatic ties with us. Obviously any sensible state would choose to maintain ties with Serbia rather than Kosovo if given an either/or choice.

2. Serbia needs to assert and exercise increased presence in Kosovo on the ground, politically and economically with the support of direct cash from Russia and China and India. A major roll-out of media, telecoms, social aid, church tours, and serious legal actions for denationalization of Communist-seized private property is needed (with a parallel in Serbia to prove a principled approach).

3. Serbs from Republika Srpska must announce a referendum on declaration of independence from Bosnia.

4. Serbs from Croatia must redouble their efforts (with state help and guidance) to get their property back and to declare independence from Croatia.

5. Serbia should enter into very public negotiations to potentially recognize the Russian backed Abkaz and Ossetian regions as states.

6. Serbs from Kosovo should be organized into class action suits for their land to be returned in Kosovo, at the EU courts and in Serbia simultaneously.

A final comment: The results of this ruling are that a lot of defeatist pseudo-Serbs will now have an excuse for giving up on Serbian sovereignty in Kosovo. In that sense, by putting the decision on this matter into the hands of a court known to be US-dominated (as are all world bodies at this time) Jeremic and Tadic might have found a way to give an ICJ sugar-coated "bitter pill" to the Serbian public without having to take any responsibility at all... shifting blame to the ICJ, protesting loudly again but doing nothing, and then refocusing on a "if you can't beat them, join them" approach toward EU membership.

Patriots will not fall for any of these tricks. Serbs must oppose EU and NATO membership 100% and stick to the struggle for real justice (rather than mere technical, grammatical legalisms) until Kosovo is freed and Serbia stands proud as an independent free state not driven by the dictates of foreign superpowers like the U.S. or foreign superstates like the EU.

END

Righteous and fair decision. My congratulations to ICJ

Nice spin there Tadic.

Washington and Pristina would never accept a ruling in favor of Serbia so why should Serbia accept this murky ruling which states Kosovo independence is not against international law?
Nothing changes!
(Mikael C, 22 July 2010 19:30)

Because it was serbia that denounced the case, moreover, it was serbia that justified seccesion as illegal only because it was against the international law. However, no one cares what serbia and banrupt countries of EU like romania, greece and slovakia think... The icj verdict will accelerate 40 recgonitions which were on the stand by because the court decision. If reckognised by the majority of UN countries, there is nothing russia can do.

Guys don't misunderstand Tadic. He isn't playing the Albanians,he is actually playing the Serbs. The best way to get rid of the Kosovo mess without geting a scratch on your political career is to sell it to the Serbian public as a verdict coming from the ICJ(you know the evil west). The final act comes in September. Some serbian posters in the beginning of this ICJ process understood what was going on,the majority of them though bought it. Remember Jeremic? Diplomatic victory for Serbia. I guess today is a diplomatic defeat then. I don't think that any serb with common sense will agree that Serbia is in a better position after asking ICJ.You shouldn't have asked at all.

If Serbia were given control since 99 it would have gave these thugs a good smack already and kept them quiet. Now the rest of the world can enjoy dealing with them.
(jt, 22 July 2010 20:52)

Serbia has to worry about its own thugs. These thugs killed your prime minister and took power. They are still in power today. Open your papers and read their visits all around the world. Their names are there clearly printed.

"It is clear that the court was not ruling on the right to secession, but that it decided to debate only the technical content of the declaration of independence. The court avoided to rule on the essential issue and decided to let the top UN organ debate that, and all the political implications," the president said in his reaction. "

--Nice spin Tadic; make sure you stick to it since you didn't stick to what you said just yesterday. Its just one click away here on B92. Your words are still fresh and they certainly were quite the opposite of what you're saying today. Singing a different tune aren't we?. Lets see how far that brings you.
Anyone here wants to bet that there will be a whole bunch of articles about how the ICJ was bought and pressured by the evil West and the Albanians? Along with those the usual suspects here will agree with such articles and pat each other on the back. Dejavu maybe?

Washington and Pristina would never accept a ruling in favor of Serbia so why should Serbia accept this murky ruling which states Kosovo independence is not against international law?
Nothing changes!

"I think that most Serbs in Serbia could care less about Kosovo at this point and would rather move on. I get that feeling from the posters on the Serbian version of this forum."

I do not think that is completely true, but I believe that most Serbs are more concerned with their own future than that of Kosovo, as they should be....

I think you’re missing the point here! All Serbia did was gain some time and stop the rapid recognition of Kosovo’s independence. From now on a lot of countries will proceed with recognizing Kosovo as an independent state. By September up to 40 countries may recognize Kosovo’s independence which would bring the number of countries on Kosovo’s side to around 110, which is more than half of the UN. Independence is irreversible; now the only major problem remaining is the northern part of Mitrovica.
Serbia cannot send its troops there under any circumstances; it would be a political suicide and a big step backwards for the country’s aspirations, join the EU and NATO.This is a victory for the Kosovo cause. However, regarding north of Kosovo both sides must seat and talk in order to find a solution. A big blow for Wolf’s diplomacy though.Ko to kaze ko to laze?Jeremic.

Tadic should resign immediately!

After all it is not illegal for a minority to declare independence anymore. That is exactly what ICJ said.
(kufr, 22 July 2010 21:24)

Nope, you got it wrong. That’s not what the Court said. It said, by carefully and narrowly choosing the words that the declaration of independence of Kosovo adopted on 17 February 2008 did not violate international law.

So the only thing that is not illegal is:

(i) a specific declaration of independence;

(ii) of a specific entity (Kosovo);

(iii) adopted on a specific date (17/2/2008).

So even for Kosovo, not any declaration of independence is not illegal; just the one that was declared on 17/2/2008. For example Kosovo’s Parliament approved a resolution for the independence and sovereignty of Kosovo also in September of 1991, but that’s not covered by this Court’s decision, because the decision is only for the declaration of 17/2/2008.

Let alone then declarations of independence by other entities in other dates. The Court specifically cautioned in the decision that “The question is narrow and specific” and avoided making general sweeping conclusions like the one that you state above.

Sabaton

So if the verdict would have been positive for Serbia it would be a different situation? The americans and Pristina clearely stated they would never again talk about status regardless of the verdict so nothing changes. Serbia thought they had a chance if they succeeded at the ICJ. The situations to consider is the one on the ground. A lot of things concerning Kosovo are uncertain but two things are solid: Albanians don't want to be ruled by Serbs and Serbs definitively won't be ruled by Albanians. No amount of recognitions will change the facts on the ground. That is the reality regardless of the verdict.

I read on a swedish newssite that this verdict is dangerous for a lot of countries. Even here in Sweden they now fear that Republic of Jämtland in the north and Skåne in the south might want to secceed. I pray and hope they do. You can't have one without the other. People are foolish if they think it will stop at Kosovo.

"1. Serbia needs to say like China does when someone recognizes Taiwan, that you no longer can have diplomatic ties with us. Obviously any sensible state would choose to maintain ties with Serbia rather than Kosovo if given an either/or choice.
John Bosnitch"

Hasn't Serbia already tried that with Montenegro, Macedonia, Croatia...the list is long? They even stormed the US Embassy.

What Tadic/Jeremic say is important on 2 fronts.

1. Internal issues: The whole Kosovo issue was a talking point to buy time and not have to deal with internal problems head on.
It will be interesting to see what happens now that they lost and how much more the people of Serbia can endure from this duo.

2. International opinion:
Here you have two countries, Kosovo and Serbia. Kosovo has aligned itself with the West and Serbia with the East.

In addition, Serbia refuses to turn over war criminals and calls up the international community on the legality of Kosovo with intentions of not honoring it's verdict 'in the event' it does not please Serbia.

This stance can only help Kosovo and it's cause.

And, they know it. It's a war of words only to keep Serbs 'preoccupied' with the Kosovo issue and not deal with other problems in Serbia.

Being that Tadic & Jeremic are in charge of Serbia's affairs they should do as they see fit.


I think that most Serbs in Serbia could care less about Kosovo at this point and would rather move on. I get that feeling from the posters on the Serbian version of this forum.

I could be wrong.
Anyway, Serbia can continue this 'Mickey Mouse' game and it will end up costing them more.
Who cares, how often are politicians held responsible for the suffering of their people.

Serbs, you have been raped by the international community for two decades, it is time to fight again. Your diplomatic efforts are not heard by countries such as the US and UK. If they take Kosovo, you have the right to take your part of B&H as well as the Bay of Kotor. According to the ICJ decision these areas are Serbian.
You cannot be raped anymore.....react!!!!

I have been thinking about this in the hours after the decision. The best move would be for nothern Kosovo to declare independence already tomorrow and for Serbia to accept it. Then point at the twisted ICJ decision if somebody complains. After all it is not illegal for a minority to declare independence anymore. That is exactly what ICJ said.

If albanians send in troops to northern Kosovo to take over, then Serbia can send in troops too. As long as Serbia don't send in the troops first.

This is not the best solution, but the timing for this move is perfect right now.

2. Serbia needs to assert and exercise increased presence in Kosovo on the ground, politically and economically with the support of direct cash from Russia and China and India.
(John Bosnitch, 22 July 2010 19:48)

And why should China, India, and Russia pay that cash... How naive you are. You think that China supports Serbia (or for that matter US supports Kosovo) because it loves it...!!!

Come on ! All parties consider their self interest. China has the Taiwan issue, so it's against Kosovo. US wanted to take out those thousands of soldiers that has or had in Kosovo and could not stay there for decades waiting for the "consensual" status as Serbia wanted, so it made the pragmatic choice.

My friend, nobody cares about Serbia except Serbia itself and nobody cares about Kosovo, except Kosovo itself. Just because it happens that the interests of one power align with those of Serbia or Kosovo, does not mean that they care about Serbia or Kosovo; they only care about themselves.

Oh what a tangled web we weave - so now the ICJ rules that there is nothing within "general international law" that prohibits declarations of independence.....

- so who next can be stopped from declaring ? Pandora's box is fully open at the behest of the US no less!!!

Certainly there is no need for Serbian areas across all of Serbia's UN recognised province of Kosovo & Metohija to do any declarations of the sort - it remains within Serbia as does the whole of the province. What should be done and continues to be done is further deepening of legitimate Serbian institutions across the whole of its UN recognised province - all of it in time!

What is clear is what the ICJ choose to ignore - any mention of any country that recognises this false state of Kosova is clearly in breach of International law - as it does indeed violate that mutual respect for sovereign UN states.

Serbia needs to now act on the illegal action of those who act against its territorial integrity - none better than directly against US itself!

Note the US itself gave this in its argument at the ICJ;

"United States invites the International Court of Justice to leave the declaration of independence intact as an expression of the will of the people of Kosovo, either by refusing to comment on its legality, or by determining that the international law does not prohibit declarations of independence. The declaration of independence did not violate any principle of territorial integrity because under international law, only states must comply with this principle, and not internal entities."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Court_of_Justice_advisory_opinion_on_Kosovo's_declaration_of_independence

- only states and goes to for the US must uphold this - they themselves indicated to Serbia what it must do.

Tadic must now put this forth within the UN and persue the US directly for they are not "friends of Serbia" while they undermine Serbia's sovereignity.

"until Kosovo is freed and Serbia stands proud as an independent free state"

John,

what do you have in mind when you say -Kosovo is freed-?

DO you mean, freed by its population?

Now with Albanians running the borders of Kosovo and US/EU leaving the region is going to turn into a hot bed for more drugs, human and sex trafficking, as well as extremist...

It will become a strong hold base in the heart of Europe for islamic extremism and terrorists. Congrats EU! If Serbia were given control since 99 it would have gave these thugs a good smack already and kept them quiet. Now the rest of the world can enjoy dealing with them.

Truth be told, that was nothing surprising on the ICJ verdict. Kosovo was just the last chapter of the division of Yugoslavia, nothing special in the independence compared to precedents of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia or Montenegro. The reason why Serbia keeps pushing so much in Kosovo case is because it is afraid of the Albanian potential in the Balkans, which together with Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo is now over 8 million people, a larger nation than Serbia. Reality tells that from now on, the Albanians will be one of the factors of the region and not just an "inferior race" as Serbs proclaim.

Time for RS to declare independence. Same with north Kosovo and Krajina.
The Basques most likely will feel encouraged now as well.
SO can go ahead and go.

We are not even mentioning UK here or the rest of the world.
Let's see how the ICJ will deal with this one.

"Serbia will never recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, since we believe that unilateral and ethnically motivated secession is not in line with UN principles,"

Which Serbia, that Serbia who broke every possible UN principle for 20 and more years. C'mon Mr. Tadic, what is done is done, you should accept the rule of a court which you wanted so badly.

@abc123,

Well you can repeat that "sui generis" forever. Dodik has already said in Republika Srpska today that this means a new political struggle can begin. A struggle for a status that is not in breach with international law after the events today.

# Time for RS to declare independence. Same with north Kosovo and Krajina.
The Basques most likely will feel encouraged now as well.
SO can go ahead and go.

We are not even mentioning UK here or the rest of the world.
Let's see how the ICJ will deal with this one.
(Peggy, 22 July 2010 22:50)

For each and every case you should spend money and time and listen for a new ICJ opinion. Good Luck!

Another weak and pathetic response from this weak and pathetic yellow president.
Now is the time to recognize Republika Srpska, and to kick out the US, UK and German ambassadors. Tadic, aren't you tired of smiling and shaking hands with these so called 'friends' of yours while they stab you in the back over and over and over again? Learn who your friends are, and treat your enemies as enemies, they will show you more respect you pathetic excuse of a leader you. It's time for you and your yellows to go.

Time for RS to declare independence. Same with north Kosovo and Krajina.
The Basques most likely will feel encouraged now as well.
SO can go ahead and go.

We are not even mentioning UK here or the rest of the world.
Let's see how the ICJ will deal with this one.
(Peggy, 22 July 2010 22:50)

No-one else will declare independence because of this. Especially not in the UK. The only case I can image of someone declaring independence is the Serbs in either North Kosovo or in Bosnia. This will be done in a desperate attempt to try and prove this myth of a "precedent" theory and it will not be taken seriously, it will last about 5 minutes. The "precedent theory" is a joke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JklgXQ5LYJ4
Guess where these football fans come from

"Guess where these football fans come from
(Ian, UK, 23 July 2010 12:38)"

Scotland, Northern Ireland and England, amongst others. A mix of loyalist Scots and Ulster-men and normal fans just signing that to wind up their rivals.

What's your point?

My friend, nobody cares about Serbia except Serbia itself and nobody cares about Kosovo, except Kosovo itself. Just because it happens that the interests of one power align with those of Serbia or Kosovo, does not mean that they care about Serbia or Kosovo; they only care about themselves.
(Markg, 22 July 2010 22:28)
===================

Exactly. So what happens when you no longer serve their interests?
You see, Seribia will always serve Russia's interests because we are family but you guys are soley for exploitation and available to the highest bidder.

You see, Seribia will always serve Russia's interests because we are family but you guys are soley for exploitation and available to the highest bidder.
(Peggy, 23 July 2010 04:25)

Ah and here I was left under impression you were British. Now that you finally came out; where are you throwing the party?

P.S Don't worry about what we are going to do. That is for us to think about. In the meantime enjoy the moment. Hint: Take a look at how things went for Albania after the US backed its independence and you had Serbia, Greece, the Ottomans and the Russians hellbent on wiping it out from the face of the earth. Not only that but UN membership was denied a few times also yet things moved on. I hope that is a good enough hint.

@abc123,

Well you can repeat that "sui generis" forever. Dodik has already said in Republika Srpska today that this means a new political struggle can begin. A struggle for a status that is not in breach with international law after the events today.
(kufr, 22 July 2010 23:38)

I did not say "sui generis'. I said that the Court's decision (see it's last page) was about:

(i) a specific declaration of independence;

(ii) of a specific entity (Kosovo);

(iii) adopted on a specific date (17/2/2008).

The case for RS secession from BiH is neither weaker nor stronger because of ICJ's decision about Kosovo. What this Dodik wants to do in the future could have equally been done even before today.

"Time for RS to declare independence. Same with north Kosovo and Krajina.
The Basques most likely will feel encouraged now as well.
SO can go ahead and go.

We are not even mentioning UK here or the rest of the world.
Let's see how the ICJ will deal with this one.
Peggy"

I don't think anyone is going to secede anytime soon!

Republic of Srpska is the next EU state. There is no law that can keep Bosnia and Herzegovina together, or forbid Kurds to declare their state in Turkey.

--Nice spin Tadic; make sure you stick to it since you didn't stick to what you said just yesterday. Its just one click away here on B92. Your words are still fresh and they certainly were quite the opposite of what you're saying today. Singing a different tune aren't we?. Lets see how far that brings you.
Anyone here wants to bet that there will be a whole bunch of articles about how the ICJ was bought and pressured by the evil West and the Albanians? Along with those the usual suspects here will agree with such articles and pat each other on the back. Dejavu maybe?
(johny, 22 July 2010 19:47)

Johny
I always liked your comments. If my memory serves me good enough the question put to the court was about accordance with the international law of UDI. The question did not mention secession.
Putting question on UDI and expecting to get the answer on secession is just like asking for the room and being disappointed why you did not get full apartment. Right or wrong?

Peggy, if you know your international law, you would reloze that SERBS signed the Dayton which states that Serbia defends the Dayton, another point in the Dayton which states succession is illegal which could be stopped by military force, just like Serbia did with Kosovo. But Serbia now can't defend RS due to Dayton, legally it has to support Bosnia, same goes to Croatia.

Tadic should resign immediately!
(Citizen, 22 July 2010 23:28)

With all my acknowledgement that the current Serbian government is the best (with Croatian) in the region by the long shot: yes, unfortunately. They played a game and lost the bet. In such cases gentleman's obligation is to resign.

The big winner today internationally is not who you would think.

Possible scenarios:

1) Saaki can kiss Ossetia and Abkhazia good-bye.
2) Serbia is weak like every country in the region. They do not have a big stick. So they need to make a deal with someone who is interested to have military bases in Serbia, most importantly, Kosovo and who has big enough stick.

Both 1) and 2) are related. Not very funny. It can have difficult consequences.

But today's verdict is fitting some country like a custom-made suit. I can imagine, behind closed doors somewhere up in the north vodka flows in rivers now.

Time for RS to declare independence. Same with north Kosovo and Krajina.
The Basques most likely will feel encouraged now as well.
SO can go ahead and go.

We are not even mentioning UK here or the rest of the world.
Let's see how the ICJ will deal with this one.
(Peggy, 22 July 2010 22:50)

Is that all Peggy?

What about the Kurds from NATO servant in south-east Turkey?
What about Kurds from Northern oil-rich Iraq?
Bradford in the UK?
Corsica from France?
Shia region of Saudi Arabia?
Soon Texas in the USA?

As GWB said "Bring it on"

It seems that too many cannot tell the difference between a ruling on UDI (which is what the ICJ did) and a ruling on secession by a minority without the accord of the majority withing a sovereign state (which the ICJ did not, in fact it studiously avoided it as it would gut the Helsinki Final Act that expressly declares one sided secession as illegal). Duh!

The truth is in the detail and so far many people have only read the brief/press release. Better analyses will obviously come over the next few days.

Washington and Pristina would never accept a ruling in favor of Serbia so why should Serbia accept this murky ruling which states Kosovo independence is not against international law?
Nothing changes!

Now with Albanians running the borders of Kosovo and US/EU leaving the region is going to turn into a hot bed for more drugs, human and sex trafficking, as well as extremist...

It will become a strong hold base in the heart of Europe for islamic extremism and terrorists. Congrats EU! If Serbia were given control since 99 it would have gave these thugs a good smack already and kept them quiet. Now the rest of the world can enjoy dealing with them.

Serbs, you have been raped by the international community for two decades, it is time to fight again. Your diplomatic efforts are not heard by countries such as the US and UK. If they take Kosovo, you have the right to take your part of B&H as well as the Bay of Kotor. According to the ICJ decision these areas are Serbian.
You cannot be raped anymore.....react!!!!

My Response to ICJ Kosovo Ruling:
"They can't have their cake and eat it too"

The Western powers and the financial interests that guide them are likely very pleased with their maneuverings in the International Court of Justice's treatment of the Kosovo issue. They have found a strictly grammatical way of getting an opinion out of the court that they can present as a "ruling" to pressure more countries to recognize the U.S.-EU annexation and remote control of Kosovo through their selected Albanian agents on the ground in the Serbian province. The Serbian people now have to stand up for their national heartland by telling the West that "they can't have their cake (Serbia) and eat it (Kosovo) too".

The tricky wording of the "opinion" leaves the door open to continued resistance. The fact that the ICJ says there is no prohibition on declarations of independence means nothing more than to say anyone can declare whatever they want. But the important corollary must be trumpeted to the world by us: neither is anyone obliged to recognize whatever the Kosovo Albanians have declared as having any meaning either. Each world state is free to choose to accept the declaration or not. This obviously serves the globalist agenda of dividing and conquering the world by breaking strong defensive state unions into divisible morsels ripe for swallowing by rich oligarchies able to pay the price to their new vassals. Countries like Russia and China need to now use their vetoes to demonstrate that this advisory opinion actually leads nowhere.

The Western capitalist objective here is obviously the destruction of states that do not have the money, military and sheer power to defend themselves.

Serbia is under no obligation to change its current stance, nor are its core supporters. The number of countries recognizing Kosovo will now soar unless Serbia starts playing ball harder:

1. Serbia needs to say like China does when someone recognizes Taiwan, that you no longer can have diplomatic ties with us. Obviously any sensible state would choose to maintain ties with Serbia rather than Kosovo if given an either/or choice.

2. Serbia needs to assert and exercise increased presence in Kosovo on the ground, politically and economically with the support of direct cash from Russia and China and India. A major roll-out of media, telecoms, social aid, church tours, and serious legal actions for denationalization of Communist-seized private property is needed (with a parallel in Serbia to prove a principled approach).

3. Serbs from Republika Srpska must announce a referendum on declaration of independence from Bosnia.

4. Serbs from Croatia must redouble their efforts (with state help and guidance) to get their property back and to declare independence from Croatia.

5. Serbia should enter into very public negotiations to potentially recognize the Russian backed Abkaz and Ossetian regions as states.

6. Serbs from Kosovo should be organized into class action suits for their land to be returned in Kosovo, at the EU courts and in Serbia simultaneously.

A final comment: The results of this ruling are that a lot of defeatist pseudo-Serbs will now have an excuse for giving up on Serbian sovereignty in Kosovo. In that sense, by putting the decision on this matter into the hands of a court known to be US-dominated (as are all world bodies at this time) Jeremic and Tadic might have found a way to give an ICJ sugar-coated "bitter pill" to the Serbian public without having to take any responsibility at all... shifting blame to the ICJ, protesting loudly again but doing nothing, and then refocusing on a "if you can't beat them, join them" approach toward EU membership.

Patriots will not fall for any of these tricks. Serbs must oppose EU and NATO membership 100% and stick to the struggle for real justice (rather than mere technical, grammatical legalisms) until Kosovo is freed and Serbia stands proud as an independent free state not driven by the dictates of foreign superpowers like the U.S. or foreign superstates like the EU.

END

Time for RS to declare independence. Same with north Kosovo and Krajina.
The Basques most likely will feel encouraged now as well.
SO can go ahead and go.

We are not even mentioning UK here or the rest of the world.
Let's see how the ICJ will deal with this one.

Sure Mr. Jeremic can further fight to preserve Kosovo but it's a lost fight and by further continuing this fight Serbia only keeps it's citizens in a deadlock and it is not nor should it be in their interest as it clearly known that Serbia has lost Kosovo. Now, Serbia should move on and look forward to work together with the region including Kosovo even if it does nit recognize it. To further fight this true fact only keeps Serbia and the region back socially, and economically. There is no point fighting anymore and waisting time and the energy of the two regions. Enough fighting now time has come to move on as Serbia has lost its own fight today.

Sabaton

So if the verdict would have been positive for Serbia it would be a different situation? The americans and Pristina clearely stated they would never again talk about status regardless of the verdict so nothing changes. Serbia thought they had a chance if they succeeded at the ICJ. The situations to consider is the one on the ground. A lot of things concerning Kosovo are uncertain but two things are solid: Albanians don't want to be ruled by Serbs and Serbs definitively won't be ruled by Albanians. No amount of recognitions will change the facts on the ground. That is the reality regardless of the verdict.

I read on a swedish newssite that this verdict is dangerous for a lot of countries. Even here in Sweden they now fear that Republic of Jämtland in the north and Skåne in the south might want to secceed. I pray and hope they do. You can't have one without the other. People are foolish if they think it will stop at Kosovo.

Let's just drop it and move on. Years of sanctions and war have taken their toll on the average Serbian citizen. Serbia does not have to recognize Kosovo, but the rest of the population deserves better. Let's build up the economy and infrastructure and let Kosovo fend for itself. Far too much time and effort has been spent on this black hole.

I have been thinking about this in the hours after the decision. The best move would be for nothern Kosovo to declare independence already tomorrow and for Serbia to accept it. Then point at the twisted ICJ decision if somebody complains. After all it is not illegal for a minority to declare independence anymore. That is exactly what ICJ said.

If albanians send in troops to northern Kosovo to take over, then Serbia can send in troops too. As long as Serbia don't send in the troops first.

This is not the best solution, but the timing for this move is perfect right now.

That's the spin and we are sticking to it.

"It is clear that the court was not ruling on the right to secession, but that it decided to debate only the technical content of the declaration of independence. The court avoided to rule on the essential issue and decided to let the top UN organ debate that, and all the political implications," the president said in his reaction. "

--Nice spin Tadic; make sure you stick to it since you didn't stick to what you said just yesterday. Its just one click away here on B92. Your words are still fresh and they certainly were quite the opposite of what you're saying today. Singing a different tune aren't we?. Lets see how far that brings you.
Anyone here wants to bet that there will be a whole bunch of articles about how the ICJ was bought and pressured by the evil West and the Albanians? Along with those the usual suspects here will agree with such articles and pat each other on the back. Dejavu maybe?

Dear Mr. President, don’t waste more money, effort and energy on Kosovo, accept the reality and let’s move on as two neighboring countries in future developments.
Shqipe Kosova

Oh what a tangled web we weave - so now the ICJ rules that there is nothing within "general international law" that prohibits declarations of independence.....

- so who next can be stopped from declaring ? Pandora's box is fully open at the behest of the US no less!!!

Certainly there is no need for Serbian areas across all of Serbia's UN recognised province of Kosovo & Metohija to do any declarations of the sort - it remains within Serbia as does the whole of the province. What should be done and continues to be done is further deepening of legitimate Serbian institutions across the whole of its UN recognised province - all of it in time!

What is clear is what the ICJ choose to ignore - any mention of any country that recognises this false state of Kosova is clearly in breach of International law - as it does indeed violate that mutual respect for sovereign UN states.

Serbia needs to now act on the illegal action of those who act against its territorial integrity - none better than directly against US itself!

Note the US itself gave this in its argument at the ICJ;

"United States invites the International Court of Justice to leave the declaration of independence intact as an expression of the will of the people of Kosovo, either by refusing to comment on its legality, or by determining that the international law does not prohibit declarations of independence. The declaration of independence did not violate any principle of territorial integrity because under international law, only states must comply with this principle, and not internal entities."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Court_of_Justice_advisory_opinion_on_Kosovo's_declaration_of_independence

- only states and goes to for the US must uphold this - they themselves indicated to Serbia what it must do.

Tadic must now put this forth within the UN and persue the US directly for they are not "friends of Serbia" while they undermine Serbia's sovereignity.

"until Kosovo is freed and Serbia stands proud as an independent free state"

John,

what do you have in mind when you say -Kosovo is freed-?

DO you mean, freed by its population?

Washington and Pristina would never accept a ruling in favor of Serbia so why should Serbia accept this murky ruling which states Kosovo independence is not against international law?
Nothing changes!
(Mikael C, 22 July 2010 19:30)

Because it was serbia that denounced the case, moreover, it was serbia that justified seccesion as illegal only because it was against the international law. However, no one cares what serbia and banrupt countries of EU like romania, greece and slovakia think... The icj verdict will accelerate 40 recgonitions which were on the stand by because the court decision. If reckognised by the majority of UN countries, there is nothing russia can do.

Tadic! Take a strong slivovica tonight with your close friends and think seriously how to bring Serbia to the level of Croatia, Slovenia or even Slovakia and due your job to help Serbs to come back in the reality. You can get Kosovo back if you work hard together with allt the Serbs to make a secure, prosperous, friendly, European Serbia. All the rest is in the hands of history. Kosovo belongs to the people living there including Serbs. Give them a chance to decide about their future. Dreams of Milosevic are over. You wanted to hear internationally. Here we go.

Righteous and fair decision. My congratulations to ICJ

@abc123,

Well you can repeat that "sui generis" forever. Dodik has already said in Republika Srpska today that this means a new political struggle can begin. A struggle for a status that is not in breach with international law after the events today.

Nice spin there Tadic.

Those whom are against Kosovos independence have dirt on their own hands and fear secession from the people they repress.

If Serbia were given control since 99 it would have gave these thugs a good smack already and kept them quiet. Now the rest of the world can enjoy dealing with them.
(jt, 22 July 2010 20:52)

Serbia has to worry about its own thugs. These thugs killed your prime minister and took power. They are still in power today. Open your papers and read their visits all around the world. Their names are there clearly printed.

"1. Serbia needs to say like China does when someone recognizes Taiwan, that you no longer can have diplomatic ties with us. Obviously any sensible state would choose to maintain ties with Serbia rather than Kosovo if given an either/or choice.
John Bosnitch"

Hasn't Serbia already tried that with Montenegro, Macedonia, Croatia...the list is long? They even stormed the US Embassy.

What Tadic/Jeremic say is important on 2 fronts.

1. Internal issues: The whole Kosovo issue was a talking point to buy time and not have to deal with internal problems head on.
It will be interesting to see what happens now that they lost and how much more the people of Serbia can endure from this duo.

2. International opinion:
Here you have two countries, Kosovo and Serbia. Kosovo has aligned itself with the West and Serbia with the East.

In addition, Serbia refuses to turn over war criminals and calls up the international community on the legality of Kosovo with intentions of not honoring it's verdict 'in the event' it does not please Serbia.

This stance can only help Kosovo and it's cause.

And, they know it. It's a war of words only to keep Serbs 'preoccupied' with the Kosovo issue and not deal with other problems in Serbia.

Being that Tadic & Jeremic are in charge of Serbia's affairs they should do as they see fit.


I think that most Serbs in Serbia could care less about Kosovo at this point and would rather move on. I get that feeling from the posters on the Serbian version of this forum.

I could be wrong.
Anyway, Serbia can continue this 'Mickey Mouse' game and it will end up costing them more.
Who cares, how often are politicians held responsible for the suffering of their people.

I think you’re missing the point here! All Serbia did was gain some time and stop the rapid recognition of Kosovo’s independence. From now on a lot of countries will proceed with recognizing Kosovo as an independent state. By September up to 40 countries may recognize Kosovo’s independence which would bring the number of countries on Kosovo’s side to around 110, which is more than half of the UN. Independence is irreversible; now the only major problem remaining is the northern part of Mitrovica.
Serbia cannot send its troops there under any circumstances; it would be a political suicide and a big step backwards for the country’s aspirations, join the EU and NATO.This is a victory for the Kosovo cause. However, regarding north of Kosovo both sides must seat and talk in order to find a solution. A big blow for Wolf’s diplomacy though.Ko to kaze ko to laze?Jeremic.

Tadic should resign immediately!

After all it is not illegal for a minority to declare independence anymore. That is exactly what ICJ said.
(kufr, 22 July 2010 21:24)

Nope, you got it wrong. That’s not what the Court said. It said, by carefully and narrowly choosing the words that the declaration of independence of Kosovo adopted on 17 February 2008 did not violate international law.

So the only thing that is not illegal is:

(i) a specific declaration of independence;

(ii) of a specific entity (Kosovo);

(iii) adopted on a specific date (17/2/2008).

So even for Kosovo, not any declaration of independence is not illegal; just the one that was declared on 17/2/2008. For example Kosovo’s Parliament approved a resolution for the independence and sovereignty of Kosovo also in September of 1991, but that’s not covered by this Court’s decision, because the decision is only for the declaration of 17/2/2008.

Let alone then declarations of independence by other entities in other dates. The Court specifically cautioned in the decision that “The question is narrow and specific” and avoided making general sweeping conclusions like the one that you state above.

My friend, nobody cares about Serbia except Serbia itself and nobody cares about Kosovo, except Kosovo itself. Just because it happens that the interests of one power align with those of Serbia or Kosovo, does not mean that they care about Serbia or Kosovo; they only care about themselves.
(Markg, 22 July 2010 22:28)
===================

Exactly. So what happens when you no longer serve their interests?
You see, Seribia will always serve Russia's interests because we are family but you guys are soley for exploitation and available to the highest bidder.

Time for RS to declare independence. Same with north Kosovo and Krajina.
The Basques most likely will feel encouraged now as well.
SO can go ahead and go.

We are not even mentioning UK here or the rest of the world.
Let's see how the ICJ will deal with this one.
(Peggy, 22 July 2010 22:50)

Is that all Peggy?

What about the Kurds from NATO servant in south-east Turkey?
What about Kurds from Northern oil-rich Iraq?
Bradford in the UK?
Corsica from France?
Shia region of Saudi Arabia?
Soon Texas in the USA?

As GWB said "Bring it on"

Guys don't misunderstand Tadic. He isn't playing the Albanians,he is actually playing the Serbs. The best way to get rid of the Kosovo mess without geting a scratch on your political career is to sell it to the Serbian public as a verdict coming from the ICJ(you know the evil west). The final act comes in September. Some serbian posters in the beginning of this ICJ process understood what was going on,the majority of them though bought it. Remember Jeremic? Diplomatic victory for Serbia. I guess today is a diplomatic defeat then. I don't think that any serb with common sense will agree that Serbia is in a better position after asking ICJ.You shouldn't have asked at all.

"I think that most Serbs in Serbia could care less about Kosovo at this point and would rather move on. I get that feeling from the posters on the Serbian version of this forum."

I do not think that is completely true, but I believe that most Serbs are more concerned with their own future than that of Kosovo, as they should be....

Tadic should resign immediately!
(Citizen, 22 July 2010 23:28)

With all my acknowledgement that the current Serbian government is the best (with Croatian) in the region by the long shot: yes, unfortunately. They played a game and lost the bet. In such cases gentleman's obligation is to resign.

The big winner today internationally is not who you would think.

Possible scenarios:

1) Saaki can kiss Ossetia and Abkhazia good-bye.
2) Serbia is weak like every country in the region. They do not have a big stick. So they need to make a deal with someone who is interested to have military bases in Serbia, most importantly, Kosovo and who has big enough stick.

Both 1) and 2) are related. Not very funny. It can have difficult consequences.

But today's verdict is fitting some country like a custom-made suit. I can imagine, behind closed doors somewhere up in the north vodka flows in rivers now.

Another weak and pathetic response from this weak and pathetic yellow president.
Now is the time to recognize Republika Srpska, and to kick out the US, UK and German ambassadors. Tadic, aren't you tired of smiling and shaking hands with these so called 'friends' of yours while they stab you in the back over and over and over again? Learn who your friends are, and treat your enemies as enemies, they will show you more respect you pathetic excuse of a leader you. It's time for you and your yellows to go.

Peggy, if you know your international law, you would reloze that SERBS signed the Dayton which states that Serbia defends the Dayton, another point in the Dayton which states succession is illegal which could be stopped by military force, just like Serbia did with Kosovo. But Serbia now can't defend RS due to Dayton, legally it has to support Bosnia, same goes to Croatia.

2. Serbia needs to assert and exercise increased presence in Kosovo on the ground, politically and economically with the support of direct cash from Russia and China and India.
(John Bosnitch, 22 July 2010 19:48)

And why should China, India, and Russia pay that cash... How naive you are. You think that China supports Serbia (or for that matter US supports Kosovo) because it loves it...!!!

Come on ! All parties consider their self interest. China has the Taiwan issue, so it's against Kosovo. US wanted to take out those thousands of soldiers that has or had in Kosovo and could not stay there for decades waiting for the "consensual" status as Serbia wanted, so it made the pragmatic choice.

My friend, nobody cares about Serbia except Serbia itself and nobody cares about Kosovo, except Kosovo itself. Just because it happens that the interests of one power align with those of Serbia or Kosovo, does not mean that they care about Serbia or Kosovo; they only care about themselves.

"Serbia will never recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, since we believe that unilateral and ethnically motivated secession is not in line with UN principles,"

Which Serbia, that Serbia who broke every possible UN principle for 20 and more years. C'mon Mr. Tadic, what is done is done, you should accept the rule of a court which you wanted so badly.

"Time for RS to declare independence. Same with north Kosovo and Krajina.
The Basques most likely will feel encouraged now as well.
SO can go ahead and go.

We are not even mentioning UK here or the rest of the world.
Let's see how the ICJ will deal with this one.
Peggy"

I don't think anyone is going to secede anytime soon!

Republic of Srpska is the next EU state. There is no law that can keep Bosnia and Herzegovina together, or forbid Kurds to declare their state in Turkey.

It seems that too many cannot tell the difference between a ruling on UDI (which is what the ICJ did) and a ruling on secession by a minority without the accord of the majority withing a sovereign state (which the ICJ did not, in fact it studiously avoided it as it would gut the Helsinki Final Act that expressly declares one sided secession as illegal). Duh!

The truth is in the detail and so far many people have only read the brief/press release. Better analyses will obviously come over the next few days.

You see, Seribia will always serve Russia's interests because we are family but you guys are soley for exploitation and available to the highest bidder.
(Peggy, 23 July 2010 04:25)

Ah and here I was left under impression you were British. Now that you finally came out; where are you throwing the party?

P.S Don't worry about what we are going to do. That is for us to think about. In the meantime enjoy the moment. Hint: Take a look at how things went for Albania after the US backed its independence and you had Serbia, Greece, the Ottomans and the Russians hellbent on wiping it out from the face of the earth. Not only that but UN membership was denied a few times also yet things moved on. I hope that is a good enough hint.

Truth be told, that was nothing surprising on the ICJ verdict. Kosovo was just the last chapter of the division of Yugoslavia, nothing special in the independence compared to precedents of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia or Montenegro. The reason why Serbia keeps pushing so much in Kosovo case is because it is afraid of the Albanian potential in the Balkans, which together with Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo is now over 8 million people, a larger nation than Serbia. Reality tells that from now on, the Albanians will be one of the factors of the region and not just an "inferior race" as Serbs proclaim.

"Guess where these football fans come from
(Ian, UK, 23 July 2010 12:38)"

Scotland, Northern Ireland and England, amongst others. A mix of loyalist Scots and Ulster-men and normal fans just signing that to wind up their rivals.

What's your point?

--Nice spin Tadic; make sure you stick to it since you didn't stick to what you said just yesterday. Its just one click away here on B92. Your words are still fresh and they certainly were quite the opposite of what you're saying today. Singing a different tune aren't we?. Lets see how far that brings you.
Anyone here wants to bet that there will be a whole bunch of articles about how the ICJ was bought and pressured by the evil West and the Albanians? Along with those the usual suspects here will agree with such articles and pat each other on the back. Dejavu maybe?
(johny, 22 July 2010 19:47)

Johny
I always liked your comments. If my memory serves me good enough the question put to the court was about accordance with the international law of UDI. The question did not mention secession.
Putting question on UDI and expecting to get the answer on secession is just like asking for the room and being disappointed why you did not get full apartment. Right or wrong?

Time for RS to declare independence. Same with north Kosovo and Krajina.
The Basques most likely will feel encouraged now as well.
SO can go ahead and go.

We are not even mentioning UK here or the rest of the world.
Let's see how the ICJ will deal with this one.
(Peggy, 22 July 2010 22:50)

No-one else will declare independence because of this. Especially not in the UK. The only case I can image of someone declaring independence is the Serbs in either North Kosovo or in Bosnia. This will be done in a desperate attempt to try and prove this myth of a "precedent" theory and it will not be taken seriously, it will last about 5 minutes. The "precedent theory" is a joke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JklgXQ5LYJ4
Guess where these football fans come from

# Time for RS to declare independence. Same with north Kosovo and Krajina.
The Basques most likely will feel encouraged now as well.
SO can go ahead and go.

We are not even mentioning UK here or the rest of the world.
Let's see how the ICJ will deal with this one.
(Peggy, 22 July 2010 22:50)

For each and every case you should spend money and time and listen for a new ICJ opinion. Good Luck!

@abc123,

Well you can repeat that "sui generis" forever. Dodik has already said in Republika Srpska today that this means a new political struggle can begin. A struggle for a status that is not in breach with international law after the events today.
(kufr, 22 July 2010 23:38)

I did not say "sui generis'. I said that the Court's decision (see it's last page) was about:

(i) a specific declaration of independence;

(ii) of a specific entity (Kosovo);

(iii) adopted on a specific date (17/2/2008).

The case for RS secession from BiH is neither weaker nor stronger because of ICJ's decision about Kosovo. What this Dodik wants to do in the future could have equally been done even before today.