Thursday, 14.04.2011.
12:24
Serbia’s tendency to dominate its neighbors is the main obstacle to progress of the countries of the region, says Helsinki Committee President Sonja Biserko.
Izvor: Beta
IMAGE SOURCE
pre 13 godina
"Sure, for as long as the veto exists, though. And unfortunately, for Serbia or Kosovo, the duration is not in their control
(icj1, 22 April 2011 21:05)"
More unfortunate for Kosovo (and ben) if you ask me. Serbia is already a UN member. Kosovo ain't.
pre 13 godina
"Again, I know that, similarly to 1244, there must be a Serbian version of the ICJ's opinion, which I can't find, which contains additional stuff (related to the eskimos) compared to the English one. So unfortunately I have to limit myself to the ICJ's english conclusion which says "the declaration of independence of Kosovo adopted on 17 February 2008 did not violate international law".
So it's for something called Kosovo; and that's not how the eskimoland is called, as far as I know... And even for Kosovo, not for any declaration of independence; just the 17 feb 2008 one (for example, the 1991 Kosovo's UDI is out of scope).
In any case I described already a possible way the eskimos could benefit from Kosovo's UDI. Not sure whether it would fly; but they can give it a try :)
(icj1, 22 April 2011 21:12) "
It is news to me that there are so many versions of 1244. Anyway, that's irrelevant. If the ICJ's basic opinion is that a mere declaration does not contravene international law, I don't think the Eskimos will need 1244 or Kosovo or Feb 2008, whether in English or Serbian or Albanian. They just do their own UDI when it suits them. My bet would be that they would get away with their unique UDI too should the Yankees dare to question the ICJ about it.
pre 13 godina
Well, the way I understand it, the ICJ opined on the declaration. It seems that a mere declaration does not violate any international law. If this is ICJ's basic opinion, then if those Eskimos decide to do a UDI, my bet would be that they wouldn't be violating any international law either. And they may not see the need to make any reference to Kosovo. The Eskimos can do their UDI at a time of their own choosing and be their own entity.
(lowe, 20 April 2011 11:12)
Again, I know that, similarly to 1244, there must be a Serbian version of the ICJ's opinion, which I can't find, which contains additional stuff (related to the eskimos) compared to the English one. So unfortunately I have to limit myself to the ICJ's english conclusion which says "the declaration of independence of Kosovo adopted on 17 February 2008 did not violate international law".
So it's for something called Kosovo; and that's not how the eskimoland is called, as far as I know... And even for Kosovo, not for any declaration of independence; just the 17 feb 2008 one (for example, the 1991 Kosovo's UDI is out of scope).
In any case I described already a possible way the eskimos could benefit from Kosovo's UDI. Not sure whether it would fly; but they can give it a try :)
pre 13 godina
As you yourself stated, those vetoes are insurmountable. That's why I told ben to keep on dreaming.
(lowe, 20 April 2011 10:56)
Sure, for as long as the veto exists, though. And unfortunately, for Serbia or Kosovo, the duration is not in their control
pre 13 godina
"We don't know that.... Unless we have a decision from the ICJ about the above. Unfortunately for the Eskimos, the ICJ decision about Kosovo does not help them because that decision was about the UDI of a specific entity (Kosovo) declared on a specific date (17 Feb 2008). Even Serbia's strongest supporters like Slovakia and Spain agree that the ICJ decision has nothing to do with situations in other countries.
The only way for the Eskimos to benefit is to retoactively change the name of their region to Kosovo and declare independence backdating it to 17 Feb 2008. That way they may be covered by the ICJ decision :)
(icj1, 17 April 2011 19:05)"
Well, the way I understand it, the ICJ opined on the declaration. It seems that a mere declaration does not violate any international law. If this is ICJ's basic opinion, then if those Eskimos decide to do a UDI, my bet would be that they wouldn't be violating any international law either. And they may not see the need to make any reference to Kosovo. The Eskimos can do their UDI at a time of their own choosing and be their own entity.
pre 13 godina
"Nobody can ever get past the Chinese, Russian, French, British or American vetos. That's how the system works. The question is for how long any of these would veto a certain issue. The history of the past 60+ years has shown that the answer ranges from few years to a few decades, after which the veto is dropped in favor of the reality on the ground.
(icj1, 17 April 2011 18:30)"
Well, I personally do not know of any UN issue that was vetoed repeatedly for decades .....
As you yourself stated, those vetoes are insurmountable. That's why I told ben to keep on dreaming.
pre 13 godina
Well Serbia is right in the middle off 7 countries ! They are important, and nobody can get around them !
pre 13 godina
Nobody can ever get past the Chinese, Russian, French, British or American vetos. That's how the system works. The question is for how long any of these would veto a certain issue. The history of the past 60+ years has shown that the answer ranges from few years to a few decades, after which the veto is dropped in favor of the reality on the ground.
(icj1, 17 April 2011 18:30)
===========================
Maybe, but "Kosova" could never last that long and Mrs Berserko won't be around that long to stir the pot.
pre 13 godina
So it would appear here that Eskimos in Alaska can do a UDI from the US too without violating internatinal law.
(lowe, 14 April 2011 15:39)
We don't know that.... Unless we have a decision from the ICJ about the above. Unfortunately for the Eskimos, the ICJ decision about Kosovo does not help them because that decision was about the UDI of a specific entity (Kosovo) declared on a specific date (17 Feb 2008). Even Serbia's strongest supporters like Slovakia and Spain agree that the ICJ decision has nothing to do with situations in other countries.
The only way for the Eskimos to benefit is to retoactively change the name of their region to Kosovo and declare independence backdating it to 17 Feb 2008. That way they may be covered by the ICJ decision :)
pre 13 godina
Dream on but I don't think "Kosova" will ever get past the Chinese and Russian vetoes.
(lowe, 14 April 2011 15:26)
Nobody can ever get past the Chinese, Russian, French, British or American vetos. That's how the system works. The question is for how long any of these would veto a certain issue. The history of the past 60+ years has shown that the answer ranges from few years to a few decades, after which the veto is dropped in favor of the reality on the ground.
pre 13 godina
Serbia,"Obstacle to region progress" by Sonja Biserko
Unfortunately there is a number of people in Western Europe who think
like she does.With her remarks,here we go again,criminalization and demonization of Serbian people starts again.Its a prelude to some sort of military action against Serbs to meet "Western style social engineering" bench marks.Western Europe is already involve in number of Nation buildings and regime changing wars with desasterous consequences of
killing so many innocent unarmed people."Conquistare,cielo-terra-mare"this is all justifiable under "Western sett of values"Collateral
damage is often use for civilian causality,all in the name of freedom and liberty.At some point these fogy minded people will cross the Rubicon
Third time gentlemen will be the last time that you will ever rise again.Think about it and leave Serbs alone they are not a problem in the region,you are.
pre 13 godina
Is she a friend of Aartisari by the way? What does she propose, carpet bombing of Belgrade?
pre 13 godina
(Mike, 16 April 2011 03:19)
Mike you portrayed interethnic situation in Serbia just as Milosevic would have portrayed. Thus, I will ignore your personal insult as it is just reflection of you incapability to dialogue and counterargument.
You still fail to admit what every normal person, you including, knows very well: creating problems is much much easier than doing good things.
To conclude and highlight your naivety I'll refresh your memory by reminding you that, as you think the "weak" Kosova, was actually creating huge problems to Serbia in Presheva valley for over a year in 1999-2000 with the UCPBM.
Now if there is same nationalistic and intolerant political elite in Budapest guess how many UCPBM's can create Hungary or Bulgaria with which Serbia had a diplomatic dispute over the Bulgarian minority in Serbia just few months ago – but you memory is or selective or betraying you. And lastly if Kosova was able to create that great headache to Serbia in 1999-2000 guess how capable is today??
Mike you don't want to admit but the truth is on mine and Biserko's side: the only irresponsible and trouble maker is Serbia.
pre 13 godina
She looks exactly like a replica of Ludmila Alekseeva, the president of Russian Helsinki Commitee...how comes these "human rights activists" on US payroll even look like clones produced in the same Pentagon research lab ?
pre 13 godina
"What Serbia is doing to Kosova in north and above all to Bosnia by manipulating and instigating the Serbs there to fight their own neighbours can easily be done by:
Hungary in Vojvodina;
Bulgaria in eastern Serbia;
Romania in north-east Serbia;
Kosova in south-east Serbia;
Bosnia in Sandzak;" (ben)
-- Ben, stop writing like you have something useful to contribute. All of the scenarios will not play out in reality, and you know why? Because none of these minority communities are harrassed and left out of the political process in Serbia. None of them are off the grid. Hungarians in Vojvodina are integrated in Vojvodina's politics. They, along with Romanians, have rights to use their own language and work freely with their host countries. Bulgaria has no problems with the small Bulgarian community in Serbia. Bosniaks in Sandzak? Bosnians in Bosnia can't even manage a federation with Croats. And half the "Bosniak" population in Sandzak is loyal to Belgrade while the other are self-aggrandizing and ultimately self-destructing. And before you think Pristina can interfere with Albanians in Presevo, they can't even elect their own president without the US ambassador having a say. Heck, they need to hire an international advertising firm to promote their cause of self-determination. Let's not even talk about feeble attempts at integrating the Serb minorities south of the Ibar, let alone north of it. Your "what if" scenarios have no basis in reality.
pre 13 godina
Its nice for a change not having to write a lengthy comment because Ms. Biserko is right on the money! She knows it, I know it, the world knows it.
Serbia is a trouble maker like no other. Serbia is on par with Israel in terms of size of nation and amount of trouble that they create.
pre 13 godina
(Mike, 14 April 2011 17:40)
Mike you can try to twist this as much as you want and pretend you don't understand but the fact is that it is much easier to make troubles than do some good.
What Serbia is doing to Kosova in north and above all to Bosnia by manipulating and instigating the Serbs there to fight their own neighbours can easily be done by:
Hungary in Vojvodina;
Bulgaria in eastern Serbia;
Romania in north-east Serbia;
Kosova in south-east Serbia;
Bosnia in Sandzak;
Now the fact that Serbia is playing dirty and is in offensive for the past 20 years is due to the unconditional support that she has from Russia explicitly and some structures in EU implicitly. But her political goal of intolerance and domination by creating a big Serbina state that will include all Serbs in is crystal clear and has not changed at all with Tadic. Biserko is just highlighting the inconvenient evidence for you.
pre 13 godina
That says a lot about the spirit of this city: cosmopolitical ,yugo and communist loving ...
(CG, 15 April 2011 10:54)
Thats why I love Belgrade :-D
pre 13 godina
Mike,
As usual very intelligent and astute comment - nothing to add to it. Thank you.
Roberto,
Considering what you are - a poor, deeply troubled soul - I would be very wary about receiving any praises from you, and you are really not doing any favours to any of the people mentioned in your post. The fact that you consider them complementing is not necessarily very complimenting...
B92
I am sorry to say, but the new website layout has left much to be desired. I am not sure why did you change the old one, especially when the change in not for the better.
pre 13 godina
And this person,whose Croatian brother was killed ethnically cleansing Serbs is living in downtown Belgrade,is living peacefully in downtown Belgrade...
That says a lot about the spirit of this city:self hating anti-Serb,cosmopolitical ,yugo and communist loving ...
And than you wonder why Albanians temporalily seized Kosovo...
Well,if the center of Serbdom Belgrade is paralized by this intern fifth columnists no wonder that Serbs from Krajina to Kosovo couldn`t for decades count on any substantial help or interest from there...
pre 13 godina
Biserko, remember it was YOU (the West) who created this situation in Kosovo, not Serbia. Blame yourself and stop blaming Serbia. Serbia is just doing what every other country on the face of the earth has the right to do, protecting its own territorial integrity.
pre 13 godina
EA,
Territorial integrity of Bosnia? Fine with me. But what about the territorial integrity of Serbia? No double standards!
pre 13 godina
Sonja Biserko has been known as a crackpot for a long time so this rant is nothing new. What she is actually saying is that as the EU is running out of funds and Serbia should do what was being done during the Tito years and that is propping up these failing countries by supplying raw materials at basement prices and work on joint projects while making the highest contribution but taking the smallest amount when payday occurs.
People like Sonja see that the EU is struggling financially and consequently the very nature of that entity is changing where it looks like being a lose “confederation” of states rather than a real union and they are worried because their jobs depend on a strong union.
pre 13 godina
Just some remarks...
(1) What about Croatia's role in Bosnia? Why Croatian in Bosnia can vote for Croatia's elections? If the feel like being Bosnian they wouldn't do that, would they?
(2) Bosnia - RS. Well, why in the case of the Serbian province of Kosovo borders were not yet final (in the case of the West)? While they are in the case of Bosnia? Ask Croatians in Bosnia by the way what they would like to see to happen to Bosnia...
(3) Using populations in neighbouring countries. Again: Croatians in Bosnia. Jews in OCCUPIED (!) Westbank!
(4) Final borders? Well, then what about Southern Sudan? I guess you are allowed to try to change borders in a peaceful way.
I am from the West but this one-sideness makes me feel sick sometimes!
(I am not a Serb!)
pre 13 godina
Remember Serbs, it's better to die standing than to live on your knees.
(MikeC, 14 April 2011 17:57)
Wow! Mike C where were you when making the above statement? Having a kebab? They do it very well in some places in England. By the way Enver Hoxha the late communist Albanian leader used to say "we will die and will not go against marksist/leninist principle. In fact do you really he meant that? Of course not! He and is family were living in paradise...while the ordinary people living in hardship. That is why I was talking about kebab....I hope you get it! Time for nationalistic rhetorics has gone.
pre 13 godina
clueless or at least talks that way !! more of the "fall in line" "dont have a brain of your own" speak ..its getting old and see thru I understand when the EU does anything no matter what its "their intent is pure no matter the result" while everyone else is up to no good~ ok
pre 13 godina
Sonia is a most amazing woman, and we need to be grateful to her. she is brave, she is insightful, she has great and innate leadership qualities, and yet she is personally warm and modest.
yes, i am back from the balkans. we didn't have time to visit my beloved sarajevo, which was a harsh disappointment, but in the end, my decision. instead, we focused our energies on kosova -- pristina and podujevo; and serbia, mainly Presevo, belgrade, and pazar.
everywhere we found friendly, warm and bright people, as always, reinforcing my perceptions of the region, of the people of former yugoslavia (politics and politicians are another matter.)
and of all the places we went, i think belgrade was my favorite this time. it felt a very dynamic european city, even my (kos albanian) frnd saw a lot to be admired.
but everywhere we went, people went out of their way to help us, to befriend us. it was quite moving.
as for the Belgrade press: they are a pretty cowed bunch. mainly, as i saw and see it, attached to one political party (or ideology) or another. i saw it close up at a press conference we attended in belgrade, with some members of the negotiating team. i was allowed a minute or so for my "questions" when i let them know in no uncertain terms what i thought of them, of the blgd regime. and let the entire room of journalists know that we had a new report on war crime atrocities from 1999. and when the conference was over, guess how many "journalists" approached us? it wasn't the language barrier -- everything was interpreted thru the earphones. so either the journalists have no curiosity about (serbian) war crimes, or they were terrified to be seen with us, or a combination of both. welcome to the blgd press corps.
a welcome relief is Pescanik, the 2 svetlana's. they are only loosely working w b92 (w NO censorship!!) but they are incredible women -- check out their site, in engl or serbian, and try to get their radio program.
as far as i know, they and e-novine are the only 2 progressive media sites (that means, with integrity) from belgrade.
on the other hand we met wonderful, bright journalists working in presevo and in pazar.
and i have to mention miroslav filipovic and his daughter -- they are still kicking, both people of great integrity and tremendous journalists.
gotta run!
roberto frisco
pre 13 godina
"Shes gone berserk again."
Wally
You mean she's gone Biserco again!
pre 13 godina
To my fellow Serbian patriots, this is a sign that her paymasters are getting desperate and it also confirms that Serbia is the powerhouse, both politically and financially, of the Balkans.
How much power we have to go against the Western powers and they can do nothing but pay this person to spew Western venom. We are strong and getting stronger my friends.
All of these experiments are backfiring in their face, "Kosova", BiH, FYROM, Montenegro and Croatia. All going horribly wrong and all they can do is blame Serbia for protecting our interests. The new world order is coming and the old world order will be dead. Then we will have a real chance for true freedom.
pre 13 godina
"Serbia’s tendency to dominate its neighbors is the main obstacle to progress of the countries of the region, says Helsinki Committee President Sonja Biserko."
I see her Western imperialist paymasters are frustrated that the Serbs are not reading the script, i.e. roll over like a good doggy.
Guess what. The Serbs are not playing )) If only my brethern in Ljubljana could take a leaf out of their book, things would be better and I would not have to put up with the crap I get when my Serb buddies let rip at me down the local taverna on a Friday night. but a couple of potatos up the exhaust pipe of Milorad's Peugeot sorts that out, eh tovariš :-D
pre 13 godina
My my, what a circuitous set of statements. So Biserko is essentially chiding Serbia for wasting time and efforts in attempting to "dominate" the Balkans, but at the same time arguing that the inability of any other country in the region is largely, if not directly, related to Serbia's influence, thus indirectly admitting a fait accompli.
So either Serbia is in fact far more powerful than many would like to admit, or countries and parastates in the region are completely inept and incapable of managing their own affairs and consolidating their own democracy but use Serbia as the scapegoat.
Seeing as how Belgrade doesn't even have unquestioned authority in Gracanica, I wonder how Biserko can argue Belgrade has a strangleghold on Sarajevo.
"Sonja perceives the glass of water as half full, but Serbia perceives the glass of water as being half empty." (ACS)
-- Acutally, it doesn't matter if Serbia perceives the glass as half full or half empty. Biserko looks at the half glass and blames Serbia for apparently taking someone else's water.
pre 13 godina
What a hypocrit! Biserco is nothing more then an American puppet. Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro are all independent and now its Serbias fault that they have failed!!! Serbia is supporting the Dayton peace accords in Bosnia and all of the sudden that is wrong? If the west don't want Dayton then why did they sign it? RS is here to stay, deal with it or shove your head where the sun don't shine. I guess as long as Serbia is not anyones puppet it will always be blamed for everything and anything. Serbs should never give in to this kind of criminals. Remember Serbs, it's better to die standing than to live on your knees.
pre 13 godina
Biserko, you have to understand, lives on grants. She needs to justify the 30 pieces of silver to her paymasters by spewing hate-filled BS which this article is a prime example of. I feel sad for her.
I think she's psychologically damaged having spent the better part of her life hating Serbia and Serbs, wherever they may be. So much so that she's now clearly imagining things and concocting fantastic and very bizarre conspiracy theories.
Moving on, nothing new here...
pre 13 godina
this woman is a disgrace. I wonder how she can look in the mirror...
whoever is saying such a nonsense is wrong, but if it is someone saying about his own homeland, ...then I guess something went terribly wrong in her moral development.
poor person.
pre 13 godina
Shes gone berserk again.
pre 13 godina
“the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion confirmed legality of Kosovo’s independence, which did not change Serbia’s position on Kosovo”.
I think her words are far from accurate. The ICJ opined that Kosovo's declaration did not violate international law. (So it would appear here that Eskimos in Alaska can do a UDI from the US too without violating internatinal law). The ICJ did not "confirmed" that Kosovo is a state or entitled to be a state. And the advisory is non-binding.
pre 13 godina
"Kosova's UN membership would close at least on of the problems that Serbia is creating.
(ben, 14 April 2011 13:04)"
Dream on but I don't think "Kosova" will ever get past the Chinese and Russian vetoes.
pre 13 godina
Who is this manly looking woman and how is she relevant?
pre 13 godina
Of course the borders are not final, foreign influence (military or other) is yet to tear Vojvodina away from Serbia. Have a nice life Ms Biserko, and please leave us alone.
pre 13 godina
The lady is very fond of spinning unsubstantiated, discrediting stories about Serbian state of affairs, policy and high profile people. She exercises so-called’’duty to accuse’’ all initiatives and actions executed by Serbia.She would forge an alliance with anybody if Serbia were to be demonized. It oversteps the limit of good breeding if somebody keeps on rumour mongering. No EU report suggests that any Serbian high official undermines the neighbouring countries’ matters of state, there is no meddling or exerting pressures on foreign judiciary,as performed by other countries. Mrs Biserko exerted pressure on the court of law in the case of Ganic.She presented before the court of law some unsubstantiated statements ,the bizarre perceptions of her own.The lady never,ever condemned the heinous crimes committed by Thaci and his KLA in Kosovo when they killed Serbs and extracted their organs for trafficking. She and Natasha Kandic were completely struck dumb and indisposed to comment and condemn the crime.She did not condemn the expulsion of Serbs from Croatia,either.As for Kosovo ,it is not UN recognized sovereign country.
pre 13 godina
According to Biserko Serbians should just roll over and die.
Does Sonja Biserko still live in Serbia, is she really a Serb?
There will never be peace in the Balkans until Serbia finally sets it's own borders. All Serbians should be reunited by geographically, and if that means parts of Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia, then be it.
Last week i had a real good laugh when i read about how Serbia, together with Slovenia and Croatia, were going to pull together and establish joint ventures in future tenders of construction, engineering and building whatever for whomever...
Let's get real here. All former Yugoslav republics are unable to live with each other let alone work together.
Sonja perceives the glass of water as half full, but Serbia perceives the glass of water as being half empty.
The recognition of an independent Kosovo by Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia tells a contradicting story of what Sonja Biserko states.
On the contrary Sonja, it seems that all of Serbia's neighbours should stay out of Serbian affairs.
pre 13 godina
For you Miss Biserko,lack of intelligence is obstacle to your brain.
pre 13 godina
We're the only Balkan nation with the combined historic, religious & cultural experience to be the only regional superpower and that must be respected.
pre 13 godina
I thought the wild anti-Serb politics from Western Europe was almost over. I guess not! According to Biserko, the problem is those pesky Serbs who happen to live outside of Serbia. All other ethnic groups have certain rights to self determination, and she and Europe supported those rights. But when the Serbs of Bosnia demand the same, she blames not only them, but Belgrade. What a sickening double standard.
The major threat today to stability in the Balkans, is not the Serbs of Republika Srpska but the increasingly militant Islamic forces in Bosnia who dream of an ethnically pure Islamic Bosnia. The next war, if is does start, will be started by them. The Serbs of Bosnia have what they want - an independent entity where they can live in peace. Biserko essentially calls for the destruction of Republika Srpska but that will never happen. The Serbian people deserve their own homeland just as much as the other ethnic groups. That is worth defending and that is not destabilizing.
pre 13 godina
What's new!
Old news but thanks for confirming it.
Tung
pre 13 godina
No Sonja you are Serbia's obstacle. Stay out of our country and our business!
pre 13 godina
I'm sorry but Biserko here is nothing but a western paid lap dog... who's sole object is undermined Serbdom.
Bosnia is destroying itself due to the fact Croats don't want to live with Bosniaks no more... and the Bosniaks try to take away rights of both Serbs and Croats, plus the fact Srpska can stand on its own two feet the Federation is just like Kosovo still born nation!
And for Kosovo why should Serbia roll over and allow its cultural and heritage heartland ripped from it... plus the fact she doesn't mention the struggles her own people suffer in both Bosnia, Kosovo especially!
She and Katanic are nothing but traitors to there people, history, culture and Serbdom
IC XC NIKA
God Bless Serbia, Serbs and Serbdom!
pre 13 godina
yes all of what by brother's friend and colleague says is true, but she forgot to mention that the blgd regime is also responsible for the earthquakes and tsunamis in japan, the economic collapse of portugal, and the death of knut the polar bear.
ciao!
norberto
fiasco
pre 13 godina
Could not be said better.
Serbia was and is the generator of instability, inter-ethnic tensions and previously wars in the western Balkans.
Kosova's UN membership would close at least on of the problems that Serbia is creating.
Unfortunately many Muslim countries do not understand this and continua to help Serbia in destabilising the Balkans by creating problems exactly to the 2 predominantly Muslim countries in the Balkans.
This shows that the policies of the Arab countries are 'moved' by the pan- Arab nationalistic goal rather than religion.
Unfortunately many Muslims in the world do not understand this and fuelled by petrol $ play the game in which they are just simple Arab marionettes. The tragedy is that among those igorants you can find some K-Alabnian idiots as well.
pre 13 godina
Only another proofs of what we already knew and know. Serbia is the epicenter of the Balkan conflicts.
pre 13 godina
strange NGO
pre 13 godina
That will hurt many Serbs whom do not want to see further to their noses. Her statements are very true and I know also that sometime the truth hurts. Serbia can not join the EU without recognising Kosovo independence first and the territorial integrity of Bosnia-Hercegovina.
pre 13 godina
The lady is very fond of spinning unsubstantiated, discrediting stories about Serbian state of affairs, policy and high profile people. She exercises so-called’’duty to accuse’’ all initiatives and actions executed by Serbia.She would forge an alliance with anybody if Serbia were to be demonized. It oversteps the limit of good breeding if somebody keeps on rumour mongering. No EU report suggests that any Serbian high official undermines the neighbouring countries’ matters of state, there is no meddling or exerting pressures on foreign judiciary,as performed by other countries. Mrs Biserko exerted pressure on the court of law in the case of Ganic.She presented before the court of law some unsubstantiated statements ,the bizarre perceptions of her own.The lady never,ever condemned the heinous crimes committed by Thaci and his KLA in Kosovo when they killed Serbs and extracted their organs for trafficking. She and Natasha Kandic were completely struck dumb and indisposed to comment and condemn the crime.She did not condemn the expulsion of Serbs from Croatia,either.As for Kosovo ,it is not UN recognized sovereign country.
pre 13 godina
yes all of what by brother's friend and colleague says is true, but she forgot to mention that the blgd regime is also responsible for the earthquakes and tsunamis in japan, the economic collapse of portugal, and the death of knut the polar bear.
ciao!
norberto
fiasco
pre 13 godina
I thought the wild anti-Serb politics from Western Europe was almost over. I guess not! According to Biserko, the problem is those pesky Serbs who happen to live outside of Serbia. All other ethnic groups have certain rights to self determination, and she and Europe supported those rights. But when the Serbs of Bosnia demand the same, she blames not only them, but Belgrade. What a sickening double standard.
The major threat today to stability in the Balkans, is not the Serbs of Republika Srpska but the increasingly militant Islamic forces in Bosnia who dream of an ethnically pure Islamic Bosnia. The next war, if is does start, will be started by them. The Serbs of Bosnia have what they want - an independent entity where they can live in peace. Biserko essentially calls for the destruction of Republika Srpska but that will never happen. The Serbian people deserve their own homeland just as much as the other ethnic groups. That is worth defending and that is not destabilizing.
pre 13 godina
"Kosova's UN membership would close at least on of the problems that Serbia is creating.
(ben, 14 April 2011 13:04)"
Dream on but I don't think "Kosova" will ever get past the Chinese and Russian vetoes.
pre 13 godina
Biserko, you have to understand, lives on grants. She needs to justify the 30 pieces of silver to her paymasters by spewing hate-filled BS which this article is a prime example of. I feel sad for her.
I think she's psychologically damaged having spent the better part of her life hating Serbia and Serbs, wherever they may be. So much so that she's now clearly imagining things and concocting fantastic and very bizarre conspiracy theories.
Moving on, nothing new here...
pre 13 godina
What a hypocrit! Biserco is nothing more then an American puppet. Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro are all independent and now its Serbias fault that they have failed!!! Serbia is supporting the Dayton peace accords in Bosnia and all of the sudden that is wrong? If the west don't want Dayton then why did they sign it? RS is here to stay, deal with it or shove your head where the sun don't shine. I guess as long as Serbia is not anyones puppet it will always be blamed for everything and anything. Serbs should never give in to this kind of criminals. Remember Serbs, it's better to die standing than to live on your knees.
pre 13 godina
“the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion confirmed legality of Kosovo’s independence, which did not change Serbia’s position on Kosovo”.
I think her words are far from accurate. The ICJ opined that Kosovo's declaration did not violate international law. (So it would appear here that Eskimos in Alaska can do a UDI from the US too without violating internatinal law). The ICJ did not "confirmed" that Kosovo is a state or entitled to be a state. And the advisory is non-binding.
pre 13 godina
Who is this manly looking woman and how is she relevant?
pre 13 godina
"Shes gone berserk again."
Wally
You mean she's gone Biserco again!
pre 13 godina
I'm sorry but Biserko here is nothing but a western paid lap dog... who's sole object is undermined Serbdom.
Bosnia is destroying itself due to the fact Croats don't want to live with Bosniaks no more... and the Bosniaks try to take away rights of both Serbs and Croats, plus the fact Srpska can stand on its own two feet the Federation is just like Kosovo still born nation!
And for Kosovo why should Serbia roll over and allow its cultural and heritage heartland ripped from it... plus the fact she doesn't mention the struggles her own people suffer in both Bosnia, Kosovo especially!
She and Katanic are nothing but traitors to there people, history, culture and Serbdom
IC XC NIKA
God Bless Serbia, Serbs and Serbdom!
pre 13 godina
No Sonja you are Serbia's obstacle. Stay out of our country and our business!
pre 13 godina
For you Miss Biserko,lack of intelligence is obstacle to your brain.
pre 13 godina
Only another proofs of what we already knew and know. Serbia is the epicenter of the Balkan conflicts.
pre 13 godina
this woman is a disgrace. I wonder how she can look in the mirror...
whoever is saying such a nonsense is wrong, but if it is someone saying about his own homeland, ...then I guess something went terribly wrong in her moral development.
poor person.
pre 13 godina
Shes gone berserk again.
pre 13 godina
According to Biserko Serbians should just roll over and die.
Does Sonja Biserko still live in Serbia, is she really a Serb?
There will never be peace in the Balkans until Serbia finally sets it's own borders. All Serbians should be reunited by geographically, and if that means parts of Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia, then be it.
Last week i had a real good laugh when i read about how Serbia, together with Slovenia and Croatia, were going to pull together and establish joint ventures in future tenders of construction, engineering and building whatever for whomever...
Let's get real here. All former Yugoslav republics are unable to live with each other let alone work together.
Sonja perceives the glass of water as half full, but Serbia perceives the glass of water as being half empty.
The recognition of an independent Kosovo by Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia tells a contradicting story of what Sonja Biserko states.
On the contrary Sonja, it seems that all of Serbia's neighbours should stay out of Serbian affairs.
pre 13 godina
We're the only Balkan nation with the combined historic, religious & cultural experience to be the only regional superpower and that must be respected.
pre 13 godina
"Serbia’s tendency to dominate its neighbors is the main obstacle to progress of the countries of the region, says Helsinki Committee President Sonja Biserko."
I see her Western imperialist paymasters are frustrated that the Serbs are not reading the script, i.e. roll over like a good doggy.
Guess what. The Serbs are not playing )) If only my brethern in Ljubljana could take a leaf out of their book, things would be better and I would not have to put up with the crap I get when my Serb buddies let rip at me down the local taverna on a Friday night. but a couple of potatos up the exhaust pipe of Milorad's Peugeot sorts that out, eh tovariš :-D
pre 13 godina
To my fellow Serbian patriots, this is a sign that her paymasters are getting desperate and it also confirms that Serbia is the powerhouse, both politically and financially, of the Balkans.
How much power we have to go against the Western powers and they can do nothing but pay this person to spew Western venom. We are strong and getting stronger my friends.
All of these experiments are backfiring in their face, "Kosova", BiH, FYROM, Montenegro and Croatia. All going horribly wrong and all they can do is blame Serbia for protecting our interests. The new world order is coming and the old world order will be dead. Then we will have a real chance for true freedom.
pre 13 godina
My my, what a circuitous set of statements. So Biserko is essentially chiding Serbia for wasting time and efforts in attempting to "dominate" the Balkans, but at the same time arguing that the inability of any other country in the region is largely, if not directly, related to Serbia's influence, thus indirectly admitting a fait accompli.
So either Serbia is in fact far more powerful than many would like to admit, or countries and parastates in the region are completely inept and incapable of managing their own affairs and consolidating their own democracy but use Serbia as the scapegoat.
Seeing as how Belgrade doesn't even have unquestioned authority in Gracanica, I wonder how Biserko can argue Belgrade has a strangleghold on Sarajevo.
"Sonja perceives the glass of water as half full, but Serbia perceives the glass of water as being half empty." (ACS)
-- Acutally, it doesn't matter if Serbia perceives the glass as half full or half empty. Biserko looks at the half glass and blames Serbia for apparently taking someone else's water.
pre 13 godina
That will hurt many Serbs whom do not want to see further to their noses. Her statements are very true and I know also that sometime the truth hurts. Serbia can not join the EU without recognising Kosovo independence first and the territorial integrity of Bosnia-Hercegovina.
pre 13 godina
What's new!
Old news but thanks for confirming it.
Tung
pre 13 godina
Just some remarks...
(1) What about Croatia's role in Bosnia? Why Croatian in Bosnia can vote for Croatia's elections? If the feel like being Bosnian they wouldn't do that, would they?
(2) Bosnia - RS. Well, why in the case of the Serbian province of Kosovo borders were not yet final (in the case of the West)? While they are in the case of Bosnia? Ask Croatians in Bosnia by the way what they would like to see to happen to Bosnia...
(3) Using populations in neighbouring countries. Again: Croatians in Bosnia. Jews in OCCUPIED (!) Westbank!
(4) Final borders? Well, then what about Southern Sudan? I guess you are allowed to try to change borders in a peaceful way.
I am from the West but this one-sideness makes me feel sick sometimes!
(I am not a Serb!)
pre 13 godina
strange NGO
pre 13 godina
Of course the borders are not final, foreign influence (military or other) is yet to tear Vojvodina away from Serbia. Have a nice life Ms Biserko, and please leave us alone.
pre 13 godina
Remember Serbs, it's better to die standing than to live on your knees.
(MikeC, 14 April 2011 17:57)
Wow! Mike C where were you when making the above statement? Having a kebab? They do it very well in some places in England. By the way Enver Hoxha the late communist Albanian leader used to say "we will die and will not go against marksist/leninist principle. In fact do you really he meant that? Of course not! He and is family were living in paradise...while the ordinary people living in hardship. That is why I was talking about kebab....I hope you get it! Time for nationalistic rhetorics has gone.
pre 13 godina
Biserko, remember it was YOU (the West) who created this situation in Kosovo, not Serbia. Blame yourself and stop blaming Serbia. Serbia is just doing what every other country on the face of the earth has the right to do, protecting its own territorial integrity.
pre 13 godina
EA,
Territorial integrity of Bosnia? Fine with me. But what about the territorial integrity of Serbia? No double standards!
pre 13 godina
Sonia is a most amazing woman, and we need to be grateful to her. she is brave, she is insightful, she has great and innate leadership qualities, and yet she is personally warm and modest.
yes, i am back from the balkans. we didn't have time to visit my beloved sarajevo, which was a harsh disappointment, but in the end, my decision. instead, we focused our energies on kosova -- pristina and podujevo; and serbia, mainly Presevo, belgrade, and pazar.
everywhere we found friendly, warm and bright people, as always, reinforcing my perceptions of the region, of the people of former yugoslavia (politics and politicians are another matter.)
and of all the places we went, i think belgrade was my favorite this time. it felt a very dynamic european city, even my (kos albanian) frnd saw a lot to be admired.
but everywhere we went, people went out of their way to help us, to befriend us. it was quite moving.
as for the Belgrade press: they are a pretty cowed bunch. mainly, as i saw and see it, attached to one political party (or ideology) or another. i saw it close up at a press conference we attended in belgrade, with some members of the negotiating team. i was allowed a minute or so for my "questions" when i let them know in no uncertain terms what i thought of them, of the blgd regime. and let the entire room of journalists know that we had a new report on war crime atrocities from 1999. and when the conference was over, guess how many "journalists" approached us? it wasn't the language barrier -- everything was interpreted thru the earphones. so either the journalists have no curiosity about (serbian) war crimes, or they were terrified to be seen with us, or a combination of both. welcome to the blgd press corps.
a welcome relief is Pescanik, the 2 svetlana's. they are only loosely working w b92 (w NO censorship!!) but they are incredible women -- check out their site, in engl or serbian, and try to get their radio program.
as far as i know, they and e-novine are the only 2 progressive media sites (that means, with integrity) from belgrade.
on the other hand we met wonderful, bright journalists working in presevo and in pazar.
and i have to mention miroslav filipovic and his daughter -- they are still kicking, both people of great integrity and tremendous journalists.
gotta run!
roberto frisco
pre 13 godina
clueless or at least talks that way !! more of the "fall in line" "dont have a brain of your own" speak ..its getting old and see thru I understand when the EU does anything no matter what its "their intent is pure no matter the result" while everyone else is up to no good~ ok
pre 13 godina
Sonja Biserko has been known as a crackpot for a long time so this rant is nothing new. What she is actually saying is that as the EU is running out of funds and Serbia should do what was being done during the Tito years and that is propping up these failing countries by supplying raw materials at basement prices and work on joint projects while making the highest contribution but taking the smallest amount when payday occurs.
People like Sonja see that the EU is struggling financially and consequently the very nature of that entity is changing where it looks like being a lose “confederation” of states rather than a real union and they are worried because their jobs depend on a strong union.
pre 13 godina
Mike,
As usual very intelligent and astute comment - nothing to add to it. Thank you.
Roberto,
Considering what you are - a poor, deeply troubled soul - I would be very wary about receiving any praises from you, and you are really not doing any favours to any of the people mentioned in your post. The fact that you consider them complementing is not necessarily very complimenting...
B92
I am sorry to say, but the new website layout has left much to be desired. I am not sure why did you change the old one, especially when the change in not for the better.
pre 13 godina
Could not be said better.
Serbia was and is the generator of instability, inter-ethnic tensions and previously wars in the western Balkans.
Kosova's UN membership would close at least on of the problems that Serbia is creating.
Unfortunately many Muslim countries do not understand this and continua to help Serbia in destabilising the Balkans by creating problems exactly to the 2 predominantly Muslim countries in the Balkans.
This shows that the policies of the Arab countries are 'moved' by the pan- Arab nationalistic goal rather than religion.
Unfortunately many Muslims in the world do not understand this and fuelled by petrol $ play the game in which they are just simple Arab marionettes. The tragedy is that among those igorants you can find some K-Alabnian idiots as well.
pre 13 godina
And this person,whose Croatian brother was killed ethnically cleansing Serbs is living in downtown Belgrade,is living peacefully in downtown Belgrade...
That says a lot about the spirit of this city:self hating anti-Serb,cosmopolitical ,yugo and communist loving ...
And than you wonder why Albanians temporalily seized Kosovo...
Well,if the center of Serbdom Belgrade is paralized by this intern fifth columnists no wonder that Serbs from Krajina to Kosovo couldn`t for decades count on any substantial help or interest from there...
pre 13 godina
"What Serbia is doing to Kosova in north and above all to Bosnia by manipulating and instigating the Serbs there to fight their own neighbours can easily be done by:
Hungary in Vojvodina;
Bulgaria in eastern Serbia;
Romania in north-east Serbia;
Kosova in south-east Serbia;
Bosnia in Sandzak;" (ben)
-- Ben, stop writing like you have something useful to contribute. All of the scenarios will not play out in reality, and you know why? Because none of these minority communities are harrassed and left out of the political process in Serbia. None of them are off the grid. Hungarians in Vojvodina are integrated in Vojvodina's politics. They, along with Romanians, have rights to use their own language and work freely with their host countries. Bulgaria has no problems with the small Bulgarian community in Serbia. Bosniaks in Sandzak? Bosnians in Bosnia can't even manage a federation with Croats. And half the "Bosniak" population in Sandzak is loyal to Belgrade while the other are self-aggrandizing and ultimately self-destructing. And before you think Pristina can interfere with Albanians in Presevo, they can't even elect their own president without the US ambassador having a say. Heck, they need to hire an international advertising firm to promote their cause of self-determination. Let's not even talk about feeble attempts at integrating the Serb minorities south of the Ibar, let alone north of it. Your "what if" scenarios have no basis in reality.
pre 13 godina
That says a lot about the spirit of this city: cosmopolitical ,yugo and communist loving ...
(CG, 15 April 2011 10:54)
Thats why I love Belgrade :-D
pre 13 godina
Its nice for a change not having to write a lengthy comment because Ms. Biserko is right on the money! She knows it, I know it, the world knows it.
Serbia is a trouble maker like no other. Serbia is on par with Israel in terms of size of nation and amount of trouble that they create.
pre 13 godina
(Mike, 14 April 2011 17:40)
Mike you can try to twist this as much as you want and pretend you don't understand but the fact is that it is much easier to make troubles than do some good.
What Serbia is doing to Kosova in north and above all to Bosnia by manipulating and instigating the Serbs there to fight their own neighbours can easily be done by:
Hungary in Vojvodina;
Bulgaria in eastern Serbia;
Romania in north-east Serbia;
Kosova in south-east Serbia;
Bosnia in Sandzak;
Now the fact that Serbia is playing dirty and is in offensive for the past 20 years is due to the unconditional support that she has from Russia explicitly and some structures in EU implicitly. But her political goal of intolerance and domination by creating a big Serbina state that will include all Serbs in is crystal clear and has not changed at all with Tadic. Biserko is just highlighting the inconvenient evidence for you.
pre 13 godina
So it would appear here that Eskimos in Alaska can do a UDI from the US too without violating internatinal law.
(lowe, 14 April 2011 15:39)
We don't know that.... Unless we have a decision from the ICJ about the above. Unfortunately for the Eskimos, the ICJ decision about Kosovo does not help them because that decision was about the UDI of a specific entity (Kosovo) declared on a specific date (17 Feb 2008). Even Serbia's strongest supporters like Slovakia and Spain agree that the ICJ decision has nothing to do with situations in other countries.
The only way for the Eskimos to benefit is to retoactively change the name of their region to Kosovo and declare independence backdating it to 17 Feb 2008. That way they may be covered by the ICJ decision :)
pre 13 godina
She looks exactly like a replica of Ludmila Alekseeva, the president of Russian Helsinki Commitee...how comes these "human rights activists" on US payroll even look like clones produced in the same Pentagon research lab ?
pre 13 godina
Is she a friend of Aartisari by the way? What does she propose, carpet bombing of Belgrade?
pre 13 godina
Nobody can ever get past the Chinese, Russian, French, British or American vetos. That's how the system works. The question is for how long any of these would veto a certain issue. The history of the past 60+ years has shown that the answer ranges from few years to a few decades, after which the veto is dropped in favor of the reality on the ground.
(icj1, 17 April 2011 18:30)
===========================
Maybe, but "Kosova" could never last that long and Mrs Berserko won't be around that long to stir the pot.
pre 13 godina
"Nobody can ever get past the Chinese, Russian, French, British or American vetos. That's how the system works. The question is for how long any of these would veto a certain issue. The history of the past 60+ years has shown that the answer ranges from few years to a few decades, after which the veto is dropped in favor of the reality on the ground.
(icj1, 17 April 2011 18:30)"
Well, I personally do not know of any UN issue that was vetoed repeatedly for decades .....
As you yourself stated, those vetoes are insurmountable. That's why I told ben to keep on dreaming.
pre 13 godina
"We don't know that.... Unless we have a decision from the ICJ about the above. Unfortunately for the Eskimos, the ICJ decision about Kosovo does not help them because that decision was about the UDI of a specific entity (Kosovo) declared on a specific date (17 Feb 2008). Even Serbia's strongest supporters like Slovakia and Spain agree that the ICJ decision has nothing to do with situations in other countries.
The only way for the Eskimos to benefit is to retoactively change the name of their region to Kosovo and declare independence backdating it to 17 Feb 2008. That way they may be covered by the ICJ decision :)
(icj1, 17 April 2011 19:05)"
Well, the way I understand it, the ICJ opined on the declaration. It seems that a mere declaration does not violate any international law. If this is ICJ's basic opinion, then if those Eskimos decide to do a UDI, my bet would be that they wouldn't be violating any international law either. And they may not see the need to make any reference to Kosovo. The Eskimos can do their UDI at a time of their own choosing and be their own entity.
pre 13 godina
(Mike, 16 April 2011 03:19)
Mike you portrayed interethnic situation in Serbia just as Milosevic would have portrayed. Thus, I will ignore your personal insult as it is just reflection of you incapability to dialogue and counterargument.
You still fail to admit what every normal person, you including, knows very well: creating problems is much much easier than doing good things.
To conclude and highlight your naivety I'll refresh your memory by reminding you that, as you think the "weak" Kosova, was actually creating huge problems to Serbia in Presheva valley for over a year in 1999-2000 with the UCPBM.
Now if there is same nationalistic and intolerant political elite in Budapest guess how many UCPBM's can create Hungary or Bulgaria with which Serbia had a diplomatic dispute over the Bulgarian minority in Serbia just few months ago – but you memory is or selective or betraying you. And lastly if Kosova was able to create that great headache to Serbia in 1999-2000 guess how capable is today??
Mike you don't want to admit but the truth is on mine and Biserko's side: the only irresponsible and trouble maker is Serbia.
pre 13 godina
Serbia,"Obstacle to region progress" by Sonja Biserko
Unfortunately there is a number of people in Western Europe who think
like she does.With her remarks,here we go again,criminalization and demonization of Serbian people starts again.Its a prelude to some sort of military action against Serbs to meet "Western style social engineering" bench marks.Western Europe is already involve in number of Nation buildings and regime changing wars with desasterous consequences of
killing so many innocent unarmed people."Conquistare,cielo-terra-mare"this is all justifiable under "Western sett of values"Collateral
damage is often use for civilian causality,all in the name of freedom and liberty.At some point these fogy minded people will cross the Rubicon
Third time gentlemen will be the last time that you will ever rise again.Think about it and leave Serbs alone they are not a problem in the region,you are.
pre 13 godina
Dream on but I don't think "Kosova" will ever get past the Chinese and Russian vetoes.
(lowe, 14 April 2011 15:26)
Nobody can ever get past the Chinese, Russian, French, British or American vetos. That's how the system works. The question is for how long any of these would veto a certain issue. The history of the past 60+ years has shown that the answer ranges from few years to a few decades, after which the veto is dropped in favor of the reality on the ground.
pre 13 godina
"Sure, for as long as the veto exists, though. And unfortunately, for Serbia or Kosovo, the duration is not in their control
(icj1, 22 April 2011 21:05)"
More unfortunate for Kosovo (and ben) if you ask me. Serbia is already a UN member. Kosovo ain't.
pre 13 godina
"Again, I know that, similarly to 1244, there must be a Serbian version of the ICJ's opinion, which I can't find, which contains additional stuff (related to the eskimos) compared to the English one. So unfortunately I have to limit myself to the ICJ's english conclusion which says "the declaration of independence of Kosovo adopted on 17 February 2008 did not violate international law".
So it's for something called Kosovo; and that's not how the eskimoland is called, as far as I know... And even for Kosovo, not for any declaration of independence; just the 17 feb 2008 one (for example, the 1991 Kosovo's UDI is out of scope).
In any case I described already a possible way the eskimos could benefit from Kosovo's UDI. Not sure whether it would fly; but they can give it a try :)
(icj1, 22 April 2011 21:12) "
It is news to me that there are so many versions of 1244. Anyway, that's irrelevant. If the ICJ's basic opinion is that a mere declaration does not contravene international law, I don't think the Eskimos will need 1244 or Kosovo or Feb 2008, whether in English or Serbian or Albanian. They just do their own UDI when it suits them. My bet would be that they would get away with their unique UDI too should the Yankees dare to question the ICJ about it.
pre 13 godina
Well Serbia is right in the middle off 7 countries ! They are important, and nobody can get around them !
pre 13 godina
As you yourself stated, those vetoes are insurmountable. That's why I told ben to keep on dreaming.
(lowe, 20 April 2011 10:56)
Sure, for as long as the veto exists, though. And unfortunately, for Serbia or Kosovo, the duration is not in their control
pre 13 godina
Well, the way I understand it, the ICJ opined on the declaration. It seems that a mere declaration does not violate any international law. If this is ICJ's basic opinion, then if those Eskimos decide to do a UDI, my bet would be that they wouldn't be violating any international law either. And they may not see the need to make any reference to Kosovo. The Eskimos can do their UDI at a time of their own choosing and be their own entity.
(lowe, 20 April 2011 11:12)
Again, I know that, similarly to 1244, there must be a Serbian version of the ICJ's opinion, which I can't find, which contains additional stuff (related to the eskimos) compared to the English one. So unfortunately I have to limit myself to the ICJ's english conclusion which says "the declaration of independence of Kosovo adopted on 17 February 2008 did not violate international law".
So it's for something called Kosovo; and that's not how the eskimoland is called, as far as I know... And even for Kosovo, not for any declaration of independence; just the 17 feb 2008 one (for example, the 1991 Kosovo's UDI is out of scope).
In any case I described already a possible way the eskimos could benefit from Kosovo's UDI. Not sure whether it would fly; but they can give it a try :)
pre 13 godina
Sonia is a most amazing woman, and we need to be grateful to her. she is brave, she is insightful, she has great and innate leadership qualities, and yet she is personally warm and modest.
yes, i am back from the balkans. we didn't have time to visit my beloved sarajevo, which was a harsh disappointment, but in the end, my decision. instead, we focused our energies on kosova -- pristina and podujevo; and serbia, mainly Presevo, belgrade, and pazar.
everywhere we found friendly, warm and bright people, as always, reinforcing my perceptions of the region, of the people of former yugoslavia (politics and politicians are another matter.)
and of all the places we went, i think belgrade was my favorite this time. it felt a very dynamic european city, even my (kos albanian) frnd saw a lot to be admired.
but everywhere we went, people went out of their way to help us, to befriend us. it was quite moving.
as for the Belgrade press: they are a pretty cowed bunch. mainly, as i saw and see it, attached to one political party (or ideology) or another. i saw it close up at a press conference we attended in belgrade, with some members of the negotiating team. i was allowed a minute or so for my "questions" when i let them know in no uncertain terms what i thought of them, of the blgd regime. and let the entire room of journalists know that we had a new report on war crime atrocities from 1999. and when the conference was over, guess how many "journalists" approached us? it wasn't the language barrier -- everything was interpreted thru the earphones. so either the journalists have no curiosity about (serbian) war crimes, or they were terrified to be seen with us, or a combination of both. welcome to the blgd press corps.
a welcome relief is Pescanik, the 2 svetlana's. they are only loosely working w b92 (w NO censorship!!) but they are incredible women -- check out their site, in engl or serbian, and try to get their radio program.
as far as i know, they and e-novine are the only 2 progressive media sites (that means, with integrity) from belgrade.
on the other hand we met wonderful, bright journalists working in presevo and in pazar.
and i have to mention miroslav filipovic and his daughter -- they are still kicking, both people of great integrity and tremendous journalists.
gotta run!
roberto frisco
pre 13 godina
Could not be said better.
Serbia was and is the generator of instability, inter-ethnic tensions and previously wars in the western Balkans.
Kosova's UN membership would close at least on of the problems that Serbia is creating.
Unfortunately many Muslim countries do not understand this and continua to help Serbia in destabilising the Balkans by creating problems exactly to the 2 predominantly Muslim countries in the Balkans.
This shows that the policies of the Arab countries are 'moved' by the pan- Arab nationalistic goal rather than religion.
Unfortunately many Muslims in the world do not understand this and fuelled by petrol $ play the game in which they are just simple Arab marionettes. The tragedy is that among those igorants you can find some K-Alabnian idiots as well.
pre 13 godina
That will hurt many Serbs whom do not want to see further to their noses. Her statements are very true and I know also that sometime the truth hurts. Serbia can not join the EU without recognising Kosovo independence first and the territorial integrity of Bosnia-Hercegovina.
pre 13 godina
What's new!
Old news but thanks for confirming it.
Tung
pre 13 godina
We're the only Balkan nation with the combined historic, religious & cultural experience to be the only regional superpower and that must be respected.
pre 13 godina
Only another proofs of what we already knew and know. Serbia is the epicenter of the Balkan conflicts.
pre 13 godina
Remember Serbs, it's better to die standing than to live on your knees.
(MikeC, 14 April 2011 17:57)
Wow! Mike C where were you when making the above statement? Having a kebab? They do it very well in some places in England. By the way Enver Hoxha the late communist Albanian leader used to say "we will die and will not go against marksist/leninist principle. In fact do you really he meant that? Of course not! He and is family were living in paradise...while the ordinary people living in hardship. That is why I was talking about kebab....I hope you get it! Time for nationalistic rhetorics has gone.
pre 13 godina
No Sonja you are Serbia's obstacle. Stay out of our country and our business!
pre 13 godina
this woman is a disgrace. I wonder how she can look in the mirror...
whoever is saying such a nonsense is wrong, but if it is someone saying about his own homeland, ...then I guess something went terribly wrong in her moral development.
poor person.
pre 13 godina
Its nice for a change not having to write a lengthy comment because Ms. Biserko is right on the money! She knows it, I know it, the world knows it.
Serbia is a trouble maker like no other. Serbia is on par with Israel in terms of size of nation and amount of trouble that they create.
pre 13 godina
I'm sorry but Biserko here is nothing but a western paid lap dog... who's sole object is undermined Serbdom.
Bosnia is destroying itself due to the fact Croats don't want to live with Bosniaks no more... and the Bosniaks try to take away rights of both Serbs and Croats, plus the fact Srpska can stand on its own two feet the Federation is just like Kosovo still born nation!
And for Kosovo why should Serbia roll over and allow its cultural and heritage heartland ripped from it... plus the fact she doesn't mention the struggles her own people suffer in both Bosnia, Kosovo especially!
She and Katanic are nothing but traitors to there people, history, culture and Serbdom
IC XC NIKA
God Bless Serbia, Serbs and Serbdom!
pre 13 godina
Who is this manly looking woman and how is she relevant?
pre 13 godina
For you Miss Biserko,lack of intelligence is obstacle to your brain.
pre 13 godina
According to Biserko Serbians should just roll over and die.
Does Sonja Biserko still live in Serbia, is she really a Serb?
There will never be peace in the Balkans until Serbia finally sets it's own borders. All Serbians should be reunited by geographically, and if that means parts of Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia, then be it.
Last week i had a real good laugh when i read about how Serbia, together with Slovenia and Croatia, were going to pull together and establish joint ventures in future tenders of construction, engineering and building whatever for whomever...
Let's get real here. All former Yugoslav republics are unable to live with each other let alone work together.
Sonja perceives the glass of water as half full, but Serbia perceives the glass of water as being half empty.
The recognition of an independent Kosovo by Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia tells a contradicting story of what Sonja Biserko states.
On the contrary Sonja, it seems that all of Serbia's neighbours should stay out of Serbian affairs.
pre 13 godina
I thought the wild anti-Serb politics from Western Europe was almost over. I guess not! According to Biserko, the problem is those pesky Serbs who happen to live outside of Serbia. All other ethnic groups have certain rights to self determination, and she and Europe supported those rights. But when the Serbs of Bosnia demand the same, she blames not only them, but Belgrade. What a sickening double standard.
The major threat today to stability in the Balkans, is not the Serbs of Republika Srpska but the increasingly militant Islamic forces in Bosnia who dream of an ethnically pure Islamic Bosnia. The next war, if is does start, will be started by them. The Serbs of Bosnia have what they want - an independent entity where they can live in peace. Biserko essentially calls for the destruction of Republika Srpska but that will never happen. The Serbian people deserve their own homeland just as much as the other ethnic groups. That is worth defending and that is not destabilizing.
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Shes gone berserk again.
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Biserko, you have to understand, lives on grants. She needs to justify the 30 pieces of silver to her paymasters by spewing hate-filled BS which this article is a prime example of. I feel sad for her.
I think she's psychologically damaged having spent the better part of her life hating Serbia and Serbs, wherever they may be. So much so that she's now clearly imagining things and concocting fantastic and very bizarre conspiracy theories.
Moving on, nothing new here...
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The lady is very fond of spinning unsubstantiated, discrediting stories about Serbian state of affairs, policy and high profile people. She exercises so-called’’duty to accuse’’ all initiatives and actions executed by Serbia.She would forge an alliance with anybody if Serbia were to be demonized. It oversteps the limit of good breeding if somebody keeps on rumour mongering. No EU report suggests that any Serbian high official undermines the neighbouring countries’ matters of state, there is no meddling or exerting pressures on foreign judiciary,as performed by other countries. Mrs Biserko exerted pressure on the court of law in the case of Ganic.She presented before the court of law some unsubstantiated statements ,the bizarre perceptions of her own.The lady never,ever condemned the heinous crimes committed by Thaci and his KLA in Kosovo when they killed Serbs and extracted their organs for trafficking. She and Natasha Kandic were completely struck dumb and indisposed to comment and condemn the crime.She did not condemn the expulsion of Serbs from Croatia,either.As for Kosovo ,it is not UN recognized sovereign country.
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My my, what a circuitous set of statements. So Biserko is essentially chiding Serbia for wasting time and efforts in attempting to "dominate" the Balkans, but at the same time arguing that the inability of any other country in the region is largely, if not directly, related to Serbia's influence, thus indirectly admitting a fait accompli.
So either Serbia is in fact far more powerful than many would like to admit, or countries and parastates in the region are completely inept and incapable of managing their own affairs and consolidating their own democracy but use Serbia as the scapegoat.
Seeing as how Belgrade doesn't even have unquestioned authority in Gracanica, I wonder how Biserko can argue Belgrade has a strangleghold on Sarajevo.
"Sonja perceives the glass of water as half full, but Serbia perceives the glass of water as being half empty." (ACS)
-- Acutally, it doesn't matter if Serbia perceives the glass as half full or half empty. Biserko looks at the half glass and blames Serbia for apparently taking someone else's water.
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Just some remarks...
(1) What about Croatia's role in Bosnia? Why Croatian in Bosnia can vote for Croatia's elections? If the feel like being Bosnian they wouldn't do that, would they?
(2) Bosnia - RS. Well, why in the case of the Serbian province of Kosovo borders were not yet final (in the case of the West)? While they are in the case of Bosnia? Ask Croatians in Bosnia by the way what they would like to see to happen to Bosnia...
(3) Using populations in neighbouring countries. Again: Croatians in Bosnia. Jews in OCCUPIED (!) Westbank!
(4) Final borders? Well, then what about Southern Sudan? I guess you are allowed to try to change borders in a peaceful way.
I am from the West but this one-sideness makes me feel sick sometimes!
(I am not a Serb!)
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yes all of what by brother's friend and colleague says is true, but she forgot to mention that the blgd regime is also responsible for the earthquakes and tsunamis in japan, the economic collapse of portugal, and the death of knut the polar bear.
ciao!
norberto
fiasco
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To my fellow Serbian patriots, this is a sign that her paymasters are getting desperate and it also confirms that Serbia is the powerhouse, both politically and financially, of the Balkans.
How much power we have to go against the Western powers and they can do nothing but pay this person to spew Western venom. We are strong and getting stronger my friends.
All of these experiments are backfiring in their face, "Kosova", BiH, FYROM, Montenegro and Croatia. All going horribly wrong and all they can do is blame Serbia for protecting our interests. The new world order is coming and the old world order will be dead. Then we will have a real chance for true freedom.
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(Mike, 14 April 2011 17:40)
Mike you can try to twist this as much as you want and pretend you don't understand but the fact is that it is much easier to make troubles than do some good.
What Serbia is doing to Kosova in north and above all to Bosnia by manipulating and instigating the Serbs there to fight their own neighbours can easily be done by:
Hungary in Vojvodina;
Bulgaria in eastern Serbia;
Romania in north-east Serbia;
Kosova in south-east Serbia;
Bosnia in Sandzak;
Now the fact that Serbia is playing dirty and is in offensive for the past 20 years is due to the unconditional support that she has from Russia explicitly and some structures in EU implicitly. But her political goal of intolerance and domination by creating a big Serbina state that will include all Serbs in is crystal clear and has not changed at all with Tadic. Biserko is just highlighting the inconvenient evidence for you.
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“the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion confirmed legality of Kosovo’s independence, which did not change Serbia’s position on Kosovo”.
I think her words are far from accurate. The ICJ opined that Kosovo's declaration did not violate international law. (So it would appear here that Eskimos in Alaska can do a UDI from the US too without violating internatinal law). The ICJ did not "confirmed" that Kosovo is a state or entitled to be a state. And the advisory is non-binding.
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"Kosova's UN membership would close at least on of the problems that Serbia is creating.
(ben, 14 April 2011 13:04)"
Dream on but I don't think "Kosova" will ever get past the Chinese and Russian vetoes.
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strange NGO
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"Shes gone berserk again."
Wally
You mean she's gone Biserco again!
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"Serbia’s tendency to dominate its neighbors is the main obstacle to progress of the countries of the region, says Helsinki Committee President Sonja Biserko."
I see her Western imperialist paymasters are frustrated that the Serbs are not reading the script, i.e. roll over like a good doggy.
Guess what. The Serbs are not playing )) If only my brethern in Ljubljana could take a leaf out of their book, things would be better and I would not have to put up with the crap I get when my Serb buddies let rip at me down the local taverna on a Friday night. but a couple of potatos up the exhaust pipe of Milorad's Peugeot sorts that out, eh tovariš :-D
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What a hypocrit! Biserco is nothing more then an American puppet. Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro are all independent and now its Serbias fault that they have failed!!! Serbia is supporting the Dayton peace accords in Bosnia and all of the sudden that is wrong? If the west don't want Dayton then why did they sign it? RS is here to stay, deal with it or shove your head where the sun don't shine. I guess as long as Serbia is not anyones puppet it will always be blamed for everything and anything. Serbs should never give in to this kind of criminals. Remember Serbs, it's better to die standing than to live on your knees.
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Of course the borders are not final, foreign influence (military or other) is yet to tear Vojvodina away from Serbia. Have a nice life Ms Biserko, and please leave us alone.
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And this person,whose Croatian brother was killed ethnically cleansing Serbs is living in downtown Belgrade,is living peacefully in downtown Belgrade...
That says a lot about the spirit of this city:self hating anti-Serb,cosmopolitical ,yugo and communist loving ...
And than you wonder why Albanians temporalily seized Kosovo...
Well,if the center of Serbdom Belgrade is paralized by this intern fifth columnists no wonder that Serbs from Krajina to Kosovo couldn`t for decades count on any substantial help or interest from there...
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That says a lot about the spirit of this city: cosmopolitical ,yugo and communist loving ...
(CG, 15 April 2011 10:54)
Thats why I love Belgrade :-D
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Mike,
As usual very intelligent and astute comment - nothing to add to it. Thank you.
Roberto,
Considering what you are - a poor, deeply troubled soul - I would be very wary about receiving any praises from you, and you are really not doing any favours to any of the people mentioned in your post. The fact that you consider them complementing is not necessarily very complimenting...
B92
I am sorry to say, but the new website layout has left much to be desired. I am not sure why did you change the old one, especially when the change in not for the better.
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clueless or at least talks that way !! more of the "fall in line" "dont have a brain of your own" speak ..its getting old and see thru I understand when the EU does anything no matter what its "their intent is pure no matter the result" while everyone else is up to no good~ ok
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EA,
Territorial integrity of Bosnia? Fine with me. But what about the territorial integrity of Serbia? No double standards!
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(Mike, 16 April 2011 03:19)
Mike you portrayed interethnic situation in Serbia just as Milosevic would have portrayed. Thus, I will ignore your personal insult as it is just reflection of you incapability to dialogue and counterargument.
You still fail to admit what every normal person, you including, knows very well: creating problems is much much easier than doing good things.
To conclude and highlight your naivety I'll refresh your memory by reminding you that, as you think the "weak" Kosova, was actually creating huge problems to Serbia in Presheva valley for over a year in 1999-2000 with the UCPBM.
Now if there is same nationalistic and intolerant political elite in Budapest guess how many UCPBM's can create Hungary or Bulgaria with which Serbia had a diplomatic dispute over the Bulgarian minority in Serbia just few months ago – but you memory is or selective or betraying you. And lastly if Kosova was able to create that great headache to Serbia in 1999-2000 guess how capable is today??
Mike you don't want to admit but the truth is on mine and Biserko's side: the only irresponsible and trouble maker is Serbia.
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Sonja Biserko has been known as a crackpot for a long time so this rant is nothing new. What she is actually saying is that as the EU is running out of funds and Serbia should do what was being done during the Tito years and that is propping up these failing countries by supplying raw materials at basement prices and work on joint projects while making the highest contribution but taking the smallest amount when payday occurs.
People like Sonja see that the EU is struggling financially and consequently the very nature of that entity is changing where it looks like being a lose “confederation” of states rather than a real union and they are worried because their jobs depend on a strong union.
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Biserko, remember it was YOU (the West) who created this situation in Kosovo, not Serbia. Blame yourself and stop blaming Serbia. Serbia is just doing what every other country on the face of the earth has the right to do, protecting its own territorial integrity.
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So it would appear here that Eskimos in Alaska can do a UDI from the US too without violating internatinal law.
(lowe, 14 April 2011 15:39)
We don't know that.... Unless we have a decision from the ICJ about the above. Unfortunately for the Eskimos, the ICJ decision about Kosovo does not help them because that decision was about the UDI of a specific entity (Kosovo) declared on a specific date (17 Feb 2008). Even Serbia's strongest supporters like Slovakia and Spain agree that the ICJ decision has nothing to do with situations in other countries.
The only way for the Eskimos to benefit is to retoactively change the name of their region to Kosovo and declare independence backdating it to 17 Feb 2008. That way they may be covered by the ICJ decision :)
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"What Serbia is doing to Kosova in north and above all to Bosnia by manipulating and instigating the Serbs there to fight their own neighbours can easily be done by:
Hungary in Vojvodina;
Bulgaria in eastern Serbia;
Romania in north-east Serbia;
Kosova in south-east Serbia;
Bosnia in Sandzak;" (ben)
-- Ben, stop writing like you have something useful to contribute. All of the scenarios will not play out in reality, and you know why? Because none of these minority communities are harrassed and left out of the political process in Serbia. None of them are off the grid. Hungarians in Vojvodina are integrated in Vojvodina's politics. They, along with Romanians, have rights to use their own language and work freely with their host countries. Bulgaria has no problems with the small Bulgarian community in Serbia. Bosniaks in Sandzak? Bosnians in Bosnia can't even manage a federation with Croats. And half the "Bosniak" population in Sandzak is loyal to Belgrade while the other are self-aggrandizing and ultimately self-destructing. And before you think Pristina can interfere with Albanians in Presevo, they can't even elect their own president without the US ambassador having a say. Heck, they need to hire an international advertising firm to promote their cause of self-determination. Let's not even talk about feeble attempts at integrating the Serb minorities south of the Ibar, let alone north of it. Your "what if" scenarios have no basis in reality.
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She looks exactly like a replica of Ludmila Alekseeva, the president of Russian Helsinki Commitee...how comes these "human rights activists" on US payroll even look like clones produced in the same Pentagon research lab ?
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Is she a friend of Aartisari by the way? What does she propose, carpet bombing of Belgrade?
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Serbia,"Obstacle to region progress" by Sonja Biserko
Unfortunately there is a number of people in Western Europe who think
like she does.With her remarks,here we go again,criminalization and demonization of Serbian people starts again.Its a prelude to some sort of military action against Serbs to meet "Western style social engineering" bench marks.Western Europe is already involve in number of Nation buildings and regime changing wars with desasterous consequences of
killing so many innocent unarmed people."Conquistare,cielo-terra-mare"this is all justifiable under "Western sett of values"Collateral
damage is often use for civilian causality,all in the name of freedom and liberty.At some point these fogy minded people will cross the Rubicon
Third time gentlemen will be the last time that you will ever rise again.Think about it and leave Serbs alone they are not a problem in the region,you are.
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Dream on but I don't think "Kosova" will ever get past the Chinese and Russian vetoes.
(lowe, 14 April 2011 15:26)
Nobody can ever get past the Chinese, Russian, French, British or American vetos. That's how the system works. The question is for how long any of these would veto a certain issue. The history of the past 60+ years has shown that the answer ranges from few years to a few decades, after which the veto is dropped in favor of the reality on the ground.
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As you yourself stated, those vetoes are insurmountable. That's why I told ben to keep on dreaming.
(lowe, 20 April 2011 10:56)
Sure, for as long as the veto exists, though. And unfortunately, for Serbia or Kosovo, the duration is not in their control
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Well, the way I understand it, the ICJ opined on the declaration. It seems that a mere declaration does not violate any international law. If this is ICJ's basic opinion, then if those Eskimos decide to do a UDI, my bet would be that they wouldn't be violating any international law either. And they may not see the need to make any reference to Kosovo. The Eskimos can do their UDI at a time of their own choosing and be their own entity.
(lowe, 20 April 2011 11:12)
Again, I know that, similarly to 1244, there must be a Serbian version of the ICJ's opinion, which I can't find, which contains additional stuff (related to the eskimos) compared to the English one. So unfortunately I have to limit myself to the ICJ's english conclusion which says "the declaration of independence of Kosovo adopted on 17 February 2008 did not violate international law".
So it's for something called Kosovo; and that's not how the eskimoland is called, as far as I know... And even for Kosovo, not for any declaration of independence; just the 17 feb 2008 one (for example, the 1991 Kosovo's UDI is out of scope).
In any case I described already a possible way the eskimos could benefit from Kosovo's UDI. Not sure whether it would fly; but they can give it a try :)
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Nobody can ever get past the Chinese, Russian, French, British or American vetos. That's how the system works. The question is for how long any of these would veto a certain issue. The history of the past 60+ years has shown that the answer ranges from few years to a few decades, after which the veto is dropped in favor of the reality on the ground.
(icj1, 17 April 2011 18:30)
===========================
Maybe, but "Kosova" could never last that long and Mrs Berserko won't be around that long to stir the pot.
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Well Serbia is right in the middle off 7 countries ! They are important, and nobody can get around them !
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"Nobody can ever get past the Chinese, Russian, French, British or American vetos. That's how the system works. The question is for how long any of these would veto a certain issue. The history of the past 60+ years has shown that the answer ranges from few years to a few decades, after which the veto is dropped in favor of the reality on the ground.
(icj1, 17 April 2011 18:30)"
Well, I personally do not know of any UN issue that was vetoed repeatedly for decades .....
As you yourself stated, those vetoes are insurmountable. That's why I told ben to keep on dreaming.
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"We don't know that.... Unless we have a decision from the ICJ about the above. Unfortunately for the Eskimos, the ICJ decision about Kosovo does not help them because that decision was about the UDI of a specific entity (Kosovo) declared on a specific date (17 Feb 2008). Even Serbia's strongest supporters like Slovakia and Spain agree that the ICJ decision has nothing to do with situations in other countries.
The only way for the Eskimos to benefit is to retoactively change the name of their region to Kosovo and declare independence backdating it to 17 Feb 2008. That way they may be covered by the ICJ decision :)
(icj1, 17 April 2011 19:05)"
Well, the way I understand it, the ICJ opined on the declaration. It seems that a mere declaration does not violate any international law. If this is ICJ's basic opinion, then if those Eskimos decide to do a UDI, my bet would be that they wouldn't be violating any international law either. And they may not see the need to make any reference to Kosovo. The Eskimos can do their UDI at a time of their own choosing and be their own entity.
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"Sure, for as long as the veto exists, though. And unfortunately, for Serbia or Kosovo, the duration is not in their control
(icj1, 22 April 2011 21:05)"
More unfortunate for Kosovo (and ben) if you ask me. Serbia is already a UN member. Kosovo ain't.
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"Again, I know that, similarly to 1244, there must be a Serbian version of the ICJ's opinion, which I can't find, which contains additional stuff (related to the eskimos) compared to the English one. So unfortunately I have to limit myself to the ICJ's english conclusion which says "the declaration of independence of Kosovo adopted on 17 February 2008 did not violate international law".
So it's for something called Kosovo; and that's not how the eskimoland is called, as far as I know... And even for Kosovo, not for any declaration of independence; just the 17 feb 2008 one (for example, the 1991 Kosovo's UDI is out of scope).
In any case I described already a possible way the eskimos could benefit from Kosovo's UDI. Not sure whether it would fly; but they can give it a try :)
(icj1, 22 April 2011 21:12) "
It is news to me that there are so many versions of 1244. Anyway, that's irrelevant. If the ICJ's basic opinion is that a mere declaration does not contravene international law, I don't think the Eskimos will need 1244 or Kosovo or Feb 2008, whether in English or Serbian or Albanian. They just do their own UDI when it suits them. My bet would be that they would get away with their unique UDI too should the Yankees dare to question the ICJ about it.
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