Independence, partition, and frozen conflicts

Mr. Ambassador, this is not about inat, but basic self-respect. The Croatian and Bosnian governments could not agree that parts of their territory be taken away. The same goes for the government of Serbia. We are not any better than Albanians, Bosniacs, or Croats, but we are not an inferior people either. The root cause of the coming trouble is the decision of your government to treat us that way.

There is no point in trying to reason with Mr Montgomery. He has his agenda.

The root causes of the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia are clear to him and many other actors currently demonising one group on the basis of their ethnicity, wherever they live, despite the merit of their arguments.

He knows the truth about Jasenovac, Operation Storm, Pavelic, Tito, Tudjman, Izetbegovic, Haradinaj, Thaci, Ceku, the KLA and much more. And he knows the lies about the Merkale market, Racak and much more as well.

That we give him a forum and that he uses it to present skewed views to the very people that he advocates being hounded out of existence throughout their historical homelands says something about us and more about him.

One could easily write a very long comment on this article, but what's the point?
I'll just have to mention few things.
"The Kosovo Albanians have consistently been told that they cannot put one foot wrong as this process plays itself out and that they must resist responding to any provocations. "
They've been consistantly told many things, so what?
Let's just remember "standards before status" introduced with fanfare in 2002, to make Kosovo authorities "behave".
Two years later policy was quietly dropped when it was obvious that no standards of any kind were achieved there.
They've put their foot wrong many times. So?
"...it is now a certainty that the Kosovo Albanians, under the leadership of Hashim Thaci and in very close consultation with the United States and key players in the European Union, within the next two months will initiate the beginning of the process of unilaterally declaring independence."
It has been certain for a long timet that everything that KLA ever did was "in very close consultation with the United States and key players in the European Union", possibly burning of the monasteries included.
There is convicing evidence of KLA being armed and supplied with arms, money and islamic instructors before 1999. Let's not even talk about after it. Just think of Paddy Ashdown inspecting KLA units promissing British help on the footage shown in Hague. Or spectacular "Houdini" act by Florim Ejupi that dissapeared from BONDSTEEL!
The Americans later said that he had escaped using a pair of wire
cutters hidden in a spinach pie sent to the prison by his family. They
said crucial floodlights were faulty, and there are claims that an
inexperienced National Guard unit had left a stretch of perimeter wire
unobserved for 100 minutes.
Come on! We all know that it's not that easy to escape largest US military base in Europe, you would be missing at least half of Guantanamo Bay prisoners by now!

"A classic example is the blockage thus far by Serbia of the annual renewal of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

Probably the most important task, which the OSCE in Kosovo will perform, is to monitor the degree of decentralization and the treatment of minorities. Their presence, therefore, is of utmost importance to Kosovo Serbs. Blocking it is a self-inflicted wound not only because of its impact in Kosovo, but also because of the impression it makes on most of the other OSCE-member countries. "

Another paper thing.
Their presence is of utmost importance to Kosovo Serbs?
Because, they will guarantee their rights, right?
You must be speaking of those Pristina Serbs? Oh, yeah. There are zero left, there. They were gathered into one building guarded by KFOR, just to be attacked there, and transported out of Prisina, when building was in flames.
OSCE? Keep it.
"What this means for sure is that similar to Croatia and Bosnia in 1990-91, the Kosovo Serbs will reject any authority of the Kosovo government over these areas. In contrast to the situations in Croatia and Bosnia, however, they will not set up independent governments, but will significantly strengthen their ties with Serbia proper."
It is very simmilar.
After recognizing independance of Kosovo illegaly, you will declare Northern Kosovo Serbs "separatist" (from independant Kosovo, of course).
Leaders of Kosovo Albanians will be praised for their dedication to "multi-ethnic, multi-cultural Kosovo", while leaders of the Serbs in the North will be labeled nationalists, etc. If some people come to aid of Kosovo Serbs, Kostunica and possibly Tadic will be blamed for their actions and declared war criminals and extremists.
There were already a comments on this site stating that Kostunica is less flexible then Milosevic. They are pointing out that Milosevic did not block OSCE mission to Kosovo, as Kostunica did recently. He welcomed the mission, even though it was headed by William Walker, a person with strange record in Central America.
There indicting him should not be a problem.
The problem (as I see it) is in the policy of your country and some other countries as well. They simply think they can shaw it down everybody's throat anything they wish.
You can complain about Serbian government inability to explain your policies to the people, but the other one won't do better job. Your policies are simply unexplicable.
Just take one example.
Few years ago, US government launched major campaign to obtain separate Article 98 agreements with as many countries in the world as possible. The countries were to sign not to send American citizents to the International Court (permament one, not Hague Tribunal) without US consent.
US put great pressure on Serbian government of that time to comply. In the same time, they were putting immense pressure on the same government to send their citizens to The Hague in response to ICTY indictments.
How could any government explain to its electorate that it would send its citizens to The Hague while signing pledges to not send Americans to a similar court?
Not to make this too long now...
Your "best case scenario" will not be seen as best case scenario in Serbia.
Many are connecting Serb Republic to Kosovo question, despite your constant pleas that it's not connected.
You will continue with your policy, I don't doubt that.
Russia will probably use this unexpected opportunity to recognize several pro-Russian entities in former Soviet Union.
But what will happen in the Balkan is anybody's guess.
Again, everybody is saying that Kosovo and European integration are not related issuess.
They are very related in the mind of Serbian population, weather you like it or not.
Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo were all able to get away with a lot, because they have powerful friends. That's how this is seen in Serbia.
Serbia is looking for friends. It's current friends don't look so friendly. It's already looking elsewhere.
One outcome I'm pretty certain about.
Serbia and EU will end up being miles apart. No integration will be possible for at least a generation.

The only solution that will work in the long term is one that has been agreed by both parties in this conflict. Any other solution whether it was imposed by the Western powers using force directly or indirectly or by using economic blackmail and duress will fail. In the long run. Serbs are a proud and strong nation that paid a heavy price for their freedom throughout the history. Russia also suffered at the hands of Western powers twice in the past who attacked her without provocation and inflicted untold suffering and misery. I am almost 100% certain that this conflict has a potential to be used as an excuse for World War III which is going to be about oil and natural resources = land. Wherever that is. Including Russia. So what everyone has to appreciate here is that any kind of force, military or economic or threats from anyone involved has an enourmous capacity to light up the fires of something that may turn into the point of no return. It may not happen today or tomorrow but happen it will if a just solution based on a compromise is not found that is accepted by both parties. If that means partition of Kosovo so be it. At the same time pressures on Serbs in Bosnia to live in a unitary artificial state that serves nobody well should be stopped. They have the same right to decide about their future as anyone else. I hope that the players will recognize the importance of this. Otherwise the outcome may not be in anyone's interest.

Thanks.

Mr. Montgomery why would you say such a thing about Serbs? Inat has nothing to do with all of this. Serbs are protecting their holly land-your example as losing a chilld is correct. Serbs wanted independance in Croatia. Did they get it? Did you show any sympathy for hundreds of thousands Serbs chased out or slaughtered then? As usual in your mind they deserved it. Only Serbs were willing to live in multy ethnic yugo but look at the mess rest of them with help of west have created. Reason is obvious, but wests propaganda including yours is well known.

Yes, Albanien can proclaim independance wich will never be recognized by Serbs anywhere. Yes, Serbs have a long memory-Ottoman empire comes to mind. Frozen independance will not do much good-jamming it down Serb throat is a terrible mistake. History had proven that.

I am stil waiting fair asessment of Croatia and treatment of Serbs, Jews,Romas etc starting at least WW2+. Your fair writing about Croatia would be pleasant surprise and greatly appreciated, but I won't hold my breath.

this is getting more and more ridiculous...

once again B92 is publishing the one-sidededly flawed views of a member of the US-adminitstration...that is itself causing one of the biggest problems here: encouraging extremism and the breach of international law.

well, let us just see whether Mr.Montgomery is not wrong...

Serbia should send in the army. Enough is enough. Not to make a mess out of Kosovo. But to save international law.

We all know Kosovo independence will be illegal. South Ossetia, Abkhazia... they all want indepence too!

The West, the UN and the EU should stay in Kosovo but also make clear to the Albanians that they are 'just' a minority in Serbia. Like we have Germans in Belgium.

I do wish this man would stop being so disrespectful to Serbs by using "opcina" instead of "opstina"!! If "opstina" is too much to ask for then try using the English equivalent!! Hard to believe he was a diplomat.

"The Kosovo Albanians have consistently been told that they cannot put one foot wrong as this process plays itself out and that they must resist responding to any provocations"

Kosovo's Albanians have a very effective way to make their Serbs leave: deny them jobs, make it impossible for them to work their lands, regularly threaten them and vandalize their possessions. They used this method already locally in the 1980s and since the war it has been implemented nearly everywhere.

They know that UNMIK and KFOR don't care about this. They are content as long as there is no bad international publicity. And so the Albanians avoid killings and their politicians make occassionally statements about reconciliation that nobody in Kosovo takes seriously.

In the last 8 years the small Serb communities south of the Ibar have been slowly cleansed and they consist now mainly of pensioners who will leave when Kosovo becomes independent. Mr. Montgomery's ideal model is that the Serb majority municipalities submit to a similar treatment.

And when they - predictably - refuse to see any advantage in living under Kosovo Albanian rule he will undoubtly put the blame on Serb "inat".

Here is a nice link.

http://www.balkanpeace.org/index.php?index=article&articleid=13907

It's an article in The Times (UK) dated on May 14th 2002.
Written by Anthony Loyd.
Before I comment on particular article, I will explain what I meant by saying that KLA is in close connection to NATO.
One doesn't need to go into pre-1999 period to examine the very creation of KLA or to ask why was a leader of Albanian delegation at Rambulliet talks KLA leader Hashim Tachi? Rugova was by far most respected Albanian politician in Kosovo, and Tachi just month ago managed to be elected.
After the war many lower level NATO officials charged right away that "revenge attacks" were KLA - orchestrated campaign of terror.
Those allegations would always stop at the very top of NATO - UNMIK structures.
By the way I have to say that I agree with "bganon" in comment No. 16

"However, it is a BIG mistake to claim that the March 2004 riots were spontaneous. They were not - as is pointed out in a number of Western government reports you might have access to. The situation was abused by a couple of local chieftans acting with the blessing of a Kosovo leader who has been indicted by the Hague. It was also horrific the way the Kosovo Albanian media jumped on the bandwagon and incited others to get involved. That kind of encouragement doesnt seem spur of the moment. "

Absolutely not spontaneous. There are several reports on this issue, including UN report stating that KPC people were bused around and lead the mob in many places.

So, let's check the article now.

"The investigation of a bus bomb that killed 11 Serbs was blocked at
every turn and the four suspects are now free. "
Just so that you know what's the article about.

"Though Nato and the UN technically control its membership, since its
creation the TMK has been as contentious as its KLA parent. Some senior
UN officials regard it as a monster. Frequently implicated in the
murder
and intimidation of Serb civilians, organised crime and cross-border
insurgencies into rump-Serbia and Macedonia, the TMK nevertheless
survives as the recipient of foreign funding and training."

They were not only "frequently implicated in the
murder
and intimidation of Serb civilians, organised crime and cross-border
insurgencies into rump-Serbia and Macedonia" , but in other cases too. Many consider them to be responsable for assassinations of several prominent members of Rugova's party. Also, when AKSH (currently ANA)blew the railroad bridge in Kosovo (and ended up branded as terrorist organization by UNMIK) explosion happened prematurely and killed two perpertrators. Both were members of KPC. Subsequent UN investigation concluded that this was a work of KPC.
Read this article from Canadian "The National Post" written by Isabel Vincent.

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/62/448.html

"Although the civilian defence organization is supposed to help local residents, over the past four years, its mostly ethnic Albanian military officials have been involved in violent confrontations with Serbs.

The inquiry found last April's bomb attack on a Kosovo railway was the work of the KPC."
No need to say more.

But, let's go back to The Times article.

"An intensive military intelligence
operation,
using a panoply of Nato resources, pointed a finger at these men for
having been part of a nine-strong active service unit that planned and
carried out the bomb attack."

So, based on NATO intelligence 3 were arrested.

"A fourth suspect was detained that night by British soldiers. Unlike
the
others, Florim Ejupi had no military experience. He was a smalltime,
unsophisticated Kosovar Albanian criminal who had lived in Germany for
the duration of the war. He had served four sentences in German prisons
for drug dealing, attempted manslaughter, burglary and assault while
the
fighting was at its height. Yet from the start he appeared to be the
key
to the investigation."

"Of the four prisoners, he
was the only one to be connected to the scene of the crime by physical
evidence as opposed to intelligence information. A cigarette butt found
at the bomb’s hilltop firing point, along with scraps of cable wrapping
paper, bore his DNA trace, which was cross-checked for confirmation
against his DNA print on German police files. "

Pretty conclusive evidence.

"At the site of the explosion on the day the bomb went off, Detective
Stu
Kellock, the squad’s Canadian chief, had asked that UNMIK put a
dedicated task force together to work on the investigation, as would
have been done in any western country. That request and subsequent ones
were ignored."

Why would superiors deny this request?

""It was obvious right from the start that there were other agendas
going
on that the police didn’t know about," Kellock says. "Technically we
were in charge of the investigation but it never seemed that way.
Intelligence about the suspects was denied to us. Information was
withheld by Kfor. We were always the last to be told what was going on.
From the word go, I got a very sinister feeling about the whole thing."

The police claim that as soon as the four suspects were transferred to
UNMIK detention centres in Kosovo, some 12 hours after their initial
arrest by the British, a UN order restricted police interviews of the
men. Indeed, Kellock never personally managed to get access to a single
interview with the prisoners. "

Canadian officer investigating the case never got a single interview with the suspects?

"Another Canadian serious crimes officer, Joe McAllister, recalls: "We
were told, ‘These are the suspects " question them’. Yet we had no
information upon which to base our questioning, nor any direction, and
anyway we couldn’t get proper access to the prisoners." By early May
the
suspects were no longer in UNMIK custody..."

"Apparently haunted by the possibility of the suspects’ escaping, the UN
ordered their transfer to the most secure detention area in the
province: the jail inside the American base at Camp Bondsteel. The camp
was home to more than 5,000 US soldiers; in its detention facility,
suspects languished in Guantanamo Bay-style fluorescent orange suits,
surrounded by concertina rolls of razor wire, floodlights and
watchtowers. "

"The suspects were transferred to Bondsteel on May 3. But a year ago, on
the night of May 14, Florim Ejupi, the most unsophisticated suspect and
the one man against whom physical evidence existed, "disappeared" from
the camp. "

On you can continue to read about the efforts of these two Canadian officers, and how "Nato continued to
withold its intelligence" from them etc. etc.

Monty I'm not going to take issue with the sentiment - as its pretty clear. Nor do I disagree with some of your potential scenarios.

However, it is a BIG mistake to claim that the March 2004 riots were spontaneous. They were not - as is pointed out in a number of Western government reports you might have access to. The situation was abused by a couple of local chieftans acting with the blessing of a Kosovo leader who has been indicted by the Hague. It was also horrific the way the Kosovo Albanian media jumped on the bandwagon and incited others to get involved. That kind of encouragement doesnt seem spur of the moment.

Having said that I do agree that events take on a life of their own. What may start as say a planned small scale wave of violence - ostensibly to deter / defend against the other side can easily turn into something much more serious.

That of course must be guarded against - and civilians should be protected at all costs. That includes civilians that may be ethnically cleansed. I would not blame those who are under threat from being ethnically cleansed for taking to arms. And no way does that make them equally responsible.

'Furthermore, if the North of Kosova declares independence...no one will recognize it.'

KS - Therin lies the trick. Northern Kosovo wont need to declare independence. It can just as easily take a vote or decleration to CONTINUE current Kosovo status - as a province of Serbia. As there is currently no legal international document contradicting Serbian statehood and Kosovo being part of Serbia it should be absorbed without much fuss.

Good links, Sreten.
I wasn't familiar with this case myself.
I'll copy and paste something from it myself.

"The trio, still
terrorist suspects in an unclosed case, were given local heroes’
welcomes after they left jail. Cele Gashi and Jusuf Veliu were embraced
publicly by senior TMK officers. In January, Gashi returned to his
position as a TMK colonel in Pristina; Veliu was reinstated as a TMK
captain. Nato officials in Kosovo denied that this move had been
officially sanctioned. Yet six weeks later both men were in barracks
and
in uniform.

In UNMIK there is confusion as to whether Gashi and Veliu were ever
even
suspended from the TMK in the first place, some officials even
suggesting that the suspects were being paid out of a UN-regulated
budget during their time in custody."

To heroe's welcome. Right.

The link to National Post article is even more useful. I had no idea about the real numbers.

"According to statistics collected by the UN criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague, 1,192 Serbs have been killed, 1,303 kidnapped and 1,305 wounded in Kosovo this year.

In June, 1999, just after the NATO bombing, 547 Serbs were killed and 932 were kidnapped. "

That's ending 2003. What about spring of 2004 violance, and all those killed in last 4 years?
Is there such data on other non-Albanians?
Combined, it can probably can exceed number of Albanians killed in the entire war before and during the bombing.
Humanitarian war, my foot.

Monty I have rewritten two of your paragraphs. Please tell me why this scenario is not being considered by you and your ilk? In every other similar internal disagreement the EU in particular have sought to maintain national borders and broker peace and reintegration of the opposing sides. Why has this not been done in Kosovo to date and why is it not being considered as an option for 2008? Yes, this is a long process but the eventual results would create far better conditions for the people of Kosovo and would provide the best example to other frozen/on-going disputes in the balkans and further afield.

Re-written paragraph as follows:
The "best case scenario" of the U.S. and EU following the return of Kosovo to sovereign administration is that the way the ethnic Albanians set up their enclaves is not sufficiently provocative and aggressive that they have to be dealt with immediately, either by the International Community or the new provincial administration in Kosovo. In other words, they are looking for a variation of …a frozen conflict.

Under this scenario, gradually over time the breakaway areas would fade away as the benefits of belonging to a Serbia coming ever closer to the EU becomes apparent. While this may take "heavy lifting," it would be one of the major tasks of the new International Representative to be appointed by the EU. The usual conditionality and "soft power" of the EU would be used both in Serbia proper and with the breakaway ethnic Albanian enclaves.

The international community do not respects its own laws and resolution, and Serbia therefore should not give up her territory which is Kosovo. In the Basque country in Spain and in France there is 100% of Basques and yet no one gives them the independence.

Under Nato Serbs were pushed out of Kosovo! And the rest will be pushed out very soon! 800000 Albanians were moving because it was organized by Nato and Albanians themselvs in order to justify bombing and to achieve strategical goal! But they are still there are they? How come?

I dont see the point of mentioning the drowning of three Albanian children. After the investigation it was proven that the drowning was an accident, and had nothing with Serbs and was not an ethnicly related incident. This story was fabricated by Albanian media, which inflamed anti-Serbian violent protests and pogrom (http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/kosovo0704/5.htm). Your entire text and so-called opinion deals with Serbs, as if the Serbs have been murdering, looting and persecuting for the last 8 years. There is not an ounce of criticism towards Albanians and what they have been doing for the last 8 years, and on top of that you are rewarding them with a creation of an ethnically clean greater Albania, which is run by already indicted war criminals and leaders of an organization which the US at one point categorized as terrorist (I am sure that if the US and Osama find a common enemy again, he will be a freedom fighter and not a terrorist). Anyways, Serbia is right for not signing a creation of an Albanian state on its territory, based on ethic cleansing and run by terrorists and indicted murderers. Nor it should accept violating international law, as if it is dealing with the Wild west run by some cowboy from Texas, and not the civilized west, which we've so far known for order and respect for law and rules.

In Kosovo they discremated against the 90% of the majority Albanians. Taking away their right to govern them selves. By using a heavy hand of murder and expulsion of the Albanian population. With the other republics the Serbs could of separated in peace on good terms like the Czechs and Slovaks or Russians ,Ukrainians , Belorussians. But they were more interested in their Greater Serbia project at the expense of their neighbors. The 10s of thousands of horrendous murderes ,millions of ethnically cleansed civilians they horrendously unjustly committed on testefie to the Serbs brutality and folly. In Srpska entity where 94% of the other ethnic groups are still brutally cleansed to this day. Serbia is trying to steal half of Bosnia add it to its governing territorial control never mined of restoring true justice their to the victims of the Serbs aggression or international community rectifying the injustice. At least the international community is waking up to the bulling and threats coming from Serbia . Also Montenegro is a good separation it has more Serbs than any of the other republics. The only reason it separated peacefully is the international community read the riot act to Serbia and the thousands of NATO and UN troops next door.

The chance that Kosovar-Serbs think they can have their own country is RIDICULOUS. If they join Serbia...I see no reason why that 2% of Kosovars won't pool in resources to join Kosova and Albania. Furthermore, if the North of Kosova declares independence...no one will recognize it.

As with Krajina, there is going to be a long term moral and humanitarian pressure to let Serbs return to the area.

It is not just a question of protecting the Serbs that remain. A true multi-ethnic path must involve the possibility of return for those Serbs who have been intimidated into leaving.

I doubt the Albanians who want to set up a government in Kosovo will like this idea very much - but it has to be at the heart of the international community's actions if it is to allow independence.

"The Serbs will not believe for a second in the sincerity of these [Albanian] promises and will make that abundantly clear."

This is the heart of the whole matter. Serbs and Albanians simply do not trust each other on account of nearly continuous efforts by one side to squeeze out the other. In that regard, why should K-Serbs take the word of a former warlord as anything genuine? Moverover, we all know Thaci is simply saying what his financial backers in Washington are paying him to say. If it were up to him and the rest of the Albanian elite, the remaining Serbs would have been driven out years ago.

At this point, the true border between Serbia and Kosovo is the Ibar River. For all intents and purposes, northern Kosovo is simply an extension of Serbia. NATO will not be foolish enough to pry it away and thumbtack it to Pristina and not risk the further ire of Belgrade. With this in mind, we might as well write off northern Kosovo as de facto Serbian territory, even if it administratively remains within Kosovo. If were are happy to recognize parallel governmental institutions existing in Kosovo since 1981, why be so hesitant to do the same for North Mitrovica now?

Secondly, if the international community is smart (and by this I hope Brussels takes the lead and not Washington), smaller details of the AP will be implemented first, beginning with the rights and uncontested privileges of minorities. If Albanians really want to show the world they are not claiming victor's justice, there needs to be such a tangible display of goodwill to the Serb minorities that it not only makes them NOT leave, but it actually encourages those that already left to come back. One of the most critical aspects of an independent Kosovo is to say to the Serbs "your life is better as a free citizen in an independent Kosovo, than as a displaced refugee in Serbia".

The best way to guarantee both scenarios is to officially institutionalize Serbian municipalities, enclaves, and monasteries, as having special status in Kosovo. Local Serbian governments should have the right to accept to reject anything coming out of Pristina and should maintain certain ties to Belgrade. They should also be given exclusive rights to secure and patrol their own areas apart from the Albanian-dominated KPS. If there is a serious move to recognize the needs of the Serb minority, and initially realize they don't trust Thaci as far as they could throw him, the worst of nightmare scenarios (Serb flight, violence, and reaction from Belgrade) could still be avoided.

If over time, trust and cooperation is built and maintained, there may be talk of reducing the barriers and working towards a more integrative Kosovo. But we are no where near this anytime soon. If we simply continue to view Serb protests as an annoyance to our own grand schemes of half-baked "nation-building" (read as propping up pro-American goverments), all worse case scenarios will indeed manifest.

You cannot build democracy without first building trust. Get the Serbs on board, give them clear signs they have an important future in Kosovo, give them every indication Kosovo is their land and their home as it is everyone else's, and we might just form the core of a democratic civil society. If not, Kosovo will become just another failed state.

All the above comments make a better argument then Monty can ever have hoped to. I have no response for Monty, I think everyone else has done a fantastic job of that.

I just hope one day, that the whole world will be blessed with the truth.

Kosovo is Serbia

Ron,

Go right ahead, send in the Serbian Army and start a war with NATO. And perhaps you should be the first one to voluteer and join the VS and come fight for Kosova.

Kosova was a federal unit of Yugoslavia, linked to Serbia but a federal unit nonetheless, and you cant compare that and what happened betwen 1989-1999 with some bacwards province in the middle of nowere Asia with 30,000 people.

when the parent beat the child, then??

and serbian have "inat", and think they will retake kosova,
but dont even hope. no chances

you always loose there in kosova. does it means something to you? yes it means is not your land, but stolen land from albania illyria

Comments are really right on the spot this time around!
It'a always a pleasure to read Wim Roffel's comments that go to the very heart of the problem, or flawless logic behind Sreten's reasoning. But, this time most of the comments are really very, very good. I like rewritting of the two paragraphs by Jack the most.
I have one thing to ask from Sreten. You normaly provide us with appropriate links so that everyone can see what are you talking about.
Do you have any links about what you've called "Houdini" act by Florin Ejupi escaping from Bondsteel? I'm not familiar with the case, but I'm curious about it. Someone escaped from there?
Good luck to all.

From most of Kosovo's cities all Serbs have left. Most villages that were mixed before the war are now mono-ethnic Albanian. In the few mixed villages under Albanian control that still exist (like Cernica) the Serbs are gradually leaving. The have reasons to so as there are occassional "incidents".

So, mr. Montgomery, I challenge you to point out one location in Kosovo that shows Serbs and Albanians living peaceful together under Albanian rule in such a way that it can serve as an example for the Serb communities in the north who in your vision will have to bow for Albanian rule.

If you can't: what it is the purpose of your article? Are you promoting the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo's Serbs?

Spot on. Very realistic article coming from a gentleman who knows the region. Both sides will have objections of course and hope the EU is up to the task.
Peace and Love

... offers of various "carrots" have not been succesful ...

Maybe Mr. Montgomery could inform us about these "carrots". I read several Dutch newspapers and, to my knowledge, Serbia has not been offered any decent incentive in return for accepting the Ahtisaari plan. If only the West had offered the Serbs a "carrot". This could have altered Belgrade's stance on Kosovo...

I just hope one day, that the whole world will be blessed with the truth.

Kosovo is Serbia
(Goran, 13 December 2007 11:14)

gomar,
the world is blessed w/the truth. sadly, many serbs cannot or choose not to acknowledge the truth.

The substance of this conflict is a nature of the liberal capitalisam and it's dependance on the profit expansion. That is the reason why the West is "pushing" eastwards - for it's system to survive. The regional population is, unfortunately, in the eyes of both western and eastern "giants" seen just as colateral damage...

Ron,

Go right ahead, send in the Serbian Army and start a war with NATO. And perhaps you should be the first one to voluteer and join the VS and come fight for Kosova.

Kosova was a federal unit of Yugoslavia, linked to Serbia but a federal unit nonetheless, and you cant compare that and what happened betwen 1989-1999 with some bacwards province in the middle of nowere Asia with 30,000 people.

The chance that Kosovar-Serbs think they can have their own country is RIDICULOUS. If they join Serbia...I see no reason why that 2% of Kosovars won't pool in resources to join Kosova and Albania. Furthermore, if the North of Kosova declares independence...no one will recognize it.

In Kosovo they discremated against the 90% of the majority Albanians. Taking away their right to govern them selves. By using a heavy hand of murder and expulsion of the Albanian population. With the other republics the Serbs could of separated in peace on good terms like the Czechs and Slovaks or Russians ,Ukrainians , Belorussians. But they were more interested in their Greater Serbia project at the expense of their neighbors. The 10s of thousands of horrendous murderes ,millions of ethnically cleansed civilians they horrendously unjustly committed on testefie to the Serbs brutality and folly. In Srpska entity where 94% of the other ethnic groups are still brutally cleansed to this day. Serbia is trying to steal half of Bosnia add it to its governing territorial control never mined of restoring true justice their to the victims of the Serbs aggression or international community rectifying the injustice. At least the international community is waking up to the bulling and threats coming from Serbia . Also Montenegro is a good separation it has more Serbs than any of the other republics. The only reason it separated peacefully is the international community read the riot act to Serbia and the thousands of NATO and UN troops next door.

when the parent beat the child, then??

and serbian have "inat", and think they will retake kosova,
but dont even hope. no chances

you always loose there in kosova. does it means something to you? yes it means is not your land, but stolen land from albania illyria

Serbia should send in the army. Enough is enough. Not to make a mess out of Kosovo. But to save international law.

We all know Kosovo independence will be illegal. South Ossetia, Abkhazia... they all want indepence too!

The West, the UN and the EU should stay in Kosovo but also make clear to the Albanians that they are 'just' a minority in Serbia. Like we have Germans in Belgium.

Spot on. Very realistic article coming from a gentleman who knows the region. Both sides will have objections of course and hope the EU is up to the task.
Peace and Love

I just hope one day, that the whole world will be blessed with the truth.

Kosovo is Serbia
(Goran, 13 December 2007 11:14)

gomar,
the world is blessed w/the truth. sadly, many serbs cannot or choose not to acknowledge the truth.

The only solution that will work in the long term is one that has been agreed by both parties in this conflict. Any other solution whether it was imposed by the Western powers using force directly or indirectly or by using economic blackmail and duress will fail. In the long run. Serbs are a proud and strong nation that paid a heavy price for their freedom throughout the history. Russia also suffered at the hands of Western powers twice in the past who attacked her without provocation and inflicted untold suffering and misery. I am almost 100% certain that this conflict has a potential to be used as an excuse for World War III which is going to be about oil and natural resources = land. Wherever that is. Including Russia. So what everyone has to appreciate here is that any kind of force, military or economic or threats from anyone involved has an enourmous capacity to light up the fires of something that may turn into the point of no return. It may not happen today or tomorrow but happen it will if a just solution based on a compromise is not found that is accepted by both parties. If that means partition of Kosovo so be it. At the same time pressures on Serbs in Bosnia to live in a unitary artificial state that serves nobody well should be stopped. They have the same right to decide about their future as anyone else. I hope that the players will recognize the importance of this. Otherwise the outcome may not be in anyone's interest.

Thanks.

Mr. Ambassador, this is not about inat, but basic self-respect. The Croatian and Bosnian governments could not agree that parts of their territory be taken away. The same goes for the government of Serbia. We are not any better than Albanians, Bosniacs, or Croats, but we are not an inferior people either. The root cause of the coming trouble is the decision of your government to treat us that way.

this is getting more and more ridiculous...

once again B92 is publishing the one-sidededly flawed views of a member of the US-adminitstration...that is itself causing one of the biggest problems here: encouraging extremism and the breach of international law.

well, let us just see whether Mr.Montgomery is not wrong...

There is no point in trying to reason with Mr Montgomery. He has his agenda.

The root causes of the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia are clear to him and many other actors currently demonising one group on the basis of their ethnicity, wherever they live, despite the merit of their arguments.

He knows the truth about Jasenovac, Operation Storm, Pavelic, Tito, Tudjman, Izetbegovic, Haradinaj, Thaci, Ceku, the KLA and much more. And he knows the lies about the Merkale market, Racak and much more as well.

That we give him a forum and that he uses it to present skewed views to the very people that he advocates being hounded out of existence throughout their historical homelands says something about us and more about him.

"The Kosovo Albanians have consistently been told that they cannot put one foot wrong as this process plays itself out and that they must resist responding to any provocations"

Kosovo's Albanians have a very effective way to make their Serbs leave: deny them jobs, make it impossible for them to work their lands, regularly threaten them and vandalize their possessions. They used this method already locally in the 1980s and since the war it has been implemented nearly everywhere.

They know that UNMIK and KFOR don't care about this. They are content as long as there is no bad international publicity. And so the Albanians avoid killings and their politicians make occassionally statements about reconciliation that nobody in Kosovo takes seriously.

In the last 8 years the small Serb communities south of the Ibar have been slowly cleansed and they consist now mainly of pensioners who will leave when Kosovo becomes independent. Mr. Montgomery's ideal model is that the Serb majority municipalities submit to a similar treatment.

And when they - predictably - refuse to see any advantage in living under Kosovo Albanian rule he will undoubtly put the blame on Serb "inat".

All the above comments make a better argument then Monty can ever have hoped to. I have no response for Monty, I think everyone else has done a fantastic job of that.

I just hope one day, that the whole world will be blessed with the truth.

Kosovo is Serbia

Mr. Montgomery why would you say such a thing about Serbs? Inat has nothing to do with all of this. Serbs are protecting their holly land-your example as losing a chilld is correct. Serbs wanted independance in Croatia. Did they get it? Did you show any sympathy for hundreds of thousands Serbs chased out or slaughtered then? As usual in your mind they deserved it. Only Serbs were willing to live in multy ethnic yugo but look at the mess rest of them with help of west have created. Reason is obvious, but wests propaganda including yours is well known.

Yes, Albanien can proclaim independance wich will never be recognized by Serbs anywhere. Yes, Serbs have a long memory-Ottoman empire comes to mind. Frozen independance will not do much good-jamming it down Serb throat is a terrible mistake. History had proven that.

I am stil waiting fair asessment of Croatia and treatment of Serbs, Jews,Romas etc starting at least WW2+. Your fair writing about Croatia would be pleasant surprise and greatly appreciated, but I won't hold my breath.

As with Krajina, there is going to be a long term moral and humanitarian pressure to let Serbs return to the area.

It is not just a question of protecting the Serbs that remain. A true multi-ethnic path must involve the possibility of return for those Serbs who have been intimidated into leaving.

I doubt the Albanians who want to set up a government in Kosovo will like this idea very much - but it has to be at the heart of the international community's actions if it is to allow independence.

"The Serbs will not believe for a second in the sincerity of these [Albanian] promises and will make that abundantly clear."

This is the heart of the whole matter. Serbs and Albanians simply do not trust each other on account of nearly continuous efforts by one side to squeeze out the other. In that regard, why should K-Serbs take the word of a former warlord as anything genuine? Moverover, we all know Thaci is simply saying what his financial backers in Washington are paying him to say. If it were up to him and the rest of the Albanian elite, the remaining Serbs would have been driven out years ago.

At this point, the true border between Serbia and Kosovo is the Ibar River. For all intents and purposes, northern Kosovo is simply an extension of Serbia. NATO will not be foolish enough to pry it away and thumbtack it to Pristina and not risk the further ire of Belgrade. With this in mind, we might as well write off northern Kosovo as de facto Serbian territory, even if it administratively remains within Kosovo. If were are happy to recognize parallel governmental institutions existing in Kosovo since 1981, why be so hesitant to do the same for North Mitrovica now?

Secondly, if the international community is smart (and by this I hope Brussels takes the lead and not Washington), smaller details of the AP will be implemented first, beginning with the rights and uncontested privileges of minorities. If Albanians really want to show the world they are not claiming victor's justice, there needs to be such a tangible display of goodwill to the Serb minorities that it not only makes them NOT leave, but it actually encourages those that already left to come back. One of the most critical aspects of an independent Kosovo is to say to the Serbs "your life is better as a free citizen in an independent Kosovo, than as a displaced refugee in Serbia".

The best way to guarantee both scenarios is to officially institutionalize Serbian municipalities, enclaves, and monasteries, as having special status in Kosovo. Local Serbian governments should have the right to accept to reject anything coming out of Pristina and should maintain certain ties to Belgrade. They should also be given exclusive rights to secure and patrol their own areas apart from the Albanian-dominated KPS. If there is a serious move to recognize the needs of the Serb minority, and initially realize they don't trust Thaci as far as they could throw him, the worst of nightmare scenarios (Serb flight, violence, and reaction from Belgrade) could still be avoided.

If over time, trust and cooperation is built and maintained, there may be talk of reducing the barriers and working towards a more integrative Kosovo. But we are no where near this anytime soon. If we simply continue to view Serb protests as an annoyance to our own grand schemes of half-baked "nation-building" (read as propping up pro-American goverments), all worse case scenarios will indeed manifest.

You cannot build democracy without first building trust. Get the Serbs on board, give them clear signs they have an important future in Kosovo, give them every indication Kosovo is their land and their home as it is everyone else's, and we might just form the core of a democratic civil society. If not, Kosovo will become just another failed state.

I do wish this man would stop being so disrespectful to Serbs by using "opcina" instead of "opstina"!! If "opstina" is too much to ask for then try using the English equivalent!! Hard to believe he was a diplomat.

Monty I'm not going to take issue with the sentiment - as its pretty clear. Nor do I disagree with some of your potential scenarios.

However, it is a BIG mistake to claim that the March 2004 riots were spontaneous. They were not - as is pointed out in a number of Western government reports you might have access to. The situation was abused by a couple of local chieftans acting with the blessing of a Kosovo leader who has been indicted by the Hague. It was also horrific the way the Kosovo Albanian media jumped on the bandwagon and incited others to get involved. That kind of encouragement doesnt seem spur of the moment.

Having said that I do agree that events take on a life of their own. What may start as say a planned small scale wave of violence - ostensibly to deter / defend against the other side can easily turn into something much more serious.

That of course must be guarded against - and civilians should be protected at all costs. That includes civilians that may be ethnically cleansed. I would not blame those who are under threat from being ethnically cleansed for taking to arms. And no way does that make them equally responsible.

'Furthermore, if the North of Kosova declares independence...no one will recognize it.'

KS - Therin lies the trick. Northern Kosovo wont need to declare independence. It can just as easily take a vote or decleration to CONTINUE current Kosovo status - as a province of Serbia. As there is currently no legal international document contradicting Serbian statehood and Kosovo being part of Serbia it should be absorbed without much fuss.

One could easily write a very long comment on this article, but what's the point?
I'll just have to mention few things.
"The Kosovo Albanians have consistently been told that they cannot put one foot wrong as this process plays itself out and that they must resist responding to any provocations. "
They've been consistantly told many things, so what?
Let's just remember "standards before status" introduced with fanfare in 2002, to make Kosovo authorities "behave".
Two years later policy was quietly dropped when it was obvious that no standards of any kind were achieved there.
They've put their foot wrong many times. So?
"...it is now a certainty that the Kosovo Albanians, under the leadership of Hashim Thaci and in very close consultation with the United States and key players in the European Union, within the next two months will initiate the beginning of the process of unilaterally declaring independence."
It has been certain for a long timet that everything that KLA ever did was "in very close consultation with the United States and key players in the European Union", possibly burning of the monasteries included.
There is convicing evidence of KLA being armed and supplied with arms, money and islamic instructors before 1999. Let's not even talk about after it. Just think of Paddy Ashdown inspecting KLA units promissing British help on the footage shown in Hague. Or spectacular "Houdini" act by Florim Ejupi that dissapeared from BONDSTEEL!
The Americans later said that he had escaped using a pair of wire
cutters hidden in a spinach pie sent to the prison by his family. They
said crucial floodlights were faulty, and there are claims that an
inexperienced National Guard unit had left a stretch of perimeter wire
unobserved for 100 minutes.
Come on! We all know that it's not that easy to escape largest US military base in Europe, you would be missing at least half of Guantanamo Bay prisoners by now!

"A classic example is the blockage thus far by Serbia of the annual renewal of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

Probably the most important task, which the OSCE in Kosovo will perform, is to monitor the degree of decentralization and the treatment of minorities. Their presence, therefore, is of utmost importance to Kosovo Serbs. Blocking it is a self-inflicted wound not only because of its impact in Kosovo, but also because of the impression it makes on most of the other OSCE-member countries. "

Another paper thing.
Their presence is of utmost importance to Kosovo Serbs?
Because, they will guarantee their rights, right?
You must be speaking of those Pristina Serbs? Oh, yeah. There are zero left, there. They were gathered into one building guarded by KFOR, just to be attacked there, and transported out of Prisina, when building was in flames.
OSCE? Keep it.
"What this means for sure is that similar to Croatia and Bosnia in 1990-91, the Kosovo Serbs will reject any authority of the Kosovo government over these areas. In contrast to the situations in Croatia and Bosnia, however, they will not set up independent governments, but will significantly strengthen their ties with Serbia proper."
It is very simmilar.
After recognizing independance of Kosovo illegaly, you will declare Northern Kosovo Serbs "separatist" (from independant Kosovo, of course).
Leaders of Kosovo Albanians will be praised for their dedication to "multi-ethnic, multi-cultural Kosovo", while leaders of the Serbs in the North will be labeled nationalists, etc. If some people come to aid of Kosovo Serbs, Kostunica and possibly Tadic will be blamed for their actions and declared war criminals and extremists.
There were already a comments on this site stating that Kostunica is less flexible then Milosevic. They are pointing out that Milosevic did not block OSCE mission to Kosovo, as Kostunica did recently. He welcomed the mission, even though it was headed by William Walker, a person with strange record in Central America.
There indicting him should not be a problem.
The problem (as I see it) is in the policy of your country and some other countries as well. They simply think they can shaw it down everybody's throat anything they wish.
You can complain about Serbian government inability to explain your policies to the people, but the other one won't do better job. Your policies are simply unexplicable.
Just take one example.
Few years ago, US government launched major campaign to obtain separate Article 98 agreements with as many countries in the world as possible. The countries were to sign not to send American citizents to the International Court (permament one, not Hague Tribunal) without US consent.
US put great pressure on Serbian government of that time to comply. In the same time, they were putting immense pressure on the same government to send their citizens to The Hague in response to ICTY indictments.
How could any government explain to its electorate that it would send its citizens to The Hague while signing pledges to not send Americans to a similar court?
Not to make this too long now...
Your "best case scenario" will not be seen as best case scenario in Serbia.
Many are connecting Serb Republic to Kosovo question, despite your constant pleas that it's not connected.
You will continue with your policy, I don't doubt that.
Russia will probably use this unexpected opportunity to recognize several pro-Russian entities in former Soviet Union.
But what will happen in the Balkan is anybody's guess.
Again, everybody is saying that Kosovo and European integration are not related issuess.
They are very related in the mind of Serbian population, weather you like it or not.
Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo were all able to get away with a lot, because they have powerful friends. That's how this is seen in Serbia.
Serbia is looking for friends. It's current friends don't look so friendly. It's already looking elsewhere.
One outcome I'm pretty certain about.
Serbia and EU will end up being miles apart. No integration will be possible for at least a generation.

... offers of various "carrots" have not been succesful ...

Maybe Mr. Montgomery could inform us about these "carrots". I read several Dutch newspapers and, to my knowledge, Serbia has not been offered any decent incentive in return for accepting the Ahtisaari plan. If only the West had offered the Serbs a "carrot". This could have altered Belgrade's stance on Kosovo...

Monty I have rewritten two of your paragraphs. Please tell me why this scenario is not being considered by you and your ilk? In every other similar internal disagreement the EU in particular have sought to maintain national borders and broker peace and reintegration of the opposing sides. Why has this not been done in Kosovo to date and why is it not being considered as an option for 2008? Yes, this is a long process but the eventual results would create far better conditions for the people of Kosovo and would provide the best example to other frozen/on-going disputes in the balkans and further afield.

Re-written paragraph as follows:
The "best case scenario" of the U.S. and EU following the return of Kosovo to sovereign administration is that the way the ethnic Albanians set up their enclaves is not sufficiently provocative and aggressive that they have to be dealt with immediately, either by the International Community or the new provincial administration in Kosovo. In other words, they are looking for a variation of …a frozen conflict.

Under this scenario, gradually over time the breakaway areas would fade away as the benefits of belonging to a Serbia coming ever closer to the EU becomes apparent. While this may take "heavy lifting," it would be one of the major tasks of the new International Representative to be appointed by the EU. The usual conditionality and "soft power" of the EU would be used both in Serbia proper and with the breakaway ethnic Albanian enclaves.

Comments are really right on the spot this time around!
It'a always a pleasure to read Wim Roffel's comments that go to the very heart of the problem, or flawless logic behind Sreten's reasoning. But, this time most of the comments are really very, very good. I like rewritting of the two paragraphs by Jack the most.
I have one thing to ask from Sreten. You normaly provide us with appropriate links so that everyone can see what are you talking about.
Do you have any links about what you've called "Houdini" act by Florin Ejupi escaping from Bondsteel? I'm not familiar with the case, but I'm curious about it. Someone escaped from there?
Good luck to all.

The international community do not respects its own laws and resolution, and Serbia therefore should not give up her territory which is Kosovo. In the Basque country in Spain and in France there is 100% of Basques and yet no one gives them the independence.

Here is a nice link.

http://www.balkanpeace.org/index.php?index=article&articleid=13907

It's an article in The Times (UK) dated on May 14th 2002.
Written by Anthony Loyd.
Before I comment on particular article, I will explain what I meant by saying that KLA is in close connection to NATO.
One doesn't need to go into pre-1999 period to examine the very creation of KLA or to ask why was a leader of Albanian delegation at Rambulliet talks KLA leader Hashim Tachi? Rugova was by far most respected Albanian politician in Kosovo, and Tachi just month ago managed to be elected.
After the war many lower level NATO officials charged right away that "revenge attacks" were KLA - orchestrated campaign of terror.
Those allegations would always stop at the very top of NATO - UNMIK structures.
By the way I have to say that I agree with "bganon" in comment No. 16

"However, it is a BIG mistake to claim that the March 2004 riots were spontaneous. They were not - as is pointed out in a number of Western government reports you might have access to. The situation was abused by a couple of local chieftans acting with the blessing of a Kosovo leader who has been indicted by the Hague. It was also horrific the way the Kosovo Albanian media jumped on the bandwagon and incited others to get involved. That kind of encouragement doesnt seem spur of the moment. "

Absolutely not spontaneous. There are several reports on this issue, including UN report stating that KPC people were bused around and lead the mob in many places.

So, let's check the article now.

"The investigation of a bus bomb that killed 11 Serbs was blocked at
every turn and the four suspects are now free. "
Just so that you know what's the article about.

"Though Nato and the UN technically control its membership, since its
creation the TMK has been as contentious as its KLA parent. Some senior
UN officials regard it as a monster. Frequently implicated in the
murder
and intimidation of Serb civilians, organised crime and cross-border
insurgencies into rump-Serbia and Macedonia, the TMK nevertheless
survives as the recipient of foreign funding and training."

They were not only "frequently implicated in the
murder
and intimidation of Serb civilians, organised crime and cross-border
insurgencies into rump-Serbia and Macedonia" , but in other cases too. Many consider them to be responsable for assassinations of several prominent members of Rugova's party. Also, when AKSH (currently ANA)blew the railroad bridge in Kosovo (and ended up branded as terrorist organization by UNMIK) explosion happened prematurely and killed two perpertrators. Both were members of KPC. Subsequent UN investigation concluded that this was a work of KPC.
Read this article from Canadian "The National Post" written by Isabel Vincent.

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/62/448.html

"Although the civilian defence organization is supposed to help local residents, over the past four years, its mostly ethnic Albanian military officials have been involved in violent confrontations with Serbs.

The inquiry found last April's bomb attack on a Kosovo railway was the work of the KPC."
No need to say more.

But, let's go back to The Times article.

"An intensive military intelligence
operation,
using a panoply of Nato resources, pointed a finger at these men for
having been part of a nine-strong active service unit that planned and
carried out the bomb attack."

So, based on NATO intelligence 3 were arrested.

"A fourth suspect was detained that night by British soldiers. Unlike
the
others, Florim Ejupi had no military experience. He was a smalltime,
unsophisticated Kosovar Albanian criminal who had lived in Germany for
the duration of the war. He had served four sentences in German prisons
for drug dealing, attempted manslaughter, burglary and assault while
the
fighting was at its height. Yet from the start he appeared to be the
key
to the investigation."

"Of the four prisoners, he
was the only one to be connected to the scene of the crime by physical
evidence as opposed to intelligence information. A cigarette butt found
at the bomb’s hilltop firing point, along with scraps of cable wrapping
paper, bore his DNA trace, which was cross-checked for confirmation
against his DNA print on German police files. "

Pretty conclusive evidence.

"At the site of the explosion on the day the bomb went off, Detective
Stu
Kellock, the squad’s Canadian chief, had asked that UNMIK put a
dedicated task force together to work on the investigation, as would
have been done in any western country. That request and subsequent ones
were ignored."

Why would superiors deny this request?

""It was obvious right from the start that there were other agendas
going
on that the police didn’t know about," Kellock says. "Technically we
were in charge of the investigation but it never seemed that way.
Intelligence about the suspects was denied to us. Information was
withheld by Kfor. We were always the last to be told what was going on.
From the word go, I got a very sinister feeling about the whole thing."

The police claim that as soon as the four suspects were transferred to
UNMIK detention centres in Kosovo, some 12 hours after their initial
arrest by the British, a UN order restricted police interviews of the
men. Indeed, Kellock never personally managed to get access to a single
interview with the prisoners. "

Canadian officer investigating the case never got a single interview with the suspects?

"Another Canadian serious crimes officer, Joe McAllister, recalls: "We
were told, ‘These are the suspects " question them’. Yet we had no
information upon which to base our questioning, nor any direction, and
anyway we couldn’t get proper access to the prisoners." By early May
the
suspects were no longer in UNMIK custody..."

"Apparently haunted by the possibility of the suspects’ escaping, the UN
ordered their transfer to the most secure detention area in the
province: the jail inside the American base at Camp Bondsteel. The camp
was home to more than 5,000 US soldiers; in its detention facility,
suspects languished in Guantanamo Bay-style fluorescent orange suits,
surrounded by concertina rolls of razor wire, floodlights and
watchtowers. "

"The suspects were transferred to Bondsteel on May 3. But a year ago, on
the night of May 14, Florim Ejupi, the most unsophisticated suspect and
the one man against whom physical evidence existed, "disappeared" from
the camp. "

On you can continue to read about the efforts of these two Canadian officers, and how "Nato continued to
withold its intelligence" from them etc. etc.

Under Nato Serbs were pushed out of Kosovo! And the rest will be pushed out very soon! 800000 Albanians were moving because it was organized by Nato and Albanians themselvs in order to justify bombing and to achieve strategical goal! But they are still there are they? How come?

Good links, Sreten.
I wasn't familiar with this case myself.
I'll copy and paste something from it myself.

"The trio, still
terrorist suspects in an unclosed case, were given local heroes’
welcomes after they left jail. Cele Gashi and Jusuf Veliu were embraced
publicly by senior TMK officers. In January, Gashi returned to his
position as a TMK colonel in Pristina; Veliu was reinstated as a TMK
captain. Nato officials in Kosovo denied that this move had been
officially sanctioned. Yet six weeks later both men were in barracks
and
in uniform.

In UNMIK there is confusion as to whether Gashi and Veliu were ever
even
suspended from the TMK in the first place, some officials even
suggesting that the suspects were being paid out of a UN-regulated
budget during their time in custody."

To heroe's welcome. Right.

The link to National Post article is even more useful. I had no idea about the real numbers.

"According to statistics collected by the UN criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague, 1,192 Serbs have been killed, 1,303 kidnapped and 1,305 wounded in Kosovo this year.

In June, 1999, just after the NATO bombing, 547 Serbs were killed and 932 were kidnapped. "

That's ending 2003. What about spring of 2004 violance, and all those killed in last 4 years?
Is there such data on other non-Albanians?
Combined, it can probably can exceed number of Albanians killed in the entire war before and during the bombing.
Humanitarian war, my foot.

I dont see the point of mentioning the drowning of three Albanian children. After the investigation it was proven that the drowning was an accident, and had nothing with Serbs and was not an ethnicly related incident. This story was fabricated by Albanian media, which inflamed anti-Serbian violent protests and pogrom (http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/kosovo0704/5.htm). Your entire text and so-called opinion deals with Serbs, as if the Serbs have been murdering, looting and persecuting for the last 8 years. There is not an ounce of criticism towards Albanians and what they have been doing for the last 8 years, and on top of that you are rewarding them with a creation of an ethnically clean greater Albania, which is run by already indicted war criminals and leaders of an organization which the US at one point categorized as terrorist (I am sure that if the US and Osama find a common enemy again, he will be a freedom fighter and not a terrorist). Anyways, Serbia is right for not signing a creation of an Albanian state on its territory, based on ethic cleansing and run by terrorists and indicted murderers. Nor it should accept violating international law, as if it is dealing with the Wild west run by some cowboy from Texas, and not the civilized west, which we've so far known for order and respect for law and rules.

The substance of this conflict is a nature of the liberal capitalisam and it's dependance on the profit expansion. That is the reason why the West is "pushing" eastwards - for it's system to survive. The regional population is, unfortunately, in the eyes of both western and eastern "giants" seen just as colateral damage...

From most of Kosovo's cities all Serbs have left. Most villages that were mixed before the war are now mono-ethnic Albanian. In the few mixed villages under Albanian control that still exist (like Cernica) the Serbs are gradually leaving. The have reasons to so as there are occassional "incidents".

So, mr. Montgomery, I challenge you to point out one location in Kosovo that shows Serbs and Albanians living peaceful together under Albanian rule in such a way that it can serve as an example for the Serb communities in the north who in your vision will have to bow for Albanian rule.

If you can't: what it is the purpose of your article? Are you promoting the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo's Serbs?