Final act in Balkans tragic trilogy

THE last piece of Tito’s Yugoslavian jigsaw is about to have its future determined by outside powers. The United Nations’ blueprint, compiled by the former Finnish President Marti Ahtisaari, to grant the Serbian province of Kosovo-Metohija statehood is a critical development under which two of the main pillars of international law — self-determination and the sanctity of international borders — are being undermined by the geopolitical agenda of Western policymakers, particularly those in Washington.

The reason cited by most Western politicians and commentators in explaining the wars in the former Yugoslavia is alleged Serb territorial aggression. This fails to take into consideration other factors — in particular, Western involvement — which offer a far more credible account of why Yugoslavia descended into civil war. The same commentators are quiet when it comes to other incidents which failed to make headlines during the 1990s. These include the largest act of ethnic cleansing during the Yugoslav break-up: the displacement of approximately 300,000 Croatian Serbs from the Krajina region by American-backed Croatian forces. It should not be forgotten how President Franco Tudjman praised the genocidal pro-Nazi Ustasha regime of the Independent State of Croatia during the Second World War, (which orchestrated the murdering of 600,000 people, mainly Serbs, at Jasenovac concentration camp. The Croatian state adopted the Ustasha emblem as its national insignia (this is for Serbs what the swastika is for Jews).

We should take into account President Izetbegovic’s belief in a pure Islamic state for Bosnia and how Bosniak forces were aided and supported by foreign Islamist militants, including many drawn from al Qaida. Before 1999, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), now the Kosovo Protection Corps, was listed by Washington as a terrorist organisation, whose members were involved in drug racketeering and the sex trade and who were openly proud of their ancestors’ fascist past during the Second World War.

Kosovo, which has been a UN protectorate since Nato’s illegal military campaign against Belgrade in 1999, is now on the path to independence as Washington and its Nato allies attempt to resolve this frozen conflict. Serious economic and social implications, illegalities, double standards and dangerous precedents surround the plan to grant Kosovo independence.

For the past eight years, Kosovo’s economy has been in turmoil. Unemployment presently stands at 40 per cent. Since Belgrade lost control over it in 1999, Kosovo has become a centre for drug-trafficking and the sex-trade. Western Europe, including Britain, is now experiencing the effects of these malignant tumours. The European Union has failed to tackle Kosovo’s dire economic and social problems. Is it wise to create a new nation-state when it is clearly not economically viable and when a large percentage of its economic revenues are of a criminal nature?

Serbia is a sovereign and independent nation whose borders are now under threat during peacetime. According to a clause in the Serbian constitution, Kosovo is a constituent part of Serbia. In the recent parliamentary elections in Serbia, all political parties campaigned against secession for Kosovo. Yet despite these legitimate elections, 15 per cent of Serbian territory is now at stake, as Nato and the EU are intent on deciding matters for themselves.

Belgrade has not been consulted over the future status of a part of its country of which it is the legal governor. This is a violation of international law. The UN Charter states: “Promoting and proclaiming sovereign states on the territory of internationally recognised members of the UN without their consent would be legally inconceivable, illegal and criminal”. But as demonstrated with Iraq, Western powers are again intent on flouting international law and the UN in order to maintain their economic and strategic dominance. Ensuring that the Trepca mining complex in Kosovo, estimated to be worth $5 billion (£2.54 billion) and described by the New York Times as “the most valuable piece of real estate in the Balkans” remains within the western orbit is paramount for planners in both Washington and Brussels.

From a strategic perspective, maintaining the existence of Camp Bondsteel, the largest overseas American military base constructed since Vietnam, near the city of Ferizaj/Urosevac in Kosovo, enables the Americans to limit Russian influence in the Balkans. As Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter argued: “Eurasia is the chessboard on which the struggle for global supremacy continues to be played.”

By plucking Kosovo away from Serbia and giving it independence, the Western powers may set a dangerous precedent. Milorad Dodik, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska (one of the two entities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina), recently proposed a referendum to be held on independence from Sarajevo. He stated that he was basing his decision on the proposals for Kosovo. Such a move could trigger a new war as demands for independence from Bosnia’s 1.5 million Serbs could be supported by military force, notably by the former army of Republika Srpska which a couple of years ago was integrated with the armed forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Kosovar Serbs have repeatedly stated they will not tolerate an independent Kosovo and that they could subsequently declare independence from Pristina. Going by the rhetoric of Western leaders who support Kosovo’s secession from Belgrade, Serbs living outside Serbia’s borders could justifiably claim they are defending their rights by citing the principle of self-determination.

The folly of the plans for Kosovo is clear. Serbia’s President, Boris Tadic, has said independence for Kosovo could lead to “long-lasting instability in the region”. Several EU countries would be concerned that their own domestic secessionists in (Catalonia, Corsica and Northern Cyprus, for example) could cite Kosovo as a legitimate precedent to follow.

The final act of Western interference in the former Yugoslavia is now reaching its climax. A compromise over Kosovo must be reached which takes Belgrade’s interests into account. The Serbian Government has stated Kosovo can remain autonomous, providing it stays within Serbia. Kosovo is — and always has been — an integral part of Serbia, yet is now having its destiny decided by outside powers. It is as if the status of Northern Ireland was decided without the consent of the British Government.

Further, there are clear parallels between Western involvement in the former Yugoslavia and in the Middle East. But no country must be allowed to become the world’s policeman. That role must be reserved for the United Nations.