The NY Times notes today that when accused Serbian war criminal Vladimir Lazarevic surrendered himself to the UN tribunal at The Hague last month, he was hailed in his own country as a national hero. Serbia’s Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica hailed Gen. Lazarevic’s decision to turn himself in as "patriotic, highly moral and honorable." The leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church gave him an audience and praised him as a defender of the nation. When he flew to The Hague, he was accompanied by Serbia’s justice minister. Rights groups were aghast at such pomp for a man accused of overseeing the killing of 700 ethnic Albanians and the forcible expulsion of 800,000 more when he was military commander in Kosovo in 1999. (NYT, Feb. 14)
Meanwhile, Serbain President Boris Tadic visited Kosovo/a for the first time since the province became a UN protectorate six years ago. Illustrating the continued deep divisions there, he visited a Serb monestary which had been damaged in attacks by ethnic Albanians, and his motorcade was assaulted with eggs and rocks by hundreds of Albanian protesters. (B92, Belgrade, Feb. 14) The US-based Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG), has drawn up a draft constitution for an independent Kosova. The fifty-page document, commissioned a year ago by Kosovo/a’s then prime minister Bajram Rexhepi, is to be delivered this week to Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and President Ibrahim Rugova. (B92, Feb. 14)
Supported by the occupied province’s Albanian majority, independence is nearly certain to draw a violent response from Serbia, even under the "moderates" now in charge there. How long before this one goes back to the brink?
Accused Albanian war criminal Kosovo’s current prime minister
Are you aware that Kosovo’s Prime Minsiter, Ramush Haradinaj, is an accused war criminal?see here http://www.balkanpeace.org/cgi-bin/search.pl or here http://www.serbianna.com/press/007.shtml for starters. And why do you state that , "independence is nearly certain to draw a violent response from Serbia, even under the "moderates" now in charge there" but say nothing about the possibility of a violent response from Albanians in Kosovo against the Serbs and other minorities still there? I know that you are somewhat aware of what the KLA and Albanian nationalists have done in the province since NATO took over. Can you at least TRY to report the news in a less blatantly biased way and not just parrot the NYT and other mouthpieces of the US government?
Accused US government dupe WW4 REPORT’s current editor
Your information on Ramush Haradinaj’s terrorist background is most welcome, even if its source seems no more objective than the New York Times. But my post explicitly acknowledged Albanian violence against Serbs. (Did you actually read it?) And is Belgrade’s Radio B92 is a "mouthpiece of the US government"? Oops, maybe I shouldn’t have asked…
quick reply
A quick response. Yes, I read your post. Your post acknowledges Albanian violence against Serbs to some extent. However, it’s very clear from your ending that you expect violence from Serbia in response to Kosovo’s independence but say nothing about the highly likely possibility that Kosovo’s secession will be accompanied by another ethnic cleansing of the province’s minority groups by Albanian nationalists. Did you check both links in the first post? The one from Balkan Peace contains numerous links to a number of articles from the press in NATO countries esp. the U.S. and the U.K. Will you refer to Ramush Haradinaj as an alleged war criminal from now on? He’s been questioned by the ICTY and is most likely under indictment. As for B-92 it was funded by the National Endowment for Democracy as well as George Soros. I’ll send you the link when I get a chance. More later
Soros, Schmoros
Oh no! The dread Soros bugaboo! I guess all those marijuana legalization advocates he funds are "mouthpieces of the US government" too. If there is substantial evidence implicating Haradinaj in massive attacks on civilians, yes, by all means indict his ass. That will give the ICTY more credibility, and make the incessant whining about how the poor Serbs are being persecuted all the more transparent. By the way, the first link just goes to a search engine.
NED, haradinaj link
Arrgh, I had already written a whole response to your little rant and then managed to wipe it out somehow. Quickly then. For the first link go to the mainsite type in haradinaj or Ramush haradinaj and search under all or any for the time period. that should do it. Okay, we disagree on Soros and can talk about it more later. I never claimed that everything he funded was evil or entirely bad but he is a nasty character and very much in bed with the US foreign policy establishment. B92 and much of the Serbian Opposition were funded by the National Endowment for Democracy. Click here to read the statement of NED’s Paul B. MCCarthy http://emperors-clothes.com/news/ned-1.htm . The ICTY is indeed a terrible institution and it has proven itself so many times. I’ll send info. if you want. As regards the alleged "incessant whining" about persecution, the Serbs have been through a lot. Even you will concede that.