By Rostislav Ishchenko
Translated by Ollie Richardson and Angelina Siard
Source: https://zvezdaweekly.ru/news/t/2019631236-b1A4x.html
On May 27th the president of Serbia Aleksandr Vucic urged to face the truth and to recognize that Serbia lost Kosovo. On May 28th units of the Kosovar police intruded into Serb districts in the north of Kosovo and arrested about two-dozen people, including Kosovo police officers of Serbian nationality and also one Russian employee of the UN Mission in Kosovo.
As a result Vucic was forced to put the Serbian army and police special forces on full alert. The crisis hasn’t yet gained further development. However we once again were shown that peace in the Balkans is extremely fragile and can explode into a new war at any moment.
A provocation in the conditions of capitulation
There is a logical question: why did the president of the self-proclaimed Kosovo Hashim Thaçi choose to organise this provocation precisely at the moment when the leadership of Serbia was the closest it has ever been to capitulation in relation to the Kosovo question.
After all, the actions of the Albanian police not only excited Serbian radicals, but gave them a fine argument against the capitulatory politics of the government. Aleksandr Vucic, who hasn’t received unambiguous support in relation to the Kosovo question neither from his own party nor from Serbian society, is forced to take a harder line. Moreover, if on this occasion everything ended in a military demonstration, next time bringing the army to full combat readiness may not be enough to calm Serbian society, and a military conflict will erupt despite the politicians’ lack of desire to kindle one.
However, when we speak about the lack of desire to start a war, we are speaking about Serbian politicians. In Belgrade pro-West politicians and also the moderate nationalists from the Serbian Progressive Party of Vucic, who distanced themselves in the past from the irreconcilable Serbian Radical Party of Vojislav Šešelj, still keep the country on the course towards integration into the EU.
However, the illusoriness of prospects of accession to the European Union and the provocative actions of the Albanian authorities of Kosovo undermines the positions of conciliators, clearing the road for radicals to come to power.
Why does Hashim Thaçi need another conflict with Serbia? After all, Kosovo is under his control, and the West recognised the independence of the self-proclaimed state and, like the current Serbian authorities, seeks to solve the crisis, even at the price of maximum concessions, actually on Albanian conditions.
Hashim Thaçi knows very well that Vucic, since the moment he was inaugurated as the president of Serbia on June 1st 2017, started to implement the pro-European course, which stipulates Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence. Moreover, Thaçi, after a meeting with Vucic on July 3rd 2017, radiated optimism and said that he believes in the possibility of reconciliation between Serbs and Albanians “for the benefit of Kosovo, Serbia, and all the region”. Thaçi also knows very well that the internal political problems facing Vucic in connection with his intention to accept the conditions of Pristina for solving the Kosovo question.
Succeeding to gain a foothold before the West becomes completely weak
Let’s not multiply essence needlessly. If such an inveterate politician as Thaçi, obviously provokes a conflict, in conditions when, seemingly, he can achieve his objectives peacefully, it means that he needs a conflict. Otherwise he would not start to disrupt the peace initiative of Vucic, organising a terrorist raid of the Albanian police in the Serb regions of Kosovo. Even a child could calculate the consequences of such a step.
But if we came to the conclusion that Hashim Thaçi deliberately provokes the conflict, then the question “why does he do it?” still demands an answer.
I think that we will not be mistaken if we say that the general weakening of the West is the main reason for the provocative behaviour of the Albanian leaders of Kosovo. One should not forget that only thanks to the Americans, who unleashed military operations against Yugoslavia and involved their NATO allies in them, Kosovo was pulled away from the control of the Yugoslavian authorities.
And it is also Washington that organized the recognition by the West of the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo. Therefore, the current Kosovo authorities can feel more or less assured only while standing behind the West.
But if the West weakens, it may not have enough forces (or desire) to provide military-political cover for the Kosovar regime. In several years there can be a situation in which nobody will be able to prevent Serbia from performing an operation aimed at restoring the constitutional order in Kosovo.
Albania is not eager to fraternize with Kosovo criminals
Its inclusion into the structure of Albania could become one of the ways of retaining control over the region.
But neither the president of Albania Ilir Meta, nor the Prime Minister Edi Rama, nor the ruling Socialist Party of Albania are eager to introduce drug dealers, human traffickers, and war criminals like Hashim Thaçi or his Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj into Albanian politics. And the Albanian democrats, who are in opposition to the government of socialists, do not at all seek a potential union with Kosovo radicals.
Not only and perhaps also not so much because persons who are too picturesque gathered in the Kosovar leadership, but because they are afraid that if Kosovo integrates into Albania, the leaders of militants will gain too much authority among voters, and in addition to this they will be able to use their (specific) methods of conducting a political fight and will simply force the current Albanian leaders out to the periphery of big-time politics, having secured the leading posts. Something similar occurred in the past in Armenia, where the so-called Karabakh clan (politicians who originate from the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) came to power in 1998 and held on until 2018.
In general Albania, which endured an internal political crisis while being on the verge of civil war in January-March 1997, and which managed to overcome it only thanks to the introduction of a UN military contingent into the country, obviously does not intend to receive, together with the integration of Kosovo, ambitious radical politicians who will lay claims to power not in Pristina any more, but in Tirana.
Thaçi hurries to finish the ethnic cleaning of Kosovo Serbs
If the Albanian scenario does not play out, Hashim Thaçi has only one opportunity to be prepared for that moment when the West will not able to ensure the security of the Kosovar regime. Taking into account the number of war crimes committed by its leaders, as soon as Serbia has an opportunity to deal with Kosovo without being afraid of the West’s intervention, a legitimate reason to return the Serbian army to the region will be found.
But if to completely to force out of Kosovo the Serbs who now remain only in several areas, bordering with Serbia, in the north, then Belgrade formally will have nobody to defend. On the contrary, it will be possible to present the conflict to the international community as the genocide of the Albanian population of the region. After all, in order to return Serbs to Kosovo it will be necessary to expel the Albanians who occupied their homes.
Hashim Thaçi is in a hurry to finish the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, to turn the region into a monoethnic Albanian formation in order to prevent Serbia from laying down any claims to return in the long term.
In the present situation if Serbia tries to impede the actions of Pristina through armed force, Thaçi can count on the military support of the West. Serbia can resist the West only by leaning on Russia. But then, the Serbian euro-integrators who are in power will be forced to abandon their goal – the entry of Serbia into the European Union. I.e., aggravating the crisis over Kosovo is today unprofitable to the government in Belgrade, because even if the conflict is resolved, even in a way that is victorious for Serbia, it will lead to the reformatting of all the Serbian political landscape.
The moves are calculated, there is one, very essential “but”
As we see, Thaçi’s actions are rather well calculated and directed towards the creation of a situation whereby overthrowing the power of the Albanian radicals in Kosovo would become impossible. He risks a conflict with Serbia, which Kosovo will certainly lose if the Belgrade politicians risk to completely and unconditionally turn towards a union with Russia. But this risk is not so high as it seems at first sight, because Aleksandr Vucic firmly toes the European integration line, which a victorious conflict with Kosovo will ruin. Thaçi expects that in order to not lose euro-integration prospects, the Serbian leaders will close their eyes to the completion of the ethnic cleansing of the Serbs in Kosovo, and that his demarches, like bringing the army to combat readiness, will never pass into the practical plane.
As a last resort he hopes to have the military support of the West, which cannot allow the liquidation of independent Kosovo – its own project – without a catastrophic loss of face.
The only non-calculated factor is the Serbian society’s reaction to the provocations of Thaçi. It is rather strongly overheated by the fight between nationalists and euro-integrators, and the idea of a return match in Kosovo is nearly the most popular in the most different segments of the population. At some point the situation in Serbia can exit the control of politicians and then a military conflict will become unavoidable.
Moreover, the progressing weakening of the West leads to the same consequences. Not only are the traditional clients of Washington in Kosovo fussing, trying to strengthen their position while America can still cover them, but also the Serbian leaders gradually come to understand the hopelessness of European integration and reorientate towards Russia.
Thus, Moscow and Washington were already indirectly drawn into the Balkan crisis on different sides of the barricades.
At the same time, the US gradually loses control over their clients from Pristina, who start to act by the principle “the tail wags a dog”, trying to create situations in which America will be obliged to involve itself in an unnecessary-to-it confrontation in their interests.
Time plays on the side of Russia and Serbia, which after a while will be able to dominate in the Balkans without an unnecessary and dangerous military confrontation. That’s why Thaçi is in a hurry, provoking a crisis now, while he still has hope for a favourable outcome.
Ah! I was in the dark about how the pieces fit until now. Thanks you R. Ishenchko and translators.
Ishchenko is such a marvelous analyst. However, the translations we receive really are superb and necessary to get the full depth and insights the man brings in his articles. A machine translation never comes close to the impact and unity of Ollie and Angelina’s work.
Serbia and Kosovo made understood. Albanian politics clearly presented. EU hopes and dreams. The pieces of the puzzle in flux, all very transparent, easy to comprehend now.
And the strategy that one hopes will change the facts on the ground, patience. You can almost hear its murmur from the Kremlin to Belgrade. “Patience. We’ll gather it back without war.”
Sort of like the Ukraine policy. Putin’s cunning plan—patience. The Art of Vlad.
Thanks, Ollie and Angelina, again.
Had to be careful in this one with the word “сербский” otherwise we’ll get complaints – “Serb” in some places, “Serbian” in others ;)
If meekness is the virtue which does not respond to provocations with anger, then this case may well illustrate the maxim: “The meek shall inherit the earth.” It stands as a corollary to another from one far wiser than I: “All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.”
Time plays on the side of Russia and Serbia, which after a while will be able to dominate in the Balkans without an unnecessary and dangerous military confrontation. That’s why Thaçi is in a hurry, provoking a crisis now, while he still has hope for a favourable outcome.
I would like to add a few points to this article.
First of all, the so-called “Republic of Kosova” is a legal and historical absurdity. It has no right to exist in any form or shape as an independent entity. It was always part of Serbia, being it’s holy land, possessing 1.300 Orthodox Christian churches and monasteries, some of them under UNESCO protection. In the 14th century it was a dukedom under the control of the Serbian duke Wolf Brankovich (Vuk Brankovic), when it was known as Kosovo and Metohija. The population of the dukedom was 100 % Serbian.
In the 14th century we get the Ottoman invasions, and in 1459 Serbia finally falls under Turkish occupation, regaining it’s independence at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. Kosovo and Metohija was reunited with Serbia in 1912, after the the First Balkan War, when Turkey was expelled from Europe (Constantinople being the exception).
During the Turkish occupation Kosovo and Metohija saw a change in the ethnic distribution of the population, the Serbian population gradually being replaced by the Albanian. This process was continued during World War Two, and after the NATO invasion of 1999.
Who are Albanians ? The Germanic School of History in Vienna, Austria, had the audacity to stipulate that Albanians are decendents of Ilyrian’s, the original inhabitants of the Balkans, which is a historical absurdity. In fact Byzantines brought the first Albanians from Asia into Europe in 1043 as mercenaries, and as late as the mid 16th century they spoke a mixture of Arabic and Asian languages, as attested by Turkish records. The current Albanian language is a compilation of numerous European languages whose vocabulary Albanians appropriated. Why so many Greek words in the current Albanian language ?
What was the motive of the Germanic School of History to declare Albanians natives of the Balkans ? Nothing more than an imperial expansion of the Viennese Court to the Adriatic Sea. The Germanic School even had the audacity to declare Serbs as “invaders”, who came from Russia to the Balkans in the 7th century. In fact the opposite is true. Slavic Serbs moved from the Balkans to Russia, making Serbs and Russians one ethnic group, which they are. Siberia, for example, was named after Serbia (Serbia =Siberia). Opponents of this “theory” will state that Siberia was named after Sibir Khan, a native Siberian. Let history have the last word.
After the Second World War the former dukedom of Kosovo and Metohija was resurrected, this time as an autonomous province inside Serbia, again a legal and historical absurdity. In 1999 it gets invaded by NATO, becoming the “Republic of Kosova”, something the UN never recognized. What was the motive for this NATO invasion ? Answer: geopolitics, the breakup of Slavic Serbian territories and encirclement of Slavic Russia. The second motive is explained bellow.
What is the “Republic of Kosova” today ? It is the first narco state in Europe, shipping Afghan heroin, brought into the province via the US military base Camp Bondsteel. The Albanian political leadership is composed of narco bosses, a well known fact. This leadership is very nervous. It’s watching the rise of Russia and China and the fall of the US empire, on which it depends. It also knows that Serbia will never renounce Kosovo and Metohija. It further knows that time is not working for the Albanian narco leadership, which decided to provoke Serbia into a military conflict by attacking the northern Serbian enclaves, expecting NATO backing. The intent was also to drag Russia into a potential conflict. However, things did not materialize as Hashim Thaci expected. President Vucic of Serbia mobilized the military and police, sending a few MIG-29’s towards the Province. After that the Albanian police withdrew, cancelling further operations. And NATO ? It was nowhere to be seen, which must have been a shock to Thaci. There is little doubt that Moscow was in touch with NATO, warning it that the events of 1999 would not again be tolerated.
And the “Republic of Kosova” ? It has no future. Just like Russia reunited Crimea with Russia, so will Serbia reunite Kosovo and Metohija with Serbia. And Thaci knows it.
An excellent comment that I learnt a lot from :)
Ollie Richardson
My pleasure. Just to point out that prior to the year 1043, there were no Albanians resident in Europe, as they are an Asiatic people, who were brought to Europe. As for the theory that Albanians are “Ilyrians’, the notion is laughable, as there is not a single monument in Europe which proves they are. They are best know for producing Marmaluks, who fought in the Turkish Army as raiders. Napoleon fought against them in Egypt.
It is heartening to read that Russia knows who Vucic is – a traitor and the main reason narco-human organ traffickers temporarily occupying Kosovo and Metohija behave the way they do even in the north of the area which is geographically part of Serbia proper. Prior to 2012 !when Vucic comes to power completely reneging on his election promises, the north was de facto part of Serbia with proper self-defence forces and status-neutral police. Nowadays after 7 years of the idiot’s rule the police is in Schiptar uniforms with “Kosova” insignias displayed, terrorists were given an international phone code with Serbia’s consent alongside with memberships in many international organisations which could have been prevented or disrupted by Serbia. The bridge in Kosovska Mitrovica which the biggest town in the north has a bridge that links it with the south of that town populated by Albanians who ethnically cleansed the Serbs and others. That bridge was out of action ever since the genocidal NATO intervention. Vucic ordered removal of barricades and restored the bridge as a birthday gift to Muti Merkel a few years back worsening security of the Serb population of the north. Serbs living in the north of the province (as well as the Serbs in Serbia) are feeling betrayed and someone will have to answer when the time comes. Kosovo and Metohija are occupied lands. Occupations come and go but Vucic and his patchwork of criminals want to gift to the terrorists something that is not theirs for the sake of staying in power.
That makes it all the more ridiculous(stop using caps! its like screaming. Mod.) that Kosovo Serbs obey Vucic and the Serbian government which continually betrays them to please the U.S./EU which wants a weak Serbia and sponsors the destruction of Serbs in Kosmet.
The Kosovo Serbs even give him warm greetings.
In the past, after Kosovo Serbs formed barricades due to attacks by the Albs, the Serbian government – including those before Vucic – would tell them to remove them and it would push them into agreements, cooperation and participation in the illegal government structures, and they would obey.
The Kosovo Serbs keep trusting, again and again, the bad advice of a Serbian puppet government.
They need to learn how to say ‘no’ and refuse to go against their better and initial judgments.
Kosovo Serbs need to be armed and ready if they are not already,no doubt they will have to fight one day and those quislings in Belgrade can’t be trusted to protect them,if they had any balls they would have moved back into kosovo by now,scum like thaci and his Nato minders only understand force.
Marko
What you have written is complete and utter nonsense. You seem to forget that Kosovo and Metohija is under NATO occupation. Don’t tell me you never heard of the US military base Camp Bondsteel ? President Vucic is doing a brilliant job under the present circumstances. You must also know that President Putin has visited him.
This says plenty.
@ BF
“You must also know that President Putin has visited him.This says plenty.”
True!
“That says” that Vucic is president of Serbia ….
And “that says” that he is president of the storngest party in Serbia also and ex prime minister etc..
In short “that says” he is the person who holds all the power of controling Serbia in his own hands…
That pathetic self-declared, would be “patriot” and self -maid dictator… Creator of Serb partitocracy and upholder of omnypresent corruption..
Mafia Boss through enslavment and submission of his own people and supporter of the Serb occupation….Man with all the power thanks to his betrayals of Serbia and to his endless duplicty.
A two, tree chair dictator….
A Russian chair, U.S. chair, German chair, EU chair, would be Serb “patrot” chair….and him sitting on at least 3 chairs at the time in the same time…
To whom was President Putin going than? To Vucic?
I don’t think so.
Russians are friends of the Serbs not of Vucic… But still Vucic as president was inevitable interlocutor.
President Putin knows who is Vucic but they have no other choice left if they want to help Serbia they must go through Vucic only… He is in control of Serbia while he is only Western puppet in the same time.
Conclusion:
No my friend what you have wrote abbout Vucic is ” is complete and utter nonsense ”
And it is even more surprising because your comment above on Serbia-Kosovo is the one of the best written and most comprehensive, knowlegable comments I have seen in many years!
A pure perfection!
And on top you are not even Serb! Incredible !
My respect for your 1st comment but 2nd…
Suddenlly you go opposite, wrong direction on Vucic…on that pathetic Western puppet.
Pity.
This is neither the time nor the place for our inter-serbian disagreements. I have stated the facts. Amongst of many other betrayals Vucic endorses elections and election results undertaken under the so-called “Kosova” constitution – by his own admission.
The above article by Ishchenko says it all: in power in Serbia is a clique that is ready to trade the most sacred national interests and territory for a crazy dream of joining the already defunct EU. Vucic talks about demarcation with Albanians. In your opinion what does that mean? Also, how many times has Vucic said that the UN Resolution 1244 does not mean that Kosovo is part of Serbia? That is in direct contradiction to what the Russians are saying. Also, did he not say that Protestantism is the way to go and that he rather reads Max Weber for his Protestant ethics? This is just a drop in the ocean when it comes to this psycho. I am deeply sorry that we as a nation have come to this. We as a nation have a very strong talent for betrayal and high treason. Just sad.
Brilliant job? Lol.
“We need to recognise that we have been defeated. We lost the territory,” Mr Vučić told parliament during a special session dedicated to Kosovo.”
This is what he said recently.
Just for this, his head should roll down. Amazing that a president of any country would say something like this in parliament. This scumbag is ready to hand over a spiritual heartland of Serbia, to drug & human trafficking cartel.
Well i am sure Marshal Petain did a brilliant job under the circumstances,sorry pal i just don’t buy it,if the Serbs want Kosovo back they will have to fight for it,as for Bondsteel yes i heard about it,and it should have come under attack a long time ago,see if Nato occupiers could handle another insurgency like Afghanistan.,and the so called border should be crossed by Serbs whenever they feel like it,and if need be force their way over the border.
Same like Serbs were strategically and forcefuly implemented in East Slavonia when Yugoslavia came to life. During Habsburg Monarchy cities like Vukovar were always Croatian majority with Germans being the biggest minority. Satellite villages were mostly Germans, when Yugoslavia came to fruition they drove away and robbed Germans to settle in. Talking about hypocrisy, Serbs tend to live their lives in lies and deceit, so I guess they got what they deserved.
Your comment is an excellent example of Croatian hypocrisy. You engineer delusional History, publish it on Croatian Wikipedia, and then claim it as facts.
All those “Croats” in Vukovar during Habsburg Monarchy were actually Serbs Catholics. History of “Croats” starts in 19 century, when Vatican ordered conversion of Serbs Catholics into “Croats”.
Same with Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, etc.
Disgusting!
Lies and deceit indeed.
The Germans living in Yugoslavia were expelled immediately after WWII by Tito, a Croat-Slovene.
They were not expelled during the time of The Kingdom of Yugoslavia which was ruled by a Serb monarch and ceased to exist in 1941.
According to Wikipedia in 1948 the Croat population of Vukovar had increased fourteen percent from the 1931 figure whereas the Serb population had increased by nine percent.
If there was a mass “forced implementation” of Serbs to Vukovar after WWII why was it that the Serb population of Vukovar had increased only nine percent by 1948 compared to the fourteen percent increase in the Croat population?
Had most of the Serbs who lived there in 1931 been murdered by the Croat Ustashe?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vukovar
Myo Myao
Don’t write nonsense. The so-called “Croatian” cities like Vukovar and Beli Manastir have Serbian names, not Croatian. The name of Vukovar is descended from the name of Vuk, or wolf, a typical Serbian name. The city of Beli Manastir is also a typical Serbian name, as “manastir” means monastery. The Croatian name for monastery is “samostan”, and you know it.
You Croats placed you faith in NATO, which backed you all the time against us Serbs. A time will come when you will pay a price for this, as NATO will not last too long.
Also “Beli”=White is Serb word because
in Croat is writen and pronounced as “Bijeli”=White
We Serbs do not have the same pronounication because Croats use “ij” or “j” often in the basically (very often) identical words.
So that’s also way how one can see difference between two often identical languages.
That’s not true, as there were much more Serbs living in Croatia even before WWI. You find many famous Serbs, for instance, scientist Milutin Milankovitch was born in Eastern Slavonia (Dalj) near Serbia’s border in 1879.
Croatia killed off a lot of Serbs in WWI and WWII.
Meanwhile you ignore that Croats were brought and settled in Vojvodina and Croats were also involved in killing the peoples of Vojvodina, including 10s of thousands of Serbs, AFTER Tito came to powers.
Croat Ustashe were known to change hats when the Partisians started winning and they went after the Serb loyalists/royalists.
Bulgarian fascists too, were recruited to the Partisan side near the end of the war, so there were killing sprees on Serb civilians and anti-communists who were Tito’s main target, not the Germans.
Tito’s men even met with the Germans to propose a truce to concentrate on the Serb and Montenegrin Chetniks.
Tito and the Partisans even opened up roads for the Germans, that the Chetniks had just blocked, when they, the Partisans, launched their attack on Serbia in the fall of 1944.
Thanks. Those additions are appreciated.
The most ridiculous claims pretending to represent history.You need these claims to justify ethnic cleansing.
Only last week Russia had made an offer to Rep Serbia if asked they would go and clean Kosovo *. “I think it’s a very good offer rep Serbia cannot afford to turn down.
Sooner the better, Russia.
Now, let’s go.
Kosovo is Serbia
It was taken away from Serbia by NATO aggression and handed to Terrorists UCK and KLA.
Now they are trying to cleanse the rest of Serbian people from Serbian Holy Land of Kosovo. In the same as the Croatians did in the so called Operation Storm in 1995.
It’s a disgrace what is happening to Serbia and its people.
The first Narco State of Europe Albania is being supported by the Western nations. This is a Shameless dishonest act.
The Russian diplomat who was injured is named Mikhail Krasnoshchekov. removed – please stop making unsubstantiated comments. Mod. Not say much detail about his injures and what exactly happened to him – how he was manhandled, beaten with an object, thrown to the floor – or however he got the serious head injures for which his is still hospitalized:
“He underwent surgery to fix the cheekbone fracture and prevent complicating disorders of bone and brain structures and the eye”
http://tass.com/world/1061529
I also wonder who foots the bill for his injures: is it the UN or UN insurance which will pay or will Russia pay, or will he sue the Albanian police.
All his surgery and treatment has been done in Serb hospitals. So is Serbia getting paid by the UN or Russia?
Thaci is staging one provocation after another as he is quickly realising that EU membership for Kosovo has many drawbacks for him personally.
The western mouthpiece Balkaninsight.com wonders is if the “president” of Kosovo will be indicted:
https://balkaninsight.com/2019/01/24/american-dilemma-what-if-kosovo-s-thaci-is-indicted-01-23-2019/The EU
The EU has demanded the creation of “Kosovo Specialist Chambers”, tribunals specifically designed to investigate the crimes of the KLA. Even if Thaci is not himself indicted, several prominent “politicians” i.e.gang members might have to take the fall…https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-kosovo-court-thehague-idUKKCN0UT1VN
This is why the “government” of Kosovo has sabotaged EU-sponsored talks with Serbia, slapped on tariffs for Serbian goods in the midst of negotiations, attacked UNMIK personnel, anything to create some chaos that will slow the normalisation of the situation and the much-dreaded judicial investigation required by the EU.
I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for The Hague (or The Netherland’s government) doing anything honest about Kosovo.
But the Thaci motivations are interesting. The US has a questionable record of looking after its past henchmen. To where can Thaci and his family retire in security, and enjoy his drugs riches? He has to consider his future you know.
His original sponsors were Blair and Clinton, both known to the public as war-criminals, and now far from the levers of power. Their more sneaky sponsor was the CIA, now themselves at risk of being purged or even dismantled, if you believe the Q stuff. The entire USA itself, is an empire in decline.
Even if the USA is committed to the Kosovan narco state, it doesn’t mean that they are committed to him personally. Who knows how the meetings between them have been going lately. He is expendable; he might just be realising that. I am on the fence with regards to the Q stuff, but if it is real, then the ramifications will extend to the outer reaches of the whole clandestine criminality of the US deep state, including Pristina.
Very good article. I know another case where the time is running out for the aggressor: Israel. Like the song said, “The times they are achaging”.
The darkness about political games in some areas are incredible for all we the simple mortals. And the criminals doesn’t have moral shame about to start a war if get economic benefits.
Kosovo PM is head of human organ and arms ring, Council of Europe reports
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/14/kosovo-prime-minister-llike-mafia-boss
Kosovo physicians accused of illegal organs removal racket
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/14/illegal-organ-removals-charges-kosovo
The human organ trafficking means that they will have close ties to Israeli interests, the world leaders in human organ trafficking. That buys you some protection, until your usefulness is over. Sentimentality for the lesser breeds is ‘antisemitic’. Antisentimitic, in fact.
I could be wrong but I think that the politics of Vucic can be best deduced from two principles;
1. Serbia will never be a part of the EU and…
2. Kosovo independence or a ridiculous demarcation where Serbs were left with the north and a few isolated enclaves is politically impossible.
If we model his behavior I think there can be a case that his politics have been quite ingenious in the sense that the Serbia he inherited was humiliated and isolated internationally and in only a few short years he’s been able to dance to the EU/US tune attracting direct foreign investment while simultaneously building vital infrastructure, reindustrializing, revamping the military, becoming a key partner in China’s belt and road initiative, laying the ground work for Turk-Stream and paving the way for becoming a member of the EEU free trade zone.
With all that said I’m not aware so much of corruption in Serbia of which there is plenty and his relation to it.
It’s worth remembering how severely weakened Serbia was from years of sanctions, demonization, and NATO’s humanitarian bombing and while this was happening we had no one to lean on for political or military cover.
It’s a delicate waltz, Serbia’s limitrophes are either hostile a part of NATO or both and Kosovo is under occupation by a hostile foreign imperial power and ruled by a serbophobic Mafiosi coterie.
I think his politics can be best described as rebuilding, reconnecting, and buying time. Any thoughts?
Nope. Serbian institutions, economy and demography continue to deteriorate under Vucic. Anyone who lives in Serbia and is willing to have an honest conversation will confirm that .
Not to mention the corruption and lawlessness. And the fact he is loathe to even mention resolution 1244 when talking about Kosovo. Instead he keeps droning on about ‘difficult choices’ and ‘facing reality’. Nfff said.
Roki is it not true that under Vucic they’ve built hundreds of kms of highway blasted through and tunneled mountains and built bridges, he has brought Serbia into a strategic partnership with China in its One belt one road, I read that they’re building IT centers, industrial parks to facilitate trade and technology in Europe, the plan is to make Serbia into a strategic hub for Gasprom (pumping stations etc..), MTU aero is building a manufacturing facility? I guess what I’m asking is how much of this is actually happening and how much of what is happening internally is a legacy of corruption?
Yeah roads are being built but it’s anyones guess who will use them (well Nato obviously) because the rate of population decline is only accelerating. Were bleeding something like 50k inhabitants per year on a 7 m total with horrifying estimates for the future. The countryside is desolate. Vucic has been in power for 7 years. Those are the only data points you need.
The Serbian government pays for foreign investors – it offers them land and excuses them from taxes, it subsidizes them for each worker it hires – for example Fiat got 10,000 euros for each worker it hired and that is more than a year’s salary. Yet many of the workers that are initially hired are let go within a couple years.
There’s even been many case where phony investors/businesses have taken huge amounts of money from Serbia, but then never started any kind of business at all. So it has been cases of sheer robbery.
Serbia doesn’t go after those who’ve taken money but never followed up on the plans, as well as investors who never hired or invested what they promised at the start.
Further, much of the construction is poor quality or left unfinished for years.
Some of those roads ARE for the U.S./NATO – particularly the ones connecting Durres, Albania with Kosovo and then towards Nis, Serbia. This is so the U.S. can offload military trucks/equipment from Albania’s ports and get them to Nis and beyond – probably aiming for its bases in Bulgaria and Romania and then to the Black Sea.
Serbia is foolish to cooperate.
Plus if Vucic is smart enough to know Serbia will never get to EU anyways, then why did he make so many harmful deals with them? And why did he sell-out the Kosovo Serbs?
All of his agreement during the dialogues mainly want to helping Kosovo gain more and more trappings of a state, while handing over the power Serbia and Kosovo Serbs still had to the anti-Serb Albanians.
To me, he kept doing this with the aim to get into the EU – he kept doing things to please the EU, and there’d be no motivation to do these things even he felt the EU would never happen.
So I think he foolishly keeps believing Serbia will get into the EU, despite all these years of empty promises and yet more and more conditions applied to Serbia.
As the fragrant Frau Farckarse, who would have had a senior post under Clinton, observed the other day, such Chinese investment is ‘bribery’ and will in any case be used in the future for Chinese invasion. You’ve got to love the Real Evil Empire as is goes raving insane in its death-throes.
And when I say deteriorate, that is a euphemism.
@CTAHKO23
ad homiem statement removed — mod
It will be up to judges one day to decide weather Vucic, Nikolic and Dacic have commited high treason by informally recognasing “Repubilc of Kosovo” and giving up on Serb territory through “Brussels Agreement”.
So they gave up on Kosovo in exchange for nothing… and now that “patriot” Vucic m u s t
finish the job for which he was brought into the power…
He must formally recognise Kosovo as president of Serbia.
All this is result of the US NATO plan and brain washing and braking of the spirit of the Serb population that lasts already 20 years.
Do please explain “Serbia doesn’t have alternative to EU” propaganda mantra that has ruined Serbia.
Why is spoken by Vucic all the time?
And why is resolution 1244 pushed aside.
Why that traitor Vucic has given up on Kosovo withouth referendum?!
How can Vucic posture as Serb patriot when absolutly everything he did was against Serb interests?
Today Serbia is highly indebted country.
With population in decline and one of the lowest standards in Europe.
Serb future is as dark as it can be.
Morally and in every other way Serbia is destoryed country.
P.S.
In his last visit to Croiatia Vucic has promised to Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic that he personally will do his outmost to help with the discovery on desteny of some killed Crotas during the last war ( of corse nobody have mentioned killed Serbs whose graves are still unknown )
Just recently Croatia has received “JNA” military archives from 1991-1995 from Serbia, thanks to Vucic.
And that puts those Serbs from Croatia who were participating in that civil war in direct danger for being labeled as “chetniks” and falsly accused for everything or anything.
So I suppose some new Serbs from Croatia will end up in prison thanks to our “patriotic” Vucic.
–Just recently Croatia has received “JNA” military archives from 1991-1995 from Serbia, thanks to Vucic.
And that puts those Serbs from Croatia who were participating in that civil war in direct danger for being labeled as “chetniks” and falsly accused for everything or anything.–
Was there any protest by the military or intelligence circles over this?
Unfortunately Serbia has been under nothing but stupid, traitorous puppets since the overthrown of Milosevic’s government – and Milosevic’s government wasn’t perfect – as it gave in too much at times, though it was under much, much more pressure. But all those after it have more helped Serbia’s enemies destroy it from the inside.
Another angle of this story is struggle against Muslim Brotherhood personified in a PM of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj vs Wahabi elements personified in president of the same construct, Hashim Taci. MB was supported by Germany and Turkey in the Balkans and their sponsors are forced to extricate themselves from involvement in Kosovo. Germany because of Nord Stream and economic strangulation by the US and Turkey because of more or less same reasons. Wahabi group is also loosing support from their sponsors so the tail wagging the dog is apt. Grab what you can, while you can and position yourself better for the rough times ahead.
In the meantime they are trying to eliminate the other group and be the only relevant actor. Sponsor vacuum and weakening of the Hegemon creates opportunities that were not there before. Only relevant role left for the Kosovo thugs is in blocking of the South Stream, that is why they want Presevo valley to be incorporated into their construct. Presevo valley relevance is in transport corridor to Thesalonikki. Add to that Macedonia as another leg of those routes where Kosovo thugs are also quite active and you get the picture. We are talking about a major route of One Belt One Road in the Balkans also.
Up until now Germany was blocking that route in order to be the main hub for transport of Russian gas into Europe. But, by refusing to abandon Nord Stream project, Germany alienated itself from US and put itself on a course of aligning itself with Russia. Angering the US by these actions their only course in the Balkans is to drop the blocking policy of South Stream if they want Nord completed. Russians of course are not so stupid to trust Germany to be the only hub for transport at this point. Point being that Germany is not a sovereign country yet.
In the meantime Vucic who was being brought in power by the West is buying time. For himself off course, not for us. He is doing that by selling us to whomever is willing to pay him. Him, not the state. If he can steal the money that is supposed to be used by the citizens of Serbia, the deal is on. If he cannot, the deal is not good.
Major project that he parrots is Belgrade on water. Guess with whom we are building that? UAE. Oh, they are buying the arable land also and God knows what else. So he tries to sit on several chairs at the same time and using the population of the country to buy time for himself.
What he should do instead is to prepare us for the rough times ahead that are coming. That is what he is not doing. So we will be once again “surprised” by the unfolding events. When you have so many enemies around you that want to feast on your carcass for one reason or the other, only sensible thing is to prepare for the next onslaught. He “hopes” it can be avoided. We know it cannot.
Corruption and partocracy is rampant to the point that ardent atheists have no other choice than to start believing in God. Because if you open your eyes you would understand that if we are measured by human logic and laws we should have all perished long ago. Only logical explanation is that God must exist. He keeps us for he is merciful.
Serbia has a very powerful and influential 5th column which controls half the media scene in the country and they dominate Serbia’s culture. Not to mention that the West has a powerful network of NGO’s, and several cadres loyal directly to Western (US) embassies in the government. The current PM worked in the US-funded NGO and was on US payroll. All of which says pretty much what kind of limitations Serbia faces in regard to leading a more sovereign policy, be it in economics or foreign policy. Even the slightest trace of insubordination by the regime in Belgrade would result in a response by the 5th columnists. To add to that is the fact that Vucic had come to power with Western backing because of the Democrat regime lack of cooperation on the Kosovo issue. If the Democrats caved into Western pressure at the time, it would’ve provoked a powerful response from the pro-National part of the electorate. But Western agencies clearly knew that, so they directly helped create SNS, the current ruling party, which absorbed a good deal of pro-national, pro-Russia oriented voters and took a kind of a compromise position between West and Russia. It’s a deception because Vucic regime is not pro-Russian or sovereign in any sense, his task is to sweep aside the remnants of Serbian statehood in Kosovo with minimum risk of an uprising by national elements.
This is where I disagree with Ischenko, there is no risk of any ‘radical’ rebellion if Vucic surrenders Kosovo. The opposition is divided, weak, and a laughing stock who nobody takes seriously. Non-institutional responses are also not an option, Serbian population, as it happens is happy with the Vucic regime and is less interested in Kosovo that was the case in the past. The people have simply gotten too used to playing West’s little happy colonists to give up the prospect of going to Western countries to work or to work in German companies or buy Western products (successive governments have done everything to destroy home industry and turn the country into a market for Western products).
The best option for Belgrade would be to keep the status quo in Kosovo issue as long as possible. Current political climate in the West favors that, Kosovo is not high on Washington’s agenda since Trump became President, the EU has all but given up on Serbia and the Balkans, however, this could change is a new Democratic Presidents takes over.
Provocations from Prishtina will continue, the key here is the position of Serbian govt. So far Vucic has been relentlessly promoting defeatism with his statements, he’s a neo-colonial apparatchik who has turned Serbia into a Balkan Mexico or Colombia and he has a debt to pay to the West for getting him to power. His powerful propaganda machine has done a great deal of damage in passivizing the population and his inevitable fall may indeed reformat the political landscape.
I have no doubt Vucic will cave in if the US gives green light to its Kosovo vassal to launch a full-scale attack on north Kosovo Serbs. All that he’s done by this point indicates in that direction.
Kudos!
By far the best assesment so far on this panel.
Whoever you are write something on Serbia and publish it.
So that people can get full picture about Serbia at least once.
I heve seen many comments and articles on the subject but never this accurate.
An earlier comment put it best – patience. Serbia has no chance of improving its situation with respect to Kosovo, at this time.
For anyone who cares, look at the map of SE Europe. Serbia is surrounded by NATO. We cannot receive military support from Russia, short of Russia willingly risking WW3. I don’t see Russians risking WW3.
Patience is needed. Perseverance in the face of persecution and provocations. Serbian army and police action must be the last resort.
As for Vučić and his gang, all is forgiven so long as they do not recognize Kosovo independance. I do not care about their so-called corruption. They are no different from previous govs nor will the people who succeed him be any different.
It is the nature of “democracy” for its politicians to be corrupt. It is the same everywhere. If one reader of this can point to a “democracy” where there isn’t massive corruption and enrichment in politics, please do.
Vučić and his gang have one mission. Delay, stall, drag out the process, make meaningless agreements when pressured, but do not cross the line. He has delivered on this.
Vučić gov is under pressure at this time. The NATO empire is sponsoring protests. Sure, there is token patriotism in those protests, but its is drowned out by the voices screaming corruption, despot, traitor, etc. I was never a fan of Vučić, and especially not his political party. However, seeing NGOs and foreign papers of record, such as Jew York Times, rail against him made me think that our president is actually fighting for Serbia.
We cannot imagine the pressure put on Vučić by constant demands from the NATO empire. In this time of turmoil, lies, deception, machinations, pressure, and all other immorality, we need someone just as capable in machinations to lead us.
I still greatly dislike the political parties of Serbia, but I have grown to support Vučić personally, so long as he does not cross the line by recognizing the independance of NDK.
The NATO empire will eventually fall. The occupiers will leave our lands. Until this day comes, we will bide our time and give to the empire everything except that which they truly desire.
What does the empire want of Serbia and Serbs? To recognize idependant Kosovo so to legitimize their actions is meaningless. As if they care. Might makes right, and that’s all the legitimacy the NATO empire needs.
They want us to renounce Kosovo because in doing so, we renounce Christ. In 1389, Czar Lazar informed the Ottomans that we Serbs will literally do anything they want, including being slaves/vassals, so long as we do not have to convert to Islam and denounce Christ. Ottomans said we have to convert to Islam. So we fought, died, were enslaved for centuries.
Now, the empire wants the same thing, for us to renounce Christ. For us to die spiritually. This is our battle. This is the cross we bear as people. The day we abandon Kosovo is the day we collectively lose our souls.
It is easy for a Serb sitting in Belgrade to preach. It is the Serbs who live in constant terror of NDK who truly bear this cross on behalf of us all. We cannot help ourselves by fighting. We can only help ourselves, and those who bear the cross, with unity and vigilance. By helping them as much as we can individually.
And remembering the words of Christ, to loosely paraphrase: Because of me, they will persecute you, they will kill you, they will try to extermine all of you. I will not allow them.
No, all can’t be forgiven. Vucic is turning Serbian into a colonial country on the fringe of Europe. His economic policy is criminal, to put the least. How come surrendering the country to the clutches of International financial capital ranks as lesser treason than surrendering Kosovo? It does not because generations to come will feel the consequences. Vucic has done his best to foster a colonial mentality among the Serbs and seems to be succeeding quite well.
The Empire’s strategy towards weakening and destroying countries has always been multidimensional. Economic exploitation is a precursor to a political one. We cannot expect Serbia to offer any meaningful resistance on Kosovo because its elites are in Western pockets, it’s economically dependent on the West. These ties cannot be severed without significant damage, something the population simply isn’t prepared to face.
Your last sentence sums it up perfectly.
No action toward sovereignty can be taken now. What is Vučić to do now? Or any Serbian leader at that matter? Defy the empire? It’d be a death sentence for the country.
I agree with you that they are wrecking the economy. But, again, what is the alternative? To outright defy the empire? Impossible. Death sentence.
We are surrounded by NATO. The most we can do is bide our time while making the best of this situation.
When I say that all is forgiven, is it not? Has anybody said a word about the so-called Serbian democrats robbing the country from 2000-2012? Destroying anything they touch?
What about the incompetant rule of Milosević/Šešelj before 2000?
It seems that all is forgiven because people have a short memory. It will be the same with Vučić. It will be the same with his successor. We are no different from the rest of so-called democratic world. Corrupt politicians is the norm.
Kosovo is the only issue that truly matters. This is the issue that will determine our destiny. Whether we persevere or dissappear as people. Everything else is just a distraction.
I agree with you, there is a continuity of criminal policy of Serbian elites, ever since 1918. Many mistakes have been made in the past, and it continues to this day which is tragic.
At no point in my posts, I advocated that the govt. should ‘defy’ the Empire but it should not help them ruin us faster either. We’re dealing with an enemy which seeks to undermine us in every way possible, and it’s quite painful how many Serbs are falling to the crass anti-Russian propaganda even though they represent a clear minority of the Serbian population. On the other hand, we have supposed ‘nationalists’ who produce a lot of hot air and want Russia to do our job for us while we sit with our hands folded and try to play that old game being the ‘bridge’ between the East and West. I am afraid it will only put us in a bigger rift with no true friends.
What Serbia needs is a well-articulated, sovereign alternative to Vucic, if that’s not asking for too much. At least we can try to be more pro-active in defending our interests because we inflict much damage on ourselves with the current policy.
You are certainly correct in your assessment. If there is a viable alternative to the present gov of Serbia, I’m all for it.
However, change for the sake of change is pointless. My personal feeling is that ppl who eventually replace Vučić will be worse.
Time is running out fast, the west is in full collapse mode right now.
As soon as the U.S dollar starts its next leg down, inflation in the western countries will accelerate, causing governments to increase their focus on their own populations. Perfect example is France.
The United States is the glue that enables all these puppet governments to continue their provocations as is the case with Kosovo.
Once the U.S loses its dollar status so goes its power.
While the article is excellent, we need to remember those two opposing arguments.
While Serbs have many Orthodox Churches in Kosovo, the Kosovo population is Albanian with some small Serbian pockets. Therefore, the question here is: what was first the chicken or the egg? Also, while many argue that Albania is a name imported by the Italians from the far side way past the Black Sea. We need to remember
that while the name Albania was introduced by Italians (in early 1900’s?) the population was mostly local.
Therefore, while I am playing devils advocate here, Kosovo problem is being fueled by the outside forces under this powder keg for obvious reasons.
Oh yes. Ollie, word “сербский” is a Russian word meaning “Serbian”. But explanation in English becomes more convoluted as it means “of Serbian belonging not the Serb the person”. Those are my two cents.
Otherwise it is an excellent article.
My sincere gratitude to the author AND the interpreters of the article. I was, frankly, pleasantly surprised that the recent events in Kosmet (Kosovo AND Metohija) were of such interest to mr Iščenko.
Just for the record, the beaten Serb in hospital bed in the photo has a very handsome medieval Serbian male name, Razvigor (Serbs here will understand me)
I agree both with B.F. and Marko (in part, not ‘in toto’), and, truly, ‘This is neither the time nor the place for our inter-serbian disagreements’
My opinion is that EU, in essence, does not want Serbia as it’s member, now or ever. Besides, it is already slowly falling apart (EU). For my part, I am against joining EU, as are all of my colleagues with whom I have ever discussed this issue.
I have no trust in Vucic whatsoever. He has graduated law but has never worked for a single day as a lawyer, having realised immediately where the money lies. This is not, of course, a crucial data of his biography, but helps in explaining his personality. He is also very arrogant towards subordinated staff (often shouting at them) and humble towards superiors (Merkel, Macron, etc). He is also a very fluent teller of …confabulations. Read between the lines, please. He has introduced a very strong media blockade in Serbia, when Milošević was at the zenith of his power, there were 72 printed and electronic media counted as opposition, nowadays such be counted on ten fingers. He has very skilfully exploited media for his own promotion and people, especially in rural communities, have become ‘mind-directed’, for want of better expression For important external political decision, he oftimes consults leaders of NGO organiations…
Under his influence, (and his party cronies), the main society institutions have collapsed. Serbia has no more army, police, health service, jurisprudence, educational system…this is, in essence, a very long subject
These is much more to say, but I must vehemently disagree with his statement that ‘to face the truth and to recognize that Serbia lost Kosovo.’. THis is NOT so. This is just the first halftime. In 1459, everything seemed to be lost forever, and yet in 1912 Serbian Army beat Turks in battle of Kumanovo, thus giving birth to righteous slogan ‘Kumanovo – revenge for Kosovo!’. Next year in Prizren! That day will come