Posted on 12/11/2004 2:57:31 AM PST by Straight Vermonter
By Marie-Louise Moller
BRUSSELS - NATO criticized Balkan countries on Thursday for not helping to bring indicted war criminals to justice and called on them to live up to their international obligations.
NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer also urged Kosovo Albanians to remain calm in the event that the United Nations war crimes tribunal decided to indict Kosovo's newly elected Prime Minister Rasmush Haradinaj for war crimes.
[ . . . ]
Last month, del Ponte said Serbia's lack of cooperation with The Hague was "the single most important obstacle" to the court completing its work, and singled out the Serb half of Bosnia for failing to arrest a single war crimes suspect.
[ . . . ]
Del Ponte is under pressure from the Security Council to wrap up all investigations by the end of 2004, finish all trials by 2008 and close down by the end of 2010.
She is considering whether to prosecute Haradinaj for war crimes committed during the 1998-99 Kosovo war, a move which western diplomats say could trigger unrest in the Serbian province, where the alliance has 17,500 troops.
Haradinaj is a former regional commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which fought Serbian troops, and is set to become prime minister under a coalition deal that parliament is expected to vote on this month after elections in October.
"There is an absolute need for Haradinaj and his followers to behave responsibly if he is indicted by the (tribunal)," NATO Secretary-General de Hoop Scheffer said.
NATO members have agreed to keep the present number of troops in Kosovo because of the level of tension there, he said.
28 October 2004
As this bitter and partisan election draws to a close, a new bombshell may spell trouble for Senator Kerry. Evidently, he has accepted campaign contributions from the chief fund-raiser for an Albanian terrorist organization known as the Kosovo Liberation Army [KLA, or UCK in Albania]. According to federal election records, Florin Krasniqi, a KLA fund-raiser who had raised over $30 million for the group, contributed $2,000 to the Kerry campaign this past July.
The KLA, whose main objective is to separate Kosovo from Serbia, reportedly has ties to the Iranian government and Osama bin Laden.
In 1999, the Washington Times obtained intelligence documents indicating that al-Qaida has trained and financially supported the KLA.
The Jerusalem Post offered further documentation in 1998, indicating that "Selected groups of Albanians were sent to Iran to study that country's version of militant Islam," and that "millions of dollars have been funneled through Bosnia and Albania to buy arms for the KLA. The money is raised from both Islamic governments and from Islamic communities in Western Europe, particularly Germany."
Kolo, you obviously don't know mark, who has been on these threads forever providing "objective" information in support of Balkan Muslims. He is not alone, as there are a couple of others -- one with a Greek mythological nome de plume who, I know, is more than partial when it comes to Allah. p My policy is simple: I do not negotiate with Muslims. This is not my idea, but theirs. Former Bosnian Muslim boss, Alija Izetbegovic, wrote in his Islamic Declaration "there can be neither peace nor coexistence between the Islamic faith and non-Islamic social and political institutions."
Mark, I believe that wholeheartedly. With people like that -- there is simply nothing to negotiate.
In 1912, the Serb army liberated Kosovo after nearly 500 years of Ottoman occupation. In post #35, Mark says that Serbs "invaded and took over" Kosovo. Truly "objective" and historically "accurate."
Mark you are peddling fraud. Kosovo belonged to Serbs when it was invaded and taken over by the Mohammedan hordes of the Ottoman Empire. In 1912 the Serbs took back what was theirs to begin with.
But to an unsuspecting reader, your "objective" accounts are easily mistaken for genuine rather than twisted truth that you offer.
btt
Albanians are essentially Mohammedans. 25% or so are Christian of the Albanian Orthodox church. (Which was John Belushi's heritage.) The Albanians who stole Kosovo were Muhammadans. Do you even know what Dar al Islam is? Because Kosovo now belongs to that realm of Islam. It used to a mostly Christian nation but the Islamic Jihad pushed them out slowly but surely, culminating with our bombardment of Serbia and Kosovo.
Now, Kosta--after 500 years since the last time the Serbs were in charge of Kosovo, you ought to be able to see why to someone living there in 1912 it did not look like liberation when the Serb military crossed the border and by force of arms established Serbian sovereignty over Kosovo and the people living there (OK--is that more objective and accurate than "invaded and took over"?).
"there can be neither peace nor coexistence between the Islamic faith and non-Islamic social and political institutions." .... With people like that -- there is simply nothing to negotiate.
OK, but he's Bosnian, he's dead, and he had nothing to do with the Albanian-Serb conflict in Kosovo.
Mark you are peddling fraud. Kosovo belonged to Serbs when it was invaded and taken over by the Mohammedan hordes of the Ottoman Empire. In 1912 the Serbs took back what was theirs to begin with.
I don't exactly know when irredentist claims to long-ago conquered lands expire, but I'd say it should be at some point under 500 years.
In any event, I understand the cultural importance of Kosovo to Serbia. What you have to confront is that it was the decidedly un-Christian and non-Democratic nature of Serb rule in recent years over the Kosovar Albanians that has put you in the position where Kosovo Polje is once again no longer under Serbian dominion. And the likelihood of final status negotiations returning Kosovo to full Serbian sovereignty is slim as long as Serbs fail to even acknowledge the atrocities they committed, much less bring those responsible to justice.
Far less than 500 years. Christian Serbs were a majority after WW2. Slowly the Muslims whittled down the Christian population in Kosovo via legal/illegal immigration, via out breeding Serbs, by driving Serbs out of Kosovo
Exactly the same thing happened in Lebanon. I'm sick to the gills of Muslims hijacking Christian nations and multi ethnic nations. Your kooky Muslims have another tactic in India. A few provinces in India are heading to Muslim majority and your Muzzies want to cleave them off to make mini Pakistanis from them. Muslims will never live in peace next to non Muslim populations. Not for extended times.
This a fraudulent statement. No Muslim nation or province ever agrees to live under Christian rule. After a war perhaps, but not voluntarily. Serbia could "acknowledge atrocities" for the next thousand years and Kosovo Muslim would not agree to live under Serb administration. Your statement shows a huge misunderstanding of Islam and Jihad. One that many Europeans have so now they get anti Muslim moviemakers assassinated in their streets with seven page declarations of Jihad stuck onto the victim via a knife plunged into his chest.
You're right, until we eliminate the Mullahs (and I mean what appears to be the majority of them) and their Madarassas, we haven't begun to even approach solving the problem.
A good one--I read P.J. O'Rourke's "Bad Capitalism" chapter on Albania in Eat the Rich while I was there--made it twice as funny.
Unfortunately, P.J.'s take on Major Tom is pretty true to life. Although law enforcement was part of the original IFOR concept, the focus was on simply keeping the factions apart. It wasn't until later with SFOR and the arrival of international civil police and better training for local police that individual crimes began to get addressed.
dennis, you need to beat feet over to Kosovo and tell them this!!! Without your tutelage they have grievously erred--they have elected a Catholic (Rugova) as their president!!!
And on your way, stop in Tirana and record some public interest announcements for Albania as well. They have somehow also managed to also elect a Catholic president (Moisiu) to go along with their Orthodox Christian Prime Minister (Nano).
Those tricky Muslims didn't do that just to make you look foolish, did they? Or maybe you managed to do that all on your own.
I was going to publish excerpts, but it is just too lengthy and detailed to objectively pick and choose crimes, the majority of which were committed against non-Albanians. If you choose to read it, be sure to visit the hyperlinked footnotes.
Alabanians/KLA = good, serbs = bad.
Would it be a fair comment to say that because you're boots were on the ground, that doesnot make you an expert in the history of Balkans?
Orthodox Christians appear to be the one clearly identified christian group who have had to stand-up against islamic conqueror's in the balkan region over many centuries.
There's no need to claim a false objectivity in your comments, show your personal bias against serbs and orthodox christians, it comes shining through anyway.
BTTT
From the State Dept Religious Freedom Report on Albania:
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice. The generally amicable relationship among the religions in society contributed to religious freedom.
Section I. Religious Demography
The majority of citizens are secular in orientation after decades of rigidly enforced atheism under the Communist regime, which ended in 1990. Despite such secularism, most citizens traditionally associate themselves with a religious group. Citizens of Muslim background make up the largest traditional religious group (estimated at 65 to 70 percent of the population) and are divided into two communities: those associated with a moderate form of Sunni Islam and those associated with the Bektashi school (a particularly liberal form of Shi'a Sufism). In 1925 …the country became the world center of Bektashism…Bektashis are concentrated mainly in the central and southern regions and are estimated to represent approximately one quarter of the country's Muslim population.
The Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania (referred to as Orthodox) and the Roman Catholic Church are the other large denominations. An estimated 20 to 30 percent of the population belong to communities that are traditionally Albanian Orthodox, and 10 percent are associated with Roman Catholicism.
... estimates are that 30 to 40 percent of the population practice a religion.
Foreign religious representatives, including Muslim clerics, Christian and Baha'i missionaries, members of Jehovah's Witnesses, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and many others freely carry out religious activities. ... there are 28 different Muslim societies and groups active in the country ...[and] 42 Christian societies representing more than 100 different organizations and 2,500 to 3,000 Christian and Baha'i missionaries. The largest foreign missionary groups are American, British, Italian, Greek, and Arab.
bump for later read.
This won't last very long. However my reference was to Muslim Kosovo never agreeing to live under Christian Serbia. To rejoin Christian Serbia
And on your way, stop in Tirana and record some public interest announcements for Albania as well. They have somehow also managed to also elect a Catholic president (Moisiu) to go along with their Orthodox Christian Prime Minister (Nano).
That won't last long either. It's a freak of nature and against Muslim principles.
Those tricky Muslims didn't do that just to make you look foolish, did they? Or maybe you managed to do that all on your own.
I met a Chechen muslim prostitute in Dubai. She could have easily passed as a co-ed from Iowa. I was quite surprised to find out her religion and nationality considering she smoked, drank (and had sex for money). She was a friendly and extroverted girl.
I was just at the CIA fact book on Albania. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/al.html
Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%
note: percentages are estimates; there are no available current statistics on religious affiliation; all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.