Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Serb Tragedy need epilogue
The Japan Times ^ | 2 June 2006 | Juri Dienstbier

Posted on 06/06/2006 7:38:09 AM PDT by Doctor13

PRAGUE -- Serbia's long tragedy looks like it is coming to an end. The death of Slobodan Milosevic has just been followed by Montenegro's referendum on independence. Independence for Kosovo, too, is inching closer.

The wars of the Yugoslav succession have not only been a trial for the peoples of that disintegrated country; they also raised huge questions about the exercise of international justice.

Do international tribunals of the sort Milosevic faced before his death promote or postpone serious self-reflection and reconciliation in damaged societies? Do they strengthen or undermine the political stability needed to rebuild wrecked communities and shattered economies?

The evidence on these questions is mixed. Indeed, the record of the International War Crimes Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), based in The Hague, may be instructive in judging the credibility of the strategy of using such trials as part of the effort to end civil and other wars. In 13 years, the ICTY, with 1,200 employees, spent roughly $ 1.25 billion to convict only a few dozen war criminals.

Moreover, whereas members of all ethnic groups committed crimes, in its first years, the ICTY indicted and prosecuted far more Serbs than others, fueling a perception, even among opponents of Milosevic's regime, that the tribunal was political and anti-Serbian.

We may regret that Milosevic's own trial ended without a conclusion. But a conviction only of Milosevic, however justified, without parallel penalties for his Croat, Bosnian and Kosovo-Albanian counterparts would hardly have contributed to serious self-reflection within the post-Yugoslav nations.

To be sure, the arrest of Gen. Ante Gotovina, adored by many Croats as a hero, but responsible for the brutal expulsion of a quarter-million Serbs from Croatia and northwest Bosnia -- the biggest ethnic cleansing in Europe since World War II -- improves the ICTY's standing. But Milosevic's Croatian and Bosnian counterparts, Franjo Tudjman and Alija Izetbegovic, respectively, remained unindicted when they died.

So, too, the main commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK). Ramush Haradinaj, the prime minister of Kosovo, was accused but later released from detention.

I have always been convinced that Milosevic should have been put on trial in Belgrade. After all, Milosevic's critics and political rivals such as the journalist Slavko Curuvija and Milosevic's former mentor, Ivan Stambolic, were assassinated by Serb police agents, who also tried three times to murder the opposition leader Vuk Draskovic. There was, moreover, ample evidence of corruption among Milosevic's inner circle, including members of his immediate family.

Holding the trial in Belgrade might have served better to catalyze a sober examination of the past. The atmosphere was certainly favorable. The majority of Serbs hold Milosevic responsible for the decline of their society.

Even before his fall, the opposition controlled most big Serbian cities, and in 2000 he lost the election that he called to shore up his authority. The relatively small turnout at his funeral confirmed that only a minority of Serbs considers him a national hero.

Meanwhile, with the exception of Slovenia, the democratic transformation in the post-Yugoslav region remains uneasy. Wars, ethnic cleansing, embargoes and sanctions created not only psychological traumas, but also black markets, smuggling, large-scale corruption and de facto rule by mafias. The bombing of Serbia by NATO in 1999 heavily damaged its economy, with serious consequences for neighboring countries.

The definitive end of what remains of Yugoslavia may -- at least today -- pose no danger of war, but the Muslim Sandjak region will now be divided by state boundaries, and Albanian extremists, with their dreams of a Greater Albania, believe their influence in a separate Montenegro will be reinforced with a yes vote on independence.

Most Serbs and Croats in Bosnia believe that the best solution to the problems of that sad country would be to join the territories that they inhabit with their "mother" countries.

Then there is the unresolved status of Kosovo, where the Albanian majority demands independence, and extremists threaten to fight for it. As one Kosovo Liberation Army commander warned, "If we kill one KFOR soldier a day, these cowards will leave."

With independence, the extremists would gain a territorial base from which to undermine Macedonia, southern Montenegro, and southern Serbia, jeopardizing stability in the entire region.

Serbia is offering Kosovo the formula "less than independence, more than autonomy." It demands security guarantees for the Serbian minority and cultural monuments, as well as control of the borders with Albania and Macedonia to stop traffic in arms, drugs and women, and to prevent the use of Kosovo by Albanian extremists.

Any resolution of Kosovo's status is problematic, but the international community should not repeat old mistakes. In 1991, the principle that only a politically negotiated division of Yugoslavia would be recognized was abandoned. Now, as then, a change of boundaries without the consent of all concerned parties would not only violate international law, but could also lead to violence.

The international community must not be gulled into thinking that war-crime trials marginalize, rather than mobilize, extremists and nationalists. Pressure on Croatia and Serbia to arrest and hand over suspects -- a condition of EU accession negotiations -- has yielded several extraditions and may result in more. But further trials alone are unlikely to bring about the long-term settlements that the region's fragile states need in order to ensure stability and democratic development. The people of the Balkans should feel that the EU offers them political and economic support. They deserve it.

Jiri Dienstbier was foreign minister of Czechoslovakia and special rapporteur of the UNHRC in the Balkans.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: balkans; kla; kosovo; milosevic

1 posted on 06/06/2006 7:38:11 AM PDT by Doctor13
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Doctor13
CORRECTION TO TITLE!

Should have read, "Serb tragedy needs epilogue."

That's what happens when you're in a hurry!

My apologies.

2 posted on 06/06/2006 7:41:38 AM PDT by Doctor13
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Doctor13
This is worth repeating!

Then there is the unresolved status of Kosovo, where the Albanian majority demands independence, and extremists threaten to fight for it. As one Kosovo Liberation Army commander warned, "If we kill one KFOR soldier a day, these cowards will leave."

For all those who thought the KLA were our great friends.

3 posted on 06/06/2006 7:43:52 AM PDT by Doctor13
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Doctor13
Then there is the unresolved status of Kosovo, where the Albanian majority demands independence, and extremists threaten to fight for it. As one Kosovo Liberation Army commander warned, "If we kill one KFOR soldier a day, these cowards will leave."

The allies that Clinton made - what a legacy that man has...

4 posted on 06/06/2006 7:44:47 AM PDT by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - They want to die for Islam, and we want to kill them.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2banana

The government had to reclassify the KLA from being a terrorist group.


5 posted on 06/06/2006 7:54:13 AM PDT by weegee (Slowly but surely and deliberately, converativism is being made a thoughtcrime.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Doctor13
Kosovo is the basic blueprint and prototype for Atzlan. It has to be given back to its rightful owners, i.e. Serbia.


6 posted on 06/06/2006 7:58:17 AM PDT by tomzz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Doctor13
"Tragedy" is a word that is overused.

A tragedy is a story in which the protagonist meets his demise due to a fatal moral/character flaw.

What happend in Serbia was that they got criticized for killing muSLIMEs.

7 posted on 06/06/2006 8:20:14 AM PDT by nonliberal (Graduate: Curtis E. LeMay School of International Relations)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: zagor-te-nej; Lion in Winter; Honorary Serb; jb6; Incorrigible; DTA; ma bell; Banat; FormerLib; ...

UNMIK has already said it is pulling out -- running with its tail tucked between its legs!

What a weasly, useless and dangerous group of people, who stand by when churchs are burned and nuns are rousted -- but who are also willing to say anything about the conditions in Kosovo, just so they can cut & run!

The UN is a piece of crap! (And this is from someone who collected for UNICEF every Haloween and whose childhood dream was to be a translator for the UN!)

BB


8 posted on 06/06/2006 8:41:15 AM PDT by Bokababe (www.savekosovo.org & www.serbblog.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Bokababe

Oops, forgot to post the link!:

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/comments.php?nav_id=35170


9 posted on 06/06/2006 8:42:42 AM PDT by Bokababe (www.savekosovo.org & www.serbblog.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Bokababe
The UN is a piece of crap!

UN did not wage war on Serbia and UN did not give Kosovo to Albanian Muslims. For a simple reason - the two permanent members of Security Council with veto powers were siding with Serbs.

It was the compromise worked by Russians that Kosovo was to be under control of UN for a limited time and they Kosovo was to returned to Serbia. But this deal was not kept as NATO took over (using UN as a cover).

10 posted on 06/06/2006 8:46:47 AM PDT by A. Pole (It is better to have $5M and live in Weston Massachusetts than to have $20M and to live in Bogota.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Doctor13

Mistakes should not be repeated. A referendum on status for Kosovo should be held and all parties involved should participate: Serbians (in Serbia and Kosovo) and Albanians (in Kosovo) should vote.


11 posted on 06/06/2006 8:50:44 AM PDT by eleni121 ('Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!' (Julian the Apostate))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: A. Pole; tgambill

Yes, but the UN is currently LYING about the living conditions of Serbs in Kosovo. Check out Human Rights Watch: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/05/30/serbia13441.htm

And the UN actually brags about how "ethnically motivated crime against Serbs has gone down" -- like I said, UNMIK is both useless (in a fight) and dangerous (as a political liar)!


12 posted on 06/06/2006 9:03:04 AM PDT by Bokababe (www.savekosovo.org & www.serbblog.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Bokababe
The troops controlling Kosovo are from NATO. If Russian, Chinese, Indian and Greek troops (countries friendly to Serbs) were controlling Kosovo the outcome would be very different.
13 posted on 06/06/2006 9:06:05 AM PDT by A. Pole (It is better to have $5M and live in Weston Massachusetts than to have $20M and to live in Bogota.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Doctor13; mark502inf
"Then there is the unresolved status of Kosovo, where the Albanian majority demands independence, and extremists threaten to fight for it. As one Kosovo Liberation Army commander warned, "If we kill one KFOR soldier a day, these cowards will leave."

Yeah Mark, the KLA are your friends. Idiot.

14 posted on 06/06/2006 5:24:05 PM PDT by montyspython (Love that chicken from Popeye's)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: A. Pole; Bokababe

"UN did not wage war on Serbia and UN did not give Kosovo to Albanian Muslims. For a simple reason - the two permanent members of Security Council with veto powers were siding with Serbs."

Many of the UN local leadership joined "forces" with the Mafia and it's human trafficing, scams involving taking money meant for re-building and making up false projects to pocket the money....covering for the Albanian extremist, and keeping the conflict stirred up in order to reap the spoils of this cash cow. The UN in essence did facilitate massively, in turning over Kosovo to the Albanian extremist, for self gain. They lied on every corner about the violence covering up the ethnic cleansing and crimes committed by the Albanian extremist. All for personal gain.

NATO has it's own agenda as the U.S. does as well. The UN is as bad or worse than NATO as it is facilitating the crimes, violence and reaping the rewards........as they change leaders and on to other cash cows. The UN is in fact useless and only gains in their bank accounts, no kidding. They keep conflicts going on in the background to make sure that they stay. UN specialist under the controllers who do good jobs are singled out or transfered or harrassed to fall in line or lose their jobs. This is the reality.....NATO troops and leaders rotate and go somewhere else.........the UN are the leeches.....

"It was the compromise worked by Russians that Kosovo was to be under control of UN for a limited time and they Kosovo was to returned to Serbia. But this deal was not kept as NATO took over (using UN as a cover)."

No, this was a UN Referumdum....called the 1244. The UN made sure the peace would not be reached and independence would be achieved by the Albanian extremist. A well crafted scam has occurred with the U.S. Administration starting form Klinton entering Bosnia to the lies about Kosovo..and massacres of 10,000 in kosovo....?????? The Serbs have gotten screwed with the UN leading the way......making $$$$$$


15 posted on 06/07/2006 1:52:35 AM PDT by tgambill (I would like to comment.....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Bokababe

Bokababe,
And to think that this country of ours stood by and turned the other way while the Albanians desecrated cemetaries, destroyed churches and monestaries. stole and destroyed Icons that the Serbian Orthodox church had for centuries. And to top it all off the people who started all of this are free to roam this country and can be seen promoting a book on morality and religion.
Can you guess who I mean?

In Alabama certain freaks burned 5 churches and the Christians were appalled. Those same Christians know nothing of one of the oldest truest Christian people in the world--the Serbs.
They ask you what you are and when you say Serb, they say. you mean Siberan or Syrian?

Where is their voices now?

Over 100 monestaries and churches destroyed.

Hey, we are Christians too.

As one crazy comedian used to say," dirty rapatrap."


16 posted on 06/09/2006 2:51:09 PM PDT by Pusomobile
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: eleni121

Doctor me lad,

Tell me, do you still believe in the Easter Bunny? No matter what "referendum", "elections" or whatever those Kumbaya believers say, the Albanians want it all by themselves. No Christians, no Catholics --nobody but "them."

Watch and see Doc.

You an optometrist?


17 posted on 06/09/2006 2:56:09 PM PDT by Pusomobile
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Pusomobile

No Christians, no Catholics




I didn't know they were any different.

As for the rest of your post...too effing bad what the Albanians want. A referendum which inoludes all Serbians living in Serbia and the Kosovo region past and present as well as Albanians should decide the future status. That should put the kabbosh on what Albanians want.


18 posted on 06/09/2006 3:56:37 PM PDT by eleni121 ('Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!' (Julian the Apostate))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: eleni121

I agree with the "effing "part. But you are missing my point. NATO,theUN the US of A the EC does nothing to the albanains when they raid the churches, terrorize Nuns and the Priests. I was making referrence to what happens in this country when somebody desecrates a church of synagogue.
The Albos want an ehtnically pure Islamic state of Albanians--no /Serb s.


19 posted on 07/24/2006 9:25:51 AM PDT by Pusomobile
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson