Kosova’s independence: a dubious precedent? – The Irish Catholic
February 21st, 2008
Kosovo’s long-drawn-out ‘will-they, won’t they, when-will-they’ independence saga is concluded on Sunday February
Bought the t-shirt? Memorobilia for sale in Pristina, on the eve of independence (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
17 last, when erstwhile UN protectorate’s recently-elected Prime Minister Hasim Thaci annouced the world’s newest state on February 17. The declaration was a long-thought-out and carefully-choreographed move being done in conjunction with the EU and the US, but will not have UN Security Council backing, and is almost-certainly in contravention of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), which placed the province under UN trusteeship but with formal sovereignty remaining with Belgrade. Ironically therefore, the new Kosovo, therefore, will not be entitled to UN membership, as Russia for one will not recognise it.
No careful choreography may offset the longer-term carelessness of the move. Kosovan independence is being resisted by Serbia and its Russian ally, with the former seeing Kosovo as integral and historically-Serb land, and the latter fulfilling its old role as Orthodox-Slavic big brother, as happened in the run-up to World War I. Some analysts think that the move does not defy international law, but others see the decision as politicised. Either way, it is likely that the legal precedent will be overshadowed by the geopolitical row that looms, as Russia and Serbia called Kosovo “a false state” within minutes of Thaci’s Sunday afternoon declaration. (more…)
Minority Serbs protest secession – The Washington Times
February 20th, 2008
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/feb/20/minority-serbs-protest-secession-burn-border-posts/
MITROVICA, Kosovo — Ethnic Serbs in this northern Kosovar city took to the streets for a second day in defiance of Pristina’s declaration of independence. The protesters were joined yesterday by compatriots crossing in from Serbia, as anti-secession mobs torched border posts further north.
At 1 p.m., 2,000 Serbian-flag carrying demonstrators marched down the hill to the bridge separating the Albanian side of Mitrovica from the northern Serb enclave, which shares a border with Serbia proper.
Serb Orthodox Church, Pristina (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
Meanwhile, NATO peacekeepers rolled north to try to halt Serbian mob attacks on Jalinje and Banja, as police fled the burning border posts.
Demonstrators waved Spanish and Russian flags in acknowledgement of those countries’ opposition to the newly declared Republic of Kosovo. (more…)
Europe urged to aid Kosovo – The Washington Times
February 19th, 2008
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/feb/19/europe-urged-to-aid-kosovo/
Graffiti in Pristina conflating UN mission with incoming EU mission to Kosovo (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
PRISTINA – The United States yesterday coupled its formal recognition of newly independent Kosovo with an appeal for the European Union and the World Bank to help turn the impoverished territory into a prosperous Muslim-majority state.
With unemployment of nearly 50 percent, an average monthly salary of about $220 and growing corruption, Europe’s youngest country has raised security concerns throughout the continent.
Still, it was clear after an all-night party celebrating Kosovo’s declaration of independence on Sunday that most of the population — more than 90 percent Muslim — is looking west to America rather than east to Mecca.
After a night of fireworks, heavy drinking and dancing in the streets to Tupac Shakur’s rap hit “California Love,” residents of the Kosovar capital, Pristina, resumed their celebration yesterday, waving U.S. and Kosovar flags at the news that their new nation had been formally recognized by the United States.
Four EU members — Britain, France, Germany and Italy — quickly followed suit. Washington promised to establish full diplomatic relations soon.
U.S. and European diplomats said they expect most of the 27 EU countries to add their recognition of Kosovo, which has been under U.N. protection since Western forces ended a Serbian campaign of ethnic cleansing in 1999. (more…)
Pristina recovers after all-night party – The Irish Examiner
February 19th, 2008
http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2008/02/19/story55586.asp
Simon Roughneen (hungover) in Pristina.
Kosovo's Peja beer, with commemorative independence logo (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
YESTERDAY, Kosovo’s new capital awoke to a city-wide hangover after its delirious denizens marked independence with an all-night city-wide party.
The muezzin’s dawn tannoy-call to prayer was a jarring wake-up call reminder that Europe’s would-be newest state is a Muslim country. But to see the boisterous celebrations rocking the capital streets on Sunday, after a special session of parliament called the Republic of Kosovo into being, it seems that the population looks west to New York and Los Angeles, rather than east to Mecca. (more…)
Serbia, ally reject sovereign Kosovo – The Washington Times
February 18th, 2008
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080218/FOREIGN/79901165/10PRISTINA
PRISTINA Kosovo — Birth pangs from the emergence of the world’s newest nation reverberated yesterday from New York to Moscow as Serbia and its ally Russia rejected a unilateral declaration of independence by the self-proclaimed “Republic of Kosova.”
Kosovo Polje monument marks the spot where Serbs were defeated by invading Ottoman Turks in 1389, the start of 5 centuries of Muslim rule (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
The gambit did little to dampen the jubilation in the streets of Pristina, where red-and-black-clad celebrants waved U.S. and Kosovar flags, exploded firecrackers and ate from an enormous cake intended to feed 30,000 people.
Prime Minister Hashim Thaci issued his proclamation at midafternoon, using the Albanian-language spelling for the longtime Serbian province. The parliament followed quickly with a unanimous vote of approval as tens of thousands gathered outside.
Serbia, however, rejected the loss of a province it considers its historic heartland, and its ally Russia asked for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council in New York. (more…)
Kosovo’s celebration Western-tinged – The Washington Times
February 18th, 2008
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/feb/18/kosovos-celebration-western-tinged/
PRISTINA, Kosovo — The muezzin’s dawn call to prayer was a jarring reminder that Europe’s newest state is a Muslim country. But the collective hangover after the all-night party that preceded it suggests the population is looking west to America — where recognition of the new state seemed imminent — rather than east to Mecca.
Pristina street. Kosovo thanks the UK (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
At a giant metallic sign reading “NEWBORN” down the street from the U.N. headquarters in Pristina, hundreds of denim-clad young Kosovars had partied through the night, drinking openly and dancing to Tupac Shakur’s “California Love.”
Amid the remains of the celebration that greeted early risers were dozens of posters expressing gratitude to the United States and Britain, which are seen as the driving force behind the 1999 NATO intervention that drove out Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic’s army and brutal paramilitaries, paving the way for yesterday’s declaration of independence. (more…)
Kosovo independence causes rift – Sunday Business Post
February 17th, 2008
http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2008/02/17/story30495.asp
Kosovo’s leaders are set to declare the Serbian province independent either today or tomorrow morning.
But it is not likely to be a smooth transition. The province, which had been administrated by the UN, could end up controlled by the EU for the foreseeable future.
As the United Nations mission (in charge since 1999, when Nato drove out Serbian troops) packs its bags, the Brussels-run EULEX mission will step in with an 1,800-member security and justice force.
Last Monday, Gerald Knaus of Balkan think tank, the European Stability Initiative, told a Brussels conference that EULEX would be allowed to reverse decisions taken by local authorities and assume other tasks, under a mandate of undecided duration.
Kosovo’s independence is backed by the US, but opposed by Russia and will increase tensions between the two at a time when the countries are already clashing over a number of issues.
The decision angered Russia- which called for an emergency session of the Security Council on the issue – as it believes that giving independence to Kosovo will destabilise Europe by setting off a chain reaction of shifting borders. (more…)
Kosovo claims independence – The Washington Times
February 17th, 2008
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/feb/17/kosovo-claims-independence-from-serbia/
PRISTINA, Kosovo — Prime Minister Hasim Thaci proclaimed the independent Republic of Kosova shortly after 3:30 this afternoon, thrilling a large crowd in the streets of this new capital but angering the government of Serbia, which still considers the land part of its sovereign territory.
The Kosovar parliament voted unanimously to approve the declaration as tens of thousands of people gathered outside in front of a large sign on the Hotel Pristina reading “Welcome to our new born nation.”
Getting set: banner unfurled in Pristina on eve of independence declaration (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
Amid a sea of Kosavar flags and fireworks, the red- and black-draped citizens milled around a giant cake baked for the occasion, meant to cater for 30,000 celebrants.
The proclamation’s use of the name Kosova, ending in the letter “A,” reflects the spelling in the Albanian language, though most of the world still is using the Serbian spelling Kosovo for what has for centuries been an integral part of Serbia.
Mr. Thaci, in his remarks, said he was “feeling the heartbeat of my ancestors” in Kosovo, whose ethnic Albanian majority has been under NATO protection since the Serbian army and paramilitaries were routed from the province in 1999.
While it was an occasion for partying in Pristina, not everyone shared their enthusiasm. (more…)
No EUforia as Chad plans go awry – CSIS Africa Forum
February 4th, 2008
http://forums.csis.org/africa/?p=86
At a European Union (EU) foreign ministers meeting on January 28, it was finally confirmed that Ireland’s Lieutenant-General Patrick Nash would lead French, Swedish and Irish soldiers, as well as contingents from ten other contributor nations, to Chad and the northeastern Central African Republic (CAR), in an almost-4000-strong humanitarian-military mission to be known as EUFOR Chad/CAR.
Conflicting reports at time of writing suggested that Chadian rebels had taken much of Chad’s capital N’djamena in the first days of February, but with government troops continuing to fight to dislodge the Sudan-backed insurgents. The rebels may have temporarily withdrawn from N’djamena, but could well return once reinforcements arrive. (more…)
Chad, Sudan and a risky western game – ISN
February 3rd, 2008
refugee camp in Chad (ISN)
China and the West at odds in Africa over oil and refugees, as EU troops stay at home for now.
By Simon Roughneen
With Chad’s capital N’djamena possibly set to fall to a coalition of Sudan-backed rebels, the implications for the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) remain unclear.
The likelihood is that the establishment of a client government in Chad will give Sudan’s National Congress Party (NCP), the dominant component of the Khartoum government, more scope to impose its will on Darfur, where UN peacekeepers are struggling to make any impact with their apparently stillborn mission.
Khartoum’s policy on Darfur was made very clear by its reaction to the insurgency that broke out in the region during 2003. By 2004, the Sudanese army and its Janjaweed militia vanguard were in the midst of a scorched-earth campaign that has left at least 200,000 dead and around 2.5 million languishing in camps, with another 240,000 refugees in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR). (more…)
