open Democracy News Analysis - reimagining yugoslavia - Comments

AlexM on "Kosovo: the Balkans’ last independent state"

AlexM — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:32:25 +0100

I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!

Maestro on "Radovan Karadzic: the politics of an arrest"

Maestro — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:51:46 +0100

There is no justice, only greed and interest. There is as much justice as the big powers allow it. You make war somewhere else, then you decide which side to blame...Then you come in and bomb them, helping "innocent" side. Then you become a "good" guy, soon implementing your "peacekeepers" on foreign territory, gaining access to natural weatlhs, controling the middle of europe. And on, and on...Not much different methods were used by Hitler.

Aphonse on "Radovan Karadzic: the politics of an arrest"

Aphonse — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:39:22 +0100

Justice has to be made

Wpvo on "Kosovo, Palestine, Iraq: the limits of analogy"

Wpvo — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 20:22:45 +0000

Gazavo

Europe’s shameful intervention in Kosovo has from the beginning meant a taking of sides to the advantage of the next permanent basket case. Once again, we have a tiny territory where a backward, jealous population will always feel disadvantaged, despite international help. That territory itself will produce little other than rapidly increasing numbers of mouths to be fed – always by someone else, of course – and to then become the next fanatics with a permanent grudge both against neighbours they are jealous of, and against potential donors that are not as forthcoming as beggar minds hope.

That is where the analogy is.

Peter Voigt

Neocynic on "Kosovo, Palestine, Iraq: the limits of analogy"

Neocynic — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:20:02 +0000

We know we are in for a ride from a cynic and propagandist with the opening declaration that the unilateral and forced breakup of Serbia by NATO arms is a triumph for "national sovereignty". This is further confirmed by the distorted chronology offered in apologia for the Kosovars being rewarded with their own state, after being the first, via the KLA and its bombing campaign, to play the "terrorism" card in its elitist struggle against Belgrade. More to the point, those who supported the bombing of Belgrade (without UN authorization)were more than mere Jews, more than purported and highly selective "humanitarians", they were Zionists sporting the party line of their American imperialists, who grossly contorted the constitutional character of NATO's charter to secure this American Trojan horse as it was trundled up to the very border of the Russian frontier.

To aver that the embarrassing fact that the vast majority of world opinion is against recognition of this American military colony as a sovereign independent nation has nothing to do with the merits betrays the blind hypocrisy of those who ritually entertain the double standards endemic to most criminals and cowards, specifically that a rule of law never applies to them, and further, that a professed courage for a conviction ends when that conviction is applied to them.

Beware any essayist who feels the need to preface a piece with the subtitle: "The False and the True". As for the truth, the Israel-Palestinian conflict is realistically, on the ground, limited to the UN-mandated withdrawal of the IDF from the post-67 borders. Only this author, extremists and religious primitivists insist upon the greater conflict. No one credibly is claiming Tel Aviv for the Palestinians. The rank hypocrisy is reaffirmed by the complaint that the Palestinians went "to war" against "a United Nations Decision". Who indeed has been at war with Resolution 242? As for the ridiculous characterizations of the actions of the democratically elected Hamas Government and its "putsch", one need only refer to the historical record and the recent revelations in David Rose's expose in this month's Vanity Fair magazine as to who exactly staged a putsch. As for the author's love for Kurds and their oppression by "brutal" Arab regimes, it merely provides final confirmation of the sad fact that a man sees what he wants to see, and in this case, we have one made especially blind by the obvious parallels between Kosovo and the many other regions of the world where the many ignorant, violent and gullible are exploited by the few to advance their interests.

Pathon on "Kosovo, Palestine, Iraq: the limits of analogy"

Pathon — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 23:58:09 +0000

I wish that all major international leaders of Jewish origin (as quoted in the article) were equally eager to punish Israel for its treatment of the Palestinians. After all, ethnic Albanians in Kosovo often compared themselves to the Palestinians. Did not they call themselves the European Palestinians? But then, we cannot possibly have Israel in Europe. By humiliating Serbia, the great political minds of today's world (and of Jewish origin of course) can finally reclaim their credibility for there they are protecting genuine victims of persecution in the middle of Europe. Interestingly, this same protection cannot be extended to the Palestinians for they are anything but victims of persecution. Double standards at its best!

JCBosma on "Kosovo, Palestine, Iraq: the limits of analogy"

JCBosma — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:31:17 +0000

Mr. Avineri may be right that the Palestine/Israel situation is different from the Kosovo one.

However in his appraisal of the P/I situation he is one-sided: he mentions only Palestinian violence in 1948, ignoring the (much more violent) ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians. Also he blames the current failure to reach an agreement on weak leadership on both sides. On the Palestinian side this may be true, but on the Israeli side it has always been unwillingness to give up the claim to all of Palestine that has prevented an agreement; e.g. even now they refuse to talk with Hamas.

JCBosma

atsz on "Belgrade: an old script, replayed "

atsz — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:08:04 +0000

Thanks for telling the accurate picture of the day of protests. However somewhere you tried to portray something like state sponsored demonstration happened with full support of the administration.

Even if that is true, then tell me what else remains for the Serb people to do to bring attention to their plight? They have been shouting for years about Kosovo problem and world has only used this as platform to sort out their differences. So the protest is somewhat justified and shows the anger of the people against the other countries who have always interfered in their affairs and always placed Serbia at the receiving end. This is a very serious matter when any province or state of your country votes itself out, or declares indepedence based merely on numercial strength of other religious groups. This becomes more serious when a major chunk of the numerical strength comes from illegal immigration across the border, from a country having same religious groups. The Albanian's over populated the region for years, to deliberatly tilt the demography in the favour of Kosovars, as in any way, once independent Kosovo will indirectly follow Albania and become one of their extended territory.

So any Serb will feel insulted at this very idea and concept and cant stand to see it happening. Adding fuel to the fire is the recognistion of this state by US and other NATO countries. All the good work done by US and NATO in rest of the world especailly in Afganistan, Iraq, Somalia is going down the drain with this wrong decision. Maybe it is deliberate politics against Russia, but the Serbian are becoming the scapegoats. When all the world was coming closer against global terror , this incidence has created so much distance betwween Russians and West. There is no need for USA to make army bases in Czech or Poland, if it is not agreed by Russians, similarly the Russians must not use these issues against USA for their arms sales competitons and areas of influence. Business is now getting too much into sensitive politics which had not been so in the past.

So though the arsoning and looting is not right way of protest but the Serbian anger and voices must need to be heard and adhered to. Kosovo will never be a success state in any way, either economically or military-wise, and can and will only become a breeding ground for Jihadi groups to reorganize and start their cells on European heartland.

This is open waring for the disaster in the making, may God give vision to those sitting in plush offices making policies unaware of ground realities.

VIRUS-SPRAY

AgilisLux on "Belgrade: an old script, replayed "

AgilisLux — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:28:17 +0000

When in the future, lets say at the 46 “Fest”, a Serbian director introduces his film: “The Dead Of Zoran Dindic”, then we will be sure that some kind of enlightenment must have been happened to the people. In other parts of the world Goebbels is still alive, - UK media are not getting tiered in trying to sell us something old for new. So, seeing the benefit of getting rid from this sinister province is not that easy. The Greek people did not celebrated the Turks helping them getting rid of a military dictatorship, nor did the Argentinians over praise “Maggi” for invading the Falklands. If the Serbian people do not realize the realities soon, their nationalists are capable to stir the pot in the Voijvodina, - and loose this province as well!

More due to the destabilizing "US testosterone out-puts" all over the planet, Russia now is playing its own game.

The Kremlin does not give a bit about Kosovo! Russian strategists are simply using the Serbian people. The value of the Kosovo- issue is to send fractures. NATO's 1999 Kosovo operation was controversial in the West at that time, - and remains controversial today. Its in the nature of politics that Russia is in a position to influence the Serbs and is happy to have a option of triggering a crisis whenever they like. But don't blame Russia for it: look at the broken promises by the West not to enlarge NATO into former Warsaw Pact territories!

Heartfield on "Kosova and Albania: history, people, identity "

Heartfield — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:19:22 +0000

Robert Elsie meanders around the central point that the Kosovars do not want to be a part of Albania - a rational calculation on their part - but a part of the EuroEmpire. Independence is the one political programme that makes no sense to them, so they prefer to be assimilated into the EU Protectorate.

ermir on "Kosovo: the Balkans’ last independent state"

ermir — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:26:47 +0000

objective and right to the point

ermir on "Kosova and Albania: history, people, identity "

ermir — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:50:39 +0000

Dear Dionisos, I thought that Dionis was the god of Vine and not the god of Drunk, please stop drinking and writting noicence"

DIONYSOS on "Kosova and Albania: history, people, identity "

DIONYSOS — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:40:02 +0000

All about ethics which are living in Valkan don't depends any Use force on its grand's. The mothers here haw cries for a lot of son war' s lost all the cencuries behind. We hope all Europe to be more independent from USE, bombing capital companies, and death level civilalisation of their.
Kosovo needs jobs, electricite and food not street of narcotics, casino, and turkey mafia business.
http://e-epiloges-dionysos.blogspot.com

ianniscarras on "Kosova and Albania: history, people, identity "

ianniscarras — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 13:17:33 +0000

The article limits the range and importance of Albanian activities in my country, Greece, large areas of which were Albanian speaking until rather recently.

Thus it is well known that two of the three islands that contributed their merchant ships to the Greek war of independence were entirely Albanian speaking (Spetses and Hydra, the Greek speaking island being Psara). In the 18th century the area of Athens was Albanian speaking in its majority. And the Greek regiment of the Russian army in Crimea, was more usually called the Albanian regiment. Even through the 19th century commands in the Greek navy were frequently issued in Albanian.

The close interaction between Greek and Albanian speakers, not to mention the speakers of other Balkan tongues had characterised the region for much of its history. The movement of populations that we have witnessed in this last decade, Albanians for example settling in Greece and Italy, provides reason for hope that Greek, Albanian and other identities in the region will continue to merge and diverge in a multitude of creative, and unpredictable, ways.

Iannis Carras, Athens, Greece.

Edli on "Kosova and Albania: history, people, identity "

Edli — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:45:15 +0000

Good article. One thing I don't agree though. The name Shqiptar is how we albanians call ourself. (Shqipe=Hawk) and our country Shqiperia. Albania is alien name to us. Is the name the world uses for us. So Siptari is obviosly not derogatory. The Serbs can't pronounce Sh and Q so they say Siptari.