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Bosnia and Kosovo: More Pomeranian grenadiers needed as peacekeepers?

A bit more news to throw into the mix on the UN extending EUFOR's mandate...

Security Council extends EU Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina for another year
UN News Centre, 21 Nov 07
Article linik - UN Security Council news release

The Security Council today extended for another year the mandate of the European Union Stabilization Force (EUFOR) tasked with ensuring continued compliance with the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement ending the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The European Union has assumed responsibility for the peacekeeping operation since 2004 when it took over from the NATO-led stabilization force (SFOR).

As it unanimously adopted resolution 1785, the Council also authorized the continued presence of a NATO headquarters through which the bloc assists in the implementation of the Dayton Agreement in conjunction with EUFOR.

In addition, the 15-member body authorized Member States to take all measures to defend the EUFOR and NATO presence and to assist both organizations in carrying out their missions. It also recognized the right of both EUFOR and the NATO presence to defend themselves from attack or threat of attack ....

... as well as those pesky Muslims in Bosnia...

Foreign Jihadis Face Deportation in Bosnia-Herzegovina
Anes Alic, Jamestown Foundation Terrorism Monitor, 8 Nov 07
Article link

After roughly 15 years of neglect, Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) politicians and the country's Islamic community, each for its own reasons, have nearly simultaneously adopted a harsher approach toward former Islamic fighters who fought on the Bosnian side during the 1992-1995 war.

Since the end of the war, Bosniak officials have avoided dealing with the issue of these former fighters, but after much arm-twisting on the part of the international community, it seems the issue will have to be addressed and these Islamic warriors will inevitably be deported to their countries of origin.

Islamic fighters recently have found themselves in the spotlight in Bosnia, not necessarily because they present a direct or potential terrorist threat to the country or its foreign installations, but largely due to their criminal activity and the influence they have among young Bosnian Muslims, who are increasingly gathering around the growing Wahhabi movement (a fundamentalist form of Islam prevalent in Saudi Arabia) ....



 
One of those "present at the creation" is pessimistic--note NATO points:

Back to the Brink In the Balkans
By Richard Holbrooke
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/23/AR2007112301237.html

At a most inopportune time, the Balkans are back. On Dec. 10, the U.S.-E.U.-Russian negotiating team tasked with getting the Serbs and Albanians to agree on Kosovo's future status will report to the United Nations that it has failed. A few weeks later Kosovo's government will proclaim that Kosovo is an independent nation -- a long overdue event.

The United States and most of the European Union (led by Britain, France and Germany) will recognize Kosovo quickly. Russia and its allies will not. Kosovo's eight-year run as the biggest-ever U.N. project will end with great tension and a threat of violence that could spread to Bosnia.

Because security in Kosovo is NATO's responsibility, there is an urgent need to beef up the NATO presence [emphasis added] before this diplomatic train wreck. Just the thought of sending additional American troops into the region must horrify the Bush administration. Yet its hesitations and neglect helped create this dilemma -- which Russia has exploited.

There is more bad news, virtually unnoticed, from nearby Bosnia. Exactly 12 years after the Dayton peace agreement ended the war in Bosnia, Serb politicians, egged on by Moscow and Belgrade, are threatening that if Kosovo declares its independence from Serbia, then the Serb portion of Bosnia will declare its independence [emphasis added]. Such unilateral secession, strictly forbidden under Dayton, would endanger the more than 150,000 Muslims who have returned there...

...Today, Putin seeks to reassert Russia's role as a regional hegemon. He is not trying to start another Cold War, but he craves international respect, and the Balkans, neglected by a Bush administration retreating from its European security responsibilities, are a tempting target.

Putin was hardly quiet about this; I watched him bluntly warn German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and delegates to the Munich security conference in February that Russia would not agree to any Kosovo settlement that Belgrade opposed. There was a vague feeling in Washington and Brussels that Putin was bluffing -- and no real planning in case Putin meant it.

Not only did he mean it, Putin upped the ante by extending his reach into the Serb portion of Bosnia. Using some of his petrodollars, Putin turned its mildly pro-Western leader, Milorad Dodik, into a nasty nationalist who began threatening secession. The vaunted Atlantic alliance has yet to address this problem at a serious policy level-- even though, as Gregorian warned, it could explode soon after Kosovo declares independence.

The window of opportunity for a soft landing in Kosovo closed in 2004. Still, Bush should make one last, personal effort with Putin. His efforts must be backed by temporary additional troop deployments in the region [emphasis added--by NATO European members, one supposes]. It is not too late to prevent violence, but it will take American-led action and time is running out.

Richard Holbrooke was the chief architect of the Dayton peace agreement, which ended the war in Bosnia. He writes a monthly column for The Post.

Mark
Ottawa


 
The UN is stuck on stupid. They have had this mission since 1999 - and we arent any closer to a solution.
Holbrooke is a democrat who served in the Clinton administration so its hardly a surprise that he would attack the Bush administration. What he doesnt dwell on is that 9-11 and the GWOT has put Kosovo on the backburner. Second, Kosovo has been a UN responsibility since 1999 and they seem to be stuck on stupid with no solution in sight. Kosovo should be a EU responsibility with troops from the EU assuming security responsibility.The US has no national interest in the Balkans and we need to get our troops out so they can be used elsewhere.
 
Oh, oh:

Russia 'very alarmed' by Kosovo situation: agencies
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=204417

MOSCOW - Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday described the situation in Kosovo as "very alarming" and said Moscow did not accept Western claims that independence for the Serbian province was inevitable, Russian news agencies reported.

"We cannot accept the incantation that this is a unique case, that independence is unavoidable," [emphasis added] he said, quoted by Interfax and ITAR-TASS.

"The situation is very alarming. It is only now that many of those who supported calls for a speedy proclamation of Kosovo's independence are starting to understand the possible consequences," he said.

The comments came after the collapse of last gasp talks on Kosovo's status mediated by the European Union, Russia and the United States in the Austrian spa resort of Baden.

Russia has consistently said that any resolution of the Serbian province's status should be acceptable to both sides in the dispute, meaning it must have the approval of Moscow's ally Belgrade.

Wednesday's talks were seen as a final attempt to settle the conundrum of Kosovo, the last contentious issue left over from the 1990s wars that shattered Yugoslavia.

Russia's role is crucial as it could use its status as a permanent member of the Security Council to block any UN approval of Kosovo independence.

Moscow has close cultural ties with Serbia and vehemently opposed the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

Mark
Ottawa
 
Time seems to be running out:
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=8ce16c92-7569-49cf-98fa-315c959bf746&p=2

LONDON - The threat of a new war in the Balkans loomed yesterday after the collapse of talks between Serbs and Albanians over the future of Kosovo.

Three days of negotiations overseen by international mediators broke down with both sides refusing to budge over their claims to the breakaway province.

Kosovo's Albanian majority has threatened to declare independence unilaterally...

The breakdown of the talks leaves Kosovo in the same limbo it has inhabited since the United Nations took over its administration in 1998 after NATO drove out Serbian troops [that attack, not authorized by the UNSC, sure looks like it may have not really solved anything - MC]...

Russia, which sided with Serbia to block a previous western-backed independence deal, looks set to remain opposed. But even countries such as Spain, Greece and Cyprus have signalled their disquiet at an independence deal, fearing it could embolden separatists within their own borders.

In Moscow, Russian media quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying: "We cannot accept the incantation that this is a unique case, that independence is unavoidable...

No precedent exists for the creation of a new state by international committee and against the will of the sovereign power.

Serbia has cautioned that international recognition of Kosovo's independence could cause the Serb enclave of northern Kosovo to secede and spark a secession movement among the Serbs of Bosnia [emphasis added]...

Berlin announced it would be sending an extra 500 German troops to Kosovo, bringing their contingent in the NATO-led force to 2,800.

In Brussels, Gen. John Craddock, NATO's supreme commander in Europe, said the alliance's 16,000-strong Kosovo peacekeeping force had plans to tackle any violence...

Then there's this rather gruesome view of the situation:
http://www.reuters.com/article/europeCrisis/idUSN28278931

Predicting tough times ahead, the NATO commander in Kosovo called on Wednesday for clear guidance on how his force should act if the Serbian province declares independence as expected.

French Lt. Gen. Xavier de Marnhac also said the problem of tense relations between Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority and Serb minority would eventually reach a "biological end" as the average age of the Serbs was much older...

Asked if he had requested more troops for his 16,000-strong force, de Marnhac said he could call on reserve forces outside Kosovo but had not done so yet. One such battalion was conducting mission rehearsals in Kosovo now, he said.

In his briefing, de Marnhac also noted the average age of Kosovo's Albanians was 28, while the figure for Serbs was 54 [emphasis added]...

Mark
Ottawa
 
Shhhh, don't try to distract the world from the evils of what "Amerikkka" is doing in Afghanistan and Iraq to point out the looming ethnic meltdown in the backyard of the peoples States of Europe.
 
Brits getting ready:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2219593,00.html

Britain yesterday offered to be the first Nato country to send extra troops to Kosovo within weeks, as the Conservatives and Balkan experts warned of a potentially violent crisis brewing.

While David Cameron accused the Kremlin of stirring up trouble in the Balkans and warned of a new crisis by Christmas, Gordon Brown's government also risked Russian wrath by issuing a robust statement of support for quick Kosovan independence.

Lord Ashdown, the former international governor of Bosnia, accused the Russians and the Serbian government of fomenting trouble in Bosnia and Kosovo, and demanded troops reinforcements to try to keep the peace. "Unless we get a grip on this situation very fast, the issue of the Balkans will be back on our agenda with a vengeance," Ashdown told the BBC

Amid a growing sense of foreboding after the collapse of two years of negotiations between the Serb and Kosovo Albanian leaderships over the future of the contested Balkan province, the Foreign Office signalled strong support for a breakaway Kosovo.

"Long-term European stability and security demand a viable status settlement for Kosovo without delay," a spokesman said, voicing support for the supervised independence proposed by the UN envoy, Martti Ahtisaari. If more peacekeepers were needed in Kosovo, Britain would be the first to send extra forces, he said [emphasis added]....

British diplomats indicated that any call for extra troops should first come from Nato commanders on the ground.

Mark
Ottawa


 
Rest o' NATO too...

Troops in Kosovo placed on heightened alert
Territory moving toward independence

Associated Press (US), 5 Dec 07
Article link
NATO's chief said Tuesday that his forces are prepared to respond to violence in coming weeks as the breakaway territory of Serbia prepares to assert its independence.  Gen. John Craddock said that plans include the possibility of quickly boosting the 16,000 NATO troops currently in Kosovo.  "I think that there will be those who want to create mischief and that will be manifested as strife, potentially violence in Kosovo," Craddock told reporters at the National Press Club.  The comments come as talks between leaders from Kosovo and Serbia appear stalled ahead of a Dec. 10 deadline to report to the United Nations. Although the southern province formally remains part of Serbia, Kosovo has been run by the U.N. and NATO since 1999, when the Western military alliance ended former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists.  Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people, insist on independence. Serbia has offered broad autonomy but insists the southern province remain part of its territory.  Leaders in Kosovo have said that they will soon declare their independence.  Reflecting the degree of concern for an organization that is also responsible for leading military operations against the insurgency by the Taliban and other groups in Afghanistan, Craddock called Kosovo "the most volatile issue confronting NATO today."  Craddock said that he believes pledges by Kosovo's leaders that they will work to prevent violence. He said that NATO will be prepared to work with police in Kosovo to shut down any paramilitary group that tried to assert authority in the territory ....
 
I agree.

It is time for Europe, broadly, to stand up for itself. This is a serious problem within Europe and big, rich, sophisticated Europe must be up to the challenge or it must collapse into a pile of stinky brown stuff.

There is no reason for anyone in North America to do anthing except shake their heads in dismay and, maybe, smile behind their hands.

+10 Mr. Campbell, as usual very well said and if I may add, the point of the "brown stinky stuff", well that put the icing on the cake. thank you. ;D
 
NATO trying to cool Kosovars' jets:
http://english.pravda.ru/news/world/07-12-2007/102457-nato_kosovo-0

NATO peacekeeping forces should be ready for handling violence in Kosovo, as province’s leaders seem to fight for their independence after a failure of negotiations.

"We will act resolutely against anyone who seeks to resort to violence," said alliance Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as he opened the meeting of the 26 NATO nations.

The meeting sent a veiled message to Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian majority not to make a sudden declaration of independence after an expected acknowledgment by mediators from Russia, Europe and the United States that efforts to find a negotiated settlement have reached a dead end.

Instead of declaring unilateral independence, NATO spokesman James Appathurai urged a "managed and controlled" transition to decide the final status of the breakaway province.

The United States and leading European allies are hoping to revive a plan - rejected by Serbia and its Russian backers - for a gradual, supervised move to statehood. Others - notably Spain, Romania, Slovakia and Greece - are more cautious, fearing that Kosovo independence with agreement from Serbia could encourage separatist movements in other regions.

Despite the lack of agreement on Kosovo's final status, the allies agreed that NATO's 16,450 peacekeeping troops could continue their mission under the current U.N. mandate.

A battalion of German troops has already been sent to Kosovo to strengthen the force, and British, Italian and French units are being held in reserve, ready to move in if there is a new flare-up of violence [emphasis added].

Talks to establish a united Western position on Kosovo's future are expected to continue in the margins of an European Union-Africa summit in Lisbon this weekend and at the bloc's regular year-end summit next week.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it was essential that Western countries avoid the divisions that prevented them from taking decisive action to halt Balkan bloodshed in the 1990s.

"I believe that we can achieve a strong degree of unity on the question of Kosovo," he told reporters on arrival at NATO headquarters.

Kosovo has been run by the United Nations, backed by NATO troops, since 1999 when a bombing campaign by allied warplanes ended a Serb crackdown on the separatists...

As for the Serbs:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3013628.ece

The prospect of a new Balkans conflict came closer last night after Serbia made threats of “war” with the breakaway province of Kosovo.

After a four-month peace initiative failed to resolve the fate of the disputed territory, European diplomats, and even the Pope, made fresh appeals for Serbs and Albanians to avoid violence.

Nato foreign ministers will meet in Brussels today [see above] to discuss contingency measures should violence flare.

Concerns grew after Aleksandar Simic, adviser to Vojislav Kostunica, the Serbian Prime Minister, said that his country would defend its sovereignty “using all means” at its disposal.
Related Links

“The State has no recourse other than war when someone does not respect the UN Security Council,” he told Serbian state television...

Mark
Ottawa
 
More on NATO preparations:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/07/europe/kosovo.php

SKENDERAJ, Kosovo: NATO commanders in Kosovo say they are ready to shut down any violence in the wake of the province's expected secession from Serbia. The scorched frescoes and shattered roof tiles at the Serbian Orthodox monastery of St. Joanikije testify to how difficult that task might be.

It was less than four years ago that the drowning deaths of three Albanian boys sparked rioting against Serbs that ended with 19 people dead and more than 30 churches and monasteries across Kosovo destroyed or damaged. Attackers torched St. Joanikije just outside Skenderaj, despite the presence there of NATO peacekeepers.

On Monday mediators will officially report what has been clear for some time, that they have reached a dead end in their negotiations with Serbia and Kosovo. After that the United Nations Security Council will meet to discuss the matter, and Kosovar's leaders will decide the timing of the province's declaration of independence from Serbia.

During these weeks, a tense calm is expected unless a few troublemakers on either side spark an incident, especially in isolated ethnic enclaves and religious sites like the monastery.

For all the dry diplomatic language of resolutions and declarations, it is bloodshed that people most fear. In the worst-case scenarios trouble begins in Kosovo and spreads like a contagion among the overlapping ethnic groups and across the fresh and often permeable borders in the former Yugoslavia.

NATO has about 16,500 troops on the ground, slightly fewer than it had during the out-of-control riots in March 2004. And the endgame in Kosovo's drive for independence comes at a time when a distracted and overstretched American military, which still has a contingent in Kosovo as well, is fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan...[US linking Afstan and Kosovo--see this link]
http://www.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUSL21566421

It is the German national flag and the Bavarian state flag that fly over the small encampment of NATO soldiers guarding the St. Joanikije monastery, now half rebuilt. The Bavaria-based troops are mountain specialists, wearing distinctive gray caps with pins of the edelweiss flower on the side.

Germany has a longstanding contingent in the south of the country. This battalion is one of several reserve forces that NATO can call in within one to two weeks in the event of trouble. Technically they are only in Kosovo for regular training, but the timing was apt [emphasis added], overlapping with both a recent election and the negotiating deadline.

For now, the German soldiers are under the command of NATO's French-led northern task force and have been fortifying the defenses at the monastery. Bright new barbed wire is spooled up and down the hills surrounding the monastery. The Germans say that after the drownings in 2004 Albanians with Molotov cocktails climbed around French defenders guarding the front gates from a large mob to set the complex ablaze.

Officers say they have learned the lessons of 2004 and are ready now.

"The French had only the option to open fire or to retreat," said Captain Andre Zuehlsdorf, the commander of the company of German soldiers that includes the platoon now stationed at St. Joanikije. In contrast, his soldiers have tear-gas grenades and riot gear - and the training to use it.

"I have seen much of the training, and I would not like to try to get past these guys," said Colonel Niels Tonning, deputy commander of the task force responsible for the area. Perhaps most important, troops will not have to wait for orders from the NATO Joint Force Command in Naples. "The decision to use tear gas will not be made in Naples. It will be made in Mitrovica,"  [emphasis added--and beyond tear gas?]Tonning said, referring to a Kosovar city by the Ibar River that is divided into ethnic enclaves...

And that is five minutes by car to the Serbian monastery, where by legend St. Joanikije brought forth fresh water from stones through prayer. Mother Superior Anastacia, the leader of the six nuns remaining there, said that during the rampage icons had been thrown into the well and the monastery's two bells had disappeared.

"This monastery was always offering a comfort of healing, not only for Christians but for Muslims as well," said Mother Superior Anastacia.

"We would stay here in any case," the nun said, "but we believe for a long period that we cannot live here without any military presence."

The northern task force is committed to protecting the site. But the German battalion that has guarded it for the past two weeks will probably - assuming no flare-ups have occurred - be home from its rotation in time for Christmas [emphasis here], before independence is declared.

A lengthy piece on how things are seen in Serbia is here:
http://199.246.67.249/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/LAC/20071208/DOUG08/Columnists/commentColumnists/commentColumnists/1/1/6/

And twisting and turning in terms of the UN:
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=e538c0c7-2274-486b-b22e-7366d9495830&p=1

NATO nations pledged yesterday to provide enough troops to put down any violence as Kosovo heads towards a declaration of independence from Serbia, expected within weeks.

Britain, France, Germany and Italy urged fellow EU states in a letter to accept that negotiations on Kosovo's future had been exhausted and that the time had come to settle its status -- without United Nations backing, if necessary.

In a separate move that drew immediate fire from Russia, NATO countries agreed that their 16,000 KFOR peacekeepers could stay in Kosovo on the basis of their existing UN mandate, even after independence.

"KFOR shall remain in Kosovo on the basis of UN Security Council resolution 1244, unless the Security Council decides otherwise [emphasis added]," NATO ministers said in a final communiqué...

The agreement that UN Security Council resolution 1244 can justify NATO's presence in Kosovo even after independence is crucial, as several nations such as Germany had harboured doubts over whether it could continue to apply.

UN Security Council veto-holder Russia has not made clear whether it will challenge such an application of the resolution. But Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov slammed it as potentially undermining basic standards of international law...

This is from Resolution 1244 [pdf]:
http://www.cfr.org/content/publications/attachments/1244.pdf

19. [The Security Council] Decides that the international civil and security presences are established for an initial period of 12 months, to continue thereafter unless the Security Council decides otherwise;

So the NATO interpretation appears literally correct. However staying on if Kosovo declares an independence not authorized by the UNSC seems a very dicey way to go to me. Just like the 1999 NATO attack itself on Serbia, also not UNSC-authorized.

Mark
Ottawa
 
A sensible thought from British General (ret'd) Sir Mike Jackson who commanded KFOR and was Chief of the General Staff:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/12/09/do0906.xml

My last - somewhat heretical - thought is that perhaps the international community's aversion to boundary change should be re-examined in this case. The largest concentration of Kosovo Serbs live north of the River Ibar, adjacent to Serbia proper. This small area was transferred from Serbia to Kosovo only 40 years ago. A restoration might have merit...

But what then of the Republika Srpska in Bosnia?
http://www.maplandia.com/bosnia-and-herzegovina/republika-srpska/
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Bosnia_and_Herzegovina/Republika_Srpska/TravelGuide-Republika_Srpska.html

Mark
Ottawa
 
Don't forget that the Serbs consider Kosova Polje (the field of crows) as the birthplace of Serbia. 

Never underestimate the power of popular myth to make people irrational. :threat: 

Especially in that part of the world! :eek:
 
We should never involve ourselves in continental affairs again.  Let Europa sort it out. 
 
No offense, my comment was intended to state that we have been cleaning up Euro-crap since 1914.  It is time the the height of civilisation put it's house in order so we can help the developing world put it's house in order.  Our future national success is in Asia and Africa in this century not in Europe, Europeans have the treasure and the people to fix their own problems and that should finally be made clear to them.
 
Well I am not much of fan of Europe, as I am a Canadian Nationalist and an anti royalist.  My feeling is they can solve their own problems alone AND contribute to the mess the they made in Asia and Africa.  I, especially, feel that the French, Belgians, Dutch, Germans, British, Spanish and Portgeuse (SIC!) MUST do this as they are the former colonial powers who brought all this enlightenment to the third world in the 19th century.  The US and the Russians, same again, as they were the 20th Century colonial powers.  In short, if your dog goes on the neighbour's lawn you are responsible for the mess until it is put right.
 
EU preparations (if only they'd do the same for Afstan):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121401842.html

European Union leaders on Friday pledged 1,800 police and administrative officials to Kosovo, part of a package of aid and diplomacy intended to facilitate a well-choreographed, quick and peaceful march to independence for the breakaway Serbian province.

The E.U. government heads, meeting at a summit in Brussels, stopped short of pledging to recognize Kosovo if its leaders declare independence, fearing that such a declaration and an endorsement by the 27-nation bloc could provoke a nationalist backlash in Serbia ahead of elections early next year. Some analysts have warned that ethnic violence might resume.

But signaling their aim to exert European influence over the independence process, they announced plans to send the 1,800 personnel to the province in the near future. In addition, some E.U. leaders held out the possibility that Serbia could be awarded a fast-track membership path into the European Union if it is more accommodating on Kosovo.

"Kosovo's independence is inevitable," French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters after the summit. "It's an issue for Europe to sort out."

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica threw water on the whole idea. "It is unacceptable to speak of Kosovo, a province of Serbia, as a future state," he said in a statement Friday, according to the Reuters news agency. "It is especially insulting to offer to a crippled Serbia a reward of fast track to the E.U. in exchange for its consent to violence."..

At the same time, several E.U. members -- most notably Cyprus, but to lesser degrees Greece, Slovakia, Romania and Spain -- are concerned that backing independence in Kosovo, without a U.N. Security Council resolution supporting it, could set a dangerous precedent for other secessionist movements [emphasis added--e.g. Republika Srpska).

The E.U. has been eager to show that it can muster the political will and military and economic resources to avert another conflict in the Balkans. Facing a certain Russian veto over Kosovo independence in the Security Council, the E.U. has been struggling to reach consensus on an alternative course...

Analysts expect Thaci [incoming Kosovo PM] to announce in January or February that Kosovo will declare independence later in the year, perhaps in May [emphasis added], allowing time to lay the ground for security measures and the adoption of constitutional and other governmental changes. The United States, European nations and other countries reportedly are prepared to announce their support for Kosovo's independence as soon as Thaci makes his announcement.

Serbia has scheduled presidential elections for Jan. 20, with a runoff on Feb. 3 if there is no clear winner. Western officials hope Thaci's announcement will not come before those dates, fearing it could energize Serbian nationalist sentiments. They say they hope the prospect of E.U. membership will bolster the fortunes of moderate candidates.

Mark
Ottawa
 
Roger that, but it was just announced by the EU that Serb EU membership is on hold and independence is not an option right now.  Personally, independence is only likely to prime the powder keg, we are better off with a Cyprus type solution except without the topless Swede tourists on the sunny beaches!!!!  Topless Serb grannies on the river side maybe......??????
 
UNSC gives up:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/world/europe/20nations.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin

The Security Council signaled Wednesday that it would not be able to resolve the status of Kosovo, the breakaway Serbian province, and that a solution would have to come from outside the United Nations.

John Sawers, the British ambassador, emerged from a closed Council meeting to say that what he had heard inside from Vojislav Kostunica, the Serbian prime minister, and Fatmir Sejdiu, the president of Kosovo, “underlined just how enormous the gulf is between the two parties.”

Zalmay Khalilzad, the American ambassador, said that the two had “irreconcilable differences” and that the time had come to proceed with granting Kosovo the independence it has sought but Serbia has resisted.

“The continuation of the status quo poses not only a threat to peace and stability in Kosovo but also to the region and in Europe,” Mr. Khalilzad said.

Mr. Sawers said the European Union would proceed based on the plan for “supervised independence” with protections for the Serbian minority developed by Martti Ahtisaari, the United Nations envoy, and sent to the Council in March. Serbia and Russia, its ally on the Council, had rejected that plan because it led to independence for Kosovo.

The dispute has pitted the principles of sovereignty and self-determination against each other and produced a stand-off between Serbia, backed vigorously by Russia, and Kosovo, supported by the United States and the European Union...

Leaders of Kosovo’s 1.8 million ethnic Albanians have said they will declare their independence only in coordination with the United States and Europe, both of whom have counseled against abrupt action. Mr. D’Alema said he believed that the declaration would be made in March [emphasis added]. Kosovo, a province of Serbia with a population that is 90 percent ethnic Albanian, has been administered by the United Nations since 1999, when an American-led NATO bombing campaign ended Serbian repression of the Albanian majority...

Mark
Ottawa
 
Fools!  The UN or the EU and especially NATO should not be in the business of "liberating Tribes" within National Borders.  Now we just spread the misery and add more seats at the UN General Assembly.  Which nation will enter into a defense pact with the new nation ....against a defense pact of Serbia and Russia.  Here comes the cold war and MAD and basement bomb shelters again!
 
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