MITROVICA, Kosovo: An explosion in the Serb stronghold of north Mitrovica in Kosovo on Thursday damaged two U.N. vehicles in a compound housing the police and U.N. court, police said.
e enjte, shkurt 28, 2008
Serb president wants Kosovo and EU keys
Serbia will not give up its claim on breakaway province Kosovo or its bid to become a member of the European Union, Serbian President Boris Tadic said in an interview published Thursday.
The Politics of Religion in Kosova
-Besnik Sinani
One can hardly read any news on Kosova these days without being told time and time again that Kosova is the heartland of Serb spiritual heritage, the location of Serb medieval monasteries. Despite this being a relatively late Serbian claim, appearing in the 1800s with the advent of Serb nationalism, it is striking how churches of a universalistic religion like Christianity, are constantly referred to as signposts of nationalism. The Orthodox Church in Kosova has maintained the same role that the former communist leader and butcher of the Balkans, Slobodan Milosevic, had assigned to the Church when he was arousing the flames of the future Balkan wars of the 1990s. This is the worst case scenario of mingling religion and politics.The Serbs, however, are not the only ones who are politicizing religion in Kosova. A controversial Catholic cathedral is currently being built in Pristina. This project had from its beginning the extraordinary support of the late Kosovar President, Ibrahim Rugova, whose office was decorated with the pictures of him with the Pope and the picture of Mother Teresa. Catholicism, the religion of less than 10% of the Albanian population of Kosova, is being marketed politically in attempts to show a perceived cultural shift of Muslim Kosovars towards the West mediated by Catholicism. This process of political marketing of Catholicism was referred to, recently, by a high functionary of the Catholic Church in Kosova, Dom Dode Gjergji, as “cultural baptism.”
This political marketing of Catholicism necessarily requires downplaying the presence of Islam in Kosova. Following debates among devout Kosovars in internet forums, it is common to notice the dissatisfaction with the leaders of the Kosovar Muslim Community, for not reacting more aggressively in response to this “cultural baptism.” There has been at least one known attempt from a political party, the Party of Justice, to politically monopolize Muslim dissatisfaction Following Albanian Muslim forums, however, one is left to believe that in the last elections, the Party of Justice was unsuccessful in attracting large sections of devout voters. One of the main reactions to the current climate of politics of religion in Kosova among many Muslims has been the embrace of forms of piety that detach from the main debates of the society. It is associated with the ideas of Salafism, a wide spread Muslim movement that attracts large funding from the Middle East. Contrary to a common held view, most forms of the Salafism are apolitical. However, these are forms of visible piety and clash with the attempts of the political and cultural establishment of Kosova to shove visible signs of Muslim piety under the rug, fearing loss of much needed Western support.
Ironically, Kosovar society aims at building a pluralistic, democratic, secular new state. The promotion of religious identities as political identities creates the conditions for what French supporters of laicite would call the Balkanization of the society.
If current conditions persist, institutions of Orthodox Christianity that play the tunes of Serb nationalism will be seen as a Trojan horse inside Kosova. The fact is that today Kosova is an independent state recognized by the major Western powers. This new political entity is home to Serbs who will have to think of building a normal life in this newly created state. The Orthodox Church will have to negotiate its position in new Kosova in order to serve the best interests of its flock. It will have to negotiate with the government and other institutions of Kosova and therefore, de facto, recognize those institutions. Albanians on the other hand, cannot afford an antagonistic Orthodox Church in their new country, and therefore they will have to accommodate it as one of the religious communities of the Kosovar state. They will have to guaranty its safety and prosperity.
Embracing Catholicism as a political identity to serve as a European political ID card undermines the values of governance, and secularism that are the hallmark of European models. It also undermines the social cohesion of a newly created country. Ironically, the current American administration, as well as that of President Clinton, has emphasized the Muslimness of the Kosovars in attempts to show that America’s wars in the Middle East are not a war against Islam. I believe in the freedom of individuals to choose forms of piety of their liking, and in the obligation of governments to guaranty that freedom However, I think that current forms of Muslim piety, such as Salafis, that promote detachment from the cultural, political, and social life of the society will effect negatively both the society and the interests of the Muslim community in Kosova.
It is, therefore, in everyone’s interest to see that the government of Kosova creates a climate of freedom of religious expression while refraining from political manipulation of religions. It is the best bet in seeing a celebration of diversity of spiritual traditions, rather than political fragmentations of the kind that have enflamed Balkan history.
e mërkurë, shkurt 27, 2008
One step forward – three steps back
The announcement of the Declaration of Independence and recognition by the US, France, and the United Kingdom is a step forward. Kosova for the first time has been recognized as an independent state from these significant states of the world.
However the Declaration of independence has turned Kosova three steps back
Një hap para – tre hapa mbrapa
Shpallja e Deklaratës së Pavarësisë dhe njohja që pasoi nga ShBA-të, Franca, Britania e Madhe etj. është një hap para. Kosova për herë të parë u njoh si vend i mëvetshëm nga këto shtete të rëndësishme të botës.
Megjithatë deklarata e pavarësisë e ktheu Kosovën edhe tre hapa mbrapa.
Russia's Medvedev warns Kosovo's independence could set Europe ablaze
Medvedev said recognition of Kosovo's declaration Feb. 17, spearheaded by the United States, has "put Europe in a very difficult situation."
"The United States is far away and is not facing any risks, but Europe could go ablaze," he said in a campaign speech in the Volga River city of Nizhny Novgorod. "It's enough to put a match to set everything ablaze."
Category: CURRENT EVENTS
It appears that First Deputy Prim Minister Medvedev has an appreciation of history, and the consequences of political actions devolving into violence.
Unfortunately at this time, the foreign policy makers here in the US have little or no understanding of history.
If they had, they never, ever would have backed the independence of Kosovo from Serbia.(MR)
Kosovo warns Serbia as riots continue
Kosovo told Serbia on Tuesday it would not yield one inch of its territory, and a violent protest by ethnic Serbs in Bosnia against Kosovo's secession highlighted continued volatility in the Balkan region.
Kosovo won't be part of Serbia again-US State Dept
The people in the West have no idea what Pandora's Box they have opened by supporting the independence of Kosovo.
Posted Feb 26, 2008 09:05 AM PSTThey also have no clue about the history of the region, which is going to come back to haunt them, unfortunately.
Category: CURRENT EVENTS
Kosovo will never be part of Serbia again, the U.S. State Department said on Monday, but said Washington would keep working on the issue with Belgrade and its ally Russia, which both oppose independence.(MR)
e hënë, shkurt 25, 2008
Russia's NATO envoy says U.S. wants to divide and rule
Russia's ambassador to NATO suggested Sunday that Kosovo's split from Serbia was the result of an imperialistic American effort to "divide and rule."
The Oil factor in Kosovo independenc
Kosovo does not have oil but its location is strategic as the trans-Balkan pipeline - known as AMBO pipeline after its builder and operator the US-registered Albanian Macedonian Bulgarian Oil Corporation - will pass through it.
The pipeline will pump Caspian oil from the Bulgarian port of Burgas via Macedonia to the Albanian port of Vlora, for transport to European countries and the United States. Specifically, the 1.1 billion dollar AMBO pipeline will permit oil companies operating in the Caspian Sea to ship their oil to Rotterdam and the East Coast of the USA at substantially less cost than they are experiencing today.
The Real Story Behind Kosovo's Independence
In the bigger picture, the Bush administration's quick recognition of an independent Kosovo has given us a powerful reminder of a fact that is too often overlooked these days: empire is bipartisan, as are the tactics and rhetoric and bombs used to defend and expand it. Posted Feb 25, 2008 07:46 AM PST
Category: CURRENT EVENTS
In this country, although we have the illusion of two parties, in reality, we only have one party; that's the "War Party".(MR)
Kosovo, the Kremlin, and the Kurds
If the Kosovars can have their own "nation," then why not the South Ossetians? Why not the Abkhazians? Why not the Transdniester Republic? And why not the Kurds?
The Christian Science Monitor reported that "Peshmerga Gen. Muhammad Mohsen took down his American flag, folded it up, and placed it in his office corner Sunday, reflecting the growing anger in Iraq's Kurdish north with U.S. support for Turkey's campaign against separatist rebels operating in the region." One hopes symbolic actions such as these are sufficient to express the full extent of his anger at his erstwhile American allies, but somehow I doubt it.
Category: CURRENT EVENTS
One has to wonder if geopolitical and historical myopia are prerequisites for becoming policy directors in Washington.
There will be a wave of actions and reactions to Kosovo having declared its independence that no one in this administration can begin to imagine, and that - in itself - is scary.(MR)
Kosovo Serbs count on Kremlin 'saviour'
In this ethnically-divided northern Kosovo town Serbs see the Kremlin as their saviour, everybody wants to believe that the situation will change and everyone predicts violence.
Posted Feb 25, 2008 06:56 AM PSTCategory: CURRENT EVENTS
Unfortunately, in terms of future violence, the question is not if, but when.(MR)
The Real Story Behind Kosovo’s Independence
News Flash: The Bush administration acknowledges there is a such thing as international law.
e diel, shkurt 24, 2008
Serb official blames U.S. for violence
In a sign that Serbia is fast drifting away from the West and toward Russia, which is backing its fierce resistance of Kosovo's secession, hard-line Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica condemned anew the U.S. and other nations that have recognized Kosovo as an independent state.
Posted Feb 23, 2008 02:01 PM PSTCategory: CURRENT EVENTS
Notice how Putin and Russia are cast in the role of the "heavies" and bad guys in this article.
What the US, the EU, and NATO have done here is to declare that any part of any country can, unilaterally and pre-emptively, declare its independence (if we say so), even though it may have been part of another country for centuries.
This would be like Texas, or, let's say, New Hampshire, declaring their independence from the US.
Would the government of the US say, "Gee, that's great: goodbye."?.
Or would every available military person be sent immediately to to the capitals of those states to bring them back into the fold of the Republic?
You know exactly what the answer here would be.
And from this precedent, Palestine may be ready to unilaterally declare their independence from Israel.
And at this point, after the US having supported the independence of Kosovo from Serbia, it's going to be rather hard to explain why Kosovo's independence is good, but Palestine declaring independence from Israel is wrong, bad, and impossible.(MR)
The question is, how far Serbia and Russia are prepared to go to bring Kosovo back to Serbia.
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