Kosovo figures as Sweden takes over the reins

Cyprus, Turkey, Russia also on the agenda


Kosovo and other European flashpoints figured prominently in the informal luncheon of the 118th session of the Committee of Ministers in Strasbourg on May 7.

On Kosovo, Carl Bildt, the Swedish Foreign Minister, told journalists: “There was an informal discussion and there were different views and those views will remain for some time to come without putting any time perspective to it. There were certain agreements like rights for each and everyone in Kosovo, economic and social development of each and everyone in Kosovo, rule of law for each and everyone in Kosovo and hopefully also strong support expressed for the European direction for the policies of Serbia.”

Leaving the ball in the court of Belgrade, Bildt said, “Although that is not for us to decide and that is up to the electorate of Serbia. If Serbia does not want to cooperate with the European Union that is a decision for the Serbia.”

Earlier in the day, Sweden took over from Slovakia the reins of the Council of Europe’s decision-making body as Jan Kubis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, took stock of the country’s chairmanship before passing the chairmanship to Bildt.

During its mandate, Slovakia said it respected its priorities by working to strengthen and promote a citizens´ Europe and a transparent and efficient Council of Europe, as well as respect for the organisation’s core values.

Through special conferences planned for its chairmanship (May- November 2008), Sweden vowed to take initiatives aimed at the stronger implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights at the national level, work systematically for the promotion of human rights, develop a new strategy for the rights of the child and strengthen the realisation of the rights of disabled persons. Congratulating Slovakia for a very successful presidency, Bildt outlined the priorities of the Swedish presidency to the journalists.

“We will continue to focus on the core values of the Council of Europe - human rights, democracy and the rule of law,” he said. With the new Russian President Dimitry Medvedev taking over in Moscow, Bildt expressed optimism that the rule of law will prevail and that “he will live up to the words he has spoken and ratification or trying to ensure ratification by Duma for Protocol 14 might be an extremely good way of demonstrating that commitment to the rule of law that President Medvedev has earlier committed himself to so explicitly.”

On the question of the Turkish situation, Bildt told journalists, “One of the difficulties that Turkey is facing is terrorist activities of PKK and the fact that we had acceleration in last two years is an expression of the fact that they see the ground slipping under them to certain extent.”

“On the subject of unification of Cyprus, it’s very important for stability of the region, for respect of human rights in all parts of Cyprus and also for the international organisations for cooperating in resolution of conflicts in other parts of the world,” Bildt added.

Sweden also started a new format where there is a formal session of a few hours and then a brainstorming “luncheon with a very open discussion on South Eastern Europe and tasks ahead of us and the important role that Council of Europe has there, touching regions of Southern Caucasus and other regions of Europe where we face somewhat bigger challenges,” in the words of Bildt. CoE head Terry Davis called the Swedish chairmanship “one of the best prepared chairmanships I have seen in all the time I have been involved in the Council of Europe.”

Sweden earlier issued a statement looking forward to co-operate closely with all member states of the CoE as well as with other actors in order to advance the work of the organisation and thus the realisation of its core objective.

Taking Poland in stride, Russia waits for EU-Russia Partnership

Russia reacted calmly last Thursday in Brussels to Polish President’s quips about conditional support for European Union-Russia partnership talks. Polish President Lech Kaczynski was quoted earlier last Wednesday as saying that the issue of NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia, opposed by Russia, was linked with a wider debate about the EU’s strategic partnership with Moscow.

Speaking to Tejinder Singh, Editor- in-Chief of New Europe, the European Weekly in Brussels, Vladimir Chizhov, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the EU outlined Russian position not only on the subject of Polish veto with respect to the relations with the EU but also in broader terms on Russia-EU strategic partnership.

Referring to the press reports from Reuters attributed to Kaczynski, Chizhov said, “This would have raised serious doubts regarding the coherence of Polish policy but then came the disclaimer from the Polish government that the President had been misinterrupted. That’s funny but it shows how sensitive the whole thing is.”

Reflecting on the delay in negotiations over the much-awaited EU-Russia partnership agreement, the ambassador lamented, “My negotiating mandate was formally approved by the Russian government back in November 2006 so it has been a year and half that I am sitting here waiting for my interlocutors to get their mandate.”

“The Commission needs approval of the mandate from the Council and this has been procrastinated by that Polish veto.”

Citing a Russian saying, “A bad example is the most contagious one,” Chizhov wondered, “Now it seems that may be some other countries will try to solve their own national problem or pamper their national ego by further procrastinating this particular issue.”

“I don’t think it would be in the interest of the EU but I am not pressing my interlocutors to get down to the negotiating table. If the EU needs time to mature, so it be then.”

Coming to the much talked about issue of Kosovo and its unilateral declaration of independence (UDI), the Russian ambassador said, “The reaction of some countries to recognise UDI has been illegitimate, running contrary to UN charter, to existing norms of international law and more specifically to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999 and the 1975 Helsinki Final Act on Security and Cooperation in Europe.”

Agreeing that, “It is not unique that some territories declare independence but the international community has many possible options to reacting to that, the ambassador said, “Unfortunately this time the wrong option was chosen by a number of countries.”

Going down the memory lane, the ambassador told New Europe, “Look for example what happened 25 years ago, when there was a unilateral declaration of independence on Northern Cyprus. That particular incident led to UNSC unanimously adopting Resolution 541 which explicitly urged all UN member states not to recognise so called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and not to establish any official contacts with it. Yes one country disobeyed that Resolution but only one and that’s how things remain to this moment.”

Giving a “purely pragmatic point of view,” the ambassador warned, “Kosovo has no chance of becoming a member of the UN, getting a seat at OSCE and other international organisations.”

“Only less than 40 countries have recognised it out of 200 and its already almost two months since the UDI. This is not something one can call international recognition, so summing up I could say that the issue of Kosovo’s final status has not been resolved.”

Elaborating on the role played by the EU, the Russian diplomat said, “I would split the issue into two main elements: one is recognition, a majority of EU member states have recognised independence of Kosovo but a third of EU members states have chosen not to do that and among them there are countries that have a strong view against recognising. So the EU does not have and will not have a common position on this very important problem of European politics.”

“Secondly, the EU has decided to despatch a civilian - police mission, EULEX, to Kosovo. It’s a classical case of the road to (hell) paved with good intentions. We would not mind the EU taking its share of responsibility for what is happening in and around Kosovo. We would not mind the EU organising a mission but on one necessary condition that this mission be mandated by the UNSC. Otherwise it lacks legitimacy.”

“Its not without reason that the UN Secretariat has been rejecting any approaches from EU for handover from UNMIK to EULEX.”

Lambasting the basics behind the appointment of Peter Feith as the EU Special Representative, the Russian ambassador said, “In that capacity he can do what the EU tells him but not certify Kosovo’s constitution. His opinion is as private as mine, or yours. Secondly, his other capacity that he claims, that of International Civilian Representative, is self-proclaimed and does not hold water.”

Suggesting a way out the Russian diplomat said, “I don’t think the situation is completely irreversible. Of course it’s difficult to rectify, but the only way to do that it at this point in time is to resume negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade. Only a negotiated solution has a chance of becoming a viable solution. Not a one sided solution, not an imposed solution.”

Adding a warning sign to the ongoing jubilations, the ambassador said, “When I hear, particularly in the first days after Kosovo’s independence, sighs of relief across Europe saying this has solved the last outstanding problem following the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, that this last page of Balkan crisis has been turned, I feel the need to disappoint those people. Having dealt with Balkans much longer than I could have wished in the beginning, I would say that a new page of Balkan crisis has been opened.”

Questioning the timing of release of the new book “The Hunt: me and War criminals,” by Carla del Ponte, former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in which she reports allegations that KLA fighters, at a senior level, had authorised and profited from an organ-harvesting racket preying on Serbs transported from Kosovo, the Russian diplomat asked, “Firstly why did she wait for eight years before publishing that?”

“But is it just a coincidence that allegations concerning not just unnamed Kosovoars but quite particularly those that are in power, accusing them of having been involved in human organ trading and killing of innocent Serb civilians happen now?”

“Why did it not appear before the recognition of Kosovo?”

“Looks a bit strange! And nervous reactions from some governments including her own Swiss government that chose to hurriedly despatch her to Buenos Aires does not contribute to confidence on this issue.”

Chizhov, the Russian diplomat disclosed that, “Yesterday the Russian government formally appealed to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to inform UN about what it thought about it, to check if those allegations correspond to the facts and if so what ICTY plans to do about it. The acquittal of a former prime minister of Kosovo by the Hague Tribunal is a shame. Having cleared the case of witnesses through murder and intimidation thus the process has been led to a false end.”

Coming to the labyrinth of pipelines, gas, oil and taps turning off and on with regular political factors, Chizhov, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the EU lamented the “too much politisation of the whole issue,” clarifying, “Those pipelines were not build yesterday, they were built 35 years ago, and that was during the Cold War and throughout the Cold War and afterwards there was not a single instance when the supplies would have been disrupted for political or other reasons except technical failures occasionally.”

“Even during the last few years there were no disruptions of energy supplies from Russia to the European Union. Whatever problems there might have been with the transit countries over payments, over debts, those were between the Russian supplier and the transit countries. Yes, we are aware that some of them actually went as far as blackmailing, using as leverage the possibility of redistributing the transit load from its original destination to the Western Europe to their own needs. The responsibility for that rests completely with those transit countries and not Russia.”

Calling energy “a complicated risky business, requiring huge investments,” the Russian diplomat said, “You have to spend hundreds of millions of Euro before getting the first drop of oil or first cubic metre of gas and that requires not only money but also technical effort and time. So when we speak of energy security, it can not be limited to security of supply, security of transit is another element but also security of demand.”

Addressing the politically sensitive topic of gas supplies in Europe, the Russian ambassador said, “It’s done primarily through trunk pipelines and for that to work the basis is long term agreements. It is quite natural that many European countries and their governments are keen to have such agreements in their pockets for as long as possible. One should not be surprised that some of them are eager to sign contracts with Gazprom for the period until 2030 or even 2035.”

Chizhov declared, “Whatever is developed as alternate energy sources, the backbone for at least next 50 years is going to be hydrocarbons. As long as world economy depends on hydrocarbons there should be an equitable partnership between supplies, consumers and of course transit countries.”

On the question of some countries like Germany, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia and others playing a major role developing their bilateral relations with Moscow, the diplomat said, “I believe that overall today in the EU there is a resurgence of protectionism, perhaps related to soaring prices of energy. We may see the same situation in Europe with regard to food prices as food market is also globalised.”

Lambasting the energy policies of the European commission the Russian chief negotiator said, “With this famous third energy package proposals of the commission, it’s not surprising that eight or nine member states spoke against it, not to mention major energy companies of the Western Europe, who are quite annoyed with this concept of unbundling.”

“It’s not to say that I regard unbundling as such bad. By the way, Russia is in effect unbundling its electricity production, but there are certain specifics. The gas sector would face huge difficulties if it is unbundled in the EU.”

With the demand for food growing around the world the Russian ambassador accepted the fact that “Russia is the largest consumer of EU produced food which in the long term is bad. But for the time being it is inevitable and last year we bought more than five billion Euro worth of food from the EU.”

Striking a note of optimism about Russian efforts to gradually substitute imported food stuffs with domestically produced, the Russian diplomat agreed, “We have to cope with the increasing level of demand and increasing level of income of Russian consumers who for some strange reason prefer French wines or French cheeses to Russian ones.”

“The quality of food that the consumer expects is ever increasing and with it the local agriculture sector in Russia is very rapidly developing and in certain areas it has managed to cover all of the demand. But there are still some niches for import so the overall demand has not gone down for the time being.”

Last but not the least the Russian diplomat was candid in denouncing the ways and means of tackling the issue of Russian minorities in Baltics.

Highlighting the way Lithuania “chose the obvious and most reasonable solution meaning that all Soviet citizens residing in Lithuania acquired citizenship,” the Russian diplomat was critical of the Estonian and Latvian methods as those led to 36 percent of residents of Latvian and 28 percent of Estonia those of Russian origin, losing their basic rights as citizens after independence.

“This situation - of these residents of Latvia and Estonia not having political rights is a shame not only for these countries but also for the European Union as they are supposed to have fulfilled the Copenhagen Criteria.”

Kosovo’s clock is ticking

Rumblings in Europe and beyond, not violence, the threat

The European Union, the bastion of peace and prosperity rose from the ashes of two sanguinary World Wars and today it still portrays that tranquil image, notwithstanding the wars and bloodshed of the Balkans in the 1990s.

The impending Kosovo independence, a direct fallout from those Balkan wars, may not trigger an all-out war in the region, but it will definitely result in some major indelible changes not only in the region but also world afar.

Kosovo’s population is 90 percent Albanian, and their goal of independence was reiterated February 8 by Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. “We have confirmation by around 100 countries that they are ready to recognise Kosovo’s independence immediately after we declare it. We will have a powerful and massive recognition,” he said.

Addressing journalists after the regular weekly meeting with Joachim Ruecker, chief of the UN mission in Kosovo, Thaci refused to divulge either the names of his list of countries or specify when he plans to declare independence.

In keeping with his declared intentions to keep his supporters mostly Western powers in confidence about intended declaration of independence, there is a general murmur in diplomatic circles that February 17 may be the D-day.

On the other hand, Serbia continues with its hawkish statements as the EU-backed reelected Serbian President Boris Tadic warned of an escalation in conflicts if Kosovo declares independence.

Speaking at the opening of an annual security conference in Munich, Tadic who enjoys the support of powers that are supporting Kosovo independence, said, “Should Serbia be partitioned against its will ... it could in turn result in the escalation of many existing conflicts, the reactivation of a number of frozen conflicts, and the instigation of who knows how many new conflicts.”

But his comments try to cater to the sentiments of Serbian people as well as play along the European officials, especially the EU’s enlargement commissioner, Olli Rehn who has been instrumental in offering all the carrots to Serbia thus openly helping Tadic to win again.

On January 28, before the final round of Serbian presidential elections, EU foreign ministers offered Serbia a deal on free trade and travel, presenting it as a “signal to the Serbian people,” while denying that it was intended to influence the vote.

Now, with the win of the pro-EU Tadic in Serbia, the EU is in a win-win position. First it can go ahead and give recognition to an independent Kosovo and then as Serbia accepts the carrot of EU membership, Belgrade has to regularise its relationship with an independent Kosovo.

Commenting on the victory of Tadic, Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission said the result was “a victory for democracy in Serbia and for the European values we share.” He added: “Your victory comes at a critical moment for Serbia and for the western Balkans. We wish to accelerate Serbia’s progress towards the European Union.”

The European Union on one hand has been supporting pro-Western Tadic on Serbian political landscape but it has given a go-ahead on the other hand to an EU police and justice mission to Kosovo. Without specifying a launch date, the mission was approved in writing to allow the EU’s 1,800 police and legal officials to take over from the United Nations in Kosovo, under UN Security Council resolution 1244, which refers to an international security presence.

The 16,000-strong NATO force, however will remain in Kosovo, which is still a province of Serbia. Kosovo has been run by the UN since a US-led NATO bombing campaign drove out Serb forces accused of a brutal crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists.

The imminent independence of Kosovo will fan the forces of separatism in rest of Europe and other parts of the world as it comes under the aegis of the UN mandate. In an interview with New Europe recently in Brussels, Joseba Azkarraga Rodero, Minister, Department of Justice, Employment and Social Security, Basque Country in Spain, reiterated its fallout on other simmering conflicts.

Stressing “Fighting for self determination is the right of the people,” Rodero said, “We support the rights of self-determination of Scottish and Kosovo people through peaceful and democratic means to reach such ends.”

On the other cases of such struggles, he added, “People have been fighting for their own states. Large states talk of borders and that is not correct. We can see cases of Kosovo and Scotland – similar cases where people are fighting for self determination.”

Moreover, at the Russia-NATO meeting last December, held in Brussels, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists, “We are for a solution which will be acceptable to both Belgrade and Pristina and only for government bodies which will be fully empowered to ensure security.”

Asked to comment on Moscow’s response to a unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo, Lavrov said, “Reaction will be based on international law and I very much hope that other members of international community will proceed on that basis too.”

Lavrov called the projected solution “as a precedent,” adding, “How the Kosovo crisis is going to evolve is being looked at by a lot of other countries in the world and not only countries in the Balkans. So it has to do with international law, Helsinki act and any body who goes against them, will certainly go on a slippery path and not help stability of Europe.”

Arguing that such a solution for Kosovo will set a dangerous precedent for separatist inspirations elsewhere like Basque, Scottish and other regions, Russia has supported Serbia’s stance at the UN Security Council to keep Kosovo within Serbia but with greater autonomy.

Last but not least, the European Union along with the US has been again supporting Kosovo independence without reacting to an earlier report in this newspaper about the rise of Wahhabism and the tightening of the grip of fundamental Islam over Kosovo’s society where the majority population is Muslim.

The rampant use of foreign money from Saudi Arabia and other countries to spread “intolerant” and “puritan” form of Wahhabism is going to allow anti-West terrorism to rear its ugly head right in the back yard of the European Union. But until there is no blast, no killings of innocent people and no public outcry, the Western leaders will behave the problem is not festering.

Kosovo fails to patch up NATO-Russia gap

Lavrov rejects, Rice defends Ahtisaari independence plan

Kosovo hogged the limelight at the ministerial meeting of NATO ministers on December 7, held in cloudy, rain-soaked Brussels, as Russia later joined a NATORussia Council to express strong opposition to any unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo.

The differences stayed at same levels if not widening as NATO and Russia failed to agree over the future status of Kosovo ahead of December 10 UN deadline to reach an amicable agreement.

The UN had set the deadline for internationally-brokered talks to deliver agreement on Kosovo but the talks have already ended without a deal. Kosovo’s ethnic Albanians having a majority opt for independence while Serbia does not want to let go.

Addressing journalists, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “We are for a solution which will be acceptable to both Belgrade and Pristina and only for government bodies which will be fully empowered to ensure security.” Asked to comment on Moscow’s response to a unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo, Lavrov said, “Reaction will be based on international law and I very much hope that other members of international community will proceed on that basis too.”Lavrov called the projected solution as “as a precedent,” adding, “How the Kosovo crisis is going to evolve is being looked at by a lot of other countries in the world and not only countries in the Balkans. So it has to do with international law, Helsinki Act and any body who goes against them, will certainly go on a slippery path and not help stability of Europe.”

Asking the negotiations to continue beyond the December 10 deadline, Lavrov warned those who talk of only Kosovo independence “not to camouflage in lies” as Belgrade with “a whole series of specific compromise proposals” has been “very constructive and flexible in its proposals” and which merited further negotiations on Kosovo’s status.

Earlier, James Appathurai, NATO spokesman said, “Clearly the Russian position is different ... the NATO point of view is ... that the process should now move - that there needs to be movement towards resolution.” NATO has confirmed it will keep 16,000 troops in Kosovo - still a province of Serbia - to deter any violence.

Addressing journalists, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, “We have agreed to keep NATO troops on ground, no troop reduction, no additional caveats and to allow our military commanders to do the necessary military planning for the alliance.”

“We are committed to a stable and peaceful Balkans, that was an early commitment of NATO and it remains a commitment of NATO.”Asked to comment on Lavrov’s insistence that talks should continue, Rice said, “We hope that there can be a constructive approach that will unite all of us with responsibilities for stability in the Balkans and that includes Russia as Russia also has responsibilities for that. But there is a certain reality and that reality is that Troika which worked very hard, made some progress, got two sides to talk for the first time, laid down some important principles but I think that process is at an end.”

“If you see what we are hearing from Troika, it’s very clear and that means now that we have to move on to next step. It is not going to produce stability in the Balkans to ignore the reality of situation between Belgrade and Pristina.”

“It’s not going to help stability to put off decisions however difficult they may be. We have to make sure that we have full commitments to the principles before decisions are taken that are embodied in the Ahtisaari plan. This is going to be difficult enough and everybody has to live up to responsibilities.” According to the proposed plan of Martti Ahtisaari, UN administrator in Kosovo, there should be a “supervised independence.”

Speaking about her discussion with NATO allies, Rice said, “We have recommitment to KFOR and we are ready for all contingencies but also an understanding that there needed to be unity between the allies as we are going to move into what is undoubtedly going to be a difficult period. We have had a UN track and reaffirmation of 1244 is the most important thing that we can do right now.”

The US Secretary of State reiterated, “We can not go anywhere by ignoring reality and pretending that we don’t have to make decisions.” Echoing her views, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer had said NATO would “act resolutely against anyone who seeks to resort to violence.”

Earlier, NATO foreign ministers agreed that UN Security Council Resolution 1244 is a sufficient and appropriate legal basis for KFOR to continue its role. The alliance ministers also concluded that KFOR’s force levels will remain as they are, and that no new restrictions will be placed on the use of those forces.

There have been warnings from ethnic Albanian leaders that they may declare independence unilaterally after December 10 deadline lapses, prompting fears of a fresh outbreak of violence.

“Kosovo will remain and has to remain a place where Kosovar Albanians, Serbs and others must be able to live in peace together – free from fear, and free from intimidation. And we are determined to play our part,” stressed the NATO Secretary General.

The majority ethnic Albanians in Kosovo have nodded yes to the Ahtisaari plan which is set to gradually steer Kosovo’s institutions towards independence with guidance from international institutions while safeguarding the rights and property of the Serb minority.

Arguing that such a solution for Kosovo will set dangerous precedent for separatist inspirations elsewhere like Basque, Scottish and other regions, Russia has supported Serbia’s stance at the UN Security Council to keep Kosovo within Serbia but with greater autonomy.Kosovo is technically part of Serbia but has been under UN administration for the last eight years. Belgrade’s security forces were driven out of Kosovo by a NATO bombing campaign in 1999, launched to stop a violent Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanians.

Bakoyannis’ pragmatic ideas

Greece paves way for European prospects of Western Balkans

The citizens of the Western Balkans need a specific vision to feel welcome into the fold of the European Union while the concerned governments need to embark on specific road with a goal none other than the EU, according to a Greek package with five specific proposals on giving a new impetus to the European course of Western Balkan countries.

After presenting the proposals to the European Union’s General Affairs Council in Brussels on November 19, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said that Greece took the opportunity of tabling a very specific new initiative on the European prospects of the Western Balkans. She said that the time is very difficult for the Western Balkans and there is an urgent need for a specific vision and a specific goal than can be none other than the European vision.

Calling on the governments of 27 member states and the executive arm, the European Commission to explore the possibility to charter a path of specific moves to implement the Greek proposals, the Greek foreign minister stressed the need to convey a loud and clear welcome message to all the people of the Western Balkans.

“We believe that we will be having the possibility of discussing this proposal in more detail in December at the EU summit,” she said. Bakoyannis added that the initial response by her European counterparts, and by Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, was very positive. “We all realise that it is a difficult period that requires a substantive, aggressive and effective European policy on this issue,” she said.

Recalling that in 1999, Greece had formulated a comprehensive policy, the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) and in 2003, the Thessaloniki Agenda took it a step further along the elements inspired by the enlargement process, the Greek Foreign minister Bakoyannis reiterated the need to take “some new courageous decisions on the Western Balkans.”

Lamenting today’s EU accession prospect for the Western Balkans appearing distant and even uncertain, Bakoyannis said, “A clear prospect of membership is the most important and perhaps the most effective tool at out disposal, to help the countries of the Western Balkans overcome state weaknesses and political, social and economic challenges, and catch up with the rest of Europe.”

Answering journalists’ questions, Bakoyannis said, “We need to send a positive message to the whole region that they are not left alone there and we must do it by giving practical and tangible signals.” “We need to have a specific road map for moving from today’s position to further.”

Presenting the fivepoint proposal package also nicknamed “Thessaloniki II” to the journalists, George Koumoutsakos, spokesman of Greek foreign ministry summarised it as follows:

- Within this framework and as a first step, the EU should immediately sign Stabilisation and Association Agreements with Serbia and at the earliest with Bosnia Herzegovina: the two countries remaining within which internal problems haven’t permitted such a positive step so far

- Serbia, in the first place, followed by the rest of the countries that would have a SA Agreement but no candidate status, should be encouraged to apply for membership. The Commission could present the avis on the application in the fall of 2008. The December European Council of 2008 could decide about granting the candidate status to any applicant country

- A date for the start of Accession negotiations will be decided later on, depending on the progress on fulfillment of specific benchmarks that will be set. Any additional step in the accession process will depend on each country’s progress in meeting the specific and tailormade requirements set by the EU in full application of the principle of conditionality

- However, in order to have, through the European perspective, the effect we desire, we should combine it with measures that would translated this perspective into something practical and tangible for the peoples of the region. Something that corresponds to their basic requests. Already in Thessaloniki we declared, “We were aware of the importance the peoples and governments of the region attach to the perspective of liberalisation of the visa regime.” We had promised to help the countries to deal with these issues to make such a move possible. Following the visa facilitation agreements, that we signed this year, the EU should not provide the countries of the region with a road mal that would eventually lead to the visa liberalisation: A series of concrete and measureable benchmarks and an outline of the necessary steps with an indicative timetable

- Additional financial resources will also be necessary. Within out actual budgetary obligations, we should make full use of the “principle of flexibility” in order to guarantee that any additional available fund will be directed, as a priority, to the region of the Western Balkans. Furthermore and in the light of the net financial perspectives, we should explore all possibilities that would allow a substantial increase of aid, in an effort to meet the increasing needs and serve our own priorities, in this sensitive region at this very delicate of time.

Wahhabism tightens grip over Kosovo

Ahtisaari’s plan for independence may help terrorism flourish

Islam has flourished in the Balkans over the centuries with a peaceful and modern outlook but over the last decade, especially now with the talk of Kosovo independence, there are questions being raised about the external influence in once-tranquil religious relations.

Wahhabism, a fundamental form of Islam with origins in Saudi Arabia has been rearing its ugly head of intolerance in the Balkans starting from Bosnia a decade ago. With the recent manifestation of its hardcore modus operandi in Kosovo, which has more than a 90 percent Muslim population, the ongoing impact of Wahhabism demands serious attention.

First, let’s look at origins of Wahhabism.In the deserts of the Middle East, Muhammad al-Saud, a tribal leader, had in 1750 formed an alliance with Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab, a religious leader and al- Wahhab’s name defines the Islamic interpretation that remains the Saudi Arabian kingdom’s ideology. The present Saudi Arabia was formed in 1902, when Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud captured the town of Riyadh but its greatest victory came in 1924, when it captured Mecca from the Hashemite dynasty that had controlled the city for centuries.

With the arrival of the 70s, the mud houses and camel caravans in Saudi Arabia started coexisting with the ultra-modern infrastructure. The newly found wealth of “Petro-dollars” brought phenomenal changes in a few decades. But like every “gift,” this one also came with a package and that has thrown young Saudis to face many nontraditional problems.

According to official estimates, the last two decades have seen the native-born population in Saudi Arabia doubling to nearly 18 million but on the other hand the per-capita income during the same period dwindled to almost half of what it was.

Add to that unemployment figure of about 30 percent in the adult male population with no chance of finding a job in sight. Now, compare that to the average monthly stipend of about USD 30,000 for a low ranking hierarchy prince in the Saudi ruling family, and, according to rough estimates the number of them is as high as 25,000. In the process, the Saudi government gets about 50 percent of the oil revenue as the rest is pocketed by the Saudi royal family at source.

Ironically, most Saudis are aware of this fact and that fuels the unhappiness in the Vox Populi.It is thus not the lack of wealth but a disproportionate distribution system that is one of the major factors that attracts Saudi youth to terrorism which according to sources has the silent support of most people under 30.

Getting uncomfortable with domestic unrest, the Saudi ruling family in 1980s decided to export this home-grown militancy to Afghanistan to fight Soviets and the rest is history.Today, Wahhabism needs new breeding grounds along with training and survival fields. It will not be long after the “independence” of Kosovo that the Kosovoan version, of “Muttawa,” the religious police since 1926 of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia that enforces prayer five times a day, monitors mobile SMS and arrests women for failing to cover themselves completely, will be a reality on the streets of Kosovo.

One look at the local media reports in Kosovo and neighbouring arena will suffice to convince any sceptic about the dangers of Wahhabism form of Islam. The UN and Kosovo police in the southern part of the divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica on September 19 arrested one of the leaders of the Wahhabite movement in southern Serbia and Kosovo, according to local media reports.

According to these reports the arrested man was Bajram Aslani, allegedly the main Kosovo connection with the recentlyarrested Wahhabi group in Novi Pazar, Southern Serbia. The local reports suggested that the Belgrade Special prosecution for Organised crime on September 14 pressed charges against a group of 15 Wahhabites from Novi Pazar for terrorism and unlawful possession of arms.Some of the defendants were arrested near Novi Pazar on March 16 and large quantities of weapons, ammunition and explosives were found during the operation.

Moreover, in late April reports stated that in the village of Donja Trnava near Novi Pazar, the police had a clash with two Wahabis, which resulted in the killing of one of them, Ismail Prentic, and the wounding of one police officer.

Two recent explicit cases involving Wahhabis in Kosovo can be put forward in addition to every day media reports of Wahhabis being arrested, exchanging fire with law-enforcing agencies or simply taking over mosques that have been there for hundreds of years in Turkish style and converting them to conform to Wahhabi way of architecture and worship.

The first case is in the Gazimestan area which has historic values with a famous medieval battlefield dating back to 1389, stretching from Pristina to Mitrovica. In addition to the remains of Serbian Prince Lazar and Ottoman Sultan Murad, there in the vicinity are two shrines called “Turbe” existing for hundreds of years and have never got disturbed until recently when these were vandalised.

According to local reliable sources who wanted to remain anonymous for obvious reasons, it was allegedly the work of Wahhabis as they believe tombs should not be kept as shrines. The allegations are strengthened by the fact that even in Saudi Arabia there have been such cases like the Jannatul- Baqi, the famous cemetery in Medina, also known as the “Tree garden of Heaven,” which is alleged to have been destroyed in order to keep up with the Wahhabi ideal of not worshipping graves.

Another important case that did stir strong local resentment happened in Prizren, an old historic town that has a history of multiethnic population represented by an Orthodox Church, a Catholic Church and a Mosque, more than 350 years old from the days of Ottoman Empire. According to local sources, the mosque was getting refurbished with Saudi money and the new Imam allegedly preaches Wahhabism. The local Muslim population is disgruntled with the actions of the new Imam who without consultations first made living quarters for himself as an extension of the ancient Mosque and then replaced “irreplaceable” decorative wooden work on the inside ceiling and other parts with new aluminium frames thus the Mosque lost forever its historic heritage.

Another practice that is prevalent in Kosovo today is Wahhabis allegedly paying poor people to wear visible signs of Islam. According to local sources the alleged rate today varies from 100 Euro to 300 Euro per month depending on how much of face or body is covered in Islamic clothing.Money talks and it sure does as is evident with its contribution to the replacement of moderate Islam in Kosovo with the financing of “Islamic studies” trips for youngsters. After a stint of such religious learning abroad in Saudi Arabia or Egypt, lasting around six to 12 months, the youngsters upon returning back in Kosovo sport Islamic beards and robes instead of their jeans.

Watching those alarming signs in Kosovo, socio-religious pundits and political observers warn that slow but steady moderate Islam with its Turkish roots is on its way out and with the talk of independence in Kosovo picking up, soon the days when girls sport western clothes will be history. The mix of Saudi Wahhabism with their oil money is proving dangerous to the world.

The question that comes to mind is: Was it a coincidence that 15 of the 19 hijackers of September 11 terrorist attacks on the US were Saudi citizens and so is the mastermind Osama bin Laden? In a Catch- 22 situation, the West is financing for spread of fundamental Islam in the form of Wahhabism which will boomerang to hurt them. By supporting the UN envoy for Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari’s plan for Kosovo’s independence, many Western governments are unwittingly working to carve out a safe haven for criminality and fundamentalist Islam in the heart of Europe.

It’s time to rethink Kosovo independence: another Taliban in the making and this time right in the heart of European Continent from where it will be easier not only to strike in Europe but also travel across the Atlantic.