KFOR under the command of German General Buhler has clearly stepped outside its UN Security Council mandate in deciding to enforce the requirements of the institutions in Pristina. Buhler should be immediately removed.
The ICJ decision of last year clearly reaffirmed that UNSCR 1244 is international law. (On the question of Kosovo independence, it said international law was silent.) NATO assumed responsibility for security in Kosovo under 1244. NATO was given no political role. None. Yet it is now acting politically to support a "state" that not even all NATO countries recognize. It is clearly doing so under the influence of the US, UK, Germany and perhaps France & Italy. When the international peacekeepers act outside international law, they become outlaws.
As of now, KFOR looks to be conducting a military occupation of the Serb majority north in order to enforce Pristina's control there. (http://www.tanjug.rs/vest.asp?id=17859). It seems to be enforcing Pristina's ban on imports from Serbia too. Next may be looking for "perpetrators" and arresting people?
Attempting to occupy, cutoff and defeat the northern Serbs leaves them little choice but to fight, flee or surrender. This dangerous situation must be fixed now by appointing a new KFOR commander and ensuring he has orders consistent with status neutrality.
EULEX appears to understand the seriousness of the situation and has tried to place itself correctly according to 1244. (http://www.eulex-kosovo.eu/en/pressreleases/0172.php). This difference in approach between KFOR & the EU suggests a strong US hand on NATO. One wonders if President Obama is aware that his State Department is risking another war?
Meanwhile, the Kosovo Albanians may be on the verge of launching another pogrom in the south with attacks on Serbs there.
The US and company are throwing the dice. They appear to be trying military occupation of the Kosovo Serbs and political intimidation of President Tadic to "close" the Kosovo issue on Albanian terms. Are they ready to place a soldier in everyhouse, to draw and shed real blood and to pull the rug out from under Tadic in order to have their "happy ending" in Kosovo. Hopefully the EU will stand up for sense and reason and the UNSC will begin functioning again to stop the madness. Otherwise the spiral may be inevitable.
First of all, I want to let you know that I'm about to write this with all due respect, sir. I looked at your bio and I saw that you have served in Mitrovica(Kosovo) and I want to thank you for giving your contribution there.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your article, I don't agree with you. When you said "...Yet it is now acting politically to support a "state" that not even all NATO countries recognize...." I don't see the support that you are talking about or a political action here, as given by UNSCR 1244 NATO(KFOR) tasks includes: security and public order and border security! If u haven't seen or heard it yet, but the 'hooligans serbs' prevented KFOR to keep doing his given tasks by the UNSCR 1244 they burned the whole border point(at Jarinje yesterday)(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU9XuJ7fAEc&feature=player_embedded) and also tried to do the same with the other border point(in Brnjak), they(sniper) shot and killed a policeman, some others injured (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-europe-14303165) it is also reported that they have shot on KFOR peacekeepers troops!
Border cross point at Jarinje(north Kosovo) burning pictures:
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/6595/slika50150.jpg
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/1116/slika50131.jpg
http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/11/slika50127.jpg
Pictures showing the blockage on the roads heading to border point(at Jarinje and Brnjak):
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/2442/8yqen.jpg
http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/8263/slika49928.jpg
http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/2185/slika50126.jpg
...And you are saying that "...KFOR looks to be conducting a military occupation of the Serb majority north in order to enforce Pristina's control there" please! This is absurd!
"...Attempting to occupy, cutoff and defeat the northern Serbs leaves them little choice but to fight, flee or surrender." This is ridiculous, while in fact they are attempting to put law in there! Remember if there would have been any law this would never happen, the policeman would have never been shot dead trying to put law and protect the small albanian population that has resisted/left there.
About: "...EULEX appears to understand the seriousness of the situation and has tried to place itself correctly according to 1244..." Yeah 'they act correctly according to 1244' helping serbs hooligans criminals burn the border points(cars in this video are EULEXs' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU9XuJ7fAEc&feature=player_embedded)
It's 3:09 AM here and I'm trying to put you on reality about what is really happening here!
Wish you all the bests,
Sincerely.
P.S.:Thank you again for you contributing for Kosovo.
Re the previous comment. When KFOR acts to bring "law" into the north, it is relevant to ask "what law?" It is not legitimate for NATO to enforce the "law" or impose the police of the Pristina regime. That is not recognized under UNSCR 1244. KFOR's responsibility under 1244 for security should have led it to stop the invasion of the north by Kosovo Albanian special police. KFOR bears significant responsibility for the violence. KFOR needs to act according to international law not Pristina's "law."
ReplyDeleteNice blog, been following for the last few days. Buhler is a soldier I am guessing he only carried out orders from relevant superiors and in turn political leaders. The interesting thing now is that the UNSC session was held behind closed doors and Jeremic was not allowed to attend. What is there to hide? Looks like someone doesn't want egg on their face.
ReplyDeleteGiven your experience and past record I respect your insight as well as opinion very much Mr. Gallucci. What is your take on the government in Belgrade, ie Tadic? Did they really know about all this and are just putting on a show now to avoid being politically obliterated for abandoning our territory/population?
ReplyDeleteRegards
Watch what happens next; the quint are desperate ,partitioning kosovo means more threats and further risk of serious if not fatal injury to EU and UN all over kosovo...
ReplyDeleteBrussels produces the risk analysis for the EULEX mission; really, what are they thinking. Do they, the EU, really know the consequences of their inability to provide the mafia with what they truly desires... I DOUBT IT, THEY ALL THINK THEY ARE LIVING IN A JAMES BOND MOVIE!
Well, the ending is not going to be dressed with a martini, shaken, but not stirred!
To all the normal EU and UN staff members, watch your backs, because what you tried to hide from the past decades is coming to haunt you. Take care and remember that you have more Albanian friends than the current Prishtine regime and people like Andrew Sparks and Christopher Dell have led you to believe.
Tadic may have been informed of planned Albanian action. I really don't know. But if he was, he might have nodded yes knowing the Quint was about to make a big mistake that would give Serbia leverage when the dust settles or even a "free" partition.
ReplyDeleteI aks you kindly to post this comment in Serbian:
ReplyDeleteПИСМО ИЗ КОСОВСКЕ МИТРОВИЦЕ:
by Ћирилко Ратковић on Friday, July 29, 2011 at 12:36pm
Ситуација у којој се налазимо сада превазилази могућности акција локалних Срба, без обзира на највећу жељу и снагу.
У фази смо када Србија, у овом случају Председник Републике мора хитно да реагује. Само су два начина:
1. Да и даљље одбија ангажовање српске армије, али да се сви напори преусмере на евентуалну промену курса политике НАТО чланица које признају независност Косова и Метохије и да КФОР одустане од подршке Приштини. У том случају се евентуално може играти на нејединство и отпор појединих европских центара према одобравању једностраних акција из Приштине (парадоксално, то се могло видети у ћутању ЕУЛЕКСА, који се све време држао по страни управо због изостанка подршке из Брисела). Овај сценарио је врло неизвестан, и за сада не даје резултате.
2. Да подвуче црвену линију, и јасно упозори акцијом српске армије. Уколико би КФОР наставио са опасном акцијом подршке Приштини, то би дефинитивно значило исељавање становништва (од начина извођења акција и понашања лидера Срба, зависиће и дужина времена у ком чемо се селити), и уколико би Председник Републике у том случају донео једину исправну одлуку о ангажовању војске, имамо шансе. Војска би дошла до пункта, тензија у позитивном смислу би скочила међу локалним становништвом, притисак на границу би порастао, амерички војници не би смели у овој ситуацији ѕа Стејт Департмент никако да погину (сада када криза дрма столицу Обами, и када је Косово одавно проглашено успехом америче политике), и војници би се евакуисали. Остатак КФОР ресурса би морали да збрињавају безбедност Срба на југу, јер ако би се њима нешто десило, то би био пораз европске политике. Србија би ојачала своју преговарачку позицију, упркос љутње и притиска који би у првим данима био на њој, али би територија и становништво било осигурано. Евентуалне нападе с југа, Срби на северу већ знају да хендлују, без подршке КФОР'а је то изводљиво, и притисак безбедносни би се померио на опасност по безбедност енклава. Онда би КФОР и све ресурсе морао тамо да усмери. Тада наступа још јаче наша дипломатија. Ово није лака одлука, али је једина исправна. Тадић би и лично добио подршку коју нема више, и обезбедио победу на изборима. Осим подршке национално свесних Срба, Европска Унија у том случају уопште није немогућа ствар, ништа мање не би била немогућа него што је сада (сасвим сам сигуран да је и много иозвеснији пут једне земње са конкретном стратегијом и јачином). У супротном, уколико се иселимо одавде поред тенковима, Србија може слободно да каже "Збогом" Европској Унији за дуго, дуго времена, а Борис Тадић вероватно никада више се неће бавити политиком, док ДС ће бити збрисан са политичке агенде.
Ово пишем, не да кажем шта да мислим, већ зато што сам дубоко уверен да се одлука мора донети хитно, и да постоји огромна опасност да можда следећег месеца се будемо дописивали из избегличких кампова у Србији. Ма шта ми радили на барикадама, и ма колико се Стефановић буде исцрпљивао са Билером, ситуација је до те мера опасна, да све превазилази наше могућности без конретне подршке из Србије. И ЗАТО СЕ НАДАМ ДА ЋЕ ОВО НЕКО У БЕОГРАДУ ЧИТАТИ, ОСЛОБОЂЕН ПАРТОКРАТСКОГ УМА. ШИРИТЕ ДАЉЕ ОВО ПИСМО!
Нама не треба хуманитарна помоћ, млеко, лекови и хлеб, нама треба ВОЈСКА регуларна, српска (не фрустриране квази-патриоте), која треба само да се појави на граници. Камо среће ако Председниче успете само дипломатијом да промените одлуку земаља НАТО у подршци КФОРа успоставњању државне границе на Косову. Бићете мој ЧАРОБЊАК!
Sir I am a soldier belonging to one of the NATO countries,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I want to say that doing nothing is very easy but it does not bring anything to anybody. I am sorry for saying that but I see often (especially by the UN) that there are some troops somewhere doing nothing (best example Somalia or Bosnia)
Second:- Kosovo is de juro not yet independent, but de facto it is a state. It has its borders, its population and also its government. However I do not want to discuss either the intervention of Kosovo government and NATO in the northern of Kosovo was premature or not. That is another issue, but I am convinced that the situation in northern Mitrovica has to be calmed down. The intervention of KFOR was not against the Serbs in northern Kosovo. It was to stabilize the situation in that region. That is for the benefit of both Albanians and Serbs. In that logic the intervention was not against the UN resolution. KFOR have to act if the situation in any part of Kosovo is deteriorating. It does not matter if the problems are done by Serbs or Albanians. That is why KFOR is there. Otherwise why having KFOR?!