Kosovo - the illegal 'independence movement'

By Michael Nesonica

Since the beginning of the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in the early 90's one has pondered how far it would eventually go. Milosevic held onto the dream of 'Greater Serbia' with the facade of Yugoslavia but now it is the Serbs who are paying the price for his ultra nationalist stance. Let's not kid ourselves the war in the former Yugoslavia was not about ancient hatreds, it was concerned with politics and economics and the lack of progress. Slovenia and to a lesser extent Croatia were tired of 'carrying' the Yugoslav economy. The politicians particularly Tudjman and Milosevic used the situation to stir up nationalist sentiment and promote their own causes through such an avenue. Fear was the tool used to preach the message of nationalism and turn neighbours upon one another after years of living together with the only recorded 'ancient hatred' to speak of being the Ustasa slaughters of Serbs, Bosnians during World War II. In a place full of historic symbolism and allusions to past empires long gone the lure of nationalist sentiment has proved to be far to incendiary than what anyone was prepared for. What does any of this have to do with Kosovo one may ponder? Well it is simple really, you only need to look to the early 90s to see what carnage division brought about in the name of nationalism. Kosovo is the pawn in Albanians dreams for a 'Greater Albania' that will one day seek to envelop parts of Macedonia and Greece with nostalgia justified in the context of ancient Illyria and modern Albanians claims to be the direct descendants of these people.

After reading a few news stories from the BBC, and various reader comments I found myself bemused as to why the West (EU, NATO & US) would be in favour and indeed allow Kosovo to delcare independence.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7132546.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7136233.stm

Anti-Islam or anti-Europe, which is it?
The US claims to fight Islamic terrorism yet is supporting the creation of an Islamic state in Europe? (Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo are known/reported training grounds for terrorists with links to the Middle East). The Albanians have no need for peace, they move to neighbouring territories ie. Kosovo, the Republic of Macedonia, Greece and multiply to one day become the majority and secede. It is primitive thinking but with the backing of the West it works. To set up Kosovo as independent is not only immoral it is also illegal.
A dangerous precedent shall be set
The West created the majority of problems in the Balkans with their farcical 'map drawings' yet they still have not learnt have they. The Treaty of Bucharest 1913 comes to mind of course!If Kosovo becomes independent that inadvertently or not sets a precedent for the Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia and in Greece to seek/declare their own independence in the areas where they are a majority. Furthermore it will set a precedent whereby the EU, NATO and UN will have to accept Basque and/or Catalonian independence as well as that of the Silesian minority in Poland and the Czech Republic. How about the Serbs in the Republika Srpska in Bosnia? (They too will demand independence, you can't have double standards now can you? Oh wait we are talking about the West, double-standards are the status quo). I ask the question does this mean the Macedonian minorities in today's Greece(occupied Aegean Macedonia) and Bulgaria (occupied Pirin Macedonia) can now set-up there own independent state? No it doesn't. Yet international law applies for them, but not for the Albanians as the West supports the development of Islam in Europe. Obviously the Ottoman occupation didn't teach the West well enough, of course it wasn't the West but the Balkans who took the brunt of Islamic expansionism in the past. Maybe the West need another dose of economic, cultural and religious stagnation to clear their mind... Perhaps when Islam is on the doorstep of Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands they will think differently? Oh but wait, Islam is already encroaching in these lands yet the West still has not taken heed from the lessons supposedly learnt in their own backyards. Congratulations to the West! Invite the scourge of Islam into Europe a little more cordially if it is possible! By supporting the independence of Kosovo the West merely rubberstamps the Albanians irredentist policy.

The Albanians have a state of their own, they should go back to it. They can claim all they like to be descendants of the Illyrians but so far no one is convinced, it is all hearsay. Albania was created by Italy and Austria with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire to block Serb aspirations towards the coastline. Ironic now how it has all come to bite the Serbs in the rear-end as has the Serbs 'faith' in their ally Greece, who has sent them a Trojan Horse in the name of friendship as their stance on Kosovo has now changed with a concession made regarding the name dispute with Macedonia by the EU if reports are to be believed.

Here are a number of comments from the BBC website regarding Kosovo independence.

Monday, 10 December, 2007, 11:59 GMT 11:59 UK
We should not be overseeing the break up of countries under the auspices of the UN. This kind of thing was the mistake the old Imperial powers used to make - redrawing lines on maps. These steps were taken against 'ethnic cleansing' but did you know that Albanians are now in the majority because Serbs were ethnically cleansed from Kosovo at the end of the 19th century?If we allow this then expect your countries to be broken up on ethnic grounds as a result of mass immigration in the future.
Steve, Rochester

Steve, nice to see some people know their history, and the pivotal back-stabbing the West continues to ply while they try to play peacemaker!

Tuesday, 11 December, 2007, 06:09 GMT 06:09 UKKosovo is just a Serbian province that received lots of immigrants from Albania! It´s never been a Yugoslavian republic!! Nobody is even thinking about giving one inch to Serbia!!Yes!! Let´s all repeat the same mistake again! Let´s give Czechoslovakia to Hitler again!Remember: both World Wars also started by a western tyranic power attacking a smaller Slavonic eastern european country!!Now it´s all Nato agains little Serbia!! Jesus Christ!!Have you all gone mad??just to have a taste of revenge?
João Alcides Olenski, Curitiba - Brazil

Nice to know that the people of Brazil are not just interested in football but also see the injustices of the world forced upon smaller nations by the West. João you are a credit to your people.

Tuesday, 11 December, 2007, 07:51 GMT 07:51UK
Unfortunately what comes out from too many of the comments is a polarisation of views fuelled largely by feelings of nationalism. The sooner Albania, Serbia and Kosovo become members of the EU the sooner more people will realise that traditional geographic boundaries matter less and less, and that our collective future development is more important than the past. Improved economic stability encouraging investment and prosperity will benefit those concerned much more than historic predjudices.
mike, athens, greece

Oh Mike from Athens, you have really put your foot in it. This is quite rich coming from someone in Greece considering your nation's illogical determination to deny ethnic Macedonians their identity! (If you are indeed a 'pure' Greek that is - is there any other kind of Greek!)

Monday, 10 December, 2007, 10:26 GMT 10:26 UK
I don't think anything short of independence is a viable solution. Firstly all of you who stricken from the greater Albania phobia are extremely wrong. Albanians and Kosovars alike have no interest in this. Secondly after what Kosovars suffered in 98-99 at the hands of the Serb army and paramilitaries there is no way they can accept to go back again to their prior status. Lastly if all the former Yugoslavia republics managed to break away then so should Kosovo.
irvin kalakulla, Brussels, Belgium

One problem here Irvin, Kosovo was never a former Yugoslavian republic! What the Albanians suffered was a result of their irredentist attitude towards Serbia. You seem to forget that it was the Serbs who were once the majority in Kosovo and they were 'ethnically cleansed' from the area in the past.

Monday, 10 December, 2007, 10:17 GMT 10:17 UK
Giving Kosovo independence will set a VERY dangerous precedent - if them then why not Transdnistria, South Ossetia, Crimea, Repuplica Srpksa, Catalonia, Basque territoty ? Why not them ? And where will it end ? Surely Macedonia will be engulfed in blood and flames - as no doubt so too will Bosnia - our great leaders have unwisely taken us down a dangerous road.Taras Bulba, Odessa

Taras some words of wisdom, but remember what applies for the rest of the world does not apply to those in Washington, London or Brussels.

Tuesday, 11 December, 2007, 08:35 GMT 08:35 UK
Kosovo has been taken over by Albanian bullies. Why are all these Albanians not in Albania next door, which has been free for many years now. I feel so sorry for the Serbs who live there, and for those who have fled. The sins of Milosevic et al should not be visited on the Serbian people. I am extremely disappointed that NATO and EU are considering supporting the Kosovo Albanians' potential declaration of independence. It is not in my name and I am not happy about it.
Brontus Horace

Tuesday, 11 December, 2007, 07:54 GMT 07:54 UK
Kosovo is part of Serbia and the Albanians should return to their own country which is Albania.The Albanians were behaving in an anti-social manner when I visted Yugoslavia in 1970 by smashing the windscreens and windows of cars passing on the highway through the town of Pec Many innocent tourists had their windscreens smashed by these people whom they had done no harm.
don caskey, New Zealand
Nice to see some truth coming out about the 'innocent' Albanians of Kosovo!

Monday, 10 December, 2007, 10:03 GMT 10:03 UK
To Alice, Wonderland, EUYou couldn't have chosen a better nick!! Your opinion would really be more suitable for someone from a tale, and not from real life! If Albanians from Kosovo could live normally with Serbs, they wouldn't want to break away from Serbia. They considered the whole of Yugoslavia their exclusive property - Yugoslavia=Greater Serbia. That's why they can't accept it fell apart. Kosovo is only their most painful spot, but it's their problem. You reap what you sow.
Ivana, Čakovec, Croatia

Yes Ivana, the Serbs did consider Yugoslavia as Greater Serbia and theirs to do with as they pleased. But you neglect to mention that Yugoslavism or Illyrianism actually began in Croatia. It was a Croatian ideal, and the Croats wanted union with Serbia when they seceded from Austria-Hungary. The Croats were displeased that 'Yugoslavia' wasn't in their hands to control as they envisioned they would have a much greater say in what happened!

Monday, 10 December, 2007, 09:53 GMT 09:53 UK
Nothing I have seen over the last 10-15 years can convince me that the Serbian nationalists are a peace-loving movement. The West stood idly by during the last conflict, mostly because of British and UN inaction, while the Serbs massacred thousands of Croats. Serbia now threaten Kosovo over their independence. I say leave the Serbs to go down their own fascist road with the Russians, turning their back on democracy and reason. There is a new cold-war in the air.
ed stubbs, London
Ed, and Britain (aka England as that is essentially all it represnts) is the fountain of peace-loving nationalism! The Scots, Welsh and Irish all lost their culture and part of their identity due to British nationalism. Saying give Kosovo independence is like saying give London to an independent Scotland!

Can't we Orthodox Slavs "just get along"

It seems that Serbia is not keen on allowing the Montenegrin Orthodox Church to build churches in Serbia while at the same time complaining about the fact that the pro-Serbian Macedonian defrocked Bishop and convicted criminal Jovan Vraniskovski is not allowed operate freely in Macedonia. Now as I understand it, there is a small community of Macedonians in Belgrade who were refugees from Greece. Why can't the Macedonian Orthodox Church buy a lot and announce that they are buiilding a Macedonian Orthodox Church. Same thing goes for Pirin Macedonia . Lets play some offence! I think that we already have one in Greece, but it is in limbo ... not recognized but not bothered either. Here are three links about this issue that previously appeared in "The Macedonian Tendency"

RFE on Bishop Jovan

The Clash of Orthodoxies

More Bad Press on Jovan

MONTENEGRIN ORTHODOX CHURCH FACES OPPOSITION IN SERBIA
Radio Free Europe, Friday, August 18, 2006 Volume 10 Number 152

Cetinje Archbishop and Montenegrin Metropolitan Mihailo contended on August 17 that the Montenegrin Orthodox Church has the right to build churches in Serbia, B92 reported the same day. Mihailo, the head of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, was responding to comments the day before in which Serbian Religion Minister Milan Radulovic said the Montenegrin Church is banned from building in Serbia. "There is only one Orthodox Church in Serbia, and that is the Serbian Orthodox Church. No group of citizens can under any circumstances establish any orthodox church, or establish what is already in existence and has a tradition and a historical continuity," Beta and B92 quoted Radulovic as saying on August 16. "It is astonishing that a minister can make statements of this kind, but I believe these are his personal opinions," B92 quoted Mihailo as saying in response. Mihailo added that he will personally lay the foundation stone for a planned Montenegrin Orthodox Church in Lovcenac. BW

Kosovo independence would set Europe on fire - Serbia-Montenegro minister

Vuk Draskovic is a certified nut case, but he is right on this issue. The US/EU want different standards for Kosovo, Bosnia, Crimea etc. They want to pick and chose who gets the elevator and who gets the shaft. This is the source of instability in the Balkans and indeed the world.

Kosovo independence would set Europe on fire - Serbia-Montenegro minister: "Media Monitor

Excerpt from report by Montenegrin Mina news agency

Belgrade, 26 June: The independence of Kosovo would automatically lead to the independence of the [Bosnian] Serb Republic because the same principles would apply, Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic has said.

'In my contacts with world leaders, I insist on the principle of identical standards and I always tell them that the situation in Bosnia-Hercegovina would become more stable if the Kosovo problem was resolved within the Serbian framework. Let the Serbs of the Serb Republic get everything that will be granted to the Kosovo Albanians,' Draskovic told Blic [Belgrade-based daily].

According to Draskovic, the world understands that the future status of Kosovo must be a result of a compromise and an unconventional solution.

'The worst thing would be to impose a declaration of Kosovo's independence. I tell everyone that no Serbian politician will sign a document granting independence to Kosovo. Without Serbia's approval, such a declaration would immediately cause upheaval in Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Albania,' Draskovic said.

This fire could destabilize Europe and Kosovo's independence would provoke demands for the same status to be granted to the Serb Republic, the Turkish part of Cyprus, Basque country, Northern Ireland, Corsica and South Ossetia. [Passage omitted]

Source: Mina news agency, Podgorica, in Serbian 1907 gmt 26 Jun 05

BBC Mon EU1 EuroPol mb/cg"

More Bad Press on Jovan

Christianity Today is one of the largest web sites devoted non-denominational Chirstianity. This is a very biased article reflecting the success of the anti-Macedonian coalition of the Serbian and Orthodox Churches.



Christian Today > Archbishop of Serbian Orthodox Church Sentenced to Prison in Macedonia: "Archbishop of Serbian Orthodox Church Sentenced to Prison in Macedonia

Posted: Saturday, June 25 , 2005, 21:33 (UK)



Archbishop of Serbian Orthodox Church, Jovan (Zoran Vranisskovski) of Ohrid was sentenced to 18 months in prison by the Macedonian Court of Appeal, Forum 18 has reported.



Archbishop Jovan was charged of 'inciting national, racial and religious hatred, schism and intolerance.'



The Archbishop commented on the situation: 'When they imprisoned an archbishop of a church in the 21st century - merely for serving his people - what else can you say about the system and the state?'



The archbishop is due to be taken to prison eight days after the court decision. He told Forum 18, he had not yet seen the verdict, but expected the court to copy the ruling of the lower court. 'This ruling is final and any appeal to the Supreme Court will not put off serving the prison sentence. So, as you may expect, I am going to jail after all.'



The sentencing of Archbishop Jovan is the latest move in the long lasting discord in Macedonia between the Serbian Orthodox Church and Macedonian Orthodox Church.



The origin of the discord dates back to the 1958, when under pressure from the then-communist government of Marshal Tito, the Macedonian Church was established.



Ten years later in 1968, the Macedonian Church declared its autonomy from the Serbian Orthodox Church; however it was not accepted by any other canonical Orthodox Church in the world.



The Macedonian government refused to give state registration to the Serbian Orthodox Church, and has staged police raids with priests of the rival Macedonian Orthodox Church to 'persuade' members of the Serbian Church in Macedonia to join the Macedonian Church and they also demolished a monastery.



The actions of the Macedonian government against the Serbian Orthodox Church in Macedonia were intensified after the Serbian Church in late May granted full autonomy to its branch in Macedonia and elevated Jovan to the rank of Archbishop.



'It is ridiculous that they are trying to silence me, in this age of the internet and mass communication' Archbishop Jovan told Forum 18. 'When they strike the shepherd they expect the sheep to scatter, but church history is paradoxical – the more the church is persecuted, the more followers it gets.'"

RFE on Bishop Jovan

RADIO FREE EUROPE/ RADIO LIBERTY: "MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT CONFIRMS JAIL SENTENCE FOR MAVERICK CLERIC

An appeals court in Bitola confirmed on 23 June that Serbian Orthodox Bishop Jovan must spend 18 months in jail for allegedly inciting religious and ethnic hatred, Reuters reported. Jovan, who became a central figure in the long-standing dispute between the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MPC) and the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) when he switched allegiance from MPC to the SPC in 2003, was sentenced in August 2004 (see 'RFE/RL Newsline,' 20 August 2004 and 'RFE/RL Balkan Report,' 23 January and 6 August 2004). Jovan must now surrender to police within eight days or risk arrest. He said after the appeals court handed down its ruling that he is 'ready to go to jail if that is what the court says.' The central problem is deeply rooted in what historians call the Macedonian Question and interrelated issues involving the traditional Balkan tendency to equate one's nationality with one's religion. In 1967, the communist Macedonian authorities recognized a MPC separate from the SPC and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which has a much smaller number of Macedonian adherents than the other two. The SPC and other Orthodox churches do not recognize their Macedonian counterpart, regarding it as schismatic. PM"

Pro-Serbian Priest Goes to Jail, Will Not Pass Go, Will Not Collect $200.00

I really don't agree with putting this guy in prison, however, if it gives Macedonians the opportunity to discuss the harassment of Macedonians in Greece, then it will not be in vain. I predict the BBC will report on his case, but will ignore Tsarknias, Boulis etc.

MAKNWS-L Archives -- June 2005, week 4 (#5): "MILS NEWS Skopje June 24, 2005

COURT OF APPEAL CONFIRMED ZORAN VRANISKOVSKI'S PRISON SENTENCE The Court of Appeal in Bitola yesterday confirmed the 18 months prison sentence passed last year by the Primary Court to the demoted Bishop Jovan, Zoran Vraniskovski. Vraniskovski was sentenced to 18 moths imprisonment for inciting national, racial and religious hatred, schism and intolerance. The verdict passed by the Court of Appeal is final and Vraniskovski has 8 days to submit himself for serving the sentence. As 'Dnevnik' informs, Vraniskovski said that he is ready to go to prison and that he has intention to finish his PHD at the Faculty of Theology in Thessalonica while serving his sentence. Vasko Gjorgiev, the legal representative of Vraniskovski, said that he would appeal to the Supreme Court and the Court in Strasburg. According to 'Dnevnik', the public in Bitola generally approved the sentence passed by the Court. Vraniskovski's supporters from the so-called 'Ohrid Archbishopric' said that sometimes a sentence can be regard as award and recognition. A1 TV informs that Vraniskovski has been sentenced for committing several criminal acts last year through distribution of Church calendar and propaganda material, as well as holding masses in an apartment in Bitola. He was convicted of issuing slanders against the Macedonia Orthodox Church (MOC) and violation of citizens' religious feelings. In January 2004 Vraniskovski was in custody for 20 days, after which the Primary Court sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment. The lawyers of Vraniskovski appealed against the verdict, but the Court of Appeal confirmed the prison sentence. Vraniskovski was also sentenced to probationary 12 month imprisonment for breaking into the MOC churches. A1 TV informs that the Public Prosecutor in Bitola, Stefce Tasevski, said that he would additional review whether to activate Vraiskovski's probationary prison sentence. If the probationary sentence is activated, Vraniskovski is to serve 30 months in prison."

Bosnian Institute News: Serbian and Macedonian Orthodox churches at war

The Bosnian Institute, a UK Registered Charity, was founded in July 1997 with a generous grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. (I smell a pseudo human rights group.) Below is a reprint from a Montenegrin newspaper. There is sarcasm here, but it is lost in the translation. It is a good article.

Bosnian Institute News: Serbian and Macedonian Orthodox churches at war:

he Macedonian Church proclaimed by the Tomos does not have its own canonical territory or congregation, and exists only on paper. There is no possibility that Macedonia would accept it. On the other hand - herein lies the paradox - the unrecognised MPC headed by Patriarch [or archbishop, depending on the point of view] Stefan has a territory that pays for its upkeep, has its own places of worship, and ordains priests. According to the Macedonian constitution, it is separated from the state but its position is legally established. It is not likely that Macedonia will accept the church proclaimed in Belgrade. The new SPC-appointed ‘head’ of the latter, Jovan, was even arrested. Right now not even the best of church experts have any idea what will happen.

Serbian Church is Shocked and Appalled

Just as new video of Serbian atrocities in Srebrenica were played around the world, the Serbian Orthodox Church took time out to trash Macedonians. I suggest the Macedonian government send this church a bill for its part in the repression of Macedonians from 1912 to 1945.

Serbian Orthodox Church:

"COMMUNIQUE OF
THE HOLY SYNOD OF BISHOPS OF
THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
REGARDING THE DESTRUCTION OF
THE MONASTERY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
NEAR BITOLJ

The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church is shocked and deeply saddened by the destruction of the monastery of St. John Chrysostom (Svetoga Jovana Zlatousta) in the village of Nizepolje near Bitolj at midnight on October 15, 2004, and considers this to be a barbaric act of state terrorism on the part of the Government in Skoplje, with the full collaboration of the schismatic bishops in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia."

Macedonian Church Passing the Pity Plate Again

I have seen pictures of Macedonians Priests with the Catholic Pope. I have never seen one with the Russian Archbishop. Let them go to Moscow and Kiev. Let them meet with the Ukrainian Uniate Church. meet with Jerry Falwell for Chirst's sake ... (oops sorry)

IDIVIDI - English - Politics: "Mpc sends letter to orthodox churches regarding Spc decision

Skopje, June 8 (MIA) - Synod of Macedonian Orthodox Church (MPC) decided Wednesday to send a letter to other orthodox churches worldwide, appealing to reject the non-canonic decision of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) for recognition of the so-called Ohrid Archbishopric.

'SPC has attacked MPC, an act unknown in history, one which has nothing in common with the canons. Please help the God-loving Macedonian people and its church in liberating from the national-chauvinist activities against it, conducted by those that are bothered by its existence', reads the letter."

Forum 18 Strikes Again

Forum 18 is causing a great deal of damage to the reputation of Macedonia. There is no Macedonian correspondent to put the news in context. There's the rub...

Forum 18 Archive

This article was published by F18News on: 8 June 2005
MACEDONIA: Why is state interfering in Orthodox dispute?

By Branko Bjelajac, Balkans Correspondent, Forum 18 News Service

When the Serbian Orthodox Church granted its embattled branch in Macedonia full autonomy in late May, the Macedonian prime minister rejected the move "with indignation". The government has stepped up its hostility to the Church and reaffirmed its support for the rival Macedonian Orthodox Church, which is not recognised by the rest of the Orthodox world. Archbishop Jovan of Ohrid – who heads the Serbian Church in Macedonia – complained of a new state-backed media campaign against his Church. "They are creating an unstable, explosive atmosphere among the population and are virtually inviting people to lynch us," he told Forum 18 News Service. The government has denied his Church registration, attacked its places of worship and launched two criminal cases against him. Macedonian government leaders have been unable to tell Forum 18 why they are interfering in the dispute between the Macedonian and Serbian Orthodox Churches in Macedonia and why they are denying full legal rights to Serbian Orthodox believers.


Macedonian government leaders have been unable to tell Forum 18 News Service why they are interfering in the dispute between the Macedonian and Serbian Orthodox Churches in Macedonia which intensified after the Serbian Church upgraded its branch in the country in late May. Within days of the move, the Macedonian government wrote to the head of the Orthodox Churches worldwide, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, to promote the Macedonian Church's own claim to autocephaly (full canonical independence), while the Macedonian president and prime minister both vocally supported the Macedonian Church and attacked the Serbian Church move. Serbian Orthodox representatives in Macedonia have complained to Forum 18 that their government has renewed its campaign of denigration against Serbian Orthodox believers.

Reached several times on 7 and 8 June, prime ministerial spokesperson Marjan Gurovski was each time in a meeting or too busy to explain why the government was intervening in the dispute. Cane Mojanovski, head of the government's Committee for Relations with Religious Communities who has previously told Forum 18 the Serbian Church "will never get registration" in Macedonia and defended the denial of its rights (see F18News 23 September 2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=418), refused to answer Forum 18's questions on 8 June about the latest government interference.

Reached on 7 June, presidential spokesperson Valentin Nikoloski told Forum 18 that the dispute was an issue for the Macedonian state because, he claimed, the Serbian Orthodox Church has not recognised the Macedonian nation and state. He promised to pass on to President Branko Crvenkovski Forum 18's questions as to why the state was involved in a dispute that concerned two religious communities and why Macedonian citizens do not yet enjoy the right to join religious communities of their choice. Nikoloski told Forum 18 on 8 June that he was travelling in southern Macedonia with President Crvenkovski and had been unable to put Forum 18's questions to him.

Archbishop Jovan (Zoran Vranisskovski) of Ohrid – who heads the Serbian Orthodox Church in Macedonia - rejects Nikoloski's assertion that his Church denies the legitimacy of the Macedonian state. "The Serbian Orthodox Church fully recognises the Macedonian state and the Macedonian nation," the archbishop told Forum 18 from the southern Macedonian town of Bitola on 8 June. "[Serbian] Patriarch Pavle stated exactly that in 2002 – that the Serbian Orthodox Church recognises the Macedonian republic and the Macedonian nation as an indigenous nation. It would be ridiculous not to recognise a state that is in the United Nations and that we are trying to serve in its territory. I believe our government is making much out of issues that are not true issues." He stressed that his Church's struggle to gain legal status is fully in accord with Macedonia's laws.

The latest dispute broke out after the Serbian Orthodox synod, meeting on 22-24 May, elevated Jovan to Archbishop of Ohrid and granted his Archbishopric a tomos (proclamation) of full autonomy. This recognition was earlier reserved for the Macedonian Orthodox Church in case of an eventual reconciliation and return to the Serbian Orthodox Church.

"Ever since the tomos was issued," Archbishop Jovan told Forum 18, "there has been a continuous campaign against us in all printed and electronic media." He mainly blamed the Macedonian Church, but maintained the campaign is also supported by the state. "They are creating an unstable, explosive atmosphere among the population and are virtually inviting people to lynch us – me and the rest of the priests of the Ohrid Archbishopric," he complained. "If something occurs, it will not be possible to control it - and then they will be able to blame the crowd. However, the state itself is tolerating this kind of attitude against us. The situation is serious and grim."

Immediately after the Serbian Church move, a Macedonian government statement declared that prime minister Vlado Buckovski "rejects with indignation the decision of the Serbian Orthodox Church to declare the so-called Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric of defrocked bishop Zoran Vranisskovski autocephalous". Buckovski wrote to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew seeking his support for the autocephalous status of the Macedonian Orthodox Church to be recognised by other Orthodox Churches and asking him to mediate in the dispute between the Serbian and Macedonian Churches.

On 29 May President Crvenkovski met the head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Stefan (Veljanovski), to demonstrate his support. "The Macedonian Orthodox Church's existence doesn't depend on the position of some other Church, but above all on the faith and trust of its believers and clergy, and the commitment of the Macedonian people," the president declared. "A Church is neither founded nor closed on someone's order, especially not when it comes from someone that has no historical and moral right to do so." He complained that the Serbian Church move represented "a scenario for exerting pressure", linking it with alleged attempts to deny the "existence of the Macedonian nation, national and cultural identity". He described such attempts as "doomed to failure".

The following day prime minister Buckovski also met Archbishop Stefan. "The government fully supports the autocephalous status of the Macedonian Orthodox Church and in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia and the laws it will continue to fully stand for protection of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, its autocephalous status and church properties," a governmental statement of 31 May reported the prime minister as telling the archbishop.

The Macedonian Orthodox Church proclaimed its autocephalous status in 1967, with the full support of the then Communist government, but this was not recognised by the other Orthodox Churches. After several years of unsuccessful negotiations, two years ago the Serbian Church made an open invitation to the Macedonian Church to "return to the Serbian Orthodox Church" with full autonomy. The invitation was rejected by most Macedonian Church clerics. However, one of them, the then Metropolitan Jovan of Veles, accepted the Serbian Orthodox invitation to reconciliation, and was defrocked by the Macedonian Orthodox Church as a result. For the last two years he served as exarch of the Serbian Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid. Archbishop Jovan told Forum 18 that full autonomy is a first step towards autocephalous status for his Church.

Macedonian Church leaders argue that independent states have independent Orthodox Churches. "The Orthodox church is one, sacred and apostolic. However, in its administrative function, the church is divided into local Orthodox churches," Archbishop Stefan declared. "Each church is organised on a national base, for Orthodox peoples that have their territory, independent or sovereign state." Dr Petko Zlatevski, professor at the Macedonian Orthodox Faculty in Skopje, echoed these views. "Every nation that has its state, language and church, and also an episcopate and people, has autocephalous status," he told Forum 18 from the capital Skopje. "The tomos given to the Ohrid Archbishopric of the Serbian Orthodox Church negates the Macedonian Orthodox Church, since it states that we are not canonical."

Archbishop Jovan complained of constant state pressure, not least the continuing legal cases against him. "The state is trying to keep me in a state of instability." In the first case he was sentenced to eighteen months in prison on charges of kindling religious and nationalist hatred and intolerance for holding a service in his father's flat in Bitola. A final hearing at the Appellation Court, which is considering his appeal against the sentence, was due to have taken place in Bitola on 8 June, but was again postponed – this time because a judge was ill.

In the second case, Archbishop Jovan was accused of embezzlement during the time when he was a Macedonian Orthodox bishop. "Everyone is rather silent on the accusations against me," he told Forum 18. "It looks as though the investigators do not have a case against me. They cannot prove that I misused the funds or the position I held. It is a ridiculous accusation." He believes the authorities are deliberately letting the case languish so that the threat of prison hangs over him. He blames the "negative campaign in the media" against his Church for provoking a burglary at the end of May on a rented flat the church uses for services in Skopje. A monastery was bulldozed by the authorities last year and other church properties have been threatened (see F18News 21 October 2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=437).

In October 2004, the Ohrid diocese again requested registration as a religious community with the Committee for Relations with Religious Communities, and was rejected on the ground of the constitutional recognition of only one Orthodox Church in the country – the Macedonian Orthodox Church. The latest draft of the proposed new Law on Religious Communities and Religious Groups still states in article 3 that: "For one religion there can be only one religious community." This was also the Committee's ground for earlier rejecting the registration application (see F18News 4 February 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=505).

"Though we sent a complaint to the Supreme Court against this ruling, we still haven't had a response," Archbishop Jovan told Forum 18. "But we are confident we will be able to benefit from the rights given to us by the Macedonian constitution and also by international human rights charters."

There are 25 churches and other religious communities in Macedonia, of which the Macedonian Orthodox Church, the Islamic Faith Community, the Catholic Church, the Methodist Church and the Jewish community are recognised by the Constitution. When the Macedonian Orthodox Church was put on an equal footing with the country's other religious communities in 2001, Archbishop Stefan threatened to excommunicate all parliamentary deputies who voted for the constitutional change.

US Hot on Kosovo Independence

I wonder if the Harvard and Yale men at the US State Department have any idea of the impact of an independent Kosovo will have on the Crimea, Abkhazia, Kurdistan, or Cyprus. I think they do and just want to shake the trees to see what falls down! The Guardian Newspaper used to be a leftist paper, now it is just a poodle, like Blair.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | US pushes for decision on Kosovo status: "US pushes for decision on Kosovo status

Jonathan Steele
Wednesday June 8, 2005
The Guardian

The US is stepping up the pace for a decision on whether Kosovo should have independence, and believes full-scale negotiations should start this autumn, according to Nicholas Burns, the state department's third-ranking official.

The UN, which runs the province as a protectorate, has just appointed a special envoy to decide whether the Albanian majority has done enough to protect Serbs and other minority groups in Kosovo. Although the envoy was asked to report this summer, Mr Burns jumped the gun on the eve of a visit to Kosovo today.

'It's the view of my government that sufficient progress has been made to start final status talks. Kosovo was put on the backburner for years. We have to go back and complete the job,' he said in London.

His remarks will not go down well in the Serbian capital, which Mr Burns, the US undersecretary of state for political affairs, will also visit.

The province is still formally part of Serbia but has been under UN rule since Nato intervened six years ago to drive out the Yugoslav army and Serb police and stop ethnic cleansing against Albanians. After Serb forces withdrew at least half the Serb population fled, and the rest now live in enclaves with little freedom of movement.

To try to make Albanian leaders promote fair law enforcement, human rights, and devolved local government, before talks on independence began, the UN adopted a policy of 'standards before status'. Mr Burns said the US no longer saw any value in delay. 'It's now standards and status,' he said.

His visit to the region, along with his firm comments, are widely seen as proof that the US has taken the lead again in forcing the pace in the Balkans. But the US official made clear he hoped the final status talks, which may last up to nine months, would be led by a European with an American deputy. Lord Ashdown, Bosnia's administrator, and the former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari have been mentioned as candidates.

The US has been careful not to come out publicly in favour of any particular outcome for Kosovo - not even 'conditional independence', a formula favoured by international thinktanks whereby foreign troops and human rights monitors would stay on for years even though the territory would be sovereign.

The Serb government has proposed a status described as 'more than autonomy, less than independence', but has not given details. Western governments say there can be no return to Serb rule, as in 1998, nor can Belgrade have a veto.

Meanwhile, the former Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj, who resigned in March after being indicted by the Hague tribunal for crimes against humanity, allegedly before the 1999 war, has won bail to return to Pristina. "

Serbs of Macedonia Caught in the Middle

It is very interesting that some Serbs have rejected the Serbophile Priest Jovan, but it does not discuss his support among other Serbs in Skopje and Kumanovo, not to mention his support among Macedonians … if any. I have yet to read a good article in English about Jovan and his supporters. If I can’t find it, then neither can the BBC or CNN.

Reality Macedonia : Veles: Serbs Dump Jovan: "Source: Dnevnik, June 3, 2005 (Direct link)

Veles: Serbs Dump Jovan

The Serbian community in Veles denounced the decisions of the Serbian Orthodox Church for recognition of the so-called Orthodox Ohrid Archbishipric of the defrocked episcope Jovan. Serbs from Veles claim that they remain in the Macedonian Orthodox Church and that they will attend its temples in regard to their religious needs.

'We thank Vranishkovski and his archbishopric for their wish to represent us, but we refuse their services. The decision to create a new church only managed to cause dissatisfaction among the local Serbs, because it endangered their good relations with their friends, relatives and neigbors,' stated Vlastimir Jovic, member of the Local board of the United Serbian Community from Veles.

Jovic reminded the public that members of the Board participated in banishing Zoran Vranishkovski from the Povardarska Eparchy of MPC."

Forum 18 on OSCE Report

Open Letter to Felix Corley, Forum 18

I have noticed in the past that your organization has mentioned the plight of Albanians and Serbians in Macedonia but have not discussed the plight of Macedonians in Greece. I am not sure how large your group is so you may not have the resources to cover every issue. Macedonians in Greece have been discussed by Human Rights Watch, The Minority Rights Groups, Amnesty International and The US State Department Report on Human Rights. How can we help Forum 18 put this issue on your agenda?




Forum 18 Archive: "This article was published by F18News on: 1 June 2005

EASTERN EUROPE: OSCE Conference on Intolerance regional survey

By Felix Corley, Editor, Forum 18 News Service

...In Macedonia, members of the Serbian Orthodox Church have difficulty holding public worship and leaders have been prosecuted. In Russia and some other states, minority faiths are often denied permission to rent publicly-owned buildings available to other groups.

More on Serbian - Macedonian Church Fight

It is embarrassing for the Prime Minister of Macedonia to be appealing to the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew. He is working hand and glove with the Greek Church in Athens to deny the ethnicity of the Macedonian people. I still do not know why our people cannot open a dialogue with the Russian Church. Macedonians don’t want mediation, we just want recognition.

RADIO FREE EUROPE/ RADIO LIBERTY: "MACEDONIAN CHURCH DISPUTE HEATS UP...
In an open letter, Macedonian Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski has called on Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew, who is the spiritual head of the Orthodox Churches, to support a dialogue between the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) and the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MPC), Makfax news agency reported on 30 May (see 'RFE/RL Newsline,' 27 May 2005 and 'RFE/RL Balkan Report,' 23 January and 6 August 2004). Buckovski said the SPC's latest decision to recognize only the pro-SPC Archbishopric of Ohrid as canonical not only fails to resolve the church question in Macedonia, but could also increase religious tensions. The MPC, which split from SPC in 1967 with the support of the communist authorities, is not recognized by any other Orthodox Church. UB

...AS THE FOREIGN MINISTRY SLAMS THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
The Macedonian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on 30 May that the decision of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) to recognize only the pro-SPC Archbishopric of Ohrid as canonical is an attempt to create parallel institutions aimed at undermining the autocephalous status of the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MPC), RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported. The statement added that the SPC's latest move is a 'throwback to the past' that does not serve the interests of the Macedonian or Serbian nations and could hurt the development of relations between the two countries. The ministry called on the authorities of Serbia and Montenegro to do whatever they can to prevent 'moves aimed at denying [the identity of] the Macedonian people, state, and institutions,' regardless of where such threats may originate. PM
"

RFE's Analysis of the Partition Issue

Another discussion of the possible partition of Macedonia. I wonder why it has become such an issue at this time when the border between Kosovo and Macedonia is on the agenda. I wonder.

RADIO FREE EUROPE/ RADIO LIBERTY: "Macedonia: Did Nationalist Leaders Plan To Divide Country Along Ethnic Lines?
Macedonia

By Ulrich Buechsenschuetz

June 07, 2005

Ever since fighting broke out between the ethnic Albanian insurgents of the National Liberation Army (UCK) and the Macedonian security forces in early 2001, there have been persistent but unconfirmed reports that some politicians in Macedonia had a hidden agenda to partition the country along ethnic lines in order to consolidate their own power.

The most prominent politicians widely suspected of working on such division plans were former Prime Minister and former Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO-DPMNE) Chairman Ljubco Georgievski, who governed the country from 1998 until 2002. The other main suspect was Democratic Party of the Albanians (PDSH) Chairman Arben Xhaferi.

When the VMRO-DPMNE and the PDSH formed a coalition in 1998, there was speculation about what prompted two rivals like the Macedonian Georgievski and the Albanian Xhaferi to collaborate. Both had a reputation of being nationalists, and analysts have repeatedly raised the question whether there was more to cement their good working relationship outside their shared conservative, strictly anticommunist ideologies.

At the height of the conflict, in May 2001, the Georgi Efremov, then-president of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MANU), proposed to cede the heavily Albanian-populated areas of western Macedonia around Debar and Tetovo to Albania, while Macedonian-populated areas on the western bank of Lake Ohrid in Albania were to be added to Macedonia. The scattered Albanian population living throughout Macedonia was to be 'resettled.'

At that time, there were widespread rumors that Efremov's plan was a trial balloon launched on Georgievski's behalf. Given the openly hostile public reaction to that plan, Georgievski subsequently denied that he considered any territorial swap or the division of Macedonia along ethnic lines.

But in late March 2003, Georgievski himself wrote in a column that changing the existing the borders in the Balkans might be a way to resolve interethnic problems. Shortly after that editorial, he followed with another, in which he discussed the question whether Albanians should be 'resettled' in order to 'save' the ethnically mixed cities of Skopje, Kicevo, Kumanovo, and Struga for the Macedonian nation.

Two years after these editorials appeared, in late June, Xhaferi told Kosovar television broadcasters that he and Georgievski repeatedly discussed the issue of dividing Macedonia along ethnic lines while they were in power. The interview was subsequently republished by two Kosovar dailies.

Xhaferi reportedly said that already in 1998, he and Georgievski started to talk about a plan to peacefully divide Macedonia. Both agreed that that a multiethnic society could not function and that such societies were 'fictions' of the international community.
Georgievski has denied that he and his colleague discussed the division of Macedonia before the 2001 conflict.


Xhaferi also said they discussed a possible division with politicians from neighboring countries, most notably with the late Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. Xhaferi added, however, that he and Georgievski did not agree on concrete modalities, not least because of the war in neighboring Kosova in 1999. From Xhaferi's point of view, the peaceful division would have avoided bloodshed in Macedonia.

In a press release in response to Xhaferi's interview, Georgievski denied that he and his colleague discussed the division of Macedonia before the 2001 conflict. 'We talked about the issue for the first time when the daily 'Vecer' published a text on the 'Exchange of Territories and Populations between Macedonia and Albania' in May 2001,' Georgievski said. 'At that time, Mr. Xhaferi did not want to discuss this problem and the conversation was over.'

Georgievski's new party, the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization -- People's Party (VMRO-NP), said it does not support any division plans. For VMRO-NP acting Chairwoman Vesna Janevska, Xhaferi's interview was simply the beginning of the PDSH's campaign for the 2006 parliamentary elections. Janevska added that the VMRO-NP supports the 2001 Ohrid peace agreement as well as a multiethnic Macedonia. 'This is the party's one and absolute position,' she said. 'Multiethnic states are a reality, and we are convinced that radicalism does not have a place in Macedonia any longer.'

Xhaferi's interview seems to have taken even his own party by surprise. A PDSH spokesman said his party will wait for the video recordings to arrive from Prishtina to see whether the reports in the print media correspond with what Xhaferi said on TV or whether his interview could be interpreted in a different way.

Ermira Mehmeti of Macedonia's governing ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (BDI) said if Xhaferi now believes that a multiethnic Macedonia has no future, he must explain why he signed the Ohrid peace agreement -- which provides for the consolidation of a multiethnic society -- in the first place.

In the meantime, Public Prosecutor Stavre Zikov said his office will scan Xhaferi's interview to see whether there is any reason to take legal action against the PDSH leader."

The Clash of Orthodoxies

Dear Ulrich Buechsenschuetz

Radio Free Europe



This is a very interesting article, however, to my knowledge you have never discussed the status of the followers of the Macedonian Orthodox Church in Greece and the persecution of the Macedonian priest, Father Tsarknias.



Greece's policy with regard to minority rights in general, and the rights of ethnic Macedonians in particular, is a model for every racist, every fascist and every ethnic cleanser in the Balkans. Radio Free Europe's decision to exclude Greece from its coverage is a leftover of cold war politics where there was no criticism of America's anti-communist allies. Continuing to ignore human rights violations in Greece just adds to the current instability in the Balkans.



Ulrich, you ... personally ...are hurting the Balkans.



[ RADIO FREE EUROPE/ RADIO LIBERTY ]: "BACKLASH FOR SERBIAN-MACEDONIAN CHURCH RELATIONS





The Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) has confirmed information that it will recognize only the Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid as canonical and that it will issue a decision granting the archbishopric autonomy, the private Kanal 5 TV reported on 25 May. Thus, the Serbian Orthodox Church fully legitimizes the archbishopric, which is headed by Jovan Vraniskovski, a former bishop of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which is not recognized by other Orthodox churches. The SPC's decision has yet to be confirmed by Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew. When Vraniskovski put his bishopric under the canonical jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church in July 2002, he was excommunicated by the Macedonian Orthodox Church and subsequently indicted by Macedonian authorities for embezzlement and inciting religious hatred. The archbishopric was founded by the Serbian Orthodox Church as a rival church to the Macedonian Orthodox Church (see 'RFE/RL Newsline,' 22 October 2004 and 'RFE/RL Balkan Report,' 23 January and 6 August 2004). UB"

Facts about Orthodox Church destruction in Kosovo

It is interesting to note that even an strong Christian like George Bush is trying to bend over backwards to appease Muslims while ignoring Muslim attacks on Christians. Good article, relies on facts rather than emotion.



Is Koran flushing worse desecration than blowing up Christian churches?: "s Koran flushing worse desecration than blowing up Christian churches?



Mary Mostert

May 18, 2005





The stupidity and senseless violence that caused a number of deaths in reaction to a Newsweek article which claimed Americans had 'desecrated the Islamic holy book' needs to be examined from a couple of angles. According to Newsweek American military interrogators had placed the Koran on the lavatory inside inmates' cells at the detention center in Guantanamo Bay and had 'in at least one case, flushed a holy book down the toilet.'



The article supposedly so enraged Muslims that anti-American riots resulted in several countries. The radical Arab newspaper Al Jazeera reported 'Protests in Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Pakistan and Indonesia followed demonstrations across much of Afghanistan in the past few days in which 14 people were killed and dozens injured after clashes with police. Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria have registered displeasure at the alleged desecration.'

...



Second, assuming you could overcome that technical difficulty and actually flush a Koran down a toilet, why is that somehow worse than burning down or blowing up Christian Churches, some of them hundreds of years old, as Muslims have done in Kosovo? There were 30 churches and monasteries destroyed, 19 people killed and 250 non-Muslim homes looted and burned in Muslim riots in Kosovo from March 17-19, 2004.



If killing people and rioting is an acceptable way to express one's concern over one's religion being desecrated, what is an acceptable way for Christians to react to hundreds of Christian Churches being desecrated or blown up? There seems to have been nothing much done in recent years following the destruction of Serbian Orthodox Churches by anti-Christian Muslim extremists. In fact, the world community is even still talking about allowing those very same Muslims to completely take over Kosovo and ethnically cleanse it of Serbs, where Serbs have lived for and built churches for hundreds of years.



The Christian Churches blown up by Muslims in Kosovo last year included:



1. Orthodox Cathedral of the Most Holy Mother of God of Ljevis, 14th century (Prizren)



2. Church of Holy Salvation, 14th century (Prizren)



3. Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Great Martyr George, 20th century (Prizren)



4. Holy Archangels Monastery, 14th century (Prizren)



5. Church of St. George Runovic, 15th century (Prizren, courtyard of the Episcopate)



6. Church of St. John the Fore-runner and Baptist (Pec) with parish home



7. Church of the Entry of the Most Holy Mother of God into the Temple (Belo Polje near Pec)



8. Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God (Djakovica) with parish home



9. Church of the Holy King Uros (Urosevac)



10. Church of St. Nicholas (Kosovo Polje)



11. Church of St. Catharine (Bresje near Kosovo Polje)



12. Church of St. Nicholas (Pristina)



13. Church of St. Nicholas (Gnjilane)



14. Church of St. Sava (Kosovska Mitrovica)



15. Church in Vitina (Vitina near Gnjilane)



16. Devic Monastery, 14th century (Srbica)



17. Church in Donja Slapasnica (Kosovska Kamenica)



18. Church in Brnjak near Bela Crkva (Orahovac)



19. Church of St. John the Fore-runner and Baptist (Pecka Banja)



20. Church of St. Elijah, 19th century (Vucitrn)



21. Church of St. Michael (Stimlje)



22. Church in Obilic (Obilic)



23. Church of St. Lazarus in Piskoti (Djakovica), damaged in 1999, now burned



24. Sts. Cyril and Methodius Seminary building (Prizren)



25. Episcopate — seat of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren (Prizren)



It was also reported that the Albanian Muslims are removing the ruins of the Church of the Holy Trinity (Djakovica), one of the more than 100 churches blown up in 1999.



Since 1999 Muslims have destroyed 140 Christian Churches in Kosovo. And, exactly what has been the official Muslim response from Muslims in Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, the Gaza Strip, Afghanistan, etc to that desecration of Christian churches and artifacts? Dead silence.

"

A consensus of Serbian positions on Kosovo

I have reproduced the entire article. It is an excellent discussion of Serbian positions on Kosovo from autonomy to partition. I think that all of the arguments presented here are beside the point since the US/ES will do what is in its own self-interest. It has been announced that the US State Department will release its definitive position on Kosovo in the near future. My guess is that it will fall short of independence but will include substantial autonomy. This will be good for Macedonia.

An independent Kosovo will cause ripples from Macedonia and Bosnia to the Crimea and Georgia. If they endorse independence for Kosovo, watch for all hell to break loose and look forward to pressure from Washington for the partition of Russia via the route of liberation of ethnic groups starting with the Chechens, the Tartars etc.

Remember, "just because you are paranoid, does not mean that people aren't following you."


Institute for War and Peace Reporting:

"Serbia Hones Negotiating Position"

Politicians in Serbia are straining to persuade the world not to grant the Kosovo Albanians statehood.

By Vesna Bjekic in Belgrade (BCR No 556, 18-May-05)

While the leadership of Serbia and Montenegro prepares its platform for negotiations on Kosovo's future status, it is clear now that Belgrade is ready to accept any solution that does not involve international recognition of Kosovo's independence.

A meeting of the leaders of Serbia and Montenegro on developing a strategy on Kosovo, scheduled to take place behind closed doors in Belgrade on May 18, will be the fifth such meeting in two months.

However, details about Serbia's strategy will not be made public until the autumn, when the negotiations are expected to begin.

After several years in which the various political blocs have proposed a number of different options, the leadership now stands united around the platform that Kosovo's independence would contravene international norms on the inviolability of state borders.

They also maintain it would provoke instability in the region as well as in Serbia.

While that constitutes the official position, officials privately admit they will accept almost any solution except independence as that would constitute political suicide for the leadership as well as radicalising the public and distancing Serbia permanently from Europe.

Although Serbia is not willing to take up arms over the territory and has no interest in refusing cooperation with the international community, that does not mean it will ever voluntarily endorse recognition of Kosovo. As a result, such a solution can be enforced only from outside.

CLOSING RANKS IN PREPARATION FOR TALKS

Until March this year, official Belgrade repeatedly released dissonant messages on Kosovo, both to the Kosovo Serbs and to the international community. One bloc urged the Serbs to vote in last autumn's parliamentary elections in Kosovo, for example, while another urged the opposite.

Such disputes were abandoned this March, after the announcement that negotiations on the final status of Kosovo might begin as early as the second half of this year.

The first meeting of the state leadership on Kosovo took place on March 14 behind closed doors. The public announcement that followed stated an agreement had emerged on the formula "more than autonomy, less than independence". Before the March meeting, Serbia's deputy premier Miroljub Labus commented, "It is good that Belgrade finally managed to speak out with one voice."

The leadership has held regular meetings since then, bringing together Svetozar Marovic, President of the State Union, Boris Tadic, President of Serbia, Vojislav Kostunica, Prime Minister of Serbia, Vuk Draskovic, state union foreign minister and Nebojsa Covic, president of the government's Coordination Center for Kosovo and Metohija.

Covic revealed some details of the March meeting to a press conference of his Social Democratic Party, when he said they had agreed a team of consultants should come up with "a draft document, containing tactical moves by the government" by the end of March.

Covic added that this draft document would be based on the principles of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 on Kosovo and on the government of Serbia's own recent Plan for Kosovo, among others. Covic said this coordinated approach would mean the end of individual actions and personal initiatives.

Significantly, the establishment of this joint position was first disclosed by Labus and Covic, who have advocated very different positions on Kosovo in the past. Last November, Labus suggested Belgrade should request the organisation of an international conference on Kosovo's status, to be held this November.

He said Serbia should put forward a plan for an autonomous status for Kosovo and that if Albanians then rejected it, Kosovo should be divided.

Covic, on the other hand, last December published a book, On a Difficult Road, that was forwarded by the well-known nationalist writer, Dobrica Cosic. In it, he proposed a united Kosovo, comprising two entities.

WHAT SERBIA CAN OFFER

Over the last month, the Serbian leadership has clarified that it is open to all options as long as they do not include independence.

In an interview with the daily Vecernje Novosti on May 7, for example, Draskovic suggested the “South Tyrol model” might be applied to Kosovo, referring to the autonomy enjoyed by this German-speaking region in northern Italy. This model, he said, embodied "the principle of virtual sovereignty… with an obligation of positive discrimination towards the Italian minority….Such solution could be applied in Kosmet".

Draskovic said Serbian-Albanian talks would only yield results if "an agreement is achieved from the Serbian side to restrain from using the word 'sovereignty' and from the Albanian side on use of the word 'independence'. Future status must be unconventional and extraordinary because we have here an extraordinary situation".

The foreign minister added, "We seek no sovereignty over the territories in Kosovo inhabited by Albanians…We just want to protect our people and cultural and historical monuments. What is the exact word for this solution? It is open for discussion. What we want is full protection of the Serbian people and protection of the present borders with Macedonia and Albania."

Draskovic denied that the international community was ready to give Kosovo independence, adding that such independence could not be implemented easily.

"The UN Charter does not allow for the establishment of sovereign states through the application of force," he said. "Without the consent of Serbia, a declaration of independence for Kosovo would constitute an act of violence."

Serbia's prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica, has also suggested that unconventional, atypical solutions are possible for Kosovo, such as the solution provided for Bosnia and Hercegovina, where separate entities have been established. Another example he mentioned was Macedonia, where the conflict between Albanians and Macedonians in 2001 ended with the Ohrid Agreement, granting decentralisation and broader rights to the Albanian minority.

At a meeting of his Democratic Party of Serbia held on May 14, Kostunica said Serbia would oppose both conditional and unconditional independence for Kosovo and would strive instead for a solution based on broad autonomy in Serbia, guaranteed by the international community.

Serbian president Boris Tadic, emphasising that the legitimate rights of both Kosovo Albanians and Serbs must be accommodated, also warned against the idea that independence was the simple solution for Kosovo.

"An independent Kosovo with a separate seat at the UN or its own army could cause instability and such a solution is not possible," he said. "But it is also not possible to go back to the old times of [Slobodan] Milosevic. We must find a realistic and peaceful solution between these two extremes."

Some of the solutions put forward in recent years by Serbian intellectuals have also entered the arena of public discussion.

To recall two on them, in 1996, Aleksandar Despic, then president of the influential Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, SANU, suggested drawing a dividing line between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo, with extra-territorial provisions for Serbian monasteries along the lines of the autonomy enjoyed by the monasteries of Mouth Athos in Greece.

In 1998, before the armed conflict erupted in Kosovo, Dusan Batakovic, now ambassador in Greece and counsellor to President Boris Tadiç, suggested the establishment of cantons, so both peoples could have their own administrations.

KEY ARGUMENTS AGAINST INDEPENDENCE

One of the main arguments that Serbia's leaders put forward when opposing independence for Kosovo is that Serbian sovereignty over Kosovo is internationally recognised, regulated by UN Resolution 1244,and that there is, therefore, no reason to surrender this territory.

As Misa Djurkovic, an adviser to Kostunica, told IWPR, "It must be clear that no state will give up a part of its own territory just like that. Citizens want their state to observe international law."

He added, "Independence for Kosovo would constitute not only a violation of the UN Charter, but of international order. In addition, Kosovo is not party to the Badinter criteria [drawn up during the conflict in former Yugoslavia to regulate the conditions by which the former republics might obtain international recognition] and it is clear Kosovo was not an independent entity in the former federal Yugoslavia and cannot claim independence on these grounds."

Serbia's next argument against independence is that it would provoke instability both in the region and in Serbia itself.

"Any violent or forced modification of internationally recognised borders might endanger the stability we have achieved," said Djurkovic on May 14, at the Democratic Party of Serbia meeting presided over by Kostunica.

At a press conference on May 12, after a meeting with the Contact Group, Nebojsa Covic, president of the Coordination Centre for Kosovo and Metohija, put the same case even more forcefully.

"An independent Kosovo … will be a constant source of possible conflicts," he said. "We will not accept any forced solution for the status of Kosovo. We do not want to preclude a possibility of Kosovo being returned to Serbia some day, through our efforts or the efforts of some other party."

Other Serbian officials warn of a so-called domino effect, in which Kosovo's independence would endanger the security of other neighbouring states such as Macedonia, which has a large Albanian community. They also mention its potential impact on Bosnia, where the Serb entity, Republika Srpska, could demand the same treatment as the Albanians in Kosovo and request independence.

As Cedomir Antic, adviser to Miroljub Labus, put it, "If Kosovo becomes independent, and that is what I personally wish for, why cannot Republika Srpska be independent also?"

Finally, Serbian officials point to the added danger of radicalising the political situation in Serbia itself.

Misa Djurkovic, Kostunica's counsellor, told IWPR that a decision to grant Kosovo its independence would radicalise the Serbian political scene to a degree that would be difficult to control.

"Double standards, resulting in different interpretations of the same problems, and the lack of a clear strategy and principles on which the solutions are based, all provide grounds for radical forces to say 'the world is still against us'," he said.

"And when Albanian frustration is cited as an argument for independence of Kosovo, I want to reply that there is a lot of frustration among people in Serbia as well."

The hard-line nationalist Serbian Radical Party is, indeed, already scenting an opportunity to capitalise on public fears over Kosovo's future. Aleksandar Vucic, the party's general secretary, on May 5 said the Kosovo situation was "growing more difficult and more unfavourable for the Serbian people and government bodies are doing nothing about it.

"The government must not play around with Kosovo and Metohija. This is state territory. They must insist on this fact and not negotiate behind closed doors on how to facilitate the creation of an independent Kosovo."

According to Djurkovic, western analysts are mistaken in anticipating any significant shift among either the Serbian public or their parties over Kosovo.

"The expectations of Western lobbyists that a shift of consciousness in Serbia will lead to a position that Kosovo should be given up are delusions," he said. "Those who reckon Serbia should enter negotiations and accept a trade-off, such as 'If you give up on this one, you will be rewarded with this or that', are making a mistake. We will not play this game. This government has no mandate from the people to do so."

FEARS OF POLITICAL SUICIDE

Apart from their publicly stated principles for rejecting Kosovo's independence, another factor is that the leadership knows it would mean their own political suicide.

In an interview with the daily Blic, for the April 30 – May 2 edition, President Tadic admitted this, "If the province becomes independent, all the government bodies, including the President of the Republic, will have to reconsider their functions."

This view is confirmed by research published on May 11 by the Belgrade Centre for Marketing Research. Asked whether government officials should be allowed to call for the separation of Kosovo, 90.2 per cent of respondents said "no" and only 1.2 per cent "yes".

Cedomir Antic, Labus's adviser, says Serbia's political parties have little room for manoeuvre on the subject of Kosovo. "On the one hand, the international community wants full independence for Kosovo and is aware that the return of the province to Serbia is not possible," he told IWPR.

"On the other, we have the public, which in 2003 [in a survey] answered with 62 per cent saying Kosovo and Metohija was lost for good, while 70 per cent said this fact should never be acknowledged.”

Antic added, "This is typical of societies in transition - a willingness to accept virtual reality. Unfortunately, for certain reasons major forces and political elites support this virtual reality for their own benefit."

Antic said such an approach in the long run was "highly damaging for Serbia, because Kosovo and Metohija already resembles a state, rather more than Serbia does."

Antic concluded by criticising both Kostunica and Tadic for what he called their weakness and unwillingness to develop realistic, long-term policies on Kosovo.

Dusan Janjic, director of the Forum for Interethnic Relations in Belgrade, agreed that Serbs tend to accept a "virtual reality" when it comes to Kosovo. "All three perceptions [of Serbs and Albanians and international community] are virtual," he said. "Although they know the reality, they do not know what to do with it, except to keep running round in circles."

AVOIDING CONFRONTATION WITH THE WORLD

Although Serbia cannot afford to surrender Kosovo, the leadership is not devoid of political realism when it comes to appreciating the international environment. According to Djurkovic, Serbia knows the Serbs have been almost expelled from Kosovo.

"This is a fact but we still do not want to accept a fait accompli," he said. "We want to recall to attention that Europe and the western world are based on strict observation of norms and international agreements."

Asked what would happen if Kosovo's independence was declared against Belgrade's will, or the admission of Serbia and Montenegro to the European Union was made conditional on acceptance of independence for Kosovo, Djurkovic answered, "If they apply force, which is contrary to their basic principles, they can do so. Serbia is in no position to prevent the independence of Kosovo; it cannot send in troops, nor is willing to do so."

But he added, "Serbia will not accept such an act and will insist on its rights through diplomatic channels. We do not want confrontation with the international community. All we can do is appeal to the international community to observe its own principles."

Some government advisers, such Djurkovic, and several in Tadic's cabinet, believe Brussels will not make Kosovo's independence a condition for admission to the EU anyway. One source from Tadic's office said, "Negotiations [over Kosovo] will not unfold under the pressure of blackmail. The process pertaining to Kosovo is complex and the international community wants a consensus among the parties.Blackmail could only damage the European idea in Serbia."

Djurkovic also believes Europe is not united on Kosovo. "In talks with officials behind closed doors, I get the impression nobody really wants independence for Kosovo," he said.

"Wherever the borders are drawn, huge problems will remain, such as economic backwardness, demographic expansion, criminality...and these problems flow across borders…The European future of this region is forcing us to cooperate. The borders will be a minor issue."

Covic says he also has an impression that members of the Contact Group do not have a united front on Kosovo and "display evident differences".

Antic agrees. "Serbia has just enough of international support to prevent Kosovo and Metohija from ever gaining formal independence," he said. Antic says Russia will not vote for it in the UN Security Council because of its own problems in Chechnya, while China will also oppose it.

As the negotiations loom ahead, Serbia's politicians are aware that there can never be a return to the past. But they still hope they can avoid international recognition of Kosovo's independence.

This is the line that they cannot and will not cross.

Vesna Bjekic is an IWPR contributor and BIRN Serbia associate editor. BIRN is a localised IWPR Balkans project

Good article about Macedonian Church resistance against Serbian Church

Very good news and a good article about the resistance of the Macedonian Orthodox Church against the deisre of the Seriban Orthodox Church to re-establish its colonial rule over Macedonians.



Institute for War and Peace Reporting



New Bishops Strengthen Macedonian Church's Hand



Influx of new blood into synod likely to stiffen its resolve in long-running dispute with Serbian church.



By Tamara Causidis in Skopje (BCR No 555, 11-May-05)



Macedonia's Orthodox Church hierarchy, long embroiled in a battle for recognition by its Serbian counterpart, has boosted its ranks by admitting three new bishops, in what church-watchers say is a move to strengthen its hand in the dispute.



The church's governing body, the synod, voted to accept three new members all at once in April. The move was without precedent, as the synod in the past has only admitted new members one by one.



The three newcomers, bishops Metodij, Kliment and Pimen, were declared auxiliary bishops, which means they will not be able to vote in the Synod until later this year, when they expect promotion to the rank of diocesan bishops.



The new synod members are seen as an attempt to consolidate the position of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, MPC, in its decades-long struggle with the Serbian Orthodox Church, SPC.

Shaky Balkans need 'new strategy,' panel says

Dear Judy Dempsey,
International Herald Tribune

Next time some lame "commission" discusses the Balkans can you ask this question:

"If any former communsit country adopts the Greek position on minority rights, will they be accepted in the EU and Nato." (Hint ... Greece denies it has any minorties)

Note: Kiro Gligorov seems to be part of this "International Commission of the Balkans

Shaky Balkans need 'new strategy,' panel says

Shaky Balkans need 'new strategy,' panel says
By Judy Dempsey International Herald Tribune

THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2005
BERLIN A high-powered International Commission on the Balkans has issued a scathing critique of EU and UN policies in the Balkans, accusing both organizations of hindering democratic growth and warning that bleak economic and political conditions may lead to renewed instability.

"The red lights could soon start blinking if we don't take stock of the reality on the ground," said Alex Rondos, former Greek ambassador at large and member of the commission. "The region is not as stable as the EU makes out."

The commission asserts that democracy has been stifled in Bosnia "by the coercive authority" of Paddy Ashdown, the EU's high representative.

The international representatives, the commission says, "dabble in social engineering but are not held accountable when their policies go wrong. If Europe's neocolonial rule becomes further entrenched, it will encourage economic discontent and European electorates would see it as an immense and unnecessary financial and moral burden."

The commission challenged the European Union to formally offer Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia, Macedonia and the province of Kosovo a timetable for admission to the Union, warning that failure to do so could lurch the Balkans into another period of instability and leave the EU mired in the region.

The recommendations by the independent commission, made public in Europe's main capitals over the past few days, propose that in late 2006 the EU should sponsor a summit meeting "that aims to present all Balkan countries with their accession road maps."

Once the countries have met the EU's criteria on respect for human and ethnic rights, implementation of the rule of law and the introduction of a functioning market economy, the commission says these countries could start accession negotiations around 2009-2010 and be ready to join by 2014-2015.