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Mainstream, Vol XLVI, No 15
March 29 2008
Is Kosovo the End of Europe?
Saturday 29 March 2008, by Ash Narain Roy
Rene Magritte, the celebrated Belgian surrealist painter, once
painted an apple and wrote on it, `This is not an apple.' He did the
same on a pipe. Today, he could as well paint his country, Belgium,
and certainly Kosovo, the youngest nation in the world, and write,
`This is not a country.' Belgium is collapsing under the weight of
its own contradictions, with its majority Dutch-speaking, many
French-speaking and few German-speaking citizens unable to decide
what and for whom the state stands for. Kosovo is a self-inflicted
pain and the world will not be able to withstand it given the can of
worms its creation has opened. Mitrovica, witnessing intense
violence, may emerge as a flashpoint of new conflict. Serbia is
thinking of inviting Russian troops into Serb-dominated northern
Kosovo as peacekeepers that may undermine the authority of the
NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping mission, creating the potential for
conflict leading to the partition of Kosovo.
Kosovo's independence has dealt a blow to the nation-state. Many
wonder if the nation-state in the 21st century is going out of
fashion and whether a model of multi-cultural living, the hallmark of
the nation-state, is on way to redundancy. In any case, China and
Russia seem moving towards 19th century-style nationalism, militarism
and assertive-ness. Many states would follow them.
Kosovo's declaration of independence has won enthusiastic to grudging
approval from some and vociferous to mild disapproval from others
depending on which side of the fence one is sitting. But it has
placed India on the horns of a dilemma. New Delhi is only studying
the evolving situation as there are `several issues' involved in the
declaration. There was a time when India took pride in being right
than in being diplomatic. Today hard realities of `national
interests' and pragmatism have become the main yardstick of its
foreign policy. Silence and discretion are in, moralising is out.
That perhaps explains what Shashi Tharoor says, why India feels
comfortable with the `Burmese junta, than its janata'. India's
flirtations with the US and the desire to occupy the UN high table
with the help of Washington are also coming in the way of taking a
principled stand on global issues.
But New Delhi's virtual silence on Kosovo is fraught with
far-reaching consequences. It is unfortunate that even on an issue
that concerns its own minorities and sub-national movements, India
has chosen to look the other way. As the CPI-M mouthpiece People's
Democracy says, `at least on such a vital issue as the sovereignty of
countries with minority populations and the challenges to a basic
principle of international law, India should speak up.' Kosovo has
created a new precedent and twisted international law that
separatists all over the world would use to further their interests.
Kashmiri separatists like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Shabbir Shah and
Yasin Malik have already said that they see Kosovo as a ray of hope.
North-East militants and the Naxalites would not be far behind in
extracting some mileage out of Kosovo. Spain's Basque and Catalan
separatists have also welcomed Kosovo's independence with a banner
like, `Today Kosovo. Tomorrow Catalonia'. Ethnic Albanians in
Macedonia have also intensified their autonomy demands, an obvious
road to independence. Many believe the upsurge of violence in Tibet
is not unrelated to Kosovo.
WHAT is the American gameplan in Kosovo? Russia certainly sees a red
signal. Kosovo is a dress-rehearsal for redrawing boundaries in
Eurasia and the Middle East. It is a new balkanisation, part of
American and German geo-strategic plan, to tame Russia. The goal is
to drive a wedge in the Balkans to advance a spurious form of
European integration. A clear pattern is discernible. Since the
former Yugoslavia was a thorn in the American-German flesh, it has
been systematically targeted. The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999
was a well-devised plan. It was no coincidence that
Bosnia-Herzegovina was divided along ethnic and religious lines - Serb,
Croat, Bosniak, Christians and Muslims. To these ethnic-religious
divides have been added further sectarian divisions within
Christianity - Eastern Orthodoxy versus Roman Catholicism.
Facts speak for themselves. Bosnia's Constitution was written at a US
Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio by American and European experts.
Efforts are now on to establish a Greater Albania which will bring
together what are now Albania and Kosovo as well as adjacent parts of
Serbia and Montenegro, Western Macedonia and the north-western
regions of Greece.
Kosovo has created a new divide even in the ranks of European states.
While, Germany, Britain, Italy and France have recognised Kosovo,
countries like Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus
have opposed Kosovo's independence. There is a perception among
multinational, multi-ethnic and multicultural states that Kosovo's
independence will give a new lease of life to separatists in their
own midst - Basques in Spain, Tiroleans in Italy, Hungarians in Romania
and the like.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has reacted most vehemently
calling Kosovo's independence as the `beginning of the end of
Europe'. Moscow is right in maintaining that Kosovo's independence
will rekindle fire in the frozen conflict zones - Abkhazia, South
Ossetia and Transnistria etc. Way back in 1992, South Ossetia had
declared independence from Georgia. Only thanks to the presence of
Russian peacekeepers a bigger conflict was avoided. Russia has not
recognised South Ossetia as yet, but it could exercise that option.
Moscow has also hinted that the Kosovo precedent could be invoked in
Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh. In fact, Moscow has
decided to withdraw from a CIS treaty imposing sanctions against
Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia. It is not hard to imagine
what happens if Russia decides to use the Kosovo approach to
resolving conflicts in its own backyard. Even supposing Russian
troops are sent to Serb-dominated northern Kosovo, it could create a
flashpoint of conflict.
Is the US trying to appease the Muslim world by its support for
Kosovo and thus seeking to make up for the folly of the Iraq war? It
is possible that some Muslim regimes may see the American gameplan in
that light. But what kind of message is Washington conveying to the
Iraqi Kurds? The US says it is backing a federal Iraq where Arabs,
Kurds, Turkomans, Assyrians as also Shias and Sunnis could live
together. Can Iraqis be blamed for thinking that the federal formula
is a cover to break the country?
The West's stance is inconsistent and self-contradictory. If it
supports Kosovo's independence, why does it oppose the independence
of Flanders in Belgium? Few believe Kosovo will actually be free; it
will become a protectorate of the EU. What is worse, Kosovo is likely
to see the Serb-dominated parts walking away. In pursuing their
geo-strategic interests, the US and Germany may end up reviving old
chauvinist passions and creating a monster that may turn their dream
into a nightmare. It is too dangerous to fiddle with the Balkans'
fault lines. The US smiles at Kosovo only to frown at Russia. Come on
America! Your bare teeth are showing.
The author is the Associate Director, Institute of Social Sciences,
New Delhi.
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article606 .html
Mainstream, Vol XLVI, No 15
March 29 2008
Is Kosovo the End of Europe?
Saturday 29 March 2008, by Ash Narain Roy
Rene Magritte, the celebrated Belgian surrealist painter, once
painted an apple and wrote on it, `This is not an apple.' He did the
same on a pipe. Today, he could as well paint his country, Belgium,
and certainly Kosovo, the youngest nation in the world, and write,
`This is not a country.' Belgium is collapsing under the weight of
its own contradictions, with its majority Dutch-speaking, many
French-speaking and few German-speaking citizens unable to decide
what and for whom the state stands for. Kosovo is a self-inflicted
pain and the world will not be able to withstand it given the can of
worms its creation has opened. Mitrovica, witnessing intense
violence, may emerge as a flashpoint of new conflict. Serbia is
thinking of inviting Russian troops into Serb-dominated northern
Kosovo as peacekeepers that may undermine the authority of the
NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping mission, creating the potential for
conflict leading to the partition of Kosovo.
Kosovo's independence has dealt a blow to the nation-state. Many
wonder if the nation-state in the 21st century is going out of
fashion and whether a model of multi-cultural living, the hallmark of
the nation-state, is on way to redundancy. In any case, China and
Russia seem moving towards 19th century-style nationalism, militarism
and assertive-ness. Many states would follow them.
Kosovo's declaration of independence has won enthusiastic to grudging
approval from some and vociferous to mild disapproval from others
depending on which side of the fence one is sitting. But it has
placed India on the horns of a dilemma. New Delhi is only studying
the evolving situation as there are `several issues' involved in the
declaration. There was a time when India took pride in being right
than in being diplomatic. Today hard realities of `national
interests' and pragmatism have become the main yardstick of its
foreign policy. Silence and discretion are in, moralising is out.
That perhaps explains what Shashi Tharoor says, why India feels
comfortable with the `Burmese junta, than its janata'. India's
flirtations with the US and the desire to occupy the UN high table
with the help of Washington are also coming in the way of taking a
principled stand on global issues.
But New Delhi's virtual silence on Kosovo is fraught with
far-reaching consequences. It is unfortunate that even on an issue
that concerns its own minorities and sub-national movements, India
has chosen to look the other way. As the CPI-M mouthpiece People's
Democracy says, `at least on such a vital issue as the sovereignty of
countries with minority populations and the challenges to a basic
principle of international law, India should speak up.' Kosovo has
created a new precedent and twisted international law that
separatists all over the world would use to further their interests.
Kashmiri separatists like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Shabbir Shah and
Yasin Malik have already said that they see Kosovo as a ray of hope.
North-East militants and the Naxalites would not be far behind in
extracting some mileage out of Kosovo. Spain's Basque and Catalan
separatists have also welcomed Kosovo's independence with a banner
like, `Today Kosovo. Tomorrow Catalonia'. Ethnic Albanians in
Macedonia have also intensified their autonomy demands, an obvious
road to independence. Many believe the upsurge of violence in Tibet
is not unrelated to Kosovo.
WHAT is the American gameplan in Kosovo? Russia certainly sees a red
signal. Kosovo is a dress-rehearsal for redrawing boundaries in
Eurasia and the Middle East. It is a new balkanisation, part of
American and German geo-strategic plan, to tame Russia. The goal is
to drive a wedge in the Balkans to advance a spurious form of
European integration. A clear pattern is discernible. Since the
former Yugoslavia was a thorn in the American-German flesh, it has
been systematically targeted. The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999
was a well-devised plan. It was no coincidence that
Bosnia-Herzegovina was divided along ethnic and religious lines - Serb,
Croat, Bosniak, Christians and Muslims. To these ethnic-religious
divides have been added further sectarian divisions within
Christianity - Eastern Orthodoxy versus Roman Catholicism.
Facts speak for themselves. Bosnia's Constitution was written at a US
Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio by American and European experts.
Efforts are now on to establish a Greater Albania which will bring
together what are now Albania and Kosovo as well as adjacent parts of
Serbia and Montenegro, Western Macedonia and the north-western
regions of Greece.
Kosovo has created a new divide even in the ranks of European states.
While, Germany, Britain, Italy and France have recognised Kosovo,
countries like Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus
have opposed Kosovo's independence. There is a perception among
multinational, multi-ethnic and multicultural states that Kosovo's
independence will give a new lease of life to separatists in their
own midst - Basques in Spain, Tiroleans in Italy, Hungarians in Romania
and the like.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has reacted most vehemently
calling Kosovo's independence as the `beginning of the end of
Europe'. Moscow is right in maintaining that Kosovo's independence
will rekindle fire in the frozen conflict zones - Abkhazia, South
Ossetia and Transnistria etc. Way back in 1992, South Ossetia had
declared independence from Georgia. Only thanks to the presence of
Russian peacekeepers a bigger conflict was avoided. Russia has not
recognised South Ossetia as yet, but it could exercise that option.
Moscow has also hinted that the Kosovo precedent could be invoked in
Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh. In fact, Moscow has
decided to withdraw from a CIS treaty imposing sanctions against
Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia. It is not hard to imagine
what happens if Russia decides to use the Kosovo approach to
resolving conflicts in its own backyard. Even supposing Russian
troops are sent to Serb-dominated northern Kosovo, it could create a
flashpoint of conflict.
Is the US trying to appease the Muslim world by its support for
Kosovo and thus seeking to make up for the folly of the Iraq war? It
is possible that some Muslim regimes may see the American gameplan in
that light. But what kind of message is Washington conveying to the
Iraqi Kurds? The US says it is backing a federal Iraq where Arabs,
Kurds, Turkomans, Assyrians as also Shias and Sunnis could live
together. Can Iraqis be blamed for thinking that the federal formula
is a cover to break the country?
The West's stance is inconsistent and self-contradictory. If it
supports Kosovo's independence, why does it oppose the independence
of Flanders in Belgium? Few believe Kosovo will actually be free; it
will become a protectorate of the EU. What is worse, Kosovo is likely
to see the Serb-dominated parts walking away. In pursuing their
geo-strategic interests, the US and Germany may end up reviving old
chauvinist passions and creating a monster that may turn their dream
into a nightmare. It is too dangerous to fiddle with the Balkans'
fault lines. The US smiles at Kosovo only to frown at Russia. Come on
America! Your bare teeth are showing.
The author is the Associate Director, Institute of Social Sciences,
New Delhi.
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article606 .html