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February 19, 2004
ERP KiM Newsletter
19-02-04
German KFOR still not
providing escorts for distribution of humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid sent by the
Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija through the Strpce Red Cross
cannot be distributed to remaining Serbs in Prizren due to reluctance of
German KFOR to provide military escorts. Bishop Artemije: A sorry
example of collective punishment of the Serb people that deeply
compromises the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo and Metohija.
Kosovo Serbs fear that KFOR
withdrawal will force them flee Kosovo (photo: a US military patrol in a
Serbian village in Eastern part of Kosovo Province)
| Serbs
in fear while KFOR reduces troops in Kosovo
ERP KIM Info-Service
Gracanica, February 19, 2004
After the latest KFOR
decision to remove checkpoints around some isolated and
vulnerable Serb villages in Kosovo many Kosovo Serbs are in
fear that they would be forced to flee the restive province
soon. The intent of KFOR to reduce the number of its troops
on the expense of security of non-Albanian population will
according to Kosovo Serb leaders not only block the
announced process of returns but will force the remaining
Serbs out of their homes. Villagers of the Serbian village
of Miroc near Vucitrn (French Sector) have already left
their homes after the Greek KFOR was ordered to withdraw and
leave them under the jurisdiction of the local,
predominantly ethnic Albanian police. Very tense situation
is in the village of Velika Hoca nr. Prizren (German
Sector). After the "unfixing" of the local KFOR very few
Serbs will dare start working in their vineyards in spring.
Having in mind that this is the only source of income for
the Serb population of nearly 400 some families have already
announced that they would be forced to leave Kosovo in
search of more safer surrounding and income. Despite
protests of the Coordination center in Belgrade and the
Serbian MPs in the Kosovo Parliament KFOR claims that the
unfixing strategy will not have negative consequences for
the security of the minority population. Nevertheless,
Kosovo Serbs live in fear that by the end of the year with
reduction of KFOR troops in Kosovo smaller and isolated Serb
enclaves will be doomed to disappear. The Church remains
seriously concerned for its monasteries, the most of which
are located in areas of increased security risk and
thoroughly depend on KFOR protection. |
CONTENTS:
 German KFOR
still not providing escorts for distribution of humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid sent by the Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija
through the Strpce Red Cross cannot be distributed to remaining Serbs in
Prizren due to reluctance of German KFOR to provide military escorts.
Bishop Artemije: A sorry example of collective punishment of the Serb
people that deeply compromises the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo and
Metohija.
Serb MPs boycott Kosovo parliament session
due to nationalist murals
"The Kosovo parliament is not
just a parliament of Albanians. We have our own very rich history," said
Oliver Ivanovic, the deputy speaker of the parliament and a senior
member of the Kosovo Serb coalition.
STRATFOR U.S.: Balkan militants, leaky borders and
Olympic games
Recent rumblings from
the Balkans indicate the active presence of Islamist militant groups.
While such rumblings are nothing new, the variety of high-level
responses to them suggests something is brewing in the Balkans.
More News Available on our:
Kosovo Daily News
list (KDN)
KDN
Archive
This newsletter is available on our ERP
KIM Web-site:
http://www.kosovo.net/erpkiminfo.html
| NATO options in the Balkans according to
Stratfor Institute, U.S.
Stratfor Institute, Houston, U.S
Feb 4, 2004
NATO has a vested interest in
portraying its operations in Kosovo as a success story. The alliance
cannot afford to be seen as a do-nothing occupation force, but it
certainly does not have enough forces in the region to actively and
decisively engage militant groups. NATO also is wary of the two
solutions that would permit a wholesale withdrawal of forces:
reintegrating Kosovo into Serbia, Of allowing Kosovo to declare
independence. If NATO officials admitted to a robust militant
presence in the Balkans, the political backlash in the United States
would be excruciating. The United States does not have the personnel
to aggressively address militancy in the Balkans without reducing
efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which are higher political
and military priorities. Returning to the Balkans also would be a
tacit admission that the United States missed an opportunity to
handle regional militants. So the United States - and NATO by proxy
- seeks to downplay the extent to which these groups have
infiltrated and are operating in the area (Read the full report down ) |
German
KFOR still not providing escorts for distribution of humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid sent by the
Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija through the Strpce Red Cross
cannot be distributed to remaining Serbs in Prizren due to reluctance of
German KFOR to provide military escorts. Bishop Artemije: A sorry
example of collective punishment of the Serb people that deeply
compromises the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo and Metohija.
TOP
ERP KIM Info Service
Gracanica, February 18, 2004
The 68 remaining Serbs out of a prewar total of 8,000
who are still in Prizren have been receiving humanitarian aid packages
every few months from the Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija
consisting of food and hygiene items. This is a practice that has
existed for the past five years. In the past humanitarian aid from the
Serbian Government was delivered to the municipal board of the Red Cross
in Strpce. The Red Cross in Strpce then transported the aid to Holy
Archangels Monastery, and the on duty priest in the Bishop's residence
in Prizren, accompanied by a German KFOR military escort, took the food
from the monastery (in military vehicles) to the Bishop's palace, where
it is distributed to the remaining Serbs. As a result of the most recent
measures by German KFOR, the monks of Holy Archangels are unable to
continue distributing humanitarian aid to the endangered Serb
population.
On February 8, 2004 the
secretary of the Strpce Red Cross informed Fr. Herman, the abbot of Holy
Archangels Monastery, that Coordinating Center aid had arrived in the
Strpce Red Cross and asked him to request that German KFOR make an
exception to its decision to cancel escorts for the monks because the
aid is for older and impoverished persons to whom this aid is essential.
Despite the unprecedented arrogance of German lieutenant colonel Kai
Brinkmann during a recent interview, Abbot Herman sent a letter to the
German commander on February 8 in forming him that it has been the
practice during the past five years to distribute humanitarian aid to
the remaining Serbs, that a shipment of aid had again arrived and was
being stored in by the Strpce Red Cross, and asking him to authorize a
KFOR escort in order to transfer the aid to Prizren.
On February 12 Milan Djurinac,
the secretary of the Strpce Red Cross, visited Holy Archangels and
brought the humanitarian aid to the monastery. The reason for the visit
was to make detailed arrangements regarding the distribution of aid to
the Serbs in Prizren. Abbot Herman informed Mr. Djurinac that he still
had not received any response from German KFOR.
"On the morning
of February 15 we asked the on duty commander of the patrol protecting
the monastery if he would ask his commanding officer for an answer.
After one hour he informed us that he had informed his captain and that
we would receive a response that evening. In the evening we asked him
again and received the explanation that he had not received a response
from his command. This was repeated during the course of the next three
days. As of the morning of February 18 we still have not received a
positive or a negative answer; our request is simply being ignored,"
Abbot Herman told the ERP KIM Info Service.
"This example best shows that
KFOR is not willing to provide necessary escorts to the monks even for
the purpose of distributing humanitarian aid to the remaining 60 odd
Serbs in the city of Prizren. At the same time, it serves to directly
disprove claims by Mr. Harri Holkeri, the chief of UNMIK, during recent
talks with Dr. Nebojsa Covic of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo and
Metohija, that reports on problems with which we are confronted are
supposedly 'unfounded and exaggerated'. It is clear that Mr. Holkeri
does not have an accurate picture of events in this area and that he
gets his information exclusively from the biased reports of German
KFOR," said the Abbot of Holy Archangels.
According to information the
Diocese received today from Holy Archangels Monastery, reports appearing
in some Serbian media that German KFOR allegedly resumed escorts and
other services to the monks of that monastery are simply not true. The
monks stated that the sanctions introduced against the monastery after
January 21 are still in full force.
Commenting on the ignoring of
the most basic needs of the monks and the faithful people in Prizren,
Bishop Artemije of Raska and Prizren told ERP KIM Info Service that this
is "a sorry example of collective punishment of the Serb people that
deeply compromises the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo and Metohija".
The Diocese of Raska and
Prizren wishes to thank the Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija
and the Strpce Red Cross for their great efforts in providing the
humanitarian aid for our faithful people. The Diocese also thanks Dr.
Nebojsa Covic personally for his efforts in attempting to resolve the
problems of Holy Archangels Monastery and the Serb people remaining in
the Prizren area and appeals to the Serbian Government to lodge an
official protest at the highest levels as a result of this unprecedented
behavior on the part of the German Bundeswehr which, by refusing to
provide escorts for the distribution of humanitarian aid, is practically
starving the remaining Serbs in Prizren
TOP
Serb MPs
boycott Kosovo parliament session
"The Kosovo parliament is not
just a parliament of Albanians. We have our own very rich history," said
Oliver Ivanovic, the deputy speaker of the parliament and a senior
member of the Kosovo Serb coalition.
TOP
Beta News Agency, Belgrade
February 18, 2004
PRISTINA -- Wednesday - Serb deputies in the Kosovo parliament have
boycotted today's sitting in protest at images on the walls of the
renovated assembly building.
The Serb MPs say the images of the Albanian League and Albanian national
hero Skenderbeg are discriminatory.
"The Kosovo parliament is not just a parliament of Albanians. We have
our own very rich history," said Oliver Ivanovic, the deputy speaker of
the parliament and a senior member of the Kosovo Serb coalition.
The head of the United Nations mission has also objected to the images.
Harri Holkeri refused to attend the ceremonial opening of the new
chamber, insisting the parliament is a multi-ethnic institution
representing a multi-ethnic Kosovo.
A three-day session of parliament began today to discuss proposed
anti-discrimination legislation.
TOP
STRATFOR:
Balkan Militants, Leaky Borders and the Olympic Games
Recent rumblings from the Balkans
indicate the active presence of Islamist militant groups. While such
rumblings are nothing new, the variety of high-level responses to them
suggests something is brewing in the Balkans.
TOP
STRATFOR, Houston (U.S)
Predictive, Insightful, Global Intelligence
Feb 04, 2004
Summary
Recent rumblings from the Balkans indicate the active presence of
Islamist militant groups. While such rumblings are nothing new, the
variety of high-level responses to them suggests something is brewing in
the Balkans.
Analysis
In February 2003, four concurrent and curious statements came out of the
Balkans. On Feb. 1, NATO proclaimed its Kosovo operations a success and
a benchmark for future NATO missions. The next day, Serbian Intelligence
Chief Momir Stojanovic said that Islamist militants - including al Qaeda
- are actively operating in Kosovo. Albania and Macedonia. Stojanovic's
claims were quickly denied by NATO, Serbian defense officials and
Albanian and Macedonian officials. Stojanovic then went one step
further, saying that not only are militant organizations active in these
areas, but also that Serbian intelligence agents have been monitoring
them for more than a year.
Whether Stojanovic's - of NATO's - assertions are accurate, they point
to the possibility that militant organizations like al Qaeda
increasingly see the Balkans as a potential launching pad for operations
in Western Europe and beyond.
The Balkans have long been home to and fertile ground for Islamist
organizations, due to a large Muslim population and regional
instability. As recently as September 2003, U.S. Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard Meyers visited the region to reiterate the
danger it posed. So why all the denial?
NATO has a vested interest in portraying its operations in Kosovo as a
success story. The alliance cannot afford to be seen as a do-nothing
occupation force, but it certainly does not have enough forces in the
region to actively and decisively engage militant groups. NATO also is
wary of the two solutions that would permit a wholesale withdrawal of
forces: reintegrating Kosovo into Serbia, Of allowing Kosovo to declare
independence. If NATO officials admitted to a robust militant presence
in the Balkans, the political backlash in the United States would be
excruciating. The United States does not have the personnel to
aggressively address militancy in the Balkans without reducing efforts
in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which are higher political and military
priorities. Returning to the Balkans also would be a tacit admission
that the United States missed an opportunity to handle regional
militants. So the United States - and NATO by proxy - seeks to downplay
the extent to which these groups have infiltrated and are operating in
the area.
Officials in Belgrade have a conflicting agenda when it comes to dealing
with militant groups in the region. On one hand, the rising tide of
nationalism, coupled with pressure from the European Union, has induced
some government officials to deflect criticism away from Serbia and
Montenegro and toward the national enemy, Albania. This could be
motivating Stojanovic's assertions. Stojanovic has a long history of
anti-Albanian sentiments stemming from his term as a commander of
Yugoslavia's Pristina Corps before the NATO campaign in the late 1990s.
While in that position, Stojanovic was accused of war crimes that
included mass executions of ethnic Albanians.
On the other hand, Serbian officials want to give the West the
impression that there is nothing to see behind the curtain and that
further intervention is unnecessary. The United States and NATO are
beginning to disengage from the region after intense involvement in the
late 1990s. Belgrade docs not want to give Washington a reason to
return.
Additionally, Belgrade has been trying for some time to improve
relations with Washington and integrate into the European community,
toeing the NATO party line on terrorism in the Balkans could be one way
to do that The official who denied Stojanovic's claim was Serbian
Minister of Defense Boris Tadic, who in September 2003 told a Macedonian
newspaper that militant organizations are Active in the region and
acting in concert.
Albanian and Macedonian officials denied Stojanovic's claims simply
because they do not want to be seen as incapable of dealing with a
militant threat, and they are opposed to outside intervention.
Despite these denials, evidence cited by Stojanovic and others in the
past - and simple logic - points to the Balkans as an obvious rallying
point for al Qaeda and other militant organizations.
For example, the western Balkans have long been a primary route for
illicit trafficking. Guns, drugs, prostitutes and other illegal traffic
have passed freely across porous borders. Ease of mobility, proximity to
Western targets and black-market sources of equipment and revenue
provide a unique opportunity for militants.
Additionally, the area is populated with Muslims. While they are not as
sympathetic to Islamist extremism as Muslims in the Middle East or
Central Asia, they still empathize with militant movements, due in part
to a history of mistreatment at the hands of the ruling powers. The
region contains the largest contiguous Muslim population within Europe,
providing militants an opportunity to find a safe haven. Growing Muslim
populations in nearby Spain, France and Germany also could provide
support for militants in the region.
The Balkans represent access to abundant target opportunities. In coming
months, the EU expansion will open up visa-free travel to a number of
Central European nations that border Balkan states. This will make
infiltration into Western Europe - and perhaps the United States - that
much easier.
Moreover, Stratfor has said for some time that al Qaeda will attempt a
huge operation in the near future or risk losing its relevance in the
Muslim world. And although it might not be the type of target al Qaeda
usually seeks, this summer will bring a highly visible, relatively
vulnerable and easily accessible target to the Balkans' backyard: the
2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
The Greek borders with Macedonia and Albania are porous, providing easy
entrance into Greece. Large gatherings and the massive Western presence
at the Olympics will present a wonderful target for hopeful militants.
Greek authorities obviously are worried; security spending for the
Olympics is believed to be in the neighborhood of $700 million - more
than 10 percent of Greece's annual defense expenditures - and Athens has
enlisted NATO allies to provide money and personnel to beef up security
efforts. Such massive defense operations would not be undertaken were
there no inkling of a threat. That threat could easily come from
militant organizations operating clandestinely near the northern Greek
border.
Despite the huge sums of money being spent on security, criticism
abounds. The main security company contracted by Athens - the U.S. firm
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) -- has clashed with
Greek officials over the delayed implementation of a variety of security
measures, SAIC representatives have referred to Greek officials as
unresponsive, and claim that they are hindering security efforts. Also,
the majority of security efforts will go toward protecting the
high-profile elements of the Olympic games - athletes, venues,
transportation, etc. - but less will be allocated to protect the
multitudes of tourists and fans expected in Athens before and during the
games.
All of the claims, denials and counterclaims suggest that, while the
extent might be unknown, militant Islamist organizations are active in
the Balkans. These groups most likely share the same ideology as their
cousins in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan and will view the Summer
Olympics as a potential target. However, the United States and NATO will
do their best to push the Islamist threat in the Balkans into the
shadows until more victories in the broader war on terrorism can be
realized.
TOP
ERP KIM Info-Service is
the official Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska
and Prizren and works with the blessing of His Grace Bishop
Artemije.
Our Information Service is
distributing news on Kosovo related issues. The main focus of the
Info-Service is the life of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian
community in the Province of Kosovo and Metohija. ERP KIM Info Service
works in cooperation with www.serbian-translation.com
as well as the Kosovo Daily
News (KDN) News List
Disclaimer:
The views
expressed by the authors of newspaper articles or other texts which are
not official communiqués or news reports by the Diocese are their own and
do not necessarily represent the views of the Serbian Orthodox
Church
Additional information on
our Diocese and the life of the Kosovo Serb Community may be found at:
http://www.kosovo.net
Copyright 2004, ERP KIM Info-Service
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