Thursday, October 28, 2004
[This post is by DF]
Ibrahim Rugova won a general election held in Kosovo last week. This is important because the Kosovo Muslim majority have elected a pacifist who is quick to denounce terror organizations in Kosovo and the surrounding Balkan area. He seems to be aware of the dangers of the Balkan Route, a major heroin supply line to Europe.
The Western press largely ignored Rugova’s victory. When the election came up at all, the press chose to chastise the Serb authorities and the Serbian Orthodox Church for discouraging citizens from voting. The BBC claimed that the Serb minority was threatened with violence from Belgrade and the Church. What’s interesting with this claim is that NATO is presiding over the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo, churches are being burnt to the ground and the remaining Serbs are being tortured and ‘disappeared’. Perhaps instead of spending so much time in Balkan whorehouses the ‘Peacekeeping force’ could have attempted their job and assisted in the democratic process. Or maybe abetting the sex-slave trade is the main NATO goal in the former Yugoslavia.
NATO’s man in Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, is also the leader of the KLA. His group has possibly won the admiration of the west by ethnically cleansing some Serbs and by encouraging terror in Kosovo and the Balkans (The Wall Street Journal even claims the Osama Bin Laden was issued a Bosnian passport! Though the Bosnian authorities deny this, they admit that some ‘records are missing’(?) ), the destabilization of Macedonia and smuggling heroin.
Thaci took part in the democratic process as well, achieving only about 28% of the vote. Based on the history of western intervention, one can easily see why Thaci seemed like the right guy to back.
The KLA tactics, from the beginning in the late 1990s were clearly designed to erode support from moderate Muslims like Rugova and create an extremist support network in the Balkans. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to detract too much from the moderates who presumably voted for Rugova.
Let’s see how long Europe and the US can stay out of Rugova’s way and allow for a serious multicultural democracy to take place. Perhaps policy makers in the US could use this time to show support for someone who has not been implicated in drugs and/or violence to run a country. Or will Rugova be Kosovo’s Aristide?
Ibrahim Rugova won a general election held in Kosovo last week. This is important because the Kosovo Muslim majority have elected a pacifist who is quick to denounce terror organizations in Kosovo and the surrounding Balkan area. He seems to be aware of the dangers of the Balkan Route, a major heroin supply line to Europe.
The Western press largely ignored Rugova’s victory. When the election came up at all, the press chose to chastise the Serb authorities and the Serbian Orthodox Church for discouraging citizens from voting. The BBC claimed that the Serb minority was threatened with violence from Belgrade and the Church. What’s interesting with this claim is that NATO is presiding over the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo, churches are being burnt to the ground and the remaining Serbs are being tortured and ‘disappeared’. Perhaps instead of spending so much time in Balkan whorehouses the ‘Peacekeeping force’ could have attempted their job and assisted in the democratic process. Or maybe abetting the sex-slave trade is the main NATO goal in the former Yugoslavia.
NATO’s man in Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, is also the leader of the KLA. His group has possibly won the admiration of the west by ethnically cleansing some Serbs and by encouraging terror in Kosovo and the Balkans (The Wall Street Journal even claims the Osama Bin Laden was issued a Bosnian passport! Though the Bosnian authorities deny this, they admit that some ‘records are missing’(?) ), the destabilization of Macedonia and smuggling heroin.
Thaci took part in the democratic process as well, achieving only about 28% of the vote. Based on the history of western intervention, one can easily see why Thaci seemed like the right guy to back.
The KLA tactics, from the beginning in the late 1990s were clearly designed to erode support from moderate Muslims like Rugova and create an extremist support network in the Balkans. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to detract too much from the moderates who presumably voted for Rugova.
Let’s see how long Europe and the US can stay out of Rugova’s way and allow for a serious multicultural democracy to take place. Perhaps policy makers in the US could use this time to show support for someone who has not been implicated in drugs and/or violence to run a country. Or will Rugova be Kosovo’s Aristide?
