Kosovo: American and German geo-strategic plan to tame Russia.

Former Leader in Kosovo Acquitted of War Crimes
By MARLISE SIMONSPublished: April 4, 2008PARIS —
The United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague on Thursday acquitted a former commander of the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army of all charges of
war crimes in a decision that could inflame anti-Kosovo sentiment in Serbia just weeks after Kosovo unilaterally declared independence.
Times Topics: KosovoThe commander, Ramush Haradinaj, who also briefly served as prime minister of Kosovo three years ago, was found not guilty of murder,
persecution, rape and torture of Kosovo Serb civilians. The crimes were said to have been carried out by men under his command in 1998, when the rebels fought to
free their largely ethnic Albanian region from Serbian rule.
Another rebel commander, Idriz Balaj, was also acquitted, while a third defendant, Lahi Brahimaj, was sentenced to six years in prison for torture and cruel treatment
of prisoners.
The men who were acquitted may return home as early as Friday, and they are expected to be given a hero’s welcome. But in court, in summarizing their verdict, the
judges said that the case presented had many flaws. They cited vague evidence and widespread fear among witnesses, suggesting that the full version of events had
not been told.
The complete text of the judgment was not available, but in their summary, the judges gave much weight to the fear and the evident intimidation of witnesses. Lawyers
said that in no other case before the tribunal had witness intimidation been so widespread.
The judges said that they had serious difficulties in getting many of almost 100 witnesses to testify freely. They said that they had to permit 34 witnesses to hide their
identities from the public, that 18 were subpoenaed because they refused to testify and that others said they dared not talk once they were in court.
The case against Mr. Haradinaj was fraught with difficulties from the start. Western diplomats tried to dissuade Carla Del Ponte, who was the chief prosecutor, from
indicting Mr. Haradinaj, arguing that he was a respected political leader who played an important role in stabilizing Kosovo.
Within the prosecutor’s office, some lawyers also had warned that the case against Mr. Haradinaj was weak because it would be hard to link him to the crimes.
Prosecutors complained repeatedly about pressure on the witnesses, saying that those most afraid were former rebel fighters who had been expected to testify as
insiders. At least three designated witnesses were killed before the trial, prosecutors said.
In November, the trial ground to a halt when the defense lawyers for all three accused unexpectedly announced that they would not call any witnesses because they
considered the prosecution case so weak.
For Serbs, the acquittal of two of the former rebel commanders, whose forces were backed and supported by the West, was likely to be viewed as one more insult.
Kosovo has long been portrayed as a victim of Serbia. Only one other case at the tribunal has focused on the abuses and killings by fighters of the Kosovo Liberation
Army. Human rights groups have documented numerous killings and instances of mistreatment of those not siding with the rebels.
Oliver Ivanovic, who represents Kosovo Serbs, told the FoNet news agency in Belgrade that the acquittals would make it even more difficult to demand that the
Serbian government arrest Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, wartime Bosnian Serb leaders who remain fugitives.
Serbs will now see the tribunal as even more of a political, rather than a legal, institution, Mr. Ivanovic said. He added, “It will be now very difficult to convince any
Serb that this is not an anti-Serb tribunal.”
In Thursday’s ruling, Mr. Brahimaj was sentenced to six years for the abuse of prisoners detained in a camp where he was in charge. It said that he had personally
participated in beatings and torture.
Mr. Brahimaj, who has already served three years, is likely to be freed in a year if he gets the usual reduction for good behavior that is common in European countries
where he may serve his time.
After Mr. Haradinaj surrendered to the court, in 2005, he was allowed to return to Kosovo to await his trial. Much to the frustration of Ms. Del Ponte, he was
treated favorably when the court permitted him to play a limited political role at home, a privilege granted to no other detainee.
It was not clear if prosecutors would appeal.

Is Kosovo the end of Europe?
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.”
(Ash Narain Roy, Mainstream, India) Monday, March 31, 2008 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.

Bush urging Nato expansion east
US President George W Bush has repeated his call for Nato to expand eastwards.
Speaking in Romania ahead of Nato's summit in Bucharest, he said the former Soviet states of Ukraine and Georgia should be offered paths to membership.
"We must make clear that Nato welcomes the aspirations of Georgia and Ukraine for membership in Nato," said Mr Bush.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said his country would not sulk over the expansion plans - but stressed that they would not "go unanswered".
"This will not be left without an answer, I can assure you," Mr Lavrov told parliament in Moscow.
"But we will respond pragmatically, not like small boys in school who sulk at those who bully them, run out of the room, slam the door and start crying in the corner.
"We must concentrate on increasing our economic power and taking our defence capabilities to a higher technologic level."
More time
Mr Bush said Georgia and Ukraine should be offered "a clear path" towards the goal of Nato membership.
"Nato membership must remain open to all of Europe's democracies that seek it, and are ready to share in the responsibilities of Nato," he went on.
The prospect of more ex-Soviet states joining Nato is opposed by Russia, while Nato members France and Germany have warned that it will worsen relations with
Moscow.
The Cold War is over and Russia is not our enemy George W Bush
German defence minister Franz Josef Jung said on Wednesday that Berlin did not oppose Nato membership for Ukraine and Georgia, but added: "It will still take
some more time to create the exact conditions for Georgia and Ukraine to be able to contribute to guaranteeing security."
French prime minister Francois Fillon said on Tuesday of Ukrainian and Georgian membership: "We think that it is not the correct response to the balance of power in
Europe."
Mr Bush spoke at the Black Sea resort of Neptun on Wednesday, where he met Romania's President Traian Basescu.
In a joint press conference, Mr Bush said he "strongly believed" Croatia, Albania and Macedonia should be able to join Nato as full members.
He added that Membership Action Plans should be extended to Ukraine and Georgia, and strongly supported calls by Montenegro and Bosnia-Hercegovina for
"intensified dialogue" on membership. "We ought to open the door to closer cooperation with Serbia," he also said.
He also urged Nato allies to send more troops to Afghanistan.
Open door
Earlier, Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told the BBC he supported membership for the former Soviet states.
"There's no way that the door will be locked for Ukraine and Georgia," he said.
"The Nato Treaty very clearly states that European democracies fulfilling their criteria for Nato membership are welcome."
Mr de Hoop Scheffer said he understood Russian concerns but added that the "final decision will be taken by the allies and not by anybody else".
The three-day summit of leaders from the 26-nation alliance is due to start in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, later.
It is being billed as the most important in the alliance's 59-year history.
Nato enlargement and efforts to rally support for the Nato-led force in Afghanistan are the topics expected to dominate the agenda.
Mr Bush also spoke of his forthcoming talks with outgoing Russian president Vladimir Putin - whom he will meet at the summit, and again at private talks in the
Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi at the weekend.
The US leader said he would make clear to Mr Putin that "the Cold War is over and Russia is not our enemy".
"This is a good chance for me to sit down and have yet another heart-to-heart with him," he said.
"I call it an opportunity to sit down and have a good frank discussion again."