I have mixed feelings about this development. I actually approved of Harper not immediately recognising Kosovo. This sets a very bad precedent and many believe it is illegal. That this situation exists at all is partly the result of NATO intervention in Kosovo and attack on Serbia. It is rather ironic that the struggle for independence involved the KLA tagged as terrorists by the US and also many Muslim radicals who came to help out. From Serbian cleansing of Albanians we had a cleansing of Serbs from Kosovo along with Gypsies. The campaign for a greater Albania has now completed its first phase.
Nevertheless given the reality on the ground in Kosovo nothing less than independence seems possible. However, as recent events have shown there are Serb enclaves that may yet attempt to rejoin Serbia and who are adamant about not belonging to an independent Kosovo.
Canada recognizes Kosovo, Serbia pulls ambassador
Last Updated: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 | 5:36 PM ET Comments59Recommend114CBC News
Canada followed the lead of about 30 other countries Tuesday and formally recognized Kosovo, a former Serbian province that declared its independence last month.
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier said the "unique circumstances" that led to Kosovo's declaration of independence mean it does not constitute any kind of precedent.
(Canadian Press)
The move prompted the recall of Serbia's ambassador from Ottawa, who is returning to Belgrade temporarily for consultations.
"We know that a significant number of countries including our G7 partners and many of Canada's close allies have already recognized Kosovo. So what we did today, we joined the international community and recognized Kosovo as a new state," Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier told CBC News.
Kosovo decision no precedent: Bernier
Bernier said the decision to recognize Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia on Feb. 17, does not provide a precedent from which Quebec nationalists could launch a similar bid for sovereignty.
Many have speculated that Canada stayed silent on the issue in recent weeks because of its implications on a desire by Quebec separatists to secede from the rest of Canada. Bernier said, however, that the two cases cannot be compared.
"It's unique because as you know there has been a very brutal war over there in Kosovo, and NATO was there, and the UN was also part of the solution, and now you have a state that is under some UN forces to be sure that all the independence, after the independence is going well," he said.
"So for us it's a unique case and as a declaration issued by Kosovo's parliament also makes clear, and this is what's important for us, the unique circumstances which have led to Kosovo's independence mean it does not constitute any kind of precedent," he said.
Many countries, including the U.S., recognized Kosovo's independence weeks ago. Bernier said that Canada withheld its acknowledgement until now in order to "assess the situation on the ground."
"It's an important decision for a country when you have to recognize another country, and we took our time and now we're ready to do it, and we are doing that today," he said.
'We are very unhappy'
Dusan Batakovic, Serbia's ambassador to Canada, told the Canadian Press that he has since been temporarily called back to Belgrade for consultation, a symbolic gesture of displeasure with Canada's announcement. Serbia considers Kosovo's independence declaration illegal.
"We are very unhappy because we consider Canada as a friendly country," Batakovic said from Ottawa. "We think Canada might come to regret dearly this decision."
He said the decision sets a "dangerous precedent" for sovereignty movements around the world, including Spain, Russia, India, as well as within Canada.
"Can you imagine, for instance, if the Quebec parliament declared its unilateral independence the same way the Kosovo parliament did? Would they recognize, in Ottawa, Quebec as an independent country or not?" he asked.
Bob Rae, the newly elected Liberal MP for Toronto Centre and the party's foreign affairs critic, said he didn't understand why the government delayed the decision.
"As for the argument that there's a parallel with Quebec, I don't buy it," Rae told CBC News on Tuesday following his byelection win in the Toronto Centre riding.
Kosovo, which is 90 per cent ethnic Albanian, has not been under Serbian control since NATO launched air strikes in 1999. Nonetheless, Kosovo is viewed as a critical part of Serbian cultural heritage and history, with Serbs representing about 10 per cent of the region's two million people.
About 200,000 Serbs live in Canada, according to Batakovic, some of whom launched protests in response to Kosovo's declaration. Dragan Ciric of the Serbian League of Canada said Tuesday's announcement was disappointing for the Serbian community here.
"My only thought is that by this decision, Canada just supported one more failed state, and I didn't think that that's a goal of Canadian foreign policy," he said.
President of the Albanian Canadian Community Association Agim Hadri said many Albanians, however, will be celebrating Canada's decision, which he hopes will allow Serbians and Albanians to live as peaceful neighbours here.
"Canada is very important factor in the world community, especially in peacekeeping, so by recognizing … Kosovo, I feel like Kosovo is recognized by all … of the world," he said.
Showing posts with label Kosovo independence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kosovo independence. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Monday, December 17, 2007
When it comes to Kosovo , Canada's in odd company
This article simply ignores the Kosovan ethnic cleansing of Serbs. There is a long history of that. See this TV clip. After the NATO bombing there was again reverse ethnic cleansing. It included others than Serbs, for example gypsies. See this site.
The contrast between the mosque and the church gives visual expression to the last six years of Kosovo's history. Since the end of the NATO bombing in 1999, over 200,000 Serbs have been driven from Kosovo, and roughly 3,000 killed. Of those who left, only 12,500 have returned. Most found their homes either torched--as in Orahovac's no man's land--or occupied by Albanians. Not one of the Serbs we have met in Kosovo feels safe, and almost all say they will leave Kosovo if it becomes independent--the likely outcome of negotiations that are expected to begin later this year.
The article is no doubt correct that Canada will not recognise Kosovo because of the implications for Quebec separatism. However, the whole NATO bombing of Serbia was unwarranted and another case of interventionism justified only by "success".
When it comes to Kosovo, Canada’s in odd company
The Telegram
By Richard Gwyn
Among the close to 200 member states of the United Nations, it’s hard to find any that have less in common than do Canada and Georgia, tucked away down in the Caucasus.
Georgia is small; we are huge, geographically at least. Georgia is poor; we are rich. We are part of the New World; they are of the Old World.
Yet on one crucial issue of the day, we and they think alike, even though this leaves both of us in a pretty small minority at the UN.
This issue is the bid by Kosovo, a province, to break away from Serbia to be a nation-state on its own.
The reason for Kosovo’s urge to go it alone is that more than 90 per cent of its population is ethnic Albanian. Serbia’s attempt in the mid-1990s
to ethnically cleanse its southern province Kosovo of Albanian Kosovars led to armed intervention by NATO (including by Canada) and the recreation of Kosovo as a UN protectorate even while leaving it nominally part of Serbia.
This week, the United Nations will issue a report that formally declares that its attempt to find an amicable and peaceable way for Kosovo to separate from Serbia has failed.
From this point on, everyone has to figure out what to do — including Canada and Georgia. Serbia itself resolutely refuses to accept that Kosovo has a right to secede. Serbia’s diplomatic weight is relatively modest. Behind it, though, is Russia, which has made it clear it will block the move by exercising its veto in the UN Security Council.
One way exists to end the stalemate. As Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci has already declared he intends to do, Kosovo can make a unilateral declaration of independence. The probable date this will happen is sometime in late January.
Most of the global players that matter, including the United States and the European Union, have made it clear they will recognize Kosovo once it declares itself independent.
The arguments for accepting Kosovo’s independence do seem overwhelming. All of its 2 million people are ethnic Albanians but for some 200,000 Serbs in the north. True, Kosovo was the spiritual birthplace of the Serb nation but that historical legacy was cancelled out
by dictator Slobodan Milosevic’s attempt at ethnic cleansing.
Nevertheless, Georgia won’t be exchanging ambassadors with the new nation-state of Kosovo. And neither, it’s safe to guess, will be Canada.
Georgia’s motive is easy to identify. Within Georgia there are a couple
of ethnically distinct statelets, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and both aspire to be independent. Both are likely to use what happens to Kosovo as a precedent they can use. (Behind the scenes, Russia, now in a prolonged quarrel with Georgia, supports these independence movements.)
Canada’s motive is more complex. Remember the Clarity Act enacted by former prime minister Jean Chrétien in response to the near-defeat of federalism in Quebec’s 1995 referendum? This legislation proclaims that a pro-separation majority in any future referendum would not give
a Parti Québécois government the right to declare independence unilaterally.
Instead, and as confirmed by the Supreme Court, any separation-bound PQ government would have to negotiate first with the Canadian federal government of the day.
Accepting Kosovo’s right to declare independence unilaterally would ensnare us into accepting Quebec’s right to do the same. In fact, we will not be entirely alone with Georgia. China leans the same way (because of Tibet) and likewise Cyprus (because of the breakaway Turkish region in the north or the island). Spain is worried about a precedent that might apply to Catalonia.
Russia is the strongest opponent of all, even if its real purpose is to make the United States and the European Union pay attention to it.
Given a free choice, there’s no doubt Canada would support Kosovo’s independence.
Instead, we’re going to stand among the naysayers, while looking embarrassed.
The contrast between the mosque and the church gives visual expression to the last six years of Kosovo's history. Since the end of the NATO bombing in 1999, over 200,000 Serbs have been driven from Kosovo, and roughly 3,000 killed. Of those who left, only 12,500 have returned. Most found their homes either torched--as in Orahovac's no man's land--or occupied by Albanians. Not one of the Serbs we have met in Kosovo feels safe, and almost all say they will leave Kosovo if it becomes independent--the likely outcome of negotiations that are expected to begin later this year.
The article is no doubt correct that Canada will not recognise Kosovo because of the implications for Quebec separatism. However, the whole NATO bombing of Serbia was unwarranted and another case of interventionism justified only by "success".
When it comes to Kosovo, Canada’s in odd company
The Telegram
By Richard Gwyn
Among the close to 200 member states of the United Nations, it’s hard to find any that have less in common than do Canada and Georgia, tucked away down in the Caucasus.
Georgia is small; we are huge, geographically at least. Georgia is poor; we are rich. We are part of the New World; they are of the Old World.
Yet on one crucial issue of the day, we and they think alike, even though this leaves both of us in a pretty small minority at the UN.
This issue is the bid by Kosovo, a province, to break away from Serbia to be a nation-state on its own.
The reason for Kosovo’s urge to go it alone is that more than 90 per cent of its population is ethnic Albanian. Serbia’s attempt in the mid-1990s
to ethnically cleanse its southern province Kosovo of Albanian Kosovars led to armed intervention by NATO (including by Canada) and the recreation of Kosovo as a UN protectorate even while leaving it nominally part of Serbia.
This week, the United Nations will issue a report that formally declares that its attempt to find an amicable and peaceable way for Kosovo to separate from Serbia has failed.
From this point on, everyone has to figure out what to do — including Canada and Georgia. Serbia itself resolutely refuses to accept that Kosovo has a right to secede. Serbia’s diplomatic weight is relatively modest. Behind it, though, is Russia, which has made it clear it will block the move by exercising its veto in the UN Security Council.
One way exists to end the stalemate. As Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci has already declared he intends to do, Kosovo can make a unilateral declaration of independence. The probable date this will happen is sometime in late January.
Most of the global players that matter, including the United States and the European Union, have made it clear they will recognize Kosovo once it declares itself independent.
The arguments for accepting Kosovo’s independence do seem overwhelming. All of its 2 million people are ethnic Albanians but for some 200,000 Serbs in the north. True, Kosovo was the spiritual birthplace of the Serb nation but that historical legacy was cancelled out
by dictator Slobodan Milosevic’s attempt at ethnic cleansing.
Nevertheless, Georgia won’t be exchanging ambassadors with the new nation-state of Kosovo. And neither, it’s safe to guess, will be Canada.
Georgia’s motive is easy to identify. Within Georgia there are a couple
of ethnically distinct statelets, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and both aspire to be independent. Both are likely to use what happens to Kosovo as a precedent they can use. (Behind the scenes, Russia, now in a prolonged quarrel with Georgia, supports these independence movements.)
Canada’s motive is more complex. Remember the Clarity Act enacted by former prime minister Jean Chrétien in response to the near-defeat of federalism in Quebec’s 1995 referendum? This legislation proclaims that a pro-separation majority in any future referendum would not give
a Parti Québécois government the right to declare independence unilaterally.
Instead, and as confirmed by the Supreme Court, any separation-bound PQ government would have to negotiate first with the Canadian federal government of the day.
Accepting Kosovo’s right to declare independence unilaterally would ensnare us into accepting Quebec’s right to do the same. In fact, we will not be entirely alone with Georgia. China leans the same way (because of Tibet) and likewise Cyprus (because of the breakaway Turkish region in the north or the island). Spain is worried about a precedent that might apply to Catalonia.
Russia is the strongest opponent of all, even if its real purpose is to make the United States and the European Union pay attention to it.
Given a free choice, there’s no doubt Canada would support Kosovo’s independence.
Instead, we’re going to stand among the naysayers, while looking embarrassed.
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