Serbian Strategy To Return To Kosovo – OpEd

Introduction

Serbian politics continues to prove that it describes the period of June 12th, 1999 as “imposed peace”, respectively “interwar time” that it was defeated and forced to withdraw troops from Kosovo, and “the time to come”, which promises its return to the Thrush Field.

“War is Hell” [1], this was the summary of William T. Sherman (1830–1891), one of the most successful Union generals in the American Civil War, said at the end of his military career in 1879. , the statement of the Serbian president, the oath of the government, as well as that of the Serbian gendarmerie, are quite the opposite of a reason of this nature. Those sides are provocative statements and reveal only the tip of the iceberg of Serbian geopolitics that marks the notion “Kosovo is Serbia”!

All this kennel of Serbian propaganda has been associated for several years with the purchase of modern weapons from Russia and Turkey. Therefore it must be taken very seriously.

Serbia’s expansion to the south

The founders of the modern Serbian state in pursuit of the national interest, on the verge of independence, still enjoying autonomy within the Ottoman Empire, were pursuing their expansion towards the West, aiming to include Serbs and Bosnian territory within the modern Serbian state. It was precisely the Austro-Hungarian project of extending to the Adriatic that would force the Serbian elite to consider Plan B – extending to the South.

In 1872, Prince Milan Obrenovi kishte had signed a secret convention with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in which he gave his assurances that “Serbia renounces its claims to Bosnia and Herzegovina.” [2]

Serbian sources show that it was not only Russia that pushed and supported Serbia for expansion in the Albanian living space, which also included the project for expulsion of the indigenous population in the counties of Nish, Prokuplje, Kursumlija, Pirot, Leskovc, Vraja.… In this plan Serbia it also had the support of Austria-Hungary, namely the Austro-Hungarian coalition of Hausburgs. Here is what a tripartite Serbo-Austro-Hungarian convention says:

“In the event of war, the signatory states were obliged to accept political neutrality. Austria-Hungary vowed to support Serbia’s penetration to the south, i.e. (to the lands of Old Northeastern Albania, such as the region of Nis, Leskovac, Vraja – SR.) etc. then Austria-Hungary was obliged to defend the interests of the Obrenovi. dynasty. Therefore, she recognized the proclamation of Prince Milan as King of Serbia in 1882 “. [3]

Serbian society since the founding of the modern Serbian state (1878) has recognized only victories in the geostrategic and geopolitical plane. The extension of the Serbian state to Albanian territories (1878, 1913) was a product of geopolitics that gave Serbia endless territory – exactly 998 [9] villages and 8 towns, where the majority of the absolute or sensible population was Albanians.

Vraja and Kurshumlia at that time were two urban centers that almost 90% were inhabited by Albanians, a good part of whom were Orthodox, who after the occupation either migrated to Ukraine (Odessa), or underwent assimilation.

Researchers can easily verify and find this data in Serbian sources themselves. There are a number of Serbian scholars who confirm this fact.

A number of Serbian historians have written about the position of Albanians in Northeastern Albania – before the Serbo-Turkish wars and the Eastern Crisis of 1875–1878, but also afterwards. A neighborhood of them, especially after the Second World War, have disclosed a range of data of interest relevant to the Arberian history of these areas, including the mass deportations. We are highlighting some of them, expressing our deep gratitude to you: M. Gj. Miliçeviqi, Dr. M. Vasoviqi Dr. Millovan Spasiqi, A. Bogosavleviqi, Dr. M. Rakiqi, Dr. Vidosava Nikoliq-Stojançeviq who include the periode 1878–1912 and that of the 20’th century: Dr. Jovan Trifunovski, Dr. Nikolla P. Iliq, Millorad Vasoviq, Dr. Trifun Zoniq, Dr. Rista Nikoliq and other pre Balkan’s war1878–1912, as : M. Gj. Miliçeviqi, Dr. M. Vasoviqi Dr. Millovan Spasiqi, A. Bogosavleviqi, Dr. M. Rakiqi, Dr. J. H. Vasileviqi etj.

According to Dr. Sabit Ukës, who refers to these data of Serbian authors: “The Albanian population extended to Nish and beyond as an ethnic compact, or mixed with the Serbian population and other ethnic elements, such as: Vlachs, Jews, Turks, Bulgarians, etc. ”. [4]

Furthermore, according to these Serbian researchers, the Albanian population was a majority in the region of Toplica and Vraja, in the areas and districts of Leskovac, Kosanica, Dobric, Veternica Gorge, then in Jablanica, Pustareka, Polanica, [5] Klisurica , Masurica, in the Vraja valley. [6] Then there were Albanians in Vlasina Kraishte and in the district of Nis. [7] Among the cities inhabited mainly or mostly by Albanians were: Prokupla, Kurshumlia, Leskoci, Nis, Vraja, Piroti, etc. [8]

Out of a total of 998 villages [9] of this Albanian territory, 300 of them were completely homogeneous, with Albanian population.

The British consul, Mr. Gould, on February 26, 1879, reported to the Marquis of Salisbury how the Serbian government was planning to treat the Albanian inhabitants of four of the large annexed centers: Nis – with 248 Albanian villages, Pirot with 289, yes as many as Vraja and 372 of Toplica, which were a total of 998 [10] villages, immediately after the occupation of this part of the Albanian space

The concept of effective control – the forerunner of the concept of occupation

The crime committed by Serbia with the expansion to the south (1878) will be repeated on a large scale with projects for the extermination of Albanians twice during the 20th century, the first time in 1912/13 and the second time in 1998/1999.

But, if in 1912 he had managed to completely conquer the former vilayet of Kosovo together with its capital – Skopje, and even the Sandzak of Novipazar, then dividing it with Montenegro, in 1999 geopolitics will not be on the side of Belgrade. Eventually Serbia will lose Kosovo and the Dukagjini Plain by June 1999, but it still fails to understand this fact. Meanwhile, to agree with the political reality already created in Southeast Europe through the existence of two Albanian republics on the one hand, and, and with the gradual and ascending factorization of the Albanian nation, on the other hand, seems to be extremely difficult.

Belgrade, very aware that time works for Albanians anyway, has been investing in the project for the partition of Kosovo for years. By the way, with the victory of Joe Biden this project they are forced to put in the drawers, like many others before him. But, will we use this period of four years that follow, initially for the functioning of the Republic of Kosovo and at the same time for the liberation of official Tirana from the chains of political and economic crime?

To be seen.

It seems that only if the Albanians as a Nation will start to act in counter-offensive, not only by reminding them of the historical right they have to return the space occupied in 1878, but also by working seriously for such an opportunity in a non-future. far away, Belgrade can be mentioned and lowers its head.

But, since the Albanians, although they created their State (1912) and meanwhile the Second Republic (2008), they could not consolidate properly and create state and academic mechanisms that draft projects of this nature, but also to oppose them. with the same currency strategies of expansionary character, conforming to the design parameters of Serbian geopolitics, which continuously, for almost two centuries, expanded the territory of the Serbian state to the detriment of the vital interest of the Albanian nation, while Europe is silent in the face of these Serbian claims. erroneous Serbian geopolitics similar to those of the twentieth century. 19th, the neo-fascist policy of the current president Aleksandar Vuiqi çet is heading again, announcing the return of the Serbian army in Kosovo!

Belgrade links this warning with the return of Azerbaijan to Nagorno-Karabakh, drawing parallels between the case of Armenians in that area and Serbs in Kosovo! Not coincidentally, he does all this right after the radicalization of Islamic fascism everywhere in Europe and especially in Austria. He is well acquainted with the Western sentiment towards the acts of the so-called “Brown Wolves”, who were responsible for all their macabreness towards the Armenian population even in the last weeks before the reconquest of parts of the Armenian territory from Azerbaijan. These genocidal actions were again publicly supported by Turkish President Erdogan. In fact, the agreement reached between the parties can be said to be a compromise between Moscow and Ankara, but the heaviest price would be paid again by the Armenians.

For the West, this was the second act of humiliation, after the one Erdogan did on July 24, when he restored Sophia Cathedral from a museum that had been turned into an Ataturk-era mosque into a mosque, claiming to be a kind of caliph. the son-in-law of Islamic Sunnis.

Let us remember the fact that this cathedral was originally desecrated by Sultan Mehmet Fatih (1453), whose name to this day bears one of the central mosques of Prishtina (sic!), While the head of the Islamic Community of Kosovo this fact as if it is in his honor! Erdogan had chosen not unintentionally the day of July 24, thus recalling the Lausanne agreement of the first 97 years, which had corrected the agreement imposed by Sèvres, restoring possession to Anatolia at that time and thus returning to be again the symbol of Turkish military power. [11]

The annexation of Crimea, much less the return of Azerbaijan to Nagorno-Karabakh, cannot be compared to the case of Kosovo. Kosovo was from October 1912 a typical colony of Serbia. In no serious international document has Kosovo ever been described as part of Serbia legally.

Regarding the annexation of Crimea, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on March 27, 2014, through which Russia is considered an aggressor and the inclusion of part of the territory of Ukraine in the Russian Federation is declared illegal. [12] Meanwhile, the declaration of Kosovos independence as an act of political vulgarity of its citizens, according to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is not contrary to international law.

The Serbian government constantly insists that the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade be postponed to the Greek calendars, always “arguing” in the Security Council and everywhere that the unstressed right of the northern Kosovo Serbs to secede stems from the fact that “Kosovo does not recognize the complaints legitimacy of the Serb community ”and that“ coexistence is impossible for us ”,“ forgetting ”the real fact that the Serb community in Kosovo enjoys rights that no minority enjoys at EU level. Meanwhile, the comparison with the Albanian community in Serbia (which in terms of number is almost the same as the Serb community in Kosovo), can not even be imagined. In Medoka (Medvedja) e.g. silent ethnic cleansing has been practiced for years through the application of the so-called ‘address passivation’ of Albanian citizens in their settlements.

The Municipality of Medoka in the 2011 census had 7438 inhabitants. Now, although without official statistics, but based on the data of the Albanian community there, it is assumed that only 600 Albanians remain registered in Medoka.

For thirty years now, all Serbian governments, in Medoka, Bujanovac and Presevo and wherever Albanians are, including Novipazar, Tutin and Sjenica, have been targeted by Serbian politics, strictly applying assimilationist policies to them (especially in Novi Pazar, Tutin and Sjenica), but also forcing anyone who speaks Albanian to leave permanently (in the case of Medoka, Bujanovac and Presevo).

In the last four years alone, Serbian authorities have deleted over 4,000 Albanians from the civil registry in the municipality of Medoka (Medvegja). Through the ‘passivation of addresses’ of the settlement, the Serbian state made the final removal of Albanians from the civil registry of Serbia, preventing them from obtaining new documents, the right of access to medical services or social assistance and even removal from the voter list, that as an act prevents participation in elections, said recently the Speaker of the Parliament of Kosovo, Dr. Vjosa Osmai, in a meeting with a delegation from Brussels.

Serbia with the north of Kosovo, applying even partially the concept of effective control, de facto has kept the door open for the application of the notion of occupation in more appropriate conditions and circumstances. Meanwhile, since the military occupation would be considered as an annex, an act of occupation, the Serbian president is preparing the alibi for such an act!

Southeast Europe despite constituting barely 3.5% of the total population of the European Union, regularly throughout these last two centuries, especially since the so-called Birth Crisis (1875) while with even greater emphasis from 1914, when the assassination attempt on the crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, will serve as the trigger for the start of the First World War, will arouse interest from world and regional superpowers. Again in this part of the old continent the attention of Russia, China, Turkey is returned, claiming to push the line of collision with the West further to Sarajevo.

Moscow’s interest in pulling Serbia as far away from the West as possible has led Brussels to remain silent on Aleksandar Vucic’s provocative statements and not to take seriously the superior armament of the Serbian army over the past decade. Serbia as a geopolitical instrument in the hands of Moscow is acting similarly as Josip Broz Tito had done throughout the Cold War, flirting with all stakeholders in the region.

Moscow, aware of Belgrade’s position, especially now after the loss of Donald Trump and the failure of the Kosovo partition project, has reactivated to pull Serbia into its orbit even further by returning to Serbia’s original western enlargement project. (Bosnia), but openly warning of the possibility of returning to Kosovo at a time when it will be considered more appropriate for Russian and Serbian interests.

The parties involved in the Kosovo case have often stated that Kosovo was a sui generis case, ie not an official legal precedent. Vuiqiiq used the moment to include the Nago-Karabakh case in his speech and warned of a possible return to Kosovo on the holiest day for Albanians. Exactly on November 28, the day of the independence of the Albanian State, to demonstrate the seriousness of his statements, which are essentially a product of the Serbian expansionist doctrine, he visits the largest military barracks in the region (that of Nis), showing the muscles of Serbia through the military parade with the new contingent of 11 Russian tanks, and thus threatening to open the region with the Serbian military vehicle.

Aleksandar Vuciq, the Serbian president, similar to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, claims to repeat every time he is given the opportunity to argue his thesis on the necessity of Kosovo’s partition, based on the so-called principle of corrective secession. But, when this thesis does not suit him, as in the current case of Azerbaijan’s intervention, he invokes inviolable sovereignty and the right of the state to protect national interests!

The issue is not only raised in line with the doctrine of “improving secession” – which claims that secession can be accepted as a last resort to end oppression – which is proving to be a myth, as northern Serbs and the Serb minority in Kosovo in general , based on the Ahtisaari Package that was subsequently imposed on you by the constitution, enjoy rights that no minority enjoys at European level. This doctrine, in which Belgrade is already crawling, has “no strong theoretical foundation in international law, and generally has nothing to do with ‘Frozen Conflicts’, such as those in the post-Soviet region.” [13]

International law includes the concept of self-determination, it does not include the right of secession. Western states and liberal democracies in general, in the case of Kosovo, did not emphasize the decolonization paradigm, which was a real fact, as they seemed to be several decades late in realizing that they had to do exactly with this paradigm, but they emphasized the sui generis case for due to the war and the Serbian genocide against the Albanian population (1998/1999). Despite this, for Belgrade, the comprehensive struggle for the return to Kosovo continues. Even at the cost of causing major clashes, as they create opportunities to apply dangerous geopolitical schemes without bothering about peace and stability. In this line of thought one must understand the threats of Aleksandar Vuiqi sot today.

Vuciq’s statement was in fact addressed more to the incoming administration of Joe Biden than to official Pristina or Tirana. Insistent intention to draw parallels with the paths followed for the liberation of Kosovo from the colonial position and the frozen conflict in Nagorni-Karabakh, defending the Serbian-Russian thesis on frozen conflicts and equating Kosovo with one , is extremely dangerous and should be treated very seriously.

Conclusion

Russia and Turkey will continue to extend their influence in the region as long as Brussels and Washington do not coordinate to end projects based on new political maps in favor of Serbia.

The establishment of a Russian military base in Nis and the announcement of its expansion to other areas (Sfircë, Tutin, etc.), lead Belgrade to deepen the pro-Russian course and even more significant departure from the West.

Serious analysts have been writing and talking constantly in recent years about the expected Russian threat and threat in Kosovo. “For Albanians, the Russian threat has been and remains real,” concludes Dr. Islam Lauka. [14]

The recent opening of a representative office of the Russian Ministry of Defense in Belgrade is a clear signal of the claims to turn Serbia into a regional power in the service of Russian geopolitics.

Serbia has been continuously, but especially in recent years, supplied and continues to be supplied with MIG-29 bombers, MI-17B and MI-35 M combat helicopters, tanks and other armored vehicles. Serbia’s participation in the exercises codenamed “Slavic Brotherhood” in Russia and Belarus, but also by hosting these military parades, is an open demonstration of Serbian strategic orientation. In this anti-Western march the demonstration of the latest generation of Russian anti-missile defense production on November 28, presents the icing on the cake!

Serbia through the protracted dialogue (2–11–2020), applying even partially the concept of effective control in the north of Kosovo, has continuously invested to be ready to occupy the north in appropriate circumstances. Now that the secret agreements with former President Hashim Thaçi for a flashback simulation have failed, the Serbian president returns to Nagorni Karabakh as an additional “argument” and the alibi found!

In the new circumstances that Belgrade expects, somewhat similar to what the criminal expects to return to the crime scene, the institutions of the Republic, especially those of security and defense, must urgently conclude military agreements in the first place with the Republic of Albania, but also with friendly countries like the USA, Germany, Croatia, Great Britain, in case of attack, to urgently benefit from humane-professional support, but also with sophisticated and conventional armament. The protection and consolidation of the state of Kosovo is therefore a national interest.

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Notes / Footnotes

1. This conclusion is part of a public statement, respectively a quote published by the Clausewitz International Center at a German Bundeswehr Academy in Hamburg on 7. 12. 2000. Quoted by Robert Cowley / Geoffrey Parker (Publisher),
The Reader’s Companion to Military History, Boston — New York 1996, f. 424.

2. Group of authors, History for school age, Belgrade, 1994, f. 19

3. Po aty, f. 19–20

4. Dr. Jovan Trifunoski, Basin of Vranja, book I, Shkup 1962

5. Nikolla P. Iliq, book. quted. p. 14.

6. Dr. Jovan Trifunoski, quoted. p. 73

7. Rista T. Nikoliq, book. quoted. p. 119

8. Dr. Vidosava Nikolić Stojančević, Leskovac and the liberated areas of Serbia, 1877–1878,

     Leskovac 1975. cit. del. Page. 131.

9. Bejtullah Destani, Emigrants, British Dossier, Prishtina, 2019, p.268

10. Po aty, f.268

11. NZZ, 12.11.2020, Interview with the political scientist and connoisseur of political Islam, who is threatening not only France but the whole of Europe.

source:

file:///home/sadri/Downloads/Interview_%20Der%20Politologe%20Gilles%20Kepel%20u%CC%88ber%20Jihad-Terrorismus.pdf 

12. United Nations General Asanbly Resolution 68/262, “Territorial integrity of  Ukraine”,   
      www.un.org, 27 mars, 2014.

13. Ayaz Rzayev, No, Kosovo Is Not a Precedent for Nagorno-Karabakh, The National
       nterest, 29.11.2020
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/no-kosovo-not-precedent-nagorno-karabakh-173478

14. Dr. Islam Lauka, Instrumentalization of a friendship, Prishtina 2020, p. 41