The ‘Serbian Titanic Scenario’ Must Be Prevented – OpEd
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, at the last session of the UN, gave a speech that the Serbian media described as historic. What makes that speech historic was his harsh accusation against Perednim, that they have “brutally violated” the Charter of the United Nations and Resolution 12 44, recognizing the independence of Kosovo. In many respects, this speech can be compared to that of Vladimir Putin held in the German Bundestag in 2001, when he spoke about Russia’s integration into Europe and bloodshed for building a full partnership with Germany.
Vučić’s position in the said speech, it is now clear, was four-way connected with the aggressive Serbian terrorist act that will be carried out against Kosovo on September 24. If we look at it more carefully, the speech was an open expression of Serbia’s public distancing from the EU and the West in general.
If in his speech held in the Bundestag, Putin signaled to Germany that the future of Europe, first of all of Germany, is more with Russia than with the USA, Vucic’s speech sent unequivocal signals that Serbia will henceforth serve as a puppet of Russia in Southeast Europe. Therefore, it was no coincidence that the first meeting that Vucic had after the terrorist aggression against Kosovo, that is, the next day, with the Russian ambassador in Belgrade.
This anti-transatlantic attitude was clearly seen in Vučić’s speech at the UN, but it was even more transparent with the demonstration he made during the meeting with the Russian ambassador, when he stated that he reported to the ambassador about the developments in Serbia, etc.
This aspect of pre-modern diplomacy should not be lost in its discourse at all. Rather, it would have to keep it deep in its collective memory.
Serbian defeat
The commercial film World War Z (2013) starring Brad Pitt is about a “zombie apocalypse”. It has a special episode that takes place in Jerusalem. A large wall is built around the place from which the Jewish citizens enter, but also go to the zombies. In the meantime, the zombies are changing and want to tear down the wall.
In the moments when I was reading the first news about the penetration of the Serbian “green” paramilitaries in the north, how in the eyes of the people I was being paraded by zombies who were somehow related to the Serbian paramilitaries. The Serbian Zambas, probably in agreement with segments of KFOR, had succeeded in “breaking the wall” and stationing themselves in their “Castle” alias in the Monastery dedicated to Saint Mary, which has a long history that begins in the 13th century. It was founded on the foundations of an older monastery by Stefan Nemanja.
But the Serbian pilgrims who had landed that night of September 24 at this monastery were not ordinary pilgrims emotionally attached to this important center of religious, cultural and intellectual life for the Serbian Orthodox community. No, they had become zombies through which the Serbian strategists were pretending to correct history.
Wars are currently taking place in the world for genuine geopolitical positions. To catch this trend, Serbian strategists are ready to start new wars, invade, destroy and even plant a zombie virus, if it goes in favor of their objective – the creation of “Serbian World”.
Serbian strategists, judging that they can be delayed in the course of political events, driven by sadness and illusions, on September 24th taught the north of Kosovo, probably, prematurely.
They said that in this case they would be able to recover part of the losses, by annexing at least the north of Kosovo, but, as is already known, they suffered a debacle. Through the Franco-German project, they had managed to impose the association of municipalities with a Serbian majority at the center of the dialogue, but even in this case, together with their sponsors, as if they did not have the complete information on the ground – most of the municipalities that the Ahtisaari Plan had transformed them demographically as Serb-majority regions, now after a decade, they had suffered a demographic debacle – they could no longer be called Serb-majority municipalities. Even Novobërda is no longer like that, even though it was forgotten with villages that were separated from Kamenica and Gjilan; Graçanica can no longer be called such, even though according to the cadastral register, it was extended to the outskirts of Fushë-Kosovo or beyond Hajvalia; even Shtërpca was no longer like that, since the group of leaders of the Serbian List, cooperating with the incriminated political elements, had sold construction permits even in the deepest areas of Brezovica and where nature should not be violated…
Aggressive Serbian nationalism and Russian imperialism
In the first chapter of my book “Freedom without heroes” and not only, I describe this behavior of Serbia as a product of Serbian chauvinism that is based on three pillars: first, an aggressive nationalism that constantly finds support in Russian imperialism; secondly, clerofascism and extreme patriarchy; and thirdly, the typical Serbian autocracy.
These three elements, on which the Serbian society is based, were cultivated continuously and in a more drastic way during the period of the disintegration of Yugoslavia. They have been cultivated and maintained even after the Serbian capitulation in Kumanovo on June 9, 1999. Thus, the Serbian society has managed to preserve the idea that has served to feed the illusion of the return of the Serbian army to a favorable political position again in Kosovo. The aggression of September 24 was part of this platform, while the insistence on continuing this course further has its consequences as a result of illusions and wrong signals sent to the Serbian political elite by segments of European diplomacy that have stalled and continue to obstruct it. any initiative to sanction Serbia even in these circumstances when the terrorist aggression against Kosovo is completely clear that it was organized and directed by Aleksandar Vuçiqi.
The connection of aggressive Serbian institutional nationalism with Russian imperialism is also clearly reflected in the book of the Prime Minister of Serbia, Vladan Gheorgjevic, entitled “Albanians and Great Powers”, on the basis of which the true colonialist policy, racism and historical enmity are documented and published. promoted by the state and Serbian Orthodox ideology.[1]
On the pragmatic level, it will find application especially in the sanjak of Nish, in Toplicë and up to Kurshumli and Vraje.
The Serbian writer Jovan Haxhivasilevic sheds light on this course of expansion from the beginning of the modern Serbian state, which was oriented towards the south. He writes that the expulsion of the Albanians was done with the aim “for Serbia to become a pure national state and to create the possibility that the Serbian action in the future will be directed to the parts of Kosovo”.[2]
Leo Freundlich, the Austrian Jew, has been intensively involved in the publication of the Serbian crime in the proportions of barbarism against the Albanians which was the product of the aggressive Serbian nationalism. He decently reflected them in his book “Albanian Golgotha”, in which case he protested against the mass extermination of Albanians by the Serbs in 1912-1913.
Meanwhile, his book “Screaming Accusations” is the first evidence of the collective extermination of a European people before the Jewish one, carried out by the German Nazis in World War II. Over 250 thousand Albanians were massacred only in the ethnic north of Albania during the autumn of 1912.[3]
All this time in the Serbian army, in the General Staff of this murderous army, there were senior Russian officers in the capacity of advisers and instructors.
Serbian neocolonialism towards Albanians is aggressive and barbaric. Unfortunately this policy continues
with the same goals even today, when Serbia seeks to integrate into the Union
European maintaining its old policy.[4]
In the historical and political context, the connection between aggressive Serbian nationalism and Russian imperialism is complex and there are often different approaches in evaluating these phenomena. What do we mean by aggressive Serbian nationalism?
Aggressive Serbian nationalism – describes a strong stance supported by bloodshed and a permanent attempt to assert the supremacy of Serbian identity over other ethnic groups in the Balkans, especially in relation to Albanians, Bosniaks and Croats. This nationalism has had a significant impact on the history of the Balkans, especially during the period of violent outbreaks and wars that occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries, such as the War of the East [1875-1878]; The First and Second Balkan Wars and the War in Kosovo [1998/99].
This period of Serbian nationalism has been characterized by efforts to expand to the detriment of Albanians and in their coronation to consolidate the Serbian ethnic territory, adopting modern strategies to seek the expansion of borders that would include other areas with Serbian population. Consequently, only during the process of the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Serbian Army has caused two genocides within a decade: that against the Bosniaks and recently also against the Albanians in Kosovo.
How is aggressive Serbian nationalism related to Russian imperialism?
Russian Imperialism – concerns Russia’s extensive past and present policies and activities for influence in Southeast Europe. This term is used to describe a declared or undeclared goal of extending Russian influence and power to other states, especially neighboring countries and other countries that have had historical, cultural, or economic relations with Russia. Serbia is therefore a state that is considered a kind of “natural” extension of the Russian Church and Russian imperialism in the Balkans.
Russian imperialism has often been viewed by some countries and rightly assessed as a goal in itself, aimed at the spread of Russian interests and Russian influence in regions that were part of the former Soviet Union or other neighboring countries. . This has caused international concerns and tensions.
It is important to consider the wide range of sources that reflect this connection of aggressive Serbian nationalism with Russian imperialism, in order to understand the changes and complexity of the issues related to Serbia’s attitude towards its neighbors and the relationship with the West.
Both nationalism on the scale of savage Serbian chauvinism and Russian imperialism are mainly expressed in foreign policy, especially in relations with neighboring countries.
The Serbian political elite, together with the military and the clero-fascists dressed in the veil of orthodoxy, is obsessed with the idea that Serbia, as a regional quasi-power in this multipolar world under construction, has the right to a regional sphere of influence in which it decides and enforce the rules. The idea of replacing Serbia-dominated Yugoslavia through the Open Balkans was a product of exactly this Serbian strategy.
All that mountain of Serbian programs for the extermination of Albanians [so far 19 such programs are known and have been published in Albanian], were addressed precisely to the power that subsequently was established based on this triangle of action on which the three pillars of busy in the mouth higher.
Autocratization is the backbone of this chauvinistic trio, which inevitably follows from the other two. Because nationalism and patriarchy – are autocratic in themselves, Sabine Fischer [Sabine Fischer] would say in her well-known book “Die chauvinistische Brethung: Russlands Kriege und Europas Antworten” [The Shoven Threat: Russia’s Wars and Europe’s Responses].
The good connoisseurs of the Serbian society are clear that the social and private relations of the Serbian society are structured precisely based on these three pillars on which the modern Serbian State is built. Therefore, the emergence of strong autocratic tendencies is not unexpected. Serbian savage nationalism and chauvinism and autocracy are closely related, as such they condition and reinforce each other. They produce violence – internally and externally.[5]
The European future of Kosovo
Kosovo’s admission to the EU will, of course, be another essential element of its long-term security. Only the perspective of the country’s accession to the EU has transformed Kosovo, especially these last two years, into a functional model democracy for the region. Indeed, Kosovo’s ability to implement reforms despite the political battle and recently also the Serbian terrorist aggression in the north, has been surprising and can be seen as the most convincing evidence for the political stability it enjoys today and the increased commitment of the government and policymakers. of Kosovo towards the reform agenda – because they want to take advantage of all the opportunities they have to win the trust of citizens and Western partners.
In order to maintain this level of commitment from the Kosovar leadership, the EU will have to react and give clear signals of its commitment to the integration of Kosovo, crossing the gap applied to the Balkans as a whole since the Thessaloniki summit. [2013]. The urgent removal of the measures applied without sense is also in the service of the EU itself and the restoration of the confidence of the citizens of Kosovo in the European perspective. The EU and its member countries should learn from what happened on September 24 in Banjë [Banjska] in the north in the eyes of KFOR and all the European security structures operating in Kosovo, whether in the EULEX structures , either in those of KFOR. Only then will they be able to offer Kosovo – and other candidate countries – a credible path to membership that serves their interests and Western interests in general for a prosperous and larger EU.
In accordance with the urgency of the situation in Kosovo, and regardless of it, the international community [USA & EU], must focus and exert pressure on the government of Serbia, without fearing that it could lead to internal destabilization, as some Western liberal leftists suggest.
The restoration of minimal democratic conditions in Serbia cannot be achieved without pressure on Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and without the real support of the opposition bloc that is leading the protests in Serbia. This opposition block already has a wide composition [the parties Moramo, Zajedno tok with the social democratic parties – Democratic Party, Freedom and Justice, up to the one of the center – Srce and the liberal camp – PSG, not excluding the moderate right party – National Movement .]
On the contrary, if the West continues to consider Vučić as the only partner, pampering him as it is now, his power will continue to capture the State and the chances for a democratization of the Serbian society would be reversed for a long time.
In these circumstances, maintaining the status quo, not building peace, between Belgrade and Pristina will be almost impossible.
As a result, Serbia will continue to move further and get deeply embedded in the mud of autocracy, that is, in the political terrain that suits Serbian klerofascism, which therefore means further destabilization of neighboring relations, first of all with Kosovo. This scenario has an ominous name: Titanic!
It should and can only be prevented by the responsible and tough action of the Presidency.
Security is immediate and existential for Kosovo and peace in the region, especially now after the Serbian aggression on September 24. The return to the Brussels agreement of February 24 and the Ohrid agreement of March 18, taking into consideration the security element as an additional guarantee of that agreement, ends the status close to war.
The EU should also prioritize long-term commitments to Kosovo’s security. This would include working towards Kosovo’s accelerated accession to NATO, while EU membership would further consolidate Kosovo’s long-term security.
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1. This book was translated by former Albanian Prime Minister Mustafa Kruja and was published in Zare, Croatia in 1928. In Albania, it was published in 2015 by the “Poetry Club”. Yes, this publishing house has published Vaso Cubrillovic’s “The Expulsion of the Albanians” and several other books that help to recognize the Serbian hatred against the Albanians.
2. Jovan Hadži-Vasiljević, vc
3. Leo Freundlih: “Screaming accusations”, Vienna, 1914.
4. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ideolog%C3%ABt-e-gjenocidit-t%C3%AB-serbis%C3%AB-kund%C3%ABr-shqiptar%C3%ABve-qemal-lame/
5. Sabine Fischer: https://www.ipg-journal.de/interviews/artikel/ein-solcher-schlag-koennte-zu-buergerkriegsaehnlichen-zustaenden-fuehren-7039/?utm_campaign=de_40_20231010&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter
