It's time to pay attention to it. A new war is brewing in the Balkans. It threatens to scorch Serbia. There's no other way to perceive the statement by the president of Kosovo on Friday, Hashim Thaci, that if the European Union doesn't open itself to Kosovo, then Kosovo will unite with Albania and seize a part of Serbia. The reason for such a statement by Thaci is the delayed visa liberalization with the EU. But it's a much more serious matter.
Hashim Thaci: "If the EU continues to isolate Kosovo, the possibility of institutional actions or a referendum on unification with Albania will be considered. We can do this through parliamentary resolutions or through referendums in Kosovo and Albania including Presevo, Medveda, and Bujanovac".
That sounds like an ultimatum. For your information — Presevo is part of today's Serbia, as well as Medveda and Bujanovac. The ultimatum is a direct threat by Thaci who enjoys the ultimate blind eye from the United States. There is no such violation of international law by Kosovo that the United States would not support. This is not even an exaggeration. These are the confident feelings of the prime minister of Kosovo and he doesn't hesitate to voice them.
Ramush Haradinaj: "The United States, regardless of the circumstances, will always be on the side of Pristina even if it violates all the foundations of international law".
That is, we understand that the five-thousand army of Kosovo, created by the standards of NATO by the end of last year, whether it was used against Serbia for great Albania will be backed by the United States. That is if speak absolutely frankly of the emerging structure in anticipation of the future.
Darya Grigorova has the details on the present from Kosovo and Belgrade.
"There were smoke grenades thrown near our home".
"They kicked me before the arrest".
It all started with explosions at 5:50 a.m. People tried to stop the military equipment, set up barricades. 73 armored vehicles and a dozen armed detachments simultaneously entered the territory of four Serbian villages on the northern bank of the Ibar River. Kosovo Special Forces used force against civilians. They didn't spare even women.
Nemeta Milovanovic, resident of Zubin Potok: "We were with our hands up but one of the soldiers kicked me in the back. I fell to the ground."
It all happened here, in the village of Zubin Potok. The Special Forces stormed it. There are still traces of the clashes. These trucks pushed into the ditches served as barricades for the locals. But they couldn't stop the armed main strike force of the Kosovo Albanians. Fighters of the so-called ROSU, who were trained by the police forces of the southern US states, broke into the village.
"Look what they've done".
The fighters tore apart the house of pensioner Dragomir Arsic. They even broke the floor open. One of the EN employees sent to the scene of clashes stopped responding. Russian Mikhail Krasnoshchekov came to check the situation. He showed his ID. But he was beaten by the police, first with rifle butts, then they slammed his head against a car. He was taken to the hospital in a state of amnesia.
Mikhail Krasnoshchekov: "I’ve been in service for twenty years. This is not something abnormal for me".
He got three fractures on the face and a hairline fracture in the parietal bone. It seems the Special Forces of Kosovo don't care about diplomatic immunity. In an exclusive interview, the peacemaker confirmed — the UN had launched an internal investigation.
Mikhail Krasnoshchekov: "The investigation should reveal how those detachments acted towards both international employees and the locals. Likely, the police will be engaged in the investigation as well. Apparently, they will have a separate point of view that won't coincide with ours".
It is clear that arresting and beating an employee of a diplomatic mission is a gross violation of international law. But the special forces didn't even have the right to carry weapons on the northern bank of the Ibar River, where the Serbs live, without warning the local administration. It's covered by paragraph 9 of the first article of the Brussels Agreement between Belgrade and Pristina. The KFOR international forces under the leadership of NATO, which should ensure security in the region, knew about the operation but didn't stop the armed provocation. It's almost impossible to hold a dialogue with such neighbors. This was stated by the president of Serbia in an interview.
Alexander Vucic, President of Serbia: "We have no hope of finding a compromise. I think the barbarism that they committed only shows that they have only one desire — recognition of Kosovo as an independent state which we'll never do".
The European Union is blackmailing President Vucic. They promise EU membership for the recognition of the independence of the republic. But those who live in the northern part of Kosovo and Metohija will never agree to such an exchange.
Radinko Milovanovic: "We must stay here. They may break our legs, they may kill us but we'll never leave. Even like this, I'll keep defending my home".
The results of the policy of self-proclaimed Kosovo towards the Serbs are clear in Pristina. Before the war, there were about 40,000 Serbs in the city. Now there are no more than 200 of them left. This church in the very heart of Pristina remained unfinished. It simply has no parishioners. During the so-called independence of Kosovo and Metohija, the region became Albanian — 93% of the population are Albanian.
The president of the self-proclaimed republic, the former field commander of the UCK, Hashim Thaci, has already declared that he is ready to hold a referendum on the joining of Kosovo to Albania. He also said that the operation in the northern territories was merely fighting against corruption, and there were Albanians among the 23 detainees. But the full list has never been revealed.
Milosh Orlovic: There were six of us in the cell. They didn't explain anything, they just beat us and insulted us.
- All of you were Serbs?
- Yes. I think this is why they showed this violence towards us.
Milosh Orlovic was in prison for more than 24 hours. He's beaten all over.
Milan Ivanovic, chief doctor of a local hospital: "The violence is constant. It has been going on for 20 years and came to us together with Euro-Atlanticism. When the international community came, it was the beginning of terror for the Serbs. For everything that the Albanians do, they have permission from Brussels, Washington, and London".
Mikhail Krasnoshchekov, a Russian member of the UN mission, was transported to Belgrade, to the Military Medical Academy. It was unclear whether the ambulance with UN plates would be allowed to pass the border. Pristina gave permission, but then declared the diplomat persona non grata. Now there are even fewer of those who can protect Serbs in Kosovo.
Darya Grigorova, Anton Chagaev, Vesti Nedeli, from Serbia.
