Kosovo's Formal Independence, Europe and Russia

A great European nation voted today for parliamentary elections, demonstrating in its quasi-totality absolute devotion to the ideals of Democracy, Freedom, Human Rights, and Justice, all key elements of our modern democratic societies.

Kosovo – a European, Balkan state, no 193 UN-member

As we are listening to the latest news and the first results, we assess that Mr. Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party won the largest number of seats in the 120-seat parliament. The Kosovar leader, who better than anyone else embodies the hopes of the Kosovar Albanian Nation for Independence, described the electoral victory, underscoring its great national importance, and far reaching consequences: "With our victory today begins the new century... Today Kosovo citizens sent a message to the world, that we are a democratic society, that we are ready to take our country towards the European Union" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7099040.stm).
 
Why as that?

In fact, Mr. Thaci, who in the past was undeservedly described as 'guerilla leader', has promised to declare Kosovo's formal independence from Serbia immediately after 10 December, when expires the UN deadline for Albanians and Serbs to reach a deal.

Every ethnic Albanian party, notably the Democratic League that is well poised to be the country's second largest party, has the same priority as Mr. Thaci, namely to make Kosovo an independent state in its own right and break away from Serbia. The nation had suffered greatly because of the inexcusable Serbian atrocities that triggered NATO's involvement (1999) and the elimination of the criminal Serbian armies and militias present there in order to perpetuate Kosovo's annexation to Serbia by the thuggish, criminal dictator Milosevic.

Officially "part of Serbia with an Albanian ethnic majority", Kosovo has been ruled as a United Nations protectorate since the 1999 war, and it was supervised by a European diplomat, and policed by 16,000 North Atlantic Treaty Organization peacekeepers.

Pretending to be just Serbia's historic ally, but mainly blackmailing European Union, Russia blocked an independence resolution in the UN Security Council, thus forcing a new round of status talks between Kosovo and Serb leaders that face a December 10 deadline.

European Failure

It is essential to bear in mind that, politically viewed, Kosovo, like Bosnia and Croatia, consists mainly in tragic failure of the European Union. The Humanitarian disaster that occurred in all these parts of the defunct Yugoslavia would have been avoided, had the irresponsible and inane European leaderships evaluated Human Rights at least as worthy as their 'butter'. Europe's failure hinges precisely on the hypocrisy, duplicity, and mendacity; what leaders of France and England easily and favorably accord to one nation they have great difficulty in offering to another!

The corrupt foundations of the European Union administration are plainly revealed in this: although they denounce in the most explicit terms an independent Kosovo's right to unite with Albania, they want to perpetuate its annexation to nationalist, chauvinist, and tyrannical Serbia, despite the fact that Serbs amount to less than 10% of Kosovo's population. This is a flagrant violation of Human Rights, and before all of the Right of a Nation to Independence and Self-determination.

Yet, immoral and irresponsible European leaders would be happy on the news that Taiwan and China merged. However, what is good for the Chinese cannot possibly be worthy for the Albanians!

What can possibly the reasons be?

We can better evaluate the European approach by studying the position of several European think tanks. Rosa Balfour of the European Policy Centre (a Brussels-based research group) said: "There's a certain degree of worry about these elections"! The statement is incredible, coming from a European, as it portrays the basic act of a democratic country as the main reason for worry! (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=amX_Phy2b4mo&refer=home). It shows that European duplicity is largely due to fear. In a more revelatory tone, she added that tensions over Kosovo's status would have a "spillover effect on the region".

The Russian Dimension of Kosovo

By this, a hint is made to the Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin's ceaseless involvement in, and unacceptable insinuations to eventual Russian reactions to an international recognition of, Kosovo. With America supporting a formal recognition, and Russia increasingly assertive, Europe – dramatically multi-divided, embattled and indecisive – may have more than an argument to put as obstacle in the way of Kosovo's independence; the question is how valid, convincing, effective, and moral an argument it might be.

It would perhaps be better for Europe to listen more attentively to the Kremlin dictator's coarse and despotic tongue. Turning the talks over Kosovo's Independence into a ridiculous East-West battle of wills, Putin said that Russia is "defending a principle of law'' in the case of Kosovo. It may look awkward that the criminal dictator, who gave the order for the assassination of innocent, independent journalists, would possibly bother about the 'principle of law'. To clarify the situation, and elucidate the "laws" he was talking about, the Kremlin-based gangster added a rhetoric question:

- "Why inflame these tendencies of separatism"? 
 
This makes very clear what Putin's laws are; from Chechnya to Yakutia, the vast territory Putin undeservedly and illegitimately rules has become a Cemetery of tyrannized peoples and massacred nations – all disgracefully sacrificed in the abominable altar of Russianization. What Putin calls 'separatism' is what democratic people allover the world call as 'National Right to Independence'.

Recognizing Kosovo formally, welcoming the world's second Albanian Republic in the UN, the NATO, and the European Union, while contributing to its progress and prosperity, will send to Russia the correct message from Brussels. This message is as follows:

Russia cannot exist within its present borders!

Failing to accept democratic changes in Ukraine, facing disaster in Georgia, proving himself unable to end up the Chechnya genocide, Putin has no intention to consolidate democracy in Russia. The nuclear cooperation with Iran, the anti-American stand in Iraq, the recent efforts to pull Turkey into a mysterious alliance, and the gradual isolation from Europe do not portend anything positive in Moscow. It is clear that the lesson of Iraq, where Russia lost a lot of money by striking deals with an impossible partner, has been taken seriously, but in the wrong way.

Formally recognizing Kosovo, Europe must launch its only possible Russian policy. This should be based on the proper assessment that following the collapse of Communism, traditional Russian nationalism found its proper position in the Kremlin, because there was not enough time for Gorbachev to perform before Yeltsin took over. Lack of democratic culture certainly does not characterize the largest part of the Russian population that yearns for another Orange ‘revolution’, this time in Moscow; but unfortunately this will not come very soon.

A European Union Policy for Russia

A European strategy for Russia starts with Chechnya (1.5 million people); a European Union strategy for Russia must take into consideration the Tatars (8 million people), the Daghestanis (2 million people), the Avaris (half a million people), the Erzyans (half a million people), the Kabardians (half a million people), the Maris (half a million people), the Ossetians (half a million people), the Baskiris (approx. 1.5 million people), the Chuvashis (2 million people), the Yakutians (400000 people), the Buriatis (400000 people), the Tuvanis (200000 people), and various other peoples living on the immense parts of the impressively large Russian territory.

In this regard, it is essential to bear in mind that out of a total population of 141 million people, Russians account for approximately 115 million people. Certainly, if one takes into account the Russian native speakers throughout the countries of the former USSR (where Russian populations form at times significant minorities), the total number of Russian natives rises to 153 million people, but the bottom line is that in today’s Russia there are not only Russians.

One must never forget that a Russian in Uzbekistan, a Russian in Lithuania, a Russian in Azerbaijan, and a Russian in Kazakhstan are not indigenous, but pure colons. They are similar to a French in Algeria, a Dutch in Surinam, a British in Malta, and a Belgian in Congo! This may already be common knowledge to many people, but it did not help draw the correct conclusions thus far. The rejection of, and the hatred against, the Russians shapes national decision-making in most of these countries, and this was clearly seen in the recent case of Ukraine. For those who – among the aforementioned – are Muslim, anti-Russian hatred can be canalized to Islamic extremism, with disastrous repercussions.

What most of the people in the West do not know is that the same applies to the aforementioned, numerous, subjugated peoples of today's 'Russia', who are left without a national homeland, having not yet accessed to Self-determination, freedom, democracy, and genuine nation building. Russians were and are still foreign colons in Yakutia, in Daghestan, in Tuva, in Chuvashia, and in Tataria. All these indigenous peoples want the Russian colons out of their circumference; as they live under incredibly tyrannical conditions, they want to become independent, they desire passionately to secede, and Putin knows this very well when he opposes Kosovo's most deserved independence.

Most of the aforementioned peoples are the majority in their territories. Under terms of democratic principles, it is difficult to understand why there can be an independent Estonia, and an independent Kazakhstan, but there cannot be an independent Yakutia.

From Estonia to Kosovo, and then to Yakutia

Accepting as ‘normal’ the fact that Latvia was a Soviet Socialist Republic that then became a member state of the post-Communist Commonwealth of Independent States, and later seceded in order to become a member state of the European Union, and admitting as also ‘normal’ that Yakutia, Chuvashia, Tataria, Daghestan and many other parts of today’s Russia did not achieve all that, just because they were not accepted by Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev and their successors as ‘republics’ but as ‘administrative regions’, signifies that we take seriously into account the choices of a totalitarian regime that has collapsed.

This approach is definitely antidemocratic, and in the light of the Kremlin tyrant's assertive and coarse tongue, absolutely defeatist.
 
Consequently, the map of the world will change dramatically, if the aforementioned peoples are helped by Europe – assisted by America and Japan – to achieve freedom and self-determination. The three main economic powers of the Democratic World must trigger the necessary developments to help reduce Russia to a territory of 5 to 7 million km2, and let new countries emerge in Caucasus and Siberia. These new countries which belong to their indigenous, historical nations possess indeed vast territories, scarce population, and fantastic opportunities of development. Great markets would open in various sectors, and the tremendously rich soil of Siberia would be ultimately exploited to the benefit of the indigenous peoples, and the entire world.

Within this context, the issue of helping the still oppressed and subjugated peoples of Russia achieve independence may be of minor strategic importance for the impenetrable Caucasus Mountains, but it is of vital significance for the immense, quasi-uninhabited plains of Eastern Siberia. 

Europe will defeat Russia in Kosovo; or sooner or later Europe will be defeated.