Caged

Next week it will be two months since the Serbs in northern Kosovo erected roadblocks to oppose the Albanian government's attempted takeover of road crossings into the rest of Serbia. NATO's "peacekeeping" force and EU's "law and order mission" have both backed the Albanian takeover, and continue attempting to coerce the Serbs to submit to the self-proclaimed independent state.

On the rare occasion when Western mainstream media reports on the standoff, it uses terms such as "ethnic clashes". This not only suggests that the Serbs are being motivated by bigotry (following two decades of propaganda claiming that everything the Serbs did was based on bigotry), but also that the two communities are on some kind of equal footing. In actuality, the unarmed Serb civilians are squaring off against the well-armed Albanians, EULEX and KFOR, who in addition to teargas and pepper spray have  even used live ammunition. It is very telling that "ethnic clashes" was the official euphemism for the March 2004 pogrom some 40,000 or more ethnic Albanians perpetrated against the remaining Serbs in the occupied province.

I say "remaining," because hundreds of thousands of Serbs (and others, such as Roma, Turks, etc.) were ethnically cleansed from Kosovo since it was occupied by NATO and handed over to the Albanian separatist KLA in 1999. Over 1000 Serbs have been murdered, countless homes burned, churches destroyed and desecrated, and cemeteries bulldozed. All in the presence of NATO "peacekeepers," all with absolute impunity. Under NATO's "peace," two new Albanian insurrections broke out, in Macedonia and in southern Serbia.

Several pockets of Serbs survive in the south of the province, in ghettos surrounded by barbed wire and "protected" by NATO troops. The great irony is that without those troops, the Albanians would have murdered them by now; yet it was those NATO troops that made the Albanian takeover possible.

In the north of the province, the local Serbs succeeded in halting the KLA takeover in 1999, and have kept a watch on the roads ever since. The writ of the KLA regime does not run there, much to the frustration of the self-proclaimed state. Yet though the areas ruled by the Albanians are almost entirely devoid of non-Albanian inhabitants, while other communities live in peace on Serb-controlled territory, the Western press continues to refer to "Serb-dominated" areas. How about the entire "Albanian-dominated" province? Ah, but they also avoid "Albanian," preferring to use the politically correct euphemism "Kosovar," designed to promote the lie that they are the original inhabitants and rightful owners of the territory.

Recently the Albanian "government" in Pristina and the Albanian government in Tirana signed a deal to share consulates around the world, bringing them a step closer to "Natural Albania" - a state encompassing all territories claimed by ethnic Albanians. Dismissed as "Serb propaganda" in the 1990s, the idea is now publicly promoted by a political party in "Kosovo," and even has the endorsement of a prominent Imperial figure.Yet Imperial propaganda still seeks to dismiss concerns over this as unduly paranoid.

What's disappointing, though, is hearing media that aren't part of the Imperial propaganda mill, such as RT, using the Empire's propaganda phrases. By way of example, in this clip today the presenter used "Serb-dominated" to refer to the north of Kosovo, and reporter Aleksey Yaroshevsky claimed that the Serbs were growing "accustomed to living in the cage they have built for themselves."

Kosovo itself is a cage, not just for Serbs but for everyone else. Even the Albanians who live there are captives of a criminal regime and a bigoted ideology. The Serbs set up the barricades not to seal themselves in, but to keep NATO, EULEX and the KLA "officials" out. Which is precisely what they've done so far, despite all efforts to coerce them into submission. It was a desperate act of a people resisting repression and plans for extinction. They deserve better than to be maligned for it, least of all by people trying to hack the Empire's propaganda matrix.

I guess some people still need to realize there is no spoon.

KFOR: drowning in own waste

Kurir (The Courier), a government-suborned Serbian daily, published a story this morning claiming that KFOR troops at Jarinje are facing serious problems due to the Serb barricades.

Citing a reportedly well-informed anonymous source, Kurir claims that NATO troops are facing a shortage of firewood, as none of the locals want to sell it to them, and their generators lack power to heat all the tents. Another problem is the accumulation of garbage and human waste, neither of which has been removed for over a month.

People manning the barricades have also noted a reduction in flights of big KFOR supply helicopters to Jarinje and Brnjak, suggesting that the birds are down for maintenance.


The story doesn't say anything about the troops' food supply, but one has to assume it is pretty dire, consisting mostly of field rations (MRE). All these problems combined add up to a growing morale problem, and suggest that KFOR troops can't maintain this state of affairs much longer. On the other hand, the Serbs don't seem to have nearly as much trouble with their logistics. So, trying to wait them out isn't going to work.

That leaves General Drews with two unpalatable options: back off, withdraw from the checkpoints and abort the attempt to install "Kosovian" authorities in the north - or escalate and use force against peaceful, unarmed civilians. KFOR stands to lose face either way, but at least backing off can be explained as abandonment of a policy that was beyond KFOR's mandate anyway. Bonus points if the blame can be shifted to General Buehler - who did, after all, have a personal interest in supporting Thaci's "government".

The question now is whether those in charge of KFOR have enough horse sense to realize they can't win this one. Though the fact that they got themselves involved in this mess in the first place strongly suggests otherwise.

That Terrible Votive Candle

Nooo, a votive candle! ATTACK!

What you see are the "brave" armored German troops (part of KFOR, NATO's "peacekeeping" mission in the occupied Serbian province of Kosovo), pepper-spraying an elderly Serb holding a votive candle. Well, how dare he?! In NATOworld, that's a clear act of aggression against the peace-loving NATO troops, whose mission is a purely humanitarian occupation. Clearly a case of "self-defense", isn't it?

In mid-September, KFOR deployed at two checkpoints on the roads between occupied Kosovo and the rest of Serbia. There, in a clear violation of its mandate, it installed ethnic Albanian police, who were charged with enforcing the blockade of the territory still inhabited by Serbs (and not under the control of the self-proclaimed ethnic Albanian "government").

The local Serbs responded by erecting makeshift roadblocks, trapping the occupiers. They have offered to remove the roadblocks, if Albanian officials and the illegal EU mission withdraw from the two checkpoints. KFOR refused, demanding unconditional surrender. Last night, it launched probing attacks on all barricades.

The occupiers' claim they want to create "freedom of movement" is cynical in the extreme. They are only interested in free movement of themselves, the EULEX, and the illegal ethnic Albanian government - but not the Serbs. No, the Serbs are supposed to accept living in ghettos surrounded by barbed wire, being blown up and shot at for target practice (only one Serb-killer has ever been convicted, and EULEX released him), and suffer beatings, abuse and imprisonment for simply existing (i.e. crossing the "border" with Serbian license plates, or carrying Serbian flags). That's "freedom," KFOR-style. Grandfathers of today's German "peacekeepers" would find it very familiar.

Does KFOR really think the Serbs will surrender? They aren't dealing with the spineless government in Belgrade here, but the people that have nothing to lose and value freedom and dignity more than life itself. Don't they watch their own movies? I haven't the slightest doubt as to who will ultimately triumph in this confrontation. It may take a bit longer for KFOR peacebreakers to figure it out, though.

UPDATE (10/21/2011, 9 AM): I just heard that KFOR commander, German General Drews, claimed that he had "documented" evidence the Serbs had attacked KFOR with teargas! I presume he is referring to the incident where his semi-trained troops gassed themselves while trying to gas the Serbs? (See video here).

Note that the troops in question were Austrian. German and Austrian soldiers occupying Serbia and gassing Serb civilians, 70 years to the day of German (and Austrian) troops shooting thousands of Serb civilians in Kragujevac as "reprisals" for resistance to Nazi occupation; now that's just sickening.

And There Was Blood

On September 16, exactly forty days after their July fiasco, KFOR and EULEX confirmed their outlaw status by repeating the attempt to seize two "border crossings" between occupied Kosovo and the rest of Serbia. Tasked with peacekeeping under UN resolution 1244, the only document making their presence in the province even resemble something legal, both organizations chose to place themselves into the service of Hashim Thaci and his "independent state of Kosova".

As in 1999, they thought it would be easy: they show up with overwhelming force, string barbed wire across the road, install Thaci's "customs agents" and prevent any Serb traffic in or out of the province until they recognize the occupation government. They did not expect resistance. They did not expect the local Serbs, betrayed and abandoned by the government in Belgrade, to block the "peackepeers" in turn - with trucks, concrete blocks, earthen berms, and even their own bodies.

For eleven days, KFOR and the Serbs faced off. KFOR would tear down a Serb barricade, only to find a new one built to replace it. German and American troops - together in a mission of repressing Serbs, how ironic - threatened to shoot, but never dared. Until this morning, when they did.

They claim "self-defense." Sure they do. They claim it was the Serbs' fault. Sure they would. Isn't it always? Yes, by all means blame the local population for refusing to submit to an illegal occupation and its illegal blockade, harassment and repression. Keep in mind that those Serbs who use the Albanian checkpoints routinely get arrested, beaten, or have their vehicles impounded or destroyed - yet KFOR and EULEX do nothing. So much for the U.S. and NATO standing for "freedom". Yes, "freedom" is when you get the right to do as you're told, and nothing else. Dare refuse, and you become a "rogue."

Here is something the "repressive, lawless military occupation force" (in the words of former UNMIK official Gerard Gallucci, an American) doesn't seem to understand: they are up against the people who have nothing to lose but their lives. The fact that they decided to stay and defend their homes, facing down the Albanians, KFOR and even the betrayal of their own government - well, the quislings in Belgrade anyway - ought to indicate these people will not surrender. As did the barricades and the sit-ins.

Serbs passing a cabbage dish to a German soldier at Jarinje, September 18, 2011

Last week, the Serbs at that very barricade shared their food with the German occupiers, in an act of good will. Today, that was repaid with bullets.

KFOR claims it was targeted by "pipe bombs." Amateur Serbs, reporting from the area as they have for the past two months, say the locals used clumps of dirt, rocks and "cheerleader flares" (sparklers used at soccer games). Those are not "pipe bombs." And unarmed people facing off heavily armed troops is not a "clash," but a massacre waiting to happen. KFOR also lied about using rubber bullets. Video evidence clearly shows live ammo.

Apparently it was Americans who opened fire. How ironic. They've effectively changed sides from 70 years ago, assisting Germans and proud heirs of Hitler's allies against their own historical ally.

If you think my invocation of WW2 is improper, consider this: one of the Serbs detained this morning - prior to the shooting - protested (see source account here) his treatment to KFOR by saying that "it's beginning to look like Auschwitz around here" (referring, presumably, to thick barbed wire and armed German guards). KFOR's response was, "Not yet. We don't have gas chambers for you."

For shame, KFOR. If you still have any.

UPDATE (17:30 EDT): I just spoke to RT about the events. Not sure when the video will be available.
Again, these weren't "clashes". This wasn't KFOR acting in "self-defense." It was KFOR being the muscle for Hashim Thaci's illegal government, abusing the population that protested in a peaceful and civilized manner. In 1999, KFOR stood idly by as KLA rampaged across the province, driving hundreds of thousands out and burning their homes and churches. In 2004, KFOR stood by again, letting Thaci's followers expel and burn out thousands more. Now KFOR is assisting Thaci openly, and to what end? Hoping that these last Serbs either submit to Thaci's thug "state", or pack up and leave?

Some "democracy." Some "freedom." Some "law and order."

Just wait for them to die off, really

Reuters quotes the present KFOR commander, Lt. Gen. Xavier de Marnhac, from a briefing he gave in Washington yesterday (emphasis added):

In his briefing, de Marnhac also noted the average age of Kosovo's Albanians was 28, while the figure for Serbs was 54.

"In the mid to long term there will be some kind of biological end to the problem here because, you know, one of the population(s) will simply disappear," he said.

No people - no problem. Simple as that. It used to be called genocide, or "ethnic cleansing" (a term first used by a Kosovo Albanian official in a 1987 New York Times story). Now it's "biological end."

Want to take over a bit of territory? Easy! Breed like mad - a dozen kids per family, or more - then when you become a majority, launch a rebellion. If you plead genocide, you may get lucky and the Empire will fight an illegal war of aggression on your behalf, and give you the territory on a silver platter. Bonus points if you've managed to soak the host country for welfare benefits for five decades so you can support your breeding program, making sure all those kids had schools, hospitals, government-subsidized jobs, etc. Anything else would be a violation of their human rights, you know... Once you have the territory, all you have to do is abuse the natives to the point of "biological solution," and there you go.

Seriously, though, de Marnhac's remarks should not come as a surprise. This cold-hearted, bigoted thinking explains how KFOR has "protected" Serbs in the province since 1999 - basically by putting them in ghettos and waiting for them to die off. One must remember, KFOR's function was never to protect non-Albanians from the KLA, but to protect the KLA from the Serbian army and police. They looked the other way as KLA burned, looted, murdered, threatened, extorted, besieged, stole and otherwise abused Serbs, Roma, Turks, Gorani, and other communities in the occupied province, only stepping in when abuses became bad enough to warrant unwanted media attention.

But he is right, you know. Serbs cannot hope to hold Kosovo if they are not willing to live there. They cannot hope to hold Serbia itself, if they don't start having babies. That's one way to make sure de Marnhac's prediction never comes to pass.

KFOR Reinforcing

NATO's occupation force in Kosovo will receive a 600-strong reinforcement contingent at the end of this week, reports AP.

The soldiers, along with 200 vehicles, will stay through mid-April, as part of an "operation aimed at showing the alliance’s ability to reinforce its peacekeepers in the troubled province," NATO said. The operation is codenamed "Determined Effort 2005".

Now why would KFOR possibly send mobile reinforcements, under the banner of "determined effort" no less, into Kosovo right around the anniversary of the 2004 pogrom, and amid unconfirmed reports that "Prime Minister" and KLA chieftain Ramush Haradinaj has been indicted by the Hague Inquisition? Color me cynical, but methinks they are attempting to forestall another Albanian riot.

But since the troops they are sending are just worthless Germans, maybe it's all just for show.