Problems Abound in Kosovo

Former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates (center) escorts former Kosovar President Fatmir Sejdiu (left) and Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaci through an honor cordon and into the Pentagon on July 18, 2008. Photo: wiki commons.

Marking the one-year anniversary of clueless Hillel students from Dartmouth tidying up the neglected Jewish cemetery in Pristina, someone has vandalized it again. “Again” because the first time occurred within a few months of the students’ officially-approved and ballyhooed trip last June in cooperation with Our Friends the Kosovars. A Google translation of an otherwise overlooked item from Radio Kosovo and Metohija:

Damaged and threatened Jewish cemetery in Pristina (June 2)

[The] fence on the part of the Jewish cemetery in Pristina was completely destroyed and buried…the only [Jewish] cemetery is in danger.

Jews from Pristina were buried, along with the residents of this city. This is the second time the Jewish cemetery destroyed.

Keeper of the cemetery [has] now banned filming and photographing [of the] cemetery by reporters and [the faithful].

[A] guard shouted at the journalists present. Zivojin Rakocevic [was physically] threatened. Without prior warning [the guard] started yelling at Rakocevic addressing him with the words: “What do you want? Are you crazy? Who are you? I am here to look after [the cemetery] and need to know what you are doing here…”

Rakocevic for KIM Radio said that this [reflects] the general state of [Kosovo] society and intolerance.

“This man is very aware of what works. He has learned to conceal the destruction of the cemetery. He sees [us take] pictures of it, but [doesn’t see] when they steal from graves or destroy the Jewish cemetery. He sees [a] demolished cemetery that [he] supposedly kept,” said Rakocevic. […]

And this just in from our Great Muslim Hope of Kosovo:

Kosovo set to join OIC (June 18)

(MENAFN – Arab News) Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has welcomed the application tabled by the Republic of Kosovo to become an official and permanent member of the organization.

He told the visiting Prime Minister Hashim Thaci following a meeting Saturday in Jeddah that the OIC had since 1996 supported Kosovo’s right for independence.

“Kosovo suffered a lot from injustice and repression under an administration that did not care for the political, religious and cultural rights of the people of the country. [Sic, sic, and sic.] Now, after independence and the recognition of 91 countries including 30 OIC members, the organization looks forward to Kosovo soon becoming a member of the UN and the OIC,” he said.

Thaci, on his part, appreciated the continued support of the OIC to his country until it gained independence and said he discussed with the secretary-general all the available means of further consolidating cooperation between Kosovo and the 57 OIC member countries. He said Kosovo maintained good relations with all countries of the region and was hoping to have close ties with Serbia.

The prime minister said the policies of his country, with more than 95 percent of its population Muslims, were in conformity with the general political stances of the Muslim countries. He explained that to be a member of the OIC, Kosovo should first be a member of the UN. “Kosovo is determined to further strengthen its ties with the OIC in the next phase,” he said.

In a meeting with Saudi businessmen at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) on Saturday, the prime minister asked Saudi businessmen to invest in various fields in his country.

“Kosovo is rich in raw materials including agriculture, electricity, minerals and tourist attractions,” he said.

Thaci recalled that Kosovo’s GDP growth rate last year was about 5 percent, and 79 percent of its land is arable. “Saudis can invest in basic infrastructure projects, communications, trade, cooper, zinc, iron, coal, cooper, silver and other minerals,” he said.

He told the businessmen they could also invest in tourism and said many Westerners came to his country for medical tourism. “We have ample facilities for entertainment tourism including mountains, hot springs and ice skating,” he added. [Did the organ-trafficker really just say medical tourism?]

Thaci said Kosovo is strategically located in the heart of the Balkan, so when businessmen come to it they will actually be in the middle of Europe.

He said the Kosovo-Arab Friendship Chamber was a non-profitable organization established to promote the country as a confluence between the West and the East. “The chamber is making strenuous efforts to cement the country’s ties with the Arab and Islamic world,” he said. Welcoming his guest, JCCI Secretary-General Adnan bin Hussain Mandoura said the chamber was keen to support investments in Kosovo and to entice Saudi businessmen to invest in it. […]

OIC? Oh I see.

Americans can keep patting themselves on the back for this one, and touting Kosovo’s West-drafted constitution. It won’t mean much in the end. As for the American general who got us into this, he’s getting what he wanted out of it:

Ex-NATO general Clark eyes Kosovo coal (AFP, June 11)

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Retired US army General Wesley Clark, who led the NATO campaign to drive Serbian forces out of Kosovo 13 years ago, is now hoping to dig deep to tap the territory’s coal resources.

His company Envidity, which focuses on clean energy, has applied for a licence to explore in Kosovo and produce synthetic fuel if significant coal deposits can be found.

The Canadian company, of which Clark is chairman, said if the exploration was successful it could eventually produce up to 15.9 million litres (100,000 barrels) a day of high-quality synthetic diesel fuel.

Endivity estimates the Pristina government could benefit to the tune of 300 million euros, which it said was one fifth of its current revenue. Kosovo’s known lignite or brown coal reserves are estimated at up to 14 billion tonnes…

Madeleine Albright, meanwhile, got a sweet Kosovo deal for her mobile communications company. Stay tuned for a blog on Kosovo’s Western Profiteers. If war is a racket, Kosovo was a grand slam.

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes