The decision of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo will foster the growth of separatism around the world…
Aleksandr Torshin, the First Vice Speaker of the RF Federation Council, believed that the decision of the International Court of Justice to recognise the legitimacy of the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo set a dangerous precedent. Mr Torshin’s opinion has wide support in the RF Gosduma, whose deputies believe that the court decision opened a “Pandora’s box”. Mr Torshin knows the situation in Kosovo well, he has been there many times, including during the conflict, and he saw things for himself. He thought, “The bombing of the former Yugoslavia and Serbia, along with the terrorisation of innocent civilians and the destruction of Serbian churches by packs of armed Albanian Kosovars, was condoned by international organizations. The current composition of the court that issued an advisory decision on the legitimacy of the independence of Kosovo is also peculiar, as it is mostly comprised of members from those States that have already recognised Kosovo. Such legal cynicism is often found in decisions on international law, which, in itself, is very specific”.
In an interview with VOR, Konstantin Kosachyov, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the RF Gosduma, said, “The specificity of international law in some areas is vague, alas, there’s no clear legal criteria for establishing the self-determination of a nation or the declaration of independence by a given territory in international law. It’s a very complicated and controversial question; each case involves a certain amount of give-and-take. Obviously, the ICJ seemed to be guided not only by legal considerations, but also by political ones. We know that a significant number of very influential countries, including the USA and many member states of the EU, recognised Kosovo’s independence. Moreover, we can assume that the judges of the ICJ were under political pressure from those countries. Probably, this political pressure didn’t allow them to issue a comprehensive, clear, and intelligible verdict on the underlying illegality of Kosovo’s UDI”.
Whatever motivations guided the ICJ, it’s clear that it didn’t give a fundamental assessment of developments in the Balkans. The independence of Kosovo and its secession from Serbia is incompatible with the fundamental principles of international law and respect for the sovereignty and integrity of nations. It set a dangerous precedent, fraught with serious consequences, for many states, for Europe has dozens of countries faced with separatist currents. Its resonance is felt in Serbia’s neighbours, Macedonia and Montenegro, and in other Balkan countries. Attacks by Basque militants threaten unity in Spain and there is a complex relationship between Walloons and Flemings in Belgium. The UK, France, and other countries, aren’t free from separatist sentiments. So, the judges sitting in The Hague should look again… it’s likely that they cut off the branch they are sitting on. Meanwhile, the only consolation of supporters of common sense in politics lies in the fact that the ICJ’s decision was merely advisory in nature. Moreover, the recent decision allows the global community to rethink the sovereignty of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. For unlike Kosovo, the USA and Europe, for inexplicable reasons, refuse to recognise them [as independent states].
23 July 2010
Yevgeni Kryshkin
Voice of Russia World Service
http://rus.ruvr.ru/2010/07/23/13196824.html
Editor’s Note:
The USA recognises Kosovo… but it does not recognise South Ossetia, Abkhazia, or Transdinestria. The borders of Yugoslavia were fixed by international treaty… the borders of Georgia and Moldova were not. In fact, the latter were set by Stalin’s caprice. That is, Chilly Hilly and the neocons both say, “Treaties be damned… but the lines drawn by communist apparatchiki in the USSR are sacrosanct”. I know that the world can be upside down and downright Kafkaesque at times… but this is surreal. Note well that the American hypocrites constantly have the words “democracy” and “freedom” on their lips… with a bow to “rugged individualism” now and again. Reflect on this… they all applauded Saakashvili’s rocket strikes on sleeping civilians… they all applauded the destruction of Orthodox churches by Albanian toughs… and they all applauded the neo-Nazi citizenship laws in the Baltics.
When you support the teabaggers… that’s what you support. You see, the reason that I so vehemently fight the teabagger snake is that the leaders of this “movement” are abusing people’s patriotism… that’s a natural and good emotion… I’m not a smirky pseudo-intellectual who runs around saying, “This is as close as I come to patriotism”. The teabaggers are not a grassroots movement… they receive massive funding from the HMOs in particular… for the HMOs fear that the ultimate outcome of a reform of our health system would be a single-payer system as is found in all other developed countries. However, you not only support the greed of the oligarchs when you support the teabaggers… you also support the thuggish neocons (who are part-and-parcel of it all). Reflect on this… the “conservatives” support the Kosovo gangster statelet and unlimited funding for foreign wars in peripheral regions, and they oppose aid to unemployed workers (who are out of work due to the misgovernance of the “conservatives”) and health care for kids (HMOs announced that they aren’t going to write new individual policies for kids), whilst they refuse to go after greedy bankers (the “pay czar” said that shaming them was “good enough”).
There is always “more to it than one sees at first glance”. Yes, Virginia… words do have meanings, and actions do bear consequences. The neocons rammed through a ruling in favour of their illegal action in Kosovo… reflect well on the fact that such disrespect for common decency and morality does not only extend to the neocon attitude on foreign affairs… it also extends to their domestic doings, as well. Look at how they put families through hell over the last seven weeks… if that doesn’t tell you that they deserve “to be chased out of the temple with a whip”, nothing will do the trick. President Eisenhower was right:
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defence with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.
Ike said it all… I doubt that the powers behind the teabaggers would meet his approval… think on it.
BMD
Voices from Russia 
You must be logged in to post a comment.