| Putin: Russia will continue to oppose sovereign Kosovo |
 |
 |
| Thursday, 08 May 2008 22:36 | ||||
 Vladimir Putin, Russia’s outgoing President, says Belgrade can count on Moscow to continue to try to thwart Kosovo’s attempt to break from Serbia and found a sovereign state.Putin made the declaration in a letter to the Serbian Prime Minister, Vojislav Koštunica, who leads the Democratic Party of Serbia. “We are ready to confront this dangerous trend with a joint effort. You can count on our staunch support and solidarity," wrote Putin. "I count on the deepening cooperation between the Democratic Party of Serbia, which you lead, and which maintains a partnership with (Putin’s party) United Russia," the missive continues. Putin’s letter is seen as an attempt to counter the European Union’s (EU) support of pro-Western candidates running in national elections that will see Serbs going to the polls on May 11. The EU and Serbia signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), a prerequisite for full EU membership, on April 29. Reuters reports that Serbia’s incumbent President, Boris Tadić, has received death threats during the election campaign for seeking closer ties to Europe. Serbia’s state prosecutor’s office told Reuters, "We are aware of the death threats President Tadić received. Relevant state institutions are taking all measures necessary to protect the President and identify the perpetrators." Serbian daily Blic reported that one letter writer promised that Tadić would get a bullet in the head for betraying the country by signing the SAA. A fragile coalition between the parties lead by Tadić and Koštunica collapsed following Kosovo’s February 17 unilateral declaration of independence and forced the election. According to Reuters, “Tadić urged politicians to calm down and not create 'bad blood in the country' for the sake of a few more percentage points in the election.” The Reuters report continues, “There were several mafia-style murders during Slobodan Milosevic's autocratic rule in the 1990s. The most recent and traumatic was the 2003 assassination of reformist Prime Minister Zoran Djindjić, shot by a sniper connected to nationalist crime groups. “Police are also investigating an alleged plot against war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukčević, who has angered nationalists by pursuing suspects from the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s.” Vukčević told Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina’s capital) daily Dnevni Avaz that he believes that the political will exists in Serbia to track down the top four individuals wanted by the International Court of Justice in The Hague. “Without fulfilling this goal we simply cannot move forward,” said Vukčević. Belgium and the Netherlands objected to the EU’s invitation to Serbia to sign the SAA, saying that Belgrade should be doing more to track down and turn over those suspected of war crimes. The Hague ‘most wanted’ list for war crimes alleged to have been committed in the wars that raged across the Balkans in the 1990s includes Bosnian Serb political and military leaders Radovan Karadžić and General Ratko Mladić, both indicted twice for genocide, as well as Stojan Župljanin, who is also charged with genocide committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. The fourth fugitive is Goran Hadžić, indicted for war crimes committed in Croatia in the 1991-1995 war there.
|
||||
| SocietyGerman Ambassador will be missed and rememberedTuesday, 01 July 2008 | AdministratorMontenegro’s loss is Brazil’s gain, as German Ambassador Thomas Schmitt has been asked by his government to take up residence the land of samba and soccer. A farewell party for the Ambassador was the most anticipated event in Montenegro last... + More |
SocietyKosov@ Post celebrates its launchTuesday, 01 July 2008 | AdministratorLaunching a new paper in a new market is an exercise fraught with perils. The workload is enormous and the learning curve is steep and difficult to negotiate. So there was an air of relief mixed with great satisfaction in the main hall of... + More |
| +More | |
