Serbia and the Trap of the Past

I was downtown today when I came across this Serbian-Canadian demo.

Police were taking no chances.


















They even had a fire engine standing by. I guess they were worried somebody would burn the American consulate down. And blame it on the Americans.

But this was a noisy but peaceful crowd.














And very Canadian...




















I couldn't help but be impressed by their pride and their passion.

But I also couldn't help but wonder as they chanted "Serbia...Serbia....Serbia."

Whether they understand that the dead of Srebrenica also speak loudly from their graves.















And whether the proud Serbian people still don't understand what happened and why.

And really are trapped in the past.

Every effort has been made by NATO, the United Nations, the European Union and the United States to accommodate Serbian fears and sensitivities. Belgrade has never demonstrated any remorse for the carnage unleashed by former dictator Slobodan Milosevic on Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority — nor any willingness to negotiate the province’s independence.

Serbian leaders have a clear choice: stoke this xenophobia and self-pity, and further isolate themselves, or tamp down these passions and accept Europe’s offer of economic and political integration.

History has proved that Balkan resentments can trigger wider conflict. It must not happen again.

I don't want to take sides in this conflict. All I wish for is peace and reconciliation.

But it seems to me unless Canada and other countries recognize Kosovo....and help the Serbs come to terms with the new reality. This fatal blindness or delusion will continue.

And the situation can only get worse...

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P.S. Whenever I think of the Balkan War I think of the story Sébastien once told me. About coming across a burned out village full of rotting bodies.

And some U.N. guy was sobbing and beating his fist on the hood of a jeep. And when Sébastien asked him who was to blame he said "everyone."

As in those who did it and those that didn't stop it.

It's his nightmare... and because I love him ...mine as well.

Please never let it happen again...

Why Canada Must Recognize Kosovo

It looks as if the Europeans now have a really good reason not to send more troops to Afghanistan.

They may need them to defend Kosovo.

Russia's ambassador to Nato, Dmitry Rogozin, has warned that Russia could use military force if the Kosovo independence dispute escalates.

Trust the Russians to pour vodka on this bonfire of emotions.

The Serbs, with their legitimate right to mourn for the loss of Kosovo, were transformed into vandals who loot their own city

It's a greedily practical turn to the famous "inat" and spiteful defiance that Serbs generally offer the world community. .

There is one known fatality: a severely burned body was found inside the vandalized American embassy. He has no name, no face and is probably a Serbian hooligan overwhelmed by his own arson. The latest victim of a lethal myth.

I feel for the Serbs. Their capital Belgrade has been levelled over the course of their long and bloody history by 30 different armies. They have suffered a lot. Subjugated by the Ottoman Empire...murdered by the Nazis. They have been victims as well as victimizers.

So I can understand their anger and their humiliation at losing the land that contains some of the most sacred monuments and monasteries that define them.

But as I pointed out the other day...they have nobody to blame but themselves. Or the leaders and generals who led them to disaster. Because genocide is genocide. And you can't expect any people to want to share a country with those who tried to exterminate them.













What is done is done. And the only way out of this long nightmare is acceptance and reconciliation.

The Serbs must accept that things cannot be the way they were. The Kosovars must give them time to do that. Reach out to the Serbs within their borders. And above all protect the Serb monuments and monasteries as they would their own most precious sites..

There are some encouraging signs.

And hopefully one day the two people can bridge the hatred that divides them...and live in peace as neighbours.

In the meantime countries like Canada should stop fussing and recognize the new state.

Kosovo has split the nations of the world into two clubs: those who fear their own disintegration and those who do not. The Canadian government has signalled through silence that secession, even in the Balkans, is still too close to home.

Recognize that it is a unique case, and does NOT set a precedent for Quebec.

Because the more they hesitate the more they will encourage the Serbs to pursue their lethal myth or delusion. And their belligerent Russian allies to try to divide Europe and NATO.

Which could lead us to the brink of disaster.

The Serbs can truly claim to have been victimized by history. As well as by their own actions.

But if we're not careful they won't be the only ones...