|
Kosovo shaken by ethnic violence
The UN Security Council yesterday condemned escalating violence in Kosovo, as Serbia accused Albanians of "ethnic cleansing" after the machinegunning of Serbian children swimming in a river. Four years after NATO troops turfed Serbian forces out of Kosovo, ethnic bloodshed is rocking the UN-controlled province.UN-controlled = uncontrolled A sniper killed an 11-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man and injured four others, as a group of Serbian teenagers played in a swimming hole in Gorazdevac, a village favoured by ethnic Serbs, last week. Snipers fired at the village again at the weekend, although no one was hurt. Enraged Serbs living in Kosovo took to the streets in protest, as the Government in the adjoining nation of Serbia and Montenegro — what is left of the former Republic of Yugoslavia — declared a national day of mourning. At a UN Security Council meeting in New York yesterday, Serbiaâs Deputy Prime Minister, Nebosja Covic, pointed the finger at the ethnic Albanians who make up 95 per cent of Kosovoâs population. He said the UNâs failure to bring stability to Kosovo would make it responsible for "a resurrection of fascism . . . and the creation of a monstrous mono-ethnic Albanian para-state". As opposed to a fascist Greater Serbia The Albanian National Army, an underground rebel movement that wants to unify Kosovo with Albania, claimed responsibility on Sunday for an attack on a Serbian police station, although no one was hurt. The UN has declared the ANA a terrorist group. On Monday, an ethnic Serb died after being shot in the mouth while fishing near his village in eastern Kosovo.In an apparent payback, a mob of 30 Serbs attacked five Albanians as they drove through the Serb enclave of Gracanica on Monday. The violence flared early this month when gunmen murdered a UN policeman, Indian Satish Menon, in an ambush in northern Kosovo. UN investigators still have not found the assassins despite posting a â¬50,000 ($86,000) reward. Nobody will dare turn him in, Dire Revenge(tm) is a old and honored custom in this neck of the woods. Besides, nobody cares if a few UN types get killed. The bloodshed coincides with the UNâs appointment of a new chief administrator for Kosovo, the former Finnish prime minister Harri Holkeri. "Welcome to Kosovo, hit the deck!" One of his first tasks will be to organise a month-long amnesty to recover up to 460,000 weapons left over from the Balkans war. After the amnesty, Kosovars found with illegal firearms will face up to eight yearsâ jail. Thisâll work about as well as the disarming of Hamas. An Australian diplomatic observer suggested yesterday the recent violence might be timed to coincide with Mr Holkeriâs arrival. "I think what has surprised people is that while you can expect the occasional grenade thrown at a Serbian military outpost or rocks thrown at police cars, to shoot young people swimming in a watering hole goes well beyond what anybody would have expected," he said. Anybody here suprised? Didnât think so. Posted by: Steve 2003-08-19 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=17782 |