Émission de L'Autre Monde du 14 février 2008: Kosovo, torture, mercenaires privés, Moyen-Orient

Émission de L'Autre Monde du 14 février 2008: Kosovo, torture, mercenaires privés, Moyen-Orient


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L'Autre Monde 14 février 2008
60 min / Radio de l'UQAM, CHOQ FM

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- Tour du monde avec Les Nouvelles Internationales.

- On fait le point sur la situation au Kosovo.

- Aussi au menu: dossier torture, mercenaires privés, Moyen-Orient


Sources d'information sur la situation du Kosovo:

Kosovo to declare independence on Feb 17, says Serbia

Speaking at a press conference shortly beforehand in the provincial capital Pristina, Thaci said Kosovo's imminent independence -- strongly opposed by Serbia and its ally Russia -- was set to be recognised by around 100 countries.

The big question is, what are Serbia and Russia prepared to do military if in fact Kosovo declares its independence on the 17th

And, how are the US, NATO, and the EU prepared to respond militarily if Kosovo does this on the 17th, and Serbia and Russia attack Kosovo to prevent this from happening?

****Kosovo secession linked to NATO expansion

The creation of Kosovo as an “independent” state would be a precedent for other schemes U.S. imperialism could take advantage of to break away areas of other sovereign nations, including China and Russia, applying the old “divide and conquer” strategy perfected by British imperialism.

The question here is, what precisely is Russia willing to do when Kosovo declares its independence later this week?

Ceci est l'énorme base militaire US sur le territoire du Kosovo. Le Camp Bondsteel.

Russia warns EU, NATO of "illegal" Kosovo moves

Russia warned the European Union and NATO on Wednesday that their presence in Kosovo would be illegal if they acted in support of a self-proclaimed independent state.

Russian ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said the EU had no basis in international law to deploy a police and justice mission in the breakaway Serbian province, since that required a United Nations mandate.

Kosovo's breaking away from Serbia, in Moscow's view, would set a really troubling precedent for semi-autonomous areas of Russia which have been making noises about wanting to become independent.

And of course, there's the little "fact" about Kosovo that no one wants to acknowledge: Kosovo has the richest mineral resources in all of Europe west of Russia. The currently Serbian-owned Trepca mining complex is worth at least 5 billion dollars, which makes it an urgently wanted prize by the West.

Report: NATO plans to seize control of Kosovo’s north

NATO and the UN police in Kosovo are reportedly planning to tighten their control over northern Kosovo.

The move would come in case Kosovo declares its independence unliaterally after talks on its future end next month, Balkan Insight reported on its website.

With the US on the side of Kosovar independence, and Russia on the side of Serbia, this could really devolve into an even worse mess than it already is.

The deadline for the resolution of Kosovo's status comes on the 10th of December.

Kosovo will declare independence 'within days' if talks fail

Kosovo will declare its independence from Serbia within days following a December deadline on the province's future status if no accord is struck, its Prime Minister Agim Ceku said Tuesday.

So if Kosovo declares itself independent from Serbia, what precisely are the US, Russia, and Serbia going to do?

And remember: Kosovo has the richest mineral resources in all of Europe west of Russia.

Russia warns again: Kosovo independence 'unacceptable'

Russia warned anew Tuesday that a unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo was "unacceptable" and said direct talks between Serbia and Albanian separatists could be extended beyond the December 10 deadline, AFP reported. Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin made the comments to reporters after UN special representative Joachim Rucker briefed the Security Council on the latest developments in the breakaway Serbian province. But in London, visiting Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku said the breakaway province would declare its independence from Serbia within days if no accord is struck by December 10. Warning against the "inevitability of independence" for Kosovo, Churkin said he could envisage a scenario under which the current direct talks could be extended beyond the December 10 deadline.

It's all about the battle for Kosovo's resources.

And if Kosovo does go ahead and delcare its independence, what precisely is Russia prepared to do?

Russia to veto UNSC resolution granting independence to Kosovo

On the EU and NATO's move to send a mission to Kosovo, to resolve the independence issue outside UN, Lavrov said: "If the EU recognises Kosovo's independence ignoring existing UN legal mechanisms and divide Serbia, tearing out Kosovo and depriving ethnic Serbs of their right to express their opinions, it will be putting itself outside the international legal framework."

So now, it looks like it's going to be NATO and the EU declaring the UN "irrelevant" because of the Kosovo issue???

Russia vows to stop unilateral Kosovan independence

War with Russia over Kosovo, anyone?

If the US continues its support for the indepdenence of Kosovo, that's precisely what we may be looking at happening.

Serbia braces for Kosovo independence

Serbia strongly opposes independence for the separatist southern province, which it considers its historic heartland. The Serbian government has said it will ignore the move and retaliate against the countries that recognize Kosovo's statehood.

Traditional Serbian ally Russia opposes statehood for Kosovo, fearing that it would set a precedent worldwide, and Serbia's EU neighbors Bulgaria and Romania are wary of destabilizing the Balkans.

However this comes down in the next couple of weeks, the potential for a truly ugly military confrontation between Russia, the UN, and NATO is very possible here.

Let's hope that cool heads prevail; but given the historical geopolitical instability of the whole region (coupled with its vast mineral wealth), we could be in for some nastiness once Kosovo declares its independence.