Back in 1648, after the bloody Thirty Years’ War fought between Roman Catholics and Protestants, the Peace Treaty of Westphalia was signed. To this day, not without good reasons, it is considered the first binding international treaty and the foundation of the legal order in Europe at that time. Likewise, this year is taken as the beginning of modern international diplomatic relations, and in a way, as the beginning of modern diplomatic history.
Therefore, the principles established in 1648 were as follows:
the principle of sovereignty and the fundamental right of self-determination;
the principle of legal equality between nations, that is, states;
the principle of binding international and interstate agreements;
the principle of non-interference in internal affairs.
It may seem a little strange that at the beginning of a very contemporary and very acute topic, such as the attempt of the temporary institutions of Pristina to enter the Council of Europe, we have gone back almost 380 years. However, this topic and these principles established a full 376 years ago seem more contemporary and current today than ever before.
When we consider that in Westphalia at the peace conference these principles were established by representatives of France, Switzerland, German states, Spain, the Papal States (not to be confused with the modern Vatican), Venice and the Netherlands, it is clear that the principle of sovereignty and equality of nations is something that is premodern western politics. Three centuries later, after the bloody Napoleonic wars and the Congress of Vienna, and the Congress of Berlin and finally two world wars, the modern international legal order as we know it was formed. Or at least the kind we knew until 1999.
Therefore, it was the world powers, the majority of which were actually in Western Europe, that formulated the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of borders and equality. When we know this historical course, we can quite justifiably ask ourselves what happened in 1999? Since that year, and the illegal, eyeless and bestial aggression of NATO on the country, over three and a half centuries of international order and diplomacy have been trampled. Further activities on the part of the international community, trampling on everything from the Westphalian Peace Order to the United Nations Charter continued in 2008, and here, to be extremely malicious, continues to this day.
Contrary to everything that international law and all the principles that have been established over the centuries, and reached their peak after the Second World War, the so-called Kosovo pushes through to the Council of Europe. This institution is the lobby of the European Union, because in order to start negotiations for EU accession, the membership of the CE is binding. In addition, membership in the Council of Europe opens access to the International Court of Justice in Strasbourg and some other not so insignificant institutions in Europe.
It is clear that, if the flag of a non-existent state were to be flown in front of the Council of Europe, it would be beyond any doubt the last nail in the coffin of the international legal order. Unrelated even to the most notorious fact that international law is also defended by the vast majority of humanity. Only if we look at Europe and the countries of the European Union will we see that countries like Spain and Cyprus are unwaveringly on our side and on the side of justice. There is also Hungary, although a recognizing country, which nevertheless understands the Serbian position, but still retains a certain amount of criticism towards how the modern world functions. We were pleased with the votes against from Italy and Germany. Slovakia also had an attitude that can be an encouragement, and is a great opponent of any idea that our southern province is some kind of independent state. Even the restraint of individual countries should be duly appreciated. Politics and geopolitics are complicated things. Many countries, due to their interests, cannot consistently stand by the Serbian side, but even a restrained voice still shows restraint towards some currents that are tearing the world order apart.
What has been said above applies only to EU countries. Let’s remember, and this is just a terrible paradox and violation of all norms, that Russia and Belarus are outside the Council of Europe. Only such information would make any reasonable person imagine what kind of policy it is that forcibly pushes a non-existent state, which is not recognized by more than half of humanity, into the Council of Europe, while Russia, one of the key countries for the formation of modern Europe and the world, is there doesn’t even participate.
When, on the other hand, we look at the world map, we see that countries like China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Syria, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and so on continue to adhere to the Charter of the United Nations and the entire international legal order. African, Latin American, and Asian countries, despite very diverse geopolitical interests and complex relations around the world, overwhelmingly respect the principles established more than three and a half centuries ago and strengthened after 1945. But let’s return to our main topic, which is not unrelated to everything that was presented in the previous lines.
Aljbin Kurti, a convinced Marxist and extreme leftist, has been at the head of the temporary Pristina institutions for some time. As a young man, he was convicted by the judiciary of this country for terrorism and undermining the constitutional order of the country. So, a person who in fairly early years already had a clear and unambiguous political and ideological goal, namely the destruction of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia. However, he was pardoned by the President of the FRY, Dr. Vojislav Koštunica. What is particularly worth emphasizing here is that he demanded not to be pardoned in a group with other terrorists, but personally, by name and surname. This was fulfilled by the then government, as already mentioned.
It is far from the fact that any political nomenclature among the temporary institutions of government in our southern province led a proactive policy towards the Serbs, but the action of Kurti’s camarilla is probably the height of dishonor. From direct attacks on children on Christmas Day, through constant threats, violence and all the way to the economic exhaustion of the Serbian population in Kosovo and Metohija, Kurti’s methods represent flagrant violence. Everything that the Pristina administration is doing is contrary to all legal order, all criminal codes of the modern democratic world, and finally common sense.
It is impossible to talk briefly about the attitude towards the Serbian Orthodox Church, the overall cultural and spiritual heritage of the Serbs, as well as the falsification and fabrication of history and tradition. We can already see on the shelves of bookstores some kind of history of Kosovo, a distorted (propaganda) interpretation not only of the wars of the 90s but also of the entire past of the southern Serbian province.
In addition, there are also some legal norms and obligations that the Pristina authorities took upon themselves in 2013. The Brussels agreement foresees primarily the Union of Serbian Municipalities, and Pristina also has the obligation to (what a paradox) return the land belonging to the Visoki Dečani monastery. Therefore, the obligations that have not been fulfilled for 11 years are related to the return of something that is private property and that has been usurped and giving the opportunity to Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija to connect and decide on the basic, everyday topics of their lives until the issue is resolved of the final status of Kosovo and Metohija.
When all this is put together, and we add to it and once again underline the terrible violence against Serbs, which is everyday, the question really arises, where does the so-called Kosovo in the Council of Europe? Let’s go in order:
Kosovo and Metohija is an integral part of Serbia according to the Constitution of Serbia, Resolution 1244 of the United Nations Security Council, according to all acts of international law, and also according to the opinion of a huge part of humanity.
We accept as an indisputable fact that a huge percentage of the Albanian population lives in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, and that their representatives are parties to the negotiations regarding various aspects of the functioning of Kosovo and Metohija, and the connection with the rest of Serbia, the region and beyond. Certainly, movement and other rights that all people enjoy equally should be made easier for the Albanian population as well.
From point 2, it follows that the Pristina side, as a subject in the negotiations, must adhere to certain rules of diplomatic behavior, as well as fulfill the international obligations given to the European Union. Just as it follows for the Serbian side.
In terms of everything that was said before, the temporary authorities in Kosovo and Metohija not only do not stick to the letter of the agreement they signed, we are primarily targeting the Brussels agreement from 2013, but they go one step further. Attempts at murder, threats, confiscation of property, arrests, harassment, cancellation of dinars, prohibition of medicines and food products from entering the territory of Kosovo and Metohija from other parts of Serbia, are just some of the crimes committed by Kurti’s regime against Serbs. The community of Serbian municipalities is not even close to being even in the initial phase of formation.
For all this we are talking about, the so-called Kosovo, without an asterisk, note or footnote, as a full member, is on the way to the Council of Europe. The proposal was formally given by the Greek MP and sister of Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis, Dora Bakoyani. Mrs. Bakoyani obviously does not know her own history enough to remember the persecution of Greeks from Turkey and the relationship that exists there to this day towards the small Greek community. The example of the seminary in Halka is just one of many. However, not even parallels with the suffering of her own people, let alone some empathy and sincere support for Serbs, like the one that existed in the 1990s, are enough for Dora Bakojani to take a sober look at things around her.
The trampling of the international legal order continues. Decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recommending the membership of the so-called In this institution, Kosovo is slowly but surely opening Pandora’s box. Violating international law and the principles on which the world rests never ends well. That’s how the Westphalian peace order was trampled, and that’s how the world order that we know as a result of the end of the Second World War is also being trampled on. It will be difficult in the future (even in the present) to stop the various separatist movements that are smoldering around the world and threaten to become a kindling and engulf the world like a fire. After all, we see even now how little it takes for numerous territories on planet Earth to become bloody battlefields where numerous innocent people suffer.
Today it is the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, and tomorrow it could be who knows who. Because of all this, the international legal order exists. In order to prevent wars, the suffering of the innocent, mass crimes, terrorism, international law exists. If someone who constantly violates international law, who after all violates all norms of behavior, would be received and supported in the way the so-called Kosovo is being introduced to the Council of Europe, and it has been introduced to numerous other institutions and institutions, sports, cultural, scientific, financial, political, that would mean that exactly such criminal behavior is being supported. Every vote for the so-called Kosovo in the Council of Europe is a vote against not only Serbia, but also the entire European and world legal order, but also a vote for the seizure of territory, pressures, crimes and violence. The consequences can be unfathomable and we must all be prepared for them.
Author: prof. Dr. Boris Stojkovski, historian
(Vojvodjanskevesti.rs)
Tags: Kosovo Council Europe continuation saga destruction international law
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