Boutros Hussein and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The two West African nations of Burkina Faso and Niger have stated that they both fully endorse the border decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). According to both nations they are pleased by the decision of the ICJ because you have no winner or loser. Instead, Burkina Faso and Niger can focus on the future whereby a genuine border will now apply between both nations.

In Kosovo the bias of leading nations like America and the United Kingdom is clear for all. After all, the Kosovo Albanians got everything despite not being internationally recognized by all nations and violating many international laws. At least Burkina Faso and Niger have gained and equally lost part of their territory in a diplomatic fashion. This reality shames many leading nations which just arbitrarily take land from nations or enforce their respective power dynamics in order to carve-up or weaken societies when it pleases them.

Tensions over the border between Burkina Faso and Niger date back to 1927 because of the legacy of France. Ironically, the same France is still meddling negatively in the affairs of Libya, Syria and also this nation recognized Kosovo despite the many violations of international law. In Mali it is essential for the international community to help this nation against Islamist terrorist factions. However, the ongoing support of destabilizing Syria isn’t warranted because secularism faces being crushed by Islamist militancy.

Turning back to Burkina Faso and Niger then tensions erupted in 2006 because of security forces and the confusion over the border region. At the same time custom officials in both nations were unsure about the real demarcation zone. Therefore, instead of turning to conflict or involving themselves in destabilization policies both Burkina Faso and Niger turned to the ICJ court to resolve the issue.

In Kosovo the Serbian Orthodox Christians and other minorities had no court to decide fairly about the rights and wrongs of the Kosovo diktat. Once more, Orthodox Christians were treated like second-class-citizens just like in Northern Cyprus whereby Turkey isn’t being forced to leave after invading several decades ago. The upshot of all this is the murder of vast numbers of Orthodox Christians in Kosovo on the watch of America, the United Kingdom and the European Union after the ending of the conflict. This also applies to the destruction of Orthodox Christian churches, monasteries, architecture and even graveyards have been emptied and violated. Today the land of Kosovo is a ghetto for the majority of minorities and meanwhile this part of the former Yugoslavia is now a narcotics paradise. Sadly, this angle often follows in the footsteps of Washington and London because in modern day Afghanistan this nation is awash with heroin.

Vojin Joksimovich commented in an article titled Bare-Handed Kosovo Serbs Battle NATO which was published by Modern Tokyo Times that “On September 16 (2011) deputy mayor of Zvecan, Miodrag Acic, visited the UNMIK office in Zvecan to discuss the present crisis. Acic stated that Serbs have clearly defined who they are, born in the Serbian Province of Kosovo and Metohija, not so called Kosovars, with a rich identity of more than 1500 years old and who have a love of their culture, language and traditions. Serbs have survived all of the invasions and occupations which befell them in the last 1500 years. Serbian culture and heritage is all over Kosovo despite the fact that Albanians are trying to destroy it. He pointed out to a lack of toponyms, whose origins could be found in the Albanian language. There are, however, Islamic and Turkish toponyms due to the 500 year occupation. Now the Kosovo Albanians with help from US/NATO, with disproportional use of force, are trying to steal our history, our toponyms, our land, our language and are making the last try to expel of us. Acic pointed out and named international officers who side with the Albanians and disregard international law and use instead the Kanun of Leke Dukagjini, set of traditional Albanian codes.”

The embattled Serbs of Kosovo which are witnessing their “Orthodox Christian Jerusalem” being Islamized and Albanianized must be amazed by the even-handed approach of the ICJ when it comes to Burkina Faso and Niger. After all, for the Orthodox Christian Serbs they have seen the bias of major international institutions which forgive Muslim and Catholic war criminals against them – at the same time where is the outcry about the cleansing of Orthodox Christians from Krajina, Kosovo and parts of Bosnia?

The Justice Minister of Niger, Marou Amadou, told AFP that “I think that the court sliced up the territory fairly….We gain a little in the North, we lose a bit in the South. Both countries win out because there’s no more border dispute.”

Likewise, Jerome Bougouma, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Territorial Administrative and Security, commented that “We are parting as good friends, very good friends.”

For the Kosovo Serbs and other minorities, just like for Serbia itself with regards to the European Union, it is one diktat after another. Therefore, only when Serbia bows down to nations which violated the sovereignty of the former Yugoslavia – and accept their servitude to all and sundry – will this nation be allowed to join the European table. Ironically, the Serbs in history fought against the invading Islamic invasions of Ottoman Turkey and against Nazi Germany. However, the real winners in the Balkans are the former fascist states of Germany and Croatia (Bosnian Muslim SS Units) and Turkey which still denies the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Christian holocaust which led to millions being killed in the early twentieth century.

In this sense, the Orthodox Christian Serbs are being punished for “fighting on the right-side of history.” Whoever says history is dead should only look at the conspiracies against the Serbs of the Balkans. Therefore, while justice can be found between Burkina Faso and Niger the same can’t be said about the ongoing diktat in Kosovo whereby the Serbs and other minorities must bow down to Albanianization.

http://moderntokyotimes.com/2011/09/20/bare-handed-kosovo-serbs-battle-nato/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22165499

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com

Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

Alyse Radenovic (http://www.alyseradenovic.com) was born in 1973 therefore during her early adult life the war in the former Yugoslavia was blazing. This extremely talented artist was born in America and her adorable fine art covers many different themes and often flows in many directions. Many strong passions exist within Alyse Radenovic and this applies to her love of art and her deep respect towards many political issues. Of major concern for Alyse Radenovic is the distortion of reality when it comes to the coverage of what happened to the Serbs in Bosnia, Krajina and Kosovo. Therefore, this article is about fusing art, history and the “other reality” which was neglected by the mass media. Also, it highlights the fact that many major nations will do anything in order to appease the petrodollar nations of the Gulf.

It firstly must be stated that Alyse Radenovic is a fine arts artist who focuses on many themes. Therefore, the words in this article belong to the respective writers despite being inspired by the art of Alyse Radenovic. However, it must be stated that Alyse Radenovic is troubled by the re-writing of history – or, better to say – a history that was never taught in the first place outside of the embattled Serbs of Bosnia, Krajina and Kosovo.

In this article all the art pieces by Alyse Radenovic are focused on Bratunac and Srebrenica. These images can be put within a limited theme applying to what the viewer can see and feel. Or, alternatively, a bigger picture may entail from many different angles. If we then take the names Bratunac and Srebrenica away then the mist of reality can’t be debated. Yet, the titles clearly state that the art pieces apply to Bratunac and Srebrenica. Despite this, at no point am I implying that Alyse Radenovic is focused on the deeper meaning – only this talented artist can answer this; however, it is this chaos which aptly applies to Bratunac and Srebrenica which creates many images within the mind.

Serbian Orthodox Christians in Bosnia, Krajina and Kosovo had their entire history and martyrdom crushed by a mass media which ignored the past, the reality of the time and this ongoing blindness continues today. In modern day Europe you have northern Cyprus whereby Turkey continues to occupy parts of this country. Following on from Turkish occupation is the de-Christianization of this part of Cyprus. Likewise, in modern day Kosovo vast numbers of Orthodox Christian churches and important Serbian architecture have been destroyed. On top of this, many Orthodox Christians have been killed in Kosovo since the ending of the conflict under the watch of America and Europe. It is no coincidence that the petrodollars of the Gulf and the importance of Turkey in NATO, meant that in three conflicts involving Orthodox Christians and Muslims in the last 40 years in Europe; that America sided with Muslim forces in each conflict.

The stunning art piece by Alyse Radenovic titled Bratunac – Blue says much about the distortions of reality. In this image we see the power of the mountains, distant buildings and flowers which immediately hit you. Tranquility can be viewed despite the rugged landscape. However, for the Bosnian Serbs of Bratunac and other mainly Orthodox Christian villages in and around Srebrenica; then only death, persecution and fear could be found during the Bosnian conflict.

Many powerful individuals on the ground and people in the know, fully understood the real reality of Bratunac, Srebrenica and the entire area whereby mutual hatred flourished. In this atmosphere of hatred many innocent Muslims and Orthodox Christians were killed by opposing forces in this part of Bosnia. French General Philippe Morillon, the UNPROFOR commander who first called international attention to the Srebrenica enclave, is adamant that the crimes were quite “extraordinary in the region committed by those Muslim soldiers made the Serbs’ desire for revenge inevitable. He testified at The Hague Tribunal on February 12, 2004, that the Muslim commander in Srebrenica, Naser Oric, “engaged in attacks during Orthodox (Christian) holidays and destroyed villages, massacring all the inhabitants. This created a degree of hatred that was quite extraordinary in the region.”

Philippe Morillon further states that “Naser Oric was a warlord who reigned by terror in his area and over the population itself. I think that he realized that these were the rules of this horrific war, that he could not allow himself to take prisoners. According to my recollection, he didn’t even look for an excuse. It was simply a statement: One can’t be bothered with prisoners.”

Morillon continues by stating that “the Serbs took me to a village to show me the evacuation of the bodies of the inhabitants that had been thrown into a hole, a village close to Bratunac. And this made me understand the degree to which this infernal situation of blood and vengeance [...] led to a situation when I personally feared that the worst would happen if the Serbs of Bosnia managed to enter the enclaves and Srebrenica.”

“I feared that the Serbs, the local Serbs, the Serbs of Bratunac, these militiamen, they wanted to take their revenge for everything that they attributed to Naser Oric. It wasn’t just Naser Oric that they wanted to revenge, take their revenge on; they wanted to revenge their dead on Orthodox Christmas.”

Bratunac and the entire area in and around Srebrenica witnessed countless massacres against local Orthodox Christians. Indeed, while nobody can deny the brutality of what happened when Srebrenica was taken by Bosnian Serb forces – how, what really happened and the numbers killed can be debated; but it is clear that thousands of Muslim males were killed. However, unlike Naser Oric and the brutality that occurred under his command against old people, women and very small children; the Bosnian Serbs allowed Muslim women and children to escape. At no point does this cover-up the massacres that took places by victorious Bosnian Serb forces when Srebrenica fell. However, it is ironic that the brutal murder of over 3,500 Orthodox Christians was brushed under the carpet despite three years of brutality by Muslim forces in the region.

In the art piece by Alyse Radenovic titled Srebrenica – Gold Red then the stylishly distorted images of houses and the vivid color red denotes the distorted bloodshed and reality which happened throughout this part of Bosnia. The Gold background can denote many things. Yet for both writers of this article it denotes the petrodollars of the Gulf and how America and the United Kingdom were willing to “sell their collective souls” while Turkey and Saudi Arabia were dreaming about the re-Islamization of vast parts of the Balkans. Alyse Radenovic may of course see something very different and the same applies to everyone who views this lovely art piece. Yet this is the connection between art, history, power mechanisms and various thought patterns – after all, much will depend on the world that you see – or the world that you have been allowed to witness.

Major-General (Ret) Lewis Mackenzie, a retired Canadian general, also raises serious doubts about “good” and “evil.” In his article titled “The real story behind Srebrenica.  The massacre in the UN ‘safe haven’ was not a black and white event,” which was published in The Globe and Mail (July 14, 2005), he clearly highlights many neglected areas.

Lewis MacKenzie witnessed many events and he states the following:

“As the Bosnian Muslim fighters became better equipped and trained, they started to venture outside Srebrenica, burning Serb villages and killing their occupants before quickly withdrawing to the security provided by the UN’s safe haven. These attacks reached a crescendo in 1994 and carried on into early 1995 after the Canadian infantry company that had been there for a year was replaced by a larger Dutch contingent.” 

“The Bosnian Serbs might have had the heaviest weapons, but the Bosnian Muslims matched them in infantry skills that were much in demand in the rugged terrain around Srebrenica. As the snow cleared in the spring of 1995, it became obvious to Nasar Oric, the man who led the Bosnian Muslim fighters, that the Bosnian Serb army was going to attack Srebrenica to stop him from attacking Serb villages. So he and a large number of his fighters slipped out of town. Srebrenica was left undefended with the strategic thought that, if the Serbs attacked an undefended town, surely that would cause NATO and the UN to agree that NATO air strikes against the Serbs were justified. And so the Bosnian Serb army strolled into Srebrenica without opposition.”

Most tellingly, Lewis MacKenzie comments that “two wrongs never made a right, but those moments in history that shame us all because of our indifference should not be viewed in isolation without the context that created them.”

Lord Owen was equally alarmed and on page 143 of his book, Balkan Odyssey, he states that “On 16 April I spoke on the telephone to President Milosevic about my anxiety that, despite repeated assurances from Dr. Karadzic that he had no intention of taking Srebrenica, the Bosnian Serb army was now proceeding to do just that. The pocket was greatly reduced in size. I had rarely heard Milosevic so exasperated, but also so worried: he feared that if the Bosnian Serb troops entered Srebrenica there would be a bloodbath because of the tremendous bad blood that existed between the two armies. The Bosnian Serbs held the young Muslim commander in Srebrenica, Naser Oric, responsible for a massacre near Bratunac in December 1992 in which many Serb civilians had been killed. Milosevic believed it would be a great mistake for the Bosnian Serbs to take Srebrenica and promised to tell Karadzic so.”

The three individuals quoted come from Canada, France and the United Kingdom and all are respected individuals within the military and political world. Sadly, if Modern Tokyo Times gave quotes from Serbians, then people who want to gloss over the reality of Bratunac and Srebrenica, will use any means at their disposal. After all, the point was to kill Orthodox Christians in silence and then to hide what really happened by either silence or mass propaganda. In truth, all sides did massacres throughout the Bosnian conflict – after all, you don’t have any war whereby one side is free from committing massacres irrespective of faith, nationality and so forth. Germany committed many massacres during World War Two but millions of German civilians were also killed by carpet bombings and other brutal realities.

The Serbs of the former Yugoslavia have witnessed dhimmitude under the Ottoman Empire and enslavement; the brutal rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; NAZI Germany; Bosnian Muslim, Catholic Croatian and Albanian SS units. On top of this, the communist leadership in Yugoslavia after World War Two allowed further Albanianization to take place in Kosovo. During the conflict in Bosnia the Bosnian Serbs faced Bosnian Muslim forces, America, al-Qaeda, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the role of many other nations – in time NATO would bomb Serbia from the sky at a later date. Therefore, the mass media not only distorted the Bosnian conflict but they trashed the martyrdom and history of the Serbs by simplistic phrases. Today the same mantra is being thrown at Syria whereby America, Gulf nations and major NATO powers are once more siding in a brutal conflict; whereby Islamist terrorists are on the same side and the Croatian military angle is being used to arm the friends of Washington, Ankara, Doha, London, Paris and Riyadh alongside many other ratlines.

Therefore, the art of Alyse Radenovic with regards to Bratunac and Srebrenica unites with the distortions of reality but in a positive sense. The natural beauty of the art pieces by Alyse Radenovic, in relation to this article, also highlights the stillness of time and the rugged landscape. If people don’t know about the history of the former Yugoslavia before the Bosnian conflict, during and after the demise of this entity; then it is easy to take these art pieces at face value. Of course, Alyse Radenovic may desire people to take these pieces of art at face value but given the places that she portrays – then maybe the meaning is much more powerful than what people see outside of the images which spring to mind?

Irrespective of the real reasons behind the art work of Alyse Radenovic towards Bratunac and Srebrenica; the art pieces according to both writers of this article depicts “the ghosts of the dead that have been abandoned by the whims of outside forces.” Therefore, by Alyse Radenovic depicting natural landscapes alongside more blurred images of Bratunac and Srebrenica; it is what can’t be seen which also fascinates given her love towards the abandoned Serbs of Bosnia, Krajina and Kosovo. In this sense, for people who adore the art of Alyse Radenovic it is important to explore the real meaning behind the subject matter in this article. On a bigger scale, the same obviously applies to the distortions of reality when it comes to Bosnia and other issues related to the former Yugoslavia.

Art may appear to be a million miles away from what happened in Bratunac and Srebrenica. Yet, art is open to enormous interpretation and clearly all individuals will come up with their own meaning to the art viewed. However, when it comes to Bratunac and Srebrenica – just like in modern day Syria – then the mass media and powerful nations want only “their single interpretation.” In this sense, the natural charm of Alyse Radenovic allows many interpretations; if only the mass media and major nations would allow the same logic instead of instigating hatred and falsehood.

President Milorad Dodik of Republika Srpska (RS) comments that “The suffering of the Serbs in and around Srebrenica during those three years was in no way inferior, it just didn’t take place cumulatively in the space of a few days, but over the course of three years. Over 3,500 people lost their lives there, for which, as you can see, they clear Naser Orić, and convict Biljana Plavšić of command responsibility, even though she didn’t command anything in the RS, and only held political office. And that makes us wonder again if we’re willing to accept the double standards in this republic or not. I am not willing.”

MORE INFO ABOUT Alyse Radenovic

http://www.alyseradenovic.com/index.htm  Alyse Radenovic

https://twitter.com/AlyseRadenovicA  Twitter account of Alyse Radenovic

http://www.alyseradenovic.com/alyse%20bio.htm  Brief bio and contact information related to Alyse Radenovic

http://moderntokyotimes.com/2013/02/15/world-of-art-yuzo-saeki-and-alyse-radenovic-and-the-impact-of-france-and-kosovo/

Images belong to Alyse Radenovic

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com

Vojin Joksimovich, PhD

Modern Tokyo Times

We live in a complex world full of mind-boggling developments including cases of ruling administrations pursuing foreign policies clearly not in the national interests. A globalist agenda seems to transcend the national interests. In 2007/2008 this agenda led to the global economic meltdown, the worst since the Great Depression. Two US examples are only briefly mentioned herein and left for another piece. The US has sided with the jihadists in a number of local conflicts and civil wars, e.g. Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Libya, Egypt, and Syria!!  The other example is that of generalissima Hillary Clinton, to borrow the term from Ralph Nader, who overcame opposition from the Defense Secretary Robert Gates and choreographed NATO overthrow of long-term Libyan leader Gaddafi, who most recently only focused on becoming an African leader. During her four-year term she led a militarized State Department which had little room for diplomacy.

It should be noted that the war in Libya was conducted not only without a congressional declaration of war but without a congressional authorization and appropriation. Hillary’s husband provided a model for lawlessness in the world by unleashing NATO’s force of 1150 planes, dropping 21,000 tons of bombs and firing 1,300 missiles on essentially the defenseless country of Serbia (probably the most one-sided military conflict in history). It was the first time in NATO’s 50-yr history that the alliance directed its military might –second to none in the world—at a sovereign nation.  In my books, Kosovo Crisis and Kosovo is Serbia, I had characterized this act of naked aggression as 78 days of infamy. The US/NATO campaign broke seven international laws including the UN charter (Article 5) and ignored the US Constitution and US law. The House of Representatives did not pass a resolution supporting bombing. The NATO political establishment had to demonize not only the Serbian president Milosevic but the whole Serbian nation in order to justify the illegal and unconstitutional war. The handmaiden reporters played their assigned parts by the political establishment in demonizing the Serbs, as a part of the so called packed journalism.

This article is dedicated to the case Kosovo claimed frequently as a western success—only by ignoring what has transpired in the province since it was stolen from Serbia by the US/NATO and handed over to the domestic Albanian terrorists turned statesmen as Washington Balkan clients. After eight years of resisting pressure to abandon the cradle of its civilization Serbia’s existing government has now decided to capitulate. The capitulation vehicle was entering into the EU sponsored dialogue with an illegal entity called the Kosovo Republic, which unilaterally declared independence five years ago as the US/German creation. Serbia entered into a no win situation since US/Germany are holding trump cards. Serbia has no friends in the West, only in the East but those friends are not involved and Russia in particular. Baroness Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign-policy chief, has been acting as the mediator.

Unless the Serbian government decides to pull out of this dialogue at the very last minute it will sacrifice its territorial integrity, in violation of its constitution, primarily to obtain a date for initiation of decade long negotiations for joining the EU!! At the time of this writing it appears that Serbia will get nothing. Aleksandar Vulin, director of Serbia government’s Kosovo office said: “Everything the EU asked of other countries we have long fulfilled, not for the sake of the EU but for our own sake. Many EU member states are in worse economic and political shape than Serbia and less stable. But since we are Serbia other rules apply, and the only question is how long we will take that. Hopefully, Serbian government will reach that point on April 2.” This statement doesn’t offer a satisfactory explanation to why Serbia continues its pursuit of EU membership while sacrificing its territorial integrity and hence this belongs to the “mind-boggling category” to this writer.”

Kosovo Solution not amenable to US/German Impositions

My books address millennium-old Kosovo history about the Serbian and Albanian conflict, which I have routinely compared to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order to illustrate the mass complexity. Historical animosities exist, which makes coexistence next to impossible. The Ahtisaari plan, not approved by the UN Security Council, but used by US/Germany as the blueprint for Kosovo independence. The plan was designed by the former Finnish president who was appointed by the UN Secretary General to be the UN special envoy for Kosovo. It recognized that the conflict in Kosovo between Serbs and Albanians could only be peacefully resolved if a way were found to allow the two communities to co-exist in a majority-run polity but also lived their own lives in their own communities. Kosovo is the cradle of Serbian civilization with some 1300 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries, a Serbian Jerusalem. The conflict must be adjudicated either by the UN, with participation of Russia and China, or by some European entity like the 1878 Berlin Congress with participation of Russia. Bombing Serbia and claiming that farcical humanitarianism was in play as well as imposing a Carthaginian peace on Serbia is the crudest way to resolve this complex conflict in particular in the 21^st century. “Carthaginian Peace” is referred to as a brutal peace demanding total subjugation of the defeated side. Tacitus wrote: “They make a desert and call it peace.”  Julia Gorin, an accomplished blogger on Balkan subjects, on the occasion of deployment of Fort Bragg soldiers to Kosovo, wrote: “Bombing a country on behalf of its domestic terrorists is ‘easing tensions.” Only in America, kids. Only in America!”

For eight years, Belgrade was ready to sacrifice almost everything to keep Kosovo within Serbia, including making a proposal for an unprecedented Kosovo autonomy compatible with the UN Resolution 1244, which terminated the 1999 war. However, in 2007 the US decided to abandon the UN process in favor of using the EU and NATO to impose the Ahtisaari plan on Serbia. Ahtisaari’s job was to choreograph the predetermined outcome: Kosovo independence. In 2007, the Finnish News Agency (STT) published two articles alleging that Ahtisaari was “bought” by the Albanian mafia.

Russia and Serbia backed diplomacy but the US backed force.  With the US and Russia at loggerheads, the EU was propelled into a pivotal position. At its annual summit, the EU asserted leadership by giving birth to a 2,000-2,500 person civilian mission named EULEX to replace the UNMIK (UN Mission in Kosovo). The EULEX, costing some $1.3bn since 2008, was supposed to be status neutral, given the EU’s lack of unity regarding Kosovo recognition, but instead became a main proponent of Kosovo independence reflecting the US/Germany influence. Previous Serbian president Boris Tadic and his Democratic Party accepted the EULEX mission, despite advice from Moscow to the contrary. The process of Serbian capitulation was thus initiated with Serbia making one concession after another including border management, Kosovo’s representation at regional meetings, university diplomas, trade, etc.

Serbia Capitulates to become German Colony

Given the availability of my books, as well as many others, I will shift quickly into December 2012. The Serbian government elected in May, 2012, consisting mainly of former Milosevic allies including Ivica Dacic as the Prime Minister (PM), former spokesman for president Milosevic when Serbia fought NATO. This government of former Serbian nationalists decided to violate the Serbian constitution, which explicitly says that Kosovo is part of Serbia. They rationalized that Serbian sovereignty over Kosovo exists only on paper and hence something might be accomplished through negotiations in order to prevent the final act of ethnic cleansing of Kosovo Serbs refusing to accept the Pristina rule.

The EU has been demanding from Serbia to “improve neighborly relations” in order to advance its EU membership bid. Another term in use is “normalization of relations.” It should be remembered that five EU members have not recognized Kosovo independence. Hence it may not be proper to call it the US/EU creation but more appropriately the US/German. It should be remembered that the German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Serbian officials in Belgrade last year that the “path of Serbia into the EU can only lead through the normalization of its relations with Kosovo.”  It has widely been interpreted that she meant Serbia’s recognition of an independent Kosovo without redrawing the borders. This demand is in stark contrast with the EU’s decision to admit Cyprus without demanding recognition of the Turkish Republic in the north. Vice-president of the Serbian government Suzana Grubjesic said that the dialogue is taking place in Brussels but Berlin decides.  She was partially right as the US and Germany is deciding.

The western media has been reporting that once-sworn enemies have signaled a thawing of relations between the two countries. PM Dacic, on a number of occasions, stated that division of Kosovo was the best solution but that in Brussels they did not want to hear about it as they did not want to see another Republika Srpska in the Balkans. This opposition comes mainly from the US. The American ambassador in Belgrade Michael Kirby stated that Republika Srpka didn’t come out well in Bosnia! He may or may not know that late American diplomat Richard Holbrooke, an architect of the Dayton Accords which terminated the war in Bosnia, was a creator of the Republika Srpska. It may well be that in Washington they believe that Holbrooke acquiesced to demands from Milosevic. This was deemed to be a Serbian success and Serbia was not supposed to have any.

The US has followed two basic rules in the Balkans as eloquently summarized by former US diplomat turned foreign policy analyst James George Jatras. “Rule 1: The Serbs are always wrong, and claims and interests they might have must be thwarted. Rule 2: Muslims are always right, and all claims and interests they may have must be facilitated.” Another reputable Washington-based analyst Doug Bandow said: “the Serbs always lose,” as a general rule. Incidentally, while speaking at the Belgrade Law School, ambassador Kirby refused to apologize for the illegal US bombing of Serbia, while presidents Clinton and Obama have prolifically apologized to misdeeds in the past.

Kosovo Serbs

Nobody can blame the Kosovo Serbs for refusing to accept tyranny by KLA terrorists turned politicians/statesmen on the US/NATO watch after experiencing the murders of thousands, ethnic cleansing (two thirds were expelled), demolition and burning of 155 Serbian churches and monasteries. 200,000 Kosovo refugees are still internally displaced persons (IDP) in Serbia. There are 120-130,000 Serbs remaining in Kosovo: approximately some 40,000 in the north and about 80,000 in enclaves scattered across Kosovo. On March 17, 2004, just as in the 1930s, Kosovo Kristallnacht took place, a pre-arranged orchestrated Albanian ethnic cleansing plan. 60,000 strong Albanian mobs drove 4,500 Serbs from their homes. There were 19 deaths and some 900 injuries. Several human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, slammed NATO/UNMIK for failing to protect minorities.

UNMIK Human Rights Advisory Panel (HRAP) established in 2006, in response to 250 complaints, announced a decision slamming the failure of UNMIK to investigate systematic killing of Serbs and other non-Albanians, including forced disappearances. HRAP requested from UNMIK an apology and compensation to a Prizren Serbian family for failure to find their father and son kidnapped by three KLA thugs in July 1999. In that timeframe according to some estimates the KLA had murdered 6,000 Serbs and other minorities who were mostly Roma.  Some consider this decision a landmark case. However, the competences were transferred to EULEX in 2008. Hence, this decision may prove to be too little, too late regarding accountability.

Even after universally condemning the 2004 pogrom the Kosovo Serbs have continued to be victimized. According to the Serbian office for Kosovo there had been 1025 attacks on the Serbs since Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence five years ago: 51 firearm attacks, 11 plantings of explosive devices, 15 hand grenades and Molotov cocktails thrown, 25 churches attacked, 201 Orthodox cemeteries desecrated, 197 tombstones destroyed, 135 Serbian houses stoned, and 48 fires set to properties owned by the Serbs. Four Serbs were murdered, 245 were injured, and the Serb population was attacked 203 times a year, an attack every other day.  Even during these EU sponsored “negotiations” on February 4 a bomb was thrown at a 3-yr old boy and a 9-yr old girl. The Visoki Decani monastery was attacked in an attempt to wrap the ethnic cleansing and to remove evidence of Serbian existence. Fortunately the Italian KFOR contingent prevented the monastery from being torched down.

10,000 Serbian monuments, including Serbian cemeteries, south of the Ibar River have been eradicated. Even the 30m high pine tree planted in Narodimlje by Serbian Tsar Dusan was cut on its 663 birthday. The only explanation for this vandalism is the sick minds of Albanian nationalist “neighbors” which are committed to eradicating the Serbian presence in Kosovo over a millennium. In contrast the monuments in northern Kosovska Mitrovica, where the Serbs constitute the majority, they are untouched.

These acts of terrorism and vandalism against the Serbs in the presence of KFOR, UNMIK, and EULEX received no due attention in Washington, Berlin and Brussels. There is no precedent in Europe for such ethnocide. The US/EU moral authority has been reduced to its lowest level in recent history. Do the European standards apply to Serbs in so-called independent Kosovo? James George Jatras wrote: “Evidence of Islamic evidence and intolerance in Kosovo—and in the Balkans in general—is almost completely ignored, since acknowledging it would challenge the cozy myth of successful US/NATO ‘humanitarian intervention’ and limit the application to future adventures.”

Association (Community) of Serbian Municipalities

Given that Kosovo division was not an option, in late December the Belgrade media published a document termed the “platform,” believed to be composed by president Nikolic and his advisers, laying down the principles and guidelines for dialog with Pristina. The Serbian parliament passed the resolution on January 12, after 14 hours of discussion, paving the way for the consideration of high level territorial and political autonomy for Association or Community of Serbian Municipalities throughout  Kosovo where the Serbs constitute a majority, including the decisive role in the area of security, police and judiciary. This would require international guarantees and Serbia would have to adopt a constitutional law. The resolution fell short of recognizing Kosovo and was supported by the Kosovo Serbs.  Inclusion of Serbs south of Ibar represents some progress compared to the previous Serbian administration.

Brussels Dialog

In December the respective PMs of Serbia and Kosovo Ivica Dacic and Hashim Thaci met for the first time. The readers need to be reminded about Hashim Thaci’s background which is well known in Washington, Berlin and Brussels. Thaci, aka Snake, was a Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander, highly recognized Kosovo thug, a narco-terrorist accused by the Council of Europe for selling organs of kidnapped and subsequently murdered Serbs. As a KLA commander he was involved in murdering the Serbs and others but was never indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). He enjoyed immunity as he served US Balkans interests. President Bush said on numerous occasions that he would never meet with terrorists but he met with Thaci at the White House below the portrait of George Washington.  Thaci has been regularly getting kisses from US Secretaries of State: Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton. Everything goes in the Washington void of having any moral standards.

PMs Dacic and Thaci met seven times thus far with another session scheduled for April the 2nd. The EU has arranged for the Serbian president Tomislav Nikolic to meet with the Kosovo president Atifete Jahjaga on February 6. Hence, for all practical purposes Serbia has recognized the Pristina authorities. President Nikolic admitted during his visit to Egypt that the Serbian government was ready to recognize Kosovo institutions including the government, constitution, military and the police. However, he reiterated that: “Serbia has never, and never will recognize Kosovo…something created on injustice cannot be legal and just.”

The northern Kosovo area, bordering Serbia, has been under the control of so called parallel institutions funded by Belgrade including town councils, health authorities, schools and post-offices. These parallel institutions have been unacceptable not only to Pristina but to Washington and Berlin as well. Serbia’s position is that the proposed autonomy of Association of Serbian Municipalities would solve the problem. However, Pristina refused to consider providing the municipalities with any executive powers causing a serious stalemate in the dialog. Thaci has urged the US to support Pristina in its refusal to grant concessions to the Serbian minority in a February 27 letter to the US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns.  The US dispatched assistant secretary of state Philip Reeker, who became available to meet with Dacic and Thaci in Brussels prior and after their sessions with Baroness Ashton. The US meddling will probably kill any agreement acceptable to Serbia. In parallel ambassador Kirby, speaking at the 20^th Kopaonik Business Forum, urged that Serbia should change its image, “rebrand itself” and show its qualities to the world. He added that he saw Serbia in Europe and that it was up to Serbia to find its way to the EU.  This represents American position that Serbia should forget about the nation’s birthplace and focus on its foggy future in European and Atlantic integrations, i.e. EU and NATO.

Baroness Ashton met with the Serbian leadership, President Nikolic, PM Dacic and VP Vucic, on March 11 to discuss the Serbian proposal to create the Association of Serb Municipalities. Asked by the Belgrade media about his “red line,” Nikolic stated that Serbia recognizes Kosovo as a specific territory compared to other parts of Serbia and was ready to accept some facts Kosovo has accomplished with assistance from the UN and the EU like the constitution, the president, the government and the parliament. However on that territory we will never recognize its independence – a big Serbian community exists which must be preserved and enabled to return. Dacic said that “nothing less than an Association of Serb Municipalities with executive powers would be acceptable” and that “no Serb would concede to more than that. The Serbian trio returned from Brussels and made optimistic statements that Pristina made concessions and that an agreement would be signed either on the 20th or the 28th, which exemplifies naivety of the Serbian leadership. Thaci quickly denied that concessions were made. Ashton visited Pristina on March the 14th and then flew to Belgrade. PM Dacic denied that Pristina made concessions and said that Serbia is still far from being in agreement with Pristina. “Only Washington can push Pristina into making concessions but decided not to do it despite the fact that the Ahtissari plan allows the creation of a decision-making body.”  The seventh session on March the 20th didn’t break the impasse leading to yet another session scheduled for April the 2nd.

Given Pristina’s failure to make concessions, an appropriate approach for the Serbian leadership would be to thank the EU for their mediation services and unambiguously state that they must protect the human rights of about 130,000 Kosovo Serbs by quoting the Albanian record briefly summarized above. This would stall the Brussels dialog and freeze the Kosovo conflict which is in Serbia’s national interest. It would then be up to the EU to grant Serbia the date for EU membership negotiations or not.

In April the European Parliament has scheduled a debate on Belgrade/Pristina dialog. The EU Commission is scheduled by April 16 to submit a report about the progress in negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina as the principal subject. Progress in judicial reforms, fight against corruption, minority protection, will also be addressed.  This report will be considered by all EU members at their semi-annual summit on June 28 and a decision made to provide the date to Serbia for membership negotiations or not.

Lies were told that Kosovo was ours: Serbian De Gaulle!

Dacic writing in the Belgrade weekly NIN on March 7 wrote that Serbs had been lied to that “Kosovo is ours” for a decade. “For 10 years, Kosovo was a taboo. No one could officially tell the truth. Tales were told, lies were told that Kosovo is ours.”  But “the Serbian president cannot go to Kosovo, nor the prime minister, nor ministers, nor the police or army. Serbs can only leave Kosovo. That’s how much Kosovo is ours and what does our constitution and laws mean there.” So called “second Serbia”  (viewed by many as anti-Serbs typically supported by western finances) jumped to praise Dacic. Ms. Vesna Pesic, co-leader of the 90-day 1996-97 winter demonstrations against Milosevic, compared Dacic to Churchill and De Gaulle! Well, Ms. Pesic might be right if Dacic can pull an equivalent of Republika Srpska into Kosovo by copying Milosevic’s accomplishment at Dayton, which doesn’t seem to be on the cards.

Agency Strategic Marketing found on March 6 that 63% of Serbian citizens accept that Kosovo is in practice an independent state and that Serbia can only hope to fight to secure the best deal for remaining Serbs in Kosovo. On the other hand, the same poll found out that 65% wouldn’t like to see Kosovo sacrificed for the sake of joining the EU. 61% thought that Dacic was doing a good job.

Dacic and Serbian citizens do not need to be reminded that the UN Security Council Resolution #1244 says that Kosovo remains part of Serbia. However, the US/NATO has bypassed this resolution. Hence, independent Kosovo represents a text-book example of an international grand-theft similar to piracy. The Tadic’s government acceptance of EULEX to replace UNMIK represented the initial part of the indigenous Serbian contribution to this grand-theft.  Ms. Pesic should remember that De Gaulle abandoned Algeria, but Algeria was a French colony and not the cradle of French civilization.

Serbia’s Dependence on EU

Serbia is willing to give up its territorial integrity in order to obtain the date for opening membership negotiations with the EU!! These negotiations may last 7-10 years or even longer. Why? The VP Vucic said that without the EU that Serbia’s economic survival would be threatened. As an EU candidate Serbia receives grants to the tune of 170 million euros per year. Vucic continues that obtaining a date would enable imports of key machines and the transfer of technology to Serbian factories as well as more financial and economic aid. Given the high unemployment rate of some 26.2% (comparable to that of Greece and Spain), 2% contraction of the economy in 2012, the budget deficit and the lowest income per capita in the region then this grant is obviously welcome. During the last 5 years the international debt of 8.4bn euros has grown to 17.7bn euros. The Economist has published an article titled: “Serbia is the Sickest Man of Europe.” Given these dismal statistics, Serbia must act fast to fix its economy.

The new administration must look elsewhere to attract foreign investment as opposed to propagating the myth of previous Tadic’s administration that joining the EU has no alternative. Recently they have obtained credit of 300 million euros from Russia and are negotiating with Russia for another loan to the tune of $500 million as a budgetary supplement. However, Serbia should remember that a country cannot live on loans as the unfolding Eurozone crisis has clearly demonstrated. In addition they seem to be successful at obtaining investments from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). About four years ago this writer has advocated that Serbia should explore joining the BRICs club (Brazil, Russia, India, China) as a long-term solution. Since then South Africa has joined. The club may or may not accept Serbia’s application but no effort was made to explore this option. Besides this BRIC countries have supported that Kosovo is Serbia.

At the above mentioned Kopaonik Forum, the Italian ambassador has pointed out that Italian companies can work with Serbian companies and that Serbia is a dynamic market, which has improved Serbia’s image in Italy. Trade between the two nations amounted to 2.3bn euros in 2012. The German ambassador said: “Most officials of German companies are satisfied with their businesses and treatment in Serbia.”  So Serbia seems to be doing reasonably well with these two key EU countries without being an EU member.

It appears that Vucic and the Serbian government is confusing pre-2009 EU with the one in 2013. Has the Serbian government examined the experience of a number of euro-zone members such as Greece, Portugal, and Ireland, which have received the IMF/EU bail-outs in exchange for severe austerity programs? Cyprus has requested a bailout of 17bn euros for their banks. Spain, Italy and Slovenia are other bailout candidates. The currency union has worked very well for German growth and wealth at the expense of countries mentioned.

Also, does Vucic see an analogy between the EU and the Soviet Union? Rigidity of German response to deal with the euro-zone crisis is a case in point: government overspending and excessive bank risks. Voters in member countries can change and have changed the governments but cannot change the economic policies designed in Berlin to protect the German taxpayers in particular prior to September general elections in Germany. Of particular interest to Serbia should be the experience of Orthodox countries: Greece and Cyprus as well as that of Slovenia, as a former Yugoslav republic. The experience of Bulgaria and Rumania, with their governments replaced, are also highly relevant.

Slovenia: German Colony

Slovenia was by far the richest state to emerge from the dissolution of Yugoslavia as a privileged republic in the market of 24 million people. Slovenia was the first former socialist country to adopt the euro. The economy grew on average by 4.4% annually between 1997 and 2008 thereby outperforming the Eurozone on economic growth. It was the region’s richest country with the GDP per capita greater to those of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary and Poland. It was a showcase for the benefits of EU membership.  However, the euro crisis caused three years of recession with the economy contracting at 8% in 2009 and even 2.4% in 2012. Currently, the unemployment rate exceeds 12% and the economy is expected to fall another 1.4% in 2013. Now, Slovenia might need a bail-out from its Eurozone partners. The German austerity model of cutting spending did not result in an economic revival. Slovenia had a problem with corporations financing operations through debt rather than equity. Slovenia’s banks are tottering under $9bn in non-performing loans, about 19% of GDP (higher than even Spain’s 16%). The government started implementing a bank bailout plan. Early in February 20,000 people protested against the austerity measures. PM Janez Jansa had to go and Alenka Bratusek became the new PM.

A Slovenian social scientist Rastko Mocnik said that Slovenia was now at the same level as other southern EU members like Greece, Portugal and Spain. It has become the Europe’s south. The EU operates on the principle of colonies with countries like Germany, France, and Scandinavian countries having privileged access to southern countries. Hence, Slovenia has become German’s colony with no political influence in the EU. Mocnik anticipates a conflict between developed capitalist countries with the surplus of capital and the undeveloped ones seeking that capital. The undeveloped ones, sooner or later, will be looking for alternatives. Asked if Serbia has an alternative to the EU, he recalled that after the demise of Yugoslavia, Slovenia was led to believe that the EU was the only way and that economically it wouldn’t survive. He thought that Serbia should integrate but not necessarily the same way as Slovenia. Mocnik was against the breakup of Yugoslavia and thinks that it was a great historic mistake.

Cyprus Drama

Eight months after the Cypriot government requested a bail-out to the tune of 17bn euros, bleary-eyed Eurozone finance ministers produced a contentious package on a Saturday the 16th. This crisis-mode of operation is EU’s modus operandi. The finance ministers demanded from Cyprus to extract 5.8bn euros from bank depositors in order to cut the size of the rescue package to 10bn euros. This was unprecedented. Peter Bofinger, a German economist, voiced the view that trying to make small savers pay to secure a European bailout of the Cypriot banking system is dangerous. “It will shake the trust of depositors across the Continent. Europe’s citizens now have to fear for their money. The Spaniards, Italians and Portuguese may not run for their money today or tomorrow, but as soon as the crisis intensifies in a Eurozone country, the bank customers will remember Cyprus. They will withdraw their money and, but doing so, intensify the crisis.”

In the bailouts of Portugal (78bn euros) and Ireland (67.5bn euros), it was those countries taxpayers and the Eurozone partners bearing the risk of lending money to them. In Greece (172.6bn euros), the Eurozone did the same but shared the pain with the country’s bondholders. With little Cyprus (population 800,000, GDP of 17bn euros, and 0.06% economic output), whose major banks suffered huge losses in Greek investments and souring real-estate market, the bank depositors had to suffer the pain. The Cypriot legislature rejected the deal with Chancellor Merkel reportedly outraged. Cyprus was “exhausting the patience of its euro partners.”  On the streets of Nicosia, like on the streets of Athens, she has been viewed as a hate figure with images of an SS guard or donning a Hitler moustache. On the other hand she continues to be popular at home as the Germans do not like their taxes to be used for bail-outs. Yuri Pyankykh, President of the Russian Business Association of Cyprus, blamed the Cyprus crisis on the German special services which reported that Cyprus banks were teaming with cash laundered by Russian oligarchs and that bailing out Cyprus means helping out those tycoons.

Another bleary-eyed session took place the morning of the 25th. The so called troika (IMF, ECB and EU) imposed their bail-out terms but secured the deal by bank restructuring which doesn’t need approval of the Cypriot Parliament. The deal shuts Cyprus’ second largest bank (Cyprus Popular Bank) imposing steep losses on deposits over 100,000 euros. The country’s largest bank, Bank of Cyprus, will be downsized aggressively with large depositors taking the hit. Russian PM Medvedev has characterized the deal as robbery. Russian and other foreign investors have been robbed. The troika will be in touch with the Russian government. The country faces a big recession that it may need more money to survive in the Eurozone. Economists predict a GDP decline of 10% this year and 8% in 2014. The banks will open on the 28th after 12 days of shutdown. During this period no electronic transactions were available with the ATP machines dispensing only 100 euros per day.

The bells should be ringing in Belgrade that the experiences of Cyprus, Greece and Slovenia are highly applicable and necessitate immediate re-examination of the Serbian government infatuation with the EU.

Kostunica Warnings

Vojislav Kostunica, former President of Yugoslavia, former PM of Serbia and now the President of the Democratic Party of Serbia, warned the Serbian government not to do what no previous governments had done. The EU is directly endangering not only the territorial integrity but also the national identity, culture, national self-respect and dignity, and economic interests of the country. The theft of the Serbian territory will resonate in younger generations with anger and will undermine stability of the country. The issues of provinces Vojvodina and Raska will be opened including the survival of Serbia as a country.

Kostunica has requested the session of the Serbian Parliament in order for the government to inform deputies regarding the EU demands and to reject the proposals of Brussels. Serbia would be the first nation to voluntarily hand over its territory. No state in Europe has done anything similar nor has anything similarly been requested from a nation state. It is expected from Serbia to kill its own statehood in order for independent Kosovo to be created. Every sovereign state must reject such a proposal. This writer cannot agree more with Kostunica.

Vojin Joksimovich is the author of three books and over one hundred articles.

The Revenge of the Prophet by Dr. Vojin Joksimovich is another classic book which gives great insight and knowledge about the Balkans, radical Islam, US foreign policy and other important areas. 

Dr. Vojin Joksimovich wrote an in depth book called Kosovo is Serbia and please check this athttp://www.gmbooks.com/product/Kosovo-GM.html – it  is a must read if you want deep knowledge about this complex topic.

Please check and buy these books if you care deeply about the Balkans and the plight of Serbs in Bosnia, Kosovo and throughout the former Yugoslavia.

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

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Joachim de Villiers and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The Philippine government appears to be doing very little towards supporting a Philippine Muslim clan which demands that their rights are taken seriously in Sabah. It appears that approximately 200 followers of the Royal Army of Sulu are deemed to be a threat to the national security of Malaysia. Therefore, the military approach by the government of Malaysia could create a higher risk if the uneven struggle leads to a bloodbath.

Ironically, in the past both Thailand and the government of the Philippines have castigated Malaysia for supporting Islamic insurgencies within their respective nations. However, the sham of Muslim unity in Malaysia – where Shia Islam is outlawed – is clear for all to see by the response of the military attack against the Royal Army of Sulu. This applies to using the Royal Malaysia Air Force so quickly against such a small number of forces which are loyal to the Sultanate of Sulu.

Reports have stated that the Royal Malaysia Air Force have been using F/A-18 and Hawk military fighter jets. Yet, if the military crackdown kills the majority of followers of the Royal Army of Sulu then this may open a can of worms? After all, this will put pressure on individuals within the Moro National Liberation Front (several factions) and other groups within Muslim dominated areas in the Philippines.

It is clear that Malaysia had to respond to the incursion (from the point of view of Malaysia) but the heavy handed tactics so soon against such small numbers appears over the top. At the same time, the Philippine government should not just sit back and allow Malaysia to have a free hand because this will reverberate negatively within Mindanao and other parts of the region. Therefore, it is imperative that the Philippine government takes a more active approach and tries to quell the military angle by demanding proper negotiations.

The Malaysia Chronicle reports that “Malaysian security forces are now facing battle-tested, Malaysian-trained commanders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), who know Sabah like the palm of their hands.”

“Hadji Acmad Bayam, former chief propagandist of the MNLF, revealed this yesterday to the Manila Bulletin, adding that these MNLF forces may have at their disposal a huge arsenal, which they hid deep in Sabah’s rugged terrain when they returned to the Philippines after their rigid training.”

In the past the government of Malaysia involved itself in Muslim insurgencies in the Philippines and southern Thailand. Therefore, while the crisis is still in the initial stages and without knowing if it will be contained quickly – or if it will create a chain reaction. It is still clear that this is blowback, just like what is happening in Pakistan with relationship to Afghanistan. Similarly, the same applies to September 11 whereby America also used Islamists in Afghanistan and parts of the Balkans aimed at the Serbs.

Of course, the degree of blowback is much smaller because only around 200 members of the Royal Army of Sulu have entered the contested area. Yet events could spiral if the Malaysian armed forces are seen to be heavy handed and images spread to areas which are sympathetic to their cause. At the same time, the Philippine government risks alienating a troubled region within the Philippines whereby Muslims claim that they face discrimination within this country. Therefore, political leaders in Manila should play a more active role.

Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia stated that “We want the militants to unconditionally surrender and hand over their weapons.“ He continued by stating that if they don’t surrender to Malaysian authorities then it will take “for as long as it takes to eliminate them.”

The BBC states that “Malaysia has rejected a call for a ceasefire by a Philippine Muslim clan who launched an incursion into a village in Sabah last month, saying the land belongs to them.”

“Since fighting began, 60 people have died: 52 Filipinos and eight policemen.”

“Malaysian National Police Chief Ismail Omar was quoted as saying that at least 31 Filipinos have been killed this week.”

According to the Royal Army of Sulu they claim that their ancestors ruled parts of northern Borneo in the past for long periods of history. Therefore, they are demanding that the government of Malaysia recognizes this fact and pay adequately for leasing their land.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer comments that “Kuala Lumpur on Thursday rejected a ceasefire offer by the sultan of Sulu despite a call from the United Nations for an end to the violence in Sabah that has already cost 60 lives and talks among the parties involved to peacefully settle the dispute over the ownership of the eastern Malaysian state.”

The United Nations also released a statement which stated that the “[Secretary General Ban Ki-moon] is closely following the situation in Sabah. He urges an end to the violence and encourages dialogue among all the parties for a peaceful resolution of the situation….The secretary general expresses concern about the impact of this situation on the civilian population, including migrants in the region.”

Given the volatility of parts of the southern Philippines and the role of Malaysia in arming past Muslim insurgencies against this country, then clearly military hardware is easily available. This reality should lead to both governments in Malaysia and the Philippines to work together in order to contain the crisis. In order for this to happen, then Manila needs to play a more active role within the events which are currently happening. Likewise, Malaysia needs to listen to the aggrieved party and to solve the crisis more diplomatically because around 200 individuals should not be a threat to the national security of this country. However, if a heavy handed response is used to the maximum then this could trigger a chain reaction and neither nation state will gain from this.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/67661/kl-reports-32-more-dead

http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=64572:brick-wall-for-najib?-moro-fighters-to-help-sulu-gunmen-upset-at-killing-of-imam-maas-4-sons&Itemid=2

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21695654

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

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Boutros Hussein and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, is once more embroiling himself with more rhetoric towards a regional nation. This time his comments are aimed at Israel but it could easily have been aimed at Armenia, Cyprus, Iraq, Iran, or Syria. Indeed, recently the same Erdogan was accusing France about issues related to the Kurdish community. In truth, Erdogan is a very destabilizing factor to the entire Middle East and parts of the Balkans because he just can’t help creating tensions with others.

John Kerry, the new US Secretary of State, may witness a charm offensive from Erdogan because he is in the “doghouse” once more. Yet, with Erdogan he is very difficult to predict. Either way, the issue of Syria is the main agenda of Kerry’s visit to Turkey even if the Israeli issue pops up. However, given his recent stance alongside the British towards Syria; then Kerry will probably be asking all the wrong questions.

After all, just like the spat between Israel and Turkey, two nations involved in forcing people from their land; then Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Palestinians and Orthodox Cypriots respectively, must be cringing at the hypocrisy of both Erdogan and Netanyahu who is the current leader of Israel. Indeed, Turkey still denies the holocaust of the Armenians, Assyrians, and Greek community, which took place in the earlier part of the twentieth century. If nations desire to mention the “holocaust question” related to what the Turks did, then they are bullied and face missing out on important economic deals.

If America, the United Kingdom, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, are so concerned about human rights and ethnic and religious cleansing; then surely they should solve older issues before destabilizing new nations. Of course, this never enters the equation. Therefore, the Palestinian question remains unanswered; the cleansing of Orthodox Christians in northern Cyprus and the continuing occupation of this land by Turkey goes unanswered; thousands of Kurdish villages destroyed by the armed forces of Turkey goes unanswered; and of course a plethora of other important questions. After all, in Saudi Arabia all apostates face the death penalty and Qatar and Saudi Arabia oppose all notions of democracy because they are feudal monarchies.

This reality means that Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, other nations throughout the Gulf, alongside America, France, and the United Kingdom; are not exactly focused on human rights and other areas related to religious freedom, democracy, and freeing ethnic groups, which have been cleansed from their land. If they were, then northern Cyprus, the Palestinian question and a plethora of other factors would have been addressed adequately. Therefore, for the people in power this was never an issue and this is where the Syrian question comes into play and the same applies to the hypocrisy of the mass media.

After all, the destabilization of Syria is based on self-interests because the nations involved in this care zilch about the values that the mass media likes to espouse. It doesn’t take rocket science to know that Saudi Arabia cares nothing about democracy, religious freedom, and the rights of women because all these factors are crushed within this nation. Similarly, how can Qatar care about democracy and equality before the law when this nation doesn’t tolerate the opening-up of the political system? Likewise, if Turkey is so concerned about the abuse of power then surely it is time for this nation to pull out of northern Cyprus and to stop arresting writers on flimsy charges.

Kerry, of course, will not touch on any of these issues. Equally alarming, he probably will not raise the reality that Turkey is a conduit for Al-Qaeda terrorists and a plethora of other terrorist organizations. For example, it is clear that many Chechen Islamists and others from the Caucasus and Central Asia are utilizing the countless rat lines in Turkey in order to enter northern Syria. Yet, despite September 11 which was done by mainly Saudi nationals, this issue doesn’t appear to concern either the Americans or the British. After all, it is abundantly clear that Islamist terrorists are obtaining support from the friends of America and the United Kingdom and this notably applies to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

This reality also means that America, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, care little about the repercussions for the Russian Federation and other nations like Iraq. After all, Sunni Islamist terrorists will utilize their new weapons and money against Iraq with immediate effect because of the geographic factor. In the long-term Islamists from Chechnya, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, will use their new contacts and material gains in order to use in Chechnya, Dagestan and other areas related to the Russian Federation and Central Asia. Despite this, the political elites in Washington and London are allowing Ankara, Doha, and Riyadh, to support sectarianism, terrorism and sedition against the Syrian government.

Indeed, Kerry should be visiting Iraq and speaking to the leader of this nation because the Iraqi people still continue to suffer at the hands of Al-Qaeda and other Islamist terrorist groups. Likewise, Turkey often violates northern Iraq in Kurdish areas and the same applies to ignoring the central government of this nation when it comes to important energy deals.

The Prime Minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, stated that “In case the opposition wins, there will be a civil war in Lebanon, divisions in Jordan and a sectarian war in Iraq. This will create a new haven for al-Qaeda which will destabilize the region.”

Hadi al-Amiri, the Iraqi Minister of Transport, also rebuked the enemies of Syria for destabilizing the region. He stated that “Ankara and Doha are supporting the armed opposition and arming jihadist groups in Syria, including Jabhat al-Nusra that is linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq.”

Hadi al-Amiri also noted that the funding, military, and terrorist rat lines, linking Qatar and Turkey with Al-Qaeda in order to topple the government of Syria, would also impinge directly on Iraq.  He made this clear when he stated that “Turkey and Qatar’s support for the armed opposition in Syria amounts to a declaration of war on Iraq, which would suffer the consequences of a conflict that (is) becoming increasingly sectarian next to it.”

Therefore, Kerry should be asking Erdogan why a NATO member state is allowing Al-Qaeda and other terrorists from various nations to utilize the border areas between Turkey and Syria. Similarly, Kerry should be showing more concern for Iraq, Lebanon and the Russian Federation because various Islamist factions have other agenda’s. However, despite all the peace efforts by the Russian Federation, it would appear that Kerry will be asking all the wrong questions – just like the British.

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

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Joachim de Villiers and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

In a major development for the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) it was announced that major regional African nations have signed a much needed accord which was brokered by the United Nations (UN). It is hoped that all regional nations will abide by all the conditions laid down in the accord because in the past too many nations had a plethora of self interests in the DRC. Therefore, if regional nations remain faithful to the accord, it is sincerely hoped that genuine economic developments will take place whereby the abundant resources are used to the full.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, witnessed the signing in the capital of Ethiopia. He stated that he hoped that this would generate “an era of peace and stability.” However, in a more cautionary note Ban Ki-moon stated that “It is only the beginning of a comprehensive approach that will require sustained engagement.”

Of course, the UN General Secretary is right to issue a cautionary note because sadly you have had many false dawns in the DRC. Also, the regional dynamics of the region means that many players can easily exploit and destabilize vast areas of this nation based on a multitude of different factors. In saying that, it is clear that regional nations are working much more together in many parts of Central, Eastern, Northern and Western Africa. This notably applies to Mali and Somalia, but also includes several other nations, alongside the new accord signed in Ethiopia which is related to the DRC.

Since the March 23 rebel movement took up military arms against the government based in Kinshasa, it was more than apparent that they were well organized and structured. This reality led to accusations which were pinned at certain regional nations by the UN. These nations categorically denied all wrong doing and irrespective of the reality on the ground – and the covert links which enabled March 23 to take districts within Eastern DRC – the accord would appear to imply that all regional powers are now on board.

Since May 2012, when the March 23 rebel group emerged rapidly, vast numbers of people fled and became displaced. According to figures given this applies to approximately 800,000 people. Not surprisingly, this created a new burden on the DRC and agencies which are trying to help this nation. After all, despite the vast natural resources of the DRC, it is clear that vast numbers of people suffer from poverty related issues.

The signed agreement by eleven nations which are connected to the Great Lakes region may even establish a special military contingent in order to prevent future destabilization. This applies to a UN intervention brigade in the volatile region of Eastern DRC. Alongside the military angle it is hoped that economic and political developments will also follow.

Of course, many individuals and organizations are still skeptical about future developments. Thierry Vircoulon from the International Crisis Group commented that the “The African Union does not possess the necessary military capabilities to deploy a force in eastern DR Congo in the short term because it is already overwhelmed by the crises in Somalia, the Central African Republic and Mali.”

Developments have moved on since Thierry Vircoulon made this statement but he clearly raises valid points. Yet clearly Uganda wants regional stability therefore this nation continues to play an active role throughout the region. Likewise, a lot of pressure was put on Rwanda and this was followed by negative press. However, instead of focusing on “the past” and “the real reality” behind the March 23 movement; it is hoped that the new accord will pave the way for greater stability in the DRC.

It is essential that the international community and all regional African nations work together because the people of the DRC have suffered enough.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21563949 

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

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Pierre Leblanc and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The armed forces of Chad lost 13 soldiers while fighting Islamist militants in northern Mali. It is known that 65 Islamists were killed in the intense fighting and this once more underlies the importance of African nations in their fight to quell the chaos in Mali. France immediately was the engine which led the military offensive against Islamists in Mali but the influence of various African nations is a growing factor on the ground.

From the outset the French-led military attack made rapid gains because the vast majority of Islamists just fled in the full knowledge that open-warfare wasn’t in their interest. Yet, like suspected, a gradual campaign based on guerilla tactics is happening in parts of Mali. This reality means that France should think heavily before pulling out its military forces.

The destabilization of Libya by America, France, many Gulf nations, and the United Kingdom; meant that a mixture of Islamist forces, regional militias, and mercenaries, all had a vested interest in destroying the power of Gaddafi. However, by destroying a functioning state despite all the shortcomings in Libya under Gaddafi, this reality led to many internal convulsions within Libya. This in turn spread to other regional nations because many forces entered the vacuum which was created. Now a vast area is awash with military arms, an array of Islamist factions, weak central forces, powerful regional dynamics, and on top of this you have genuine ethnic issues alongside outside meddling which is based on ill intentions.

It would be a calamity if France pulled it troops out of Mali too quickly because this nation alongside other powerful players in America, the United Kingdom and several nations in the Gulf are to blame for the severity of the crisis in Mali. This applies to powerful forces unleashed in Libya after the overthrow of Gaddafi. Similarly, the recent hostage crisis in Algeria emanated from the Libyan angle. Mali itself also faced internal problems related to political, ethnic and cultural issues prior to the Islamist onslaught. However, regional events meant that Islamists filled the vacuum because of major regional instability, the easy access to military hardware and because of the alleged involvement of nations based in the Gulf region.

Indeed, France should also look deeply “in the mirror” because it is clear that Qatar and Turkey which are in the anti-Syrian alliance do not want anything to do with France in Mali. Rumors also abound about the underhanded and murky policies of Qatar with regards to Islamist factions and indoctrination in northern Mali. Therefore, the armed forces of Chad, France, Nigeria, Syria, and other nations, are all fighting against various different Islamist factions which seek to impose a brutal reign of terror based on Salafist militancy. This reality should make France turn away from its path against Syria because just like the latest brutal terrorist attack in Damascus, it is clear that Islamist terrorism and sectarian indoctrination is the enemy of the people of Mali and Syria respectively.

The armed forces of Chad deployed their troops totaling 1,800 soldiers in Kidal which is in northern Mali. Kidal was the last major stronghold to fall to the French led military offensive. Therefore, the armed forces of Chad are on the frontline in the “war against terrorism.” Also, the Ifoghas highlands which are located to the north of Kidal have become a place of retreat for many Islamists. Given this reality, it is clear that the armed forces of Chad will face many dangers because they need to flush out Islamist havens before they regroup and launch counter-attacks based on guerilla tactics.

It is short-sighted of France to start to withdraw its military forces because the Islamist insurgency isn’t crushed because of geographic factors and regional dynamics. Nobody for certain knows if the situation will be contained – or if Islamist forces will launch major fresh attacks. This uncertainty means that it is too soon for France to pull out because internal issues in Mali are complex even without the Islamist angle. Therefore, various African nations and France need to work closely together in order to restore order to northern Mali and in focusing on the internal political situation in this nation.

France 24 comments that “France sent in troops on January 11 to help the Malian army oust Islamist militants who last year captured the desert north of the country. Since then, thousands of soldiers from African countries have also deployed and France plans to start withdrawing its troops next month.”

“The French-led forces met little resistance during the initial offensive that drove the Islamists from the main northern centers of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu.”

“Now however, they are facing a guerrilla campaign that includes sudden raids, suicide attacks and land mines.”

France should also focus on the role of Qatar within the murky dealings of this nation and likewise political elites in Paris should disengage with the many rat lines against secular Syria. After all, it is abundantly clear that various Islamist factions are growing in power because international jihadists from many nations keep on entering this nation. This is all being supported by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, and alongside the terrorist rat lines you have enormous indoctrination going on. Also, just like in Mali, many Islamic charities are not what they appear because often they are “indoctrinating centers.” Similarly, many refugee camps housing Syrian nationals are also being manipulated by many dark forces in order to spread sectarianism and sedition against the government of Syria.

In another article by France 24 it was stated that “The first accusations of Qatari involvement with Tuareg separatists and Islamist groups came in a June 2012 article in respected French weekly the Canard Enchainé.”

“In a piece titled “Our friend Qatar is financing Mali’s Islamists,” the newspaper alleged that the oil-rich Gulf state was financing the separatists.”

“It quoted an unnamed source in French military intelligence saying: “The MNLA [secular Tuareg separatists], al Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine and MUJAO [movement for unity and Jihad in West Africa] have all received cash from Doha.”

The article further states that “A month later Sadou Diallo, the mayor of the north Malian city of Gao [which had fallen to the Islamists] told RTL radio: “The French government knows perfectly well who is supporting these terrorists. Qatar, for example, continues to send so-called aid and food every day to the airports of Gao and Timbuktu.”

In Tunisia the secular leader Chokri Belaid was recently assassinated and clearly Islamists hope to change the dynamics of Tunisian society. Likewise, sectarian and Islamist forces in Syria desire to crush the rich mosaic of this nation. Therefore, it is high time for France to turn away from the feudal monarchies of the Gulf which are involved in sectarian and Islamist funding. After all, it is pointless for French soldiers to fight alongside various African nations in Mali if their own government is siding with Islamist forces in Syria – or supporting other forces which will weaken Syria and open up the way for Islamization based on sectarianism.

Similarly, now is not the time for France to disengage in Mali because the recent deaths of many soldiers from Chad highlights that the crisis is still in its infancy. This reality means that France must work together with all regional African nations which are supporting the people of Mali during this very difficult period. Likewise, France should turn away from undermining secular Syria because the region needs stability and for the mosaic of Syria to survive – just like the mosaic of Mali needs to survive the threat of Islamist militancy.

http://www.france24.com/en/20130121-qatar-mali-france-ansar-dine-mnla-al-qaeda-sunni-islam-doha

http://www.france24.com/en/20130223-northern-mali-clashes-chad-soldiers-islamist-rebels-killed

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21555898

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com

Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The military forces of France and Mali are now entering Kidal in greater numbers. This is the last town of any significance which still hadn’t fallen to the speedy advance of the French led military expedition against Islamists in Mali. However, while military and political leaders in France will be heartened by the speed of events, they will still be awaiting the Islamist terrorist shadows.

Likewise, after the recent Islamist terrorist hostage situation in Algeria then this nation will be worried about similar attacks in the near future. Also, political powers in the fragile and failed state of Libya will be worrying about the knock on effects. After all, the recent hostage crisis in Algeria happened near the border with Libya because this nation is awash with military hardware after the demise of Gaddafi. Therefore, the next few months will say more about the real reality of northern Mali.

It must be remembered that the Taliban melted away in Afghanistan once this movement was attacked by outside nations during the initial period. More recently, the al-Shabaab (al-Shabab) in Somalia fled a major military attack in Kismayo which was led by the armed forces of Kenya. In some ways, the situation in Somalia resembles certain features of what happened in northern Mali despite obvious ethnic and regional differences.

After all, Islamists in northern Mali and Somalia both introduced all the brutal realities of Islamic Sharia law in its entirety. In Somalia this applies to beheading Muslim converts to Christianity, stoning women to death, chopping hands and feet off and a host of other brutal realities. This methodology was also enforced in northern Mali alongside ruling by fear and enforcing indoctrination. Likewise, Islamist forces in northern Mali and Somalia also attacked and destroyed Sufi shrines and other aspects of indigenous Islamic architecture. Therefore, draconian Islamist thought patterns emanating from the Gulf were intent on spreading “a new colonial Islamist attempt” to crush indigenous Islam in both respective nations.

France knows full well that in both Afghanistan and Somalia that Islamist forces have often retreated into the shadows before springing fresh military operations alongside various forms of terrorist tactics.  The Taliban did have various factors in its favor and this applies to the harshness of the terrain, finding safety in parts of Pakistan, the ethnic angle within the Taliban movement which binds people throughout the region, the corruption of the Karzai government and other noticeable factors. The al-Shabaab meanwhile continues to make the most of the failed state reality of Somalia and the conflicting loyalties which ebb and flow in various parts of this country. Similarly, the chaos in Yemen, Somali refugee camps in northern Kenya, the Somali angle in Ethiopia and an array of jihadist organizations throughout the region; means that this movement can melt away in times of heightened pressure.

Also, no single power, or collective force, appears to be able to unite weaknesses within the failed structures of both Afghanistan and Somalia. Regional loyalty is also very powerful and the central state seems a million miles away from functioning correctly. Within all the competing forces you have Islamist indoctrination, poverty and a hostile geographic environment which benefits various Islamist movements in Afghanistan and Somalia.

It would appear that the numbers involved and the complexity of the Islamist forces in northern Mali are not fully operational to a major extent, when compared with the Taliban and the al-Shabaab. Also, major ethnic differences within Mali and the fact that the armed forces of this nation are playing their part once more after being backed by France bodes well. Also, many forces involved in the early events of northern Mali were not focused on Islamist ideology, terrorism and other negative realities. Instead, they fought based on genuine issues related to alienation and marginalization within the power structures of Mali. France and other nations must exploit this reality and listen to the genuine concerns of many people who feel disenfranchised based on ethnicity within the body politic of Mali.

Thomas Fessy from the BBC comments that “…the Islamic Movement of Azawad (IMA), which recently split from Ansar Dine, says it is now in charge in Kidal…The IMA has said it rejects “extremism and terrorism” and wants a peaceful solution….another rebel group, the secular National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), is also influential in the area. It is ethnically driven, fighting mostly for the rights of Mali’s minority Tuareg community.”

Currently, it does appear that France must be very happy with events in Mali because military forces have found very little resistance. Also, strategists will be pleased that many political forces within the Tuareg community want to seek a solution to the crisis. However, events in Afghanistan and Somalia will also be in the back of the mind of many powerful planners within France and regional African nations. Therefore, for now France is more worried about the “shadows which may re-emerge” at a later stage. Also, regional nations will be keeping a watchful eye on events because of a possible chain reaction.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21256781

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com

Walter Sebastian and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

Multinational forces in Mali led by France are currently bombarding Islamist forces in several parts of this country. Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) is deeply troubled by the M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) alongside other areas of instability in this nation. Therefore, major plans are under way in both nations whereby central powers are to be supported by outside nations, in order to lay the foundations for greater stability in the DRC and Mali.

Of course, the events happening in the DRC and Mali are very different but weak central states and internal inefficient military forces mean that only outside nations can prevent further chaos, providing it is backed by a genuine political angle in both nations. Likewise, many African nations are in Somalia in order to contain the Islamist al-Shabaab (al-Shabab) threat. Also, the Central African Republic (CAR) is another hotspot whereby regional powers are needed because of the weakness of the central state and tensions exist between Sudan and South Sudan.

It is too early to say if international forces can contain the various issues related to instability in the DRC and Mali. After all, the events in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya are firm examples of failed states after outside nations meddled within the internal political arena. However, on the plus side is that regional nations are on board when it comes to Mali. Similarly, since M23 rebels took several parts of the DRC it is clear that regional nations have lumped together in order to try to contain the situation. Yet, unlike Mali, you have disagreements between several regional powers and the UN over who is funding the M23 rebels in the DRC.

Another major issue for regional nations which promise to support an intervention force in the DRC is how will this be funded, will the new entity be fully equipped militarily and how long will it take to come to fruition? Likewise, you clearly have tensions with the current political leaders of the DRC and Rwanda because both nations have accused the other of arming various rebel factions. Alongside this, many regional powers are involved in Somalia and clearly some nations could become overstretched.

In Mali it currently appears that the military intervention led by France is building up a powerful momentum because Islamist forces have either been repulsed in many areas or they have melted away. Of course, it is too early to say if counter-attacks by small Islamist bands will emerge. Also, the vast size of Mali and the uncontrollable border regions mean that events could still transpire negatively in the future. However, unlike the DRC, it is clear that one major power is interested in trying to resolve the crisis and this can be seen by the number of French troops being deployed in Mali.

France clearly wants regional African nations to send troops to Mali in order to crush Islamists in the north of this nation. Nigeria and many other nations have promised to support Mali but it takes time because of issues related to logistics and many other important areas. However, one major headache for France, Nigeria and other nations involved in Mali, is the weakness of the internal political arena and elements in the north do have genuine political concerns based on the ethnic angle.

Barbara Plett, UN correspondent for the BBC, confirms about the DRC that eight regional presidents are set to sign a UN accord related to stability throughout the region. From the standpoint of the UN it is instrumental to have an intervention force to deal with the crisis in the DRC. The seriousness of the crisis in underlined by the fact that a reported 800,000 people have become displaced since the M23 rebels began their military advance.

Barbara Plett states that “The M23 rebels say they want to improve living conditions for the people of eastern DR Congo, but the UN says they are supported by Rwanda, which has been heavily involved in its eastern neighbor since those responsible for the country’s genocide fled there en masse in 1994.”

Further down she states that “Alongside this rapid reaction force, said a UN official, a broad political plan to bring stability to the region is set to be signed on the side-lines of the AU summit in Addis Ababa by the leaders of the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Angola, the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Tanzania and South Africa.”

Thierry Vircoulon, International Crisis Group, and many others remain skeptical because clearly you have tensions between the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda. On top of this, many other regional issues are extremely problematic. Therefore, Thierry Vircoulon comments that “The African Union does not possess the necessary military capabilities to deploy a force in eastern DR Congo in the short term because it is already overwhelmed by the crises in Somalia, the Central African Republic and Mali.”

However, it is clear that the UN is extremely alarmed by events in the DRC and Mali therefore the regional angle would become potent if it helped to bring these nations on board. In Mali, for example, it is clear that Islamists have destroyed indigenous African Islamic Sufi shrines and other places of religious and historical significance. Alongside this, the introduction of Islamic Sharia law is clearly troubling the people of Mali which fear the Talibanization of society. Therefore, France and regional nations needed to step in once Islamist factions threatened to move deeper into the country.

Despite this, France and other nations should look deeply into their policies in Libya because clearly the destabilization of this nation is unhinging many regional nations. Likewise, the recent terrorist attack in Algeria had a major Libya angle with regards to military arms, training and other factors. Untold numbers were killed in Libya and many massacres took place against pro-Gaddafi forces. This reality means that Libya remains shattered by the meddling of outside nations and the convulsions of this reality continues to shake modern day Libya and other nations like Mali.

Events in Mali are still in the early stages and nobody yet knows the knock-on-effect to regional nations. Similarly, the political and military angle to the DRC is still in its infancy and it remains to be seen how the M23 rebels will take to outside meddling if you have no genuine political agenda. However, leaving both nations to fend for themselves isn’t a viable option given the past reality of the DRC and the destruction of indigenous Islam in Mali. Therefore, it is essential that the international community supports regional nations which are willing to help given the seriousness of both the DRC and Mali.

http://www.france24.com/en/20120819-congo-rebels-neutral-force-drc-rwanda-m23-uganda-great-lakes-kivu

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21208401

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com

Joachim de Villiers and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

It is reported that Nigeria will now send 900 military troops to Mali in order to help this nation overcome the Islamist terrorist threat. Nigeria is a very powerful nation when it comes to regional stability and aiding various situations. However, Nigeria also faces a growing Islamist terrorist threat from within because Islamists often kill Christians, Muslims who oppose their militant mindset and anyone to do with the government. Therefore, for Nigeria it is clear that the crisis in Mali can be felt very seriously because of internal issues.

Military leaders from West Africa met in the capital of Mali in order to discuss military tactics and to solve many areas related to logistics, planning, coordination and other essential areas. Within Nigeria the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram is a serious issue and clearly political leaders in this country fear more instability throughout the region. After all, a powerful network of mass instability will only lead to more ties between various Islamist factions.

Ali Coulibaly, African Integration Minister of  the Ivory Coast, stated strongly that “Things are accelerating … The re-conquest of the north has already begun.”  In a sense the word “re-conquest” is extremely fitting because Islamists care little for the indigenous culture of Mali. This can be seen by their wanton destruction of Sufi shrines and other precious black African Mali Islamic architecture.

West African nations while supporting France against terrorism must also question the government based in Paris. This applies to the destabilization of Libya and the ongoing pressure being put on secular Syria. After all, Nigeria is acting consistently with regards to challenging the forces of Boko Haram at home and then helping Mali during its hour of need. Yet, the nation of France is continuing to support Islamist factions against the government of Syria. Therefore, regional nations in West Africa must stress that this dual approach isn’t warranted under any condition.

Likewise, regional nations in West Africa need to stress openly that America, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and other nations, have all “opened a can of worms in Libya.” After all, after the demise of Gaddafi it is clear that several vacuums have been filled in northern Mali which emanate from this crisis. Similarly, prior to the destabilization of Libya it is clear that the central authority was already very lose but it could keep Islamist terrorists in check. However, since the fall of Gaddafi you have ongoing chaos, Islamists destroying Sufi shrines, mass racism against black Africans, various militias controlling their own special areas and a host of other brutal realities.

Major-General Shehu Abdulkadir of Nigeria will know full well about the reasons behind regional instability. Therefore, it is up to this military leader to coordinate various military personnel from different nations in order to tackle the Islamist terrorist threat in Mali. Many Malians began to openly celebrate when it was announced that regional nations and France would step up to the plate and challenge the Islamist threat openly.

The military forces from various nations have been sanctioned under resolution 2085 of the UN Security Council. Currently, it is not known about the full extent of the military operation because sadly Mali is hindered by genuine internal political issues. Also, the vastness of Mali and the reality that Islamists can roam freely between various nations is also a major issue. Likewise, the ongoing instability in Libya may feel certain ripples emanating from the current situation in Mali – just like the brutal ripples and current reality in Libya were felt in Mali.

Government forces in Bamako are weak and clearly the institutions in this nation couldn’t prevent the chaos which engulfed the north of this country. It would appear that the intervention of France will take much longer than the original statements which were announced. However, once a nation starts to openly challenge a potent threat then clearly it is essential that limited short-term goals are taken over by real long-term objectives. After all, the Islamist threat can often melt away into the hinterland when challenged openly but then re-emerge once more just like in Afghanistan and Somalia, to name but just two nations.

Colonel Mohammed Yerima of Nigeria stated that “The president approved the deployment of a battalion, and in the next 24 hours a company of the battalion will be deployed.” However, until major logistics are sorted out it is clear that the air power of France will play a very important role and the same applies to other military forces from this nation.

General Soumaila Bakayoko from the Ivory Coast stated “We are here today to speak essentially about the engagement alongside our Malian brothers in arms, to liberate the north of Mali.” It is hoped that this can be achieved because many regional nations are supporting the military option. This applies to Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.

France must also refocus its policies and see that the Libya debacle unleashed powerful forces in this nation which in turn destabilized Mali. Similarly, political leaders in France need to be challenged by their dual approach towards terrorism. After all, on the one hand France is fighting Islamist terrorist networks in Mali but on the other hand this nation is in league with many other countries which are destabilizing Syria. The upshot of the destabilization of Syria is that the very same terrorists in Mali are gaining ground and committing many daily massacres. Therefore, France needs to take a long look in the mirror and see this dual approach for what it is. In the meantime, regional African nations are helping Mali to overcome the real menace of Islamism which threatens to destroy indigenous black African Mali Islam and the culture of this nation.

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com

Jibril Khoury and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The conflicts in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kashmir, Kosovo, Libya and in other parts of the mainly Islamic world, or where you have Muslim and non-Muslim fault-lines, appears to have one binding factor. This applies to Western backed support for Islamists alongside using proxy outside nations to fulfill geopolitical ambitions. On top of this are powerful factors in the mainly Muslim world in nations like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Qatar and other Gulf nation states which have either shared interests, or which encourage America, France and the United Kingdom to do their bidding – or to work collectively in order to spread Islamism.

In all the above mentioned places you will have a host of various factors and each conflict will be seen differently through the prism of different ideas. Syria is currently facing this shared attack between powerful dominant Sunni Muslim nations and hostile Western nations including America, France and the United Kingdom. However, the one binding factor is that in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kashmir, Kosovo, Libya and now Syria; is that outside nations instigated the delicate internal mechanisms in order to unleash Islamism, terrorism and attacks against the ruling power mechanisms.

It mattered not if Hindus were cleansed in Kashmir or Alawites are being hanged and beheaded in Syria. Likewise, it matters not one jot if international terrorism is united in order to do the bidding of Washington, Riyadh, London, Ankara, Paris, Doha and other nations involved in the terrorist and destabilization rat-lines.

Prem Shankar Jha, The Hindu newspaper in India, comments about the shared dualities of Kashmir and Syria. He states that “But while nearly everyone wanted a change, almost no one wanted it at the cost of a violent disruption of their lives. In neither case, therefore, was the state the first to resort to violence: On the contrary, both insurgencies had to be stoked, so the first to pick up the gun were the insurgents. In Syria this was done by Salafi/Takfiri Islamists who crossed the border from Jordan in March 2011 and holed up in the Omari mosque in Dera’a before launching targeted provocations, and attacks on police stations and government offices.”

It is important to note that Kashmir and Syria were destabilized by Islamists using Pakistan and Jordan respectively. In the case of Syria, it is difficult to believe that America, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom intelligence agencies weren’t involved in the chain of events which took place in March 2011 in Syria. After all, Jordan is within the collective remit of all the above named nations. Similarly, in Kashmir it is clear that Pakistan stoked up the crisis and like usual the angle of America, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia pops up again.

Prem Shankar Jha also comments that another parallel with Kashmir “…is the intervention of hostile foreign powers bent on converting a domestic upsurge demanding political empowerment into a movement for secession or regime change. In Kashmir, Pakistan did this by disarming the JKLF cadres still in training in Muzaffarabad in 1990 and creating the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. In Syria, Turkey and Qatar are funneling money and battle hardened jihadis to start a sectarian war that will overwhelm the state.”

“Last and most important, like New Delhi, Damascus has been trying to prevent civil war by offering the insurgents the alternative of the ballot box. Mr. Assad began, on his own, by lifting all controls on the Internet in January 2011. Over the next six months, he first tried to negotiate peace with the Sunni zealots in Dera’a by sacking the governor and releasing 260 prisoners and 16 clerics, and promising to repeal the Emergency Laws and the ban on political parties that had been in place for 48 years. He fulfilled his first promise five days ahead of schedule on April 20 and his second three months later in July.”

However, while nations like the Russian Federation, Brazil, Iran, and others, supported a political solution to the crisis in Syria it is clear that the enemies of Syria upped the ante and began many terrorist rat-lines. Therefore, Turkey became a major player because the Erdogan government sensed an opportunity to install a compliant Sunni Muslim dominated Sharia state. The same applies to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other nations in the Gulf.

In Bosnia it was reported that over 8,000 international jihadists entered this nation in order to do the bidding of Washington, London, Riyadh, Tehran and Ankara. Turkey was once more dreaming about its historical legacy and Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states were enticed by creating majority Muslim states in Europe. In Bosnia the Serbs were facing the might of NATO, international jihadists and the involvement of many hostile nations. America even allowed Iran to fly aircraft into the Balkans in order to support Islamist factions within the Bosnian Muslim forces. It somehow escaped the world that Yugoslavia was trying to preserve the mosaic of various different ethnic and religious groups while outside nations supported religious sectarianism and nationalism. Naturally, this in time spearheaded Serbian nationalism but just like Syria it was outside nations which began to carve up Yugoslavia.

Kosovo and Libya followed the same model because Libyan rebels and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) sprung up from virtually nothing. Likewise, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) which is an amalgamation of many various factions came from nothing overnight. Yet clearly the speed of Islamist forces in Bosnia, developing a powerful Croatian military unit, the growth of the rebels in Libya, the rise of the KLA in Kosovo and the overnight creation of the FSA in Syria were well orchestrated – just like what happened in Kashmir when Pakistan was given the green light to create mayhem against democratic India.

The Council on Foreign Relations states that “Militancy in the disputed region of Kashmir has been major fuel for discord between India and Pakistan since the 1980s. Attacks in the region began to increase in scale and intensity following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, when foreign insurgents flooded the region to join the Afghan Mujahadeen. The majority Muslim region has its own local militant groups, but experts believe most of the recent Kashmir and Kashmir-based terrorism has been the work of foreign Islamists who seek to claim the region for Pakistan. A spate of Islamist cross-border attacks into Indian-held territory, the December 2001 storming of the Indian parliament in New Delhi, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks have all reinforced Kashmir’s standing as the significant bone of contention between India and Pakistan. Both states have nuclear weapons, making Kashmir one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints.”

Prem Shankar Jha in another article about the crisis in Syria in the early period of April 2011, states that “the U.S. has been fully aware of the presence of al-Qaeda in the so-called Free Syrian Army since April 20, 2011 when Jihadis captured a truck (or Armoured Personnel Carrier) near Dera’a, and killed all the 18 or 20 soldiers it was carrying not by shooting them but by cutting their throats in the approved Islamic manner. A few days later, the U.S. ambassador in Syria, Robert Ford, called some of his colleagues in Damascus, including the Indian ambassador, and told them that al-Qaeda had arrived in Syria.”

“April 20, however, was only the beginning. All through the summer and autumn of 2011, and throughout 2012, videos posted by the rebels themselves showed that the armed opposition in Syria has been sliding inexorably into the hands of radical Islamists. Thousands of foreign fighters have poured into Syria from Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, and places as far apart as Pakistan and Chechnya. Syrian television broadcast interviews with numerous young men captured in Homs and elsewhere, who gave graphic descriptions of how they had been recruited by al-Qaeda to fight for Islam against a heretical regime in Syria. The rebels themselves have posted YouTube videos showing them executing captured Syrian soldiers and civilians in the approved manner.”

“But the Obama administration has steadfastly chosen to believe that the jihadis make up only ‘a tiny fraction’ of the Free Syrian Army, and has continued to provide FSA with logistical support, that is, satellite-based information about Syrian troop and VIP movements, and look the other way while Qatar and Saudi Arabia have provided it with guns and mounted pick-up trucks, mortars and RPGs.”

Ironically, the main stumbling block for America is not supporting the Islamist sectarian side which includes Al-Qaeda, but it is history and the need to manipulate the media. After all, Al-Qaeda and the Saudi Arabia angle involving September 11 is clearly obvious and also in Libya this year several American personnel were killed by similar Islamist forces. Therefore, it is very difficult for the Obama administration to be seen to be working hand in hand with the same forces which killed thousands of American troops in Iraq, did September 11 and killed Americans in Libya. Likewise, American troops are being killed in Afghanistan by Islamist factions including the Taliban. This means that media manipulation and covert operations by America, France and the United Kingdom must be very delicate in order to achieve their collective goal of overthrowing the government of Bashar al-Assad.

In modern day Syria it is clear that the FSA and various Islamist factions working within the FSA or individually – have been, and continue to be, involved in horrendous massacres. Indeed, some Islamists are even teaching children to behead captured Syrian soldiers and then they circulate their evil crimes against humanity. The silence of the international community when terrorist attacks are killing civilians is shaming all the nations and media agencies which are siding with the objectives of Ankara, Doha, London, Paris, Riyadh and Washington.

The Syrian armed forces continue to remain loyal to the Syrian government and people of this nation. Therefore, despite all the barbaric realities being installed against this nation the military have somehow managed to preserve all major cities from being taken over by the FSA and various Islamist factions. However, outside nations which are hostile to Syria are still supporting sectarian, international jihadists and sedition against this nation. Indeed, it is clear that outside nations are intent on upping the ante despite the daily terrorist attacks, beheading individuals and hanging people openly in order to install terror in the hearts of Syrians.

Turning back to an earlier Modern Tokyo Times article about Bosnia it was stated that “The Bill Clinton administration gave the “green light” for international Islamists to enter Bosnia and Kosovo. In time this would manifest itself with the brutal September 11 attacks against America and other international terrorist attacks like Madrid. Bill Clinton isn’t the only American leader to “support international terrorism from a distance” but clearly it is no coincidence that conflict in Libya, and now in Syria, bare all the same hallmarks of “a marriage of convenience.” This certainly leads to the suspicion that the Clinton family – this time Hillary Clinton along with the “dark shadows” of people like Zbigniew Brzezinski – are following the same ratlines in Syria which have been used in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and Libya.”

Further down in the same article it was stated that “The bottom line is simple. September 11, and the ratlines that did this, were the same individuals who were fighting on the same side of America in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Kosovo – Simply put, no Bosnian Orthodox Christians and communists in Afghanistan did September 11. On the contrary, individuals involved in September 11 were on the same side in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Kosovo – yet this question remains unanswered. Likewise, no accountability! Put frankly, without past American administrations supporting Islamic terrorist ratlines either covertly or by doing nothing to stem the flow of Islamists, then September 11 would never have materialized.”

“It is dangerous therefore to see America once more moving in the same direction related to Syria. The Clinton family connection and the shadows of people like Zbigniew Brzezinski are very troubling because the same modus operandi is happening once more against the people of Syria. Therefore, the lessons learnt from September 11 have been lost and individuals within the chain that enabled this tragic event to happen have escaped their past deeds.”

Overall, Syria needs real support from friendly nations in order to stop the usual collusion between Islamists, Western powers and nations like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and several Gulf nations, from destroying an independent nation state. After all, look at modern day Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya because various factions exist and terrorism is a daily reality in Afghanistan and Iraq. Similarly, look at the reality for Hindu minorities in Kashmir and Orthodox Christian minorities in Kosovo because both can’t freely move around these entities. This means that it is imperative to stop the usual “failed domino system” from destroying secular Syria.

http://www.sana-syria.com/eng/22/2012/12/20/458223.htm

http://moderntokyotimes.com/2012/07/12/bosnia-connection-bill-clinton-and-islamist-ratlines-in-bosnia-assisted-september-11/

http://www.cfr.org/kashmir/kashmir-militant-extremists/p9135

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com

Boutros Hussein and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

It is known that at least 34 people have been killed in the latest terrorist massacre to hit Syria. The twin car bombings hit the mainly Christian and Druze area of eastern Jaramana in Damascus. Currently no individual terrorist organization is claiming responsibility. However, the hallmarks belong to the many different factions which represent the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Despite this, once more many media agencies are trying to spin the latest twin car bombings which have just hit Damascus.

The government of Syria is being overwhelmed by the terrorist rat lines which keep on flooding the nation with new recruits which are intent on spreading more carnage. Sadly, the United Nations and major so-called democracies are turning “a collective blind eye” to international terrorism and the nations which are sponsoring this brutal reality against the people of Syria. Turkey is the main nation which is openly allowing international terrorists, covert operatives and mercenaries to enter Syria.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and other Gulf states, are providing much of the capital which is going to the FSA and various different terrorist organizations. The results of all this is international terrorism, sectarianism, daily carnage, a brutal economic blockade, a comprehensive media war, psycho operations and other brutal methodologies. Other nations like Jordan and parts of Lebanon are also being manipulated by many different outside forces. This applies to regional terrorist cells and sectarian factors alongside powerful nations like America, France and the United Kingdom which are using their power mechanisms in both nations. In Iraq, this nation is blighted by terrorism and ethnic issues. Yet while Iraq can’t prevent terrorists from entering Syria – at least the leaders in Baghdad have hit out against regional nations which are supporting terrorism, sectarianism and sedition against Syria.

The FSA and various Islamist organizations are clearly sectarian. Therefore, by targeting a mainly Christian and Druze part of Damascus it is clear that you have multiple factors at play. This applies to warning various minorities that they are deemed to be the enemies of their desired Islamic state based on the Salafi “Saudi” model; that the FSA Islamists are “at the gates of Damascus;” that no part of Syria is out of bounds from the tentacles of the FSA Islamists; and clearly the implications of this is that the government of Bashar al-Assad can’t protect people from this brutal reality. At the same time, it is hoped by the FSA Islamists that more people will flee the capital and that the economy will suffer further. Humanitarian networks also focus on the refugee crisis but not on the nations which are sponsoring the destabilization of Syria.

In other parts of the world this twin car bombing would be condemned outright but when it comes to Syria, then it is often met by silence in many quarters. The Russian Federation is one of the most outspoken nations against the reality of terrorism in Syria. However, many Western nations have abandoned this basic principle called “humanity.”

The proxy nature of the crisis can be seen by Chechens and covert operatives who are dismantling military installations on behalf of the Erdogan government (Turkey) and other nations like Qatar, France and Saudi Arabia. At the same time, it now appears that the FSA is also intent on crushing the Kurds in the north. Once more, the suspicions behind this point in the direction of Ankara because of the internal Kurdish issue within Turkey. Likewise, the government of Erdogan is longing to get NATO involved. Therefore, for political leaders in Syria it is essential to prevent Turkey from causing even more mayhem. However, in order for Syria to tackle its enemies, it is essential that other nations show more willingness to back this nation to the hilt in order to prevent the “axis of evil” in Ankara, Doha, Paris and Riyadh from achieving their own geopolitical ambitions. If not, then nations like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and France will collectively “bleed the government of Damascus dry” until the tipping point is achieved.

The Syrian Arab News Agency commented about the latest terrorist attacks that “Terrorists on Wednesday blew up two car bombs loaded with large amounts of explosives in the Main Square in Jaramana city in Damascus Countryside, killing a number of citizens and injuring others and causing huge material damage to the residential buildings and shops.”

“A source at the Interior Ministry told SANA reporter that the death toll of the two car bomb blasts reached 34 martyrs and remnants in 10 medical covers.”

“The source added that the bombings also resulted in injuring 83 people and caused heavy damage to 6 residential buildings and tens of cars parking in the explosion site.”

Sadly, it is more than likely that other brutal terrorist attacks like this will continue because the international community is not doing enough to pressure France, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other nations which are involved in supporting the FSA and various Islamist terrorist organizations. Syria needs to resolve its internal problems by itself. If outside nations are to help then it must be constructive and not destructive. Yet currently many regional players in the Middle East and much further afield in France and the United Kingdom, are intent on destabilizing Syria. The latest massacre in the twin car bombings in Damascus must firmly be blamed on Ankara, Doha, Paris, Riyadh, al-Qaeda and others which are supporting terrorism, sectarianism and sedition against the people of Syria.

http://208.43.232.81/eng/337/2012/11/28/454589.htm Syrian Arab News Agency link

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com