Transcripts For RT The 20240703

Se, kosovo is independent as of 2008. The wes favorite line of rules based order, condemn the tit for tat sparring between serbia and their smaller neighbor, kosovo, even when the smaller neighbour seems to agitate the former take. For example, the issue of license plates when comfortable was carved out of the former yugoslavia. After the turn of the millennium, many ethnic serbs still lived in the newly divided territory and the comfortable government said, serbian registered cars must also register in color to flow. And then swap out plates any time they enter the territory that could get frustrating, right . Think of it like this. While most people who work here in washington, d. C, actually live in virginia. And you would have to pull over each time you were about to enter the district and screw your license plate on your car and put on the d. C one before you can drive into work each morning. Thats a nuisance, right . What to make it worse . What of the district said this is only a clickable to certain races of people . Nobody would stand for that, i imagine. But thats precisely whats happening at the serbian coast of our border. And thats just the trivial parts. It gets a lot heavier than that. To explain all the heavier stuff were going to bring in our in studio guest. The boys are mileage. He is a serbian American Writer historian an analyst. He wrote a regular column for anti war dot com for nearly 20 years. He looks so young, hes dealt with Senior Writer for r t dot com. Net still good to see you again live and in person. Think its good to be here. So we have the 1st. Can you give us an update as to the latest happenings between serbia and kosovo after you know, several violent spates and clashes between the 2 sites since last fall of 2022. So the latest round of the unpleasant, this really began last august. At the end of july, when the think ill be in the in Prime Minister of, of kosovo, which i refer to as a break away serbian province. Ive been quoted, the decided den um, those licensed lease had to go. And hes invoking a 2013 agreement with serbia regulating traffic across the boundary line, which was signed by now present to serbia, marks on the voltage. The problem is that he quote, these government has an implemented any of the provisions from that agreement themselves. And so theyre insisting on selective enforcement of things that are in their interpretation bolstered their state who the benefits and theyre going after things that are, you know, validating rule of law as they see it. Meanwhile, theyre refusing to carry out any of the obligations they took on themselves such as guarantee political autonomy to the actual ethnic serbs lived there and think shes got worse from them. Because after do us specifically and most of the e u because theyre still 5 members that dont recognize great, wasnt an independent se, ironically including spain, which is where the current, the us for policy commissioners from, with the pressure towards the interest backing down. And then he went ahead and started doing other things. And if its not one thing, its the other of late getting to the point where the serbs who were actually to participating. And of course, we will, government institutions decided to step away and we caught them as a legitimate as a sign of protests at which point they will properly replaced in trim elections that had like a single digit turn out the floor. I left the companions and things just kept getting worse and worse and worse, and you had the rhetoric from the u. S. And, and you basically costellos western protectors condemning all sides into urging everybody to exercise restraint, but not actually doing anything to get cookie to stop friend. He, on the other hand, kept saying, well, were a southern country, we do whatever we want. We, we just want to apply the law on every inch from our territory and you know, fast forward almost a year. Things have gotten so bad that you know is that youve, youve got to serve your military on high alert. Youve got cruelty sending, hire a heavily Armed Special police to drag people off the street and you know, but he has, hes making lists of prominent serves to sort of decapitate the local community and accused him of shame or crimes in a conscious efforts to basically destroy this community and get them removed and nobodys doing anything the, the us in the you are threatening sanctions and im using air quotes because theyre sanctions amount to a hill of beans. There are literally not in forcing their, their own rules in their own. So all the things better and i got on the record for years and years and years before that phrase was even put together condemning coast of always an example of how western who is dont work. Right. Right. So the serbian president alexandra roach, which he has used some very Strong Language about what the cost of our government is doing to the minorities terms. There are things like words like programs um ethnic cleansing. You know, these are trigger words usually in the west, but what evidence has he provided to back such claims . I mean, are, are those choice of words really a fair characterization of whats actually happening on the ground can stream that last summer. When i at the height of the license plate business, uh the uh, coastal authorities literally went to a family winery, a served family winer. Its been a family in the family for generations. And they insisted on confiscating all of their wine for alleged non payment of tax and brought in several tanker trucks to pour the wine into and destroy it. And basically decided to move ahead with that, even though people offer to pay whatever fine was what they were supposed to pay, just dont destroy a wind race. Know they moved ahead and destroyed the wind to make a point. Thats just one example of whats been going on there. Youve had people kidnapped from the workplace is just guy was working at a car wash deal, half a dozen cops full battle dress long, barrel rifles check. Right. Were talking like swat team wiles, a, converge on him from 7 directions to arrest him at one more wash. One guy shirtless work in the car wash for he didnt do anything, but they, they used to spin all day. They said, oh, well, he planned war crime of insurrection, against republic of coast of, or whatever, whatever to hell. He came up with the, the arrest people for in t shirts. They arrested theyve for the 1st time. And in years the Serbian Church had to move the site of their annual commemoration of this 1389 battle against the autumn and turks from the actual site to a monastery nearby. Because theres, there security couldnt be guaranteed this. These are tiny little moves that add up to decimals, 1000 cuts. Theyre not yet rampaging across the province, like they did the 1004. But they got away with that in the less than of 2004 in the minds of Ethnic Albanians, specifically quote, the is that they can, if they can do this, they can get away with it. So are these people getting disappeared or whats, whats happening . Cuz youve got a prominent community, not Even Community leaders, prominent people in the Community Getting disappeared, or arrested on bogus charges or, you know, they, they draw them up on war crimes charge from 20 years ago. And they find 3 witnesses who swear that you know, this person personally did something and theres nobody to corroborate it, but they dont care thats enough to throw them in jail, beat them up. They will hold them indefinitely. And they do, they do the systematically to basically decapitate the local community to the point where the locals are actually making the joke. Because which it said Something Like po youll be hunted like rabbits and they started calling themselves the rabbits. Me as opposed to being with the resistance, but they are definitely not showing signs of pursuit, you know, stopping resistance. Theyre basically saying this is our, this is our home. Were staying here. We dont care how much theyre terrorizing us, but please do Pay Attention to the fact that were being terrorized right. So you know, some of the latest tensions stem from, as you alluded to earlier, those elections in kosovo where the serbian population effective we all are, every single one of them boy caught it. They didnt turn up to the poles in april. Tell us what happened there to prompt, you know, a whole population of people to boycott elections. And so the, there is, there are pockets of serbian serbs living throughout the province who stayed there after to mass ethnic cleansing of 1999 when nato occupied it. And turn it over to the convenience of the largest contiguous population lives in the north, in several of the counties up there. And they had their own local municipal officials. And then these people resigned in protest over of course these abuses last fall with the license plate business and, and other other things like sending special police to paralyzed people. And then courtney decided to use this and call a new election in which he ran ethnic albanian officials who would you know, get like 5 volts or even one percent. And so let her know when she, you know, wed be with carpet bag people in and then they would get votes of local Ethnic Albanians because maybe a dozen serbs altogether participated in this trade. And you said all of these are legitimate, you know, municipal officials now and theyre taking their own, you know, its of office, you know, being in, theyre taking down serbian flags and putting up albany and ones and so on and so on. And when the local service protested at the end of may, there, the cookie called in his special forces. And when those special forces got too scared, she called and made a peacekeepers. Right. And then there was neither peacekeepers open fire on the ethnic serbs who will probably take peace because thats, i mean, yeah. And then to the shock and surprise of everybody, those local service walk back. And theres this iconic image of a local man who took the riot baton from one of the peacekeepers. Any beating if hes deeper with it, as hes trying to trample one of his bodies on the ground. Yeah. Hes, hes, hes hurting the piece baton back on the beach 1st. Yeah. Itd be basically, these people resisted and then of course, put these order went out to find everybody responsible and arrest them for terrorism. So its just in this endless spiral. So instead of setting up the association of serbian disability, which hes been supposed to do, so right inside the 2013 um, shes basically said, well, theres no serbian disability. So theres no problem. Right . Shes literally trying to race these people that were real quickly now. But i mean, album, curtis seems to be now tacitly agreeing to you intervention or, or assistance. I mean, it is sort of like a, an election do oh for. Is that going to be enough . Know what, what shes, what hes trying to do is the, you gave him as much as that you can be straight about anything. V gave him, heres what youre supposed to do, instructions or else and the or else was less vague, you know or, or else well stop giving you as much money that that sort of thing. There sanctions are sure. We wont support you a 110 percent only 99 percent. Well, and she came up with a code of proposal in the account of proposals i do whatever i want and im going to organize a new election. But only if these people petition me on the official letterhead of my government and recognize and bend the need to my, well, im translating, obviously, but this is what it means and effect. And so far, thats where things stand. Because obviously the point is not to have a municipal official, but the serve name. The point is to have a municipal official that has not been the need to do to put these government. I say because every think hes been doing is been in a function of not necessarily making anything function but to break the local serbs and make them bend in need of his government, make them read, make them my way or the highway the clear. Now its that shes the legitimate ruler and, and youll get recognition from serbia ethridge or what can we, because he doesnt have that. And, and he wants it to, because everything he does have, you know, the whole thing of being that to introduce thousands after to nato occupations. The whole, well, all of these problems that we have in society, you know, from, from the following birth rates for economic collapse. To be moving, everything was going to lack of independence, independence will fix it, independence will fix it, do dependents to fix everything while they declare independence in 2008 and it doesnt fix anything for things. Keep getting worse and keep getting where we are. And now, well, heres the thing they need just shifted. Well its not a lack of independence is lack of sort of recognition. So now theyre pushing. This is the universal excuse. You know, as the problem is that this is the cradle of serbian statehood. Its not just a piece of territory. If it was just a piece of territory, that would be bad enough. But its its, its got multiple levels of meaning for the serbian people as a whole. Never mind the government, never mind the republic of serbia to say that its a home that thought because i wanna, i wanna dig into that this piece of real estate on the other side of this break. Right . Coming up next is serbia gearing up for war with its neighbor. Well discuss it when we return more with no voice and mileage. So tight to m. O will be right back. The. The the west deep involvement in the brain complex suggest getting negotiations are off the table. In fact, only escalation is all the horizon. Is nato spoiling for an app like conflict with russian certainly seen. So the, the only one main thing is important for not as an internationally speaking is that is at nations because thats, are allowed to do anything, all the mazda races, and then you have the mind, the nation. So as a slave, americans rock obama and others have had a concept of american exceptionalism. International law exist as long as it serves the american interest. If it doesnt, that doesnt exist by turning those russians into this dangerous boy, a man that wants to take over the world. That was the cartridge strategy. So the, the new one exist v i, v, i not the least, its often zuba and tablet block. Nato said its ours, we move east. The reason us, hey jim, it is dangerous. Is it the by the sovereignty of the countries, the exceptionalism that america uses and its International War planning is one of the greatest threats to the populations of different nations. Of nature where this founded shareholders in the United States and elsewhere in large Arms Companies would lose millions and millions or is business businesses good. And that is the reality of what, what were facing, which is fashion, the welcome back to the m. O. Im a know a chan. Serbian president alexander voltage seems to be at his wits end on how to handle what hes described as a belligerent neighbor and is calling on the Un Security Council now to weigh it. So back with us to discuss is serbian american journalist negotiate mileage. So now while patrick boot judge says hes ready to work with the you to de escalate. He also said this take a list that serbia is not preparing for, or it is ready to protect the lives of our people, to serve you as ready to protect its country from all those who would potentially want to jeopardize its integrity sovereignty and the lives of our people and our citizens right now, so we didnt play the lead up to that, but boot church made it a point to say that in belgrade has fulfilled all of the requests from the you. But luther to imply that his close of our counter parts have not. But now troops are on high alert. Given what happened to serbia with nato bombings in the late ninetys. Is that kind of fair to argue that the serbian government is, you know, worried it could happen again. Partly i think voltage is keenly aware of the present situation in europe being sort of in a wider context. I think with what hes saying. And i think hes correct about this, that the cost of, of situation is being exploited both by quarter and the west, each to the, for their own ends of as a way to pressure serbia to fall in line of over all of the ukraine question. Because serbia hasnt imposed sanctions on russia, its trying to stay neutral, right . A, he cannot align politically with nato and stain power. No, president of serbia, canada, theres mean 80 percent. 85 percent public opposition to this. You cannot govern in the face of those numbers. If you try to run this policy problem, is that the u. N. B u. S. And need a really want him to and theyre trying to pressure him using kosovo as, as a way to break is will there a bridge . All Great Britain . Yes. Track. There was what theyve been using, close them as a cultural for years. And the voltage has formulated this way. He says, basically says, why are you depict demanding of us to recognize, to give up our territorial integrity and sovereignty in the name of protecting ukraines. It makes no sense. This is not just a popular. See, this is just nonsense. You know, we support ukraine sovereignty and territory integrity. But the very least, we demand that you put the, uh, respect our site. And that hasnt happened. And so hes been sort of bouncing this ball back into their faces. Now, course hes not making it easier. I think shes sort of off the reservation. And im very deliberately using this during the phrase, because hes actually been ousted once before by the americans. A couple of years ago when he tried to do things that they didnt necessarily prove off. Right. Uh, essentially a good ruler of kosovo is the one who does whatever the american baset or says it is what independence were talking about, right . Its actually a pretty humiliating position for Ethnic Albanians as well. And i think corte actually what he wants to do and what hes pledge to do. And would you be what hes been trying to do was get some sort of de facto and even to your a union with helping you . And i think he was hardest hit. When do yall being the president and Prime Minister rama said, well, you know, as long as youre doing this an incognito behavior, im not going to hold the joint meeting of our government. So im going to back away. I cant, i cant, you know, collaborate with you with, if youre going to of anger might need a masters. But they didnt stop him from organizing as nato loved fest the other day of you know, trying out all of these kids need bill clinton, nor hillary or whatever to on or bill clinton is visit. Yeah. And, and basically, you know, to do some pretty pathetic things. An independent country wouldnt really stupid down to doing in north carolina. No naturally, well, hang onto that thought of bill clinton because id like for you to take us back to serbia. In the late 19 ninetys bill clinton was president of the United States. Back then, he told the media here that you know, the serbs are caring out ethnic, cleansing of albanians, the media here, 8 that up, and be propagated, those narratives. Happily, nato jumped in, bombed, what was then yugoslavia even striking the chinese consulate there killing chinese nationals. You lived through those events. How is that shape the situation that were seeing now . Well, thats fine. Large determine where were at. Now, the fact that the intervened, in course will, based on the lie of genocide that was never substantiated, a leader emerge that all of these tall tales were essentially fabrications by intelligence officials. They could never be substantiated. Total number of depths was Something Like 2000. They keep talking about 10000, thats a, thats a ballpark estimate that they never substantiated. The nato literally started the completely illegal war of aggression on, based on a lie. And that we were, we saw that repeated a few years later in the rock. We should, we saw sure, perpetuated later enough to understand and now were having situation ukrainian or as a matter of fact, the ukraine situations i would argue as a direct consequence of what happened in 1999. Because nato that went from what was supposed to be a defensive alliance to an unmistakable, the aggressive one house that was destined a very clear message for russia that the west can be trusted. You actually had boris hiltons government for he resigned at the end of that year and put and became president up multiple people have said that this is not just me making this up, that the cost of a war has a lot to do with that. And so this is sort of the root of this is where if youre in to altering history, this is the branch off. This is this, this is the inflection point. This is where things for rolling the road before can row. This is the worst things go in a certain direction and you know, the Chinese Embassy bombing that was of the chinese have never forgiven and never forgot. Sure. It was officially the only mission that the c i itself planned. They send some blood money to the chinese, but the Chinese Government just recently memorialize that in a, in a very um, unmistakably, were still mad about this way. Sure. So that sort of, um, you know, defined relationships with china for years. And you, you centrally, you know, some years ago i was trying to tongue in cheek make a suggestion, to the trumpet ministration that the way to disarm rush on this whole ukraine issue was to, wasnt recognized, kosovo, and get rid of that precedent. Because you know, it was trump, he could do crazy things and get away with that because hes just now that someone usual and just unrecognized kosovo sort of press the reset button. Sure. Everybodys going to treat, but theyre gonna shriek any way and they did. Right. But youre, youre essentially removing the biggest argument from the table, right . Youre, youre taking that off the board, right . And of course, you would almost pay all of it. Right. And nobody took my advice because, you know, when youre a nurse has a pulse of powerful drug power, more powerful than cocaine, apparently. And you know, they went ahead and kept doing what they were doing. And then now they ended up with some sort of tree deal that nobody ended up caring for. And the only beneficiary and that being israel. But i stand by that date. He could have actually diffuse that situation by on recognizing cultural because that would have essentially domino affected all the way to your brain. And maybe maybe maybe mens made the mistake agreements work. But its one of those. What could have been because well never know. Right. Cool. So from those ashes, we know obviously kosovo was officially carved out, you know, this tiny nation created just instantly, just like that. Now for all the new surrounding that area, you and i were talking about this before the break. Um, you would think that this is some vitally important piece of real estate to the west that it had oil or it had cobalt or Something Like that. And that the entire world recognized its sovereignty. But thats just simply not the case. There is mineral wealth there, but thats not why its important. Its important because for the west, for the us, for nato. And it said set the precedent that they can create the countries that they can rom, whoever they want, whenever they want, wherever they want and make yeah. Exceptions to the rule, suffering to see who decides exceptions kind of just like i look what i can do, right, to the Ethnic Albanians. Its important because its of, as it forms the nexus of this greater ill be any of that theyve been trying to set up since the 18 seventys even though they have a nation state as of a 1913 for the serbs. It is not the real estate. It is. I mean obviously it is a real estate because its part of the constitution and you dont give up a part of the territory. But this is the territory. Its at the a precisely re establish their statehood to regain. Oh i say its me when they say that, im sorry i miss right. This is our jewish one. This is the vision. You know when service say this is our jerusalem, the mean . This is the holiest of holies. This is the place where would that we need to retake as a resurrection of our statehood. Without it, we dont exist, no matter what territory we hold with it. No matter if we have no territory, we can, we can continue to exist. Its just, its a spiritual issue and you complete me. Its that it is not just a territorial dispute, even though i dont want to minimize the territorial this be a great question. But so it, its multiple things to multiple people. And unfortunately with western involvement, its one of those will look here, what would we can do . Ill creating the rules and the rules based ordered doesnt actually function last thing. Now, were running out of time, but looking at u. S. Foreign policy. Taiwan, for example, the us says its a biased by the one china policy, while at the same time, you know, selling missile arms to taiwan convoluted mixed messages from bite. In the direct contradiction from blinking is kosovo. Comparable to the taiwan situation, while in so far as you can use the way the us is behaving with regard to kosovo. To understand that none of these words matter. None of these treaties matter, nothing you you hear from the state department or the white house actually matters. At the end of the day, you have to look what the, what theyre doing and not what theyre saying. Right . Right, absolutely. I gotta leave it right there. Unfortunately, the boys and the boys are malice. Geopolitical analyst, Senior Writer at r t dot com. Thank you so much for sharing your insight and some of your personal story with us. That is going to do it for todays episode of motors operandi the show that things deep into Foreign Policy and current affairs. Im your host manila chan. Thank you for tuning in. Well see you again next time to figure out the ammo. The, the t i, a programs ame wasnt, dont need to create fearless and ruthless soldiers, but also to control the minds of thousands of unsuspecting people with narcotics. We should look at the nature of your opinion of morning, richard, almost as we shall start when you put the instruct me over to the waiting. So im glad you asked me to call me on monday just symbol of caution. The pay on fire in front of the new model and the moon on the printer. No, they chased a virus is under the impression that the on the deal is extra. But the one is most of the im going to do right now is for us lets see i a m k ultra project involving the use of special drugs for military and political purposes. First on my dad. And then in the ukranian army, ive shifted towards a large scale technical trials, but ongoing to stop any time soon. The, the on open, political pro vacation china responds to a girl in after germanys foreign minister called present. Been she a dictate, sharp, and also this hour perhaps a troop rotation or perhaps the of the supplies. Why munition to forward positions at any rate. Its on the far as Russian Troops advance on the battlefield, ukraines military chief scrambled to keep things together and made a mustve waive up dismissal among their colleagues. Party reports on not um, from the front lines of ton african active. This is really 6 hours off for a rest on airport infiniti