The issue of license place 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 is the 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 on screw your license plate on your car and put on the dc one before you can drive into work each morning. Thats a nuisance, right . But to make it worse, what if the district said this is only a clickable to certain races of people that 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 of the boys, your 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. Nope. So good to see you again live and in person. Think its good to be here. So 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 theyre latest round of the unpleasant this really began last august at the end of july, when the think ill be in, 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 serve you marks on that, which is your problem is that he quoted, these government hasnt 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 doesnt independence. 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 there. Because after the 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 in the course of all government institutions decided to step away. And we caught them as a legitimate as a sign of protest and which pointing 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 us and, and you basically costellos western protectors and condemning all sides into urging everybody to exercise restraint. But not actually doing anything to get caught you 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 the military on high alert if youve got co defending highly 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 china. More crimes, a hey, in a conscious efforts to basically destroy this community and get them removed. And nobodys doing anything the, the us and the you are threatening sanctions and im using air quotes because theyre sanctions amount to a hill of beans. There are literally not enforcing their their own rules in their own. So all days later, 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 minority serbs there and things like where its like programs 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 string that last summer when im at the height of the license plate business. Uh, the uh, coastal authorities literally went to a family winery, a certain family winery. 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 destroyed 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 our wine race. No, they moved ahead and destroyed the wind to make a point. So 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 a swat team whilst 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 dave for the 1st time. And in years the Serbian Church had to move the side 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 death of a 1000 cards. Theyre not yet rampaging across the province, like they did the 1004. But they got away with that into 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, are these people getting disappeared or whats, whats happening . Cuz youve got a prominent community, were not Even Community leaders. Prominent people in the Community Getting disappeared, or are arrested on bogus charges or, you know, they, they drum 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 dont hold them indefinitely. And they, 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 as opposed to the, you know, 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. So the, there is there are pockets of serbian serbs living throughout the province who stayed there after to mess up the 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 pair eyes 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, 41 percent and ill let her know when she, you know, wed be with carpet bag people in and then they would get votes of a little i think ill be in use 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, theyre all, or you know, its of office, you know, being in there taken down serbian flags and putting up ill be in the in 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 to call the nato peacekeepers, right. And then those nato peacekeepers open fire on the ethnic serbs who will talk to tape piece because thats how you 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 right baton from one of the pistol 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 to the 1st. Yeah. Itd be basically, these people resisted and then of course, these order went out to find everybody responsible in rest and for terrorism. So its just in this endless spiral. So instead of setting up the association of sir, being his abilities, which hes been supposed to do so right inside the 2013. So shes basically said, well, theres no serbian disability. So theres no problem. Right . Hes, hes literally trying to re 6 people that were real quick lane up. I mean, alvin curtis seems to be now tacitly agreeing to you intervention or, or assistance. I mean, it is sort of like a, an election do over. Is that going to be enough . Know what, what shes, what hes trying to do is you gave him as much as that you can be straight about anything they 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. 110 percent only 99 percent. Well and she came up with the kona 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 then the need to my what im translating, obviously. But this is what it means in 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 everything hes been doing is been in a function of not necessarily making anything function but to break the local serbs and make them bend to meet his government, make them read, make them my way or the high likely, you know, its like shes the legitimate ruler and, and you know, get recognition from serbia ethridge or what can be because he doesnt have that. And, and he wants it to because everything he does have, you know, the whole thing is in the end of 2 thousands after today to walk you patients 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. They are dependent how 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, just lack of sort of recognition. So now theyre pushing, this is universal excuse. And now 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 minded the republic of serbia to say that its at home that thought because i wanna, i wanna dig into that this piece of real estate on the other side of this break are coming up next is serbia gearing up for war with its neighbor, well discuss it when we return more with no boy shall mileage. So tight to m. O will be right back the the, after the end of world war 2, the National Liberation movement, itd be an intensified dramatically. Havent driven away the japanese occupiers. The vietnamese patriots by no means wanted the return of the former french colonizers. But brands did not want to lose their rates colony, and decided to beat the opposition by board. In december 1946, a full scale war broke out. The main bay 3 Arctic Organization led by o g min inflicted heavy losses on the french. The invaders were in raged. According to western historians, up to 250000 lives of peaceful v, and these were on their contents. The colonialist widely used the practice of mass rape of b and these women as revenge on the gorilla. In 1947, the french destroyed the village of knights rock murdering 170 women, and 157 children. However terror did not help. In 1954, the vietnamese defeated the french army and the decisive battle of gen, being food, almost 12000 french soldiers and officers, including the commander. General dick had 3, and his command staff were captured. The configuration of a huge garrison at a demoralizing effect in europe. The french laughed vietnam, but they were replaced by even more violent and much stronger invaders. The american hard times were awaiting vietnam. Again, the, the west, deep involvement in the brain complex suggest doing the go stations are off the table. In fact, only escalation is all the horizon. Is nato spoiling, for an upright conflict with russia. Certainly seen so the the welcome back to the m. O. Im in the one chance, serbian president alexander boot judge 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 president blue church says hes ready to work with the you to de escalate. He also said this, take a listen. Service is not preparing for war. It is ready to protect the lives of our people, to serve 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 e u, but booter to implied that his coast of our counter parts have not. But now troops are on high alert given what happened to serbia with noodle 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 width of 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 steam 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 wants him to and theyre trying to pressure him using kosovo as, as a way to for it 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, you 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. 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 court the 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 dfcs to buy and even to your a union with helping you. And i think he was hardest hit when the, ill be a new 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 to masters. But they didnt stop him from organizing this nato love fest the other day of you know, trying out all of these kids need bill clinton or hillary or whatever to on or bill clinton was visit. Yeah. And, and basically, you know, 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 live to through those events. How is that shape the situation that were seeing now as well . Thats fine. Large determine where were at now. The fact that the intervened in coastal, based on the lie of genocide that was never substantiated, the leader emerged 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 would be 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 ukraine in. As matter of fact, the ukraine situations i would argue as a direct consequence of what happened to 1999. Because nato went from what was supposed to be a defensive alliance to an unmistakable, the aggressive one that was, that sent 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. Important 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 into altering history, this is the branch off. This is the, this is the inflection point. This is where things for going 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 plant, they send some blood money to the chinese, but the Chinese Government just recently memorialize that in a, in a very unmistakably, were still mad about this way. Sure. So that sort of, you know, defined relationships with china a for years. And you, you centrally, you know, some years ago i was trying to tongue in cheek make a suggestion to the trump administration. That the way to disarm rochelle and this whole ukraine issue was the one 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 he just failed. So on usual, and just unrecognized kosovo sort of press the reset button. Sure. Everybodys gonna 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 be all of it, right. And nobody took my advice because, you know, when youre in nurses, 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, and 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 welfare but thats not why its important. Its important because for the west, for the us, for nato. And its a set the precedent that they can create countries that they can bomb, 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 i think ill be news. Its important because it of it forms the nexus of this great or 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 that the and we certainly we establish their statehood to regain. Oh i say its me when they say that, im sorry i missed, right. This is arduous one, this is the, this is uh, 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 youve completely, 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 at your book, what we can do is creating the rules and the rules based ordered doesnt actually following the 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 vida. And then 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 of 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. Geo political 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 modus operandi. The show that digs deep into Foreign Policy and current affairs. Im your host manila. Chad. Thank you for tuning in. Well see you again next time to figure out the ammo the of the, the t i programs a wasnt, dont need to create fearless and ruthless soldiers, but also to control the minds of thousands of unsuspecting people with narcotics issues to the nature of your opinion. Ownership, almost as we shall assess dot when you put the instruction near to the waiting. 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