Protestors attack U.S. Embassy in Serbia

[Brent]

BELGRADE, Serbia - Protesters broke into the U.S. embassy in Belgrade on Thursday and set fires, cheered on by crowds outside rallying against U.S. support for Kosovo's independence.

Doors were ripped off, set on fire and wedged in the embassy windows. Black smoke billowed from the building. Papers and chairs were thrown out of the windows.

One protester climbed up to the first floor, ripped the U.S. flag off its pole and briefly put up a Serbian flag in its place.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23277147/

[JonathanBelles]

because we recognized Kosovo....sounds like a strange reason.

[HURAKAN]

No surprise here. I hope no one was injured in the event.

[RL3AO]

because we recognized Kosovo....sounds like a strange reason.

Kosovo and Serbia is like Israel and Islam countries. They don't like each other. Of course Israel and Islam nations bring the violence to a higher level.

[Chacor]

That isn't the right comparison. One must understand the deep distrust and nationalism in this region to understand why the protesters have done this.

Serbia truly believes Kosovo-Metohija is their sovereign land and no-one else's. There are many old Serbian monasteries in Kosovo which have been Serbian for many centuries.

Serbia recalled its Ambassador to Washington over the issue, and condemned the US as breaking international law. The level of anger and vitriol currently directed at the U.S. is understandable, although I seriously think a lot of people here would feel otherwise.

Think of it as New York City, or Boston, or Jamestown, some place a) historically important or b) culturally important to the U.S., suddenly declaring independence, and Chávez or Castro recognising it.

[Chacor]

BBC World Service just reported that a charred body, as yet unidentified, has been found in the building. If it turns out to be an American it could be considered an act of war, as the embassy is de facto American territory.

EDIT: Reported to be a protester. The Serbian government has condemned the rioters, foreign minister Vuk Jeremic: "The Government of Serbia is not going to tolerate this kind of incidents." The UN and State Dept have both condemned Serbia for the weak defence of the American, British, Croatian and Turkish embassies.

[Brent]

BBC World Service just reported that a charred body, as yet unidentified, has been found in the building. If it turns out to be an American it could be considered an act of war, as the embassy is de facto American territory.

EDIT: Reported to be a protester. The Serbian government has condemned the rioters, foreign minister Vuk Jeremic: "The Government of Serbia is not going to tolerate this kind of incidents." The UN and State Dept have both condemned Serbia for the weak defence of the American, British, Croatian and Turkish embassies.

That was perhaps what disturbed me the most today, that our embassy seemed so indefensible, especially considering the U.S. had to expect at least some violence in the general area.

[mf_dolphin]

You can bet the slow response of the Serbian authorities was at the least tacit approval of the attack. 45 minutes to arrive after the fire broke out......

[wyq614]

In my opinion, the US has done nothing wrong in recognizing Kosovo, and I think Chi na will soon do the same later.

[Cryomaniac]

You can bet the slow response of the Serbian authorities was at the least tacit approval of the attack. 45 minutes to arrive after the fire broke out......

That's my thinking. The response time in a city like Belgrade should be somewhere like 10 minutes at the absolute most.

Also, and I don't really rate the source, but it's the only one I have, Russia have pretty much flat-out threatened NATO.

[lurkey]

You can bet the slow response of the Serbian authorities was at the least tacit approval of the attack. 45 minutes to arrive after the fire broke out......

That's my thinking. The response time in a city like Belgrade should be somewhere like 10 minutes at the absolute most.

Also, and I don't really rate the source, but it's the only one I have, Russia have pretty much flat-out threatened NATO.

The Russians haven't been really happy with all these past Warsaw Pact countries joining or allying themselves with NATO.

[Ed Mahmoud]

Kosovo was the ancestral homeland of the Serbs. In 1389 (the Serbs have long memories, and harbor grievances like few other people, it would seem), the Muslims Ottomans finally conquered Kosovo in a decisive battle in which the Serb king died on the battlefield.


The Serbs started a program of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo (never on the scale of the Bosnians) in the late 1990s as Yugoslavia broke up, seeking to restore Kosovo to Serb dominance. The US and NATO intervened, bombed Serbia heavily (accidentally bombing the Chinese embassy), sent in peacekeepers, and the Albanian Muslim majority was protected. However, the Albanians became radicalized, al Qaeda related foreign fighters came to Kosovo, and for the last decade Albanians have been paying back the Serbs by burning Orthodox churches and raping their women.


As always seems to be the case in the Balkans, they are no good guys, just bad guys and even worse guys.


Before that, the Bosnians were probably the most peaceful Muslims on the planet, having assimilated well with their Christian neighbors. But Serbian grudges about a 700 year old defeat ran deep, and Serbian massacres of the Bosnians radicalized them as well, and drew Arab jihadists to the Balkans to defend the Bosnians.


I have been to a few pro-Serbian blogs (one called, IIRC, the Byzantine Art Blog), and ethnic Serbs are an angry people, at least the ones that blog. And quite a few seem convinced of a Vatican/German/US plot to use Kosovo to attack the Orthodox church. (I kid not).

An important issue is that the Russians are ethnically and religiously close to the Serbs, and any conflict that draws in more NATO peacekeepers may also draw an adverse Russian reaction.

[Chacor]

The U.S. is withdrawing its embassy staff from Belgrade.

The US embassy in Serbia has ordered the temporary evacuation of non-essential staff after protesters attacked the building.

About 1,000 protesters set fire to the embassy in Belgrade on Thursday in anger at Kosovo's declaration of independence, which the US recognised.

The UK, German, Croatian, Belgian and Turkish embassies were also attacked.

Both the Serbian president and PM have condemned the violence, which left one dead and more than 100 injured.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7259327.stm

[lurkey]

In related news:

Belgrade smash 'n' grab becomes YouTube smash hit

BELGRADE (Reuters) - A video of two young women looting with abandon during rioting in the Serbian capital Belgrade was becoming a Balkan smash hit on the video-sharing Web site YouTube Friday.


The video.

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

In my opinion, the US has done nothing wrong in recognizing Kosovo, and I think Chi na will soon do the same later.

If China does wouldn't that set a possible precedent for eventual Taiwanese independence though?

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

I think this puts pro American countries like Israel and Spain, who have separatist movements within their own territory, in a very awkward position.

[wyq614]

In my opinion, the US has done nothing wrong in recognizing Kosovo, and I think Chi na will soon do the same later.

If China does wouldn't that set a possible precedent for eventual Taiwanese independence though?

The Kosovo issue and Taiwan issue are different. In Kosovo, 90% of the population is Albanian, they have different language and religion from Serbia. But Chinese and Taiwanese are the same people, they speak the same language and have the same tradition (at least the same as Fujian Prov. in the mainland), and many Taiwanese families find themselves able to date back to a certain ancestor in the mainland.

[Ptarmigan]

They call that area the Balkans for a reason. Always a hotspot. World War I started in the area.

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

In my opinion, the US has done nothing wrong in recognizing Kosovo, and I think Chi na will soon do the same later.

If China does wouldn't that set a possible precedent for eventual Taiwanese independence though?

The Kosovo issue and Taiwan issue are different. In Kosovo, 90% of the population is Albanian, they have different language and religion from Serbia. But Chinese and Taiwanese are the same people, they speak the same language and have the same tradition (at least the same as Fujian Prov. in the mainland), and many Taiwanese families find themselves able to date back to a certain ancestor in the mainland.

Still the majority of Taiwanese would prefer to be their own nation. The main reason fueling this desire is the one thing you neglected to mention; Taiwan and China have completely different forms of national government which are, if not totally incompatible, than at least nearly so.

[HURAKAN]

Serb nationalists hold rally outside U.S. consulate in Montreal
February 24, 2008 - 18:52

By: THE CANADIAN PRESS

MONTREAL - Serbian nationalists gathered Sunday in two more Canadian cities to protest U.S. recognition of Kosovo's declaration of independence.

Close to 200 demonstrators marched through downtown Montreal before holding a vocal but peaceful rally in front of the U.S. consulate.

Several speakers criticized countries like the U.S., France and Germany for quickly endorsing Kosovo's break from Serbia last week.

"The democratic rights of a country are being violated," organizer Diana Todic said of Serbia. "What precedent are we creating?"

She called on Canada to avoid doing the same, warning it could embolden Quebec sovereigntists.

Several supporters from the Greek Orthodox community also joined in the protest as they, like Serbians, trace their spiritual roots to medieval Kosovo.

While the protest was peaceful, demonstrators did not disguise their enmity for Kosovo's Albanian majority.

One protester's sign read "Albaniens (sic) are immigrants in Serbia."

"Albanians . . . invaded our province and then settled there and never allowed Serbs to come back," Todic said following the rally.

"This is an issue that, for the past 50 years, the rest of the world has known nothing about."

Canada has so far avoided taking a stand on the Kosovo issue. Many observers have attributed Ottawa's reluctance to concerns about the domestic implications of recognizing a unilateral declaration of independence.

The protest came a day after similarly peaceful event Saturday in Toronto, which drew upward of 2,000 people.

Serbian flags and protest placards dotted a crowd of about 800 who rallied in Vancouver against Kosovo's breakaway move.

"Canada, help Serbia at this difficult time," pleaded speaker Boris Malagurski, a Serbian-born university student. "Help us and we shall not forget your kindness and will forever be grateful.

"The world must understand that we shall never recognize Kosovo's independence, not now, not in a year, not in a decade, never. Kosovo will remain Serbia forever."

Malagurski, who helped organize the rally, said separatist groups in places such as Quebec and Spain's Basque region are watching closely how countries react to Kosovo's move.

"If you break international law once in the case of Serbia, you can't explain to all the other regions why that can't secede," he said in an interview. "That's why we think the Kosovo secession is very bad for the world right now."

Malagurski, 19, said the Albanian-dominated Kosovo government has done nothing to protect minority Serbian rights in the region. He said the best solution for both groups is an autonomous Kosovo as part of a united Serbia.

More protests are planned next weekend in Ottawa, Edmonton and Calgary.