Chossudovsky: Illegal EU occupation of Kosovo

2008-02-24

Richard Moore

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8100

E.U. Police and Military Intervention to enforce Secession from Serbia

By Michel Chossudovsky

Global Research, February 16, 2008

The Kosovo Parliament endorsed the Independence of Kosovo in a special session 
on Sunday the 17th of February.

The European Union is sending in a police and military intervention force into 
Kosovo in derogation of  Serbia's sovereignty and in violation of of 
international law.

This mission has all the features of an illegal occupation force by a foreign 
power, with a view to enforcing secession and installing an "Independent" Kosovo
which will essentially function as an EU-US protectorate under military rule.

The European Union approved on Saturday the deployment of a 1,800-member 
"policing and administration mission" to Kosovo. Out of the 1500 police, some 
700 SWAT experts ":trained in crowd and riot" control will be dispatched to 
Kosovo.

The mission is to be carried out under the European security and defense policy 
(ESDP). It  will assist the Kosovar government, which is largely integrated by 
former KLA war criminals. It will provide support to the police and judicial 
authorities "in their progress towards sustainability and accountability".

The EU police mission is slated to take over several functions currently under 
the mandate of the UN Mission to Kosovo (UNMIK) including police, justice and 
border police.

"Once it reaches full operational capability the mission will have around 1900 
police officers, judges, prosecutors and customs officials and approximately 
1100 local staff and will be based in headquarters in Pristina.

The EU-LEX mission will be under the authority of a retired French general Yves 
de Kermabon. Morevoer, Brussels has appointed an EU Special Representative 
(EUSR) for Kosovo to be headed by Dutch diplomat Pieter Feith.

Fait accompli

From one day to the next, the EU takes over the functions of a UN "peace-keeping
mission", in derogation of United Nations procedures.

It would appear that the Secretary General of the UN has been consulted on the 
matter and has given the green light. No formal decision has been taken by the 
UN to hand over its authority to a military-civilian EU "peacekeeping" 
adminstration.

The communiqué states that EU-LEX will assist Kosovo  in "further developing and
strengthening an independent multiethnic justice system and multiethnic police 
and customs service ... free from political interference."  The "customs 
service" pertains to the enforcement of a militarized border between Kosovo and 
the rest of Serbia, with a view to preventing Serbia from exercising its 
sovereignty over the province of Kosovo.

"In a legal text published Saturday, the EU said the mission, EU-LEX, will 
"assist the Kosovo institutions, judicial authorities and law enforcement 
agencies in their progress toward sustainability and accountability."

EU support for Kosovo "Independence" was announced in advance of a EU Foreign 
Ministers meeting slated for February 18th. It is slated to be ratified by an 
emergency session of the Kosovo parliament.

British Troops to the Balkans

In addition to the EU-LEX mission, more than 1000 British troops have been sent 
to Kosovo to join the 15,000 strong NATO garrison in occupied Kosovo.  According
to the Daily Telegraph:

"The imminent departure of the 1st Bn Welsh Guards to Kosovo has been ordered in
response to fears that the newly formed independent state could slide into 
"ethnic cleansing". But last night MPs and former military chiefs described the 
move as "irresponsible" and "demented", accusing the [British] Ministry of 
Defence of being "bankrupt".(16 February 2008)

The US will be sending 1000 "non-EU experts" which will also include a new 
influx of private security and military contractors.

The NATO garrison of more than 15,000 troops in Kosovo together with private 
mercenaries under contract to NATO and the UN, are on hand to enforce the 
installation of an independent Kosovar government, which is known to have 
extensive links to organized crime. The main task of this military-police 
contingent will be to secure the borders of the newly "independent State".

The Russian Foreign Ministry "said on Friday that only the UN Security Council 
can make a relevant decision to change the format of the international mission 
in Kosovo."

"We are convinced that Security Council resolution 1244 is valid. And we draw 
the attention of our EU partners, who have said a great deal lately about their 
desire and decision to send an additional mission to the territory, that a 
change in the international makeup in Kosovo is possible only on the basis of a 
relevant decision by the Security Council," Mikhail Kamynin, a spokesman for the
Russian ministry, said. (Rian Novosti, 16 Fe

Kosovo "independence" as well as the sending of EU police and military to the 
Serbian province constitutes a violation of international law.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of 
the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre for Research on 
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© Copyright Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, 2008

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