Recognising Kosovo
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
The American ambassador in Bangladesh sometime ago called on Foreign Minister Dipu Moni at her office and suggested that Bangladesh should recognise the independence of Kosovo. Kosovo has been recognised as an independent country by the United States and most of the West European countries which have been traditionally allied to the United States. One may recall that Kosovo's Muslim people were targeted for the worst kind of savageries and genocide witnessed since the Second World War by the Serbs or Slavic people in the territories that comprised the artificially created country of Yugoslavia.
The predominantly Muslim people of Kosovo, who are also ethnically distinct from the Serbs, were never gladly a part of Yugoslavia. They were kept in servitude and bondage by the unceasing use of brute force. There was widespread restlessness among them since the nineties that led to the emergence of fully independent states out of the former Soviet Union. They wanted to be free from Yugoslavia.
But the wanting of independence by the Kosovo's Muslims led to their genocide there by forces from Belgrade. The nature of this genocide was no less in savagery than the Nazi genocide of the Jews during World War II. Only after military intervention in Kosovo by NATO forces led by the US, this genocide was stopped and the remaining Muslims there saved. The NATO forces and the US since then have been acting like guardian powers in protecting Kosovo from takeover and probable resumption of genocide there.
Bangladesh should recognise Kosovo as an independent entity and establish all kinds of relationships with it. Bangladesh is a major Muslim country and its move in this direction will encourage other Muslim countries to follow its example.
Shabbir Karim
Dept. of International Relations,
University of Dhaka.
The predominantly Muslim people of Kosovo, who are also ethnically distinct from the Serbs, were never gladly a part of Yugoslavia. They were kept in servitude and bondage by the unceasing use of brute force. There was widespread restlessness among them since the nineties that led to the emergence of fully independent states out of the former Soviet Union. They wanted to be free from Yugoslavia.
But the wanting of independence by the Kosovo's Muslims led to their genocide there by forces from Belgrade. The nature of this genocide was no less in savagery than the Nazi genocide of the Jews during World War II. Only after military intervention in Kosovo by NATO forces led by the US, this genocide was stopped and the remaining Muslims there saved. The NATO forces and the US since then have been acting like guardian powers in protecting Kosovo from takeover and probable resumption of genocide there.
Bangladesh should recognise Kosovo as an independent entity and establish all kinds of relationships with it. Bangladesh is a major Muslim country and its move in this direction will encourage other Muslim countries to follow its example.
Shabbir Karim
Dept. of International Relations,
University of Dhaka.