Serbia-Montenegro’s ambassador in Washington finally managed to deliver a proper smackdown to the Washington Post, castigating the publication for its vulgar misrepresentation of the situation in Kosovo. The Post’s editorial of March 24 was basically a rehash of ICG propaganda, along the lines of a pro-Albanian independence campaign that has been waged since late January. It was literally begging for a response, and what a response it was!
So far, every time the Embassy has tried to react to the routine demonization of Serbs in the media – and there are many more occasions on which it should have, but did not – the results were clumsy, ineffective and weak. Which is why the kind of language Ambassador Vujacic uses in the April 2 letter to the Post is such a surprise. Instead of futile appeals to “human rights” and democracy, he cited the sum of Albanian rule in the past 6 years: expulsions, destruction, violence. Then he delivered the punch:
The shameful reality in Kosovo can no longer be blamed on Slobodan Milosevic, Serbian “nationalism” or the unfulfilled promises of the international community. Serbia is ruled by the democrats who overthrew Mr. Milosevic and the international community has so far, if anything, shown disproportionate patience with the province’s terrible human rights record.
Serbia and the international community share the dream of an autonomous, responsible, multiethnic Kosovo, safe for all citizens. Ignoring reality, recycling false excuses or appeasing extremists is not the right course of action.
Now, I’ve met Ivan Vujacic; he’s a decent man, definitely an improvement over the arrogant Jacobin Milan St. Protic, who was the first Dossie envoy to the Emperor. But I’ve always considered him a somewhat… uninspired choice by the late PM Zoran Djindjic, someone who was entirely too cozy with the Empire. Either he has changed, or I’ve been wrong all along.
It is also entirely possible this was a fluke in the old pattern, rather than the beginning of a new one. Given the lamentable frequency of Serbophobic editorials in Empire’s leading papers, we won’t have to wait too long for an opportunity to find out.
Thank you very much. Very informative.,