Day: December 21, 2022
The north is not Kosovo’s only problem
Naile Ejupi of Bota Sot asked questions, I replied Monday:
Q: One-on-one attacks on police officials, EULEX, and journalists from Kosovo, now since Saturday, the border points of the north of Kosovo with Serbia have been blocked by groups of Serbs, how do you comment on this situation?
A: This is Vucic pursuing his ambition of the “Serbian world.” The criminals conducting these operations in northern Kosovo are under Belgrade’s control.
Q: Kosovo has postponed the elections in the north of the country, which is why the attacks in the north first started, but Serbia still continues to block that part, now they demand the release of the ex-policeman arrested as a suspect for the attack on the Kosovo policemen and on the officials of the CEC. What is the Serbian president, Aleksander Vučić, trying to achieve?
A: He already has de facto control over the north. He is trying to ensure impunity for his criminal gangs and continued Belgrade control in the north.
Q: The Serbian president, Aleksandër Vucic, has threatened to send the Serbian army to that part of Kosovo, why does Serbia continue to be pampered by internationals and do not respond to its actions?
A: You’ll have to ask the “international community,” but in my opinion they have unfortunately a good deal of confidence in Vucic’s good intentions. I have no reason to confirm that. Certainly there is nothing about the current behavior of criminals in the north that confirms good intentions.
Q: The Russian Embassy in Tirana has supported Serbia for these actions, are we at risk of another war?
A: Not another war, but some serious instability. Russia has only a few troops in Serbia and the Serbian Army won’t want to enter any Albanian-majority parts of Kosovo. But Serbian security forces exist throughout the Serb-majority municipalities, especially in the north. They can cause a lot of trouble.
Q: On the other hand, Serbia’s actions have been condemned by European countries, even the Netherlands has voted in the Parliament to restore Serbia’s visas, how do you see this Dutch action, would this be an appropriate punishment?
A: You will have to ask the Dutch this question.
Q: The EU’s special envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue met with Prime Minister Kurti on Tuesday and requested the implementation of the Association of Serbian municipalities, as a solution to the situation. The Association of Serbian municipalities gives competence to the Serbs and contradicts 23 points of the Kosovo constitution, how should Kosovo act?
A: I think the Association is something that cannot be implemented until Serbia recognizes Kosovo. If done earlier than that, there is a serious risk to Kosovo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Q: The Franco-German proposal, initially unacceptable to Serbia, now with improvements. It is not yet known exactly what it contains, but it is reported that it is one of the other reasons that the situation in the north is tense, how do you evaluate this proposal?
A: I find it hard to evaluate something I haven’t seen. An earlier published version wasn’t so bad from Kosovo’s perspective. It did not include the Association or recognition.
A: Before the situation in the north happened, Prime Minister Kurti declared for a comprehensive agreement with Serbia in March 2023, can there be a solution to this dialogue and what would be the best solution?
A: Yes, there can be a solution, but someone will have to tell Serbia to pay attention to its own problems and leave Kosovo to deal with its problems, including those of its Serb population.
Q: The leaders of Kosovo have submitted the document for membership in the EU on Wednesday, how do you see this action and how much support will Kosovo have on this path.
A: It is an important symbolic gesture that reflects the real ambitions of Kosovo’s citizens. Support for Kosovo will depend on two things: Pristina instituting the necessary reforms and convincing current EU member states, including the non-recognizers, that the EU will be better off with Kosovo than without it. Those are tall orders.
Q: How do you evaluate the governance of Prime Minister Kurti and President Osmani, what should they do more for Kosovo?
A: It is not for me to evaluate their governance. Kosovo’s citizens will do that at the next election. But the two things I just cited will be important factors in that evaluation: reforms and diplomacy within the EU.
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Watching the original Perry Mason in 2022
I confess to watching recently more than 3 years of the original Perry Mason mystery series. It premiered in 1957 and ran until 1966. I see it free on Freevee. I saw much of the series when it first ran but have forgotten the plots. Here is what I’ve learned:
The plots are as intricate and interesting as they were then, when I was 12-15. Unlike many of today’s TV mysteries, they rely little on technology and a lot on the initially hidden relationships among people. You always know Mason will win in court, except for one early case where it turns out he is defending an impostor. Figuring out what he is thinking and how he will play it is still challenging and enjoyable.
Time passes
Lots of things have however changed. There are no cell phones, messaging, videos, or email. Phones have dials. People write notes or letters. Giant cameras with flash bulbs take pictures. The cars, which play important supporting roles, are floppy behemoths with sweeping tail fins. Dollars are worth at least ten times more than they are today. Everyone smokes.
Race matters
The casts are 95% or more white. The first I remember seeing a Black person, with a minor role as a night watchman, was in the second year. He appears in an episode also featuring Japanese participants, who are vital to the story. Before that, I recall only one episode with a clearly non-white character. He is a Chinese factotum. Even nightclubs and jazz joints in Los Angeles are without Black people, who were then called “Negroes.”
Gender does too
Women fare a bit better. They dress stylishly (for the time), unless they are intended for plot purposes to be unattractive. They wear hats, even indoors. But women are mostly subordinated to powerful men. That includes Della Street, Mason’s clever “confidential secretary,” as well as the many other secretaraies, heiresses, wives, and girlfriends who figure in the plots. Some are clever, rebellious, or nasty. But most of those are made murder victims in the first few minutes of an episode or in the end turn out to be the perpetrators.
The men are mostly dressed in suits and ties. They wear fedoras on the street (Kennedy would kill that custom before the series ends). They too can be clever, rebellious, or nasty but still manage to play dominant roles. Paul Drake, Mason’s favorite private investigator seems to be the paragon. His tall, blond (I’m assuming–the series is in black and white) good looks occasionally play a role in the plot. But Della is far more clever.
Raymond Burr, who plays Perry Mason, was what we would now term “gay.” He was closeted. LGBTQ people do not appear in the series, unless I have missed one or two.
Enjoyable, but don’t send me back there
We are having lots of fun watching these murder mysteries while preparing to go to bed. They don’t elicit bad dreams, I suppose because the murders are less gruesome than many on TV today. And always solved. I plan to get through the whole series.
But don’t send me back there in a time machine. The racism is by omission. The sexism is in plain sight. I never liked searching for and plugging dimes into a public pay phone.
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Stevenson’s army, December 21
– President Zelensky is coming to DC, will meet with President Biden around 2pm, address a joint meeting of Congress around 7:30pm. WaPo says the big news will be US deal to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine. Politico says Ukraine wants more than US is willing to give.
– WaPo says it’s still not clear who sabotaged Nordstream lines.
– Politico says US will press Netanyahu to discipline his government.
-Legistorm says 2/3 of House offices haven’t used their increased budgets.
– Politico has details from new insider look at Biden administration. Looks like a lot of good interviews.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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