What the U.S. Presidential Candidates are Saying about the Balkans

BARACK OBAMA

July 8, 2008 Tuesday

STATEMENT ON FORMATION OF SERBIAN GOVERNMENT

BYLINE: States News Service; DATELINE: CHICAGO, Ill.

The following information was released by the campaign office of Illinois Senator Barack Obama

"I congratulate President Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and wish the new government in Belgrade success in tackling the problems that have for too long kept Serbia from achieving its great potential.

Serbs have moved through several painful chapters in their long and proud history. Citizens of Serbia are eager for progress, democratic development and economic growth. In May, voters expressed their desire for a European future, a vision that has been confirmed by the Serbian political leadership through the formation of a government that shares these aspirations. The Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union provides the foundation upon which the new government can build. A Serbian government that devotes its energies to this hopeful vision can count on my full support.

Real progress of course requires positive and responsible relationships with all of Serbia's neighbors, including Kosovo. Relegating inflammatory rhetoric and provocative actions to the past is essential to achieving this. An Obama administration together with our European partners, will work to ensure that all regional actors adhere to such standards.

All Serbs in the region, no matter where they reside, can see their lives improve by active participation in legitimate political institutions at all levels. Rest assured that, as President, I will work with all international and local actors in Kosovo to realize the full array of protections for Serbs there, including enhanced competencies for Serb municipalities, unfettered and undisturbed access and operation of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the right of return and restoration of property for all refugees and displaced persons.

Building a better future also requires honoring obligations from the past. The recent arrest of Stojan Zupljanin was an important step in this direction. I call on the new government in Belgrade to exert maximum efforts to apprehend the remaining fugitives wanted for war crimes, including General Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic.

Serbia and the United States have traditionally enjoyed warm relations as partners and allies. It is time for our countries to return to the shared values and mutual respect that served us so well in the past. My administration will look for a vibrant partner in Belgrade with which we can together cultivate our relationship.”
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- Biden’s most significant foreign policy accomplishment, according to most observers, was his effort to combat hostilities in the Balkans during the 1990s. Biden was said to be an influential voice urging the Clinton administration to take action against Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. In their Springfield appearance, Obama said that Biden “helped shape policies that would end the killing in the Balkans.” Specifically, Biden urged intervention to stop ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Bosnia. He later supported the NATO bombing campaign to force Serbia to leave Kosovo.

(“Joe Biden, the Democratic Party’s Nominee for Vice President”; source: “America.gov”, September 26, 2008)
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Barack Obama Pledges Support to Kosovo

22 September 2008 Pristina _ US Democrat Presidential candidate Barack Obama has pledged to support Kosovo’s independence and back its economic development.

Recalling his support for Kosovo, the Democrat Senator from Illinois and the party’s candidate for the White House, Obama said he will work in fostering Kosovo’s sovereignty.

“The US will work in helping to build a vibrant democratic society in Kosovo, ensuring equality for all the people living there,” it was reported in Obama for Illyria, an Albanian–American newspaper, published in the United States.

He vowed to help Pristina in its Euro–Atlantic integration and promised to do all he can in developing Kosovo’s infrastructure and energy sectors.

The declaration is the first attempt by Obama to communicate directly with the diaspora Albanian community living in the US.

Media in Pristina report that Obama’s declaration was issued to ease Albanian fears over his attitude towards Belgrade.

It was reported that some Albanians were concerned that Obama did not fully understand developments in the Balkans in the 1990s and the fact that he may also have been influenced by the strong and vocal Serb lobby, prominent in Illinois.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on February 17 in a move bitterly opposed by Belgrade.

Copyright BalkanInsight.com 2008
(http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/13313/)
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“And so we did not send a signal to Mr. Putin that in fact we were going to be serious about issues like human rights, issues like international cooperation that were critical to us. That is something that we have to change.”

MR. RUSSERT: He's 42 years old. He's a former law professor. He is Mr. Putin's campaign manager. He is going to be the new president of Russia. And if says to the Russian troops, "You know what? Why don't you go help Serbia retake Kosovo?" What does President Obama do?

SEN. OBAMA: Well, I think that we work with the international community that has also recognized Kosovo and state that that's unacceptable. But fortunately, we have a strong international structure, you know, anchored in NATO to deal with this issue. We don't have to work in isolation. And this is an area where I think that the Clinton administration deserves a lot of credit is the way in which they put together a coalition that has functioned.

It has not been perfect, but it saved lives. And we created a situation in which not only Kosovo, but other parts of the former Yugoslavia are -- at -- at least have the potential to, over time, build democracies and enter into the broader European community.

But you know, be very clear, we have recognized the country of Kosovo as an independent, sovereign nation, as has Great Britain and many other countries in the region. And I think that that carries with it then certain obligations to ensure that they are not invaded.”

(DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES DEBATE PARTICIPANTS: SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY); SENATOR BARACK OBAMA
(D-IL) MODERATORS: BRIAN WILLIAMS, NBC NEWS
ANCHOR; TIM RUSSERT,
NBC NEWS ; WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF LOCATION: CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY, CLEVELAND, OHIO TIME: 9:04 P.M. EST DATE: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2008)

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