Duly Noted
From the desk of George Handlery
Our age is a mosaic. Its bits are easily missed as we tend to focus on the whole. This column presents some http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=3629 that deserve attention.
1. http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=3496 has declared the independence she has de facto enjoyed for years. Contrary to the belief of The Brussels Journal I do not think this is a victory for Islamism. Widely recognized independence supports moderate Islam. Re-subjugating abused Kosovo to Serbia would have radicalized its Albanian majority that also happens to be Moslem.
2. The majority of Kosovo received self-determination at the expense of Serbia’s territorial integrity. If this is principled action – as it is said to be – then the province’s Serbian North, should be allowed to join adjacent Serbia. The same goes for Serb-inhabited Bosnia. Moral and practical consistency, if applied impartially, rises above politics and furthers the cause of stability and peace.3. The spokesmen of Slovakia’s and Romania’s large indigenous Hungarian minority protest the analogies made there between Kosovo’s independence and their demand for cultural autonomy and local self-government.
4. Meanwhile (28 Feb.) Slovakia’s Foreign Minister announced that his government rejects demands for autonomy no matter where it is requested. Apparently it does not bother him that this contradicts the practice of the original EU countries.
5. Erdogan (Turkey’s Premier) visited Germany. There he took umbrage at the attempt of schools to teach in the language of that land’s inhabitants. This suggests that the maintenance of the Turkish identity of pupils who are German citizens or immigrants is a responsibility of the host government. An odd position, especially if one considers Turkey’s policy with respect to her native Kurds.
6. Erdogan demands EU membership for Turkey. Inconsistencies such as above raise the question of whether a lager EU is also a stronger EU. Furthermore, a consistent answer is needed to tell whether economic and political development is to be followed by membership or whether membership is to be followed by the required development.
7. Europe, whether represented by the EU or by NATO, has not only problems with selecting new members. Old members are also a cause of difficulty. Germany has trouble to determine whether it is to put 3,500 or 4,500 boots on the ground in Afghanistan. Should the soldiers that defend the West there do so in regions where the Taliban might shoot at them? 86% do not want the military to engage in combat. 55% wish to withdraw from the mission. This is common sense as it acknowledges that firing candy-bars at the Jihadists might not quite dissuade them.
8. Denmark is again hurting the sensitivities of (radical) Moslems. Let us assume this is avoided in the case of spoofs such as the Muhammad caricatures. In this case, are physics and geography texts to be re-written so as to accommodate those who, on the basis of the Koran, argue that the earth is flat and that the sun circles the earth? Before doing so let us agree regarding the limits of concessions to odd views.
9. From time-to-time some of the youth in certain countries riots. Essentially they demand respect for the ways of their parent’s home country. This is preferably expressed by more transfer payments and loosely applied laws. In doing so as little respect is given to the host country‘s traditions as is the appreciation limited for the protection and (the often unused) opportunities they enjoy.
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3050