Serbian province Kosovo is occupied by the US troops since 1999. Last week the UN representative Ahtisaari has launched in Austria a plan that in reality would make the Albanian-speaking Kosovo independent from Serbia.⁽¹⁾ And then only one transitional phase will remain for the Albanian nationalists in order to make Kosovo part of Albania. For NATO that will mean a new step in eastern direction and in taking over control of the energy supplies through the Balkans. Albania is a candidate-member of NATO and is prepared to place its territory, its harbours and its airspace fully at the disposal of NATO. It takes part in NATO operations in Kosovo, in Bosnia and in Afghanistan.⁽²⁾ By these actions the strategically important area will be stolen from Serbia, the traditional ally of Russia in this region.

Russia also feels the hot breathing of NATO at its southern borders. In 2008 the last Russian troops will leave the ex Soviet republic of Georgia.⁽³⁾ In the meantime, the Americans are building up and training the Georgian army in the ex Soviet base in the capital Tbilisi.

The public opinion in Russia is shocked and forces the government to make steps in response to this. During the World’s Economic Forum in Davos Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Medvedev said that Kosovo "should become a model for all "frozen conflicts" in the world".⁽⁴⁾ This means: "if the West will declare Kosovo independent and accepts this, then we will recognize the independence of Abkhazia and Southern Ossetia" By doing this Russia would take 2 big bites out of the territory of NATO’s ally Georgia – as a revenge. Not a single newspaper has actually asked what would the Ossetians themselves wish, except for our newspaper Solidaire. Dmitri Kostenko⁽⁵⁾ has written for us a report about his trip to Southern Ossetia. Recently he has been an observer during the presidential elections and the independence referendum there on the 12^th of November 2006.

Already in the XVIII century the Georgian king Herekle (Irakly) has asked Russia for military help in order to protect Georgia from Turkish invasion. After the Revolution, in 1922, Southern Ossetia became an autonomous part of the Soviet republic of Georgia, while Northern Ossetia – an autonomous part of the Russian republic. At that time these borders meant little, and nobody cared if your mother tongue was Ossetian, Georgian or Russian.

"In 1991"- writes Kostenko,-"the Ossetians have refused to recognize the disbandment of the Soviet Union and the falling off of Georgia. The fascist Georgian nationalists then committed an ethnic cleansing and pushed out 100.000 Ossetians under the motto of "Georgia for Georgians". The Southern Ossetians have organized and armed themselves and, after 3 long years of war have declared their independence from Georgia. This independence they have de facto kept until now. All the very best of USSR has been preserved in this little splinter of USSR. Free education and medical care, priority to the social projects, to the old people and disabled. There is no criminality, no terrorism, and the safety of the Georgian minority is also secured. The Communist party of Southern Ossetia (CPSO) has a lot of influence and 5 elected representatives. In the centre of the capital Tshinvali there is a Lenin street and a Stalin street. "The independence referendum in Southern Ossetia for us was the first step in order to restore the family of the nations, the Soviet Union", - says Stanislav Kochiev, chairperson of the CPSO. "The next step would be joining the union with Russia and Belarus. We do not want to be a small separatist island, we want to reunite with Northern Ossetia. In 1989 we’ve lost our autonomous status and became victims of the Georgian nationalists. Then they killed 800 people, wounded 1700 and burnt out 117 Ossetian villages. In 1991 98% of the Southern Ossetian population voted for keeping of USSR. Unfortunately, Georgia introduced ist own currency, destroyed our economy by doing this and the "Orange" president Saakashvili now drags his country into NATO and EU. But Ossetia has built its own political structures. In these elections we have supported our president Kokoity. He does not allow the privatisation of the land and all the big industry and companies will remain state property. Only small service companies can become private. We receive fuel from Russia and have our own nickel and copper for producing wires. In co-operation with Northern Ossetia we started a woodworking enterprise. The salaries here are higher than in Georgia. That is why 99% voted for our independence."

1) De Standaard, 26.1.07
2) www.nato.int 5.12.2003
3) BBC News 30.7.2005
4) The Moscow Times, 29.1.2007
5) Dmitri Kostenko is member of the Russian Communist Workers party.