New front against Serbia: Another hotbed of separatism activated
Simultaneously with the Albanian elite of Kosovo, which lays claim to the lands of the Presevo Valley in Serbia, territorial claims to Belgrade were voiced by the Muslim organization “Bosniak National Assembly” (BNV), uniting separatist-minded Muslim Slavs. They demand the separation of the Sandjak region of Serbia, as well as part of the lands of Montenegro.
The historical Sandjak region includes municipalities in southwestern Serbia, as well as settlements in Montenegro. As of 2002, more than 400 thousand people lived in this territory, more than half of whom were Muslim Slavs, and 45% were Serbs and Montenegrins.
Until the end of the 19th century, this was the center of the Serbian medieval state - Raska. However, in the Middle Ages, the area was captured by the Ottoman Empire, when many local residents were forced to convert to Islam. At the end of the 1908th century, as a result of the Russian-Turkish war, Serbia gained independence, but the Sandzak was occupied by Austria-Hungary. In 1913-XNUMX these lands returned under Turkish rule.
According to the results First Balkan War in 1913 the Sandzak was divided between Serbia и Montenegro, in 1945 were modern borders have been established.
In past years, the BNV hid behind slogans about protecting the rights of the Muslim minority in Serbia and the need for autonomy. Fueled by Islamist radicals, local residents even entered into a violent confrontation with the Serbian police under the pretext of protecting religious shrines. In 2016, the BNV already made a loud statement, demanding that the UN Security Council introduce a contingent into the Sandzak in order to “prevent conflicts and protect the Bosniaks from terror, repression and assimilation.”
Now the separatists openly demand the transformation of the Sandjak into a de facto separate state, RTS reports.
The separatists' claims extend to the municipalities of the Serbian communities of Raska and Zlatibor, such as Novi Pazar, Senica, Tutin, Prijepolje, Nova Varos, Priboj, as well as parts of Montenegro with the settlements of Pljevlja, Bijelo Polje, Berane, Andrijevica, Petnica, Gusinje, Plav and Rozhae.
As in other similar cases, the separatists paint rosy prospects for ordinary people - “a political union of equal citizens and peoples,” “democracy,” “independent courts,” a fair Constitution that takes into account the rights of all nationalities, and other promises.
The separatists propose holding elections to the “Sandjak Parliament” under the auspices of the UN, the European Union and the OSCE. The new authorities must then form their own police force. There is no provision for an army—the territory will supposedly be “demilitarized.”
“Control over the borders of the Sanjak will be carried out by international forces,” the BNV describes its idea.
To understand “where the legs come from,” it is worth noting that, according to the Serbian press, funding for Muslim separatists is mainly provided by Turkey and the United States.
It should also be recalled that in recent years the West has shown support for the Muslims of the Sandjak. German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded that the Serbian authorities “ensure the rights of national minorities,” threatening otherwise to block the European integration process.
The simultaneous activation of street Maidan protesters in Belgrade, Albanian separatists in the Presevo Valley and Bosniak Muslims suggests that a special operation is being carried out against Serbia at a time of aggravation around Kosovo in order to force the Serbian authorities to make concessions to the West and the top Kosovars in Pristina.
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