“Internationally supervised independence”

i know, it is quite idealistic, but, it would be great if serb politicians would accept the plan by indicating that, from now on has begun the new relationship era for two nations (albanians and serbs). we are determined to live as neighbors. i must reemphasize this. it is far much better to live in peace and prosperity. other alternatives takes us nowhere.

cheers,

Adi,

thanks for being so forthright and clear about your intentions,

" two nations (albanians and serbs)."

- in this plan you clearly see a Greater Albanian - no mention of a "Kosovar or Dardania".

Thankfully Ahtisaari is being just as explicit and this will make the choice all the more easier to condenm this plan to the mothballed unaffirmed archives dept. - i.e. the waste bin!

princip, thanks 4 ur reply,

we are destined to be neighbors for ever, wanted or not. the nature has awarded this, not u and me, isn't this so?

when i say albanians and srbs, im not alluding in greater or smaller albania, as u try to interpret. even if we would like to create it, europe will not allow. (by the way, i am not fan of this idea – greater albania., there is no sense in this concept, there are no borders, i can go whenever i like in tirana).

the fact is that kosova is made up of 90% albanians. despite your inclinations to dispute everything when it comes to albanians, i do not believe you can dispute this fact . I do not know exactly about serbia, but it must be about the same (around 90 % serbs). kosova as you see is becoming the newest state in europe. nothing less nor more than srbia. The latter one (kosova as independent country) you are rightly disputing, but only for two more months.

i do not see as a wise thing to ignore these facts. you can, as you do, but you have no facts.

i would urge u and ur patriots to think and take care about srbs living in kosova. they are the ones who will live here, not u and other patriots debating here.

i am albanian and i am proud of this. but, i try to make clear distinction between what are real interests (those pro-european oriented) of my nation, and those that go against the real interests (folkloristic political concepts made in 19th and 20th century).

cheers,

Princip,
Let me answer for Adi.
He is totally right when he says 2 nations. Albanians might live in 2 different countries (Kosova and Albania) but they still are one nation, the Albanian nation. This is valid for Serbs also. They will live in 2 countries (Kosova and Serbia), but they still will have the same nationality.
As you see the cake is not going bad. Have your passport ready and come and celebrate with us independence and peace.
We'll have some raki for you also.

Yeah let's see what gets trashed by the UN. It appears to me Serbia's nominal sovereignty over Kosovo is almost certainly going to the trash bin. And very soon, that is!

This is nothing less than the complete destruction of Serbia. I would say that Serbia as a country no longer exists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkgHkxIfgBc

"Live as neighbors", is this what you mean Adi?

Princip

You seem to think that Ahtisaari is this lone dimplomat who came up with this plan for independence by himself, and when other countries in Contact Group, SC, and UN see it, they will reject it.

You seem to forget that Ahtisaari is proposing what Contact group countries told him to propose. And if they told him to propose independence, thats what he is doing.

I guess if gentlemen from UN would have just said he was going to reccommend the status for Kosovo instead of just telling a Bald Faced Lie to everyone including Serbia. It would be better to tell the truth catch rocks and stones and be done with it instead of misleading people that way Mr Ahtisaari.

Looks like Serbia's status as a nation and UN member is going in the trash bin.

Hermon wrote:
"This is valid for Serbs also. They will live in 2 countries (Kosova and Serbia), but they still will have the same nationality."

Might i add, Republika Srpska (WHICH IS NOT INDEPENDENT) (2,000,000), FYROM (300,000),
Bulgaria (20,000), Sweden, Australia, etc..... and the list goes on and on....

I would like to ask all albanians in here, WOULD YOU SUPPORT AS RIGHT AN
INDEPENDENT RS???????

Please i'd like to hear...

Adi,

That's wonderful! I look forward to the Albanian passionate protection of Serbian churches and the return with open arms of the 200,000 Serbian refugees forced from their homes.

Talk is cheap. Actions are what counts. I've seen nothing in hard action that makes me believe that anything good will come from our interference in the Balkans in the 1990s.

Don't get your hopes up just yet. The showdown is yet to come. You will have to hold back on your pre-planned celebrations.
I can't believe the imagination of albanians...if KiM is 90% albanian what right do you have to steal it from Serbia?
This is ubelievable, and thus the reason why it is impossible to negotiate with albanians.

Thanks Adi for starting the comments on the right foot. I certainly hope that K-Albanians will look at Kosovo as a country that is rich in the history and culture of both Albanians and Serbs. I join you in your hope that both sides can live together as peaceful and cooperative neighbors.

But there's much to be done, and the hard part is now only beginning for Pristina. Trust - and I mean honest and forthright trust, must be made between the Albanian and Serb communities. If passed as is, the Ahtisaari Plan could easily facilitate the Serb muncipalities to look more towards Belgrade than Pristina, essentially creating two states in Kosovo. The EU must also firmly enforce these principles in the Ahtisaari Plan. Atm is exactly right: talk is cheap and actions are what counts. What will happen in the next 6 months to a year will determine the fate of Kosovo. I'd even suggest the Pristina government make a symbolic move of reconciliation with the K-Serbs at the Decani monastery, whose monks, especially Father Sava, are one of the most progressive-minded in the region.

So how about this - order that cake, but share with with your Serb neighbors. Invite them to the party and treat them as co-citizens. In fact, you guys bring the cake, and let them bring the shljivovitsa. The more Kosovo is shared, and the less Kosovo is "mine, not yours" the better.

Here's to the hope of a multienthnic Kosovo. Here's to a Kosovo rich in Serb culture as well as Albanian culture. Here's to hopefully a new beginning between Serbs and Albanians and a new future for Serbia.

Well looks like Serbia will be ensuring that it continues to utilise its negotiation skills at the UN - Serbia after all has a UN seat!

Who will be able to put forth the perspective of the "Kosovars" - Albania? Now that will help clarify matters even more!

Early 2007 has been and gone and still no reason for that cake. With regards the train of Independence I think I once said it was put into the sidings - no conductor to guarantee safety - well looks like that train has been well and truly stopped. Better learn to start "conforming to it" as Blair recently said of immigrants to the UK!!!

this is the first time i put my comment in this blog. i just settled in belgrade and met some friends. i am from hongkong. china has been silent as you noticed. but in the end it might onject due to taiwan. it will then propose a 1 country 2 systems same as china and hong kong. we have different flag, symbols, member of intl organizations but we are one country.

Someone asked if we albanians support RS to get independence? I am not informed very well about the situation in Bosnia and I don't want to speculate about that, but i just want to make a difference between Kosova and RS because we kosovars never killed 8000 innocent people like they did in Srebrenica, and we tried for ten years together with our great president Ibrahim Rugova to use peaceful methods to displace the terrorist regime of Miloshevic from Kosova. There is a difference between killing and using peaceful methods. This is why all international community was in our side in 1999 and is still supporting us in our way to attend other free nations in their way of prosperity. I will suggest you to try to change your perceptibility about your south neighbor Kosova.

Congratulation Kosovars for the freedom which is coming soon.

What Serb is safe leaving their house to get cake from an Albanian neighbor? That makes me laugh. I would say they eat after the Albanian just to make sure the cake is not poisoned. Or maybe the Serbs should forget about Albanian cake and get some cake from Belgrade.

Every day it becomes CLEARER AND CLEARER that KOSOVA will become INDEPENDENT, and dreamers like PRINCIP still think that this is not true.
GOOD job in dreaming Princip and your alikes.

danny,

i’ve seen your movie.
boy, we all have seen worse movies. The one that shows the paramilitary forces killing innocent civilians, young people like you and me, in bosnia. am sure you have seen it as well. personally i condemn all sorts of violations. however, there is a big difference between the violations committed by system (this is why state personalities are being accused by hague tribunal) , as it happened with serbian military and paramilitary forces in croatia, bosnia and kosova, and violations caused by uncontrolled riots, as it happened in kosova in 2004.

i live in kosova and i can assure you that the majority of albanian nation condemned what happened in 2004. it was a group of around 1000 frustrated young peole. let me reemphasize, i condemn the 2004 riots. those do not represent our national cause.

to atm,

it seems to me that you are exaggerating a bit with the number of refugees. however, i agree, kosova’s state must be the state where everyone will feel free and a state of prosperity for each individual human being, regardless nationality. otherwise, there is no point living in such states. princip for example does not live in Serbia just because the serbian state does not offer to him what UK is offering. quite normal.

Have a nice weekend,

In 1999, Tony Blair said that he was making the war so that NATO could go in and provide protection for everybody, including the Serbs. Now 8 years and 150 burned Orthodox churches later we read of more "international supervision"! What a sick joke! I remember in summer of 2000 when a senior Norwegian army office said, of a particular church building, that it should be dismantled brick-by-brick, presumably never to be re-assembled, to prevent it from being burned down! That is NATO: playing at being soldiers, using the opportunity to make a feeble-minded occupation to keep their soldiers occupied doing very little to protect, not giving a damn about protecting people, and not arresting Bin Laden's recipient of 'aid' and money, Ceku. "International supervision" means nothing more than NATO soldiers wringing their hands as yet another house or church burns or another drive-by shooting goes unresolved. Mafia out! Ineffectual and unwilling NATO out! Law and order in!

Why are so afraid by Greater Albania? It does not exist, but if all albaninas will live in one state, where is the bed thing? Like every other nation in europe. All the time albanians mustn't have the same rights? this is a creasy reaction for a basik rights ela

I think the Kosova's chapter is closed now. Serbs haveto undestand this andcome to terms with the new reality.
I hope all Albanians and Serbs to have a great party in Pristina. Will be good for everyone. PEACE AND INDEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVA

To Danny

Do you have by chance pictures of burning the mosques during 90... Just to remind you, that it done on systematic way from Serbian police and army /VJ...

Adi,
"princip for example does not live in Serbia just because the serbian state does not offer to him what UK is offering"

FYI, I live in the UK and was born here just as my Father before but that does not give me the right to declare Independence from my nation because I have different ethnic background! Oh before you say but they did kill your people - well actually they did - 1999 remember - Blair was very up for it! That said it does not give me a the right to strap dombs to my waist and enter a London tube train to kill innocent civillians or attack the police and solider barracks around the country!

Funny how you rebuff ethnic-Albanians burning and destroying a church by mentioning Bosnia (a seperate state to Serbia & its province of Kosovo & Metohija) and trying to suggest that this was done by a small group - 1,000. But where were the police and emergency services to stop this barbarism? If they were not complicit in the act they were complicit in not intervening! Clearly there were news reporters on the scene but no fire service to put out the flames, no police to control the rioters.

Yes, you might now realise that such acts are not in your interest but what has happened since 2004 to support the most basic of freedoms to non-Albanins? All the actions thus far suggest no one in the ethnic-Albanian leadership gives a hoot and would prefer the few in their pogroms left and certainly have done nothing to entice the 240,000 internally displaced (20,000 in Kosovo & Metohija & a further 220,000 across the rest of Serbia as a whole - UNHCR figures) back to their homes!

I see many points and perceptions. For the most part I understand the arguments but if what Kosovo wants is piece and equality. The real question is why does Independence "HAVE" to be the solution. Why can't equallity be the answer. If this is achieved then would there really be a need for Independence? If not than would your only argument then be nothing more than you want a part of one Country to donate it's land to you to form your own? I truly am curious, I'm not just saying that to cause a stir. Thank you

I can certainly see where the principle that Kosovo should remain a part of Serbia is coming from. And I agree with it. However, I am also at the point where when I look to the future I see that, unfortunately, Serbia as a nation must let this go for its own benefit of further European integration. For as wrong, corrupt, and imbalanced a procedure as Martti Ahtisaari has repeatedly proposed, I still think that it would be in the best interest of Serbia to not antagonize the UN any further.

Fundamentally, then, I also agree with Mike’s assessment. Nonetheless, the things that have gone on in Kosovo have almost irreparably damaged any hope for trust between the Serbian people and the Albanian people. To be sure, that is a cynical view but it is, nonetheless, one that I think accurate. My response is, then, let us forget about any possibility for friendship between these two groups. Instead, I would say that it would be better if something else, other than ethnicity, was focused upon to help calm tensions: materialism. For I think that if you focus on something like earning money for yourself, buying yourself a future house, or having the ability to save money to one day purchase a Volvo will lead to a less likelihood of focusing upon if your neighbor is Serbian or Albanian or if you would like to lead your territory to independence.

Thus, since we cannot do anything about it in my view, except respect one another for our own very real benefit, we must then try to learn about one another with the intention to stop the enormous level of mistrust that exists between the Serbian people and the Albanian people. For instance, to the Serbian people: I for one did not realize until recently that Jim Belushi (the great American actor) is of Albanian ancestry. And so is Regis Philbin (from his mother’s side). And so, if we can put a friendly, recognizable, face on the group we are in confrontation with, maybe one day very far from today we will no more fear one another and will, instead, respect one another. So let’s fix the beautiful countryside. Let’s preserve all of the rich cultures that have inhabited Kosovo. And let’s trade and build a strong economic infrastructure in order for the UN, and Martti Ahtisaari, to not treat us like children again. And, finally, Serbia and Kosovo are on European soil. Thus, both need to be civil with one another as both belong to the civilized European family.

All of this thinking exists because, at the end of the day, I continuously ask myself if ever the average foreigner will know just how much human capital, history, culture, friendliness, ingenuity, beauty exists within Serbia. It is my belief that it is one of the great travesties that Serbia as a nation is not 1. Very rich 2. Hailed as a prime visitor area for international tourists and 3. Not a part of leading international organizations. But, again, and I think I’ve alluded to something like this before. That I think Serbia is on its way to achieving all three of the latter things and more, as naïve and utterly stupid as some may think that sounds. But I see an unbreakable friendship with Serbia’s immediate neighbors, including Croatia, Greece, and Albania as the necessary prerequisite for anything materialistically constructive to occur. The Balkans is a beautiful and historically vital area. “If you build it [peace and friendliness], they will come [good fortune]” is the motto I choose to follow for Serbia and the Balkans. And, as a measuring stick, when I start to see foreigners wearing “Srbija” instead of “Italia” and “Belgie” shirts, that’s when I’ll know that Serbia has made it.

I am proud to be of Serbian heritage. We Serbs have a strong, hardworking, spirit that never let’s us give up. We have a rich history. We have a genuine friendliness about us and nothing that anyone says could convince me otherwise. And, in my humble opinion, for such a small nation Serbia is the host to an exceptionally large number of beautiful, and style-conscious, females, respectively. So I love Serbia, my friends who have a heritage from other European nations admire and respect Serbia, and Serbian food. Thus, I think that, at this point, it is only a matter of time before international politicians start to argue issues on behalf of Western-leaning Serbia as well.

Adi

Wow, how can anyone comment after seeing that perverse act of complete ignorance is beyond my comprehension. To talk of atrocities and to then imply that this was justified because of "what the Serbs did in BiH & Croatia".....and in the same sentance talk of living in unity in one country is just doumbfounding. Was this act performed on all of the some 150 churches & monasteries by the same 1000 angery mob, or...?

I'll pray for your well being and health & I hope that you and your people never expierance such beastiality. God forbid that any nation should be branded with such acts of inhumanity.

To Dane

Yes I have. Unfortunate that these things happen in time of war. But I've also seen how a wedding in Sarajevo was shot at by Muslim civilians because of a Serbian flag in the 90's, before the war. I've seen how Croatian police planned executions of Serb civilians just because they were Serbs back in the 90's before the war. I've seen Croatian civilians wearing ustasha pins, saluting "heil Hitler" and chanting "Srbe na vrbe" back in the 90's before the war. I've seen Serb churches and graveyards destroyed in both BiH & Croatia just because they were Serbian objects, back in the 90's, before and during the war. Let's talk about the action that led to the reactions first. I've also seen how Croatian civilians & Croatian armed forces escorted the 200 kilometer long exodus of Serbs from Croatia in 95. I've yet to see anything like that from the Serb side. If you want to talk atrocities, lets not keep the marker in the 90's. Let's go a little further back in history.

It is one thing when a paramilitary unit committs a crime (and those responsible should be punished) It is a completely different thing when a civilian population committs these types of gruesome crimes during time of "peace". This is a clear indication that that group of people need supervision and are not mature enough to govern themselves or any one else for that matter. Let me ask you; out of the some 500,000 Serbs that fled Croatia during the 90's, how many have returned? It would seem to me that Croatia is not mature enough either and needs to be placed under an international protectorate. I believe President Roosevelt suggested this for Croatia back in the 40's.

i know, it is quite idealistic, but, it would be great if serb politicians would accept the plan by indicating that, from now on has begun the new relationship era for two nations (albanians and serbs). we are determined to live as neighbors. i must reemphasize this. it is far much better to live in peace and prosperity. other alternatives takes us nowhere.

cheers,

Adi,

thanks for being so forthright and clear about your intentions,

" two nations (albanians and serbs)."

- in this plan you clearly see a Greater Albanian - no mention of a "Kosovar or Dardania".

Thankfully Ahtisaari is being just as explicit and this will make the choice all the more easier to condenm this plan to the mothballed unaffirmed archives dept. - i.e. the waste bin!

princip, thanks 4 ur reply,

we are destined to be neighbors for ever, wanted or not. the nature has awarded this, not u and me, isn't this so?

when i say albanians and srbs, im not alluding in greater or smaller albania, as u try to interpret. even if we would like to create it, europe will not allow. (by the way, i am not fan of this idea – greater albania., there is no sense in this concept, there are no borders, i can go whenever i like in tirana).

the fact is that kosova is made up of 90% albanians. despite your inclinations to dispute everything when it comes to albanians, i do not believe you can dispute this fact . I do not know exactly about serbia, but it must be about the same (around 90 % serbs). kosova as you see is becoming the newest state in europe. nothing less nor more than srbia. The latter one (kosova as independent country) you are rightly disputing, but only for two more months.

i do not see as a wise thing to ignore these facts. you can, as you do, but you have no facts.

i would urge u and ur patriots to think and take care about srbs living in kosova. they are the ones who will live here, not u and other patriots debating here.

i am albanian and i am proud of this. but, i try to make clear distinction between what are real interests (those pro-european oriented) of my nation, and those that go against the real interests (folkloristic political concepts made in 19th and 20th century).

cheers,

Princip,
Let me answer for Adi.
He is totally right when he says 2 nations. Albanians might live in 2 different countries (Kosova and Albania) but they still are one nation, the Albanian nation. This is valid for Serbs also. They will live in 2 countries (Kosova and Serbia), but they still will have the same nationality.
As you see the cake is not going bad. Have your passport ready and come and celebrate with us independence and peace.
We'll have some raki for you also.

Yeah let's see what gets trashed by the UN. It appears to me Serbia's nominal sovereignty over Kosovo is almost certainly going to the trash bin. And very soon, that is!

This is nothing less than the complete destruction of Serbia. I would say that Serbia as a country no longer exists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkgHkxIfgBc

"Live as neighbors", is this what you mean Adi?

Princip

You seem to think that Ahtisaari is this lone dimplomat who came up with this plan for independence by himself, and when other countries in Contact Group, SC, and UN see it, they will reject it.

You seem to forget that Ahtisaari is proposing what Contact group countries told him to propose. And if they told him to propose independence, thats what he is doing.

I guess if gentlemen from UN would have just said he was going to reccommend the status for Kosovo instead of just telling a Bald Faced Lie to everyone including Serbia. It would be better to tell the truth catch rocks and stones and be done with it instead of misleading people that way Mr Ahtisaari.

Looks like Serbia's status as a nation and UN member is going in the trash bin.

Hermon wrote:
"This is valid for Serbs also. They will live in 2 countries (Kosova and Serbia), but they still will have the same nationality."

Might i add, Republika Srpska (WHICH IS NOT INDEPENDENT) (2,000,000), FYROM (300,000),
Bulgaria (20,000), Sweden, Australia, etc..... and the list goes on and on....

I would like to ask all albanians in here, WOULD YOU SUPPORT AS RIGHT AN
INDEPENDENT RS???????

Please i'd like to hear...

Adi,

That's wonderful! I look forward to the Albanian passionate protection of Serbian churches and the return with open arms of the 200,000 Serbian refugees forced from their homes.

Talk is cheap. Actions are what counts. I've seen nothing in hard action that makes me believe that anything good will come from our interference in the Balkans in the 1990s.

Don't get your hopes up just yet. The showdown is yet to come. You will have to hold back on your pre-planned celebrations.
I can't believe the imagination of albanians...if KiM is 90% albanian what right do you have to steal it from Serbia?
This is ubelievable, and thus the reason why it is impossible to negotiate with albanians.

Thanks Adi for starting the comments on the right foot. I certainly hope that K-Albanians will look at Kosovo as a country that is rich in the history and culture of both Albanians and Serbs. I join you in your hope that both sides can live together as peaceful and cooperative neighbors.

But there's much to be done, and the hard part is now only beginning for Pristina. Trust - and I mean honest and forthright trust, must be made between the Albanian and Serb communities. If passed as is, the Ahtisaari Plan could easily facilitate the Serb muncipalities to look more towards Belgrade than Pristina, essentially creating two states in Kosovo. The EU must also firmly enforce these principles in the Ahtisaari Plan. Atm is exactly right: talk is cheap and actions are what counts. What will happen in the next 6 months to a year will determine the fate of Kosovo. I'd even suggest the Pristina government make a symbolic move of reconciliation with the K-Serbs at the Decani monastery, whose monks, especially Father Sava, are one of the most progressive-minded in the region.

So how about this - order that cake, but share with with your Serb neighbors. Invite them to the party and treat them as co-citizens. In fact, you guys bring the cake, and let them bring the shljivovitsa. The more Kosovo is shared, and the less Kosovo is "mine, not yours" the better.

Here's to the hope of a multienthnic Kosovo. Here's to a Kosovo rich in Serb culture as well as Albanian culture. Here's to hopefully a new beginning between Serbs and Albanians and a new future for Serbia.

Well looks like Serbia will be ensuring that it continues to utilise its negotiation skills at the UN - Serbia after all has a UN seat!

Who will be able to put forth the perspective of the "Kosovars" - Albania? Now that will help clarify matters even more!

Early 2007 has been and gone and still no reason for that cake. With regards the train of Independence I think I once said it was put into the sidings - no conductor to guarantee safety - well looks like that train has been well and truly stopped. Better learn to start "conforming to it" as Blair recently said of immigrants to the UK!!!

this is the first time i put my comment in this blog. i just settled in belgrade and met some friends. i am from hongkong. china has been silent as you noticed. but in the end it might onject due to taiwan. it will then propose a 1 country 2 systems same as china and hong kong. we have different flag, symbols, member of intl organizations but we are one country.

Someone asked if we albanians support RS to get independence? I am not informed very well about the situation in Bosnia and I don't want to speculate about that, but i just want to make a difference between Kosova and RS because we kosovars never killed 8000 innocent people like they did in Srebrenica, and we tried for ten years together with our great president Ibrahim Rugova to use peaceful methods to displace the terrorist regime of Miloshevic from Kosova. There is a difference between killing and using peaceful methods. This is why all international community was in our side in 1999 and is still supporting us in our way to attend other free nations in their way of prosperity. I will suggest you to try to change your perceptibility about your south neighbor Kosova.

Congratulation Kosovars for the freedom which is coming soon.

What Serb is safe leaving their house to get cake from an Albanian neighbor? That makes me laugh. I would say they eat after the Albanian just to make sure the cake is not poisoned. Or maybe the Serbs should forget about Albanian cake and get some cake from Belgrade.

Every day it becomes CLEARER AND CLEARER that KOSOVA will become INDEPENDENT, and dreamers like PRINCIP still think that this is not true.
GOOD job in dreaming Princip and your alikes.

danny,

i’ve seen your movie.
boy, we all have seen worse movies. The one that shows the paramilitary forces killing innocent civilians, young people like you and me, in bosnia. am sure you have seen it as well. personally i condemn all sorts of violations. however, there is a big difference between the violations committed by system (this is why state personalities are being accused by hague tribunal) , as it happened with serbian military and paramilitary forces in croatia, bosnia and kosova, and violations caused by uncontrolled riots, as it happened in kosova in 2004.

i live in kosova and i can assure you that the majority of albanian nation condemned what happened in 2004. it was a group of around 1000 frustrated young peole. let me reemphasize, i condemn the 2004 riots. those do not represent our national cause.

to atm,

it seems to me that you are exaggerating a bit with the number of refugees. however, i agree, kosova’s state must be the state where everyone will feel free and a state of prosperity for each individual human being, regardless nationality. otherwise, there is no point living in such states. princip for example does not live in Serbia just because the serbian state does not offer to him what UK is offering. quite normal.

Have a nice weekend,

In 1999, Tony Blair said that he was making the war so that NATO could go in and provide protection for everybody, including the Serbs. Now 8 years and 150 burned Orthodox churches later we read of more "international supervision"! What a sick joke! I remember in summer of 2000 when a senior Norwegian army office said, of a particular church building, that it should be dismantled brick-by-brick, presumably never to be re-assembled, to prevent it from being burned down! That is NATO: playing at being soldiers, using the opportunity to make a feeble-minded occupation to keep their soldiers occupied doing very little to protect, not giving a damn about protecting people, and not arresting Bin Laden's recipient of 'aid' and money, Ceku. "International supervision" means nothing more than NATO soldiers wringing their hands as yet another house or church burns or another drive-by shooting goes unresolved. Mafia out! Ineffectual and unwilling NATO out! Law and order in!

Why are so afraid by Greater Albania? It does not exist, but if all albaninas will live in one state, where is the bed thing? Like every other nation in europe. All the time albanians mustn't have the same rights? this is a creasy reaction for a basik rights ela

I think the Kosova's chapter is closed now. Serbs haveto undestand this andcome to terms with the new reality.
I hope all Albanians and Serbs to have a great party in Pristina. Will be good for everyone. PEACE AND INDEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVA

To Danny

Do you have by chance pictures of burning the mosques during 90... Just to remind you, that it done on systematic way from Serbian police and army /VJ...

Adi,
"princip for example does not live in Serbia just because the serbian state does not offer to him what UK is offering"

FYI, I live in the UK and was born here just as my Father before but that does not give me the right to declare Independence from my nation because I have different ethnic background! Oh before you say but they did kill your people - well actually they did - 1999 remember - Blair was very up for it! That said it does not give me a the right to strap dombs to my waist and enter a London tube train to kill innocent civillians or attack the police and solider barracks around the country!

Funny how you rebuff ethnic-Albanians burning and destroying a church by mentioning Bosnia (a seperate state to Serbia & its province of Kosovo & Metohija) and trying to suggest that this was done by a small group - 1,000. But where were the police and emergency services to stop this barbarism? If they were not complicit in the act they were complicit in not intervening! Clearly there were news reporters on the scene but no fire service to put out the flames, no police to control the rioters.

Yes, you might now realise that such acts are not in your interest but what has happened since 2004 to support the most basic of freedoms to non-Albanins? All the actions thus far suggest no one in the ethnic-Albanian leadership gives a hoot and would prefer the few in their pogroms left and certainly have done nothing to entice the 240,000 internally displaced (20,000 in Kosovo & Metohija & a further 220,000 across the rest of Serbia as a whole - UNHCR figures) back to their homes!

I see many points and perceptions. For the most part I understand the arguments but if what Kosovo wants is piece and equality. The real question is why does Independence "HAVE" to be the solution. Why can't equallity be the answer. If this is achieved then would there really be a need for Independence? If not than would your only argument then be nothing more than you want a part of one Country to donate it's land to you to form your own? I truly am curious, I'm not just saying that to cause a stir. Thank you

I can certainly see where the principle that Kosovo should remain a part of Serbia is coming from. And I agree with it. However, I am also at the point where when I look to the future I see that, unfortunately, Serbia as a nation must let this go for its own benefit of further European integration. For as wrong, corrupt, and imbalanced a procedure as Martti Ahtisaari has repeatedly proposed, I still think that it would be in the best interest of Serbia to not antagonize the UN any further.

Fundamentally, then, I also agree with Mike’s assessment. Nonetheless, the things that have gone on in Kosovo have almost irreparably damaged any hope for trust between the Serbian people and the Albanian people. To be sure, that is a cynical view but it is, nonetheless, one that I think accurate. My response is, then, let us forget about any possibility for friendship between these two groups. Instead, I would say that it would be better if something else, other than ethnicity, was focused upon to help calm tensions: materialism. For I think that if you focus on something like earning money for yourself, buying yourself a future house, or having the ability to save money to one day purchase a Volvo will lead to a less likelihood of focusing upon if your neighbor is Serbian or Albanian or if you would like to lead your territory to independence.

Thus, since we cannot do anything about it in my view, except respect one another for our own very real benefit, we must then try to learn about one another with the intention to stop the enormous level of mistrust that exists between the Serbian people and the Albanian people. For instance, to the Serbian people: I for one did not realize until recently that Jim Belushi (the great American actor) is of Albanian ancestry. And so is Regis Philbin (from his mother’s side). And so, if we can put a friendly, recognizable, face on the group we are in confrontation with, maybe one day very far from today we will no more fear one another and will, instead, respect one another. So let’s fix the beautiful countryside. Let’s preserve all of the rich cultures that have inhabited Kosovo. And let’s trade and build a strong economic infrastructure in order for the UN, and Martti Ahtisaari, to not treat us like children again. And, finally, Serbia and Kosovo are on European soil. Thus, both need to be civil with one another as both belong to the civilized European family.

All of this thinking exists because, at the end of the day, I continuously ask myself if ever the average foreigner will know just how much human capital, history, culture, friendliness, ingenuity, beauty exists within Serbia. It is my belief that it is one of the great travesties that Serbia as a nation is not 1. Very rich 2. Hailed as a prime visitor area for international tourists and 3. Not a part of leading international organizations. But, again, and I think I’ve alluded to something like this before. That I think Serbia is on its way to achieving all three of the latter things and more, as naïve and utterly stupid as some may think that sounds. But I see an unbreakable friendship with Serbia’s immediate neighbors, including Croatia, Greece, and Albania as the necessary prerequisite for anything materialistically constructive to occur. The Balkans is a beautiful and historically vital area. “If you build it [peace and friendliness], they will come [good fortune]” is the motto I choose to follow for Serbia and the Balkans. And, as a measuring stick, when I start to see foreigners wearing “Srbija” instead of “Italia” and “Belgie” shirts, that’s when I’ll know that Serbia has made it.

I am proud to be of Serbian heritage. We Serbs have a strong, hardworking, spirit that never let’s us give up. We have a rich history. We have a genuine friendliness about us and nothing that anyone says could convince me otherwise. And, in my humble opinion, for such a small nation Serbia is the host to an exceptionally large number of beautiful, and style-conscious, females, respectively. So I love Serbia, my friends who have a heritage from other European nations admire and respect Serbia, and Serbian food. Thus, I think that, at this point, it is only a matter of time before international politicians start to argue issues on behalf of Western-leaning Serbia as well.

Adi

Wow, how can anyone comment after seeing that perverse act of complete ignorance is beyond my comprehension. To talk of atrocities and to then imply that this was justified because of "what the Serbs did in BiH & Croatia".....and in the same sentance talk of living in unity in one country is just doumbfounding. Was this act performed on all of the some 150 churches & monasteries by the same 1000 angery mob, or...?

I'll pray for your well being and health & I hope that you and your people never expierance such beastiality. God forbid that any nation should be branded with such acts of inhumanity.

To Dane

Yes I have. Unfortunate that these things happen in time of war. But I've also seen how a wedding in Sarajevo was shot at by Muslim civilians because of a Serbian flag in the 90's, before the war. I've seen how Croatian police planned executions of Serb civilians just because they were Serbs back in the 90's before the war. I've seen Croatian civilians wearing ustasha pins, saluting "heil Hitler" and chanting "Srbe na vrbe" back in the 90's before the war. I've seen Serb churches and graveyards destroyed in both BiH & Croatia just because they were Serbian objects, back in the 90's, before and during the war. Let's talk about the action that led to the reactions first. I've also seen how Croatian civilians & Croatian armed forces escorted the 200 kilometer long exodus of Serbs from Croatia in 95. I've yet to see anything like that from the Serb side. If you want to talk atrocities, lets not keep the marker in the 90's. Let's go a little further back in history.

It is one thing when a paramilitary unit committs a crime (and those responsible should be punished) It is a completely different thing when a civilian population committs these types of gruesome crimes during time of "peace". This is a clear indication that that group of people need supervision and are not mature enough to govern themselves or any one else for that matter. Let me ask you; out of the some 500,000 Serbs that fled Croatia during the 90's, how many have returned? It would seem to me that Croatia is not mature enough either and needs to be placed under an international protectorate. I believe President Roosevelt suggested this for Croatia back in the 40's.