Koštunica: Unilateral independence – political crime

“All the member states of the UN, and therefore the United States as well, have an explicit international obligation to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia, which is guaranteed by the UN Charter and which is explicitly confirmed by Resolution 1244."

"The respect of international law represents the only path that can bring us to a compromise and lasting solution,” Koštunica told the agency.

He is absolutely right on both counts and has law on his side. The US must recognise that it cannot try and chop up Europe where it chooses to meet its own political gains.

Time for a reality check at the UN (and the EU)!

Mr. Koshtunica , I can live with political crime in my concious, but I cannot live being oppresed at all times.

Jeo
And because of the mass expulsion of Serbs by albanian mobs in 2004 as well as terrorist attacks from the 90's albans have lost right to Kosovo. So its Serbian still. Thats according to your logic.

It seems Mr Kostunica has short memory since he can not clarify the law he talks about.With his comments he is giving the sign to the world that nothing happened in the last 26 years and you come under BG and you have 95% freedom but the 5% which in this falls your life,very scary.
Mr Kostunica might change his mind when he comes back from NY singing the song ,,I AM FROM NEW YORK''

Serbia - through her criminal horrible actions in 1999 against 2 millions of its own citizens - forfeited all rights on Kosovo for ever. As a result the free will of Kosovo's inhabitants to determine their own future and independence is the only thing what counts. What Serbia and her nationalist PM thinks became completely irrelevant. Besides Russia, Greece and a handful of countries nobody cares anymore what Serbia considers as illegal or invalid.

Oh Agim, really.....
Get a grip...

Let's face it..
Whatever is happening now, is far better than the old style of negotiations..

Don't you think??

Is it not better to talk at tables then at the end of a gun?

To all the people that cry repression, crime, and brutality..Your voices are being silenced by political processes now..Your insults are getting old.

So let's stop insulting each other, step back, and realize, that BOTH peoples have come a long way...

Regardless of outcome.
Any Serbian politician has the duty and right to save it's territory..
Get over it. They're not nationalists, or evil doers.
Just politicians doing their jobs..

To Kate: "The US must recognise that it cannot try and chop up Europe"

If anyone is responsible for "chopping up" Serbia is the consecutive Serbian governments and their consistent anti-albanian attitude throughout last 3 decades. Serbia brought it on itself, so stop complaining ans whining about some obscure conspiracy that US, NATO or EU have prepare towards Serbia.
But i guess you will understand this only when Kosovo/a is officially gone.

Olf
You made spot on comments I apsolutelly agree with you.

Independence of Kosovo would be the most progresive step for democracy in Serbia becouse it would force Kostunica and other politicians to turn their attention away from nationalist rhetoric and towards Serbia's real problems, poverty, crime, unemployment, corruption, a democracy deficit and a lack of transparency in public life.
Go Kosovo people declare your independence just like the rest of ex Yugoslavia's republiks,as Olf stated they all commited political crime.

Joe,
What 'criminal and horrible' actions are you referring to? The 2004 pogrom of Serbs and destruction of ancient holy sites by albanians? If you are referring to the Racak Massacre, that was a hoax.
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3ac79e0d3a10.htm
About 2,000 people died on all sides in the Kosovo war. The '100,000 massacred' that Jamie Shea, William Cohen, and the rest of Clinton's gangreferred to was proven to be a shameless lie. The bodies being burned in the Trepca complex was proven to be a complete lie with forensics. So, you see Joe, gullible people like you just eat up everything CNN spews out to them, but to the intelligent observer, they all know that these were lies and the world is waking up to them finally. The US/UK are more and more isolated in their quest for a greater albania. Most of the world is with the Serbs on this issue, and they know it. Just like General Lewis Mackenzie has said, the wrong side was bombed.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1112681/posts

Kostunica will have to learn same as the previous politicians that learned to live with the political crime of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. If there is no Independence through UN channel that there is another way. Nobody will have to be waiting for Serbia’s consent on this issue.
International law suited Serbs 200 years ago but this time is not going to suite. What can we do, life is such. Some you win some you loose. International law is about to change same as every law that changes to suit the situation.

Kate I know that you will never agree to freedom of K-Albanians but don’t worry, it is far from you and it will not effect you.
Thank god for US and UK that fight terror and their supporters away form EU and US.

Independence of KiM is political cannibalism.

Joe,

"nobody cares anymore what Serbia considers as illegal or invalid."

- but the EU does care very much about legalities. Moreover, on this point there is no European state within the EU who has stated they would Illegally recognise any illegal unilateral declaration. Only the US (in it's absurd self interest) has stated it "might" if the EU backed them up.

10th December will come and go and unless there is a compromise that can be passed in the UN the talks will continue because the EU has no way in which it can take on the UNMIK role without a new UN resolution. Reality is the UN have run out of money for this US "shoot first ask questions later" mission and the EU are very reluctant in picking it up.

Sorry Joe, you're mistaken. Serbia hasn't forfeited anything.

Get over it.

Albanians have been oppressing themselves for years. Just look at the state your lives are in? POVERTY, unless you are mafia!! The only way to have a future is within Srbija and the EU. Lets stop and actually use our brains before jumping the gun. Kosovo cannot survive in the 21st century and beyond without Srbija.

Cvele , according to you who you are talking about when you say' ALBANS" ?
I never use any other term except I say" serbs, and/or Serbia" what is wrong with you?

NATO, through its unholy bombings, negated any real solution to the problem of reconciliation. That is why NATO is under jurisdiction of UNMIK and 1244 in KiM.

Cannibalization of Serbia and KiM is an immoral proposal.

like Veton Surroi said, independence is not given, it is claimed.

«We will make it clear at the negotiations in New York that Kosovo will not be independent,” Koštunica underlined in an interview ...»

And the United States will make it very clear to Mr Kostunica that they don't want the KAlbanians to pass through what they have passed through during Milosevic's era. They will also make clear that the K Albanians are a majority, they want to govern themselves, and they have no confidence in Serbian rules and governments.

I hope the Serbs understand that they cannot stop a people to become independent!

ok Victor....and then The Russians will say " no chance "...and so will the EU...also, lets have ALL of Serbia vote on Kosovo independence ( including Kosovo since it is a part of Serbian territory ) and if the majority vote in favor of Kosovo independence, you can have it. America's foreign policy is too weak to be handing out independence to whomever they wany. They have made a mess out of Iraq and Afghanastan and have ZERO CREDIBILITY throughout the world.

Joe is just a severely disgruntled nationalist ethnic Hungarian using any platform to attack Serbia as a punishment for destroying the Austro-Hungarian empire.

How many times do we have to spell it out Joe. That empire is dead and buried.

Quoting Victor from a recent post..."I completely agree with Kostunica on this conclusion that Kosovo is part of Serbia. The USA should not intervene and mind its own business. They act as if they were the 'Gendarme de la planète'."
(Victor, 9. September 2007 15:31)

"Serbia - through her criminal horrible actions in 1999 against 2 millions of its own citizens - forfeited all rights on Kosovo for ever. As a result the free will of Kosovo's inhabitants to determine their own future and independence is the only thing what counts. What Serbia and her nationalist PM thinks became completely irrelevant. Besides Russia, Greece and a handful of countries nobody cares anymore what Serbia considers as illegal or invalid.
(Joe, 26. September 2007 16:26)"

"# Jeo
And because of the mass expulsion of Serbs by albanian mobs in 2004 as well as terrorist attacks from the 90's albans have lost right to Kosovo. So its Serbian still. Thats according to your logic.
(Cvele, 26. September 2007 17:44)"

It is precisely this sort of biased, nationalist rhetoric that breeds further hatred and achieves absolutely nothing.

Reminds me of the kind of arguments nationalist Poles and nationalist Germans have, even today, pointing fingers at each other and not taking any blame for their own actions over a period of a thousand years! It is so stupid today!

Both sides have wronged each other in the past, and have been doing so for hundreds of years. The only way for development is a compromize between the two sides. Favoring one side instead of the other will not solve anything!

Isn't this politition becoming more boring all the time. I can immagine that when the Serbs themselves are fed up with him what do you think how Kosovar Albanians feel about this politition. Anyway the Kosovar Albanians are not asking from Serbia permission to be independents especially asking Koshtunica. They already are independent from Serbia just a lit bit more work to finalise their aspirations with the USA and Europe.

There is so much talk of this 1244 resolution that I doubt if people realize what they are talking about. Anyway, here is a link for its text (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/371562.stm) and here is a small part of it under 11(e) after authorizing Secretary-General to establish the interim administration for Kosovo we have the following:

e) Facilitating a political process designed to determine Kosovo's future status, taking into account the Rambouillet accords (S/1999/648);

Which I think is what is going on right now. Hence, having in mind this, under Chapter 8, part 3 of Article I of the Rambouillet accord (see http://www.commondreams.org/kosovo/rambouillet.htm#Article%20I:%20Principles) we have the following:

Three years after the entry into force of this Agreement, an international meeting shall be convened to determine a mechanism for a final settlement for Kosovo, on the basis of the will of the people, opinions of relevant authorities, each Party's efforts regarding the implementation of this Agreement, and the Helsinki Final Act, and to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of this Agreement and to consider proposals by any Party for additional measures.


Therefore, consider this scenario:

Assembly in Kosovo declares independence.
Joachim Ruecker is instructed by Secretary-General not to annul this declaration since it falls within the rules stipulated by UN resolution 1244, the one's put above since they are the only ones that speak of a future settlement of the status of Kosovo, and countries around the world are left on their own to decide on how they want to proceed from there (we already have an idea how each country is going to proceed). Kosovo Assembly invites NATO to remain in Kosovo, which NATO will accept, and invites EU to establish a mission in assisting Kosovo towards its EU integration (implement Ahtisaari plan).

I don't know what Mr. Kostunica is talking about but I don't see anything illegal in this! ...

I guess Mr Kostunica lacked his Kalashnikow during his intewiew to underscore his statement that Kosova will never be independent! I' in favour of negotiations but nut about something that belongs only to Kosovars, namely their land Kosova.

James,

"taking into account the Rambouillet accords" does not imply implementing word for word - it just means considering it! Nice try but tough luck and realise that if it was that simple the US would have done it in the 3 year time frame - which we all know never did happen. If you hadn't noticed it's been 8 years and for Rambouillet to have any legal basis it would need to have been signed and agreed by all which you know full well was not. What is clear and unambiguous in 1244 is

"Reaffirming the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia "
- Republic of Serbia being the legal and UN succesor state of FR Yugoslavia. Thus Ruecker will be very much obliged to annul the PISG and it's illegal unilateral declaration - if it actually tried it.

More importantly the EU legalists are only too aware of the illegal method that is beeing pushed by the US and I very much doubt any EU state will wish to cause such a split - especially given that the UK has it's doubts nder the new Premiership of Gordon Brown who does not want to be seen in the same vain as his Blair who would ask how high when the US said jump.

James, 11(e) only says that Ramouillet should be “taking into account” in any final decision. If you read the following from the main body of the text and the other statements in 1244 its pretty clear that Rambouillet is only one of many guiding principles and certainly not the only one or the most important one.

“Reaffirming the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the other States of the region, as set out in the Helsinki Final Act,”

“Reaffirming the call in previous resolutions for substantial autonomy and meaningful self-administration for Kosovo”

Even Rambouillet reaffirms Serbia’s integrity.

“final settlement for Kosovo, on the basis of the will of the people, opinions of relevant authorities, each Party's efforts regarding the implementation of this Agreement, AND THE HELSINKI FINAL ACT”

The “will of the people” is only one factor. The obvious intent is they must agree to it, which is exactly the position of Russia and Serbia. Both sides must agree, we must find a compromise. I see no mention of the Right to Self Determination, just a bunch of references in both Rambouillet and UNSC 1244 about the integrity and sovereignty of Serbia.

Kostunica said: "For Serbia, all the documents referring to unilateral independence are illegal and, therefore, invalid,”
___________________

... just like for Kosova, every reference to Serbian constitution where "Kosova is an inalienable part of Serbia" is bogus, illegal, null and void.

Not a single Kosovar Albanian voted for this “constitution”.


He also said: “All the member states of the UN, and therefore the United States as well, have an explicit international obligation to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia, which is guaranteed by the UN Charter and which is explicitly confirmed by Resolution 1244."
___________________

The same UN Charter that MR. Kostunica points to quite frequently has the principle of self-determination prominently embodied in the first Article.

Looks like hypocrisy to me.

James,

Congratulations, I was hundred times to explain the same to the people here, and I did, but in a different manner. However, point goes to you.

EA,

Kosovo is part of Serbia. You may not like that but you know it is the case!

"For Serbia, all the documents referring to unilateral independence are illegal and, therefore, invalid,” he said.



“All the member states of the UN, and therefore the United States as well, have an explicit international obligation to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia, which is guaranteed by the UN Charter and which is explicitly confirmed by Resolution 1244."

>

Matthew,

Indeed. Both sides must agree.
Both sides must give up something!

Just some questions for al of you.
Do you really think that albanians which make 95% of the population there will accept to live and ruled by serbs who the only bussiness they have to albanians is how to kill them?
Let's say the independence is out and Kosova gets "substantial autonomy", how Koshtunica thinks he will rule and keep(He only knows how to rule and never to govern)the country inside Serbia where 100% of serbs hate albanians and 100% of albanians hate serbs?
Which police or army officer will dare to come back to Kosova and perform having in mind that this police or army officer massacred hundreds of albanians in late 90's?
Do you think that albanians will forget what happened back since 20's from serbs?
do you think that albanians will forget that serbs deported millions of albanians to Turkey from east Kosova or as they call it Juzni Kosmet?
Do you know the number of the political prisoners (albanians) held in jails and tortured just because they were educated and graduated as albanians and cause they refused to get married with serb women;you think we forgot that?
Do you know how many women were raped by serbs during the war in 90's, We albanians do know and we're not even thinking of forgiving and forgeting it.

You think that this is gonna really happen- if you do then I think you go to doctor and do check up since you have serious problem with "common sense".
Why we don't be honest ad courteous and say.
The problems between albanians and serbs did not start in 90's or 70's, it started long time ago when serbs "launched from russian mountains" centuries ago, I'm sorry to say but this the truth, we like it or we don't, it's there.
This is ridiculous, I think Serbian nation is smart nation and still have those kinds of Koshtunica leaders to "rule" them, honestly as an albanian it is very sad for me to see nieghbors like this. I hope that not alla serbs think in Koshtunica's way, otherwise you serbs are in the middle if nowhere, that means you are lost and helpless.

It seems Mr Kostunica has short memory since he can not clarify the law he talks about.With his comments he is giving the sign to the world that nothing happened in the last 26 years and you come under BG and you have 95% freedom but the 5% which in this falls your life,very scary.
Mr Kostunica might change his mind when he comes back from NY singing the song ,,I AM FROM NEW YORK''

“All the member states of the UN, and therefore the United States as well, have an explicit international obligation to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia, which is guaranteed by the UN Charter and which is explicitly confirmed by Resolution 1244."

"The respect of international law represents the only path that can bring us to a compromise and lasting solution,” Koštunica told the agency.

He is absolutely right on both counts and has law on his side. The US must recognise that it cannot try and chop up Europe where it chooses to meet its own political gains.

Time for a reality check at the UN (and the EU)!

Mr. Koshtunica , I can live with political crime in my concious, but I cannot live being oppresed at all times.

Kostunica will have to learn same as the previous politicians that learned to live with the political crime of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. If there is no Independence through UN channel that there is another way. Nobody will have to be waiting for Serbia’s consent on this issue.
International law suited Serbs 200 years ago but this time is not going to suite. What can we do, life is such. Some you win some you loose. International law is about to change same as every law that changes to suit the situation.

Kate I know that you will never agree to freedom of K-Albanians but don’t worry, it is far from you and it will not effect you.
Thank god for US and UK that fight terror and their supporters away form EU and US.

To Kate: "The US must recognise that it cannot try and chop up Europe"

If anyone is responsible for "chopping up" Serbia is the consecutive Serbian governments and their consistent anti-albanian attitude throughout last 3 decades. Serbia brought it on itself, so stop complaining ans whining about some obscure conspiracy that US, NATO or EU have prepare towards Serbia.
But i guess you will understand this only when Kosovo/a is officially gone.

Serbia - through her criminal horrible actions in 1999 against 2 millions of its own citizens - forfeited all rights on Kosovo for ever. As a result the free will of Kosovo's inhabitants to determine their own future and independence is the only thing what counts. What Serbia and her nationalist PM thinks became completely irrelevant. Besides Russia, Greece and a handful of countries nobody cares anymore what Serbia considers as illegal or invalid.

«We will make it clear at the negotiations in New York that Kosovo will not be independent,” Koštunica underlined in an interview ...»

And the United States will make it very clear to Mr Kostunica that they don't want the KAlbanians to pass through what they have passed through during Milosevic's era. They will also make clear that the K Albanians are a majority, they want to govern themselves, and they have no confidence in Serbian rules and governments.

I hope the Serbs understand that they cannot stop a people to become independent!

Independence of KiM is political cannibalism.

Olf
You made spot on comments I apsolutelly agree with you.

Independence of Kosovo would be the most progresive step for democracy in Serbia becouse it would force Kostunica and other politicians to turn their attention away from nationalist rhetoric and towards Serbia's real problems, poverty, crime, unemployment, corruption, a democracy deficit and a lack of transparency in public life.
Go Kosovo people declare your independence just like the rest of ex Yugoslavia's republiks,as Olf stated they all commited political crime.

Jeo
And because of the mass expulsion of Serbs by albanian mobs in 2004 as well as terrorist attacks from the 90's albans have lost right to Kosovo. So its Serbian still. Thats according to your logic.

like Veton Surroi said, independence is not given, it is claimed.

Isn't this politition becoming more boring all the time. I can immagine that when the Serbs themselves are fed up with him what do you think how Kosovar Albanians feel about this politition. Anyway the Kosovar Albanians are not asking from Serbia permission to be independents especially asking Koshtunica. They already are independent from Serbia just a lit bit more work to finalise their aspirations with the USA and Europe.

Cvele , according to you who you are talking about when you say' ALBANS" ?
I never use any other term except I say" serbs, and/or Serbia" what is wrong with you?

Kostunica said: "For Serbia, all the documents referring to unilateral independence are illegal and, therefore, invalid,”
___________________

... just like for Kosova, every reference to Serbian constitution where "Kosova is an inalienable part of Serbia" is bogus, illegal, null and void.

Not a single Kosovar Albanian voted for this “constitution”.


He also said: “All the member states of the UN, and therefore the United States as well, have an explicit international obligation to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia, which is guaranteed by the UN Charter and which is explicitly confirmed by Resolution 1244."
___________________

The same UN Charter that MR. Kostunica points to quite frequently has the principle of self-determination prominently embodied in the first Article.

Looks like hypocrisy to me.

Joe,
What 'criminal and horrible' actions are you referring to? The 2004 pogrom of Serbs and destruction of ancient holy sites by albanians? If you are referring to the Racak Massacre, that was a hoax.
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3ac79e0d3a10.htm
About 2,000 people died on all sides in the Kosovo war. The '100,000 massacred' that Jamie Shea, William Cohen, and the rest of Clinton's gangreferred to was proven to be a shameless lie. The bodies being burned in the Trepca complex was proven to be a complete lie with forensics. So, you see Joe, gullible people like you just eat up everything CNN spews out to them, but to the intelligent observer, they all know that these were lies and the world is waking up to them finally. The US/UK are more and more isolated in their quest for a greater albania. Most of the world is with the Serbs on this issue, and they know it. Just like General Lewis Mackenzie has said, the wrong side was bombed.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1112681/posts

"For Serbia, all the documents referring to unilateral independence are illegal and, therefore, invalid,” he said.



“All the member states of the UN, and therefore the United States as well, have an explicit international obligation to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia, which is guaranteed by the UN Charter and which is explicitly confirmed by Resolution 1244."

>

There is so much talk of this 1244 resolution that I doubt if people realize what they are talking about. Anyway, here is a link for its text (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/371562.stm) and here is a small part of it under 11(e) after authorizing Secretary-General to establish the interim administration for Kosovo we have the following:

e) Facilitating a political process designed to determine Kosovo's future status, taking into account the Rambouillet accords (S/1999/648);

Which I think is what is going on right now. Hence, having in mind this, under Chapter 8, part 3 of Article I of the Rambouillet accord (see http://www.commondreams.org/kosovo/rambouillet.htm#Article%20I:%20Principles) we have the following:

Three years after the entry into force of this Agreement, an international meeting shall be convened to determine a mechanism for a final settlement for Kosovo, on the basis of the will of the people, opinions of relevant authorities, each Party's efforts regarding the implementation of this Agreement, and the Helsinki Final Act, and to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of this Agreement and to consider proposals by any Party for additional measures.


Therefore, consider this scenario:

Assembly in Kosovo declares independence.
Joachim Ruecker is instructed by Secretary-General not to annul this declaration since it falls within the rules stipulated by UN resolution 1244, the one's put above since they are the only ones that speak of a future settlement of the status of Kosovo, and countries around the world are left on their own to decide on how they want to proceed from there (we already have an idea how each country is going to proceed). Kosovo Assembly invites NATO to remain in Kosovo, which NATO will accept, and invites EU to establish a mission in assisting Kosovo towards its EU integration (implement Ahtisaari plan).

I don't know what Mr. Kostunica is talking about but I don't see anything illegal in this! ...

Oh Agim, really.....
Get a grip...

Let's face it..
Whatever is happening now, is far better than the old style of negotiations..

Don't you think??

Is it not better to talk at tables then at the end of a gun?

To all the people that cry repression, crime, and brutality..Your voices are being silenced by political processes now..Your insults are getting old.

So let's stop insulting each other, step back, and realize, that BOTH peoples have come a long way...

Regardless of outcome.
Any Serbian politician has the duty and right to save it's territory..
Get over it. They're not nationalists, or evil doers.
Just politicians doing their jobs..

NATO, through its unholy bombings, negated any real solution to the problem of reconciliation. That is why NATO is under jurisdiction of UNMIK and 1244 in KiM.

Cannibalization of Serbia and KiM is an immoral proposal.

Joe,

"nobody cares anymore what Serbia considers as illegal or invalid."

- but the EU does care very much about legalities. Moreover, on this point there is no European state within the EU who has stated they would Illegally recognise any illegal unilateral declaration. Only the US (in it's absurd self interest) has stated it "might" if the EU backed them up.

10th December will come and go and unless there is a compromise that can be passed in the UN the talks will continue because the EU has no way in which it can take on the UNMIK role without a new UN resolution. Reality is the UN have run out of money for this US "shoot first ask questions later" mission and the EU are very reluctant in picking it up.

Albanians have been oppressing themselves for years. Just look at the state your lives are in? POVERTY, unless you are mafia!! The only way to have a future is within Srbija and the EU. Lets stop and actually use our brains before jumping the gun. Kosovo cannot survive in the 21st century and beyond without Srbija.

Sorry Joe, you're mistaken. Serbia hasn't forfeited anything.

Get over it.

Quoting Victor from a recent post..."I completely agree with Kostunica on this conclusion that Kosovo is part of Serbia. The USA should not intervene and mind its own business. They act as if they were the 'Gendarme de la planète'."
(Victor, 9. September 2007 15:31)

"Serbia - through her criminal horrible actions in 1999 against 2 millions of its own citizens - forfeited all rights on Kosovo for ever. As a result the free will of Kosovo's inhabitants to determine their own future and independence is the only thing what counts. What Serbia and her nationalist PM thinks became completely irrelevant. Besides Russia, Greece and a handful of countries nobody cares anymore what Serbia considers as illegal or invalid.
(Joe, 26. September 2007 16:26)"

"# Jeo
And because of the mass expulsion of Serbs by albanian mobs in 2004 as well as terrorist attacks from the 90's albans have lost right to Kosovo. So its Serbian still. Thats according to your logic.
(Cvele, 26. September 2007 17:44)"

It is precisely this sort of biased, nationalist rhetoric that breeds further hatred and achieves absolutely nothing.

Reminds me of the kind of arguments nationalist Poles and nationalist Germans have, even today, pointing fingers at each other and not taking any blame for their own actions over a period of a thousand years! It is so stupid today!

Both sides have wronged each other in the past, and have been doing so for hundreds of years. The only way for development is a compromize between the two sides. Favoring one side instead of the other will not solve anything!

ok Victor....and then The Russians will say " no chance "...and so will the EU...also, lets have ALL of Serbia vote on Kosovo independence ( including Kosovo since it is a part of Serbian territory ) and if the majority vote in favor of Kosovo independence, you can have it. America's foreign policy is too weak to be handing out independence to whomever they wany. They have made a mess out of Iraq and Afghanastan and have ZERO CREDIBILITY throughout the world.

I guess Mr Kostunica lacked his Kalashnikow during his intewiew to underscore his statement that Kosova will never be independent! I' in favour of negotiations but nut about something that belongs only to Kosovars, namely their land Kosova.

James,

Congratulations, I was hundred times to explain the same to the people here, and I did, but in a different manner. However, point goes to you.

Joe is just a severely disgruntled nationalist ethnic Hungarian using any platform to attack Serbia as a punishment for destroying the Austro-Hungarian empire.

How many times do we have to spell it out Joe. That empire is dead and buried.

James,

"taking into account the Rambouillet accords" does not imply implementing word for word - it just means considering it! Nice try but tough luck and realise that if it was that simple the US would have done it in the 3 year time frame - which we all know never did happen. If you hadn't noticed it's been 8 years and for Rambouillet to have any legal basis it would need to have been signed and agreed by all which you know full well was not. What is clear and unambiguous in 1244 is

"Reaffirming the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia "
- Republic of Serbia being the legal and UN succesor state of FR Yugoslavia. Thus Ruecker will be very much obliged to annul the PISG and it's illegal unilateral declaration - if it actually tried it.

More importantly the EU legalists are only too aware of the illegal method that is beeing pushed by the US and I very much doubt any EU state will wish to cause such a split - especially given that the UK has it's doubts nder the new Premiership of Gordon Brown who does not want to be seen in the same vain as his Blair who would ask how high when the US said jump.

EA,

Kosovo is part of Serbia. You may not like that but you know it is the case!

James, 11(e) only says that Ramouillet should be “taking into account” in any final decision. If you read the following from the main body of the text and the other statements in 1244 its pretty clear that Rambouillet is only one of many guiding principles and certainly not the only one or the most important one.

“Reaffirming the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the other States of the region, as set out in the Helsinki Final Act,”

“Reaffirming the call in previous resolutions for substantial autonomy and meaningful self-administration for Kosovo”

Even Rambouillet reaffirms Serbia’s integrity.

“final settlement for Kosovo, on the basis of the will of the people, opinions of relevant authorities, each Party's efforts regarding the implementation of this Agreement, AND THE HELSINKI FINAL ACT”

The “will of the people” is only one factor. The obvious intent is they must agree to it, which is exactly the position of Russia and Serbia. Both sides must agree, we must find a compromise. I see no mention of the Right to Self Determination, just a bunch of references in both Rambouillet and UNSC 1244 about the integrity and sovereignty of Serbia.

Matthew,

Indeed. Both sides must agree.
Both sides must give up something!

Just some questions for al of you.
Do you really think that albanians which make 95% of the population there will accept to live and ruled by serbs who the only bussiness they have to albanians is how to kill them?
Let's say the independence is out and Kosova gets "substantial autonomy", how Koshtunica thinks he will rule and keep(He only knows how to rule and never to govern)the country inside Serbia where 100% of serbs hate albanians and 100% of albanians hate serbs?
Which police or army officer will dare to come back to Kosova and perform having in mind that this police or army officer massacred hundreds of albanians in late 90's?
Do you think that albanians will forget what happened back since 20's from serbs?
do you think that albanians will forget that serbs deported millions of albanians to Turkey from east Kosova or as they call it Juzni Kosmet?
Do you know the number of the political prisoners (albanians) held in jails and tortured just because they were educated and graduated as albanians and cause they refused to get married with serb women;you think we forgot that?
Do you know how many women were raped by serbs during the war in 90's, We albanians do know and we're not even thinking of forgiving and forgeting it.

You think that this is gonna really happen- if you do then I think you go to doctor and do check up since you have serious problem with "common sense".
Why we don't be honest ad courteous and say.
The problems between albanians and serbs did not start in 90's or 70's, it started long time ago when serbs "launched from russian mountains" centuries ago, I'm sorry to say but this the truth, we like it or we don't, it's there.
This is ridiculous, I think Serbian nation is smart nation and still have those kinds of Koshtunica leaders to "rule" them, honestly as an albanian it is very sad for me to see nieghbors like this. I hope that not alla serbs think in Koshtunica's way, otherwise you serbs are in the middle if nowhere, that means you are lost and helpless.