Radicals: Isolate Kosovo, don't break EU ties

Let's run with this theory for a moment: isolate Kosovo.

By isolating "Kosovo" we can pretty much agree that isolation begins south of the Ibar, which will gather the large one-third of Serbs situated north, and simply incorporate them into Serbia.

That leaves the remaining two-thirds of Serbs who are situated in Strpce, Novo Brdo, and scattered enclaves throughout. An isolated Kosovo hurts these Serbs the most. They will be the most likely to suffer from an economic embargo or political block. No doubt they will be "encouraged" to flee to the north "for their own good". The stream of Serb refugees will once again flood TV images and the SRS will no doubt play up the fact that Albanian terror is ethnically cleansing Kosovo again.

The only trouble now is that once these Serbs flee their homes, they are displaced refugees. Belgrade doesn't want them, northern Kosovo can't hold them, and their lives will actually get worse than if they stayed on their land.

It's truly amazing how the political parties that are the most committed to making Kosovo remain a part of Serbia will undoubtedly be the parties that will be the most directly responsible for the loss of Serbian presence in Kosovo.

doni, please learn that "kosova" does not exist.

Quite frankly Doni, I think there are some realities the Albanians will have to digest as well before this deal gets done.

Mike you are clearly confused. Your perception of reality is questionable.

serbia must clearly state its position to EU.
serbia can not have both things, you touch kosova, you will be paying dearly, more than you can imagine right now.
Kosova is more important to EU. anyway time is on our side, it will come one point, you know eventually..

"Belgrade doesn't want them, northern Kosovo can't hold them, and their lives will actually get worse than if they stayed on their land."

In the long term they are going to disappear in an "independent" Kosovo anyways. They are a shrinking population and many of the younger people have already left. It's too oppressive and dangerous to raise a family there and there are no opportunities. At least in Serbia the refugee children do get to go to Serbian schools and have a change to educate and better themselves.

Doni, you are wrong, time is not on your side, America is getting weaker and weaker every year, and Russia and China is getting stronger. The next year America will be even more occupied in Iraq than ever, do you think that they will care much about you?

I also think that those boyish comments from some of the K-albanians here do not reflect reality.

under UNSC 1244 the territory is serbian. fullstop. that means if anything happens, and by writing that I mean anything that serves as a reason, I am convinced no power in the world will be capable of stopping Serbia to protect it´s interests.

I do not mean that as a threat, it´s simply meant as a fingertip towards reality.

K-albanians heavily depend on foreign help, that´s why they are so submissive towards the US...

but as some upset writers here have written it,....it is a fact, the US are losing grip, it´s only a question of time that they will have to reconsider their strategy in south-east europe...

and Serbia is the leading motor in the region, not only economically, ... all in all, I do not have to write a lot in order to make you understand what that means...

the most important fact is: UNSC 1244 is in effect. conform to it. you can´t change it... and that is good!

Serbia will be back, I am confident in regard to that.

and please, restrain yourself from childish macho-phrases like "hell will break loose" ...nobody takes care of them anyway!

I am surprised by the SRS's change in policy, I welcome it of course as it is much softer than it once was. My hope is that even they are able to reform when needed.

But my vote still goes for DSS I'm afraid.

Mike,

I am a US Army SGT that spent 22 months in the province. Ask the relatives of the 2,500 slained Serbs, the 1/4 of a million IDPs whose made them leave their homes? What about the 150 - 200 Churches and/or graveyards that have been desecrated or destroyed. This all happened after we arrived, so all roads do not lead to Belgrade.

The world should not be held hostage by 2 million people who are of no benefit to the EU or NATO. US policy should be directed towards external threats to our Natl security, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. Internal civil conflicts, as bloody or as sad as they maybe is not the business of the US, nor is it legal.

Furthermore why did we ignore Rawanda and continue to ignore Darfur? We and our allies in the west have some vendetta against Yugoslavia and the successor state Serbia, a people who sided with US in two world wars and pretty much neutral in the cold war. What a nice way to reward a people.

Lest we forget how Germany reacted after its treatment in WWI, why kick a people when they are down?

Canadian, please elaborate. I'm more than happy to take criticism, and you know well that I'm in the pro-Serb camp on this site, but let me know where you think I'm wrong.

Mike: "The only trouble now is that once these Serbs flee their homes, they are displaced refugees. Belgrade doesn't want them, northern Kosovo can't hold them, and their lives will actually get worse than if they stayed on their land."

Me: We've seen this policy since the day Tito died --- it is a reoccurring theme and it is the reason why Yugoslavia broke up. These are miscalculations that are intent on hurting one side that negate and come around to hurt itself. It is true that any embargo will hurt Kosova and the Kosovars but it will also hurt Serbian business as well.

Mike, for being in the pro-Serbian camp, you have the most reasonable comments of all of them. I congratulate you on your smart assesments.
The rest of your camp should learn from you. And also some from the pro-Kosova/o camp, me included.
The radicals can NOT, i repeat can NOT have it that way. Its suicide. EU is making Kosova/o a country on its own. You cant have a blockade and be nice-nice with EU. Maybe Cyprus and romania. But as far as I am concerned Serbia can keep them both, no love lost here.
Cheers

Mike:
“It's truly amazing how the political parties that are the most committed to making Kosovo remain a part of Serbia will undoubtedly be the parties that will be the most directly responsible for the loss of Serbian presence in Kosovo.”

Yes exactly, but hasn’t this been the case all along since 1987? At the end of the day, this reality, which nearly all the Kosovo team here want to ignore, is the fact that most Serbs live scattered in small enclaves south of the Ibar, meaning that any physical separation – which becomes inevitable the more the atmosphere between the two sides is further poisoned (by the actions of either side) – can never benefit the majority of K-Serbs.

Then Ida reacts, quoting Mike that:

"Belgrade doesn't want them, northern Kosovo can't hold them, and their lives will actually get worse than if they stayed on their land."

She comments:
”In the long term they are going to disappear in an "independent" Kosovo anyways. They are a shrinking population and many of the younger people have already left. It's too oppressive and dangerous to raise a family there and there are no opportunities. At least in Serbia the refugee children do get to go to Serbian schools and have a change to educate and better themselves.”

But Ida - and Mike – this is precisely why we must strive to gradually eliminate the permanency of the Ibar as a border, as security concerns eventually abate, certainly not entrench it by making it an international border. The whole of the north, crucially including northern Mitrovica, the main K-Serb urban centre, *must* be part of Kosova (which will be independent no matter what anyone prefers) precisely in order to *begin* making it possible that Kosova evolve into a multi-ethnic partnership between two peoples, and avoid Ida’s prediction, which, *minus north of the Ibar*, would indeed become true. The K-Serbs in the enclaves need northern Mitrovica.

Note that I am clearly not saying that Kosova to date is any kind of multi-ethnic utopia, as some on this list have willfully misinterpreted similar statements I’ve made like the above before, but rather that that is the only possible trajectory.

Mike you write about amulti ethnic Kosovo where Serbs have increased in numbers. Who is going to control this wonderful Kosovo? Do you also want the Serbs to live under Albanian rule?
I would like to hear your answer to this.

Since you seem to have all the support of the Albanian camp, I seriously doubt that your new Kosovo will be much good for the Serbs.

Why should the Serbs return only to be ruled by the Albanians?

Lazar,

If Kosova does not exist then 2 milion people of Kosova do not exist, and this was proved to be not true.
Probably some people think that Durres does not either exist?

Regards,

"Maybe Cyprus and romania. But as far as I am concerned Serbia can keep them both, no love lost here.
Cheers
(lazer, nyc usa, 17 December 2007 00:41)"

don't belittle Cyprus and Romania. If Kosovo dreams of entering the EU, either one of them can turn that dream into a nightmare. Similarly don't expect Pristina to get a UN seat anytime soon because of Moscow and Beijing.

My take is that Pristina will eventually declare independence but on the ground they will only control Kosovo up to the Ibar in what will be effectively a de facto partition of the province.

Mike if you are Pro-Serb,.. then I am Pro-Albanian.

You are not pro-Serb sir. Your cheerleader - Lazar nyc, usa would agree with me I am sure.

No, no, no! You got it all wrong. Isolate Kosova (which means de facto unification of Kosova and Albania) and cut EU ties (which means Serbia buys the cheap ticket for the train going East, where it will be the only passanger.)

Bravo Mike,
sincerely I praise your wise judgment. To ultra-nationalists that write in this site, once and for all.
Be nice to new Kosova, so it will be nice to you.

can anyone here explain to me how the radicals differ from tadic/kostunica in... anything? in any statement, idea, policy?? anything?? any one single thing? perhaps how they dress, or their tax policies?? for the life of me i can't understand those "wise" EUropeans that are so fearful about kosovar independence upsetting the apple cart and pushing the belgrade political elite into extreme nationalist territory. the only other significant thing they could do is to make open war, like slobo was so fond of. but people there are tired of war (am i right??) plus nato/eu troops and potential threats of air power. so really, tadic, kostunica, nikolic -- i just can't tell the difference, except that tadic is the best-looking of the bunch.

and to lazer nyc -- i responded to you the other day, supporting yr efforts to help out victims in the balkans, specifically an elderly lady in kosovo/a. i really don't differentiate about ethnicity, as we are all god's creatures, despite what the nationalists preach, day aft day, ad nauseum. i guess that the editors here saw better than to publish my email address, perhaps that is one of their standard policies (??) so just know that we support you and yr work, and you just have to ignore the critics and carry forward w god's work... as best you can, as i have tried, in VEry modest ways.

xxxx robert-0 fr san francisco

To my repliers (particularly Canadaian)

I want to see a continued Serb presence in Kosovo. In fact, I want to see Serbia's numbers grow in Kosovo over the years. I'm tired of the intimidation, the expulsions, and especially the destruction of Serbian monuments. I'm tired of the Albanian historical revisions of the region, I'm tired of the chest-thumping machismo of self-styled Albanian nationalists, and I'm especially tired of Serbian responses that are little more than the three-fingered salute with the "Kosovo je Srbije" shout, and little more.

In an ideal world, Kosovo would remain part of Serbia, the Albanians would be the ones given extraordinary minority rights, and the Serbs would be free to move about their own country with ease. But the Balkans are far from perfect, and the way of the winds have been indicating Kosovo's road ends in some form of limited independence. K-Serbs have two choices: stay or leave.

If they stay, they will undoubtedly ensure hardships for the first few years. Many have already decided - particularly in the smaller enclaves - to just pack up and leave because they see no future there. Many more are simply going to turn further inward on themselves, ignore anything coming from Pristina, and continue to look towards Belgrade for help. The only problem I've come to realize is that Belgrade really doesn't want to help them to the point where they become self-sufficient. Belgrade wants their loyalty and their dependence. That's no way to treat one's own citizenry. Belgrade is also more than happy to split Kosovo at the Ibar, effectively cutting off 60,000 Serbs who live south, and abandon the most sacred areas of Serbian Orthodoxy in Kosovo.

This is why I feel Serbs must stay and take advantage of the new provisions the EU will be giving them. This is also why Belgrade must NOT cut ties with Kosovo because it is these K-Serbs who will be the biggest losers. By effectively saying "anything south of the Ibar is no longer our concern", these Serbs WILL flee, emptying Kosovo of the last remains of Serb presence, and the effective destruction of centuries of history, culture, and identity. How can anyone call themselves pro-Serb and be in favor of this?

I want to see these Serb enclaves invested in, and I want to see all displaced Serb refugees able to return to their rightful homes. They are living on the fringes of society in Serbia Proper, and most would return home if given the opportunity. I want to see Serbs return to Pec, Decani, and Prizren. I want to see Serbs return to Pristina. Albanians now have nothing to gain by expelling them. Another March 2004 will effectively kill all hopes for independence. They need to show the world they are not the crazed mountain men most people take them for.

So to answer the misgivings of Ida, Anthony, and Canadian, I am well aware of the pogroms exhibited on the Serbs since 1999. I am also well aware of the Zero-Trust felt by them towards Albanians. But I'm also aware that the EU is taking over Kosovo and the Albanians are helpless to do anything without their aid and assistance. If Brussels says Kosovo should be multiethnic, Thaci has no choice but to comply. In this regard, Serbs should take full advantage of these provisions, and return to Kosovo in defiance of Albanian nationlism and as a reminder that this is their land, their home, and their history too. K-Serbs are given a golden opportunity to have limited sovereignty of their own in an already limited-sovereign Kosovo. If done the right way, they've never gotten a better deal.

But if they just leave, all of this is forfeit. If Belgrade cuts off economic aid and power, the intended result will not be Albanian submission, but another Serb exodus. That would be very "pro-Albanian".

I agree 100% with Mike (well, except for the bit about Kosova would still be in Serbia in an ideal world, but everything else).

One point, as Mike says "But I'm also aware that the EU is taking over Kosovo and the Albanians are helpless to do anything without their aid and assistance."

The problem now being that Belgrade wants to block this EU presence, using legalistic arguments. I think it would be extremely challenging for anyone in the Serb camp to explain how ths reckless policy could be in the interests of the Kosova Serbs, at least south of the Ibar.

serbia must clearly state its position to EU.
serbia can not have both things, you touch kosova, you will be paying dearly, more than you can imagine right now.
Kosova is more important to EU. anyway time is on our side, it will come one point, you know eventually..

Quite frankly Doni, I think there are some realities the Albanians will have to digest as well before this deal gets done.

Let's run with this theory for a moment: isolate Kosovo.

By isolating "Kosovo" we can pretty much agree that isolation begins south of the Ibar, which will gather the large one-third of Serbs situated north, and simply incorporate them into Serbia.

That leaves the remaining two-thirds of Serbs who are situated in Strpce, Novo Brdo, and scattered enclaves throughout. An isolated Kosovo hurts these Serbs the most. They will be the most likely to suffer from an economic embargo or political block. No doubt they will be "encouraged" to flee to the north "for their own good". The stream of Serb refugees will once again flood TV images and the SRS will no doubt play up the fact that Albanian terror is ethnically cleansing Kosovo again.

The only trouble now is that once these Serbs flee their homes, they are displaced refugees. Belgrade doesn't want them, northern Kosovo can't hold them, and their lives will actually get worse than if they stayed on their land.

It's truly amazing how the political parties that are the most committed to making Kosovo remain a part of Serbia will undoubtedly be the parties that will be the most directly responsible for the loss of Serbian presence in Kosovo.

doni, please learn that "kosova" does not exist.

Doni, you are wrong, time is not on your side, America is getting weaker and weaker every year, and Russia and China is getting stronger. The next year America will be even more occupied in Iraq than ever, do you think that they will care much about you?

Mike, for being in the pro-Serbian camp, you have the most reasonable comments of all of them. I congratulate you on your smart assesments.
The rest of your camp should learn from you. And also some from the pro-Kosova/o camp, me included.
The radicals can NOT, i repeat can NOT have it that way. Its suicide. EU is making Kosova/o a country on its own. You cant have a blockade and be nice-nice with EU. Maybe Cyprus and romania. But as far as I am concerned Serbia can keep them both, no love lost here.
Cheers

"Belgrade doesn't want them, northern Kosovo can't hold them, and their lives will actually get worse than if they stayed on their land."

In the long term they are going to disappear in an "independent" Kosovo anyways. They are a shrinking population and many of the younger people have already left. It's too oppressive and dangerous to raise a family there and there are no opportunities. At least in Serbia the refugee children do get to go to Serbian schools and have a change to educate and better themselves.

Mike you are clearly confused. Your perception of reality is questionable.

Mike: "The only trouble now is that once these Serbs flee their homes, they are displaced refugees. Belgrade doesn't want them, northern Kosovo can't hold them, and their lives will actually get worse than if they stayed on their land."

Me: We've seen this policy since the day Tito died --- it is a reoccurring theme and it is the reason why Yugoslavia broke up. These are miscalculations that are intent on hurting one side that negate and come around to hurt itself. It is true that any embargo will hurt Kosova and the Kosovars but it will also hurt Serbian business as well.

Lazar,

If Kosova does not exist then 2 milion people of Kosova do not exist, and this was proved to be not true.
Probably some people think that Durres does not either exist?

Regards,

I also think that those boyish comments from some of the K-albanians here do not reflect reality.

under UNSC 1244 the territory is serbian. fullstop. that means if anything happens, and by writing that I mean anything that serves as a reason, I am convinced no power in the world will be capable of stopping Serbia to protect it´s interests.

I do not mean that as a threat, it´s simply meant as a fingertip towards reality.

K-albanians heavily depend on foreign help, that´s why they are so submissive towards the US...

but as some upset writers here have written it,....it is a fact, the US are losing grip, it´s only a question of time that they will have to reconsider their strategy in south-east europe...

and Serbia is the leading motor in the region, not only economically, ... all in all, I do not have to write a lot in order to make you understand what that means...

the most important fact is: UNSC 1244 is in effect. conform to it. you can´t change it... and that is good!

Serbia will be back, I am confident in regard to that.

and please, restrain yourself from childish macho-phrases like "hell will break loose" ...nobody takes care of them anyway!

"Maybe Cyprus and romania. But as far as I am concerned Serbia can keep them both, no love lost here.
Cheers
(lazer, nyc usa, 17 December 2007 00:41)"

don't belittle Cyprus and Romania. If Kosovo dreams of entering the EU, either one of them can turn that dream into a nightmare. Similarly don't expect Pristina to get a UN seat anytime soon because of Moscow and Beijing.

My take is that Pristina will eventually declare independence but on the ground they will only control Kosovo up to the Ibar in what will be effectively a de facto partition of the province.

Canadian, please elaborate. I'm more than happy to take criticism, and you know well that I'm in the pro-Serb camp on this site, but let me know where you think I'm wrong.

I am surprised by the SRS's change in policy, I welcome it of course as it is much softer than it once was. My hope is that even they are able to reform when needed.

But my vote still goes for DSS I'm afraid.

Mike:
“It's truly amazing how the political parties that are the most committed to making Kosovo remain a part of Serbia will undoubtedly be the parties that will be the most directly responsible for the loss of Serbian presence in Kosovo.”

Yes exactly, but hasn’t this been the case all along since 1987? At the end of the day, this reality, which nearly all the Kosovo team here want to ignore, is the fact that most Serbs live scattered in small enclaves south of the Ibar, meaning that any physical separation – which becomes inevitable the more the atmosphere between the two sides is further poisoned (by the actions of either side) – can never benefit the majority of K-Serbs.

Then Ida reacts, quoting Mike that:

"Belgrade doesn't want them, northern Kosovo can't hold them, and their lives will actually get worse than if they stayed on their land."

She comments:
”In the long term they are going to disappear in an "independent" Kosovo anyways. They are a shrinking population and many of the younger people have already left. It's too oppressive and dangerous to raise a family there and there are no opportunities. At least in Serbia the refugee children do get to go to Serbian schools and have a change to educate and better themselves.”

But Ida - and Mike – this is precisely why we must strive to gradually eliminate the permanency of the Ibar as a border, as security concerns eventually abate, certainly not entrench it by making it an international border. The whole of the north, crucially including northern Mitrovica, the main K-Serb urban centre, *must* be part of Kosova (which will be independent no matter what anyone prefers) precisely in order to *begin* making it possible that Kosova evolve into a multi-ethnic partnership between two peoples, and avoid Ida’s prediction, which, *minus north of the Ibar*, would indeed become true. The K-Serbs in the enclaves need northern Mitrovica.

Note that I am clearly not saying that Kosova to date is any kind of multi-ethnic utopia, as some on this list have willfully misinterpreted similar statements I’ve made like the above before, but rather that that is the only possible trajectory.

Mike if you are Pro-Serb,.. then I am Pro-Albanian.

You are not pro-Serb sir. Your cheerleader - Lazar nyc, usa would agree with me I am sure.

Mike,

I am a US Army SGT that spent 22 months in the province. Ask the relatives of the 2,500 slained Serbs, the 1/4 of a million IDPs whose made them leave their homes? What about the 150 - 200 Churches and/or graveyards that have been desecrated or destroyed. This all happened after we arrived, so all roads do not lead to Belgrade.

The world should not be held hostage by 2 million people who are of no benefit to the EU or NATO. US policy should be directed towards external threats to our Natl security, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. Internal civil conflicts, as bloody or as sad as they maybe is not the business of the US, nor is it legal.

Furthermore why did we ignore Rawanda and continue to ignore Darfur? We and our allies in the west have some vendetta against Yugoslavia and the successor state Serbia, a people who sided with US in two world wars and pretty much neutral in the cold war. What a nice way to reward a people.

Lest we forget how Germany reacted after its treatment in WWI, why kick a people when they are down?

No, no, no! You got it all wrong. Isolate Kosova (which means de facto unification of Kosova and Albania) and cut EU ties (which means Serbia buys the cheap ticket for the train going East, where it will be the only passanger.)

can anyone here explain to me how the radicals differ from tadic/kostunica in... anything? in any statement, idea, policy?? anything?? any one single thing? perhaps how they dress, or their tax policies?? for the life of me i can't understand those "wise" EUropeans that are so fearful about kosovar independence upsetting the apple cart and pushing the belgrade political elite into extreme nationalist territory. the only other significant thing they could do is to make open war, like slobo was so fond of. but people there are tired of war (am i right??) plus nato/eu troops and potential threats of air power. so really, tadic, kostunica, nikolic -- i just can't tell the difference, except that tadic is the best-looking of the bunch.

and to lazer nyc -- i responded to you the other day, supporting yr efforts to help out victims in the balkans, specifically an elderly lady in kosovo/a. i really don't differentiate about ethnicity, as we are all god's creatures, despite what the nationalists preach, day aft day, ad nauseum. i guess that the editors here saw better than to publish my email address, perhaps that is one of their standard policies (??) so just know that we support you and yr work, and you just have to ignore the critics and carry forward w god's work... as best you can, as i have tried, in VEry modest ways.

xxxx robert-0 fr san francisco

To my repliers (particularly Canadaian)

I want to see a continued Serb presence in Kosovo. In fact, I want to see Serbia's numbers grow in Kosovo over the years. I'm tired of the intimidation, the expulsions, and especially the destruction of Serbian monuments. I'm tired of the Albanian historical revisions of the region, I'm tired of the chest-thumping machismo of self-styled Albanian nationalists, and I'm especially tired of Serbian responses that are little more than the three-fingered salute with the "Kosovo je Srbije" shout, and little more.

In an ideal world, Kosovo would remain part of Serbia, the Albanians would be the ones given extraordinary minority rights, and the Serbs would be free to move about their own country with ease. But the Balkans are far from perfect, and the way of the winds have been indicating Kosovo's road ends in some form of limited independence. K-Serbs have two choices: stay or leave.

If they stay, they will undoubtedly ensure hardships for the first few years. Many have already decided - particularly in the smaller enclaves - to just pack up and leave because they see no future there. Many more are simply going to turn further inward on themselves, ignore anything coming from Pristina, and continue to look towards Belgrade for help. The only problem I've come to realize is that Belgrade really doesn't want to help them to the point where they become self-sufficient. Belgrade wants their loyalty and their dependence. That's no way to treat one's own citizenry. Belgrade is also more than happy to split Kosovo at the Ibar, effectively cutting off 60,000 Serbs who live south, and abandon the most sacred areas of Serbian Orthodoxy in Kosovo.

This is why I feel Serbs must stay and take advantage of the new provisions the EU will be giving them. This is also why Belgrade must NOT cut ties with Kosovo because it is these K-Serbs who will be the biggest losers. By effectively saying "anything south of the Ibar is no longer our concern", these Serbs WILL flee, emptying Kosovo of the last remains of Serb presence, and the effective destruction of centuries of history, culture, and identity. How can anyone call themselves pro-Serb and be in favor of this?

I want to see these Serb enclaves invested in, and I want to see all displaced Serb refugees able to return to their rightful homes. They are living on the fringes of society in Serbia Proper, and most would return home if given the opportunity. I want to see Serbs return to Pec, Decani, and Prizren. I want to see Serbs return to Pristina. Albanians now have nothing to gain by expelling them. Another March 2004 will effectively kill all hopes for independence. They need to show the world they are not the crazed mountain men most people take them for.

So to answer the misgivings of Ida, Anthony, and Canadian, I am well aware of the pogroms exhibited on the Serbs since 1999. I am also well aware of the Zero-Trust felt by them towards Albanians. But I'm also aware that the EU is taking over Kosovo and the Albanians are helpless to do anything without their aid and assistance. If Brussels says Kosovo should be multiethnic, Thaci has no choice but to comply. In this regard, Serbs should take full advantage of these provisions, and return to Kosovo in defiance of Albanian nationlism and as a reminder that this is their land, their home, and their history too. K-Serbs are given a golden opportunity to have limited sovereignty of their own in an already limited-sovereign Kosovo. If done the right way, they've never gotten a better deal.

But if they just leave, all of this is forfeit. If Belgrade cuts off economic aid and power, the intended result will not be Albanian submission, but another Serb exodus. That would be very "pro-Albanian".

Bravo Mike,
sincerely I praise your wise judgment. To ultra-nationalists that write in this site, once and for all.
Be nice to new Kosova, so it will be nice to you.

I agree 100% with Mike (well, except for the bit about Kosova would still be in Serbia in an ideal world, but everything else).

One point, as Mike says "But I'm also aware that the EU is taking over Kosovo and the Albanians are helpless to do anything without their aid and assistance."

The problem now being that Belgrade wants to block this EU presence, using legalistic arguments. I think it would be extremely challenging for anyone in the Serb camp to explain how ths reckless policy could be in the interests of the Kosova Serbs, at least south of the Ibar.

Mike you write about amulti ethnic Kosovo where Serbs have increased in numbers. Who is going to control this wonderful Kosovo? Do you also want the Serbs to live under Albanian rule?
I would like to hear your answer to this.

Since you seem to have all the support of the Albanian camp, I seriously doubt that your new Kosovo will be much good for the Serbs.

Why should the Serbs return only to be ruled by the Albanians?