Ethnic Albanians declare Kosovo's independence

I will not congratulate 'Kosova' Afrim, although I will congratulate all people in Kosovo if they can get through this period without any violence. And generally because I wish everyone well.

A celebration and provincial declaration does not make an independent state. Even if Kosovo is recognised by individual countries, they will not be an independent nation.

There will only be independence if accepted into the EU and UN which is not going to happen.

This whole land grab orchestrated by the US and enabled by an inept EU, is far from over. Let's watch this space shall we?

I wonder when the serbian politics will open the eyes and face the reality. I wonder what do they expect ? What will be the result ? Is impossible to stop the history. You can close your eyes but the world continue tourning around. You can continue dreaming but once you have whake-up and face the reality. So serbia sooner or later will use to realise that Kosova is INDEPENDENT as Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro.

‘World's map is changing"
KOsovA was a part of YU and u have to know one thing. ThERe are over 90% albanian who do not want to live in Serbia.

It is not an independent country - it is an illegal invasion of someone else's territory.

The people who are there are mainly children of refugees from their proper country - Albania. That is their true home.

Kosovo is Serbia, and the history of the next few years will be on record as an illegal occupation maintained by bigger powers.

So much for 'independence'.

Very soon Serbia will learn that 17 february 2008 is its Freedom Day in the first place.

"‘World's map is changing"
KOsovA was a part of YU and u have to know one thing. ThERe are over 90% albanian who do not want to live in Serbia.
(Pavaresia, 17 February 2008 12:01) "

Of course the K-Serbs will continue their allegience to Belgrade. The UDI will in fact be the de facto partition of the province at the Ibar.

I dare to say that today Europe has failed in its mission. Today is I dare to say that the world closed its relatively peaceful chapter and opened new one full of uncertainty, turmoil and violence. Today, Europe has filed to maintain the peace and justice. Today, Europe chooses the shame instead of courage.

As for K-Serbs I just hope they will be with Belgrade and reject governing by the Albanians. Do not give up its freedom ever, and never accept Albanian justice as we all know how painful that justice can be. I just fell sorry that I couldn’t be with you today in Kosovo and share the sorrow together. Be brave and live your lives independently.

As for K-Albanians, I just hope you are aware of how fragile your independence is since it will be basically illegal. Soon you will taste the bitter products of the harvest when you realise what is the meaning of independence without membership in any organisation and continuous dependence on mercy coming from the EU or USA. I do not accuse you for wishing independence but I do accuse you for the robbery of our land. However, sooner or later the thieves face the criminal charges against them.

I am looking forward for the future events!

The significance of 17th of Feb2008 is the conclusion of one of the greatest
international injustices,
hipocticies and total disregard for international law .The neocons in US are doing exactly what
they did in Iraq-namely do whatever they wanted to do with or withhout the authority of UN.Unlike Iraq,this time the US have managed to have most of the EU on board determined to bypass the UN.Resolution 1244
envisages only selfgoverment for Kosovo and acknowledges the territorial integrity of the FRY.Both US & EU manipulated the contents of 1244 to reach their criminal decision.It was NATO & EU who were responsible for Kosovo status.For President Clinton the Kosovo issue was mana from heaven since it enabled him to divert attention fro his own impeachment and also found a role for NATO,whose relevance was questioned after the end of the cold war.The pulverisation of Serbia by NATO with cluster bombs, depleted uranium and cruise missiles was named as humanitarian mission to save the Albanians.Instead NATO encouraged the K-Albanians to go on a bloody anti-Serb which drove 250000 Serbs out of their homes.
Another US & EU fallacy is that Serbia committed genocide in Kosovo.In fact the UN report states that the number of fatalities was
10000 with less than half this number being Albanian.
The subsequent UN involvement
on the kosove issue firstly with Kai Aide and later with Marti Ahtisari only intended to provide legitimatecy to the US decision which was the partition of Serbia with the annexation of Kosovo.I would also add that the then UN secretary general Koffi Annan was leaned on by the US and UK due to his involvement in the Iraq oil for food programme with millions of dollars missing.
Kosovo's claim to independence is based on the fact that the majority of the population are albanians but not in the country which is Serbia.If a vote was taken in the state of Georgia
in US iam sure the black majority will vote for independence.For the US kosovo is nothing more than a
giant military base which will be used in future wars.
Kosovo was Europe's egg in the face since independence will produce a homogeneous entity which contradicts its
policy of multiculturism and
integration.

Nothing remains to be said from Serbia, only congretulate the Kosovo People.

I still didn't have a chance to see the new flag of Kosovo.
Why do all Albanians in Kosovo celebrate independence and the birth of a new country using a flag of another county, Albania. It seems that the present use of Albanian flag and Kosovo flag stand the same ratio as equal right will be in the future state for the majority and minorities of it's citizens.
True forgery.

Reality is happening INDEPENDENCE is happening.
Congratulate Kosova please.
Accept the new reality.
To any serbs that are from Kosova... Please do not be afraid of Kosova's Independence, it is better for every citizen of Kosova. Nothing bad will happen to the serb minority of Kosova but only good things.
Thank you to B92 for letting us express our opinions for so long regarding the status of Kosova.
Thank you to the editors here who had to spend a lot of patience sorting out what comments should and what comments should not be put up for readers.
Thank you all.

Mike, what did you expect?

The difference between your interpretation and mine is that a chunk of our land is not being taken away because Serbs know Kosovo will always be ours and recognition will not be legitimate. There will be a significant number of countries that do not recognise independence and that is sufficient for now.

What has changed is the Albanians will believe they are independent, regardless of the fact. The Serbs offered them self-rule but they decided to be ruled by NATO and the US. That is their decision and they can celebrate that fact today.

The war will be fought diplomatically now so we have entrusted our leaders to do the right thing and to protect our territory.

The interesting bit will start after the declaration. Everyone will start to reveal their hand.

That the USA and certain members of the EU intend to support what is a flagrant breach of international law is a disgrace. This is a most cynical example of "big powers" politics.

The countries that support this illegality might be big economically but they are moral dwarfs.

In the long run, I am however certain that despite the machinations of Western powers, Serbia will retain what is rightfully hers.

David Crowley

To my Serbian friends and friends of Serbia:

On this day of infamy let us just sit back and ignore it all. Let them declare their independence, let them have their party and let those countries who wish to recognise it do so.

When they wake up with their hangovers and realise what they have and what they haven't, it will all look very different. We know that.

On occasions like this I am inclined to take the view of the former Chinese Premier Chou En Lai. During the sixties he was asked what he thought were the historic consequences of the French Revolution. "It's too early to say", he replied.

KOCOBO JE CPБИJA

Hold your heads up high, brothers serbs! No transgression, no barbarous act can last forever. You will be back to your lands and to your houses and to your ancient monasteries sooner than any albanian or coward or brainwashed imagines. Remember: you'll never walk alone while people with dignity and common sense are still living on this Earth. We are withe you! Kosovo je Srbija!

Today is a festive day for all of us Albanians.
While the celebrations started in Kosovo and every other place in the world,I invite all Albanians in London for a glass of champagne at my coffee bar called Carpe Diem(Hendon Central,London NW4).
To all Serbs,no hard feelings,let's forget the past and concentrate in our future.
Gezuar and Ziveli.

What a mess the USA and EU have committed throughout the world. I'm ashamed to be British.

Never in my life have I seen so many people so stupidly happy and grateful for being closed in a reservation, created so they'd be easier to control. I cannot congratulate the independence, because there is no such thing as "supervised independence" - that is an oxymoron, and of course there's that matter of a stolen territory. However, I will congratulate the EU and USA for closing down a large group of people in a huge reservation, with them being grateful for that. USA of course has had plenty experience with this in its history, just think of ghettos and Indian reservations, but they are getting better at it as this time the inhabitants are happy and grateful for their fence as well as their jailers. Just think of this - when UNMIK started administering Kosovo, the Albanians had the option of using UNMIK passports, but since most of the countries did not recognize it as a valid travel document, the poor Albanians had to use Serbian passports, they still do as a matter of fact. They need a visa even for Croatia with the UNMIK passport. Now, when they are a supervised entity (that's what they're getting recognition for, not the statehood, make no mistake about it) it's going to be even easier to control their influx in the foreign countries, the drug and human trafficking and terrorism - the main source of income here. When it comes to their "country", they are very well aware that they cannot even defend themselves. They had to beg, whine and lie to the West in order to win the "war" in the first place. Well, you can cry for help twice... The only "war" accomplishment was done by their women who bravely bore 8 children on average - if they won a territory, they have their women and children to thank for. That's why they're so eager to get the Serbs to "accept" since they know there's no "independent Kosova" once the international forces leave. Oh, wait a second - there's no independent Kosova before the internationals leave either LOL. As when it comes to the international aid - people from the west who are concerned about so much tax-money dumped into this civilization black hole, they need not worry - only 10% ends in Kosovo; the rest is used to pay the internationals themselves, thus returning to be spent in the economies it came from - good scheme for the west ;-), while they're deporting the refugees back to Kosovo - so I definitely congratulate the west - smart move. And when it comes to the lost territory (if it is lost, it's up to the Serbs), maybe it's a small price to pay considering that Serbia right now is not nearly strong and rich enough to have the right policy toward the Albanians, which would, had Kosovo stayed attached for the time being would financially burden Serbia , considering our spoiled mentality, inevitably lead to loss of even more territory, and over the span of 50-60 years leading to Serbia with 7 million Albanians and 2 million Serbs. So think, maybe this is not such a bad deal for Serbia for the time being. We have somebody else taking care of our province while we fully recover, huh? Things look much brighter when one puts things in perspective, don't they ;-)?

And what's happening in Belgrade?

Well I decided to find out. I mean when's the next time I'm going to be in a country when a chunk of its territory is taken away against its will?

So last night I went out for a walk to see what the deal was. Aside from the 1000 person demonstration earlier that afternoon, life was the same. Cafes and bars were full of people drinking, eating, and smoking their God-awful unfiltered cigarettes. Televisions were on, but were either showing sports matches or something on TV Pink - either way, patrons weren't watching.

So I decided to hit the streets. The only thing people seemed upset about was that the sidewalks were icy from the snow flurries we had earlier that day. People were walking through the squares and pedestrian walkways, and teenagers were still making out at the fortress.

OK, then I thought I'd go to the one place where I'd be sure to find some kind of demonstration - the church. Again, nothing. Evening vespers were held and people seemed very calm and peaceful. People were talking and smiling after services.

This morning was bitterly cold. But again the same thing. Cafes and restaurants were full, and there's a Gypsy Band currently playing at St. Aleksandar Nevsky church across from where I'm staying for a wedding.

In short, life goes on in Belgrade. The sun is finally shining after a week of cloudiness, and nothing seems amiss. If people are upset, they're hiding it well. More likely, they're just tired of the whole thing and want to focus on something else.

Now I don't know what will happen later, but I think it's safe to say it's going to be an ordinary Sunday afternoon here.

There is no reason to celebrate Albanians,

You do not have a seat at the UN nor access to funds for development of your impoverished lands. I have never seen such self-centered people in my life.

I ask you again that no one has answered to my question before- WHAT MAKES YOU PEOPLE SPECIAL TO DECLARE INDEPENDENCE? Why you and not the Basque, Kurds, Bosnian Serbs, and the list goes on...

The answer is obvious- you spent millions on a campaign that other groups refuse to do. They'd rather sit and wait than sell their souls. As many have pointed out, once you have awaken the next morning many have you have not pondered "now what?"

How will you employ the youth, collect taxes (yeah, the source of income for your government), get electricity to the many cities going through the occasional blackout, etc. etc... The many hard questions that you have not dealt or even began thinking about. So as you have spent millions for the celebration, now spend millions bringing up Kosovo to resemble a European state. Btw, that will take more money than those political donations. I hope some of you have 2-3 jobs in Western Europe or the US/Canada to support your relatives staying behind "for the cause." Thanks for making it easier for me and the other Serbs to advance other here and make a name for ourselves while you guys are too busy about "the cause."

RE: Kosovo is not independant

Sorry to disappoint the Albanian propaganda machine, but Kosovo joins the ranks of Northern Cyprus as an Ilegal state and no amount of international support from the US can change it. Kosovo politicans had a chance to negotiate confederation at most with Serbia. Illegal nations cannot exist under the legal structure of the world.

mike, we are battle-hardened :) it's been 20 years now.
since milo took over that is. his 13 years, then these 7. some of us grew up from being little kiddies and all we know is this time. i can hardly remember a life before wars, sanctions, inflation, choppers flying overhead with our wounded, planes flying overhead bombing, demonstrations, water cannons, bestial demonization abroad. serbia's gotten much better lately though, it's stable, it's progressing in every sector. as for kosovo, we don't need to spur our government to action because they know what they must do. i am as calm as the next person today because it is obvious that kosovo will not be independent, it will continue as a protectorate with some sort of strange semi-recognition, and no un seat. in all honesty, we did not run the province since 99, although we owned it, and will continue not to run, but own it. but now we have a chance to gain back a chunk in the north, while the rest effectively continues as in the past 9 years. and who knows. bar violence, of course. if there is violence and it spreads from either side in the weeks and months to come, then god help us all and i have no idea where or how it could end.

KOCOBO JE CPБИJA
Tom O'Donoghue

--

Thanks for your support Tom. It seems Britian may soon follow the path of Yugoslavia with Scottish independence gathering steam. I look forward to Irish reunification and I'm sure Serbia will recognise it within 48 hours! Here is an English town that wants to be in Scotland, this article brought a smile to my face today http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/7248529.stm

--

Jelena

Nicely put post. I have posted something similar myself in the past. The Serbs offered the Albanians self-rule but they chose to be ruled by NATO. It will be nice if they spend a few billion cleaning Kosovo up before Serbia regains authority! ;)

Zoran

Serbian ministers are today visiting Kosovo, and can you imagine, they agree to be escorted by the police of a false state.

Its absolute disgrace and criminal for the world to regconize and allow such an illegal act of independence on part of serbia which has been forever been a part of serbian land and played a big importants to serb history and culture, kosovo is SERBIA
if not on the map but allways will be serbia in serbian peoples hearts, lets hope this is the end of a bad era and look forward to a
positive and brighter future and make sure that the serbia population still living kosovo will stay and will be able to live asolute normal lives and for the serbia
population,Culture,tradition
to live on in kosovo for many generations to come. lets hope to see if there will be any justice towards serbs whats so ever,will Serbian orthodox churches,Monasteries Culture and Heritage
in Kosovo and Metohia be destoryed or stay playing a big importants in the balkan area?

Why are they waving EU flags ???
Today's preposterous self-proclaimed independence declaration by convicted terrorist Hashim Thaci is in violation of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. Kosovo & Metohija remains a Serb province under international law and is everything but an independent state. All that has happened today is that Serbian citizens of Albanian origin have decided to renounce their Serb citizenship so their status has officially changed from legal to illegal. Very good for Serbia in the long run in view of the very contrasting Albanian muslim culture and lifestyle.
Under the EU Treaty (Constitution) only UN member states can join the EU so even if every EU member recognizes this false state (many will not) the EU will still have to make changes to the Treaty in order to absorb the Albanian separatists into the EU.

What will heppen to Serbs in Kosovo???

"Congratulations Kosovo.

I am proud to be an American of Serb descent and proud that our government supports your independence.
(Nick Kvocka, 17 February 2008 18:22)"

Nick,

So how much did you get paid to write up this? If you're a Serb, you should be ashamed of yourself, if you're Albanian, then, well no surprisees there.

I just posted a thank you note in the Serbian version of the site where the vast majority of the posters are congratulating the citizens of Kosovo, expressing their best wishes for the future and demanding the Serbian government focus on things theses posters find genuinely important. I found that extremely generous, mature and kind.

I hope that in the future, the leaders of our two nations use the good will that exists within the people and use it as a platform to build good relationships between us.

I think Vojvodina should also think now for independance from Serbia. In that sense former Yugoslavia will finally be divided by its inner administrative borders.

To Erhan the 2nd time
I am sorry Erhan, but which civilians? No one was killed in Kosovo on the Albanian side who wasn't involved in the "liberation" war. Racak was a hoax - it's a proven fact, just went unnoticed after the IC was already in, same way there wwere no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but the information had come in conviniently late. The fact is the Albanians used their women and children for their fighting - anyone armed is not considered a cilian no matter how old or what gender they are by anyone's standards! I was there during March 17, 2004 and witnessed how Albanians used lies and spinning, and on top - kids to fight their fights - cowardly at least to say. And after that - they ask to be protected???? Where is this world going when Russia has to protect the International law????? A really sad day for civilized countries- but one should not underestimate the civilization black hole - Kosovo, it's sucking in ;-)

Serbia will not and cannot get used to the idea that Kosovo is an "independent" country. It certainly should not try to use force in any way but willingly giving away a part of it's territory would be insane. I can see why certain countries would support the independence. They already got involved in way too many conflicts around the world and cannot handle it all. However, simply repeating that this is a one-off situation is not actually going to make it that. Alea iacta est! Remains to be seen how this is going to manifest in various other regions of the world. And I don't mean just within Europe.

Blerim...

don´t fool yourself!

in the serbian-section of this site, there are the paid posters who are writing to create the impression of a vast part of the serbian society being in favor of some kind of toy-independence...

but you should not be that naive...

you should keep in mind, that the only honest Serbs here are those who are telling you what I am saying all the time...

you will not get away with it.

foreign powers fade away..., Serbs will be there then.

and UNSC 1244 is still the only important measure...

you will realize that you are being duped, I am convinced of it.

Ah good choice Kosovo. A new country which has decided to suck at the teat of wealthy America/EU instead of the impoverished Serbia. Welfare for all and a blind eye to for trafficing anything past the EU police.

"Congratulations Kosovo.

I am proud to be an American of Serb descent and proud that our government supports your independence.
(Nick Kvocka, 17 February 2008 18:22)"

Nick,

Do not ever associate yourself with being of Serb descent the rest of your life. As an American you can congratulate your Albanian friends.

The flag of Kossovo is going to have 5 stars. What do they resemble?

Not the 5 minorities of Kosovo, but the 5 territories the Albanians want back.

Tsamuria (Southern Iperus) is one of them.

If you check the BBC news website, the comments people have made on Kosovo by far support the Serbs. Thank you to the British people for supporting us. The government has once again gone against with wishes of the people!

to Erhan
By stolen territory I literally mean that- I mean the whole territories deserted by the Serbs as a result of ethnic cleansing following the entering of International Forces in 1999. I speak of properties which together create territories which have different owners from the ones currently using them. Not "historical stolen territories" - I am talking real stealing in the eye of the law - any law, well maybe not Albanian, they tend to have different view on legal matters.

My dear friends, today is a day that will forever bear a mark, well actually a horrendous scar, on the history of the world. today the albanians declare independence. yes it is completely illegal, yes the Serbs will have no other choice but to split KosovO in half, take back their half of bosnia, not to mention Krajina. russia will both take parts of goergia, and will also loose chechniya. taiwan will declare independence from china. north cyprus will be declared independent by the turks. God (if any exists) help us all. I dont care what the albanians say, nor what the westerners say, to allow albanians to declare independence, then to go and say that it is the only case of it kinds to exist is the biggest slap in the face. My friends, today we see terrorism prevail. To my dearest friends in kosovo(sebrs without a seconds hesitation) hold in there. albanians can deny the suffering they have caused you, but serbia will forever support you, you are Serbs. I only hope that KFOR isn't a complete failure. I hope with all my soul. maybe they'll prevent any more suffering. To think that the laws which the UN sets are as of little meaning as toilet paper, not only sickens me, but worries me. Pandora's Box has been unleashed. I'm not at all being dramatic, im being realistic. One firm warning for the albanians, Serbs are going to battle you in legal ways, always, right up until the day that a serb is killed. Even one. As long as people like the Serbs and Russia and our supporters exhist so will justice and right. The EU and NATO have created a puppet state, at the expense not of only the serbs but the albanians alike. False promises are as only valid as the people who are possessed by them.

My dear friends, when you see the other albanians wanting independence, you'll see the proverbial stuff hitting the fan with a force 1000 times stronger than hiroshima. Im not in anyway over exaggerating this, i am merely being honest. You think that you will be the only place to declare independence? Just like you refuse to live under serbian rule, the serbs will refuse to live under your rule. They are a minority in kosovo, and therefore have the same rights to do what you are doing. Trying to stop us, will not only expose your push for a greater albanian, but will expose to the world the circus which is western idealism at its best. Best of all, i cannot for the life of me wait to see george bushes face when the mexicans declare independence with the helps of serbia, russia, china and many many others. My god america is going to be the biggest (not that it already isn't) laughing stock to grace this beautiful world. How will they be able to say no to the mexicans but yes to the albanians? Oh god i'm sorry, it basically gives me an adrenaline rush.

ZIVELA SRBIJA

CCCC

I think, Kosova has entered now in a phase, which can not be stopped anymore. Like Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia and at last Montenegro, Kosovars has also the right to decide for themselves. To all the Serbian people!!! Why you don't try to accept the new reality and live in peace with all the people of the Balkans. Let's live the life in the new reality and go towards Europe. Regards

This is a Pathetic day not independence day! First of all albanians didn't even found time to invent their own flag, they had to borrow one from another country, ahh of course maybe they were too busy into their dodgy business. Then you guys wont be recognized by many UN coutries, till then what you guys are doing is just a bit of folklore.
and for the americans: hey the cowboys era is over.

Congratulations Kosovo.

I am proud to be an American of Serb descent and proud that our government supports your independence.

to Erhan:

and you´re hiding behind a turkish nick-name? very smart..

my turkish friends, without exception, are against the albanian theft of serbian territory, since they compare you with the Kurds.

so, don´t fool yourself with that masquerade-attempt...

that´s simply too naive.

@ the albanian-american-fake Serb that wrote these words:

I am proud to be an American of Serb descent and proud that our government supports your independence.

Man you are a joke. Get Real, you are an albanian!

Blerimi,

Let me also join you in wishing for better relations between Serbs and Albanians. I don't agree with Kosovo's independence, and I especially do not agree with how it happened. But what's done is done. In the end, Kosovo will continue to remain in a semi sovereign status for the immediate future, and Serb parts will continue to look to Belgrade and adhere to its policies. Yet this should not translate into continued tensions between the two sides. I truly wish for better understanding, because only with better relations can stability and a more defined status in Kosovo be realized.

Ahtisaari is alive and well my friends, alive and well.

Long live, Republic of Kosova (sovereign and democratic), America, and the American soldiers.

Monday (Feb 18): UK & Germany recognize Kosova.

For those interested please check out the following link and when you read it you will feel sick that today actually happened.

http://www.serbianna.com/news/2008/01360.shtml

Evil has been rewarded temporarily, but justice and truth will prevail.

Don't know about you, but I'll be wearing a black ribbon tomorrow. (Mourning the death of international law.)

Spread the word if you feel like it.

Today has got to be one of the biggest mistakes of the year. I for one will never accept a independent Kosovo. It is a joke in this day and age that so called powerful nations of the world can flex their muscle and rob a country of its own territory by agreeing its the right way to go. There was no blameless parties in the war in Kosovo, but one side got the backing of NATO and the other ostracised by the international community. Land is just land but Kosovo will always be in the Serbian heart

Over 90% of Kosova are Albanians. What else did you expect to see besides independence?! I said it over and over again. If Slavs (bosnians, slovenians, montenegrins, macedonians, croatians) didn't whant to live with serbs, what the hell i n this world made you think that albanians would accept such a thing?!

We made a mistake in the 1999 Serbian/Kosovo operation. I fear all we did was to fragment an already fragmented country, destoying lives in the process and violating the original intent of the NATO alliance. Kosovo independence will not foster stability or peace in the region.

I find it amusing how Albanians claim they were in Kosovo and Serbian lands first and how they had been occupied by foreign nations. All people have migrated to where they are today! Noone has ever just fallen out of a tree or hatched where they are today! The balkans were virtually deserted when the Slavs migrated. The Goths had cleaned out the area and moved on prior to the arrival of the Slavs. The ancestors of the Albanians were driven into the highlands by the Goths and came back when the Slavs arrived. Albanians have generally been nomadic and did not settle the regions as have the Slavs (as can be seen by the regions slavic names and sites). If Albanians believe they have the right to independence then they should support the rights of Serbians to have the same independence in Bosnia as well as the Kurds. If they do not they lose the right to claim independence for themselves. Also, the last i checked, i do not remember blood being spilled in Macedonia or Montengro over independence. Slovenia was also a mild break up. If you ask the Balkan people if they would rather live with Serbians or Albanians I am a hundred percent positive that Greeks, Macedonians, Montenegrins, and Bulgarians will pick Serbia every time! Albanians are the only ones looking at their neighbors borders and endangering the region! Prove us all wrong and get rid of the pimps and pushers running your countries and stop trying to erase the history of the people living amongst you!

Over the past months, I have started reading the comments to news items as much as the news items themselves.
Full marks & special thanks to the B92 editorial team who have brought Serbs and Albanians together in an electronic forum to express their views. I do however, as a foreigner, get the sense that most of those commentating don't actually live in either the newly independent state of Kosova, or in Serbia (apologies to those who do). I would like to congratulate B92 editors on the excellent moderation service and you all on your English. I hope both Serbia and Kosova enter a new period of prosperity and hope, where politicians from Belgrade may travel throughout Kosova safe in the knowledge that their security is guarantteed by KPS.

Jovan wrote:

"Blerim...

don´t fool yourself!

in the serbian-section of this site, there are the paid posters who are writing to create the impression of a vast part of the serbian society being in favor of some kind of toy-independence...

but you should not be that naive...

you should keep in mind, that the only honest Serbs here are those who are telling you what I am saying all the time...

you will not get away with it.

foreign powers fade away..., Serbs will be there then.

and UNSC 1244 is still the only important measure...

you will realize that you are being duped, I am convinced of it.
(Jovan, 17 February 2008 16:25)"


Dear Jovan,

I sense that the emotions have got the better of you.

I'm sure that when you read your post again, you'll wish you'd said things differently.

I refuse to believe the stereotypical view of the Serbs that, among other things, says that:

1) The Serbs think they are always right about everything and that everybody else is wrong (either naive, duped or both)

2)There is a big conspiracy against them and that everybody is out to get them

(I bet there are a few out there saying: at least it's a better one than that of a drug-dealing, people-smuggling, pimping, corrupt, church-burning Albanian)

I know enough Serbs (and I know enough of the Serbs) to believe that that is not the case and that you are not a typical representative.

I refuse to believe that in this day and age, with all the access to information, communication, sophisticated technology and (relatively) free movement there is such a thing as a typical representative of a specific culture.

I also know that there are at least two reasons why there is a decent basis to build good relationships between the two peoples:

1) People are generally decent and peace-loving

and

2) Conflicts/disputes take it out of you and my experience tells me that we're all pretty tired of this.... and happy to see it end and focus on the future

Wish everybody all the best

Dear Kosovars,

This is the third attempt to try to congratuale you but for some strange reason B92 censures me. I will do it in the next days again and again until it goes through. B92 do you realize that you can not change the reality?

Dear "bmrusila", congratulations for your post! I couldn't agree more!

I will confess and I don't care if the Albanians mock me, that today I cried. I cried for my Orthodox brethren in Kosovo, I cried for all of us the Orthodox nations of Balkans that live for centuries under every kind of pressure.
Today the victim is Serbia, tomorrow will be Greece, after tomorrow Bulgaria and so on...

Illegal immigration and high birth rates equal independence. For all of you that romanticize the plight of the Albanians just look to their leaders and history to find out their future. The country is run by drug lords, pimps, and murderers. They live in Slavic towns (names), they are rarely brought up in history until about the 15th century. They have shown a tendency to be violent and do not respect the rights of others. History shows this very well.

Joe

Obviously B92 censors you because you are not only congratulating Kosovo, but taking a jab at Serbia, like you normally seem to do.

Yeah, I'm against this. I'm not one of those that condemned the coalition that put down the flames of the Balkan wars of the 90s. That was a necessary intervention, if anything I regret that the US was not persuaded to join that coalition earlier. But this is now a bad outcome.
NATO and the UN will sanction the creation of a state that is not financially or politically viable. It can only exist with aid from rich countries and it can only stay safe by foreign military agreements. This will suck more pointless money from the tax payers of the west. After the war more should have been done to reintegrate Kosovo back with Serbia. If we think we can "teach" (and isn't that arrogant anyway) Kosovo and Serbia to be good neighbours, with more effort and less finger pointing at Serbia (both sides committed atrocities, that seems to be forgotten now) Kosovo could have remained a part of Serbia.
Now what right have we not to grant state status to the Basques, and what about if Northern Irish Catholics hit the 50% mark? And so on, this is a bad precedent, and it'll be interesting to see the excuses made by politicians when they don't apply this to other small areas that are part of larger states that want independence.

Many gratulations to the people of Kosovo.Don´t forget to thank the USA for your
freedom! Whithout America people of Hitler ot Stalin sorthad run Europe. God bless
Amerika! Larsson of Sweden

The Albanians can declare themselves independent, good riddance to them. It's been a bad day for the British tax payer Northern Rock and 2 million Albanians to support. The territory of Kosovo remains Serbian no one can take that away.

Kosovo was a prisioner of its own history as it was invaded and suffered enourmously throughout centuries. Under Roman and Byzantine, for several centuries, under Ottoman Empire for 5 centuries and finally under Serbs for nearly a century. You need not be genious to sense that independence was the only solution. Cheers to you all.

Jelena,

You have nobody but your country to blame for having committed all those terrible atrocities in Kosovo in the nineties. Without those attrocities you would still have Kosovo.

Kisa, I also have not seen Kosovo's new flag but know how I think it should look.

A white background to signify the Albanians surrendering to the Eurocrats, from whom they will never be independent. And smack in the middle of the flag should be a giant asterisk to signify the "specialness" of Kosovo's "independence" since all references to it will have to have a footnote.

As many Albanians have awkwardly said, "Good luck to you Kosovo on your way."

Kosova(o), Congratulation. May you become democratic, prosperous, tolerant and home to all citizens, be they Albanians, Jews, Serbs, Montenegrins, Turks, Gypsies, Gorans etc.!

for the next Presidential elections the albanians could vote for Clinton..Could be a good idea..to enlarge the power and the military basis..panders ignorants of albanians

hello to everyone,

i just wanted to say hello to everyone who commented here(albanians, serbs and also foreigners)!!!

For those who have not seen Kosova's new flag and think that there is a flag, you are wrong...if you have watched the declaration of the independence you should have waited a bit more and see the aproval of Kosova's simbols, including the flag...

For those who have never lived in Kosova, especially non-albanian and non-serbian people who have commented, you would all have a totally different point of view about Kosova independece if you had lived here before 1999!

We all know this is going to be a very difficult process to go through but we know we will do our best, because we have waited for so long, we have suffered so much and we will know how to enjoy everything..

I do wish a good luck to everyone, albanians and serbs...lets do it together....lets build a great future for all of us and for the coming generations!!!!

Lena

Finally, after all the wait, it happened!

Congratulations for the Kosovar people!

:-)

for Mr Mel from Brussels..mr excuse me for my english..i'm italian, ne Srb.the Slovenia, croazia, Macedonia etc etc were REPUBLIC of former YU. Kosovo was not republic. it is big different!! study the Hystory please.

I find some serb comments about kosovo amazing. They seem to forget that who was where first has nothing to do with it. Its all about current reality and reality is that there are 2+million albanians in Kosovo. This does not mean they are allowed to be treated like animals just because they werent there first. And milosevic did exactly that. Remember, Krajina serbs were not in Croatia "first" but its that isnt taken into account by serbs as an arguement because of convenience.

Many of us here live in the west and many of us emigrated into the west, however do any of us believe that the english (if we are living in London) or the french (if we are living in Paris) have the right to kick us out of their country just because we are not French? Do they have the right to reposses our houses jsut beceause we are immigrants? answer is no. And unfortunately thats what Milosevic's policy was and many serbs and albanians suffered. Many serbs will say "what about serbs that were kicked out". Its a valid point. However serbs retaliated to this with a force much greater than original. Reprisals were to a much greater extent and much more obvious and thats the problem.

Serbia needs to be careful if it preaches precedence as there are hungarians in voljvodina (who used to have a majority remember) and albanians in south serbia. If it wants a precedent then serbia could become even smaller. In case of Vojvodina, would serbs then accept the arguemnent by Hungarians that "hungarians were here first" as a reason for their own independence? I doubt it.

In any case, kosovo has one important thing than none of the separatist regions in world have: world support for independence. and that is the key.

There are no laws when it comes to use and application of world politics. In politics there is never black and white even though each side will try to say there is.

Instead of all the shenanigans, let us act mature for once and congratulate the people of Kosova/o on the declaration of independence. I hope the feasts and celebrations are going well with no incidents, and that everyone realizes that there is tough road ahead.

Gezuar!
Cheers!
Ziveli!

"and of course there's that matter of a stolen territory."

Yeah, there is. Serbia is a stolen territory too. You just didn't exist there forever. Did you? Albanians have been there longer than Serbs. So, your stolen logic reeks of bias.

"They had to beg, whine and lie to the West in order to win"

You see, that is what happens to civilians that are not armed and are attacked by their "OWN" military.

wel done kosovo.you the best people in world.

Kosova people, Congratulaitons on your country. Dont listen to those that say that you have build your country on land grab. Your country is build in the land of your ancestors and you have every righ to self govern not to be ruled by force form the other.
So again, God Bless Kosova and it's people.

Tomislav, funny you say "...WHAT MAKES YOU PEOPLE SPECIAL TO DECLARE INDEPENDENCE?". Kosovar Albanians (I don't wanna go back to history as we would never agree upon anything, but that's fine) are a bigger population than Slovenians, Macedonians and Montenegrins. If the latter got their independence from former Yu. how come Albanians cannot make it?!
As for your worries about Kosova' seat in the UN, don't worry about it. You'd rather better worry about Serbia which application (if) to join the EU would be DETERMINED by its approach to Kosova.

Serbia should apologise to millions of people throughout former YU for what it did during the last 20 yrs and stop acting irrationally.

Lastly, think about this: GDP per capita in Serbia was roughly the same with Slovenia in 1989. Now Serbia's is the same whilst Slovenia's about 6 times as much. Think commerically and move on.

Jelena, I misread your statement. In terms of Serbs owning property in Kosovo/a; I agree with you. They have worked hard for it and if it's taken away this is theft.

In terms of innocent Albanians not being killed, I could not disagree more. There were many killed. The military even tried to hide all the bodies. Some truckers got lazy and dumped the whole trailer in the river. The trailers were discovered on nearby rivers.

There were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. That's a whole other issue.

Goran, amazing words, you said it all! Hajde!

KosovA is moving forward, to democracy and economic prosperity.

Hope and wish the same to SERBIA.

Mike: your posting is of extreme importance for a simple reason- Serbs in Belgrade and Serbia never ever considered Kosova as their matter, it was nationalists as Milosevic, today Kostunica and the Serbian Bishop Artemie that were instigating people to hate and violence.

Larson: we are thankful to all of our friends- this is written also in the declaration of independence

Peace to all and as Mike was describing the ordinary day in Belgrade tomorrow it will be an ordinary day in independent Kosova too, with all everyday problems and poverty.
The only thing that it will change is that now no one can pass the responsibilities to the other and there is much more hope that tomorrow will be a better day for all of us.

Cheers and OPEN BORDERS in the entire EUROPE (Kosova and Serbia including)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One thing which a lot of us are failing to recognize is that UN is an outdated organisation formed after WWII to fulfill the needs of that era.

Because the world order has changed a lot since the fall of communism, I wouldn't mind betting that the UN as we know it today, e.g. Its SC and power of veto etc, will very soon either be transformed into something else/new, or replaced with an organisation where for example ex-KGB thugs can not dictate anyone anymore.

Somebody here said that no country which is not member of UN can join EU. Let's not forget that such laws and directives are written by people and can be changed.

Regards ...

I still didn't have a chance to see the new flag of Kosovo.
Why do all Albanians in Kosovo celebrate independence and the birth of a new country using a flag of another county, Albania. It seems that the present use of Albanian flag and Kosovo flag stand the same ratio as equal right will be in the future state for the majority and minorities of it's citizens.
True forgery.
(kisa, 17 February 2008 12:31)

Much like some people of RS would also wave a Serbian flag from example. Serbian flag doesnt represent all minorities in serbia either so to ask for a Kosovo flag to do same isnt fair.

Mr Mel from Brussels, Kosovo is nothing like what happened to Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia etc so to be out in same league is offensive. Yes you had same representation in presidency but level of governance was not equal.

Too much shouildnt be looked into behaviour of protestors as they can get nasty. Results of next parliamentray elections should be looked into very closely as it will truly show which path serbia will go down. Presidential ones are just for show.

Not the 5 minorities of Kosovo, but the 5 territories the Albanians want back.

Tsamuria (Southern Iperus) is one of them.
(Nassos, 17 February 2008 15:09

at least you're acknowledging that they're albanian lands.

Today the victim is Serbia(Despoina, 18 February 2008 02:15)

can't you come up w/anything original or do you need the beat the same ole' drum for hundreds of years?

Not the 5 minorities of Kosovo, but the 5 territories the Albanians want back.

Tsamuria (Southern Iperus) is one of them.
(Nassos, 17 February 2008 15:09

one more thing...get your facts in order because there are 6 stars on the flag!

Dear Kosovars,

This is the third attempt to try to congratuale you but for some strange reason B92 censures me. I will do it in the next days again and again until it goes through. B92 do you realize that you can not change the reality?
(Joe, 18 February 2008 00:01)

joe,
i've been censored & edited many times and it wasn't for insulting anyone or improper language but for merely expressing myself. there were times where it took nearly 8 attempts to post the same response and whenever i would state that this was my ______ attempt to post, it would get through but it was nearly always edited for content. i guess it comes down to which moderator you get and how unbiased they are when reviewing your opinions. i'll be curious to see if this gets through in it's authentic form.
perhaps we should just ask b92 what shift the more unbiased moderator works and we'll send all our responses at that time.

Its time for Serbia to accept the reality: Kosova is indepedent! Now is time for freedom and peace! Yougoslavia and milosevics nd mladics are dead! (and now I'm asking myself when Serbia is going to apologize to the balcan's mothers for all the crimes done during the last wars?!

Well I cant quite congratulate Kosovo Albanians, but I will say that I hope that this will finally move Kosovo Albanians from a nationalistic position, thinking that state is more important than anything, to a reality that Kosovo needs to deal with.

That reality is economic hardship, poverty, clan political leadership and the organised crime that comes with it.

Its time that Kosovo Albanians (especially the more educated) faced up to the fact that these are the main problems in Kosovo (and not Serbs or minorities) and now they must be faced. No more excuses. If Kosovo Albanians cant conquer these problems the world will remember the excuses, the way Serbs, or Yugoslavia was blamed for everything.

For my part there really are no hard feelings, but neither can Kosovo Albanians expect for Serbs to just agree with what is going on.

Kosovo Albanians should respect the Serbian position even if they disagree with it. Particularly so if they win this diplomatic battle in the end.

Good luck, because I promise you will truly need it.

I believe today's independence declaration is the right thing to do. The Kosovars deserve every bit of it. As far as the Serbs blaming everyone but themselves I have one thing to say: no other modern country in the recent history has treated its minorities as bad as Serbia treated the Kosovars. It is sad that the Serbs still live in denial of what took place in the 1990's there. This is one reason why Kosovo cannot be compared with other regions like the Basque region for example. I have not heard or read any reports of Spanish police, or army or some paramilitary group going around the region and raping, robing, killing civilians. I hope this is the last chapter of the trgic events that took place in the balkans.

Kosovo is and independent state, not sovereign for that is a whole new meaning, and in my book there is almost not one sovereign state in the world today, for the globalisation is taking it's fast pace into every region of the world.
Congrat's to all Kosovar's, Albanian's Serbs and other's living there on their newly created State!

Today is a festive day for all of us Albanians.
While the celebrations started in Kosovo and every other place in the world,I invite all Albanians in London for a glass of champagne at my coffee bar called Carpe Diem(Hendon Central,London NW4).
To all Serbs,no hard feelings,let's forget the past and concentrate in our future.
Gezuar and Ziveli.

Reality is happening INDEPENDENCE is happening.
Congratulate Kosova please.
Accept the new reality.
To any serbs that are from Kosova... Please do not be afraid of Kosova's Independence, it is better for every citizen of Kosova. Nothing bad will happen to the serb minority of Kosova but only good things.
Thank you to B92 for letting us express our opinions for so long regarding the status of Kosova.
Thank you to the editors here who had to spend a lot of patience sorting out what comments should and what comments should not be put up for readers.
Thank you all.

I wonder when the serbian politics will open the eyes and face the reality. I wonder what do they expect ? What will be the result ? Is impossible to stop the history. You can close your eyes but the world continue tourning around. You can continue dreaming but once you have whake-up and face the reality. So serbia sooner or later will use to realise that Kosova is INDEPENDENT as Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro.

I think, Kosova has entered now in a phase, which can not be stopped anymore. Like Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia and at last Montenegro, Kosovars has also the right to decide for themselves. To all the Serbian people!!! Why you don't try to accept the new reality and live in peace with all the people of the Balkans. Let's live the life in the new reality and go towards Europe. Regards

wel done kosovo.you the best people in world.

Congratulations Kosovo.

I am proud to be an American of Serb descent and proud that our government supports your independence.

‘World's map is changing"
KOsovA was a part of YU and u have to know one thing. ThERe are over 90% albanian who do not want to live in Serbia.

Many gratulations to the people of Kosovo.Don´t forget to thank the USA for your
freedom! Whithout America people of Hitler ot Stalin sorthad run Europe. God bless
Amerika! Larsson of Sweden

Over 90% of Kosova are Albanians. What else did you expect to see besides independence?! I said it over and over again. If Slavs (bosnians, slovenians, montenegrins, macedonians, croatians) didn't whant to live with serbs, what the hell i n this world made you think that albanians would accept such a thing?!

Nothing remains to be said from Serbia, only congretulate the Kosovo People.

I just posted a thank you note in the Serbian version of the site where the vast majority of the posters are congratulating the citizens of Kosovo, expressing their best wishes for the future and demanding the Serbian government focus on things theses posters find genuinely important. I found that extremely generous, mature and kind.

I hope that in the future, the leaders of our two nations use the good will that exists within the people and use it as a platform to build good relationships between us.

I think Vojvodina should also think now for independance from Serbia. In that sense former Yugoslavia will finally be divided by its inner administrative borders.

Kosova(o), Congratulation. May you become democratic, prosperous, tolerant and home to all citizens, be they Albanians, Jews, Serbs, Montenegrins, Turks, Gypsies, Gorans etc.!

Ahtisaari is alive and well my friends, alive and well.

Long live, Republic of Kosova (sovereign and democratic), America, and the American soldiers.

Monday (Feb 18): UK & Germany recognize Kosova.

KosovA is moving forward, to democracy and economic prosperity.

Hope and wish the same to SERBIA.

Mike: your posting is of extreme importance for a simple reason- Serbs in Belgrade and Serbia never ever considered Kosova as their matter, it was nationalists as Milosevic, today Kostunica and the Serbian Bishop Artemie that were instigating people to hate and violence.

Larson: we are thankful to all of our friends- this is written also in the declaration of independence

Peace to all and as Mike was describing the ordinary day in Belgrade tomorrow it will be an ordinary day in independent Kosova too, with all everyday problems and poverty.
The only thing that it will change is that now no one can pass the responsibilities to the other and there is much more hope that tomorrow will be a better day for all of us.

Cheers and OPEN BORDERS in the entire EUROPE (Kosova and Serbia including)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Instead of all the shenanigans, let us act mature for once and congratulate the people of Kosova/o on the declaration of independence. I hope the feasts and celebrations are going well with no incidents, and that everyone realizes that there is tough road ahead.

Gezuar!
Cheers!
Ziveli!

Kosovo was a prisioner of its own history as it was invaded and suffered enourmously throughout centuries. Under Roman and Byzantine, for several centuries, under Ottoman Empire for 5 centuries and finally under Serbs for nearly a century. You need not be genious to sense that independence was the only solution. Cheers to you all.

Very soon Serbia will learn that 17 february 2008 is its Freedom Day in the first place.

Jovan wrote:

"Blerim...

don´t fool yourself!

in the serbian-section of this site, there are the paid posters who are writing to create the impression of a vast part of the serbian society being in favor of some kind of toy-independence...

but you should not be that naive...

you should keep in mind, that the only honest Serbs here are those who are telling you what I am saying all the time...

you will not get away with it.

foreign powers fade away..., Serbs will be there then.

and UNSC 1244 is still the only important measure...

you will realize that you are being duped, I am convinced of it.
(Jovan, 17 February 2008 16:25)"


Dear Jovan,

I sense that the emotions have got the better of you.

I'm sure that when you read your post again, you'll wish you'd said things differently.

I refuse to believe the stereotypical view of the Serbs that, among other things, says that:

1) The Serbs think they are always right about everything and that everybody else is wrong (either naive, duped or both)

2)There is a big conspiracy against them and that everybody is out to get them

(I bet there are a few out there saying: at least it's a better one than that of a drug-dealing, people-smuggling, pimping, corrupt, church-burning Albanian)

I know enough Serbs (and I know enough of the Serbs) to believe that that is not the case and that you are not a typical representative.

I refuse to believe that in this day and age, with all the access to information, communication, sophisticated technology and (relatively) free movement there is such a thing as a typical representative of a specific culture.

I also know that there are at least two reasons why there is a decent basis to build good relationships between the two peoples:

1) People are generally decent and peace-loving

and

2) Conflicts/disputes take it out of you and my experience tells me that we're all pretty tired of this.... and happy to see it end and focus on the future

Wish everybody all the best

Finally, after all the wait, it happened!

Congratulations for the Kosovar people!

:-)

Dear Kosovars,

This is the third attempt to try to congratuale you but for some strange reason B92 censures me. I will do it in the next days again and again until it goes through. B92 do you realize that you can not change the reality?

"‘World's map is changing"
KOsovA was a part of YU and u have to know one thing. ThERe are over 90% albanian who do not want to live in Serbia.
(Pavaresia, 17 February 2008 12:01) "

Of course the K-Serbs will continue their allegience to Belgrade. The UDI will in fact be the de facto partition of the province at the Ibar.

Serbian ministers are today visiting Kosovo, and can you imagine, they agree to be escorted by the police of a false state.

Kosova people, Congratulaitons on your country. Dont listen to those that say that you have build your country on land grab. Your country is build in the land of your ancestors and you have every righ to self govern not to be ruled by force form the other.
So again, God Bless Kosova and it's people.

Tomislav, funny you say "...WHAT MAKES YOU PEOPLE SPECIAL TO DECLARE INDEPENDENCE?". Kosovar Albanians (I don't wanna go back to history as we would never agree upon anything, but that's fine) are a bigger population than Slovenians, Macedonians and Montenegrins. If the latter got their independence from former Yu. how come Albanians cannot make it?!
As for your worries about Kosova' seat in the UN, don't worry about it. You'd rather better worry about Serbia which application (if) to join the EU would be DETERMINED by its approach to Kosova.

Serbia should apologise to millions of people throughout former YU for what it did during the last 20 yrs and stop acting irrationally.

Lastly, think about this: GDP per capita in Serbia was roughly the same with Slovenia in 1989. Now Serbia's is the same whilst Slovenia's about 6 times as much. Think commerically and move on.

"and of course there's that matter of a stolen territory."

Yeah, there is. Serbia is a stolen territory too. You just didn't exist there forever. Did you? Albanians have been there longer than Serbs. So, your stolen logic reeks of bias.

"They had to beg, whine and lie to the West in order to win"

You see, that is what happens to civilians that are not armed and are attacked by their "OWN" military.

Jelena, I misread your statement. In terms of Serbs owning property in Kosovo/a; I agree with you. They have worked hard for it and if it's taken away this is theft.

In terms of innocent Albanians not being killed, I could not disagree more. There were many killed. The military even tried to hide all the bodies. Some truckers got lazy and dumped the whole trailer in the river. The trailers were discovered on nearby rivers.

There were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. That's a whole other issue.

hello to everyone,

i just wanted to say hello to everyone who commented here(albanians, serbs and also foreigners)!!!

For those who have not seen Kosova's new flag and think that there is a flag, you are wrong...if you have watched the declaration of the independence you should have waited a bit more and see the aproval of Kosova's simbols, including the flag...

For those who have never lived in Kosova, especially non-albanian and non-serbian people who have commented, you would all have a totally different point of view about Kosova independece if you had lived here before 1999!

We all know this is going to be a very difficult process to go through but we know we will do our best, because we have waited for so long, we have suffered so much and we will know how to enjoy everything..

I do wish a good luck to everyone, albanians and serbs...lets do it together....lets build a great future for all of us and for the coming generations!!!!

Lena

One thing which a lot of us are failing to recognize is that UN is an outdated organisation formed after WWII to fulfill the needs of that era.

Because the world order has changed a lot since the fall of communism, I wouldn't mind betting that the UN as we know it today, e.g. Its SC and power of veto etc, will very soon either be transformed into something else/new, or replaced with an organisation where for example ex-KGB thugs can not dictate anyone anymore.

Somebody here said that no country which is not member of UN can join EU. Let's not forget that such laws and directives are written by people and can be changed.

Regards ...

What will heppen to Serbs in Kosovo???

I still didn't have a chance to see the new flag of Kosovo.
Why do all Albanians in Kosovo celebrate independence and the birth of a new country using a flag of another county, Albania. It seems that the present use of Albanian flag and Kosovo flag stand the same ratio as equal right will be in the future state for the majority and minorities of it's citizens.
True forgery.

And what's happening in Belgrade?

Well I decided to find out. I mean when's the next time I'm going to be in a country when a chunk of its territory is taken away against its will?

So last night I went out for a walk to see what the deal was. Aside from the 1000 person demonstration earlier that afternoon, life was the same. Cafes and bars were full of people drinking, eating, and smoking their God-awful unfiltered cigarettes. Televisions were on, but were either showing sports matches or something on TV Pink - either way, patrons weren't watching.

So I decided to hit the streets. The only thing people seemed upset about was that the sidewalks were icy from the snow flurries we had earlier that day. People were walking through the squares and pedestrian walkways, and teenagers were still making out at the fortress.

OK, then I thought I'd go to the one place where I'd be sure to find some kind of demonstration - the church. Again, nothing. Evening vespers were held and people seemed very calm and peaceful. People were talking and smiling after services.

This morning was bitterly cold. But again the same thing. Cafes and restaurants were full, and there's a Gypsy Band currently playing at St. Aleksandar Nevsky church across from where I'm staying for a wedding.

In short, life goes on in Belgrade. The sun is finally shining after a week of cloudiness, and nothing seems amiss. If people are upset, they're hiding it well. More likely, they're just tired of the whole thing and want to focus on something else.

Now I don't know what will happen later, but I think it's safe to say it's going to be an ordinary Sunday afternoon here.

Jelena,

You have nobody but your country to blame for having committed all those terrible atrocities in Kosovo in the nineties. Without those attrocities you would still have Kosovo.

Kosovo is and independent state, not sovereign for that is a whole new meaning, and in my book there is almost not one sovereign state in the world today, for the globalisation is taking it's fast pace into every region of the world.
Congrat's to all Kosovar's, Albanian's Serbs and other's living there on their newly created State!

I will not congratulate 'Kosova' Afrim, although I will congratulate all people in Kosovo if they can get through this period without any violence. And generally because I wish everyone well.

A celebration and provincial declaration does not make an independent state. Even if Kosovo is recognised by individual countries, they will not be an independent nation.

There will only be independence if accepted into the EU and UN which is not going to happen.

This whole land grab orchestrated by the US and enabled by an inept EU, is far from over. Let's watch this space shall we?

It is not an independent country - it is an illegal invasion of someone else's territory.

The people who are there are mainly children of refugees from their proper country - Albania. That is their true home.

Kosovo is Serbia, and the history of the next few years will be on record as an illegal occupation maintained by bigger powers.

So much for 'independence'.

Over the past months, I have started reading the comments to news items as much as the news items themselves.
Full marks & special thanks to the B92 editorial team who have brought Serbs and Albanians together in an electronic forum to express their views. I do however, as a foreigner, get the sense that most of those commentating don't actually live in either the newly independent state of Kosova, or in Serbia (apologies to those who do). I would like to congratulate B92 editors on the excellent moderation service and you all on your English. I hope both Serbia and Kosova enter a new period of prosperity and hope, where politicians from Belgrade may travel throughout Kosova safe in the knowledge that their security is guarantteed by KPS.

I believe today's independence declaration is the right thing to do. The Kosovars deserve every bit of it. As far as the Serbs blaming everyone but themselves I have one thing to say: no other modern country in the recent history has treated its minorities as bad as Serbia treated the Kosovars. It is sad that the Serbs still live in denial of what took place in the 1990's there. This is one reason why Kosovo cannot be compared with other regions like the Basque region for example. I have not heard or read any reports of Spanish police, or army or some paramilitary group going around the region and raping, robing, killing civilians. I hope this is the last chapter of the trgic events that took place in the balkans.

I find some serb comments about kosovo amazing. They seem to forget that who was where first has nothing to do with it. Its all about current reality and reality is that there are 2+million albanians in Kosovo. This does not mean they are allowed to be treated like animals just because they werent there first. And milosevic did exactly that. Remember, Krajina serbs were not in Croatia "first" but its that isnt taken into account by serbs as an arguement because of convenience.

Many of us here live in the west and many of us emigrated into the west, however do any of us believe that the english (if we are living in London) or the french (if we are living in Paris) have the right to kick us out of their country just because we are not French? Do they have the right to reposses our houses jsut beceause we are immigrants? answer is no. And unfortunately thats what Milosevic's policy was and many serbs and albanians suffered. Many serbs will say "what about serbs that were kicked out". Its a valid point. However serbs retaliated to this with a force much greater than original. Reprisals were to a much greater extent and much more obvious and thats the problem.

Serbia needs to be careful if it preaches precedence as there are hungarians in voljvodina (who used to have a majority remember) and albanians in south serbia. If it wants a precedent then serbia could become even smaller. In case of Vojvodina, would serbs then accept the arguemnent by Hungarians that "hungarians were here first" as a reason for their own independence? I doubt it.

In any case, kosovo has one important thing than none of the separatist regions in world have: world support for independence. and that is the key.

There are no laws when it comes to use and application of world politics. In politics there is never black and white even though each side will try to say there is.

The significance of 17th of Feb2008 is the conclusion of one of the greatest
international injustices,
hipocticies and total disregard for international law .The neocons in US are doing exactly what
they did in Iraq-namely do whatever they wanted to do with or withhout the authority of UN.Unlike Iraq,this time the US have managed to have most of the EU on board determined to bypass the UN.Resolution 1244
envisages only selfgoverment for Kosovo and acknowledges the territorial integrity of the FRY.Both US & EU manipulated the contents of 1244 to reach their criminal decision.It was NATO & EU who were responsible for Kosovo status.For President Clinton the Kosovo issue was mana from heaven since it enabled him to divert attention fro his own impeachment and also found a role for NATO,whose relevance was questioned after the end of the cold war.The pulverisation of Serbia by NATO with cluster bombs, depleted uranium and cruise missiles was named as humanitarian mission to save the Albanians.Instead NATO encouraged the K-Albanians to go on a bloody anti-Serb which drove 250000 Serbs out of their homes.
Another US & EU fallacy is that Serbia committed genocide in Kosovo.In fact the UN report states that the number of fatalities was
10000 with less than half this number being Albanian.
The subsequent UN involvement
on the kosove issue firstly with Kai Aide and later with Marti Ahtisari only intended to provide legitimatecy to the US decision which was the partition of Serbia with the annexation of Kosovo.I would also add that the then UN secretary general Koffi Annan was leaned on by the US and UK due to his involvement in the Iraq oil for food programme with millions of dollars missing.
Kosovo's claim to independence is based on the fact that the majority of the population are albanians but not in the country which is Serbia.If a vote was taken in the state of Georgia
in US iam sure the black majority will vote for independence.For the US kosovo is nothing more than a
giant military base which will be used in future wars.
Kosovo was Europe's egg in the face since independence will produce a homogeneous entity which contradicts its
policy of multiculturism and
integration.

Blerimi,

Let me also join you in wishing for better relations between Serbs and Albanians. I don't agree with Kosovo's independence, and I especially do not agree with how it happened. But what's done is done. In the end, Kosovo will continue to remain in a semi sovereign status for the immediate future, and Serb parts will continue to look to Belgrade and adhere to its policies. Yet this should not translate into continued tensions between the two sides. I truly wish for better understanding, because only with better relations can stability and a more defined status in Kosovo be realized.

Ah good choice Kosovo. A new country which has decided to suck at the teat of wealthy America/EU instead of the impoverished Serbia. Welfare for all and a blind eye to for trafficing anything past the EU police.

"Congratulations Kosovo.

I am proud to be an American of Serb descent and proud that our government supports your independence.
(Nick Kvocka, 17 February 2008 18:22)"

Nick,

So how much did you get paid to write up this? If you're a Serb, you should be ashamed of yourself, if you're Albanian, then, well no surprisees there.

Well I cant quite congratulate Kosovo Albanians, but I will say that I hope that this will finally move Kosovo Albanians from a nationalistic position, thinking that state is more important than anything, to a reality that Kosovo needs to deal with.

That reality is economic hardship, poverty, clan political leadership and the organised crime that comes with it.

Its time that Kosovo Albanians (especially the more educated) faced up to the fact that these are the main problems in Kosovo (and not Serbs or minorities) and now they must be faced. No more excuses. If Kosovo Albanians cant conquer these problems the world will remember the excuses, the way Serbs, or Yugoslavia was blamed for everything.

For my part there really are no hard feelings, but neither can Kosovo Albanians expect for Serbs to just agree with what is going on.

Kosovo Albanians should respect the Serbian position even if they disagree with it. Particularly so if they win this diplomatic battle in the end.

Good luck, because I promise you will truly need it.

Serbia will not and cannot get used to the idea that Kosovo is an "independent" country. It certainly should not try to use force in any way but willingly giving away a part of it's territory would be insane. I can see why certain countries would support the independence. They already got involved in way too many conflicts around the world and cannot handle it all. However, simply repeating that this is a one-off situation is not actually going to make it that. Alea iacta est! Remains to be seen how this is going to manifest in various other regions of the world. And I don't mean just within Europe.

mike, we are battle-hardened :) it's been 20 years now.
since milo took over that is. his 13 years, then these 7. some of us grew up from being little kiddies and all we know is this time. i can hardly remember a life before wars, sanctions, inflation, choppers flying overhead with our wounded, planes flying overhead bombing, demonstrations, water cannons, bestial demonization abroad. serbia's gotten much better lately though, it's stable, it's progressing in every sector. as for kosovo, we don't need to spur our government to action because they know what they must do. i am as calm as the next person today because it is obvious that kosovo will not be independent, it will continue as a protectorate with some sort of strange semi-recognition, and no un seat. in all honesty, we did not run the province since 99, although we owned it, and will continue not to run, but own it. but now we have a chance to gain back a chunk in the north, while the rest effectively continues as in the past 9 years. and who knows. bar violence, of course. if there is violence and it spreads from either side in the weeks and months to come, then god help us all and i have no idea where or how it could end.

The flag of Kossovo is going to have 5 stars. What do they resemble?

Not the 5 minorities of Kosovo, but the 5 territories the Albanians want back.

Tsamuria (Southern Iperus) is one of them.

Blerim...

don´t fool yourself!

in the serbian-section of this site, there are the paid posters who are writing to create the impression of a vast part of the serbian society being in favor of some kind of toy-independence...

but you should not be that naive...

you should keep in mind, that the only honest Serbs here are those who are telling you what I am saying all the time...

you will not get away with it.

foreign powers fade away..., Serbs will be there then.

and UNSC 1244 is still the only important measure...

you will realize that you are being duped, I am convinced of it.

What a mess the USA and EU have committed throughout the world. I'm ashamed to be British.

Dear Kosovars,

This is the third attempt to try to congratuale you but for some strange reason B92 censures me. I will do it in the next days again and again until it goes through. B92 do you realize that you can not change the reality?
(Joe, 18 February 2008 00:01)

joe,
i've been censored & edited many times and it wasn't for insulting anyone or improper language but for merely expressing myself. there were times where it took nearly 8 attempts to post the same response and whenever i would state that this was my ______ attempt to post, it would get through but it was nearly always edited for content. i guess it comes down to which moderator you get and how unbiased they are when reviewing your opinions. i'll be curious to see if this gets through in it's authentic form.
perhaps we should just ask b92 what shift the more unbiased moderator works and we'll send all our responses at that time.

Today the victim is Serbia(Despoina, 18 February 2008 02:15)

can't you come up w/anything original or do you need the beat the same ole' drum for hundreds of years?

Not the 5 minorities of Kosovo, but the 5 territories the Albanians want back.

Tsamuria (Southern Iperus) is one of them.
(Nassos, 17 February 2008 15:09

one more thing...get your facts in order because there are 6 stars on the flag!

RE: Kosovo is not independant

Sorry to disappoint the Albanian propaganda machine, but Kosovo joins the ranks of Northern Cyprus as an Ilegal state and no amount of international support from the US can change it. Kosovo politicans had a chance to negotiate confederation at most with Serbia. Illegal nations cannot exist under the legal structure of the world.

"Congratulations Kosovo.

I am proud to be an American of Serb descent and proud that our government supports your independence.
(Nick Kvocka, 17 February 2008 18:22)"

Nick,

Do not ever associate yourself with being of Serb descent the rest of your life. As an American you can congratulate your Albanian friends.

For those interested please check out the following link and when you read it you will feel sick that today actually happened.

http://www.serbianna.com/news/2008/01360.shtml

Evil has been rewarded temporarily, but justice and truth will prevail.

I still didn't have a chance to see the new flag of Kosovo.
Why do all Albanians in Kosovo celebrate independence and the birth of a new country using a flag of another county, Albania. It seems that the present use of Albanian flag and Kosovo flag stand the same ratio as equal right will be in the future state for the majority and minorities of it's citizens.
True forgery.
(kisa, 17 February 2008 12:31)

Much like some people of RS would also wave a Serbian flag from example. Serbian flag doesnt represent all minorities in serbia either so to ask for a Kosovo flag to do same isnt fair.

Mr Mel from Brussels, Kosovo is nothing like what happened to Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia etc so to be out in same league is offensive. Yes you had same representation in presidency but level of governance was not equal.

Too much shouildnt be looked into behaviour of protestors as they can get nasty. Results of next parliamentray elections should be looked into very closely as it will truly show which path serbia will go down. Presidential ones are just for show.

My dear friends, today is a day that will forever bear a mark, well actually a horrendous scar, on the history of the world. today the albanians declare independence. yes it is completely illegal, yes the Serbs will have no other choice but to split KosovO in half, take back their half of bosnia, not to mention Krajina. russia will both take parts of goergia, and will also loose chechniya. taiwan will declare independence from china. north cyprus will be declared independent by the turks. God (if any exists) help us all. I dont care what the albanians say, nor what the westerners say, to allow albanians to declare independence, then to go and say that it is the only case of it kinds to exist is the biggest slap in the face. My friends, today we see terrorism prevail. To my dearest friends in kosovo(sebrs without a seconds hesitation) hold in there. albanians can deny the suffering they have caused you, but serbia will forever support you, you are Serbs. I only hope that KFOR isn't a complete failure. I hope with all my soul. maybe they'll prevent any more suffering. To think that the laws which the UN sets are as of little meaning as toilet paper, not only sickens me, but worries me. Pandora's Box has been unleashed. I'm not at all being dramatic, im being realistic. One firm warning for the albanians, Serbs are going to battle you in legal ways, always, right up until the day that a serb is killed. Even one. As long as people like the Serbs and Russia and our supporters exhist so will justice and right. The EU and NATO have created a puppet state, at the expense not of only the serbs but the albanians alike. False promises are as only valid as the people who are possessed by them.

My dear friends, when you see the other albanians wanting independence, you'll see the proverbial stuff hitting the fan with a force 1000 times stronger than hiroshima. Im not in anyway over exaggerating this, i am merely being honest. You think that you will be the only place to declare independence? Just like you refuse to live under serbian rule, the serbs will refuse to live under your rule. They are a minority in kosovo, and therefore have the same rights to do what you are doing. Trying to stop us, will not only expose your push for a greater albanian, but will expose to the world the circus which is western idealism at its best. Best of all, i cannot for the life of me wait to see george bushes face when the mexicans declare independence with the helps of serbia, russia, china and many many others. My god america is going to be the biggest (not that it already isn't) laughing stock to grace this beautiful world. How will they be able to say no to the mexicans but yes to the albanians? Oh god i'm sorry, it basically gives me an adrenaline rush.

ZIVELA SRBIJA

CCCC

Mike, what did you expect?

The difference between your interpretation and mine is that a chunk of our land is not being taken away because Serbs know Kosovo will always be ours and recognition will not be legitimate. There will be a significant number of countries that do not recognise independence and that is sufficient for now.

What has changed is the Albanians will believe they are independent, regardless of the fact. The Serbs offered them self-rule but they decided to be ruled by NATO and the US. That is their decision and they can celebrate that fact today.

The war will be fought diplomatically now so we have entrusted our leaders to do the right thing and to protect our territory.

The interesting bit will start after the declaration. Everyone will start to reveal their hand.

I dare to say that today Europe has failed in its mission. Today is I dare to say that the world closed its relatively peaceful chapter and opened new one full of uncertainty, turmoil and violence. Today, Europe has filed to maintain the peace and justice. Today, Europe chooses the shame instead of courage.

As for K-Serbs I just hope they will be with Belgrade and reject governing by the Albanians. Do not give up its freedom ever, and never accept Albanian justice as we all know how painful that justice can be. I just fell sorry that I couldn’t be with you today in Kosovo and share the sorrow together. Be brave and live your lives independently.

As for K-Albanians, I just hope you are aware of how fragile your independence is since it will be basically illegal. Soon you will taste the bitter products of the harvest when you realise what is the meaning of independence without membership in any organisation and continuous dependence on mercy coming from the EU or USA. I do not accuse you for wishing independence but I do accuse you for the robbery of our land. However, sooner or later the thieves face the criminal charges against them.

I am looking forward for the future events!

Its absolute disgrace and criminal for the world to regconize and allow such an illegal act of independence on part of serbia which has been forever been a part of serbian land and played a big importants to serb history and culture, kosovo is SERBIA
if not on the map but allways will be serbia in serbian peoples hearts, lets hope this is the end of a bad era and look forward to a
positive and brighter future and make sure that the serbia population still living kosovo will stay and will be able to live asolute normal lives and for the serbia
population,Culture,tradition
to live on in kosovo for many generations to come. lets hope to see if there will be any justice towards serbs whats so ever,will Serbian orthodox churches,Monasteries Culture and Heritage
in Kosovo and Metohia be destoryed or stay playing a big importants in the balkan area?

Yeah, I'm against this. I'm not one of those that condemned the coalition that put down the flames of the Balkan wars of the 90s. That was a necessary intervention, if anything I regret that the US was not persuaded to join that coalition earlier. But this is now a bad outcome.
NATO and the UN will sanction the creation of a state that is not financially or politically viable. It can only exist with aid from rich countries and it can only stay safe by foreign military agreements. This will suck more pointless money from the tax payers of the west. After the war more should have been done to reintegrate Kosovo back with Serbia. If we think we can "teach" (and isn't that arrogant anyway) Kosovo and Serbia to be good neighbours, with more effort and less finger pointing at Serbia (both sides committed atrocities, that seems to be forgotten now) Kosovo could have remained a part of Serbia.
Now what right have we not to grant state status to the Basques, and what about if Northern Irish Catholics hit the 50% mark? And so on, this is a bad precedent, and it'll be interesting to see the excuses made by politicians when they don't apply this to other small areas that are part of larger states that want independence.

That the USA and certain members of the EU intend to support what is a flagrant breach of international law is a disgrace. This is a most cynical example of "big powers" politics.

The countries that support this illegality might be big economically but they are moral dwarfs.

In the long run, I am however certain that despite the machinations of Western powers, Serbia will retain what is rightfully hers.

David Crowley

To my Serbian friends and friends of Serbia:

On this day of infamy let us just sit back and ignore it all. Let them declare their independence, let them have their party and let those countries who wish to recognise it do so.

When they wake up with their hangovers and realise what they have and what they haven't, it will all look very different. We know that.

On occasions like this I am inclined to take the view of the former Chinese Premier Chou En Lai. During the sixties he was asked what he thought were the historic consequences of the French Revolution. "It's too early to say", he replied.

KOCOBO JE CPБИJA

Kisa, I also have not seen Kosovo's new flag but know how I think it should look.

A white background to signify the Albanians surrendering to the Eurocrats, from whom they will never be independent. And smack in the middle of the flag should be a giant asterisk to signify the "specialness" of Kosovo's "independence" since all references to it will have to have a footnote.

As many Albanians have awkwardly said, "Good luck to you Kosovo on your way."

Hold your heads up high, brothers serbs! No transgression, no barbarous act can last forever. You will be back to your lands and to your houses and to your ancient monasteries sooner than any albanian or coward or brainwashed imagines. Remember: you'll never walk alone while people with dignity and common sense are still living on this Earth. We are withe you! Kosovo je Srbija!

Why are they waving EU flags ???
Today's preposterous self-proclaimed independence declaration by convicted terrorist Hashim Thaci is in violation of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. Kosovo & Metohija remains a Serb province under international law and is everything but an independent state. All that has happened today is that Serbian citizens of Albanian origin have decided to renounce their Serb citizenship so their status has officially changed from legal to illegal. Very good for Serbia in the long run in view of the very contrasting Albanian muslim culture and lifestyle.
Under the EU Treaty (Constitution) only UN member states can join the EU so even if every EU member recognizes this false state (many will not) the EU will still have to make changes to the Treaty in order to absorb the Albanian separatists into the EU.

This is a Pathetic day not independence day! First of all albanians didn't even found time to invent their own flag, they had to borrow one from another country, ahh of course maybe they were too busy into their dodgy business. Then you guys wont be recognized by many UN coutries, till then what you guys are doing is just a bit of folklore.
and for the americans: hey the cowboys era is over.

There is no reason to celebrate Albanians,

You do not have a seat at the UN nor access to funds for development of your impoverished lands. I have never seen such self-centered people in my life.

I ask you again that no one has answered to my question before- WHAT MAKES YOU PEOPLE SPECIAL TO DECLARE INDEPENDENCE? Why you and not the Basque, Kurds, Bosnian Serbs, and the list goes on...

The answer is obvious- you spent millions on a campaign that other groups refuse to do. They'd rather sit and wait than sell their souls. As many have pointed out, once you have awaken the next morning many have you have not pondered "now what?"

How will you employ the youth, collect taxes (yeah, the source of income for your government), get electricity to the many cities going through the occasional blackout, etc. etc... The many hard questions that you have not dealt or even began thinking about. So as you have spent millions for the celebration, now spend millions bringing up Kosovo to resemble a European state. Btw, that will take more money than those political donations. I hope some of you have 2-3 jobs in Western Europe or the US/Canada to support your relatives staying behind "for the cause." Thanks for making it easier for me and the other Serbs to advance other here and make a name for ourselves while you guys are too busy about "the cause."

If you check the BBC news website, the comments people have made on Kosovo by far support the Serbs. Thank you to the British people for supporting us. The government has once again gone against with wishes of the people!

Never in my life have I seen so many people so stupidly happy and grateful for being closed in a reservation, created so they'd be easier to control. I cannot congratulate the independence, because there is no such thing as "supervised independence" - that is an oxymoron, and of course there's that matter of a stolen territory. However, I will congratulate the EU and USA for closing down a large group of people in a huge reservation, with them being grateful for that. USA of course has had plenty experience with this in its history, just think of ghettos and Indian reservations, but they are getting better at it as this time the inhabitants are happy and grateful for their fence as well as their jailers. Just think of this - when UNMIK started administering Kosovo, the Albanians had the option of using UNMIK passports, but since most of the countries did not recognize it as a valid travel document, the poor Albanians had to use Serbian passports, they still do as a matter of fact. They need a visa even for Croatia with the UNMIK passport. Now, when they are a supervised entity (that's what they're getting recognition for, not the statehood, make no mistake about it) it's going to be even easier to control their influx in the foreign countries, the drug and human trafficking and terrorism - the main source of income here. When it comes to their "country", they are very well aware that they cannot even defend themselves. They had to beg, whine and lie to the West in order to win the "war" in the first place. Well, you can cry for help twice... The only "war" accomplishment was done by their women who bravely bore 8 children on average - if they won a territory, they have their women and children to thank for. That's why they're so eager to get the Serbs to "accept" since they know there's no "independent Kosova" once the international forces leave. Oh, wait a second - there's no independent Kosova before the internationals leave either LOL. As when it comes to the international aid - people from the west who are concerned about so much tax-money dumped into this civilization black hole, they need not worry - only 10% ends in Kosovo; the rest is used to pay the internationals themselves, thus returning to be spent in the economies it came from - good scheme for the west ;-), while they're deporting the refugees back to Kosovo - so I definitely congratulate the west - smart move. And when it comes to the lost territory (if it is lost, it's up to the Serbs), maybe it's a small price to pay considering that Serbia right now is not nearly strong and rich enough to have the right policy toward the Albanians, which would, had Kosovo stayed attached for the time being would financially burden Serbia , considering our spoiled mentality, inevitably lead to loss of even more territory, and over the span of 50-60 years leading to Serbia with 7 million Albanians and 2 million Serbs. So think, maybe this is not such a bad deal for Serbia for the time being. We have somebody else taking care of our province while we fully recover, huh? Things look much brighter when one puts things in perspective, don't they ;-)?

KOCOBO JE CPБИJA
Tom O'Donoghue

--

Thanks for your support Tom. It seems Britian may soon follow the path of Yugoslavia with Scottish independence gathering steam. I look forward to Irish reunification and I'm sure Serbia will recognise it within 48 hours! Here is an English town that wants to be in Scotland, this article brought a smile to my face today http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/7248529.stm

--

Jelena

Nicely put post. I have posted something similar myself in the past. The Serbs offered the Albanians self-rule but they chose to be ruled by NATO. It will be nice if they spend a few billion cleaning Kosovo up before Serbia regains authority! ;)

Zoran

to Erhan
By stolen territory I literally mean that- I mean the whole territories deserted by the Serbs as a result of ethnic cleansing following the entering of International Forces in 1999. I speak of properties which together create territories which have different owners from the ones currently using them. Not "historical stolen territories" - I am talking real stealing in the eye of the law - any law, well maybe not Albanian, they tend to have different view on legal matters.

To Erhan the 2nd time
I am sorry Erhan, but which civilians? No one was killed in Kosovo on the Albanian side who wasn't involved in the "liberation" war. Racak was a hoax - it's a proven fact, just went unnoticed after the IC was already in, same way there wwere no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but the information had come in conviniently late. The fact is the Albanians used their women and children for their fighting - anyone armed is not considered a cilian no matter how old or what gender they are by anyone's standards! I was there during March 17, 2004 and witnessed how Albanians used lies and spinning, and on top - kids to fight their fights - cowardly at least to say. And after that - they ask to be protected???? Where is this world going when Russia has to protect the International law????? A really sad day for civilized countries- but one should not underestimate the civilization black hole - Kosovo, it's sucking in ;-)

The Albanians can declare themselves independent, good riddance to them. It's been a bad day for the British tax payer Northern Rock and 2 million Albanians to support. The territory of Kosovo remains Serbian no one can take that away.

Don't know about you, but I'll be wearing a black ribbon tomorrow. (Mourning the death of international law.)

Spread the word if you feel like it.

for Mr Mel from Brussels..mr excuse me for my english..i'm italian, ne Srb.the Slovenia, croazia, Macedonia etc etc were REPUBLIC of former YU. Kosovo was not republic. it is big different!! study the Hystory please.

Today has got to be one of the biggest mistakes of the year. I for one will never accept a independent Kosovo. It is a joke in this day and age that so called powerful nations of the world can flex their muscle and rob a country of its own territory by agreeing its the right way to go. There was no blameless parties in the war in Kosovo, but one side got the backing of NATO and the other ostracised by the international community. Land is just land but Kosovo will always be in the Serbian heart

Dear "bmrusila", congratulations for your post! I couldn't agree more!

I will confess and I don't care if the Albanians mock me, that today I cried. I cried for my Orthodox brethren in Kosovo, I cried for all of us the Orthodox nations of Balkans that live for centuries under every kind of pressure.
Today the victim is Serbia, tomorrow will be Greece, after tomorrow Bulgaria and so on...

to Erhan:

and you´re hiding behind a turkish nick-name? very smart..

my turkish friends, without exception, are against the albanian theft of serbian territory, since they compare you with the Kurds.

so, don´t fool yourself with that masquerade-attempt...

that´s simply too naive.

We made a mistake in the 1999 Serbian/Kosovo operation. I fear all we did was to fragment an already fragmented country, destoying lives in the process and violating the original intent of the NATO alliance. Kosovo independence will not foster stability or peace in the region.

Illegal immigration and high birth rates equal independence. For all of you that romanticize the plight of the Albanians just look to their leaders and history to find out their future. The country is run by drug lords, pimps, and murderers. They live in Slavic towns (names), they are rarely brought up in history until about the 15th century. They have shown a tendency to be violent and do not respect the rights of others. History shows this very well.

I find it amusing how Albanians claim they were in Kosovo and Serbian lands first and how they had been occupied by foreign nations. All people have migrated to where they are today! Noone has ever just fallen out of a tree or hatched where they are today! The balkans were virtually deserted when the Slavs migrated. The Goths had cleaned out the area and moved on prior to the arrival of the Slavs. The ancestors of the Albanians were driven into the highlands by the Goths and came back when the Slavs arrived. Albanians have generally been nomadic and did not settle the regions as have the Slavs (as can be seen by the regions slavic names and sites). If Albanians believe they have the right to independence then they should support the rights of Serbians to have the same independence in Bosnia as well as the Kurds. If they do not they lose the right to claim independence for themselves. Also, the last i checked, i do not remember blood being spilled in Macedonia or Montengro over independence. Slovenia was also a mild break up. If you ask the Balkan people if they would rather live with Serbians or Albanians I am a hundred percent positive that Greeks, Macedonians, Montenegrins, and Bulgarians will pick Serbia every time! Albanians are the only ones looking at their neighbors borders and endangering the region! Prove us all wrong and get rid of the pimps and pushers running your countries and stop trying to erase the history of the people living amongst you!

for the next Presidential elections the albanians could vote for Clinton..Could be a good idea..to enlarge the power and the military basis..panders ignorants of albanians

Joe

Obviously B92 censors you because you are not only congratulating Kosovo, but taking a jab at Serbia, like you normally seem to do.

@ the albanian-american-fake Serb that wrote these words:

I am proud to be an American of Serb descent and proud that our government supports your independence.

Man you are a joke. Get Real, you are an albanian!

Goran, amazing words, you said it all! Hajde!

Not the 5 minorities of Kosovo, but the 5 territories the Albanians want back.

Tsamuria (Southern Iperus) is one of them.
(Nassos, 17 February 2008 15:09

at least you're acknowledging that they're albanian lands.

Its time for Serbia to accept the reality: Kosova is indepedent! Now is time for freedom and peace! Yougoslavia and milosevics nd mladics are dead! (and now I'm asking myself when Serbia is going to apologize to the balcan's mothers for all the crimes done during the last wars?!