Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčak says that international law must be based on principles, which reflects Slovakia's stance towards Kosovo recognition.
If you were to try to expel your hungarian minority in Slovakia in the same way that Serbs did to K-Albanians, you will clearly see how and where the decision on the right to independence is taken. Perhaps a better question to ask yourself is: What right had Slovakia to secede from Czechoslovakia when no abuse towards Slovaks was ever recorded?
Mr. Lajčak, instead of playing devil's advocate, you better learn some lesson from Kosova. The lesson is: Treat your minority with dignity and respect. This is the only way that your minority will be willing to live in your state. Not recognizing Kosova it's not going to "force" your hungarians to love you, so spare us your outdated morality and hypocrisy and be a European of 21 century.
(miri, 5 May 2009 15:23)"
Several problems here
1) Serbs didn't try to expel the Albanians of Kosovo. They and the other nationalities who left Kosovo fled the bombing.
2) Slovakia had the right to secede from Czechoslovakia as Montenegro had the right to leave the SCG union. The Czech Republic didn't try to stop them.
3) Do you have any evidence that the Hungarians of Slovakia are being mistreated?
MP's Murder Stuns Albania Ahead of Poll
Tirana | 04 May 2009 | By Besar Likmeta
Colleagues mourn slain MPAlbania is shocked after an opposition deputy was gunned down this weekend, as the country prepares to vote in parliamentary elections that are seen as key to Tirana's European dreams.
For Fatmir Xhindi, it should have been the end of another day working in his beloved vineyard, as he gathered with a few friends on Saturday evening in a local bar to watch Barcelona and Real Madrid square off against each other in the Spanish premier league.
But as the little known Socialist opposition deputy stepped out of his car in the provincial town of Roskovec in Southern Albania, from behind the walls of the local high school next to his home, two assailants unleashed a barrage of bullets from Kalashnikov automatic riffles that took his life.
Xhindi was later declared dead in the regional hospital in the nearby town of Fier. He was completing his third four-year-term in parliament and was gearing up for the upcoming parliamentary elections to be held on June 28.
Conduct of the elections is seen as key for the country’s democratic credentials.
According to a statement released on Saturday by the Ministry of Interior the 49-year-old father of two was shoot six times from a close distance. Upon hearing the news, the general director of police, Ahmet Premci, and prosecutors from the Office for Serious Crimes immediately headed to the small provincial town.
About Slovakia, Ataman: long ago - the early 1970s - I spent a summer there, when the only language that caused a problem was Russian. (Of course, that was the language I was studying in college...) Anyway, at that time Hungarian was almost a courtly language. And they made a big deal out of Bratislava having been the capital of Hungary for a while when the Turks were pushing north. Their attitude lately has been kind of disappointing. They were certainly a lot more interested in the rights of nations to self-determination than territorial integrity before they left Czechoslovakia.
"There is the Slovak parliament’s position that reflects the opinion of the entire political spectrum, other than that of the Hungarian Coalition Party."
I can see from his statement that there is an issue regarding the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. I do not know too much how this minority ended up in Slovakia. It is NOT about international law that Slovakia is caring about but purely ITS interests. At least let be honest and open rather messing around.
I personally do not have any issue with the Slovakian stance. The only issue is insincerity from Slovakia.
Slovakia's stance towards Serbia is to be applauded, but there seem to be somewhat horribly wrong going on.
I did ask many people sitting on the different side of Serbian-Albanian fence and the usual approach was the "all of us have really horrible politicians" sentence. I did witness isolated nasty cases, too - but these were not that universal.
Same can be said about the Romanian-Hungarian controversy. There are some tensions, but enough to say, I had not a single bad experience with Romanians (except anonymous eBay scamsters).
Slovakia seem to be a very different case and I have no idea, why. Their approach even to innocent, money-spending tourist who dares to speak Hungarian is unacceptable.
I do not know, how far the history in Serbian, Albanian, Romanian schools is twisted towards their own version, but the history teaching in Slovakia is full of millions poor, suffering Slovak peasants serving few fat Hungarian overlords. Which of course is completely wrong. As far as I know, Vojvodinian Hungarians are not forced to learn in the school, they were the few overlords terrorizing millions of Serbs.
'Why didn't NATO save almost 1 million people in Rwanda? Why doesn't NATO bomb Israel?'
I remember the arguments about this at the time in the US. It is hard to get unanimous consent from a group of countries to go to war, but Kosovo was right on Europe's doorstep, everybody had seen what had happened in BiH and felt guilty about it, and besides, the Europeans couldn't face dealing with another flood of refugees from ex-Yugo.
And as for Israel, when the UN said it had a right to exist, that implied it has a right to defend itself. Which isn't to say that they've always chosen the best possible way to do this.
The diplomats of Spain and Slovakia have got it all wrong. Their countries are now forced to a position of fear about their own minorities as a result of the policies of Serbia in the '90ies. Serbia forcing Spain to have fear, that's funny, absurd-funny. If I were in them I would look again at the causes of what is happening now in Kosovo, and compare them with what has been going on in their countries. There is nothing in common there.
Serbia accepted hundreds of thousands Albanians fleeing Enver Hoxhas dictatorship in Albania. The mass exodus of Albanians from Kosovo in 1999 was thanks to NATO bombing of the province. 250.000 Serbs fled AFTER the war ended and are still waiting to go back to their homeland. What do you call that then? Not to mention all those Serbs that were terrorized in the 1980s by the Albanians and had to flee. This is an ethnic clensing you don't want to acknowledge. Albanians still today flee from Kosovo. It has always been poor and crime infested and that is the main reason people continue to leave it. So, please, spare us from your propaganda.
It is nice that Mr. Lajčak speaks all these supporting and noble words and I am sure in his new role he has to. But let us not forget that the same Mr. Lajčak was the high commissioner in Bosnia where he behaved like a colonial master (under EU, US and NATO pressure of course) trying to get rid of Republika Srpska and helping the Bosniaks to try and dominate Serbs like a bunch of Ottomans.
miri:
"This is the only way that your minority will be willing to live in your state."
Noone forced you albanains to live in Serbia. Did they hold a gun to your head and forced you to stay? If it was so bad in Serbia why didn't you go back to albania?
THAT is the question that no K-Albs want to discuss!!! If living in Serbia (Kosovo) was so bad, why didn't you simply go back to your OWN country- Albania???? But you simply want to provoke and create unrest in Kosovo- you've done it for decades and you're doing it now. Shame on you and your KLA leaders! No, Serbs are not perfect- but we don't emmigrate into other countries trying to provoke and create unrest. Let the world live in peace- or at least in Serbia.
Oh please s..t up! So NATO saved you from evil Milosevic! Why didn't NATO save almost 1 million people in Rwanda? Why doesn't NATO bomb Israel? There is nothing noble about the Albanian cause. You are trying to steal someone elses territory and you want a reason to get away with it.
To Dulo,
The amount of ignorance and rudness that people like you exibit is staggering. You of all nations have the nerve to speak about money begging?! Unbelivable. During the Jugoslavian state years all republics were diverting great funds for Kosovo as the least developed region and you wasted all of it...Now again billions pumped from EU and IMF and what have you achieved? So, please do not preach to others, you have no moral or any other authority to do so. Thank you.
Where was security council in the late 90ties to prevent the war and the oppression of the Serbian gov’t and it’s forces? Where was the international law on preserving and treating your own citizens like human beings and not like some animals?
Kosovo played the cards right and got the support of the western powers. That’s why it is independent of Serbia today! Kosovo has a moral right to be independent as well as a legal right.
This has nothing to do with International Law for Slovakia, its just about their FEAR of the Hungarians wanting autonomy and then eventual Freedom and Independece from Slovakia
miri:
"This is the only way that your minority will be willing to live in your state."
Noone forced you albanains to live in Serbia. Did they hold a gun to your head and forced you to stay? If it was so bad in Serbia why didn't you go back to albania?
You came for a better life and you were welcomed, but then when things became sweeter (tito's anti-serb policy + albanian decades long ethnic cleansing of Serbs) you decided stealing Kosovo is much better. Unfortunately today after you greater albania dream you still don't control all of Kosovo!
If you were to try to expel your hungarian minority in Slovakia in the same way that Serbs did to K-Albanians, you will clearly see how and where the decision on the right to independence is taken. Perhaps a better question to ask yourself is: What right had Slovakia to secede from Czechoslovakia when no abuse towards Slovaks was ever recorded?
Mr. Lajčak, instead of playing devil's advocate, you better learn some lesson from Kosova. The lesson is: Treat your minority with dignity and respect. This is the only way that your minority will be willing to live in your state. Not recognizing Kosova it's not going to "force" your hungarians to love you, so spare us your outdated morality and hypocrisy and be a European of 21 century.
Thank you, Mr. Lajcak, and the Slovakian parliament for standing up for international principles, because the future rests upon decisions that are made today. Little Serbia has no pressures or "arm-twisting capabilities in trying to persuade other nations to not recognize Kosovo's UDI- only our faith in God and our sincere friends (not "friends" that can be "bought"). Again, thank you Slovakia, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, and Romania...along with Russia, China, India, and most countries of the world for maintaining a sense of international order. Our Serbian people can never thank you enough!
Where were you during the Milos's era to uphold the law? You and your country are better to keep quiet as the money begging will be withdrawn.
(Dulo, 5 May 2009 13:25)
You are a real tough guy Dulo.
On whose behalf are you speaking here?
“Who will decide where the limit is? Who has that right if we take it away from the UN Security Council,” Lajčak said in the interview with Slovakian daily Pravda.
Where were you during the Milos's era to uphold the law? You and your country are better to keep quiet as the money begging will be withdrawn.
Oh please s..t up! So NATO saved you from evil Milosevic! Why didn't NATO save almost 1 million people in Rwanda? Why doesn't NATO bomb Israel? There is nothing noble about the Albanian cause. You are trying to steal someone elses territory and you want a reason to get away with it.
Thank you, Mr. Lajcak, and the Slovakian parliament for standing up for international principles, because the future rests upon decisions that are made today. Little Serbia has no pressures or "arm-twisting capabilities in trying to persuade other nations to not recognize Kosovo's UDI- only our faith in God and our sincere friends (not "friends" that can be "bought"). Again, thank you Slovakia, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, and Romania...along with Russia, China, India, and most countries of the world for maintaining a sense of international order. Our Serbian people can never thank you enough!
To Dulo,
The amount of ignorance and rudness that people like you exibit is staggering. You of all nations have the nerve to speak about money begging?! Unbelivable. During the Jugoslavian state years all republics were diverting great funds for Kosovo as the least developed region and you wasted all of it...Now again billions pumped from EU and IMF and what have you achieved? So, please do not preach to others, you have no moral or any other authority to do so. Thank you.
“Who will decide where the limit is? Who has that right if we take it away from the UN Security Council,” Lajčak said in the interview with Slovakian daily Pravda.
Where were you during the Milos's era to uphold the law? You and your country are better to keep quiet as the money begging will be withdrawn.
Where were you during the Milos's era to uphold the law? You and your country are better to keep quiet as the money begging will be withdrawn.
(Dulo, 5 May 2009 13:25)
You are a real tough guy Dulo.
On whose behalf are you speaking here?
miri:
"This is the only way that your minority will be willing to live in your state."
Noone forced you albanains to live in Serbia. Did they hold a gun to your head and forced you to stay? If it was so bad in Serbia why didn't you go back to albania?
You came for a better life and you were welcomed, but then when things became sweeter (tito's anti-serb policy + albanian decades long ethnic cleansing of Serbs) you decided stealing Kosovo is much better. Unfortunately today after you greater albania dream you still don't control all of Kosovo!
miri:
"This is the only way that your minority will be willing to live in your state."
Noone forced you albanains to live in Serbia. Did they hold a gun to your head and forced you to stay? If it was so bad in Serbia why didn't you go back to albania?
THAT is the question that no K-Albs want to discuss!!! If living in Serbia (Kosovo) was so bad, why didn't you simply go back to your OWN country- Albania???? But you simply want to provoke and create unrest in Kosovo- you've done it for decades and you're doing it now. Shame on you and your KLA leaders! No, Serbs are not perfect- but we don't emmigrate into other countries trying to provoke and create unrest. Let the world live in peace- or at least in Serbia.
If you were to try to expel your hungarian minority in Slovakia in the same way that Serbs did to K-Albanians, you will clearly see how and where the decision on the right to independence is taken. Perhaps a better question to ask yourself is: What right had Slovakia to secede from Czechoslovakia when no abuse towards Slovaks was ever recorded?
Mr. Lajčak, instead of playing devil's advocate, you better learn some lesson from Kosova. The lesson is: Treat your minority with dignity and respect. This is the only way that your minority will be willing to live in your state. Not recognizing Kosova it's not going to "force" your hungarians to love you, so spare us your outdated morality and hypocrisy and be a European of 21 century.
Serbia accepted hundreds of thousands Albanians fleeing Enver Hoxhas dictatorship in Albania. The mass exodus of Albanians from Kosovo in 1999 was thanks to NATO bombing of the province. 250.000 Serbs fled AFTER the war ended and are still waiting to go back to their homeland. What do you call that then? Not to mention all those Serbs that were terrorized in the 1980s by the Albanians and had to flee. This is an ethnic clensing you don't want to acknowledge. Albanians still today flee from Kosovo. It has always been poor and crime infested and that is the main reason people continue to leave it. So, please, spare us from your propaganda.
It is nice that Mr. Lajčak speaks all these supporting and noble words and I am sure in his new role he has to. But let us not forget that the same Mr. Lajčak was the high commissioner in Bosnia where he behaved like a colonial master (under EU, US and NATO pressure of course) trying to get rid of Republika Srpska and helping the Bosniaks to try and dominate Serbs like a bunch of Ottomans.
This has nothing to do with International Law for Slovakia, its just about their FEAR of the Hungarians wanting autonomy and then eventual Freedom and Independece from Slovakia
Where was security council in the late 90ties to prevent the war and the oppression of the Serbian gov’t and it’s forces? Where was the international law on preserving and treating your own citizens like human beings and not like some animals?
Kosovo played the cards right and got the support of the western powers. That’s why it is independent of Serbia today! Kosovo has a moral right to be independent as well as a legal right.
Slovakia's stance towards Serbia is to be applauded, but there seem to be somewhat horribly wrong going on.
I did ask many people sitting on the different side of Serbian-Albanian fence and the usual approach was the "all of us have really horrible politicians" sentence. I did witness isolated nasty cases, too - but these were not that universal.
Same can be said about the Romanian-Hungarian controversy. There are some tensions, but enough to say, I had not a single bad experience with Romanians (except anonymous eBay scamsters).
Slovakia seem to be a very different case and I have no idea, why. Their approach even to innocent, money-spending tourist who dares to speak Hungarian is unacceptable.
I do not know, how far the history in Serbian, Albanian, Romanian schools is twisted towards their own version, but the history teaching in Slovakia is full of millions poor, suffering Slovak peasants serving few fat Hungarian overlords. Which of course is completely wrong. As far as I know, Vojvodinian Hungarians are not forced to learn in the school, they were the few overlords terrorizing millions of Serbs.
MP's Murder Stuns Albania Ahead of Poll
Tirana | 04 May 2009 | By Besar Likmeta
Colleagues mourn slain MPAlbania is shocked after an opposition deputy was gunned down this weekend, as the country prepares to vote in parliamentary elections that are seen as key to Tirana's European dreams.
For Fatmir Xhindi, it should have been the end of another day working in his beloved vineyard, as he gathered with a few friends on Saturday evening in a local bar to watch Barcelona and Real Madrid square off against each other in the Spanish premier league.
But as the little known Socialist opposition deputy stepped out of his car in the provincial town of Roskovec in Southern Albania, from behind the walls of the local high school next to his home, two assailants unleashed a barrage of bullets from Kalashnikov automatic riffles that took his life.
Xhindi was later declared dead in the regional hospital in the nearby town of Fier. He was completing his third four-year-term in parliament and was gearing up for the upcoming parliamentary elections to be held on June 28.
Conduct of the elections is seen as key for the country’s democratic credentials.
According to a statement released on Saturday by the Ministry of Interior the 49-year-old father of two was shoot six times from a close distance. Upon hearing the news, the general director of police, Ahmet Premci, and prosecutors from the Office for Serious Crimes immediately headed to the small provincial town.
'Why didn't NATO save almost 1 million people in Rwanda? Why doesn't NATO bomb Israel?'
I remember the arguments about this at the time in the US. It is hard to get unanimous consent from a group of countries to go to war, but Kosovo was right on Europe's doorstep, everybody had seen what had happened in BiH and felt guilty about it, and besides, the Europeans couldn't face dealing with another flood of refugees from ex-Yugo.
And as for Israel, when the UN said it had a right to exist, that implied it has a right to defend itself. Which isn't to say that they've always chosen the best possible way to do this.
About Slovakia, Ataman: long ago - the early 1970s - I spent a summer there, when the only language that caused a problem was Russian. (Of course, that was the language I was studying in college...) Anyway, at that time Hungarian was almost a courtly language. And they made a big deal out of Bratislava having been the capital of Hungary for a while when the Turks were pushing north. Their attitude lately has been kind of disappointing. They were certainly a lot more interested in the rights of nations to self-determination than territorial integrity before they left Czechoslovakia.
"There is the Slovak parliament’s position that reflects the opinion of the entire political spectrum, other than that of the Hungarian Coalition Party."
I can see from his statement that there is an issue regarding the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. I do not know too much how this minority ended up in Slovakia. It is NOT about international law that Slovakia is caring about but purely ITS interests. At least let be honest and open rather messing around.
I personally do not have any issue with the Slovakian stance. The only issue is insincerity from Slovakia.
The diplomats of Spain and Slovakia have got it all wrong. Their countries are now forced to a position of fear about their own minorities as a result of the policies of Serbia in the '90ies. Serbia forcing Spain to have fear, that's funny, absurd-funny. If I were in them I would look again at the causes of what is happening now in Kosovo, and compare them with what has been going on in their countries. There is nothing in common there.
If you were to try to expel your hungarian minority in Slovakia in the same way that Serbs did to K-Albanians, you will clearly see how and where the decision on the right to independence is taken. Perhaps a better question to ask yourself is: What right had Slovakia to secede from Czechoslovakia when no abuse towards Slovaks was ever recorded?
Mr. Lajčak, instead of playing devil's advocate, you better learn some lesson from Kosova. The lesson is: Treat your minority with dignity and respect. This is the only way that your minority will be willing to live in your state. Not recognizing Kosova it's not going to "force" your hungarians to love you, so spare us your outdated morality and hypocrisy and be a European of 21 century.
(miri, 5 May 2009 15:23)"
Several problems here
1) Serbs didn't try to expel the Albanians of Kosovo. They and the other nationalities who left Kosovo fled the bombing.
2) Slovakia had the right to secede from Czechoslovakia as Montenegro had the right to leave the SCG union. The Czech Republic didn't try to stop them.
3) Do you have any evidence that the Hungarians of Slovakia are being mistreated?
“Who will decide where the limit is? Who has that right if we take it away from the UN Security Council,” Lajčak said in the interview with Slovakian daily Pravda.
Where were you during the Milos's era to uphold the law? You and your country are better to keep quiet as the money begging will be withdrawn.
If you were to try to expel your hungarian minority in Slovakia in the same way that Serbs did to K-Albanians, you will clearly see how and where the decision on the right to independence is taken. Perhaps a better question to ask yourself is: What right had Slovakia to secede from Czechoslovakia when no abuse towards Slovaks was ever recorded?
Mr. Lajčak, instead of playing devil's advocate, you better learn some lesson from Kosova. The lesson is: Treat your minority with dignity and respect. This is the only way that your minority will be willing to live in your state. Not recognizing Kosova it's not going to "force" your hungarians to love you, so spare us your outdated morality and hypocrisy and be a European of 21 century.
Where was security council in the late 90ties to prevent the war and the oppression of the Serbian gov’t and it’s forces? Where was the international law on preserving and treating your own citizens like human beings and not like some animals?
Kosovo played the cards right and got the support of the western powers. That’s why it is independent of Serbia today! Kosovo has a moral right to be independent as well as a legal right.
This has nothing to do with International Law for Slovakia, its just about their FEAR of the Hungarians wanting autonomy and then eventual Freedom and Independece from Slovakia
The diplomats of Spain and Slovakia have got it all wrong. Their countries are now forced to a position of fear about their own minorities as a result of the policies of Serbia in the '90ies. Serbia forcing Spain to have fear, that's funny, absurd-funny. If I were in them I would look again at the causes of what is happening now in Kosovo, and compare them with what has been going on in their countries. There is nothing in common there.
Where were you during the Milos's era to uphold the law? You and your country are better to keep quiet as the money begging will be withdrawn.
(Dulo, 5 May 2009 13:25)
You are a real tough guy Dulo.
On whose behalf are you speaking here?
'Why didn't NATO save almost 1 million people in Rwanda? Why doesn't NATO bomb Israel?'
I remember the arguments about this at the time in the US. It is hard to get unanimous consent from a group of countries to go to war, but Kosovo was right on Europe's doorstep, everybody had seen what had happened in BiH and felt guilty about it, and besides, the Europeans couldn't face dealing with another flood of refugees from ex-Yugo.
And as for Israel, when the UN said it had a right to exist, that implied it has a right to defend itself. Which isn't to say that they've always chosen the best possible way to do this.
"There is the Slovak parliament’s position that reflects the opinion of the entire political spectrum, other than that of the Hungarian Coalition Party."
I can see from his statement that there is an issue regarding the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. I do not know too much how this minority ended up in Slovakia. It is NOT about international law that Slovakia is caring about but purely ITS interests. At least let be honest and open rather messing around.
I personally do not have any issue with the Slovakian stance. The only issue is insincerity from Slovakia.
miri:
"This is the only way that your minority will be willing to live in your state."
Noone forced you albanains to live in Serbia. Did they hold a gun to your head and forced you to stay? If it was so bad in Serbia why didn't you go back to albania?
You came for a better life and you were welcomed, but then when things became sweeter (tito's anti-serb policy + albanian decades long ethnic cleansing of Serbs) you decided stealing Kosovo is much better. Unfortunately today after you greater albania dream you still don't control all of Kosovo!
Oh please s..t up! So NATO saved you from evil Milosevic! Why didn't NATO save almost 1 million people in Rwanda? Why doesn't NATO bomb Israel? There is nothing noble about the Albanian cause. You are trying to steal someone elses territory and you want a reason to get away with it.
To Dulo,
The amount of ignorance and rudness that people like you exibit is staggering. You of all nations have the nerve to speak about money begging?! Unbelivable. During the Jugoslavian state years all republics were diverting great funds for Kosovo as the least developed region and you wasted all of it...Now again billions pumped from EU and IMF and what have you achieved? So, please do not preach to others, you have no moral or any other authority to do so. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Lajcak, and the Slovakian parliament for standing up for international principles, because the future rests upon decisions that are made today. Little Serbia has no pressures or "arm-twisting capabilities in trying to persuade other nations to not recognize Kosovo's UDI- only our faith in God and our sincere friends (not "friends" that can be "bought"). Again, thank you Slovakia, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, and Romania...along with Russia, China, India, and most countries of the world for maintaining a sense of international order. Our Serbian people can never thank you enough!
miri:
"This is the only way that your minority will be willing to live in your state."
Noone forced you albanains to live in Serbia. Did they hold a gun to your head and forced you to stay? If it was so bad in Serbia why didn't you go back to albania?
THAT is the question that no K-Albs want to discuss!!! If living in Serbia (Kosovo) was so bad, why didn't you simply go back to your OWN country- Albania???? But you simply want to provoke and create unrest in Kosovo- you've done it for decades and you're doing it now. Shame on you and your KLA leaders! No, Serbs are not perfect- but we don't emmigrate into other countries trying to provoke and create unrest. Let the world live in peace- or at least in Serbia.
Serbia accepted hundreds of thousands Albanians fleeing Enver Hoxhas dictatorship in Albania. The mass exodus of Albanians from Kosovo in 1999 was thanks to NATO bombing of the province. 250.000 Serbs fled AFTER the war ended and are still waiting to go back to their homeland. What do you call that then? Not to mention all those Serbs that were terrorized in the 1980s by the Albanians and had to flee. This is an ethnic clensing you don't want to acknowledge. Albanians still today flee from Kosovo. It has always been poor and crime infested and that is the main reason people continue to leave it. So, please, spare us from your propaganda.
MP's Murder Stuns Albania Ahead of Poll
Tirana | 04 May 2009 | By Besar Likmeta
Colleagues mourn slain MPAlbania is shocked after an opposition deputy was gunned down this weekend, as the country prepares to vote in parliamentary elections that are seen as key to Tirana's European dreams.
For Fatmir Xhindi, it should have been the end of another day working in his beloved vineyard, as he gathered with a few friends on Saturday evening in a local bar to watch Barcelona and Real Madrid square off against each other in the Spanish premier league.
But as the little known Socialist opposition deputy stepped out of his car in the provincial town of Roskovec in Southern Albania, from behind the walls of the local high school next to his home, two assailants unleashed a barrage of bullets from Kalashnikov automatic riffles that took his life.
Xhindi was later declared dead in the regional hospital in the nearby town of Fier. He was completing his third four-year-term in parliament and was gearing up for the upcoming parliamentary elections to be held on June 28.
Conduct of the elections is seen as key for the country’s democratic credentials.
According to a statement released on Saturday by the Ministry of Interior the 49-year-old father of two was shoot six times from a close distance. Upon hearing the news, the general director of police, Ahmet Premci, and prosecutors from the Office for Serious Crimes immediately headed to the small provincial town.
It is nice that Mr. Lajčak speaks all these supporting and noble words and I am sure in his new role he has to. But let us not forget that the same Mr. Lajčak was the high commissioner in Bosnia where he behaved like a colonial master (under EU, US and NATO pressure of course) trying to get rid of Republika Srpska and helping the Bosniaks to try and dominate Serbs like a bunch of Ottomans.
If you were to try to expel your hungarian minority in Slovakia in the same way that Serbs did to K-Albanians, you will clearly see how and where the decision on the right to independence is taken. Perhaps a better question to ask yourself is: What right had Slovakia to secede from Czechoslovakia when no abuse towards Slovaks was ever recorded?
Mr. Lajčak, instead of playing devil's advocate, you better learn some lesson from Kosova. The lesson is: Treat your minority with dignity and respect. This is the only way that your minority will be willing to live in your state. Not recognizing Kosova it's not going to "force" your hungarians to love you, so spare us your outdated morality and hypocrisy and be a European of 21 century.
(miri, 5 May 2009 15:23)"
Several problems here
1) Serbs didn't try to expel the Albanians of Kosovo. They and the other nationalities who left Kosovo fled the bombing.
2) Slovakia had the right to secede from Czechoslovakia as Montenegro had the right to leave the SCG union. The Czech Republic didn't try to stop them.
3) Do you have any evidence that the Hungarians of Slovakia are being mistreated?
Slovakia's stance towards Serbia is to be applauded, but there seem to be somewhat horribly wrong going on.
I did ask many people sitting on the different side of Serbian-Albanian fence and the usual approach was the "all of us have really horrible politicians" sentence. I did witness isolated nasty cases, too - but these were not that universal.
Same can be said about the Romanian-Hungarian controversy. There are some tensions, but enough to say, I had not a single bad experience with Romanians (except anonymous eBay scamsters).
Slovakia seem to be a very different case and I have no idea, why. Their approach even to innocent, money-spending tourist who dares to speak Hungarian is unacceptable.
I do not know, how far the history in Serbian, Albanian, Romanian schools is twisted towards their own version, but the history teaching in Slovakia is full of millions poor, suffering Slovak peasants serving few fat Hungarian overlords. Which of course is completely wrong. As far as I know, Vojvodinian Hungarians are not forced to learn in the school, they were the few overlords terrorizing millions of Serbs.
About Slovakia, Ataman: long ago - the early 1970s - I spent a summer there, when the only language that caused a problem was Russian. (Of course, that was the language I was studying in college...) Anyway, at that time Hungarian was almost a courtly language. And they made a big deal out of Bratislava having been the capital of Hungary for a while when the Turks were pushing north. Their attitude lately has been kind of disappointing. They were certainly a lot more interested in the rights of nations to self-determination than territorial integrity before they left Czechoslovakia.
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