Self-Determination calls for union with Albania

well, just do it, my dear k-albanian friends, since that will lead you into your final defeat.

serbian territory will stay serbian territory, and if you dare to change that, you will have to face the consequences.

and NATO won´t ( be able to ) help you again.

personally, I would love to see the K-albanian proclaim a unification because THAT would legitimate serbian defense in a way that was not possible in the last years...

A union with Albania will certainly rip Kosovo in two, as Serb sectors will want (re)union with Serbia.

Funny, for someone who loves Kosovo so much, now he wants to have Albania swallow it. That's actually worse than Thaci and Co.

Slow down Mr. Kurti!
Although there is a lot of substance on what you say, your tone resembles that of Kostunica. Look at the reality! Don't just stir the pot and throw hypothesis there without a way to implement them. One thing we have learned from our Serbian neighbors is their mistakes, their over-empty-bulling-confidence and lack of recognition of reality. We also should learn that in today's Balkan reality size doesn't matter. Think pragmatically Mr. Kurti. Joining Albania politically at this time is as undesirable as it is impossible. An economic union though it's a different matter. Both countries are already acting as one when it comes to economical, social and cultural ties. Without knowing Mr. Kurti, you are feeding the ever lasting Serbian theory of "Greater Albania" which has been miss-used and miss-interpreted so badly against Albanian interests throughout history by Serbian academics.
Be patient Mr. Kurti, and if you want to help, you can re-direct your energy and leverage towards bringing some new recognitions.

I'm against an union with Albania and I think more than 80% of Kosovars are against it, but I think Mr Kurti is right when he says that Serbia should apologise to Kosovo for the crimes it committed.

Well I'm personally with an idea for the unification with Albania but it won't happened because its a good dream, a same kind of dream Serbs have for Kosovo.

Reality is: Kosovo is independent

"I'm against an union with Albania and I think more than 80% of Kosovars are against it, but I think Mr Kurti is right when he says that Serbia should apologise to Kosovo for the crimes it committed.
(Mendo, 15 September 2010 14:32)"

Why are Albanians in Kosovo waving with Albanian flags, talk about Albanism, but they do not want to be part of Albania? Does Albania want a union with "Kosova"? What are the advantages and disadvantages? I agree with Jovan's comments. Mendo, why would Serbia apologize when it knows that the Albanians in Kosovo will never ever apologize for anything they have committed in the past 500 years.

Oh dear this is a mistake by Kurti. He would have been better served remaining silent on this issue.

He almost reminds me of the Serbian opposition during the time of Milosevic, trying all populistic methods including attacking from a nationalistic perspective as well as a pro democratic, anti corruption one.

Kurti and his followers should not forget Kosovo Albanians stated they fought for independence, not to join with Albania.

I would have said that Kurti's destiny as part of governing Kosovo authorities is inevitable, but I'm not as sure as I was now.

He has to understand his own 'brand'. He is supposed to be part of a new, fresher approach, not a member of old, outdated ideas.

What about the A-plan the Albanians seemed to like so much?!

"Reality is: Kosovo is independent."???

You just make a simple statement like that as if you know what you are talking about. For something to be independent it has to be in the complete control of one group of people.

Reality is: The West is the very soul of this project. And nothing your people say ACTUALLY matter. When they leave, "project kosova" will die.

Funny, for someone who loves Kosovo so much, now he wants to have Albania swallow it. That's actually worse than Thaci and Co.
(Mike, 15 September 2010)

Albania swallowing Kosova? Nonsense. It'd be a union of two equals. Kosova was the craddle of the Albanian nation that rose out of the ashes of the Ottoman empire.
It was in Prizren that the groundwork for the modern Albanian nation was laid.

This should have been done 100 years ago when we first declared our independence. Nothing wrong with trying to correct past historical mistakes.

Kurti just notched a few more points in my book. Good for him for staying true to himself and not give in to the Western masters.

I'm Albanian, and I don't want a unification with Kosovo.

Why?

Because 2 Albanian nations, side by side, are better than 1.

As far as the future goes, we'll see how things play out.

For the moment, quantity is better than quality.

Now, for the far distant future, decades and decades into the future, we shall see.

By then, I hope that quantity will turn into quality (1 united Albanian nation) by that time.

As of right now, however, things are going perfectly and according to plan.

--Without knowing Mr. Kurti, you are feeding the ever lasting Serbian theory of "Greater Albania" which has been miss-used and miss-interpreted so badly against Albanian interests throughout history by Serbian academics.
Be patient Mr. Kurti, and if you want to help, you can re-direct your energy and leverage towards bringing some new recognitions.
(miri, 15 September 2010 15:43)--

let's try this again... i very much agree with you on this, miri. i respect kurti -- i've met and interviewed him but have always had mixed feelings.

i do believe in talking, with yr frnds, allies, also adversaries. there are serbs living in kosova, there is a history there, it ain't just disappearing. people have to learn to live together, despite the past horrors.

serbia needs to be part of the conversation -- they are guilty of so much evil in kosova, they have to fess up to it (we agree on that). to pay reparations to the thousands of survivors whose lives, families, loved ones, properties have been decimated. there is the right of return (on all sides), the need to adjudicate all war crimes -- protection of all holy sites... of all minorities... all of the points i've presented before, and more.

that can only come from talks.
of course we will have to monitor the situation. as time goes by, if it proves to be just the same old trix and smoke 'n mirrors fr u-no-who, then i may reconsider my position and join w/albin kurti. but for the time being, i do not.

meanwhile, there's a myriad of ways to cooperate with albania -- and other neighbors, and all of these means should be fully explored.

thanks, miri, par usual.

roberto
frisco

Ironic how someone like Kurti attracts so much attention in serbian media ... he is a communist, every one here knows it, he also wants the state to sponsor students with free meals, dressing, no tutiotion fees etc in order to become popular among them, typical leninism in action ... make noise in order to get attention . In my opinion, Kosovo is a closed question, north of mitrovica is EU and UN responsibility, if EU and UN fail to solve the question of serbs in Kosovo, then they should take responsibilies about what will happen next in the sandjak, presevo, bosna and elsewhere in balkans...Tirana does not intend to annex any territory, our politicans have stated so many times, Kurti's political movement has no support and no influence in our national policies..., we already have many problems on our own with the economy etc...i think the main focus of Tirana should be the question of albanians in FYROM, which are being systematically discriminated against. It is easy to blame albanians for beograd faults... look at montenegro for instance, ulcinj has no problem with podgorica and no one has been complaining and there, serbs, montegrins and albanians live quite peacefully.

"i think the main focus of Tirana should be the question of albanians in FYROM, which are being systematically discriminated against"
-Illiri

Are you serious? You're just like the terrorists over there trying to start a war by claiming they have no rights. Have you ever even been to Macedonia? There are places where everything from road signs to mcdonald's menus are in Albanian ONLY. Plus, there are Albanians in all aspects of the government, the military and the police force. To Albanians "rights" means to have a ethnically cleansed state under muslim rule and christians are either dead or too scared to leave their houses. You guys just want to cause problems because that's what your people do best.
If anything, we should take away the rights we have given to the Albanians, who make up less than 1/4 of the country, because they still make threats, still don't appreciate what the country has given them and, as we can see by your comment, they call us "FYROM" even though they live there. Why the hell would anyone want to give them rights?
And, what about the Macedonians in Albania who don't even have access to slavic language schools? While in Albania there are public schools and colleges that are purely Albanian?

Well done Mendo wise words.Better to settle for apologies to make yourself feel better about your sad situation.

Sooner or later compromise and the EU will be too big to resist, then maybe you can turn your place into a nice place to live.

Well, probably Albanian leaders in Pristina are saying now "God, protect us from friends, because from enemies we shall be able to d it by ourselves".

Now, I don't understand the political calculus behind that: either Kurti hopes to capitalize on this phantom idea of "Great Albania" (which is a nonsense, as any other "Great" idea in Europe, be it Great Serbia, Great Greece, Great Romania, Great Hungary or Great Bulgaria...), either he thinks that by bringing this into public debate will offer Pristina a bargain chip at the negociation table (and this is also impossible, this chip was already used while debating Ahtisaari Plan).

However, according to my Romanian friends currently in Kosovo, the ideea of uniting Kosovo with Albania is very low in the public eyes. And this is understandable: why to be just a Mayor of an Albanian city when you coud be the Prime Minister of your own country?
Patriotism is like loyalty: sooner or later, it goes trough the stomach. But probably Kurti is currently far away from the "dinner table" in Pristina, and he feels that chanches to reach it are slim, these days...
However, to add to what some Albanian poster wrote here already: sometimes young people are fascinated by old ideas, just because they are old and are giving the impression that they are legitimate (like and old actress who gets respect because the age, not because the B movies she played in).

"Albania swallowing Kosova? Nonsense. It'd be a union of two equals Kosova was the craddle of the Albanian nation that rose out of the ashes of the Ottoman empire. (Zoti, 15 September 2010 20:13)

Kosovo and Albania two equals? How funny. Albanians would be stupid to have a union or whatever with Kosovo - it would only cost money, nothing to gain. But some see the relationship between Kosovo and the USA as two equal partners, too :-) And Kosovarians celebrated their own great "indipindint" country by waving albanian flags, too. Strange people..

"Reality is: Kosovo is independent
(Hekuran, 15 September 2010 16:42)"

No Hekuran. The reality is that Kosovo (I am surprised you do not call it "Kosova") is an EU/NATO colony that is solely there for geopolitical reasons. You will never be really independent. The status will remain in limbo for as long as Serbia, Russia and China want to.

I think that when the ex-KLA'ers apologize for their terrorist acts in the late '90's, which encouraged Milosevic to start his crackdown, then maybe Serbia can consider apologizing for the actions of his regime. There was clearly no clean side in the Serbian Albanian conflict in KiM. As for KiM Albanians joining mother Albania - I don't think Tirana would want that headache.

Kurti is right.The population of Kosova are 95% Albanians.So,there is no need for two Albanian countries.Albanian flag in Kosova it shows the will of the people of Kosova.

I would like to see their faces!
(USB 3.0, 16 September 2010 01:03)
--
Not a bad idea. Serbia gets access to the sea while Albania gets access to Bulgaria. It will be like a mini Yugoslavia. ;)

The biggest problem is with those who live in the past and are full of hatred while taking steps to continually fuel it. Time for them to get over it and take some chill pills.

At least you are looking towards compromise and a positive solution. That is the only way forward.

I haven't heard of any real Albanians (those from Albania) suggesting they want Kosovo. Kurti and the rest of those "Greater Albania" proponents should stop trying to invite themselves into someone else's house.

miri-- i can't copy and paste at this moment, but i agree with you on a # of levels. this is really not the time to be talking about "uniting" with albania -- it just stirs up the flames. close economic cooperation, of course -- that really is natural and can yield fertile results.

there need to be talks with the blgd regime. no one is more critical of those politicains than i, but they do (sadly) officially represent serbia. we need to deal with them, as i pointed out yesterday, in detail.

of course it doesn't mean they set the agenda --we absolutely bring up the war, war crimes, reparations for all who suffered so bitterly because of them.

but there are other issues that need to be addressed, some that involve minority rights, inside kosova AND serbia. HUman rights. that needs both parties, many parties.

mr kurti can be a force for progress, and i hope he will be...

roberto frisco

dear Zoti, the socalled "prizren league" was a bunch of uncivilized shepherds playing revolution on serbian soil.

they were speaking out loudly their stupid illusions while living on serbian land, what shows how stupid they were at all, actually.

by repeating that nonsense of KiM being the cradle of the Albanians, what I would call the climax of nonsense here, ...you are just showing off your poor understanding of albanian history in general.

but what I enjoyed the most: Roberto from "Frisco" =) ...who "met and interviewed" Albin "the dreamer" Kurti!

well, I don´t know when Albin has been to that fictional little city named Frisco...

but San Francisco, is still something completely different.

but he´s not getting tired to sell the legend of living in that beautiful little city in California.

the bottom-line of all this is:
dreamers of the internet - unite ( in the B-92-forum )

=)

Albin is almost right on that. Legally Kosovo is Serbia - but in order to settle the problem for good, the talks should be between Tirana and Belgrade.

Ideally, Kosovo should belong to both, each community being able to chose. Heck, they can have even two passports: one Albanian, one Serbian - why not?

De-facto it's already the case. Kosovars can stay and live in Albania and Serbia as long as they want. Kosovars can visit university in Belgrade or in Tirana (my guess is: they would rather chose Berlin or Lund in Sweden tough)... and so on.

As bizarre as it sounds - but a Serbian-Albanian State Union will make the entire Kosovo problem obsolete. The big question is, how to do it the way no one is at disadvantage.

This is my pet idea - hope I will see it one day. If it happens, many people will feel silly. In particular the ones running Camp Bondsteel.

I would like to see their faces!

I haven't heard of any real Albanians (those from Albania) suggesting they want Kosovo. Kurti and the rest of those "Greater Albania" proponents should stop trying to invite themselves into someone else's house.
(American Eagle)

Born and raised in Tirana here. Reread my comments below again.

And they're not trying to invite themselves to someone else's house, it's their house.

Ok Zoti, one out of three million. Are there any others? And if Albania is their home, why aren't your brothers there in the first place? I'm sure that one day, you will try to claim New Jersey because there are a lot of Albanians there too.

I like Kurti and think he is the best friend Serbia has right now. If he get any more influence then the western cabal will have a hard time defending their actions supporting these people. Even harder than they have now because their desperate lies will shine through so strong it will be impossible to cover up.

If independence fails than a union with Albania is the final option. Serbia is foolishly pushing for this. But a union with Serbia is an impossibility.

Other than satisfying nationalist egos, I can't think of a single good reason why Kosovo and Albania would need to be formally united.

On the other hand, I can think of plenty of reasons not to, the main one being that it would be prohibitively expensive, destabilizing, and ultimately pointless (if EU is our final goal that is).

In other words, two countries seem to be just fine.

Kurti sounds to me like the typical blowhard who likes to criticize everything because he can... he after all does not have to make difficult decisions that require balancing different interests and points of view.

Are you serious? You're just like the terrorists over there trying to start a war by claiming they have no rights. Have you ever even been to Macedonia? There are places where everything from road signs to mcdonald's menus are in Albanian ONLY. Plus, there are Albanians in all aspects of the government, the military and the police force. To some Albanians "rights" means to have a ethnically cleansed state under muslim rule and christians are either dead or too scared to leave their houses. If anything, we should take away the rights we have given to the Albanians, who make up less than 1/4 of the country, because they still make threats, still don't appreciate what the country has given them and, as we can see by your comment, they call us "FYROM" even though they live there. Why the heck would anyone want to give them rights?
And, what about the Macedonians in Albania who don't even have access to slavic language schools? While in Albania there are public schools and colleges that are purely Albanian?
(Jason, 16 September 2010 20:10)

I don't believe Jason actually wrote this. He knows better. Where is the Muslim rule this writer speaks of? Whoever wrote this was obviously NOT here before the Orhid Accords that finally allowed Albanianas to participate in the government and state agencies and allowed for at least one albanian language school. Prior to that, they weren't even considered real citizens under the Macedonian Constitution.

''And, what about the Macedonians in Albania who don't even have access to slavic language schools? ''

I don t know what gruevsky tells but surely there are no ''macedonians'' in Albania...macedonians are extint along with the rest of thracean tribes during the middle ages, macedonianism is merely a romantic feeling that Tito enjoyed ... but of course, 0.5% of Albania is slavic and it would be unhuman to deny their presence so it is their right to have schools in serbo croatian or in bulgarian (they can choose any language they please), no one would be against their rights....but Albania is a poor country, opening schools for ghost minorities is more than our budget can afford...(mostly slavic minorities have spread in Tirana, Durres, Europe, Greece etc and don t live in their traditional villages) I mean, before our state built serbo croation/bulgarian schools, would first have to gather all of the slavs in a single neighbourhood, or in a single village...but then greeks would become more jealous and would ask for free apartments, free neighbourhoods and would cry for racism if they wouldn t get free of everything....Practically, only a couple of slavic villages are left un abandoned, and they are in Skodra, montenegrins to be more exact...but they are not ''macedonians'' so montegrin opinion is what really matters for the situation of slavic minorites in albania, and montegrins , not only don t complain, but are pretty content the way they are treated...

Unification with Albania would serve better for Kosovo than Albania. I bet you 90% of Albanians from Albania would be against such a reunification. The only thing that connects them is a language and nothing else. Kosovo is 90 % Muslim which for Catholics, Orthodox, and agnostics doesn´t play well this idea. And it´s quite understandable. For the last 60 years, they have managed to sudue Islam to 22%, so why turn the country into a Muslim country again when they know that such an outcome it only hurts their European perspectives.

I thought kurti was supposed to be in jail for attacking the UN? This guy is single-handedly ruining kosovo's bid for statehood and is an embarrassment to the us, so I shouldn't complain.

For the 15th time, the myth that a majority of people in Albania and Kosovo do not wish a full national home for Albanians (thats why its called Albania after all) is just that a GODDAMN MYTH

Please consult Fig 6 in the appendix of this report drafted by the International Commission on the Balkans

http://www.cls-sofia.org/uploads/files/Projects%20files/International%20Commission%20on%20the%20Balkans.pdf

It is true that the Serbian push to have Mitrovica joining Serbia will ultimately strengthen the position of those supporting that Kosovo should join Albania. But there are a few other key notes to take into consideration.

First off, Mitrovica was a part of Serbia and only in the 1970's was placed, by Tito, in the Kosovo autonomous region. And Serbians (whether they are ethnic Serbs or ethnic Albanians) should know better than me that the rationale for it at the time was that "the weaker Serbia is, the stronger Yugoslavia will be".

Then there's Kosovo's UDI. If it is legal for a part of a country to unilaterally break away and declare independence that can't only be valid for Serbia, it must be valid for Kosovo as well.

Still on the succession and merging topic, if you're going to have Mitrovica split from Kosovo to join Serbia and it is true that will serve as an argument for the rest of Kosovo to join Albania, it is equally as valid to imagine that later on that will also be used as a valid rationale for Republika Srpska to split from BiH and join Serbia.

On the topic of successions I'm not qualified to judge which ones are ultimately good for the people in terms of living standards and such. I see no reason to think that Kosovo merging with Albania would be any good for the people living in Kosovo. Just as everyone knows that when Germany was unified it wasn't really the best move in terms of living standards for West Germany. Likewise, it would be a bad move for South Koreans to actually merge with the deeply impoverished North.

From where I stand, Kosovo and Albania merging in one country looks more like a populist move rather than something that will benefit either side. But after such a long chain of poor judgement calls from so many different sides in the Balkans, since the 1980's what's one more or one less, right?

His patrioic statements won't decieve the albanians. everybody knows Kurti is a communist ....

thanks to Serbian politicians,the idea of the union of albania and kosovo is being now a real topic among people,if not yet among kosovar politicians who have to be "politicaly correct"and say only what our friends allow them to say...i would have take decades to us to bring this topic to a real concern among albanians but thanks to serbian agenda,this took only some month...
And the more you serbian push for North mitrovica,the more you push for our union with albania:if north mitrovica is entitled to "join" serbia,the rest of kosovo is too entitled to "join" albania!
you are just doing the job for us,as always!So just go on with north mitrovica,please,it will help so much!

@ Lili,

You say Albin is the most popular in the opinion polls. True, but I am sure you also realise that his radical views on so many things will serve him as a disadvantage when/if he comes to power!

But, if that's the best way to get rid of Thaci, so be it!

As someone born and raised in Prishtina, I would never ever want to see a unification with Albania! It is absolute non-sense!

Kosovo became independent on the grounds that no unification can take place! Frankly, I wouldn't want my taxes to go to Tirana! This discussion is a convoluted Albanian nationalistic and short-sighted ideology that will never materialise.

Kurti and Self-determination, if transformed to a political party, will gain huge support from the electorate in this way risking Thaci's position - which is a good political development - but also a dangerous tact that threatens Ahtisaari Plan.

Kosovo needs a new political party with the involvement of prominent figures such as Veton Surroi.

See Tim Judah's article: http://www.economist.com/blogs/eastern-approaches

And as for Albin,the more you say he is a communist,a silly man etc,the more we will love him(your friend is certainly not my friend etc) The last opinion pole revealed that kurti is the most popular albanian politician;)))!
Don't worry,be happy...in your country!

"This is my pet idea - hope I will see it one day. If it happens, many people will feel silly. In particular the ones running Camp Bondsteel."

Why would they feel silly?

As someone born and raised in Prishtina, I would never ever want to see a unification with Albania! It is absolute non-sense!

My dear,it reminds me all those albanians saying that kosovo will never be independent and we should just be glad with our autonomy in serbia!!
what we call titistat in albanian,no?

I'm against an union with Albania and I think more than 80% of Kosovars are against it, but I think Mr Kurti is right when he says that Serbia should apologise to Kosovo for the crimes it committed.

well, just do it, my dear k-albanian friends, since that will lead you into your final defeat.

serbian territory will stay serbian territory, and if you dare to change that, you will have to face the consequences.

and NATO won´t ( be able to ) help you again.

personally, I would love to see the K-albanian proclaim a unification because THAT would legitimate serbian defense in a way that was not possible in the last years...

"I'm against an union with Albania and I think more than 80% of Kosovars are against it, but I think Mr Kurti is right when he says that Serbia should apologise to Kosovo for the crimes it committed.
(Mendo, 15 September 2010 14:32)"

Why are Albanians in Kosovo waving with Albanian flags, talk about Albanism, but they do not want to be part of Albania? Does Albania want a union with "Kosova"? What are the advantages and disadvantages? I agree with Jovan's comments. Mendo, why would Serbia apologize when it knows that the Albanians in Kosovo will never ever apologize for anything they have committed in the past 500 years.

Well I'm personally with an idea for the unification with Albania but it won't happened because its a good dream, a same kind of dream Serbs have for Kosovo.

Reality is: Kosovo is independent

--Without knowing Mr. Kurti, you are feeding the ever lasting Serbian theory of "Greater Albania" which has been miss-used and miss-interpreted so badly against Albanian interests throughout history by Serbian academics.
Be patient Mr. Kurti, and if you want to help, you can re-direct your energy and leverage towards bringing some new recognitions.
(miri, 15 September 2010 15:43)--

let's try this again... i very much agree with you on this, miri. i respect kurti -- i've met and interviewed him but have always had mixed feelings.

i do believe in talking, with yr frnds, allies, also adversaries. there are serbs living in kosova, there is a history there, it ain't just disappearing. people have to learn to live together, despite the past horrors.

serbia needs to be part of the conversation -- they are guilty of so much evil in kosova, they have to fess up to it (we agree on that). to pay reparations to the thousands of survivors whose lives, families, loved ones, properties have been decimated. there is the right of return (on all sides), the need to adjudicate all war crimes -- protection of all holy sites... of all minorities... all of the points i've presented before, and more.

that can only come from talks.
of course we will have to monitor the situation. as time goes by, if it proves to be just the same old trix and smoke 'n mirrors fr u-no-who, then i may reconsider my position and join w/albin kurti. but for the time being, i do not.

meanwhile, there's a myriad of ways to cooperate with albania -- and other neighbors, and all of these means should be fully explored.

thanks, miri, par usual.

roberto
frisco

What about the A-plan the Albanians seemed to like so much?!

Slow down Mr. Kurti!
Although there is a lot of substance on what you say, your tone resembles that of Kostunica. Look at the reality! Don't just stir the pot and throw hypothesis there without a way to implement them. One thing we have learned from our Serbian neighbors is their mistakes, their over-empty-bulling-confidence and lack of recognition of reality. We also should learn that in today's Balkan reality size doesn't matter. Think pragmatically Mr. Kurti. Joining Albania politically at this time is as undesirable as it is impossible. An economic union though it's a different matter. Both countries are already acting as one when it comes to economical, social and cultural ties. Without knowing Mr. Kurti, you are feeding the ever lasting Serbian theory of "Greater Albania" which has been miss-used and miss-interpreted so badly against Albanian interests throughout history by Serbian academics.
Be patient Mr. Kurti, and if you want to help, you can re-direct your energy and leverage towards bringing some new recognitions.

A union with Albania will certainly rip Kosovo in two, as Serb sectors will want (re)union with Serbia.

Funny, for someone who loves Kosovo so much, now he wants to have Albania swallow it. That's actually worse than Thaci and Co.

miri-- i can't copy and paste at this moment, but i agree with you on a # of levels. this is really not the time to be talking about "uniting" with albania -- it just stirs up the flames. close economic cooperation, of course -- that really is natural and can yield fertile results.

there need to be talks with the blgd regime. no one is more critical of those politicains than i, but they do (sadly) officially represent serbia. we need to deal with them, as i pointed out yesterday, in detail.

of course it doesn't mean they set the agenda --we absolutely bring up the war, war crimes, reparations for all who suffered so bitterly because of them.

but there are other issues that need to be addressed, some that involve minority rights, inside kosova AND serbia. HUman rights. that needs both parties, many parties.

mr kurti can be a force for progress, and i hope he will be...

roberto frisco

Kurti is right.The population of Kosova are 95% Albanians.So,there is no need for two Albanian countries.Albanian flag in Kosova it shows the will of the people of Kosova.

Oh dear this is a mistake by Kurti. He would have been better served remaining silent on this issue.

He almost reminds me of the Serbian opposition during the time of Milosevic, trying all populistic methods including attacking from a nationalistic perspective as well as a pro democratic, anti corruption one.

Kurti and his followers should not forget Kosovo Albanians stated they fought for independence, not to join with Albania.

I would have said that Kurti's destiny as part of governing Kosovo authorities is inevitable, but I'm not as sure as I was now.

He has to understand his own 'brand'. He is supposed to be part of a new, fresher approach, not a member of old, outdated ideas.

Funny, for someone who loves Kosovo so much, now he wants to have Albania swallow it. That's actually worse than Thaci and Co.
(Mike, 15 September 2010)

Albania swallowing Kosova? Nonsense. It'd be a union of two equals. Kosova was the craddle of the Albanian nation that rose out of the ashes of the Ottoman empire.
It was in Prizren that the groundwork for the modern Albanian nation was laid.

This should have been done 100 years ago when we first declared our independence. Nothing wrong with trying to correct past historical mistakes.

Kurti just notched a few more points in my book. Good for him for staying true to himself and not give in to the Western masters.

Well done Mendo wise words.Better to settle for apologies to make yourself feel better about your sad situation.

Sooner or later compromise and the EU will be too big to resist, then maybe you can turn your place into a nice place to live.

"Reality is: Kosovo is independent."???

You just make a simple statement like that as if you know what you are talking about. For something to be independent it has to be in the complete control of one group of people.

Reality is: The West is the very soul of this project. And nothing your people say ACTUALLY matter. When they leave, "project kosova" will die.

I'm Albanian, and I don't want a unification with Kosovo.

Why?

Because 2 Albanian nations, side by side, are better than 1.

As far as the future goes, we'll see how things play out.

For the moment, quantity is better than quality.

Now, for the far distant future, decades and decades into the future, we shall see.

By then, I hope that quantity will turn into quality (1 united Albanian nation) by that time.

As of right now, however, things are going perfectly and according to plan.

Ironic how someone like Kurti attracts so much attention in serbian media ... he is a communist, every one here knows it, he also wants the state to sponsor students with free meals, dressing, no tutiotion fees etc in order to become popular among them, typical leninism in action ... make noise in order to get attention . In my opinion, Kosovo is a closed question, north of mitrovica is EU and UN responsibility, if EU and UN fail to solve the question of serbs in Kosovo, then they should take responsibilies about what will happen next in the sandjak, presevo, bosna and elsewhere in balkans...Tirana does not intend to annex any territory, our politicans have stated so many times, Kurti's political movement has no support and no influence in our national policies..., we already have many problems on our own with the economy etc...i think the main focus of Tirana should be the question of albanians in FYROM, which are being systematically discriminated against. It is easy to blame albanians for beograd faults... look at montenegro for instance, ulcinj has no problem with podgorica and no one has been complaining and there, serbs, montegrins and albanians live quite peacefully.

I think that when the ex-KLA'ers apologize for their terrorist acts in the late '90's, which encouraged Milosevic to start his crackdown, then maybe Serbia can consider apologizing for the actions of his regime. There was clearly no clean side in the Serbian Albanian conflict in KiM. As for KiM Albanians joining mother Albania - I don't think Tirana would want that headache.

Albin is almost right on that. Legally Kosovo is Serbia - but in order to settle the problem for good, the talks should be between Tirana and Belgrade.

Ideally, Kosovo should belong to both, each community being able to chose. Heck, they can have even two passports: one Albanian, one Serbian - why not?

De-facto it's already the case. Kosovars can stay and live in Albania and Serbia as long as they want. Kosovars can visit university in Belgrade or in Tirana (my guess is: they would rather chose Berlin or Lund in Sweden tough)... and so on.

As bizarre as it sounds - but a Serbian-Albanian State Union will make the entire Kosovo problem obsolete. The big question is, how to do it the way no one is at disadvantage.

This is my pet idea - hope I will see it one day. If it happens, many people will feel silly. In particular the ones running Camp Bondsteel.

I would like to see their faces!

dear Zoti, the socalled "prizren league" was a bunch of uncivilized shepherds playing revolution on serbian soil.

they were speaking out loudly their stupid illusions while living on serbian land, what shows how stupid they were at all, actually.

by repeating that nonsense of KiM being the cradle of the Albanians, what I would call the climax of nonsense here, ...you are just showing off your poor understanding of albanian history in general.

but what I enjoyed the most: Roberto from "Frisco" =) ...who "met and interviewed" Albin "the dreamer" Kurti!

well, I don´t know when Albin has been to that fictional little city named Frisco...

but San Francisco, is still something completely different.

but he´s not getting tired to sell the legend of living in that beautiful little city in California.

the bottom-line of all this is:
dreamers of the internet - unite ( in the B-92-forum )

=)

"Reality is: Kosovo is independent
(Hekuran, 15 September 2010 16:42)"

No Hekuran. The reality is that Kosovo (I am surprised you do not call it "Kosova") is an EU/NATO colony that is solely there for geopolitical reasons. You will never be really independent. The status will remain in limbo for as long as Serbia, Russia and China want to.

His patrioic statements won't decieve the albanians. everybody knows Kurti is a communist ....

I haven't heard of any real Albanians (those from Albania) suggesting they want Kosovo. Kurti and the rest of those "Greater Albania" proponents should stop trying to invite themselves into someone else's house.
(American Eagle)

Born and raised in Tirana here. Reread my comments below again.

And they're not trying to invite themselves to someone else's house, it's their house.

"i think the main focus of Tirana should be the question of albanians in FYROM, which are being systematically discriminated against"
-Illiri

Are you serious? You're just like the terrorists over there trying to start a war by claiming they have no rights. Have you ever even been to Macedonia? There are places where everything from road signs to mcdonald's menus are in Albanian ONLY. Plus, there are Albanians in all aspects of the government, the military and the police force. To Albanians "rights" means to have a ethnically cleansed state under muslim rule and christians are either dead or too scared to leave their houses. You guys just want to cause problems because that's what your people do best.
If anything, we should take away the rights we have given to the Albanians, who make up less than 1/4 of the country, because they still make threats, still don't appreciate what the country has given them and, as we can see by your comment, they call us "FYROM" even though they live there. Why the hell would anyone want to give them rights?
And, what about the Macedonians in Albania who don't even have access to slavic language schools? While in Albania there are public schools and colleges that are purely Albanian?

I haven't heard of any real Albanians (those from Albania) suggesting they want Kosovo. Kurti and the rest of those "Greater Albania" proponents should stop trying to invite themselves into someone else's house.

Unification with Albania would serve better for Kosovo than Albania. I bet you 90% of Albanians from Albania would be against such a reunification. The only thing that connects them is a language and nothing else. Kosovo is 90 % Muslim which for Catholics, Orthodox, and agnostics doesn´t play well this idea. And it´s quite understandable. For the last 60 years, they have managed to sudue Islam to 22%, so why turn the country into a Muslim country again when they know that such an outcome it only hurts their European perspectives.

"Albania swallowing Kosova? Nonsense. It'd be a union of two equals Kosova was the craddle of the Albanian nation that rose out of the ashes of the Ottoman empire. (Zoti, 15 September 2010 20:13)

Kosovo and Albania two equals? How funny. Albanians would be stupid to have a union or whatever with Kosovo - it would only cost money, nothing to gain. But some see the relationship between Kosovo and the USA as two equal partners, too :-) And Kosovarians celebrated their own great "indipindint" country by waving albanian flags, too. Strange people..

I thought kurti was supposed to be in jail for attacking the UN? This guy is single-handedly ruining kosovo's bid for statehood and is an embarrassment to the us, so I shouldn't complain.

I would like to see their faces!
(USB 3.0, 16 September 2010 01:03)
--
Not a bad idea. Serbia gets access to the sea while Albania gets access to Bulgaria. It will be like a mini Yugoslavia. ;)

The biggest problem is with those who live in the past and are full of hatred while taking steps to continually fuel it. Time for them to get over it and take some chill pills.

At least you are looking towards compromise and a positive solution. That is the only way forward.

Ok Zoti, one out of three million. Are there any others? And if Albania is their home, why aren't your brothers there in the first place? I'm sure that one day, you will try to claim New Jersey because there are a lot of Albanians there too.

Are you serious? You're just like the terrorists over there trying to start a war by claiming they have no rights. Have you ever even been to Macedonia? There are places where everything from road signs to mcdonald's menus are in Albanian ONLY. Plus, there are Albanians in all aspects of the government, the military and the police force. To some Albanians "rights" means to have a ethnically cleansed state under muslim rule and christians are either dead or too scared to leave their houses. If anything, we should take away the rights we have given to the Albanians, who make up less than 1/4 of the country, because they still make threats, still don't appreciate what the country has given them and, as we can see by your comment, they call us "FYROM" even though they live there. Why the heck would anyone want to give them rights?
And, what about the Macedonians in Albania who don't even have access to slavic language schools? While in Albania there are public schools and colleges that are purely Albanian?
(Jason, 16 September 2010 20:10)

I don't believe Jason actually wrote this. He knows better. Where is the Muslim rule this writer speaks of? Whoever wrote this was obviously NOT here before the Orhid Accords that finally allowed Albanianas to participate in the government and state agencies and allowed for at least one albanian language school. Prior to that, they weren't even considered real citizens under the Macedonian Constitution.

If independence fails than a union with Albania is the final option. Serbia is foolishly pushing for this. But a union with Serbia is an impossibility.

Other than satisfying nationalist egos, I can't think of a single good reason why Kosovo and Albania would need to be formally united.

On the other hand, I can think of plenty of reasons not to, the main one being that it would be prohibitively expensive, destabilizing, and ultimately pointless (if EU is our final goal that is).

In other words, two countries seem to be just fine.

Kurti sounds to me like the typical blowhard who likes to criticize everything because he can... he after all does not have to make difficult decisions that require balancing different interests and points of view.

I like Kurti and think he is the best friend Serbia has right now. If he get any more influence then the western cabal will have a hard time defending their actions supporting these people. Even harder than they have now because their desperate lies will shine through so strong it will be impossible to cover up.

"This is my pet idea - hope I will see it one day. If it happens, many people will feel silly. In particular the ones running Camp Bondsteel."

Why would they feel silly?

Well, probably Albanian leaders in Pristina are saying now "God, protect us from friends, because from enemies we shall be able to d it by ourselves".

Now, I don't understand the political calculus behind that: either Kurti hopes to capitalize on this phantom idea of "Great Albania" (which is a nonsense, as any other "Great" idea in Europe, be it Great Serbia, Great Greece, Great Romania, Great Hungary or Great Bulgaria...), either he thinks that by bringing this into public debate will offer Pristina a bargain chip at the negociation table (and this is also impossible, this chip was already used while debating Ahtisaari Plan).

However, according to my Romanian friends currently in Kosovo, the ideea of uniting Kosovo with Albania is very low in the public eyes. And this is understandable: why to be just a Mayor of an Albanian city when you coud be the Prime Minister of your own country?
Patriotism is like loyalty: sooner or later, it goes trough the stomach. But probably Kurti is currently far away from the "dinner table" in Pristina, and he feels that chanches to reach it are slim, these days...
However, to add to what some Albanian poster wrote here already: sometimes young people are fascinated by old ideas, just because they are old and are giving the impression that they are legitimate (like and old actress who gets respect because the age, not because the B movies she played in).

''And, what about the Macedonians in Albania who don't even have access to slavic language schools? ''

I don t know what gruevsky tells but surely there are no ''macedonians'' in Albania...macedonians are extint along with the rest of thracean tribes during the middle ages, macedonianism is merely a romantic feeling that Tito enjoyed ... but of course, 0.5% of Albania is slavic and it would be unhuman to deny their presence so it is their right to have schools in serbo croatian or in bulgarian (they can choose any language they please), no one would be against their rights....but Albania is a poor country, opening schools for ghost minorities is more than our budget can afford...(mostly slavic minorities have spread in Tirana, Durres, Europe, Greece etc and don t live in their traditional villages) I mean, before our state built serbo croation/bulgarian schools, would first have to gather all of the slavs in a single neighbourhood, or in a single village...but then greeks would become more jealous and would ask for free apartments, free neighbourhoods and would cry for racism if they wouldn t get free of everything....Practically, only a couple of slavic villages are left un abandoned, and they are in Skodra, montenegrins to be more exact...but they are not ''macedonians'' so montegrin opinion is what really matters for the situation of slavic minorites in albania, and montegrins , not only don t complain, but are pretty content the way they are treated...

thanks to Serbian politicians,the idea of the union of albania and kosovo is being now a real topic among people,if not yet among kosovar politicians who have to be "politicaly correct"and say only what our friends allow them to say...i would have take decades to us to bring this topic to a real concern among albanians but thanks to serbian agenda,this took only some month...
And the more you serbian push for North mitrovica,the more you push for our union with albania:if north mitrovica is entitled to "join" serbia,the rest of kosovo is too entitled to "join" albania!
you are just doing the job for us,as always!So just go on with north mitrovica,please,it will help so much!

As someone born and raised in Prishtina, I would never ever want to see a unification with Albania! It is absolute non-sense!

My dear,it reminds me all those albanians saying that kosovo will never be independent and we should just be glad with our autonomy in serbia!!
what we call titistat in albanian,no?

As someone born and raised in Prishtina, I would never ever want to see a unification with Albania! It is absolute non-sense!

Kosovo became independent on the grounds that no unification can take place! Frankly, I wouldn't want my taxes to go to Tirana! This discussion is a convoluted Albanian nationalistic and short-sighted ideology that will never materialise.

Kurti and Self-determination, if transformed to a political party, will gain huge support from the electorate in this way risking Thaci's position - which is a good political development - but also a dangerous tact that threatens Ahtisaari Plan.

Kosovo needs a new political party with the involvement of prominent figures such as Veton Surroi.

See Tim Judah's article: http://www.economist.com/blogs/eastern-approaches

@ Lili,

You say Albin is the most popular in the opinion polls. True, but I am sure you also realise that his radical views on so many things will serve him as a disadvantage when/if he comes to power!

But, if that's the best way to get rid of Thaci, so be it!

For the 15th time, the myth that a majority of people in Albania and Kosovo do not wish a full national home for Albanians (thats why its called Albania after all) is just that a GODDAMN MYTH

Please consult Fig 6 in the appendix of this report drafted by the International Commission on the Balkans

http://www.cls-sofia.org/uploads/files/Projects%20files/International%20Commission%20on%20the%20Balkans.pdf

And as for Albin,the more you say he is a communist,a silly man etc,the more we will love him(your friend is certainly not my friend etc) The last opinion pole revealed that kurti is the most popular albanian politician;)))!
Don't worry,be happy...in your country!

It is true that the Serbian push to have Mitrovica joining Serbia will ultimately strengthen the position of those supporting that Kosovo should join Albania. But there are a few other key notes to take into consideration.

First off, Mitrovica was a part of Serbia and only in the 1970's was placed, by Tito, in the Kosovo autonomous region. And Serbians (whether they are ethnic Serbs or ethnic Albanians) should know better than me that the rationale for it at the time was that "the weaker Serbia is, the stronger Yugoslavia will be".

Then there's Kosovo's UDI. If it is legal for a part of a country to unilaterally break away and declare independence that can't only be valid for Serbia, it must be valid for Kosovo as well.

Still on the succession and merging topic, if you're going to have Mitrovica split from Kosovo to join Serbia and it is true that will serve as an argument for the rest of Kosovo to join Albania, it is equally as valid to imagine that later on that will also be used as a valid rationale for Republika Srpska to split from BiH and join Serbia.

On the topic of successions I'm not qualified to judge which ones are ultimately good for the people in terms of living standards and such. I see no reason to think that Kosovo merging with Albania would be any good for the people living in Kosovo. Just as everyone knows that when Germany was unified it wasn't really the best move in terms of living standards for West Germany. Likewise, it would be a bad move for South Koreans to actually merge with the deeply impoverished North.

From where I stand, Kosovo and Albania merging in one country looks more like a populist move rather than something that will benefit either side. But after such a long chain of poor judgement calls from so many different sides in the Balkans, since the 1980's what's one more or one less, right?