Kosovo Declares Independence, Russia And Serbia Talk War
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) - Revelers fired guns in the air, waved red-and-black Albanian flags and set off fireworks in the skies over Kosovo Sunday after parliament proclaimed independence, defying Serbia and Russia which condemned the declaration of the world’s newest nation, and have repeatedly threatened that the move could set off a full-scale war. Russia is deeply concerned that the precedent could lead to further troule with other territories still under its control.
A decade after a bloody separatist war with Serbian forces that claimed 10,000 lives, lawmakers pronounced the territory the Republic of Kosovo and pledged to make it a “democratic, multiethnic state.” Its leaders looked for swift recognition from the U.S. and key European powers—but also braced for a bitter showdown.
Serbia called the declaration illegal and its ally Russia denounced it, saying it threatened to touch off a new conflict in the Balkans. Russia called for an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council, which met later on Sunday. Russia has stated that no option is off the table in terms of resolving the conflict.
In the capital, Pristina, the mood was jubilant. Thousands of ethnic Albanians braved subfreezing temperatures to ride on the roofs of their cars, singing patriotic songs and chanting: “KLA! KLA!” the acronym for the now-disbanded rebel Kosovo Liberation Army. They waved American flags alongside the red Albanian banner imprinted with a black, double-headed eagle.
Many dressed in traditional costumes and played trumpets and drums, and an ethnic Albanian couple named their newborn daughter Pavarsie—Albanian for “independence.”
“This is the happiest day in my life,” said Mehdi Shehu, 68. “Now we’re free and we can celebrate without fear.”
Kosovo had formally remained a part of Serbia even though it has been administered by the U.N. and NATO since 1999, when NATO airstrikes ended former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic’s crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists.
Ninety percent of Kosovo’s 2 million people are ethnic Albanian—most of them secular Muslims—and they see no reason to stay joined to the rest of Christian Orthodox Serbia.
The European Union and NATO, mindful of the Balkans’ turbulent past, appealed for restraint and warned that the international community would not tolerate violence.
President Bush said the United States “will continue to work with our allies to the very best we can to make sure there’s no violence.”
“We are heartened by the fact that the Kosovo government has clearly proclaimed its willingness and its desire to support Serbian rights in Kosovo,” Bush said while on a visit to Africa. “We also believe it’s in Serbia’s interest to be aligned with Europe and the Serbian people can know that they have a friend in America.”
Underscoring fears of renewed unrest, an explosion lightly damaged a U.N. building housing a courthouse and a jail in Kosovo’s tense north, home to most of its roughly 100,000 minority Serbs. No one was injured. An unexploded grenade was found near a motel that houses EU officials.
In the ethnically divided northern city of Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbs vowed never to let Kosovo go.
“The Albanians can celebrate all they want, but this stillborn baby of theirs will never be an independent country as long as we Serbs are here and alive,” said Djordje Jovanovic.
Kosovo is still protected by 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers, and the alliance boosted its patrols over the weekend in hopes of discouraging violence. International police, meanwhile, deployed to back up local forces in the tense north.
Sunday’s declaration was carefully orchestrated with the U.S. and key European powers, and Kosovo was counting on international recognition that could come as early as Monday, when EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels, Belgium.
But by sidestepping the U.N. and appealing directly to the U.S. and other nations for recognition, Kosovo’s independence set up a showdown with Serbia—outraged at the imminent loss of its territory—and Russia, which warned that it would set a dangerous precedent for separatist groups worldwide.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued that independence without U.N. approval would set a dangerous precedent for “frozen conflicts” across the former Soviet Union, where separatists in Chechnya and Georgia are agitating for independence.
Serbia’s government ruled out a military response as part of a secret “action plan” drafted earlier this week, but warned that it would downgrade relations with any foreign government that recognizes Kosovo’s independence.
Meanwhile, Serbia’s government minister for Kosovo, Slobodan Samardzic, said Serbia would increase its presence in the roughly 15 percent of Kosovo that is Serb-controlled in an apparent attempt to partition the province.
Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu sought to allay Serbs’ concerns, telling them: “I understand today is a fearful day for you all, but your rights and your property will be protected today as it will be always.”
At a special session of parliament boycotted by 10 minority Serb lawmakers and televised live nationwide, sustained applause erupted after the rest of the chamber unanimously adopted the declaration of independence, which was scripted on parchment.
They also unveiled a new national crest and a flag: a bright blue banner featuring a golden map of Kosovo and six stars, one for each of its main ethnic groups. Few of the new flags were seen Sunday on Kosovo’s streets, where the old Albanian banner still dominated.
“We, the democratically elected leaders of our people, hereby declare Kosovo to be an independent and sovereign state,” the proclamation read.
“From today onwards, Kosovo is proud, independent and free,” said Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, a former KLA leader. “We never lost faith in the dream that one day we would stand among the free nations of the world, and today we do.”
“Our hopes have never been higher,” he said. “Dreams are infinite, our challenges loom large, but nothing can deter us from moving forward to the greatness that history has reserved for us.”
Like Sejdiu, Thaci reached out to ordinary Serbs, but he had stern words for the Serbian government.
“Kosovo will never be ruled by Belgrade again,” he warned.
Thaci also signed 192 separate letters to nations around the world—including Serbia—asking them to recognize Kosovo as a state.
Kosovo’s leaders signed their names on a giant iron sculpture spelling out “NEWBORN” before heading to a sports hall for a performance of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” by the Kosovo Philharmonic Orchestra.
International officials warned their staff to stay indoors and avoid “happy fire” as some revelers shot handguns into the air.
“I feel stronger,” said Ymer Govori, 36, carrying his daughter on his shoulders to celebrations downtown. “I have my own state and my own post code,” he said, “and it won’t say Serbia any longer.”
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The PM also said this:
“There should be no fear of discrimination in new Kosovo, he said, vowing to eradicate any such practices.
The declaration was signed by all the MPs present. ”
Me: Bullshit. The ethnic cleasing of Christians has gone on unabated since the end of the war with the Serbs. It goes on still.
The Muslims have done a much better job of ethnic cleansing under the protection of the UN and NATO than the Serbs did during the war,
Just what Europe needs, a haven for terrorists and loonies in the belly of Europe.
I hope the Russians intervene.
February 17th, 2008 at 2:13 pmhey, Dan, I thought Bush was/is also for the independance of Kosovo ;
well, it’s not finished yet, there are about 160 countries that have to recognise this fact ; we know already that Russia and Serbia won’t ; it will be discussed in Bruxelles for the EU countries ; as far I know, Kouchner, between the lines, said that Serbia might get the opportunity to join the EU club as a compensation, so see what will happen !
yes, I am afraid Kosovo is lost, it was already a few decades ago, their main population is Albanese
February 17th, 2008 at 2:21 pmThis is the American South-West 20 years from now and we will have established the precident ourselves! So long USA, hello Azatlan.
February 17th, 2008 at 2:49 pmDon’t worry about learning both english and spanish because spanish will be the official language for everything in the home of La Raza (La Rasa??).
February 17th, 2008 at 2:53 pmI don’t know all the details about the people in Kosovo, but I liked how the article called them secular Muslims who flew American flags alongside Albanian ones! Why not help them push for a multiethnic democratic state, Dan? It would just be another notch on our belt trying to transform Islam.
February 17th, 2008 at 3:47 pmBush:
“Vlad’s gonna fuck with us … zooming our ships and Japan with that piece of shit Air Force of his? Well hell, we’re just gonna give old Vlad a little taste of reverse-commie psychology … Make Kosovo into his own little pain-in-the-ass Berkeley! … Heh!”
February 17th, 2008 at 4:13 pm“Serbs? What Serbs? There were never any Serbs in Kosovo!”
Thank you, Bill Clinton. You finally went to war (to distract the people from your inability to keep it in your pants), and you managed to pick the wrong side.
Proving he’s a Democrat. They always take the side that hates America, propaganda notwithstanding. In a situation where both sides are commiting atrocities on a daily basis, the Left picks the group that’s inherently hostile to Western civilization. Not that it matters. The Serbs could’ve been angels and the muslims could’ve been eating Christian infants, and the Left would make the Serbs the villains.
Secular muslims my ass. That just means they’re better at taquiyya than most.
February 17th, 2008 at 4:42 pmThey really seem to admire America, so I’ve got no problem with them.
I rather see Muslims waving the American flag than burning it.
February 17th, 2008 at 5:10 pm@Evestay
I don’t want my country promoting “ethnic cleansing”. Muslims don’t do “multi-ethnic” anything. When they get power, they burn down churches and toss or kill everyone not like them. And Kosovo has become a haven for Hizzies.
I don’t care what flag they fly. I don’t support Muslim supremacy in any of its sciopathic forms. And you will NEVER see a muslim multi-ethnic state. It’s agianst the Koran.
Perhaps you missed our series on the ethnic cleansing in Kosavo and Bosnia awhile back or the article by Julia Gorin about “The successful War that we lost”
February 17th, 2008 at 6:05 pmhttp://www.exilestreet.com/Columns/Gorin/20070718GorinSuccessful.html.
@Evestay
Here’s another link for you to play with:
http://4international.wordpress.com/2008/02/15/the-real-srebrenica-genocide-the-mass-murder-of-serbs-in-srebrenica-and-gorazde/
Get real dude.
February 17th, 2008 at 7:14 pm“Ninety percent of Kosovo’s 2 million people are ethnic Albanian” Thanks to Clinton, Soros and NATO. Before our allies the serbs were targeted by the mining grubbers to help the terrorist KLA Kosovo was a Serbian Christian State, part of Serbia for a thousand years.
Doubt me? google Kosovo Churches. God Damn Clinton!
February 17th, 2008 at 7:28 pmDan - I admitted I didnt know the context so thanks for the links. Only context I had is that Michael Savage always rails on Clinton for the Serbian bombings.
February 17th, 2008 at 9:55 pmEvestay and Dan -
Probably too far down the page this late in the day, but I have a couple Christian families from Serbia in my neighborhood (one girl who tutored my 8 yr. old this past summer was a baby back during Clinton’s war and her dad was in the Army over there, until they decided to literally pull up and get the hell out before Clinton started the war) …
They ALL say how pissed and shocked they were upon leaving their country and coming here to hear the completely warped side of the story being covered in our media … to this day.
What’s funny is they, these MSM wronged immigrants, believe what the MSM is telling them about Iraq!!! I had to laugh in disbelief and shake my head at them, reminding them it wasn’t that long ago they were on the receiving end of a MSM screwing, and NOT to trust what they were being told about Iraq …
Dan -
Thanks for the second link, the first one ain’t working …
February 17th, 2008 at 11:40 pmWould every country that feels threatened by Russia and would like to purchase a missile defense system please raise your hand!
February 17th, 2008 at 11:59 pmHere’s the link without the period at the end (This works)
February 18th, 2008 at 12:17 pmhttp://www.exilestreet.com/Columns/Gorin/20070718GorinSuccessful.html
[…] They wanted to pick at least 3 boy names and 3 girl names, so that they could Baby flowers names of woody vines Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued that independence without UN approval would set a […]
April 4th, 2008 at 3:01 am