Comments on: Kosovo independence tomorrow

By: Kosovo Albanian

Kosovo Albanian — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:14:22 +0000

Srdjan,

Not a city, town or a village was never ever 100% of one or the other nationality in Kosovo. Until the 90s over 80% of population was Albanian, the rest were Serbs (10%), Croats, Turks, Romas, Gorans, Torbeshs. There were only areas in cities or villages of a certain nationality. In both Serb and Albanian nationalities about 10% of population left Kosovo every 2 decades ( approximately). However, statistics counted only Serbs, not the entire population. For this reason Serbian government created different projects to keep Serbs in Kosovo, also to bring new families from Serbia and Montengro mostly, less from other Republics of former Yugoslavia, by offering them high positions and/or property. The law was always different for Albanians. Example: property law: An Albanian could buy any kind of property from Serbs but they could never transfer it to their names because that meant that Serbs were being pushed away even if Serb still lived within Kosovo. ( I hope I make sence) Some foolish Albanians actually bought properties, but later they had to pay for the same thing again and again. This was a big problem before the war, but a huge problem after the war. I know a family who bought a land and payed three times for it, and than again, the fourth time after the war.
Serbia always played tricks to chase the Albanians away. The biggest success was during the NATO bombing. I know that for a fact because I was born and lived in Kosovo till March 28th, 1999 (I was 22 years old). We had only 5 minutes to leave the house or else…
So, after the war if we look at the numbers, about the same percentage did not make it to get back to Kosovo for different reasons. Some don’t even dare to go back, some have no place to go to, some found a better future (I’m including all nationalities).
So hopefully, the new state is a new beginning of a successful future and the ones who want to go back to live in it will go.
Happy Independence of Kosovo to all!

By: prishtinalikja

prishtinalikja — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:47:25 +0000

“Avanger” sorry to bring ur hopes down as well as the serbians hopes but one thing that y’all have to know is that yall will not in a millionyears get Kosova back ….

And Sardjan ..
im sorry for wat happened to ur aunt and other family that u had but i can assure you that none of it came close to what the Serbs did to Kosovars in the 1990s you have no idea …

as that is all i want to say for now other then that i would like to say thank u to all th ppl that helped us to get our independence..

By: Avanger

Avanger — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 00:57:31 +0000

Kosovo is “unique” case?! LOL
I see Britain,Americans and the rest have not yet got rid of the habit, acquired in them hedonistic imperial days, of dividing other peoples lands, and feel all magnanimous and righteous about it! It must be easy to be generous with someone else’s property.

That Kosovo was “unique” has been the Western propagandist mantra for months.

Well yes, Kosovo is a unique case, and is the only one recognized by the United States until the next “unique case” comes along.

When legal criteria have been thrown out, we just have one “unique case” after another.

The “uniqueness” claimed by the United States/EU is a propaganda construction. It is based on the supposed “uniqueness” of Milosevic’s repression of the armed secessionist movement, which was not unique at all.

It was standard operating procedure throughout history and the world over, in such circumstances. Deplorable, no doubt, but not unique.

It was minor indeed compared to the similar but endless and far bloodier anti-insurgency operations in Colombia, Sri Lanka, and Chechnya, not to mention Northern Ireland, Thailand, the Philippines.

Unlike the counter-insurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which kill incomparably more civilians, it was carried out by the legal, democratically elected government of the country, rather than by a foreign power.

The propaganda “uniqueness” is an abstraction. Like every place on earth, Kosovo is indeed unique. But in ways that have nothing to do with the U.S./EU pretext for taking it over and turning it into a military outpost of empire

The West’s entire approach to Kosovo has been marked by sordid dishonesty and bad faith, supporting national self-determination and the right to secession in one place and territorial integrity in another, cheering on ethnic cleansing by one ethnic group and demanding war crimes trials for another, trumpeting the virtues of majority rule when it’s convenient to do so and threatening to impose sanctions and penalties on majorities when that’s convenient. For the Americans, Kosovo is nothing more than the hinterland of a giant military base, a key presence in the eastern Mediterranean should Greece or Turkey prove unreliable. As for the duly grateful Albanians, they are expected to repay their benefactors by agreeing to be cannon fodder in future imperial wars. For the Europeans, Kosovo is an opportunity to show the world that Europe counts for something and to conduct various pointless social experiments in multiculturalism and multiconfessionalism — particularly pointless since Kosovo will be one of the most ethnically homogeneous places in Europe.

What else would you expect from USA government and their puppets that do not live in a “reality based community” that has trillions of dollars and millions of brainwashed subjects? We have the clinically insane leading a brainwashed population. The only smart thing to do would be to get out of their way, until we figure out a way to stop them. Meanwhile, Serbians, sorry, but there’s really not much us sane people can do here in America. Don’t worry, you’ll get Kosovo back one day.

By: dissident

dissident — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 00:31:52 +0000

If human trafficking, corruption and drug running were prerequisites for deserving independence Kosovo would satisfy such criteria hands down.

Now…HOW Kosovo came to be predominantly Albanian during the 70′s and 80′s. History does not start when CNN cameras start rolling. Any opinion can be justified as fact if you cherry pick historical events so let’s put those aside for a moment.

Accepting that Albanians cannot live under Serbian rule on Serbian territory, surely you can also accept that Serbians cannot live under Albanian rule on Albanian teritorry (Kosovo after independance).

Any statement you make regarding the Albanian minority in Serbia should surely also apply to the Serbian minoroty in Kosovo. Don’t they also deserve independance from Kosovo as Kosovo does from Serbia? (Even though the tourching of their houses and churches got far less coverage)

Either you have sovereign multiethnic countries, or you have newly formed enthnicly pure ones

Take your pick, but you cannot have it both ways

By: FactFinder

FactFinder — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 00:27:52 +0000

A very one sided point of view. And an undisguised display of double standards. Why do you think it is so easy to cut up the country? May be because it is’n yours? Still you can’t block the Sun and you can’t kill the truth.
It’s already out. American`11` controlled media cannot make the rest of the world think like them.

To all of you I pose this question..Which none of you can answer.. If Serbs are truly so unjust to minorities, if they are truly so evil and so genocidal. Then why is Serbia, BY FAR the most ethnically diverse country in the Balkans. All the other nations are “pure”. Serbia is the only place where they live in harmony. Think about this VERY HARD. If Serbs truly wanted to cleanse Serbia of Albanians, why didn’t they start with the 100,000 Albanians living in Belgrade? Or the over 500,000 living in other parts of Serbis? No amount of propaganda can answer these questions can it…

It’s that simple, that easy to break the propaganda bubble.. It really is.. If you don’t believe me, check yourself.

By: Mitra

Mitra — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 09:55:27 +0000

To Adrian:

Wikipedia says a.o. like this:
>By the end of the 19th century the Albanians replaced the Serbs as the dominant people in Kosovo.>

I suppose this can be understood so, that before that, Serbs were in majority… Or then, that they were just “dominant” even while being a minority?

The impression I have got is this:

- Kosovo was a heart of the old Serbian Kingdom, which lost its battle against the Turks in 1389. It is however not mentioned, who was in majority there. In the Middle Age in Europe, there certainly was many kingdoms ruled by some minority ethnicities with more power over other majority ethnicities with less power. People certainly were not so aware of their ethnic rights at that time…

- The Ottoman Empire favourised Muslim Albanians before Orthodox Serbs, but probably without considerable cruelnesses

- The Kingdom of Serbia did not include Kosovo when becoming again independent in 1878, except Prishtina and Mitrovica

- Between 1878 and 1912, Kosovo Albanians (the Prizren League) tried to unite four Albanian Vilayets by merging the majority of Albanian inhabitants within the Ottoman Empire into one Albanian State, under the Ottoman umbrella.

- In 1912, Serbia got Kosovo and started to recolonise it. Numerous colonist Serb families moved into Kosovo, equalizing the demographic balance between Albanians and Serbs. Many Albanians fled into the mountains and numerous Albanian and Turkish houses were razed.

- Albanians supported the Central Powers in WW1, but lost. During Serbian (war time?) control of Kosovo, the Serbian Army committed atrocities against the population.

- The 1918–1929 period of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians witnessed a rise of the Serbian population in the region and a decline in the non-Serbian.

- In WW2, the greatest part of Kosovo became a part of Italian-controlled Fascist Albania. Mustafa Kruja, the Prime Minister of Albania, wanted to cleanse whole Kosovo from Serbs and send them to concentration camps in Albania.

- In the 1970s, the ethnic balance of Kosovo tilted as the number of Albanians tripled, rising from almost 75% to over 90%, but the number of Serbs dropped from 15% to 8% of the total population.

It is clear that nobody will ever be happy about the administration in that region, no matter how it is organised, Albanian or Serb. Both parts have committed genocides and been oppressed during the history.

But I agree that the more important should be the actual population balance. It is very clear that Albanians are in majority now and should rule over most of Kosovo. On the other hand, Serbia could get northern Mitrovica? And maybe the Bosnian Serbs their republic? But the problem is that even there, there are smaller minority territories with Albanians, Muslims etc.

I guess there should, in the Balkans, be regions with a “fuzzy logic” concerning which state they belong to. Demilitarised small regions, where every inhabitant could be citizen of whatever state he/she wants! Public services could be privatised and rented from all the sides. In other words, one city could have the right to belong to several states at the same time. Balkan needs some radical innovations

There could be a minimum area size for an “independent country”, which both Kosovo and Bosnian Republika Srpska would exceed. Smaller ethnically differing regions would not get independence but instead become such “fuzzy regions”.

It is time the world makes new principles for which regions may be own states and which not!

By: Adrian

Adrian — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:37:21 +0000

More than four IIIyrian Entities compose Albania.
LABEATS, TAULANTS, ALBANS, ENKELEIS, DARASETS and KAONS.
All of them speaks Illyrian language but with different dialects. Three first has a very distinct Illyrian dialect named GEGE and the rest has another Illyrian dialect named TOSKE.
On 1912 they united in one single state and agreed to be named Eagle’s Land. SHQIPERIA.
The foreign “SKOLARS” named Albania based on the name of only one of the Entities.
This was not only Ignorance but also a big mistake of these “very educated Scholars“.
The situation then was so critical for SHQIPETARET, so they accepted any injustice and compromise. This was the big price they pay to gain the independence. Of course many other Illyrian entities was ignored. This has been done in purpose to use Illyrian territories as a trade merchandise to please slavics, which in return were used in two wars. The Slavics paid their price. They lost 56 million people 1908 – 1946. Illyrian paid bigger price. They were spread over 5 different states.
It’s about time to recognize the historical right of Kosova (Dardania) to have its destiny fulfilled-That is full independence. Kosova never was a Serbian province. It was there, since the times of birth of European civilization, a very distinct Dardanian/llyrian identity. Always populated by Dardanias who, although under constant pressure of forcefully migration by Serbian shovinism, Tito’s Yugoslavia & Milloshevic’s Serbia, still make up 92% of the population. They speak ilirian language with the dialect GEGE. Serbs always have been a minority there. We know that Serbs appeared in Balkans (then llyria) only by the 6th Century AD. They have always been a minority and ‘the story’ of Kosova being the Heartland of Serbia is just a pure Serbian nationalist fantasy. Facts Speak Louder Than Words and Serbian’s Lies Will Collapse by Themselves. Serbs always have been considered as oppressors there, not just by Albanian majority, but also by other ethnic groups too. Serbs just occupied Kosova during the rise of the Serbian nationalism early 20th century from Ottomans, who by then were loosing the Balkans after 500 years of occupation. Now Kosova should be Free!
To find the answer for the question “do you think Kosovo’s independence will strengthen separatist movements elsewhere”, please refer to:
http://www.acesofww2.com/germany/aces/Hartmann.htm
Erich Hartman – top ace of all the time. German Luftwaffe Bf 109 Pilot.
Near the end of WWII, in early May 1945, Hartmann, then Gruppenkommandeur of famous Jagdgeschwader 52, and his Commodore, Hermann Graf, ground crew, family members, and other civilians, who had joined the squadron, seeking protection approaching Russian army, moved west in direction of territory already occupied by US troops. On May 8th, 1945, the soldiers and civilians surrendered to US troops in the region between Bavaria (German province) and Czech border. But on May 17th, the US Army delivered all of these German troops and civilians to the Red Army. How did the Russian troops treat the civilians? They tortured, raped German woman, children at least 12 years old. Some woman were shot after the rapes. Others were not so lucky. A twelve year old girl whose mother had been raped and shoot being raped by several solders. She died from these acts soon afterward. Then more Russian came, and it began all over again. During the night, entire German families committed suicide with men killing their wives and daughters, then themselves. This is the way the slavics treat the human been, the innocent civilians. This is the way the Serbs treated innocent Croatian, Bosnian and Dardanian civilians. If any entity of human been will be treated like that, then they are in title to ask and gain the independence.

By: Hektor Bim

Hektor Bim — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:59:38 +0000

Already efforts by Serbs to ethnically cleanse northern Kosovo:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/world/europe/21kosovo.html?ref=world

By: sanity

sanity — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:53:50 +0000

ROTFL at all you solemn people taking “Srdjan” so terribly seriously. This is a guy who claims to have relatives in Kosova who were badly treated by generic “Albanians”, yet doesn’t know what those relatives did for a living or whether they took part in anything untoward themselves; who claims to be an expert on Bosnia, yet provides only the usual blatant and obscene lies about the war the Milosevic regime launched against that country; and who asserts that there is a powerful and secret movement for a “Greater Albania” which he knows all about but which nobody else has ever heard of, least of all any Albanians. He is either a troll, or a Serbian propagandist, or a paranoid fantasist, or all three, and you should all be ashamed of yourselves for wasting time on his drivel.
Long live independent Kosova, if only because its existence annoys so many people who thoroughly deserve to be annoyed.

By: Randy McDonald

Randy McDonald — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:15:16 +0000

mitra:

“After have read Wikipedia yesterday about Kosovo history, I can in a way understand why Serbs are so angry. Imagine if the area around Marseille in France would in 50 years have an Arab majority (due to huge immigration) and those would want to create an independent republic. Ethnic French people living in that area would never accept this.”

Agreed, but it’s worth noting that for at least a century, and likely longer, Kosovo has had an Albanian majority population.

Srdjan:

“If Bosniaks are so nice, why there were virtually no Serbs at the end of the war, outside R. Srpska?”

Please don’t put words into my mouth.

I didn’t say that Bosniaks were nice. I was talking, instead, about the expulsion of >90% of the non-Serb population from the territory of the Republika Srpska.

Yes, ethnic cleansing of Serbs by Croats and Bosniaks did happen during the war, but Bosniaks in particular took the brunt of it.

Why did Serbs leave the Federation afterwards? Encouragement from pale didn’t help.

http://www.nytimes.com/specials/bosnia/context/0222yugo-bosnia.html

The exodus of fearful Serbs from their homes around Sarajevo continued on Wednesday, with caravans of trucks and overloaded automobiles clogging the icy roads that lead toward Serbian-controlled regions of Eastern Bosnia.

Hundreds of families fled, trusting their instincts and their leaders rather than U.N. assurances that they would be treated fairly after the Muslim-dominated government takes control of the suburbs in the coming days.

Radio broadcasts from Pale the Bosnian Serb headquarters, kept up warnings that life would be impossible for ethnic Serbs after Bosnian government police arrive.

Kris Janowski, a spokesman for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, said: “People seem to be listening to Pale radio and Pale TV, and seem to believe a lot of what is being said to them,” he said. “Pale is ranting every day, trying to discredit the international community and portray it as the enemy of the Serb people.”

In the northern suburb of Vogosca, where government police are scheduled to arrive on Friday, angry residents screamed curses at Mayor Rajko Koprivica after he told them he could not produce the trucks they demanded for their evacuation.

“Please be calm,” he begged the volatile crowd. “Yesterday someone tried to punch me, and I was spat on.”

“I believe that compromise offered by current, democratic government of Serbia (full autonomy, just a sliver short of independence, imagine how Faroe Islands are represented internationally in almost anything except diplomatic services) was fair. Other side didn’t offer any concession.”

That’s a tendentious reading.

Serbia chose to reject the Ahtisaari plan under the United Nations, instead offering a counterplan offering rather less autonomy that Kosovo and its allies rejected. The negotiations failed to reach an end, and the unilateral declaration of independence followed.