This is essentially how the seeds for future conflicts are sown in the world - February, 2008

This is essentially how the seeds for future conflicts are sown in the world. According to various Western news reports, the Serbian province of Kosovo will declare itself independent on Sunday with the full backing of Britain, France, Germany and the US. If this holds true, tomorrow will be a black day in Serbian historiography. Such an development will inevitably set into motion series of unpredictable events in the region that will prove to be yet another black page in European history. Undoubtedly, the long term repercussions of this action will be dire. On a bright side, however, I hope this act serves as a wake up call for the idiot citizenry around the world that is under the impression that Western governments actually care about the rule of law, justice or political diligence.

After their criminal bombing campaign of Serbia in 1999, I vividly remember NATO officials vociferously stating that they are taking control over Kosovo for 'safe keeping' and that the land will officially remain a part of Serbia. Needless to say, the reaction from Moscow will be something to watch because, after all, this act is a direct result of the anti-Russian policies of certain Western governments. I would like to see Moscow respond to this atrocious act by finally recognizing the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. I hope this act also has a positive impact on the political status of the embattled Armenian province of Nagorno Karabagh (Artsakh). Many Western sources, however, are more-or-less claiming that Russia may bark a bit but it won't be able to bite in the Balkans, nor will it risk doing so in the Caucasus. Time will tell. And time, in my opinion, will prove to be very bloody.

There are Armenians today that see this development in the Balkans as a sign that the West will also one day recognize the independence of Artsakh. However, a reminder: First, Artsakh is Armenian whereas Kosovo is Serbian, thus it's wrong to compare the two situations. Second, we must realize that those in the West that have been actively seeking independence for Kosovo are the same ones that would not hesitate to crush (if able to) such a move by Armenians in Artsakh. Third, this action is in essence an attempt by the West to undermine the potential growth of a political/economic union of Orthodox/Slavic nations in eastern Europe led by Russia. Therefore, what is occurring in Kosovo today has nothing to do with international law, human rights, freedom or democracy. What's happening is simply put: Dirty politics as a consequence of the West's severe case of Russophobia.

Arevordi

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In Kosovo, It's 'Independence Eve'

Kosovo independence hours away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtRxTmKvgqw 

Serbia won't tolerate being divided: FM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar1OCUFU1e4

February, 2008

Tiny Kosovo — poor, mostly Muslim but feverishly pro-Western — braced itself Saturday for a historic declaration of independence from Serbia, a decade after a war that killed 10,000 people and years of limbo under U.N. rule. The province's bold bid for statehood, expected Sunday, and its quest for international recognition set up an ominous showdown with Serbia and Russia. Moscow contends the move will set a dangerous precedent for secessionist groups worldwide. Revelers took to the streets in giddy anticipation. Prime Minister Hashim Thaci — a former leader of the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army — marked the eve of the new nation's birth by visiting a village where Serbian troops massacred ethnic Albanians in 1998. "Tomorrow is a historic day in our effort to create a state," Thaci said in Prekaze, about 25 miles southeast of the capital, Pristina. Thaci, a former leader of the now-disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army, was expected to call a special session of parliament Sunday afternoon to declare an independent Republic of Kosovo and unveil a new flag and national crest. In a televised address later Saturday, Thaci said "everything is a done deal.

"We are getting our independence," he said. "The world's map is changing." In the provincial capital Pristina, the icing was on celebratory cakes and bottles of "Independence" wine chilled as the new reality sank in. "Independence is a dream for all the people of Kosovo, and I am very happy, like everybody," said Lumturije Bytyqi, 20. But Kosovo's small Serb population greeted the secession as though it were an amputation. Many vowed never to accept the loss of a region they consider the heart of their ancestral homeland. "I'm asking all the Serbs to reject the monster state of Kosovo, and to do everything to prevent its birth," said Marko Jaksic, a Kosovo Serb hard-line leader. The dancing and drum-beating that pulsed through Pristina — awash in red and black Albanian flags with the distinctive double-headed eagle — contrasted sharply with the gloom gripping the ethnically divided northern town of Kosovska Mitrovica, a Serb stronghold and a flashpoint for violence. "We are Serbs and this will always be Serbia," said a defiant Djordje Maric, 18. "We are ready to defend our territories at all costs, including with our lives." Although it is formally part of Serbia, Kosovo has been administered by the U.N. since 1999, when NATO airstrikes ended the late Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic's brutal crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists.

Ninety percent of Kosovo's 2 million people are ethnic Albanian — most moderate or non-practicing Muslims, the rest Roman Catholics — and they see no reason to stay joined to the rest of Christian Orthodox Serbia. With Russia, a staunch Serbian ally, determined to block the bid, Kosovo looked to the U.S. and key European powers for swift recognition as the continent's newest nation. That recognition was likely to come Monday at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium. The EU gave its final go-ahead Saturday to send an 1,800-member mission to replace the current U.N. administration. The mission is designed to help build a police, justice and customs system for Kosovo. Thaci announced the creation of a new Cabinet ministry to focus on minority rights. But the imminent independence of the territory, roughly the size of Connecticut, threatened to touch off a diplomatic crisis and possible unrest. Russian President Vladimir Putin, arguing that independence without U.N. approval would set a dangerous precedent for "frozen conflicts" across the former Soviet Union and around the world, pressured the Security Council to intervene. In the Serbian capital Belgrade, about 1,000 protesters waved Serbian flags and chanted "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia." Officials ruled out any military response, but warned that Serbia would downgrade relations with any foreign government that recognizes Kosovo's independence. NATO, which still has 16,000 peacekeepers in Kosovo, boosted patrols in the tense north and in scattered isolated enclaves where most of the Serbs live in hopes of easing the chances of violence, and international police deployed Saturday to back up local forces.

Some Serbs have suffered reprisal attacks carried out by ethnic Albanians seeking to avenge the bloodshed of the 1998-99 war. There were concerns that edgy Serbs might pack up and leave, but the head of the influential Serbian Orthodox Church appealed to them Saturday to "stay in their homes and guard this holy Serbian land." Many ethnic Albanian Kosovars, their long-awaited nationhood almost upon them, expressed disbelief that it would actually happen. For others, the joy was tempered by the what lies ahead: Building a multiethnic society and lifting themselves out of poverty and 50 percent unemployment. But new posters implored people — ethnic Albanians, at least — to relax and enjoy the moment. "Celebrate with dignity," read the posters, illustrated with bright red hearts.

Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g...1ef-wD8URKOS00

NATO forces prepare for Kosovo independence

Mitrovica - French troops have erected barricades in Mitrovica, a possible flashpoint if Kosovo declares its independence on Sunday. Tensions are high in the city, which is divided by the River Ibar into ethnic Albanian and Serbian halves. Serbs regard Kosovo as the cradle of the Serbian culture and nation. Several thousand French troops have been stationed in the city to separate the two populations. Earlier today, Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci gave the clearest indication so far that the breakaway republic intended to declare its independence on Sunday. Although he did not actually say the word, 'independence', he did say, "tomorrow will be a day of calm, of understanding and state engagements for the implementation of the will of the citizens of Kosovo". Earlier this week, several of Mr Thaci's aides said that Kosovo would declare independence on Sunday. Local news media say the declaration is expected at around 14 hours UTC during a session of Kosovo's parliament in the capital Pristina.

Source: http://www.radionetherlands.nl/news/...o-independence

Nationalists rally in Belgrade against Kosovo independence

Hundreds of Serb nationalists staged a noisy rally Saturday in downtown Belgrade to protest Western support for Kosovo's bid for independence. Some 1,000 protesters waved the Serbian flag and chanted "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia" outside the embassy of Slovenia, which holds the rotating EU presidency. A cordon of police ringed the embassy and a dozen vans filled with riot police were parked on side streets around the embassy and the capital's only mosque. No incidents were reported. Earlier Saturday, a day before the province is expected to declare independence, EU nations gave final approval to dispatch a 1,800-member policing and administration mission to Kosovo, which has been run by a U.N. mission since a brief war in 1999. Protest leaders said they would present the Slovenian Embassy with a petition saying that "a free and democratic Serbia is not prepared to stand by and witness the rape of Serbia and the rape of Kosovo in a so-called democratic Europe." "We urge the Serbian people to rise up against this illegal act of tyranny," the petition said. Serbia's government condemned the EU decision to send a mission, saying it was "shameful ... because it effectively recognizes the independence of Kosovo, which remains an inalienable part of Serbia." Slobodan Samardzic, the Cabinet's minister for Kosovo, said the EU has demonstrated "that it is a fickle international organization disposed to circumventing international law (in order to) serve America's foreign policy goals." President Boris Tadic has said the country will downgrade diplomatic relations with any government that recognizes an independent Kosovo. Internationally mediated talks between Serbia and Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership on Kosovo's future broke down last year.

Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/...dependence.php

Kosovo declares independence

Kosovo`s parliament has officially declared independence from Serbia during a special sitting in Pristina. Ethnic Albanians have been celebrating, but observers are now waiting to see how Serbia reacts. They`ve already promised to enact a special action plan. Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci told the special parliamentary session that it is creating history for the tiny province. "Now it is time for us to take the decision to put our country among the free and independent countries. I asked the speaker of parliament to convene an extraordinary session to discuss the agenda to approve the declaration of independence and the national symbols of Kosovo," he said. Flags, t-shirts, firecrackers and balloons went on sale everywhere, and cars haven't stopped blaring their hooters since Friday. Meanwhile, the Serbian government says it has a special action plan in response to the expected independence declaration of Kosovo. Petr Iskanderov, a Balkan expert from Institute of Slavonic studies in Moscow, expects a strong reaction from Serbia if Kosovo makes a unilateral declaration of independence. “The Serbian government has already come up with a plan but it will only be announced once Kosovo declares independence. Everything now depends on the Kosovan Albanians since they could be very tempted to take under control the whole of Kosovo, including the Serbian territories. If that happens and clashes between ethnic Albanians and ethnic Serbs break out in Kosovo, it's possible that Serbia will involve its military or send in volunteers,” Iskanderov said. Russia has warned that an independence vote will only encourage other separatist movements. The chairman of Russia's State Duma International Committee, Konstantin Kosachev, says Russia will raise the issue at the United Nations Security Council, and is ready to use its veto. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow confirms that any change in the international presence in Kosovo needs a new decision from the Security Council. And that would be possible only with the approval of Belgrade and Pristina.

Source: http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/21031