Belgrade’s platform for Kosovo

Serbia’s platform for negotiations on Kosovo can be seen as a first real effort to accommodate the diametrically opposed views of Kosovo and Serbia on final status, while also recognizing the realities on the ground in north Kosovo.

Suggested Reading

Conflict Background

GCCT

By Gerard M. Gallucci

Last month, the Serbian government readied presentation of its platform for negotiations on Kosovo.  In short form, it rejects recognition of Kosovo as an independent state and calls for creation of an “Autonomous Community” of Kosovo municipalities with non-Albanian majorities and for treatment of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo along the lines of the Catholic Church in Italy.  The Kosovo Albanian leadership predictably rejected the platform and some of Pristina’s international friends reacted with hysteria to Belgrade’s “step backward.”  But the platform can be seen as a first real effort to accommodate the diametrically opposed views of Kosovo and Serbia on final status while also recognizing the realities on the ground in north Kosovo.

Belgrade’s “non-paper” proposal is essentially an offer to side step the issue of Kosovo’s status while moving toward mutual engagement and compromise on practical issues.  Belgrade’s reiteration of its rejection of Kosovo independence is nothing new.  The Quint has suggested that recognition of Kosovo is not expected of Serbia but rather “normalization of relations” between the two.  (Normalization has already started with agreements on boundary crossings and to place representatives in each others capitals.)  What is significant about the new platform is not that it says about status but what else it puts on the table towards bringing the conflict over northern Kosovo to a compromise, practical solution.

Belgrade’s proposed “Autonomous Community” refers explicitly to being modelled on the form of Catalan autonomy within Spain (and not the Republika Srpska).  Most of what the Kosovo platform proposes could be accommodated by implementing the Ahtisaari Plan in a realistic manner.   The Ahtisaari Plan already provides for minority rights and participation in government, local self-rule and linkages between local municipalities (with Serb majorities) and Belgrade.  It provides a possible framework – along with a status-neutral approach to issues such as customs –  for an autonomous north within Kosovo with linkages to other Serb-majority municipalities.  The Plan gives communities the right to own language, culture, education, community symbols and media.  It gives municipalities full and exclusive powers for local economic development, land use, urban regulation, public services and utilities, education, health care and social services, public housing, licensing local services and naming streets.  The Plan mandates that central government delegate to municipalities responsibility for cadastral and civil registries, voter registration, business registration and licensing, distribution of social assistance payments and forestry protection.

In two key areas, Belgrades platform goes beyond the Ahtisaari Plan:  police and the courts.   The Plan gives Serb-majority municipalities “enhanced participatory rights in the appointment of Police Station Commander” and provides that these municipalities will have their own local courts reflecting “the ethnic composition of their area of jurisdiction.”   The platform would reduce the involvement of Pristina in these and other local affairs to practically nil.  On the other hand, Belgrade explicitly accepts the participation of Kosovo Serbs in central institutions.

It would be expected that any real negotiation would lead to departures from the opening proposals of both sides.  It is unlikely, for example, that fundamental changes in the status of Kosovo Serb enclaves south of the Ibar would  be acceptable to Pristina.  And Kosovo Serbs will probably be expected to engage in voting and participation in parliament along the lines of the current Kosovo government.  But despite ritualistic Quint demands that “parallel” institutions in the north be abolished, Belgrade’s platform recognizes that there cannot be a peaceful development there until an arrangement is made that leaves Pristina out of local affairs and allows continued links to Belgrade.  A somewhat expanded version of the local autonomy offered by Ahtisaari Plan, a status neutral approach to issues such as customs, an agreement on public and private property recognizing both Kosovo and Serbian interests, and an international commitment to staying as long as necessary for any agreement between Serbia and Kosovo to stand by itself offers a real path to peaceful change.  Belgrade’s platform is entirely consistent with that approach.

Gerard M. Gallucci is a retired US diplomat and UN peacekeeper. He worked as part of US efforts to resolve the conflicts in Angola, South Africa and Sudan and as Director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council. He served as UN Regional Representative in Mitrovica, Kosovo from July 2005 until October 2008 and as Chief of Staff for the UN mission in East Timor from November 2008 until June 2010.

To read TransConflict’s policy paper, written by Gerard and entitled ‘The Ahtisaari Plan and North Kosovo’, please click here.

FacebooktwitterlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterlinkedinmail

FacebooktwitterlinkedinrssFacebooktwitterlinkedinrss

38 Responses

  1. Fadil

    The essence of this pamphlet is the same as that of Serbian extremists – keeping Kosovo as “frozen conflict”, Serbia taking full control over Serbs in Kosovo, with permission of Kosovo authorities, and nothing in return.

    The “platform” doesn’t give a SINGLE thing to Kosovo authorities but just wants a series of demands. In German media such platform was treated correctly as attempt to create quasi state within Kosovo. If they can’t stop Kosovo in its path to be a functional state than try to do everything to make it dysfunctional.

    Everybody is witness on how Bosnia@Herzegovina functions. If one believes that Kosovo leaders should agree on such scenario than probably dreams too much.

  2. Mirel

    I am trying to believe that either Mr.Gallucci is under drugs and have no idea of the reality on the ground in Kosovo,or he is the adviser for Nikolic.

    From the article I can see that serbs as always have done a good job,and there is nothing new on this front from Gallucci.

    According to Gallucci, Prishtina should give serbs what they want in platforme and get nothing in return,since the platforme stresses that Serbia never will recognise Kosovo.

    Furthermore, the platforme suggests that serbs in Kosovo will be in autonomus region of Nothen Serbia with the status of Catalonia in Spain,within Kosovo which is going to be authonomus region of Serbia!!!!
    Can you explain Mr.Galluci this because none can understand that.Serbs in Northen Kosovo will be authonomus region from Kosovo or from Serbia?If they will be authonomus from Kosovo,how come that platforme states that Kosovo will be authonomus region of Serbia?

    This delusional offers, only Nikolic and people who are really pro serbian like Mr.Gallucci, can believe that Serbia is “recognizing the realities on the ground in north Kosovo”.

    So according to the Nikolic platforme,hungarian minority in Vojvodina has the right to require through Hungary,to have the status of Catalonia within Vojvodina and Hungary have the right to have parrallell institutions in Vojvodina for its minority.

    It is ok for you and Nikolic?

    1. Fadil

      Mirel, you are asking for water in the middle of dessert in extreme dry sand. Gallucci knows perfectly the situation in the ground. He does everything to deny Kosovo independence while at the same time asking for more rights for just three municipalities in the north with some 50K of people. He knows perfectly that Kosovo had been constitutional element of Yugoslav federation, prior to its collapse, and had absolutely the same institutions as the former republics, now independent states.

      He knows perfectly that Serbia abolished illegally Kosovo institutions on 1990 and adopted illegally a new Constitution through severe violation of its own Constitution which said clearly that for such change a consent of Kosovo Assembly was required. He knows perfectly that such consent was never given from Kosovo Assembly.

      So what one could expect from such person? If he is “unable” making distinction between Kosovo as entity in former Yugoslavia, with such power given from Yugoslav Constitution, in one side, and just three Kosovo municipalities, in other side, what one could expect from him??

      1. Gerard Gallucci

        Any careful reading of my piece will show that I don’t expect everything to go according to the Serbian platform. I don’t expect that Kosovo will change very much its government or administration south of the Ibar. Indeed, for the south, there is no need to do anything more than implement the letter and spirit of the Ahtisaari Plan.

        But as to the north, well, all the huffing and puffing of Pristina’s supporters won’t be able to resolve the issue unilaterally.

        What would Pristina get out of a deal providing local autonomy for the north? To start with, a peaceful resolution of a conflict that still has the potential for violence. This would clear the way for all the people of Kosovo to focus the attention of their leaders on economic development and containing corruption. Also, any agreement by Serbia to “normalize” relations with Pristina would make it natural for many holdout countries to move forward and recognize Kosovo independence. It should be noted too that the platform explicitly accepts the participation of Kosovo Serbs – including from the north – in the central government.

        The key to real progress in Kosovo is finding a way to put status aside and allow people on both sides of the Ibar to have a more normal life. Many issues need to be resolved for this, including energy, telecoms, returns and property. But finding a formula for keeping Kosovo as an integral territory with peaceful relations between it and Serbia and between north and south should be seen as win-win for everyone. Belgrade’s platform moves in this direction. It’s time for Pristina to leave its maximalist demands behind and accept reality. (And by reality, I mean that NATO will not force the northern Kosovo Serbs to accept rule by Kosovo Albanians.)

        1. Fadil

          There are too many mixes of thesis here. There are absolutely no maximal demands from Pristina. Pristina wants positive discrimination for Serbs, particularly for those in the north. This is in fact maximum that Pristina should accept.

          There are many small groups throughout the world being more happy to be part of another state. Unfortunately its impossible fulfilling all of such wishes.

          Belgrade’s platform, in fact, has maximal demands asking everything for nothing in return. Even in case Belgrade accepts UN membership for Kosovo, such arrangement as Belgrade wants are unacceptable.

          For Kosovo is much better being non member observer state at UN than accepting demands from Belgrade. As we know in case of Palestine, Kosovo may have status of observer state at UN very easily in near future.

          As for the north there are some promising news. More and more Serbs ask services form Kosovo institutions. Today we also heard about new proposal from Pristina about creation of a special fund for economic development of the north. If one says it won’t work I tell to him/her just go to central bank of Kosovo and ask from them number of Serbs from the north of Kosovo who have taken loans from financial institutions of Kosovo (banks, micro-financial institutions etc) and condition that having such loans Serbs must have Kosovo ID cards and sign contracts in which Republic of Kosovo is clearly mentioned. Such loans are regularly reported each day at Central Bank of Republic of Kosovo.

          So if people in the north, thousands of them (just in one financial institution more than 3,000 of them) apply for Kosovo ID cards just for loans, we can imagine their interest to have grants for economic development. This is the way forward.

  3. Mirel

    @ Mr.Gallucci,
    As far as I know Prishtina’s stand is Ahtisari plan for Noth and South and we all know that serbs don’t want this.You just said that Ahtisari plan gives to serbs almost everything.But they still dont accept it.Why?Because they want statu-quo.

    Serbia wants statu-quo and starts inventing “platforms” from Milloshevich time.Serbia wants to buy time with the hope that Russia and China will get stronger and help Serbia more in Kosovo issue even by taking it back militarily.

    Putting status aside as you suggest while asking for status of Catalonia for serbs in Noth on not normal.

    The offer from Serbia should have been I want Catalonia status for serbs in Noth and Vatican status for Church in return of formal recognision of Kosovo ot at least not blocking Kosovo to become UN member.
    This would have been a good start for negotiations.
    But give me Catalonia status for Serbs everywhere,Vatican status for serbs and 20 other demands,in return of” we never will recognise Kosovo as independent” is not serious at all.

    If you dont judge the demands of Belgrade as maximalist and arrogant,I am sorry but you are seeing only one side of the picture( the serbian one) not the full picture.

    Thanks for conversation!

    1. Gerard Gallucci

      I can’t say what Belgrade and Pristina might eventually agree on. But a Catalonia status for the north in the context of the Ahtisaari Plan else-wise plus Serbia ending its active campaign against recognitions could be the final shape of an agreement. But Pristina would have to give up its maximal demand of ruling the north and changing its ethnic make-up by flooding it with K-Albanian “returns.” (And to preempt my favorite follower, Fadil, returns to be done fairly should be global and by mutual consent. And the right to stay rather than return should be offered.)

      1. Fadil

        Gerard, you are still continuing with your unfair approach. Treating a small group of people within group of special species and leaving another, bigger ones, is not fair at all. Such unfairness creates problems. Apparently you like creating problems.

        I have never been against return of Serbs in Kosovo. In other side i know many Albanians who want to return and not to “return” an they dream every day such moment. As for consent I don’t know what to say. This is very strange. You want to say that some criminals expelled Albanians from the north and now those Albanians have to ask those criminals whether they can go in their land!!!! No Gerard, you are absolutely not right. Instead such criminals who expelled people and killed them should be jailed and not asked for anything.

  4. Brenda

    I think the plan is a little too weak. There are a lot of people in the international community that believe Serbia should be given SOMETHING out of this deal in fairness. Let’s not kid ourselves, Ahtisarri’s plan was biased against the Serbians. He pretty much admitted it a few months ago when he went to Pristina. If he had said partition then maybe he would have some credibility. Not an exchange of territories, a partition; the North, Strpce and the Gracanica – Novo Brdo – K. Kamenica corridor.

    1. Fadil

      Brenda,

      Why Ahtisaari’s plan “was biased against the Serbians”? It gave to them positive discrimination, never seen in any part of the world for such small group.

  5. Liz

    Blowback is not far behind whenever there are nefarious goings on, i.e. USA-NATO ‘bombed the wrong side’, as written by Canada’s Maj. Gen. Lewis Mackenzie http://globalresearch.ca/articles/MAC404A.html. Anyone who pays attention can obviously see, in order for USA to gain yet one more huge military base on foreign territory (Camp Bondsteel), the above duo bedded down with the wrong side. How many world bases so far?

    So, Fadil, wake up to the truth. The blame for Kosovo being so ‘dysfunctional’ can be laid at the feet of USA-NATO for bedding down with the wrong side.

    1. Fadil

      Liz, looks like you are not informed at all in regard to Kosovo and don’t know what happened there. You simply can’t imagine the life of Albanians on 1990s. Just to tell one personal story. I am from Kosovo and once I was stopped (while driving the car) from Serbian who found that one of the tools (rope) in my car was not in proper length and they fined me. I did’t have money and they started beating me in the front of mu wife and my son 3, years old. This was just one small case in some other case Serbian police would easily kill people. On 1990, while I was in University of Pristina studying Electronics I was expelled from my University just because I was Albanian, as many others. This story would end not thousands but hundreds of pages and then somebody would realize whether USA NATO “bombed the wrong side”. Obviously some people just lost their properties of being human.

  6. Mirel

    Ok Brenda and Liz,since you are not satisfied that serbian army didnt finished their job in 1999,by killing all albanians pray that one day you will finish what u started in 1999.

    Call me whetever you want, but personally I believe,that if the West will pack and leave,Serbia will start the war again against albanians in Kosovo.If you are waiting for this moment,I asure you that this never will gonna hapened.And even it will hapened you have to calculate that albanians this time have weapons and Albania itself is NATO member.

    As for members of states who are in side of Kosova,dont go far.I am sure Mr Gallucci thinks that NATO bombed the wrong side.
    Also I am sure that you can find people in Russia,China,India and Brasil that supported NATO in 1990 and are sympathetic to albanians.

    But in both cases, their opinions dont matter.What metters is the stands of their gonverments.

  7. Liz

    How dumb by Mirel, i.e. “… Ok Brenda and Liz,since you are not satisfied that serbian army didn’t finished their job in 1999, by killing all Albanians pray that one day you will finish what u started in 1999. …”

    Right back at you, Mirel. Obviously the killers were the Albanians, and they’re now migrating even further afield. The Albs are the ones who in 2013 are 95% in Kosovo, and who want to finish what they started in 1999. To finish, means being 100% population of Kosovo.

  8. Brenda

    Mirel, You comment about the Ahtissari package giving Serbians more rights than anywhere else in the world is clearly a display of ignorance the global picture. Not to mention, based on the evidence of the past 12 years, none of the rights in the package would be implemented where it provides Serbians with rights (for example look at the language rights and anti-discrimination laws in Kosovo that were never implemented despite being promulgated over 8 years ago and later re-signed following the UDI).

    Furthermore it is an actual attempt for the Serbians to lose the rights that they had before his proposal (i.e. defacto independance from the Albanians in Pristina and remaining part of Serbia).

    At least Albin Kurti, despite his open hostility, is an honest man and openly advocates a unification with Albania and his followers reject the fiction that Kosovo is something different than greater Albania (for example, they replaced the new Kosovo flag with that of the Republic of Albania). I’m not saying I like him, but at least he doesn’t hide behind the coat of someone else.

    1. Fadil

      Brenda, everything from Ahtisaari package was implemented in the level of acceptance of Serbian population. As for “language rights” as you mention it is implemented fully. Serbian is official language in all parts of Kosovo. You go in Malisevo municipality (no Serbs at all there) but Serbian is official and you can take all documents in Serbian. Serbs use other rights for sure i.e being MPs with just one vote while an Albanian needs at least 7,000 votes. This is positive discrimination for sure.

  9. It seems the Kosovo Albanian leadership is convinced that one day or another they will join the EU either independently or as part of Albania. But if without Serbia recognition, there is no chance the 5 remaining EU states will allow that, regardless of how much pressure the US puts on the 5. From what I understand, both Cyprus and Spain would still object to Kosovo’s entry into the EU even if Serbia recognized Kosovo as independent.

    Unless the Kosovo Albanian leadership accept something like this new Serbian platform, how do they think they will join the EU? Assuming the Kosovo Albanian leadership is a little more prepared than they appear to be, do they have a realistic strategy for overcoming the 5 EU objections w/o Beograd’s approval?

    1. Profesor Woland

      And further the all above mentioned opinions regard Belgrade and Pristina/Prishtine dialogue issue there is ,still, in the late 2012 statistic, some 225,000 people were still displaced out of Kosovo/Kosova : 210,000 registered IDPs, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and around 15,000 unregistered RAE people.

      1. Fadil

        Profesor Woland, who are those people?? How come that Serbs from 194K on 1991 became 340K on 1999 (130K in Kosovo + 210K as IDP-s in Serbia)?? Could you explain that very intriguing “scientific discovery” so people with negative birth rate could grow such rapidly for 9 years. I suppose you will win nobel prize in mathematics.

    2. Fadil

      Vladimir, seems like many Serbs “forget” one very crucial thing. Indeed Kosovo is not recognized by 5 EU members but which Serbia is recognized from 27 EU members? Does Germany or France recognize Serbia according to Serbian Constitution (including Kosovo) these states, and other 22 of them, recognize Serbia without Kosovo and Kosovo as independent and sovereign state. Secondly, it is said that Cyprus case was a mistake and EU doesn’t want repeating the mistake. One can imagine that even though none of EU members recognize Northern Cyprus as independent state, accession of Cyprus now is considered as mistake!! Now what to say when absolute majority of EU recognize Kosovo as independent and sovereign state. You, people from Serbia also “forget” that accession to EU is a matter of EU members.

      You have contradictory statements here. First you say that “both Cyprus and Spain would still object to Kosovo’s entry into the EU even if Serbia recognized Kosovo as independent.” and then second statement “Unless the Kosovo Albanian leadership accept something like this new Serbian platform, how do they think they will join the EU?”

      So what is problem for Kosovo being part of EU? Not recognition from Cyprus and Spain or “accepting Serbian platform”?

  10. Mirel

    Vladimir Gagic (@vlga)

    ….Unless the Kosovo Albanian leadership accept something like this new Serbian platform, how do they think they will join the EU?…

    Ok guys,lets assume for one moment that K-Alb will accept the serbian platforme as it is.Nothren Ibar will be Catalonya status( of who Serbia or Kosovo) and south Ibar Ahtisari plus,Orthodox church sthe status of Vatican etc.

    But platforme stresses that “Serbia never will recignise Kosovo’s independence”.Now tell mw who is that sane person,who goves to serbs all of the above and recieves :Serbia never will recignise Kosovo’s independence?

    I agree that Kosova’s way to EU depends on 5 loners that havent recognise Kosovo(althought Slovakia looks they are moving toward recognision,while Greece has all types of relationship with Kosovo except formal recognision),but also Serbia’s pathway to EU depends on the other 23 members who like it or not are more powerful than those 5.
    I think after normalization of relationships with Kosovo,EU will require to Serbia to formally recognise Kosovo.
    Thanks for the conversation Vladimir!

    @ Liz
    How dumb by Mirel,… Right back at you, Mirel. Obviously the killers were the Albanians,…
    Yes albanians were the killers who until 1999 had only stones as weapons.Serbs like you who still live in 1389,are the ones who are caousing the wars in Balkans.
    Ok in Kosovo’s case Albanians were the killers,but what about in Bosnia,Croatia and Slovenia?Or people there commited mass suicide?

    And before throwing cheap shots about muslim albanians,I have to tell you that I am Orthodox Christian Albanians and proud of it.

    @ Brenda,
    Serbs in South are living with Ahrisari package and they seem to be OK.Serbs in North with 4 town halls and their mayers who think they are more important that the mayor of Belgrade,are the ones who refuse any compromise with Prishtina.

    Kosovo je Serbia-is over.We are living in 21 century,but obviously majority of serbian population still lives in 1389.
    May be I am wrong but I still have the feeling that if West pack up and lives Serbia will open war and kill all albanians to get Kosovo back.
    May be I am wrong but from the comments that I read from serbian people in serbian press,I think they still live in denial for whet they cause other peoples during 1990-s.
    Thanks for the conversation Brenda!

  11. Liz

    Mirel, I don’t care of what religion you are. Regardless, you are putting nonsense out there because you can’t back with facts. How idiotic to blame the Serbs across the board, knowing that Albanians are at 95% now in Kosovo. So, it’s obvious who’s doing the killing and the ethnic cleansing. And, now you go off on a tangent about Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia, again not backing with facts. Simply running off at the mouth.

    1. Gerard Gallucci

      For the record, I don’t think NATO “bombed the wrong side.” I believe that NATO should not have been involved at all. The collapse of Yugoslavia was always an EU issue and an EU bungle. Now the EU needs to lead the way to a peaceful compromise in which neither side wins or loses everything.

      1. Fadil

        Gerard, now you are telling what you think. “NATO should not have been involved at all.” and of course Great Serbia would be created in the line Karlovac-Karlobag-Ogulin as Serbian radicals wanted. It means Slovenia would be independent, half of Croatia would be divided and all the rest as Great Serbia. Of course in such state there would not be place for Bosniaks or Albanians and one can just imagine what would happen in case NATO did not intervene stopping Serbian hegemony. I see I am right when I say that you personally represent the most extreme view of Serbian extremism and fascism.

  12. Liz

    NATO tends to get ‘involved’ everywhere. It got involved in Serbia because it was at loose ends after the end of the cold war. Thus, in 1999, it re-invented itself into a first strike force, bombing the tiny country of Serbia for 78 straight days and nights, knowing it could get away with it at that time. Out of that arose USA’s Camp Bondsteel, in the general area of Urosevac. Thus, to achieve that aim, USA-NATO were prepared to bed down with radical Muslims, and did so with Albanians. Obviously, the aim is for a Greater Albania, including parts of Montenegro, Macedonia, Greece, and of course more of Serbia.

    NATO blundered in 1999, but continues to be so arrogant that it’s blundering its way into the Middle East and anywhere else on our little planet.

    1. Fadil

      Liz, if NATo is so bad why then Milosevic was not good i.e not killing more than 10K of Albanian civilians, his soldiers/police did not rape thousands of Albanian women, did not burn more than 200K of houses/flats and did not expel more than 800K of Albanians to Macedonia and Albania + taking (confiscating) their personal documents (IDs, passports) so they would not have identity???

      So if Milosevic would be good with Albanians, apparently NATO would not had reason to bomb Serbia. Milosevic wanted to exterminate Albanians and NATO saved them. Absolutely fair job.

  13. Mirel

    @Liz!

    Albanians radical muslims???!!!!
    Wake up and dont listen only to Sesel propoganda.
    For God sake you dindt have audacity to have a Gay Parade in Belgrade and we in Tirana have done this.We have night clubs and bars and I suggest you to go to albanians beaches and see with your eyes how fanatic are albanians.
    Have u been in Albania?
    I suggest to come and vistit Albania before you throw this radical muslim crap to albanians.
    I am orthodox albanian and I nave never had problem with muslims.
    Albanians religion is albanism-keep this i mind.
    Your PM in late 1800s once said that “unfortunately an albanian muslim can kill 10 turks to save an orthodox and catholic albnains,an orthodox albanians can kill 10 greeks to save his fellow muslim and so do the catholic albanians to save muslims and orthodoxs”.

    @Mr.Gallucci,

    EU alone was involve for 2 years to solve the problems in Bosnia and their inability caused 200 thusand victims.EU is toothless and they can not solve international problems,unless they change the decision making mechanism.
    Once USA and NATO got involve the bosnian conflict was solved in 2 months.
    If EU would have continued to be involve to “solve” Kosovo conflict as you suggest,the result would have been 2 milions albanians dead,displaced and dissapeared and the serbian victims would have been much higher than 2 thousand.
    Thanks to NATO,the number of victims on both sides was much much lower.
    UN and EU are useless organizations when it comes to solve conflicts.
    Sorry but this is the truth!

  14. Liz

    Fadil and Mirel, your further comments indicate you’re on shaky ground. How can you deny that NATO bombed, solely because it needed yet another military base, this time in the Balkans, right in that corner of Europe? To achieve their goal, NATO chose to re-invent itself in 1999. Last time I checked the map, the North Atlantic was far away from Serbia. And, how can you deny that Albanians want to continue chipping away at neighboring countries, due to the tolerance of those very countries permitting Albanians to settle in those countries rather than in Albania? So, what are your theories on that front? Are you in favor of countries being taken over by a segment of population, depending on the majority populations in any part of any country, not only within Serbia?

    1. Fadil

      Liz, again, the answer of your question ask at the actions of Serbia in the last century starting from the Balkan wars on 1912 when Serbia did commit massacres in Kosovo trying to change ethnic structure of the territory EXCLUSIVELY inhabited from Albanians.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacres_of_Albanians_in_the_Balkan_Wars

      (Report of the International Commission on the Balkan Wars)

      So Albanians were in their land as you can see from the report of international commission comprised of honored professors, journalists and MPs from USA, Great Britain, Germany, France, Russia and Austria.

      I urge you reading carefully the presented material from Wiki as well as the report. The same evidence can be found even from Serbian men who participated in that war such as Dimitrije Tucovic and Kosta Novakovic. So stop sharing propaganda here. Instead of being ashamed of criminal past of Serbia you accuse the others!!!

  15. Mirel

    @Liz,
    …due to the tolerance of those very countries permitting Albanians to settle in those countries rather than in Albania?…
    Albanians in FYROM,Montenegro,Kosovo and Greece have been there long bafore serbs arriwed in Balkans.None was permitted albanians to settle there.
    Albanians were permitted to settle in South Italy and Peloponesus and some irlands of Greece between 12-15 century.
    Albanians are not asking for South Italy and Greek islands and half of Athens.
    Albanians are asking for their rights in FYROM,Montenegro,Kosovo,Presheva Valley and the rights to get their properties in Greece.
    While Montenegro and FYROM made deals with Albanians,Serbia refused to do so and even go further to strip the authonomy of Kosovo leaving albanians there as third class citizens.
    Albanians lobbied in NATO countries and USA and yes they had interest to have a military base in Balkans,and the interest was mutual.
    If serbs would have been smart they could have support Rugova cut a deal with albanians such as partition of Kosovo or some sort of Hong-Kong status and albanians and Western countries would have been OK,since until 1999 they were asking serbs only to give albanians whet they srtiped in 1989.
    But serbs humiliated Rugova every chance they had and turn down everything the West required ,which at the time was “give albanians authonomy back”.
    So KLA was born since Rugova was humiliated by serbs and Serbia army got involved and NATO later.
    All sebs platforms and proposals are 15-20 years later.For instance if Slobo would have proposed partition of Kosovo in 1999,Serbia would have got a great deal.They dint even sign the Rambuje agreement where Kosovo remains still under Serbia and serbian army would have be in charge of serbian population in Kosovo and NATO for albanians.It was a good deal but serbians as usual are arrogant and thats why their butt got kicked in 1999.

  16. Liz

    Fadil and Mirel, no I supply only the facts. It’s you who are ‘sharing propaganda here’. You know that too, so don’t try putting the onus on me. It simply doesn’t fly.

    1. Fadil

      Liz,

      What kind of “facts” you did share here? NOTHING. I have shared here very reliable report from INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION that DENIES totally your propaganda. The Commission found that Kosovo was inhabited EXCLUSIVELY with Albanians on 1912, Serbia did commit a series of massacres against Albanians trying to change ethnic structure through crimes and massacres. This is evidence of internationals and Serbs themselves. I am not citing Albanian sources. Serbia did not stop killing an expelling Albanians from Kosovo until it was stopped on 1999. Kosovo, as other entities of former state Yugoslavia became independent as a very fair process.

  17. Ruddie

    It’s a bit funny claiming that Albanians were on Kosovo for who knows how long, before evil and bloodthirsty Serbians came and killed them. That explains why Serbian architecture is oldest in Kosovo? Or does it? Did Albanians live in tents? Or did Serbians manged to destroy every single thing in Kosovo made by Albanians in pre-Ottoman era? How come oldest people in Europe never had their own independent kingdom, or later state until (ironically) their greatest evil-doers Serbians freed them from Ottomans?

    1. Fadil

      Ruddie,

      Apparently you just hear Serbian propaganda and rely on that. For your record, in the city of Prizren (south Kosovo) there is old castle, older than 2,000 years. It’s not built, for sure from Serbs since Serbs arrived in Prizren 1,000 (thousand) years later. Many of monasteries and churches in Kosovo were rebuilt from byzantine ones. OK let’s assume Albanians did not built anything but you want to say that for thousands of years or even tens of thousands of years nobody built something in Kosovo but building started only at arrival of Slavic people in Balkans. By the way, Slavic people, who migrated from Carpathian Mountains into Balkan, did not have building capabilities or even agriculture.

      And (in regard to oldest people) who told you that “Serbians freed them from Ottomans”?

  18. Pingback : Albanians play the “Greater Albania” card over north Kosovo | TransConflict

  19. Pingback : Kosovo: An Approach to Settling the North Emerging? | TransConflict

  20. The offer looks allot like a promise of economic collapse and delegation of responsibility for ethnic segregation – Belgrade might wish for its own settler movement… for a few months worth of news. Either way – between a frozen conflict and one with moving parts, the choice is straightforward: and straightforward collective choices such as call-it-what-you-will, have their uses in any democracy [arguably, al sides involved have come close to having the bare-bones trappings of one].

    I never knew whether Baradei’s mantra – that peace is most lasting among democracies – is meant to have a reciprocal; if it could be given one, perhaps conflict might also prove longest lived between democracies – a matter of [collective] choice, funnily delegated to the weather [‘freeze’].

  21. Pingback : Kosovo - trust and distrust | TransConflict

Leave a Reply to Liz Cancel Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Show Buttons
Hide Buttons