Kosovo breakaway illegal, says Putin

Kosovo declares independence, protests from Serbia, Russia
20:08 | 17/ 02/ 2008

PRISTINA, February 17 (RIA Novosti) - Belgrade and Moscow reacted angrily to Kosovo's Western-backed unilateral declaration of independence on Sunday as the region remained braced for clashes between Serbs and ethnic Albanians.

DECLARATION

"We have waited for this day for a very long time," Kosovan Prime Minister Hashim Thaci told a packed parliament at the start of an emergency session called on Sunday afternoon to, as he said, "take decisions on the future of our nation."

He said the new state would be "proud, independent and free."

Both Thaci and Kosovan President Fatmir Sejdiu pledged that the new state would respect the rights of all ethnic groups. Thaci also said that Kosovo was a unique case, and that it should not set a precedent for other secessionist regions.

The vote for independence was unanimously passed with a show of hands.

There were celebrations across Kosovo following the declaration, as thousands of people poured onto the streets of what is now, notwithstanding opposition from Serbia and Belgrade, among others, the world's newest state.

REACTIONS FROM BELGRADE AND MOSCOW

Both Belgrade and Moscow reacted angrily to the declaration of independence by Kosovo.

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said that it "violates international order," and that Kosovo was a "false state."

"Kosovo will forever remain a part of Serbia," he said. "We do not recognize the forceful creation of this false state. We must support our countrymen in Kosovo."

"As long as the Serb people exist, Kosovo will be Serbia," he went on. Belgrade has ruled out the use of force to retake Kosovo, however.

Serbia's main ally, Russia, immediately called for emergency UN Security Council consultations on the issue. Moscow is deeply opposed to the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo. It has said that it contradicts international law, and sets a dangerous precedent for other secessionist regions.

The UN Security Council meeting called by Russia is due to be held at 6:00 p.m. GMT on Sunday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence could lead to new conflicts in the Balkans.

"The decision of the leaders of Kosovo is fraught [with the danger of] an escalation in tensions and ethnic violence in the province, and new conflicts in the Balkans," the ministry announced on its website.

A Kremlin spokesman called the declaration "illegitimate" on Russia's Vesti TV channel.

Russia, which has consistently maintained that independence for Kosovo contradicts UN Resolution 1244 on territorial integrity, also called on the UN and NATO to annul the declaration of sovereignty.

FEARS OF CLASHES

NATO peacekeeping troops are on alert, ready to deal with any clashes between ethnic Albanians and Serbs in the flashpoint town of Mitrovica, in northern Kosovo.

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CONSEQUENCES

Russia has hinted that it may now recognize Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

"The declaration of sovereignty by Kosovo and its recognition will undoubtedly be taken into account in [Russia's] relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Georgia, however, does not intend to recognize Kosovo's independence, and the issue is not on the agenda, a parliamentary spokesman for the former Soviet republic has said.

He said Georgia was more concerned by Russia's stance on South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"The issue is not on the agenda. We care about the future of our territories," he said. "We will wait and see what Russia does concerning Abkhazia and South Ossetia."

South Ossetia and Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia following bloody conflicts in the wake of the Soviet Union's 1991 collapse.

Kosovo has been a UN protectorate since the NATO bombing of the former Yugoslavia ended a conflict between Albanian and Serb forces in 1999.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia would stand a better chance of independence if the UN had made them protectorates.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia following bloody conflicts in the wake of the Soviet Union's 1991 collapse.

GOPers suffer from CHIDS (Chronic Humor and Irony Deficit Syndrome), prounced 'kids' with that parental sigh

Kosovo MPs proclaim independence

(17/02/08)BBC News

Kosovo's parliament has unanimously endorsed a declaration of independence from Serbia, in an historic session.

The declaration, read by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, said Kosovo would be a democratic country that respected the rights of all ethnic communities.

But Serbia's PM denounced the US for helping create a "false state" and protesters in Belgrade later pelted the US embassy with stones.

The US and a number of EU countries are expected to recognise Kosovo on Monday.

Before that, the UN Security Council is expected to convene on Sunday evening in an emergency meeting demanded by Serbia's ally, Russia.

Tens of thousands of people had thronged the streets of Kosovo's capital, Pristina, since the morning.

When news came of the declaration in parliament, the centre of the city erupted with fireworks, firecrackers and celebratory gunfire.

Hundreds of ethnic Albanians staged noisy celebrations in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, and in Brussels, outside the headquarters of Nato and the European Union.

Hand grenades

The first sign of trouble in Kosovo came in the ethnic Serbian area of the flashpoint town of Mitrovica, where two hand grenades were thrown at international community buildings.

One exploded at a UN court building while the other failed to go off outside offices expected to house the new EU mission.

In Belgrade, demonstrators threw stones and broke windows at the US embassy as riot police tried to fend off a crowd of around 1,000 people.

"Kosovo is the heart of Serbia," the protesters shouted.

Several Serbian ministers had travelled to Kosovo to show their support for the ethnic Serbian minority.

Kosovo's 10 Serbian MPs boycotted the assembly session in protest at the declaration.

Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica blamed the US which he said was "ready to violate the international order for its own military interests".

"Today, this policy of force thinks that it has triumphed by establishing a false state," Mr Kostunica said.

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I can fully understand the Kosovars' desire to be out from underneath the thumb of the Serbians, who have managed to mangle all of their international relations for something like 150 years. However, make no mistake about it, the Kosovars cannot treat their minority Serbian population as they were treated by the Serbians and expect to make their independence last.

Do the Kosovars expect to get pay back or do they want to become an exemplar player in international relations? I really fear that it might be the former and that route is the highway to hell. I doubt seriously that the EU is going to be willing to support a regime oppressing a clear ethnic minority within Kosovo and I can just bet a portion of the Kosovar population is quite prepared to blame the EU's withdrawal of support on the Serbian minority. Hell, if the Serbians had any brains at all, they'd just let the Kosovars botch this themselves without any outside help, because that would be the smart money bet.

http://www.gwynnedyer.com/articles/Gwynne%20Dyer%20article_%20%20Kosovo%20Independence.txt

"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
The only proof he needed for the existence of God was music."
-Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without A Country

Protests counter the celebrations of independence

Los Angeles Times, By Tracy Wilkinson, February 18

PRISTINA, Kosovo - In a move that inflamed tensions in this volatile region, the ethnic Albanian government of Kosovo yesterday proclaimed the province independent from Serbia, forming a new and very troubled country in Europe.

The United States, the biggest sponsor of independence for Kosovo, is expected to recognize the new state quickly, as will some European nations. But Russia is adamantly opposed, along with Serbia, and the United Nations is unlikely to voice support for Kosovo's unilateral action, setting up a thorny dispute reminiscent of the Cold War.

The declaration of independence was met by wild celebrations in Kosovo, violent protests in Serbia and a hastily called meeting of the UN Security Council, which failed to take any action.

The secession of Kosovo marks the latest and presumably final chapter in the blood-soaked dissolution of what was once Yugoslavia. Kosovo joins five former republics that, beginning in 1991 with Slovenia, have withdrawn from Belgrade's reign and become sovereign states, often through devastating warfare.

AP, By Constant Brand, February 18

BRUSSELS, Belgium — European powers Britain, France and Germany said Monday they would recognize Kosovo's independence but other EU nations were opposed including Spain, which has battled a violent Basque separatist movement for decades.
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European Union foreign ministers adopted a statement clearing the way for some member nations to endorse Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia on Sunday. France, Britain and Germany said soon afterward that they would recognize Kosovo.

"On behalf of the United Kingdom, I can announce that the British government has decided to recognize Kosovo," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters at the end of the EU foreign ministers talks in Brussels.