Independence Spawns Mixed Reactions

The majority of Albanian Kosovars welcomed the news of independence declared on Sunday with celebrations and demonstrations across the country and in the capital city of Pristina. Today however, political unrest and violent protest led to border closings and destruction in northern Kosovo near the border with Serbia where many Serbian Kosovars oppose the idea of an independent Kosovo. Despite the support of the U.S. and most of the E.U. it is clear that this may not be an easy or smooth transition to full statehood for Kosovo while the threat of instability and violence in the region is still looming on the horizon.

Here is an article from the NYT about the divided city of Mitrovica and another from Balkan Insight about the attacks on the border.

The New Cold War

Yay for Kosovo! This Balkan hotspot once again finds itself the epicenter of a global power battle as Russia and the West continue the political struggle over Kosovo's future. Apparently the international rift over Kosovo's independence is contributing to a "Cold War-style chill settling over Europe" even if it may not result in any direct, immediate conflict.
Here is a link to an article about some of these developments.


I also found an interesting article called "Criminalization of the State" from The Center for Research on Globalization that claims the Kosovo Liberation Army and the current government is basically a terrorist supporting, drug smuggling mafia (glad we've got a mob class planned) propped up by the powerful NATO and American military presence in the region, which is quite impressive, make sure you check out Cheney's bastion, the Massive U.S. military base Camp Bondsteel referred to as a smaller Guantanamo built by Haliburton to protect military and economic interests in the Balkans.

On that note thought I would include a video from Russia Today of John Bolton criticizing U.S. foreign policy and talking about the possibility of a rise in Islamic terrorism and regional instability if Kosovo's independence is recognized.

Imminent Independence!!?

According to recent reports from the Balkans, Kosovo, currently a province of Serbia, is expected to announce its independence sometime within the next ten days. The timing of the announcement is scheduled to take advantage of an upcoming E.U. ministerial meeting. The region has been under U.N. administration and a provisional coalition government working toward autonomy since the conclusion of the ethnic conflict in 1999 between Serbians and the ethnic Albanians who make up a majority of the region's population.

These developments have divided Serbia's government and several other European nations have already come out with announcements that they will not recognize Kosovo's independence. Serbia with the alliance of Russia in particular have positioned themselves against political independence for Kosovo and have used their sizable clout in international organizations to voice this opposition.

This certainly is an exciting and historic time to study and follow the news from Kosovo so stay tuned!