There is so much talk about Kosovo or Kosova and what its name should be! I think I have a compromise for all parties.


KosovoAhhhh!

Its that refreshing...................

No matter how you call it, its beauty and scenery will give you that Ahh feeling. Its an unknown place, a magical place, a place of unimaginable opportunity for all people in the Balkans and around the world.

So please, visit Kosovo or Kosova or better yet

KosovoAhhhh!

And enjoy an experience of a lifetime :)

Thousands in Serbia protest naming street after Milosevic
The Associated Press

Published: September 1, 2006


NOVI SAD, Serbia Thousands protested Friday against naming a boulevard in Serbia's second-largest city after late President Slobodan Milosevic.

Some 5,000 people, blowing whistles and carrying banners saying "this street should be called the boulevard of Milosevic's victims," marched through downtown Novi Sad, some 70 kilometers (43 miles) north of Belgrade.

Milosevic was ousted from power in 2000 and handed over to the U.N. war crimes tribunal to face charges related to the Balkan wars of the 1990s. He died from a heart attack March 11, before the trial ended.

The initiative to name one of Novi Sad's main streets after Milosevic, who governed Serbia with a heavy hand in the 1990s, was made by his Socialist and Radical supporters, who control the northern town's local government.

They also have proposed that city council change the name of another street, called after former Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.

Djindjic, who was assassinated in Belgrade in March 2003, was instrumental in ousting Milosevic in 2000 and extraditing him to the tribunal in the Netherlands.

"Djindjic's street is a one way street. Milosevic's street is a dead-end street," said another banner carried by protesters.

The Radicals, who were ousted from power in 2000 together with Milosevic, have regained popularity. Some opinion polls have suggested that the Radicals could win a next election in Serbia.

Two Israelis beaten in Serbia



(JTA) —Two Israelis were beaten by a group of skinheads at a Belgrade rock festival.


Jariv Avram, 27, and Bojana Petkovic, 23, were attacked Sunday in a downtown park by several men wearing Nazi symbols, police said. Avram suffered serious head injuries and had to go to the hospital, while Petkovic was bruised, the two Israelis told Belgrade media. "They were chanting ‘Auschwitz, Auschwitz' and ‘Go to Germany' as they attacked us,” Avram was reported as saying.

Local media reported that the two Israelis complained that the police were not helpful toward them. The Serbian Jewish community issued a statement calling for the arrest of the attackers and noted that anti-Semitic incidents were increasing.

Indictments in Bytyqi brothers case

B92 again on the case that received international attention:


24 August 2006 11:16 -> 17:01 Source: B92, Beta
BELGRADE -- Special War Crimes Prosecution announced it has issued indictments in the case of the murder of the Bytyqi brothers.

Sreten Popović and Miloš Stojanović, former special police members, are charged with taking part in the July 1999 murder of US citizens Illy, Mehmet and Agron Bytyqi, members of the KLA’s Atlantic Brigade.

The Bytyqi brothers served a two-week prison sentence in Prokuplje at the end of June and the beginning of July 1999, for entering what was then Yugoslavia illegally from Albania. After they were released from prison, Popović and Stojanović handed them over to unidentified masked MUP members, who executed them next to a garbage disposal site, the indictment claims. “The bodies of the Bytyqi brothers, with hands tied with wire, were found in 2001, in the Petrovo Selo mass grave. The case remains under investigation”, the statement reads. The prosecution has cooperated with the FBI during the two-year investigation.

The Bytyqi case investigation has brought the name of the former police general Vlastimir Đorđević into the media focus. Special war crimes court Prosecution spokesman Bruno Vekarić confirmed that a warrant for his arrest will likely be issued. “I wish to stress his name is also on a Hague indictment. There are indications that he is hiding in Russia. It would be very important for us to have him appear before out courts but, as you know, the Hague tribunal takes precedence. Formally, a warrant is issued by the police on a judge’s order, and that is in procedure. I really cannot anticipate the reaction of the Russian authorities once the warrant is issued”.

The media have also mentioned the then Special anti-terrorist unit (SAJ) commander Goran Radosavljević Guri in connection with the case. Bruno Vekarić for his part said that the Prosecution will not comment on media reports.

Nataša Kandić of the Humanitarian Law Center, engaged in the case for a long time, told B92 that the indictment came as a result of the pressure from the State Department, the US War Crimes envoy and the FBI. However, she stressed that the indictment relates only to the direct perpetrators, instead to those who gave the orders, and who have in the meantime fled the country. “The witnesses who would be wiling to confirm that Vlastimir Đorđević, in cooperation with someone else, made a political decision, which was then executed, do not exist. It defies the logic that it could’ve been realized without Goran Radosavljević Guri’s involvement, who’s HQ stood near the place where the Bytyqi brothers were killed. This is where the investigation hits a dead-end, you can’t go any further, because there is a conspiracy of silence related to the high MUP officials and those who served in the special units deployed in Kosovo. Contrary to the interests of the country and the rule of law, we continue to protect the high-ranking criminals, punishing only the direct executioners”.

B92 reports

Serbia may have Kosovo Plan B
14 August 2006 10:57 -> 16:08 Source: B92, FoNet

BELGRADE -- According to analyst Slobodan Antonić, it is possible that Serbia has Plan B when it comes to Kosovo.
Sanda Rašković-IvićCommenting on Sanda Rašković-Ivić's statement, Slobodan Antonić told the BBC that it is possible there is a second or spare plan, since Serbia’s official Kosovo plan envisaging broad autonomy is seen by many as unrealistic. “There are nearly two million Albanians there who will be extremely difficult to integrate into Serbia’s political and social system”, Antonić said.

Antonić says that many believe Belgrade to favor the partition of the province despite official demands for autonomy, adding that it is too early to estimate whether Sanda Rašković-Ivić’s statement in fact announced a change in the tactics in the Kosovo negotiations. Kosovo political analyst Nedzhmedin Spahiu told BBC that the only way to divide Kosovo without war is to give Serbia the northern part of Kosovo, making the Ibar River the new border. “This, however, would not satisfy the interest of the Kosovo Serbs since two-thirds of them live south of the Ibar.” Spahiu said, adding that every effort to divide Kosovo so that Serbia would maintain territory south of the Ibar would result in violence. The Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) spokesman Andreja Mladenović said that Rašković-Ivić’s statement was taken out of context. “In her interview with the BBC she spoke of essential autonomy and mentioned the two kinds of autonomy included in the Serbian proposal, autonomy for the Albanians in relation to Serbia, and that of Serbs and other non-Albanian communities within Kosovo, related to the decentralization process and local governments”, he said. Mladenović added that Sanda Rašković-Ivić did not mention the partition in the way the BBC interpreted it, only pointing to the fact that essential autonomy for Albanians, within Serbia, is the only and the best compromise solution. The Serbian Radical Party (SRS) secretary-general Aleksandar Vučić said that the government should announce its intentions to change its Kosovo plan if such intentions exist, and let the Parliament decide on it. “Serbian officials should not tell the public about changes in attitudes before such changes are verified by the parliament. If there is intention to change the plan, they must put that proposed change before the parliament first”, Vučić said. Daily Večernje Novosti quote the Kosovo Coordination Center Media Chief Slavko Živanov as saying that Sanda Rašković-Ivić’s statement was twisted and taken out of its context.

“Koštunica and Tadić seek an imposed solution”Georgetown University professor Charles Kupchan believes it is unlikely that the division of Kosovo will take place. “Belgrade is attempting to quietly achieve the partition of Kosovo, while the international community objects to this, trying to avoid opening up the Pandora’s box in the south of Serbia. The partition will probably never take place, but there is a possibility of renewed violence in Kosovo”, Kupchan told VOA. He says that the two sides’ irreconcilable attitudes on Kosovo’s future status leave the international community with little choice but to impose a solution. Such a conclusion can be drawn from the negotiations so far that have yielded no result. “We’re talking about two irreconcilable positions without any common ground and it seems that there won’t be any. The problem is that accepting Kosovo’s independence will spell out political suicide for any politician in Serbia. It seems that both Koštunica and Tadić are asking the international community to simply impose a solution. In a way they’re saying, “We cannot accept independence, and since we in all likelihood cannot prevent it either, you should impose it”, Kupchan says.

Ivanko: Advocating partition not usefulUNMIK spokesman Aleksandar Ivanko said that UNMIK and the international community have always opposed Kosovo’s partition and added that the statements to that end were not useful. “Kosovo’s partition will not be tolerated, period. Such statements are not helpful at all considering that they run against the position of the entire international community, the Contact Group, Martti Ahtisaari and UNMIK”, UNMIK spokesman said. Ivanko said that Belgrade officials should above all consider finding a way for the Serbs to join the temporary local government institutions. “Kosovo Serbs have many legitimate complaints including those related to the economy, employment, healthcare, even some related to security and freedom of movement. But, how do you expect the government to solve these complaints if they refuse to take part in the institutions’ work”, Ivanko said.

LDP: agreement with AlbaniansThe Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP) representatives believe that Minister of the Interior Dragan Jočić’s statement shows that the state leadership has no strength to formulate a policy since it has no ability to implement it: “The state policy concerning Kosovo represents a continuity of Slobodan Milošević’s and Vojislav Šešelj’s policy since it insists on traditional politics, one of the root causes of all the Kosovo problems. Serbs who live there and those who wish to return are victims of an irrational nationalist policy, just as Serbs in Croatia and Bosnia used to be”, LDP statement reads. “Serbia needs to reach an agreement with the Kosovo Albanians, who together with us are a part of the Kosovo problem, but also with the international community, that should guarantee that agreement. Belgrade needs to define a realistic policy, centering on the existence of Serbs in Kosovo. Otherwise, we will be on the collision course with the Albanians and the international community”, LDP says.

Crossfire War - Serbs in Kosovo Arming Self - Defence Groups

By Willard Payne
Crossfire War - TEHRAN WATCH - Southeast Europe Theatre: Tehran - Belgrade/Pristina - Vienna; Serbs Arming Self-Defense Groups - Former Military and Police Officers
Night Watch: BELGRADE - Reuters reports that the six capitals which make up the Contact Group on Serbia/Kosovo are increasingly concerned at what they call "recent developments". The capitals are: Washington-London-Berlin-Paris-Rome-Moscow. They refuse to specify what the "recent developments" are but ominous reports have been circulating that Serbian communities in Kosovo are strengthening self-defence groups composed of former military and police officers. This is obviously in preparation for the declaration of Kosovo's independence, the majority Albanian Muslim province of southern Serbia. [SWISSINFO]

Serbia Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica is on record as saying Monday that when Kosovo independence is declared he will state Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia, which of course gives his and Belgrade's approval for Serbian armed nationalist groups to open fire. Three Serbian urban communities in northern Kosovo, where Serbs are still the majoirty, have severed all contact with Kosovo's capital Pristina, which is controlled by Albanians. The Serbs in the north of the province, north of the Ibar river, are in a much better position, politically and economically since they have a continuous land link to Serbia. It's quite possible the shooting could start even before independence is declared.

The only question is who will the Serbs target first, Albanians or the Contact Group? Encouraging them in this new war is Tehran, which signed a security agreement with Belgrade last January that received a lot of publicity in both countries. Tehran will use the new fighting as a way of silencing Vienna, the capital that houses the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which had been investigating Iran's uranium enrichment - nuclear weapons program. Fighting in the Balkans will also end the West's attention on the war in Western Asia (Middle East), which Tehran had Hamas-Hezbollah start against Israel. There will be no more talk of an international peace force monitoring Lebanon led by Europe.

You too could be prime minister of Serbia! - a Feral mini-test

Author: Dejan Ilic
Uploaded: Wednesday, 02 August, 2006

Spoof test in the Split satirical weekly Feral Tribune drawing on the real-life pronouncements of the current Serbian premier and his cabinet colleagues

It is human to wish to hold a position which gives you power without carrying any obligations whatsoever. Such positions are rare. One of them is the post of prime minister of Serbia. However, in order to fill this post you must meet certain conditions, show that you possess the characteristics that make you qualified for it. This test will help you to ascertain whether you are a person suitable to do the job of the Serbian premier. Read carefully the questions and circle the answers that are closest to your views. You will learn from the results of the test whether you too could be the Serbian premier.



1. Suspects in the murder of former prime minister Zoran Đinđić and a cooperative prosecution witness in the murder trial are killed in Belgrade. As prime minister you would:

a) say that the killers will be caught and that the government will do all in its power to complete the trial despite all obstacles.

b) say nothing at all; think you understand Zoran Đinđić and how hard it was for him; recall your words: ‘When you yourself have gone through it all, you get a better picture and view somewhat differently the work of your predecessors.’

c) tell the public that ‘the prosecution witness Zoran Vukojević had insisted that the police should cease protecting him’, and add : ‘We were obliged by law to do as he wished. Were we supposed to guard him against his will?’



2. The citizens of Montenegro have decided in a referendum that their republic should be an independent state. As prime minister of Serbia you would:

a) recognise the new state, wish the citizens of Montenegro much happiness and success in the new state, and work to establish inter-state relations as soon as possible, for the sake of both the citizens of Montenegro and the citizens of Serbia.

b) state that Serbia is busy with itself, that ‘there is a priority at this moment that is above it all, which means that there exists something which for Serbia at this moment is far more important than congratulations or recognition - which, by the way, a state does not need in order to exist.’

c) tell the public that ‘Serbia has not become independent; it is actually Serbia and Montenegro without a part of its territory’.



3. Being prime minister, you are asked [while attending a slava, a semi-religious festivity], when the indicted Ratko Mladić will be delivered to the court in The Hague. You would:

a) say you are doing all you can for Serbia to fulfill this obligation, and try to convince your interlocutors that you are sincere.

b) answer: ‘I can tell you everything in regard to this festivity. I have already made a statement. The advantage of a written statement as opposed to verbal discourse is that the former is very precise. Additional questions should not be put at a slava, don’t you understand? You may get an answer tomorrow or the day after, but at a slava one talks of nothing but the slava, if you know what a slava is.’

c) declare that ‘the question is meaningless’ and add: ‘It is as if you asked me how long I will live.’

4. As prime minister you have made stringent criticism of the European Union, i.e. of its policy of ‘posing conditions’ which you had hoped ‘was finally behind us’. Your criticism earns the riposte: ‘Commissioner Olli Rehn is very glad that Premier Koštunica has not ascribed to the EU also responsibility for the six goals that Serbia and Montenegro got from Argentina during the world cup.’ You would:

a) ask the EU commissioner to take your remarks seriously, because they have to do with the lives and welfare of the citizens of your state.

b) declare that, in contrast to your country’s team, the team from Finland, from where the commissioner comes, had failed to qualify for the world cup, and add: ‘I do not recall the last time it succeeded in doing so.’

c) tell the commissioner that unlike Serbia the EU does not have a football team.

5. The president of Serbia [Boris Tadić] has distanced himself from your criticism of the EU, saying that ‘he has nothing to do with the policy of defying the world and displaying false pride’. You would:

a) ask the president of the republic what his policy is then.

b) declare that the president of the republic ‘is not contributing to the realisation of strategic goals and key elements of national unity’ and that he ‘speaks only for his party’.

c) indulge in musing: ‘There exists a degree of mutual distrust between Tadić and Koštunica and it is up to all of us to overcome this mistrust. Koštunica agrees with this in principle, but doubts that the other side will hold to the agreement, given that agreements are not always respected. But we have to forget the past and turn to the future.’



RESULTS:

A. If you have circled most times the answers under a), then you take politics too seriously and think wrongly that your role in being prime minister consists of creating stable living conditions for the citizens of your state. This automatically disqualifies you from the competition to become Serbian prime minister.

B. If most of your answers come under b), you would be as good a prime minister of Serbia as the current incumbent (since all the suggested answers derive from him or his spokesmen). It is noticeable, however, that you are holding yourself back a little and not bringing your full creativity to the prime minister’s job.

C. If you have circled c) most often, then you have gone one step further than the current prime minister and shown that you are the right person for Serbia. You have correctly deduced, as have the prime minister’s cabinet colleagues (whose actual statements we have used here), that there are indeed no limits and that you can say whatever occurs to you without suffering any consequences as a result. Welcome to Serbia!



Translated from Feral Tribune (Split), 30 June 2006.

It is with pleasure that I finally post something here. Due to other comittments my posts here will literally consist of a news report and my comment underneath. Nuff said.


Rupel: Koštunica’s statement, a problem
1 August 2006 15:02 Source: B92, Beta
LJUBLJANA, VIENNA -- Dimitrij Rupel said that Koštunica’s statement regarding Kosovo presents a problem.The Slovenian Foreign Minister said that Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica’s statement that Serbia will not give up Kosovo for the sake of becoming a member of the European Union is a problematic one.“I think that the stance that Serbia is prepared to sacrifice its European perspective is from our point-of-view and the point-of-view of the EU and the Western world, a problem.” Rupel said. “In the last phase of the Kosovo status discussions, various statements have been coming from all sides that are doing everything but helping to solve the problem of Kosovo’s final status.” Rupel said. Belgrade wants another postponement.

The Belgrade Kosovo status discussion delegation will be asking the UN’s Special Envoy for the Kosovo Status Talks, Martti Ahtisaari, to postpone the date of the next round of decentralisation and minority rights discussions in Vienna. Ahtisaari’s chief spokesperson Hua Jiang confirmed that Ahtisaari has received Belgrade’s request and that his office is currently discussing the matter with both Belgrade and Priština. Beta found out from sources close to the Belgrade delegation that the delegation is asking for the next meeting in Vienna to be rescheduled from August 7 to August 14. Beta’s source did not give a reason for the request, though the Albanian-language Priština daily Koha Ditore writes that Belgrade is dissatisfied with the amount of planning time it has had for the next round, which will focus around the rights of the Serbian minority in Kosovo.


This is an old chestnut - that Serbia must give up Kosovo in order to join the EU. Lots of armchair Balkanite types have said this, particularly Americans but also Europeans usually of the social democrat variety. (Incidentely a close 'relative' of this kind of statement is that 'Serbia has lost the moral right to govern Kosovo')

When looking further into this connection privately diplomats have tried to persuade the Serbian government with all kinds of arguments. They tell them that Kosovo is the past, that Kosovo is an economic burden. Europe is the present and future and will allow economic prosperity etc. (Presumably the same diplomats arent saying the same things about Kosovo to Kosovo Albanians).

This kind of talk probably works with a pragmatic deal maker like Djindjic but Kostunica doesnt have time for this as has become clear from the talks.

This connection between Kosovo and the EU is in my opnion unhelpful. Both Serbia and Kosovo seek to join the EU. It would be just as invalid to ask Kosovo Albanians to give up on independence in return for EU membership.

Instead the EU should focus on what Kosovo is really all about - people. Wherever possible they should appeal directly to all the residents of Kosovo to drive home the fact that land is a less relevant factor than the right to a job or a regular supply of electricity. The EU should assure the Kosovo Serb, Albanian and other minorities that no matter what their leaders are upto they will not be forgotten and that Kosovo will become a part of the European Union.

If Kosovo is declared independent and then abandoned my personal anger will be intense - not because Serbia lost 'ownership' but because the people will not see any improvement - after all the promises. What will be the use of Kosovo changing its name, gaining a flag etc if the economic situation remains the same? Ordinary people need to get the politicians focussed on this before its too late because if you dont hold them to it the 'West' has a habit of abandoning an area / country after intervention.

Ultra-nationalist party threatens fight for Kosovo

Jul 28, 2006, 15:51 GMT


Belgrade - The strongest opposition party in Serbia, the ultra-nationalist Radicals, said Serbia would have to take up arms if Kosovo is proclaimed independent.

Radical president Tomislav Nikolic said taking up arms would be the extreme measure if all else fails.

'If they want to take away Kosovo and Metohija (a part of Kosovo), the whole world has to know that Serbia will begin to fight for the return of the province,' Serbian media quoted Nikolic as saying Friday.

Nikolic also said the Radicals would take to the streets and bring down the government if it does nothing if Kosovo is declared independent.

Nikolic has 'neither the moral nor any other capacity' to decide the fate of the Serbian people, Dusan Petrovic, vice president of the Democratic Party, which is headed by Serbian President Boris Tadic, said in comment of Nikolic's statements, according to the Beta news agency.

Petrovic also pointed out that Nikolic was the Serbian deputy prime minister during the 1999 Kosovo war.

A province in southern Serbia administered by the UN since 1999, when NATO intervened to end the war, Kosovo is viewed by Serbs as the heartland of Serb culture, history and spirituality.

The vast majority of the population in Kosovo who are ethnic Albanians insist full independence is the only viable solution for the province's future status.

Months of talks on Kosovo's status have resulted in almost no progress in bringing the positions of Belgrade and Pristina closer.

© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur