Kosovo: News, Politics & Issues

[Epirot]

Epirot, just like you have in the past, you have involved yourself in politicial discussions in an attempt to justify the position of Albanian extremists with respect to Macedonia.

From the first post on this forum, I did not take any side in regard with Albanian parties or as you pejoratively label 'extremists'. Judging from the content of most comments here, I am strengthening my suspicion that if the Albanian parties form one extremity, then a part of you form the other extremity. So, I'm not sure if both extremist sides deserve any credit...

A lot of what you have written is pure apologetic dribble,

Did I support any political party in Macedonia? So, I am not making any apologetic dribble to anyone. I'm just trying to offer a much more balanced picture regarding Macedonia, but it seem that a lot of you are simply not disposed to see the reverse side of coin. I am wondering why?

Macedonians want a Macedonian Macedonia, with equal civic rights for its minorities. Not a plastic Macedonian-Albanian federation.

I would not say so. Judging from the gestures of a fraction of Macedonians, I am pretty persuaded that they do not want a Macedonian Macedonia, but they simply want a pure Macedonia, which would exclude every non-Macedonian.

There are several more examples where Albanian extremists (or perhaps they aren't extremists "anymore", but the norm) have made similar claims and gestures, in total disrespect for the Macedonian state.

I am not sure if you're intentionally ignoring the very known fact when some extremist Macedonians launched a dangerous plan to split up Macedonia in two parts. According to their plan, this might have been in the form of territorial exchanges between Macedonia and Albania:

While Macedonian troops battle it out with Albanian guerrillas in the north, a fierce political conflict has broken out in the capital over a proposal to partition Macedonia.

The bombshell proposal was lobbed by Georgi Efremov, chairman of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Macedonia, ASAM, who suggested that the best way of ending strife between Macedonian and Albanian communities was to carve up the country into two entities.

According to this plan, Albanians would settle in the western regions of Gostivar, Tetovo, and Debar which would then join Albania itself at a later date. In exchange, Albania would hand over to Macedonia the town of Pogradec and the surrounding area near Prespa Lake, where a small Macedonian minority lives.

The exchange should be completed peacefully in three months, the academy said.

Efremov described his plan as a "document for the salvation of Macedonia". He said that after the recent fighting in Tetovo and elsewhere, Albanians and Macedonians could no longer live in peace.

http://www.alb-net.com/amcc/cgi-bin/...91907442,88888,

[Soldier of Macedon]

Albanians in Bujanovac and their 'demands'

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/serbia-s-ethnic-albanians-protest-over-education

14 Sep 2011

Young Albanians in Serbia Protest Over Education

Ethnic Albanians on the Kosovo border say they will protest on the streets until Belgrade resolves problems over Albanian language textbooks and recognizes diplomas from Kosovo.

Some 3,000 ethnic Albanians in South Serbia, mostly youngsters, took part in a protest rally in the town of Bujanovac, chanting: "Enough is enough".

To the sounds of popular Albanian songs, and waving flags of Albania, the US and the EU, they demanded that Serbia's Ministry of Education resolve problems in the educational curriculum that date back several years.

According to the Education Ministry, schools must teach from the same curriculum, whether it is in Serbian or Albanian.

But local leaders in the region, which has an Albanian majority, cannot agree with the ministry on exactly which textbooks to use, especially in the sensitive subject of history.

In the meantime, teachers in Albanian language elementary and high schools are still using standard Serbian textbooks, which is highly problematic as this is not the first language of most of the pupils.

"It is a shame that kids in the first grade of our elementary schools [in the South] do not even have a spelling book [in Albanian]," Fortefa Sabani, a student from Bujanovac gymnasium, told the audience.

Local Ethnic Albanian leaders were on the stage but mostly let students and pupils do the talking, so that the public could hear about their problems first hand.

Another contentious issue is recognition of university diplomas from Kosovo. Ever since Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008, Serbia has not recognized degrees stamped "Republic of Kosovo" - a major issue for ethnic Albanians in the south who often finish studies in Kosovo.

Agreement between the two negotiating teams on the diploma issue is supposed to be reached in the next round of talks in Brussels.

The protest, which is the first in a planned series, passed off without incidents. The next one is supposed to be held in Presevo next week.

Education Minister Zarko Obradovic in Belgrade said that much had been done in the field of education for young Albanians in South Serbia, noting that a university department in Bujanovac is to open soon.

A department of economy, operating as part of the University of Subotica, in Serbia's northern province of Vojvidina, is about to open with classes held in Albanian.

South Serbia is still recovering from an armed conflict that broke out a decade ago between Serbian security forces and rebel ethnic Albanians fighting in the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac.

The conflict lasted from November 2000 to June 2001, when it was ended by intervention from NATO and the international community.

[Zarni]

Go to hell Balkan Insight concentrate on a legitimate cause and event another Failed Census in Albania and the Albanian Governments failure to again uphold minority rights on self Identification

[Niko777]

Maybe Macedonia can help Serbia resolve the issue, because we all know what a good job Macedonia did with the school books for its own Albanian minority!







Here you can clearly see the Macedonian government teaches Albania's national anthem to students of the Albanian minority.
The Macedonian anthem is not taught!

[lavce pelagonski]

This has gone too far

[Soldier of Macedon]

Too far passed long ago.

[Volk]

It was open knowledge even decades ago that the albanians have a national plan to take over territories by multiplying...

They do this everywhere not just Macedonia, whereas the Macedonians 'national plan' is to bow the head in order to exist... pretty pathetic

[Soldier of Macedon]

Kosovo rat - YouTube

Listen to this from 2.16:

.....it was easy to provoke the Serbs. We did it by just using snipers. Our aim was to get NATO to intervene as soon as possible.

[Risto the Great]

Serbia and Kosovo sign first post-independence agreement

http://euobserver.com/15/32583

BRUSSELS - After five months of talks under EU mediation, Serbia and Kosovo on Saturday (2 July) signed a breakthrough deal allowing people to cross the border with Kosovo papers, and to get real estate documents and school diplomas recognised on both sides.

The agreement is the first one between the two sides since since Kosovo declared independence three years ago. Belgrade was quick to point out that it does not imply that it recognises its former province as being a state of its own, however.

Under the agreement, Kosovo ID cards and licence plates will now be recognised by Serbian border guards, but not their recently issued passports, deemed a symbolic step too far. This will allow Kosovo citizens to travel to the EU directly through Serbia, after years of having to go the longer and more cumbersome route through Montenegro and Croatia.

School and university diplomas are also to be recognised on both sides, while the EU's justice and police mission Eulex will certify copies from the civil registry kept in Belgrade "with a view to establishing a comprehensive civil registry in Kosovo," the agreement reads. By doing this, Eulex is expected to ease procedures on issues such as divorce while curbing corruption and identity theft.


The agreement is expected to further boost Serbia's efforts to join the EU, after the arrest of suspected war criminal Ratko Mladic last month. The European Commission is in September likely to recommend that the country be given official EU candidate status.

For the Kosovo negotiations chief, Edita Tahiri, the deal represents a first step towards recognition of her country's independence.

"It is becoming clearer that Serbia's EU integration is conditioned by recognition of Kosovo and Serbia's first step toward recognition of Kosovo's independence was made today," she said after the meeting.

But her Serbian counterpart Borko Stefanovic stressed that this agreement does not imply any recognition of independence.

"A passport is the highest symbol of citizenship, while the identity card is not", he explained.

Back in Belgrade, this nuance may be hard to sell. The leader of the nationalistic Democratic Party of Serbia, Vojislav Kostunica, said the government betrayed the trust of all countries that oppose Kosovo independence.

"By recognizing various acts and documents of the quasi state of Kosovo, the current government has supported the snatchers of our territory," he was quoted as saying by Radio B92.

That is almost as low as Macedonia granting amnesty to the ethnic Albanian terrorists of 2001. Just goes to show the lure of the EU for politicians and how they are willing to prostitute themselves in matters of such importance.

[Vangelovski]

I think the EU myth mesmorises a lot of poeple. I was at a conference on Eastern Europe recently (where I delivered a paper) and I listened to a presentation by a Serb scholar from NZ. He was arguing that Serbia had no alternative to the EU/NATO (sound familiar?). During his presentation he talked about how disasterous things are in Serbia, economically and politically. But he never really made the argument as to what benefit Serbia would gain from EU/NATO membership. So I asked him. He was unable to provide a conclusive answer that was not successfully challenged by someone in the audience. Some people in the audience then actually provided some alternatives to EU/NATO membership, specifically for economic development. He was unable to respond convincingly. Finally, I asked him how long did he think it would take for Serbia to mysteriously improve after gaining EU/NATO membership. He was not sure.

[Risto the Great]

Surely the EU has lost its sheen by now!
What defenses can the europhiles use nowadays?
The benefits cannot be defined and the consequences of EU debt are obvious for all to see.

[makedonche]

It's all about common bonds, a common curency, a common european name, common benefits fo all and wonderful lifestyles attached to the EU dream - very clever marketing, and when marketing doesn't work, push thrugh a change of government on nations opposing it's membership. Then when you are finally in the EU that same common bond will keep you there, except that the bond that got you there and the bond that keeps you there are very different indeed - clever marketing, unlimited loans and endless opportunities for growth, to get in to EU and then to get out of EU - 40-50 years of enslavement at minimum, and only after youv'e paid back the entrance fees and all the clever marketing that sucked you into this cesspit of brazen authoritariansim!

[Soldier of Macedon]

The agreement is the first one between the two sides since since Kosovo declared independence three years ago. Belgrade was quick to point out that it does not imply that it recognises its former province as being a state of its own, however.

Contradictory double-speak just like Gruevski and his europhile regime in Macedonia. Serbia (like Macedonia prior) has just been sold out by its own politicians.

[Zarni]

Serbia has just recognised the regime in Kosovo as an independant State through this action
for weeks now Serbs have been fighting the occupation of thier Country namely NATO scum
and this is how Belgrade respects the battle

[George S.]

i think as was mentioned the politicians have sold it out.Hardly anyone is worried about getting back to kosovo as they think they been dealt a death blow.Years ago they were warned how the serb population was only 10% only 100,000 & were reminded to build up the serb population to counteract the albanian one (kosovrs).Maybe no one cares now & they don't think they can live together anymore.