Kosovo announces Independence.

[Huw Dawson]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7249034.stm

Its pretty interesting stuff - this is the next step in a chain of events that leads back to before WW1. Also, the UK and other countries have had troops in Kosovo in the recent past...

- Huw

[InCreator]

Let's see how Russia reacts...
And hope that peace will stay in the region.

[bicilotti]

As a neighbor I wish peace and prosperity to the citizen of this newborn country.

[lo_res_man]

As a fellow human, I offer my best hopes for their future.

[MrColossal]

That is the nicest thing I've seen in a long time, lo_res_man.

[Darth Mandarb]

Long live liberty!

I hope your country's independence goes smoother than my country's did.

Congrats and best of luck!

[Technocrat]

Good for them! I don't think Russia are actually going to give them much trouble beyond bluster. Some of their problems might come from EU countries not recognising them - Spain worries that it might set a precedent for Basques and Catalans.

[Tuomas]

yeah, Russia's got bigger problems, Though serbia might have something to say here, at least they are opposed to the whole thing. As are the big minorities that are Serbs in the Kosovo area. It's not easy trying to maintain balance if youäe got a big part of you rioting against and not acknowledging the goverment. But that seems to have beent he problem almost everywhere in the Balkans after Tito passed away. So will there then be a smaller, unstable version of Albania? It's not realy how the UN planned it, is it? Oh well, I sure hope things go well there in the end.

[Stupot]

Yeh Serbia seems to be the only one's who are really upset by all this.  And not without reason, really.  But for the sake of peace they should just accept it and let it go.

[Tuomas]

It's easy to say that, but the truth is, Serbia is the only one with real political and identical interests in the area of Kosovo, and the nationality of those whole reside there. We've got Turks with Kurdistan and Russians with Chechenya, it's never easy to let a part of you go. If it were, we'd have total anarchy.

[InCreator]

But for the sake of peace they should just accept it and let it go.

In a world of capitalism? "Let"... "go"... 2,2 million people worth of tax money and work labor, 10,000 sq/km land big enough to be an independent country?

For the sake of... peace?

You're crazy! :o

Note. I'm all for peace. But "letting go" a country sounds kind of utopic in world today.

[Andail]

This is obviously very unproblematic for most people. I mean, with all the wishes of prosperity and liberty etc etc, but hey, it's just one party that won over another party in a very complicated conflict.
For one thing, it's very problematic for the Serbs living in Kosovo, or will be, and most of them haven't done jack shit to cause troubles in the region. Just because Milosevic was a madman doesn't mean the typical Serb should be regarded as some sort of oppressor.

Sure, good luck with your new nation, but we're not talking about some sort of freedom force here, just another group of people who decided a certain spot of land was theirs.

[bicilotti]

Sure, good luck with your new nation, but we're not talking about some sort of freedom force here, just another group of people who decided a certain spot of land was theirs.

The fact the land they claim as theirs is the one where they live and raise their children make me cheer for them. Also, even though the typical Serb should not be regarded as a sort of oppressor, Serbia politics towards neighbour nations and people was and is pretty wary, while Kosovo's leaders have stated their wish to join the EU. So good luck to them!

[Tuomas]

So yeah, I've heard rumors of NATO bringing bases on Kosovo ground, the US being the first to acknowledge the independence along with their mates in Afganistan, and russia being really against all this. So if there should be problems towards the eastern region, it would probably be political affairs rather than racial issues. Also, several Russian mediasources imply to the Balkans as the starting point to yet another wolrd war. It's true, if there should be a military base there, basically with current policies Russia wouldn't have any other option than to set the newly and "illegaly" formed state of Kosovo with nuclear weapons. Welcome to the middle again my friends back there

[Nacho]

Good luck Kosovo! 

(And better luck for the others who, like me, live in a country where sepparatists can unilaterally proclaim independence with the approval of that bunch of useless idiots called UN) 

[Andail]

The fact the land they claim as theirs is the one where they live and raise their children make me cheer for them.

True, but the same goes for the Serbs. Plus, it's also where their fathers' fathers raised their children. That's why it's complicated. It's not just a piece of land with "Kosovo" written upon it. The fact that Albanians have raised children there is because Albanians at one point mass-migrated there and built settlements, and made a lot of children.

Also, even though the typical Serb should not be regarded as a sort of oppressor, Serbia politics towards neighbour nations and people was and is pretty wary, while Kosovo's leaders have stated their wish to join the EU. So good luck to them!

Sure, the Serbian military have been assholes and warmongers, which is why I'm not exactly taking their side here, but should the global community "punish" a country and its people by endorsing that parts of their land are removed?
Again, I'm not pro-Serbia or anything, just arguing a bit.

Nachos, your post reads a bit weird. What are you trying to say? The only thing that this event proves is that any faction or people, no matter how small, regardless of on what territory it is located, should be able to say "We're now independent!" and then be allowed to break from its current land.
If you endorse this, why not endorse the independence of the Basques? They comprise, incidentally, roughly the same amount of people as the Kosovo-albanians.

Well, Kosovo is going to need all the luck in the world, seeing how practically incapable it is to survive on its own.
The only thing I find slightly promising with the whole affair is that USA for once supports a muslim faction. Although, of course, the prime reason for this is that Russia supports Serbia, and as a knee jerk reaction USA must side with Kosovo.

[Nacho]

Nachos, your post reads a bit weird. What are you trying to say? The only thing that this event proves is that any faction or people, no matter how small, regardless of on what territory it is located, should be able to say "We're now independent!" and then be allowed to break from its current land.
If you endorse this, why not endorse the independence of the Basques? They comprise, incidentally, roughly the same amount of people as the Kosovo-albanians.

Thet' s preciselly what I am doing, Petter... Thanks to this "happy event", Spanish people know that an SPANISH region can, if has a punctual and accidental majority of nationalists, sepparate. Thanks to this "happy event", French people know that Corsica, a French region, can get independent if, by any means, the sepparatists become a majority. Thanks to this, Turks know that Kunds can sepparate. Quebec can now sepparate if there is a referendum and sepparatists win.

And UN will do nothing. It' s not a big relief.

Kosovo was not a Country. Kossovo was a SERB REGION.

Yes, I know, a region full of non Slave/non orthodox/ population. A serb region full of non "serbs".

Yeah...

And?

Does that give them the right to decide to split a country? Okay, okay... Kossovars were massacred by Serbs. If Serbia was a fatherland, it was a father who did not bring good food to home, and who beated their poor children, but... How does this affect to "simillar" events in other parts of the World?

What does that "happy event" mean is that, if a region of my Country, let' s say Cadiz, in 300 years has a majority of people that originally was from Morocco? Will they declare independence and everybody will see this as a "happy event"? Would Mrs. Rice be so "happy" if Los Angeles becomes independent because latins decided so?

I hope not.

Independence is not something that a local majority can decide. Let's quote some events that were not so "popular" as the Kossovar example. Danzig has a majority of German population in 1939. Did that give Germany to invade Poland? No... What if Spanish people goes to the Toulousse Region, start to have babies and rabbits and, in 400 years we are more than the original French population? Should we have the right to sepparate? IMO, no.

Historical boarders can't be redifined if a population become punctually bigger than the other. Why not? Because... what happens if there is a region in conflict and a population X is only 1% less than, let' s say, population Y? Will it be fair then if Population X massacres 2% of population Y? NO? Why not? According to USA and UN acting lines, population X is bigger now...

What happens if Basque Country becomes independent because it wins a Referendum with a short adventage and three months after the polls show that non-nationalistic populations should will a new referendum? Do we vote again? Do we glue the countries again?

If a local region wants to sepparate, the big fatherland has to agree... I know this is not popular in the "fair" Kossovo example, but if we break this rule, lots of regions in the world, where the sepparatist cause is not so "fair", will become a mess.

The UN acted, as usual, in an irreflexive, inmature way, looking more to satisfy "people' s oppinion" than being consistent, as populist as ever. As useless as ever. And the US acted according to dark external affair plans (going on with the cold war with Russia, having a pro-EU, Pro-West, pro-Nato regoin in the Balcans...) than being consistent. As ever...

Just that this time, on the contrary than in the previous cases where they beated Mulá Omar, Bin Laden or Saddam, annoyed me. 

So, that' s why of my previous post. Good luck Kossovo. You were beated, your fatherland acted as a bad family man, and you deserved to be independent... But better luck Spain, France, Turkey, Canada... We will need it.