Finally this issue has made headlines in Australia, although there really wasnt much to look forward to. Media here is obviously biased toward the Albanian side of the argument - quoting that Kosovo Albanians have been oppressed for 100 years and that they have finally won their freedom (Ch10 late night news last night, to be exact - all while showing wild celebrations from Pristina and some within Australia too from local Kosovars).

I've followed this topic (on and off) since before the '99 campaign and have never come across an argument that makes me agree that the Kosovars should rightfully gain independence.

The only reason why the Serbs should let the place go is because it has simply become a pain in the arse, which the country could really do without. But hey, that's not a strong argument AT ALL, considering what the place means to the country's heritage.

A sad and sorry event which will cause the shit to hit the fan all over the world for the next few decades.

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A witty saying proves nothing.
-Voltaire

quote:

Originally posted by SkooB_E I've noticed many times that people make the misstake in thinking that Kosovo was a country on it's own and that the serbs "stole" it from the albanians.

It's all how it's portrayed by CNN and such "tools of the trade".

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kantina

the situation is pretty complicated... its actually about choosing the "less evil" option. My point is, if Kosovo remained Serbian territory, than the albainians would be pretty influential and would eventually have a huge voting potential (and thus could obstruct the functioning of the whole country in every way they please), and I'm sure they wouldnt just back up from their calls for independence.... The thing will continue to be a pain in the ass... So Kosovo will eventually be independent, either way...

Being from Serbia and being bombarded by all the arguments 24/7, I must sadly conclude that Kosovo has been lost long before this declaration and that it's probably best to move on... the problem will surely continue to exist, and probably cause some more in other similar corners of the world.

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www.eastboundmusic.com

quote:

Originally posted by SkooB_E I'm curious to see how this will play out when albanians in Macedonia and Montenegro start talking about independence.

thats a laugh considering macedonia is much older than they are.

but according to them everything was albanian territory at one point

and therein lies one of the biggest problems with that whole region.

and you dont need to look any further than the kosovo case ... serbs were there 600 years ago and they think they are entitled to the land based on past history which has absolutely nothing to do with present day reality.

same goes for croatians who point to older maps which include b+h and vojvodina.

or older hungarian maps which include parts of croatia, serbia and romania.

or bulgarian maps which include macedonia or parts of romania.

and I can go on ... and on ... and on.

as long as there are retards out there basing their nationalistic ideals and views on centuries old history (and as long as these "historical views" overlap and do not correspond with the views of everyone else in the region) there will be problems. biggest problem is that everyone has their own definition of "history" and they all want to relive their own nations "glory days".

quote:

Originally posted by Special K and therein lies one of the biggest problems with that whole region. and you dont need to look any further than the kosovo case ... serbs were there 600 years ago and they think they are entitled to the land based on past history which has absolutely nothing to do with present day reality. same goes for croatians who point to older maps which include b+h and vojvodina. or older hungarian maps which include parts of croatia, serbia and romania. or bulgarian maps which include macedonia or parts of romania. and I can go on ... and on ... and on. as long as there are retards out there basing their nationalistic ideals and views on centuries old history (and as long as these "historical views" overlap and do not correspond with the views of everyone else in the region) there will be problems. biggest problem is that everyone has their own definition of "history" and they all want to relive their own nations "glory days".

Not really a place to discuss this but... why isn't RSK it's own independent country?

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kantina

quote:

(CNN) -- Angry Serbs torched checkpoints between Serbia and Kosovo and triggered explosions Tuesday to protest Kosovo's independence declaration and international recognition of the breakaway state. Border crossings in northern Kosovo, staffed by U.N. and Kosovo's multiethnic police and customs service, were set on fire by Kosovo Serbs as a symbol of their desire to rejoin Serbia. - U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday justified recognizing Kosovo as an independent nation, saying that doing so will bring peace to a region scarred by war. "History will prove this to be a correct move to bring peace to the Balkans," he told reporters in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. The recognition "presents an opportunity to move beyond the conflicts of the past and toward a future of freedom and stability and peace," he said. - In the northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica, divided between Serbs and ethnic Albanians, tensions have continued to mount. Overnight, three loud explosions shook Kosovska Mitrovica, one of the blasts damaging several cars near a U.N. building, while two other hand grenade explosions hitting deserted and already destroyed homes belonging to ethnic Albanians who fled this Serb stronghold after the 1999 war. No injuries were reported. - Other nations, such as Spain, Russia and China, have expressed concern that recognition of Kosovo's independence from Serbia would give momentum to secessionist movements in their own countries. Two pro-Russian separatist provinces in Georgia -- South Ossetia and Abkhazia -- were looking to use Kosovo's move to declare their own independence. And the Moldovan separatist region of Trans-Dniester said Tuesday Kosovo's independence showed "a new way of resolving conflicts all around the world," AP reported quoting the Olvia state news agency reported. Serbian President Boris Tadic on Monday asked the U.N. Security Council to annul Kosovo's declaration of independence, saying "Imagine you were in my place -- the president of a country, which has been deprived of a territory against its will. "If you cast a blind eye to this illegal act, who guarantees to you that parts of your countries will not declare independence in the same way?"

I qouted the most interesting parts, but if you want to, you can read the whole article here:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/e...ence/index.html

My prediction - one way or another, sooner or later, parts of Kosovo (or the whole thing) will be part of Serbia again. Its just a matter of time. Serbia has many excuses that it will employ to achieve this. The most important factor is that Kosovo, the northern part of it (Mekhovia) is very important in Serbian history. I repeat, EU and ethnic Albanians will be sorry for this.


I would like to add that I dont hate Albanians. They're great people, I have couple Albanians friend, and one very cool Albanian guy on this forum (we all who, I think ;-) ) Their people deserve more than just the Serbian oppression of the 1980s and 1990s. I only have a political problem with Albanians living in and around Kosovo and Macedonia. Albanians living in Albania are minding their own business, and not causing too much chaos in these ethnic problems (I think). But ethnic Kosovan Albanians (and Macedo-Albanians) dont deserve independence, they've done nothing to deserve it, and quite the opposite, they pursued the program of pushing out other ethnic groups, destroying national treasures and so on that I went over already.

I think that Albanians in Kosovo and Macedonia have dug themselves a dangerous position which their later generations will pay the price for. I believed for a long time that Albanians will be able to come to a meaningful and positive compromise to build a great community and respect their neighbours of other ethnicities. However, it became clear that I was wrong.

Albanians have insulted and alienated Serbs and Macedonians alike. Look at the Albanians in Macedonia, for example. They, at least the majority of them, has little respect for the country they live in. Macedonians dont push them out, they allow them on equal levels, and what do they get for that? Desecrating national values, inciting ethnic hatred, demanding greater independence and so on. They are not even acting like true and respectable Macedonian citizens. Why are they cheering so much for the Kosovo and Albania? If they think its so much better over there they should just move there, instead of continuously living off the prosperous Macedonian system. They should just realize their happiness and move ... I doubt they would though, because they're hypocrites and such ... and they're living in lands (ex. Kosovo) that were not theirs in the first place. The only reason they were able to displace ethnic Serbs and Macedonians over time is through horrible centuries-old Turkish practises. And we all remember the evil Turks (btw, they're stil evil today - they're one of the first to recognize Kosovo).

Anyone has any thoughts in this situation? Just curious ...

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Whenever you go and buy something, you are affecting someone somewhere, be it environment, a person, or a community - you're making a statement with what you buy. So make it a smart choice ... Its a big picture

quote:

Originally posted by RapidFire thats a laugh considering macedonia is much older than they are. but according to them everything was albanian territory at one point

well yeah man! Illyria! HAHA

Northern Greece is also Albanian. It was taken from us in ww 2.

Anyways as an Albanian from Albania, I feel like I am an outsider to all of this. They are still our brothers, but we differ in a lot of things I think. I would like to look at it objectively understanding the arguments of Serbians. However, I think it was the best choice considering what had happened. Also, I saw someone commenting that Albanians are taught to hate Serbians. Serbians hate Albanians more. It was the Serbians that almost whipped out the population of Kosovo. I just hope we could get along.

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Vernato

^^^ Here's that cool Albanian dude that I was talking about. Yes, you're right. Serbs do hate Albanians more. Sadly, some better compromise needs to be reached in this Kosovo case ... we all remember how Germany was humiliated in Versailes. This is the new Treaty of Versailes to Serbia, the "independence" of Kosovo.

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Whenever you go and buy something, you are affecting someone somewhere, be it environment, a person, or a community - you're making a statement with what you buy. So make it a smart choice ... Its a big picture

quote:

Originally posted by Magnetonium ^^^ Here's that cool Albanian dude that I was talking about. Yes, you're right. Serbs do hate Albanians more. Sadly, some better compromise needs to be reached in this Kosovo case ... we all remember how Germany was humiliated in Versailes. This is the new Treaty of Versailes to Serbia, the "independence" of Kosovo.

haha. Thanks for the PR man

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Vernato