@arbeni , London, UK

Please , arbeni, if you don`t know what to say, better shut up.
It`s true that albanians are Ilirians but they don`t have anything in common anymore. Before albanians were "katolic as you say" they were Orthodox nation, and their national hero Scanderberg, (his name also sounds Greek), fought against muslim nations to perserve the albanian one. The Churches that are on Kosovo are Serbian Orthodox from 14th century , others even older. Albanians should be happy with the land they occupy today. If you don`t know what`s going on better shut up. I don`t tell you how Scotland should declare it`s independence, Wales or Norh Ireland.

Greetings from Romania

iadrian, Timisoara, Romania

it seems that a lot of people are more concerned with their islamic prejudices than a group of people living in kosovo being subject to the whim of a nation that has already tried to wipe them out in recent history

joe, london,

You talk about the EU as if it was a unified political state to the same degree as the US. This is not (and, the way it is currently organised, should not be) the case.

Well done, however, on recognising India as the Eastern counterpart to the US as a country that unites peoples of many different ethnicities and religions under democratic rule.

James, Sunderland, England, UK

Serbia should wake up and see that now is 21st Centry it is not 18th Centry, we live in modern world they should think for their own people and leave KOSOVA alone and dont make a propaganda that Kosovars want to create grate ALBANIA cose if they want to create a grate albania they will, and leave propaganda that Kosovars are muslim and extremists and leave propaganda that in Kosova there are Orthodoks Church's because thoes Churches belongs to Kosovars if you go back to history where Kosovars practiced katolik religon there were no serbs in Balkan only ILIR (Albanians) as we all know serbs came from Russia and they dont belong in Balkan when they came from Russia they occupide a part of Albania and they just changed the names of the Churches and transformed them to Orthodoks, please dont forget that serbs should go back to Russia and leave ALBANIAN Land. wheni read the comments of several people i got shock that they dont know what serbia din on CROATIA, BOSNIA, SLOVENIA and KOSOVA

ARBENI, london, uk

The Kosovo Albanians are nothing more than illegal squatters on Serbian territory. It is surprising that the United States would support their declaring their independence unilaterally from Serbia Proper. I wonder how the United States would react if illegal Mexican alien squatters were to try the same thing in New Mexico or Arizona for eaxample? Whats good for the Albanians must also be good for any other foreign nationals who simply decide to overprocreate in someone else's territory and then take it over by whatever means they declare necessary which seems to include the incitement of violence and the murder of Serbian nationals at the hands of illegal Albanian alien squatters in this particular case.

Dave, Seattle, WA, USA

I don't care if there is another Balkan war as long as Britain does not enter it. Kosova has a right to be a micro state if that is what the majority want. Surely Serbia doesn't want to play Russia to Kosova's Chechnya. Let them get on with it and wallow in the hole the want to dig for themselves.

Gina Myrie, London,

Greece opposes to Kosovo independence not because it fears that something bad may happen to herself but because it believes that this decision may lead to the destabilisation of the Balkans once again and it is not a good thing to live in a troubled region.Besides do not forget that there are Greek ethnic minorities in neighbouring countries such as in Northern Albania,Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,Turkey and Greece could exploit that fact with Kosovo independence.But the point is to keep and increase stability and prosperity in our region and not allow again our region to be dominated from the nationalism of the past which caused so many tragedies in this area of the world.

Haris, Athens,

I find it funny that people love to throw around the word "genocide" and murder statistics to keep the false propaganda train Bill Clinton started, going. The fact is Kosovo is being played by bigger players, Serbia is made to be the bad guys. Which isn't the case, actual murders in Kosovo during this time was estimated at 2000 which included many Serbs as well, I believe actual numbers were around 700 Albanians ( Out of 2 million people ) which included KLA fighting the Serbs, go figure. Do some research before tossing out numbers, at one time they claimed half a million were killed, it's steamrolled by the Western media driven by the US government and Albanian mafia special interests (Watch the Albanian documentary "The Brookyln Connection" to see the shady moves that are taking place) Fact of the matter is US is using Kosovo as it's way to get close to Russia and aid there missile defense program. Remember the Cuban missile crisis? Russia/Serbia has every right to protect itself.

Nick, San Diego, CA

Gani & Martin respectively quote albanian casualties in kosovo as 12.000 and 15.000 while the official count stands at 5.000 dead ON BOTH SIDES and up to one-third of that number are COMBATANTS, so no more lies, please. Don't get me wrong, i consider one person killed over a piece of land one dead too many, but let's take a factual look at that peace of land claimed by the albanians : the name itself (Kosovo) is a serbian word meaning "Blackbird's" and the names of all the cities, villages, rivers and mountains are also serbian words. There are thousands of serbian churches and monasteries, some of them dating from 12th century. So, dear Albanians, you're in the position to steal that land and you will, hopefully without a bloodshed, just stop insulting world's collective intelligence.

Sasha, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

I travelled through Yugoslavia in 1974 and I was impressed by the standard of housing and the general air of prosperity given its publicity image as a socalled communist state. I cannot believe that the dismantling of the federation of small states has done anything more than improve the short term positions of a handful of individuals who have been able to get outside support for their interests. It may be possible to run smaller communities effectively today but it isn t just a matter of defence so much as the general infrastructure that has to be taken for granted and provided by someone else. As you observe or imply, it is the rise in prosperity which has allowed smaller interests to reconsider their advantage, but it has in no way justified the conflicts that have taken place and which, I submit, would not have taken place in the way that they have without the support of organisations outside these countries.

Henry Percy, London, UK

Very interesting indeed! I can see Catalonia and the Basque country wanting same and indeed extending into France. Albanians do not want just 2 Albanian-speaking countries. They also want a portion of Macedonia and another country in Northern Montenegro. And of course there is another Moslem country, Saudi-Bosnia.
The American ex-presidential adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, thinks that Asiatic Islamic Turkey should be pushed into Europe because with one third of the Turkish population under 18 and with the right to roam around Europe , "Europe will never be great" . Turkey has its own ethnic problems. The Armenians might have been killed off, but the Kurds are still there and want to join fellow Kurds in Iraq.
And of course there is Nagorno-Karabach, Southern Ossetia,
Abkhazia and the Dniestr. The same new principle applies surely. It has nothing to do with the sanctity of recognised national boundaries. It has everthing to do with what America and its poodle want.

Marco Borg, London , United Kingdom

I do not think some people get it what realy happened there, and how on earth u defend someone who for the last 2 decades have treated they own people so bad, that bad that lately they started killing them ... but for some NAIVE Canadians ore Osies ore the Greeks which they supported the war i don't blame u guys for your opinions ... to all of you try to give a peace of a land to Serbia and you'll c what happens to it... Kosova will be independent in feb. and everyone will live happy around that region apart from serbia who instead of getting bigger as promised by Milosevic will get smaller ...

vulle, london, uk

Arbnor, NYC You are a coward. Why didn't you stay and fight? And when Kosovo becomes independent you are going to waltz into Prishtina from NYC and brag how you fought man to man with Serbs.

Igor, Ljubljana, Slovenia

well if your gona go back all the way to 6th and 7th century the whole map was diffrent. if thats why albanians should have kosovo thenthe whole americas should go back to the native americans. thats not gona happen so why should serbia give away kosovo. kosovo was never part af albania.

veki, smeki,

I agree with Dr. Green of Athens, Greece. It does seem that the Balkans are on the brink of explosion. I would like to add another dimension to his argument -one of Faith. From what I understand, there are at least 1300 endangered Serbian Orthodox Churches and Monasteries built on Kosovo ground over the last 1000 years. Kosovo and Mehohija are the cradle of Serbian Spirituality . This is like a precious golden thread that has been woven in that must and will be defended for it's preservation. Russia and Greece must defend Serbian Kosovo from being swallowed up by the Muslims; I myself will never put Mohammed before Christ!

Elaine, Chicago, USA

I love it how all these "experts" from thousands of miles away are so keen to chime in with their insightful opinions on everything from Islamic terrorism to precedence in International Law.
The crux of the issue is self-determination of a persecuted people that faced ethnic cleansing only 8 years ago. We were kicked out of their homes, killed, and raped for the sole reason that we belonged to a different ethnicity from the Serbs. If the Catalunyans, or the Scots or any other minority population suffered the same persecution the Kosovars did we wouldn't even be takink up the issue of independence cause it would have been a forgone conclusion.

An "expert" living in NYC because house was burned by the Serbs.

Arbnor, NYC,

'India tolerating a degree of regional corruption and feudalism that should be intolerable. '

This suggests an extremely blinkered view of India.

There is no doubt that a degree of corruption (higher than what is ''detected'' in the Western world) and feudalism exists in India. However to have a view that, these vices are tolerated to maintain the unity of India, is ridiculous.

Sudhir U, Milton keynes, UK

There are areas of Britain where Asians are the majority, and who believe in Sharia law. Why should they be forced to swear allegiance to the Queen or Britain? Just like the Kosovars, they owe Britain nothing for being allowed to settle.

There are the future seeds of war written all over this.

Richard, Ireland,

Whether the Kosovo Albanians have a moral right to independence is completely irrelevant. The arguments put forward for a Greater Albania could be used by other groups as well (the Serbs in Bosnia, the Hungarians in Romania and Serbia, etc.). Some ethnic groups do not even have one state (ie. the Kurds), yet Albanians want two of them. I would LIKE to drive a Ferrari, but unfortunately for me it is not that simple.
Under all norms of international law, only federal states can break apart without the consent of the central government, and even then this is a complicated matter. In unitary states, such as Serbia, France, Spain, the UK, etc., no portion of the state may secede without the consent of the central government. The Scots, to cite just one example, cannot secede from the UK without the consent of Westminster.
Since Serbia is a unitary state, Kosovo cannot legally secede without the consent of the Serbian government.

ROY, Toronto, Canada

Which state would kill her citizens?

If that happens in Italy people would not trust the government any more.
So why then should the albanians in Kosovo still trust the govenment of Serbia?

Please... indipendence is the only solution in kosovo.

Elvin, Modena, Italy

...I know some readers may think the following as a hyperbole, I nonetheless think it very evident. As Doctor Green from Athens ably put it:

"It seems to me that over the next 20 years a Muslim arc will emerge in south-east Europe which will stretch from Albania, through Kosovo, Bosnia and Skopye-Macedonia to Turkey; in short, Europe, apart from Greece, will lose its tail."

Are you listening Brussels?

Aleks, Beograd, SRB

Kosova has a right to secede and allthough Serbia and its alltime ally Rusia repeatedly said that its an internal issue of Serbia, we shall keep in remembrence that Kosovo is a colonial problem and as such an international Problem. It is the last unsolved problem in the conflict of Yugoslavia. We have a lot of experience with the so called democratic velues of Serbia -- through the terrible time of Rankovic , then with upcoming new extremist like Milosevic -- they changed the constitution and we lived in appartheid until they decided to make an ethnic cleansing.
There is no way we will go back. An independent Kosova will give peace to the Balkan and liberate Serbia aswell from its dark past. Serbia should accept the treaty of good neighbourhood offered by the Kosova Delegation through the Negotiations with the Trojka.
Good bless the peace in the Balkan --
Independence for Kosova now.

Arban, Prishtina, Kosova

Jim, sorry to say it but you sound ridiculous. "Albanian expansionism?" The slavonic populations invaded the Balkans, during the 6 and 7th century, long after the Illyrians (A tribe of which are the Albanians) where established in Southern Europe. Also just look at the size and power of the nations, no one is going to belive Albania is trying to expand, but rather finally getting its right (in part). Please, do some reading, and by reading I do not mean Serb propaganda. Read some independent sources.

Mal, Worcester, USA, MA

Kosovo wants independence with the clear objective in sight to join "Great Albania". The idea of "Great Albania" goes back to the beginning of 20-th century. Albanian separatism in Yugoslavia goes back in time... It was supported by Italian fascists and German Nazi who had Albanian and Muslim regiments ubder their command.
Independence for Kosovo means inevitable Albanian uprising of the Albanians in Macedonia, who make up to 30% of the population and after decades of high birth rate already replaced the indigenous Slavonic population around Tetovo and Struga, near the Albnia and Kosovo.
Independence for Kosovo means very dangerous tendency for destabilization of Bulgaria where Turkish minority is concentrated in few areas, one of them neighbouring Turkey.

One thing I cannot understand - what is the benefit for the US from all this?

R. Theodore, Kuwait,

Albanians in the former Yugoslavia are an indigenous population living in their historical homeland. They inhabited these territories since the times of the ancient Illyrians, from whom they descended. Today, they make up about 50 percent of the Albanian people in the Balkans (50 percent living in the mother country, Albania). Kosovo, as well as the other territories inhabited by Albanians in Yugoslavia were occupied by Serbia in 1913, and the Europe of those days approved the borders we have today without asking the local people. The new arrangement dismembered the Albanian territories leaving the predominantly Albanian lands of Eastern Albania to Serbia, Albanians in Kosovo make up over 93 percent of the local population,15,0000 Kosovars brutaly murdered by Serbia! not just Independence but they have a right to unite with Albania if they wish.
declare independence now, Canada supports you.

martin, vancouver, CANADA

Kosovo was never a republic in Yugoslavia therefore it does not have the right to secede. It it a province of Serbia just like Vojvodina is to the north. An over-population of a certain minority is not a reason to declare independance.

Of course, this is all just part of the Cold War games. West vs Russia. A battle of influence in the region.

The West have been sponsoring and helping Albanian extremism and terrorism in the Balkans that threaten and have already affected other nations in the region. One could only hope that the West come to their senses and stop Albanian expansionism before it tries to engulf Macedonia, Montenegro and Greece.

jim, melbourne, australia

Western politicians who promote independent Kosovo should explain why would they deny the same right for Serbs in Bosnia? Just because they are Serbs? What makes Kosovo Albanians so special to grant them something no other minority in the world was granted? Is it because they love America, and US is trying to prove they are not anti-Muslim nation - on Serbia's expense?

miconi, Belgrade,

Only the Independence will work!
Nick,the answer, in terms of constitutional and international law, is that it could - and, indeed, that it should have been offered independence when the old YU broke up in 1991-92. Under the YU constitution of 1974 Kosovo was equivalent in most ways to Slovenia, Croatia, and the other republics. True, its position - as an "autonomous province" - was not identical to theirs: in theory it had a dual status, being defined both as a component of the republic of Serbia and as a component of the federal YU. But in practice it exercised the same powers as a republic.
Kosovo was not, as Serbs claim, the "birthplace" or "cradle" of the Serb n., and it came under Serb rule for only the last part of the medieval period. Since then it has been excl. from any Serb or YU state for more than 400 out of the last 500 y. It was conquered (but not legally annexed) by Serbia in 1912, against the Albanian wishes and it became part of a YU kingdom (not Serbian)after 1918

nges, Delft, Netherlands

Isn't it great. The US claim to be fighting Islamic extremism around the world so having already given Bosnia to the Muslims (who were NOT the majority of the population) they now intend to hand over Kosovo to them. Strange the US kept VERY quiet about the Iranian insurgeants in Bosnia when they were fighting the Serbs. So having given away Bosnia and Kosovo to the Muslims - where next? How about Florida to the Costa Ricans and California to the Mexicans?

George, Glasgow, UK

My idea is completely the opposite. Kosovo, Serbia and the rest of the ex-Yugoslavia will enter soon or later in the EU, that's why I think it has no sense to create new borders which in the future we are going to be deleted. The future is a Europe without borders and creating a new one is against this principle...

Daniel Gutierrez, Oviedo, Spain

As a British expat living in Athens, I'm becoming increasingly nervous about events taking place to the north of Athens. If the EU and the international community don't get their act together soon then another Balkan war series will begin. It's not only Kosovo, it's the minority Turkish population in northern Greece (who have just been visited by the Turkish foreign minister and promised support), the instability in Skopye-Macedonia with an increasingly vociferous Albanian minority and, most dangerous of all, the UDI threat by the Serbs in Bosnia. If the latter materialises then military action is inevitable with a Balkan conflagration to follow. It seems to me that over the next 20 years a Muslim arc will emerge in south-east Europe which will stretch from Albania, through Kosovo, Bosnia and
Skopye-Macedonia to Turkey; in short, Europe, apart from Greece, will lose its tail. At present America and the EU capitals have taken their eye off the Balkan ball. Watch it explode!

Dr David Green, Athens, Greece

Albanians in Kosova, 90% of the population, have the right to seek separation from Serbia, a country which occupied Kosova through war in 1912. Being small should not be an obstacle. Montenegro is now independent and it has only 600,000 people. Montenegro was also given the right to hold a referendum about its future, a right which should be given to the people of Kosova. Let them decide how they want to live and who they want to govern them.
Albanians are not just seeking separation because they were persecuted in the 1990s. They have never been treated as equal citizens in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and in later Yugoslavia.
Nor are they arrogantly leaving their defense (from Serbia!!) to others. It is the Ahtisaari Plan which denies them the right to have an army!

Alex, London,

I am afraid what Birani says is simply false. Yugoslavia was a country of six republics all of which had the constitutional right to secede and all of which have now done so.

Kosovo was not a republic but a province within the republic of Serbia. That is a historical fact.

The West's interference in Kosovo (and Yugoslavia generally) has been a disaster from start to finish and frankly based on the profound ignorance of shallow politicians.

Nick, Zagreb, Croatia

Yugoslavia was a country of 7 states and Kosova was one of the states.
Yugoslavia does not exist any more because 5 of the states already got independent most recent Montenegro with population of 650000.
Kosova will be the 6th and last state to get independent as a result of Milosevic and Serbian oppression at Kosovars Albanians.
Everyone needs to open their eyes and see that this is result of Serbian politics after Tito death. They want it to create Great Serbia but in the end they will be SMALL Serbia.
Thank you and God bless our great brothers USA, UK, France and Germany.
We live for you Kosova and we will die for you Kosova.

Congratulation KOSOVA INDEPENDENCE to all people of the world.

Berani, California, USA

Kosova's Independence is the only solution for the peace in Balkans, because dissolution of the Federal Yugoslavia happened to be a bloody process with irreversible outcomes.

People here mention precedents around the world, however it is only Kosova that suffered genocide, mass killings and a systematic, state driven ethnic cleansing done by Millosheviq Regime.

More than 50% of the Kosovar Albanian population were expelled from their homes in neighboring countries, more than 12,000 Kosovar Albanian civilians were killed by Millosheviq Regime in 1999, the property and infrastructure destroyed and all this came after decades of apartheid and systematic disrimination of Albanian population in Yugoslavia.
These things are well documented by International Institutions and genocide makes Kosova a special case.
The political will of the majority of the people of Kosova for independence ought to be respected, that is the fundamental principle of democracy and the only way to peace

Gani, Boston, USA

Luke is absolutely right that the US should not be involved in Kosovo. Nor should Britain.

What is better - seeking a rapprochement, an alliance, and a deeper friendship with Russia as our ally in the Islamist war of aggression against both us and them - or antagonising Russia, and helping Islam take control of Kosovo?

The answer is obvious - let the Serbs sort it out and if Russia helps them to do so, so much the better.

Herbert Thornton, Victoria, Canada

What exactly is the premise for an independent, structure-less, Kosovo? Honestly, this whole issue is completely absurd. Look, Kosovo was a part of Yugoslavia and Serbia even before it was populated by Albanians. So the logic for an independent Kosovo is flawed.

My country is in a very precarious position right now. So, while it may seem a redundant notion at this point, the sovereignty of Serbia is very much at stake when independence of Kosovo is uttered...just because the Albanians want independence.

It really is up to Europe. Serbia will never rationalize releasing its territory to a minority that concentrated itself in one area. Europe can A) Stand hand in hand in denouncing the continuous carving of territory within Europe by overzealous minorities or B) Europe can pander to these minorities and face the very real risk of more cases such like the one in Kosovo.

Aleks, Beograd, SRB

The Pandora's box was opened when the leaderships of the West had actively promoted the destruction of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Yugoslavia, a functional federal state, was overtly undermined. The national forces within were fanned (and funded) by the West as another critical milestone in the fight against communism. The outcome could have been predicted. Unfortunately, this course of "balkanization" can not be reversed. Kosovo independence is not a special case; it will certainly set the pattern for other dormant nationalistic sentiments in many other parts of Europe. Henceforth, there would be no reasons in the future to disallow the establishment of an independent Catalunya, Corsica, Scotland, Basque Nation, Republik Srspka, etc. Catalunya is a particularly interesting case as there are nearly 20 million Catalan-speaking ethnically-homogeneous people without a national homeland. The new territory of Catalunya should also include Languedoc as well some parts of Sardinia.

Molly, Montpelier, France

The US should not be involved in this Kosovo issue. US only supports Kosovo independence, as with Taiwan independence, to be a thorn in their economic and military rivals side, Russia and China respectively. Their interference in this issue is the equivalent of the EU and Russia calling for Californian or Florida indepence from the USA, and how ridiculous does that sound?!? This is a delicate and complicated issue as the long history of Albanians and Serbian conflicts goes back hundreds of years and something the US does not understand. It supports independence as it will then have an allie on the EU/Russian doorstep, after losing Poland and Ukraine earlier this year. Though no solution will keep everyone happy, something needs to be arranged so that another regional war does not begin and to recognise the 1.8m Albanians who were persucuted under the Serbs. Goodluck to all.

Luke, perth, australia