You don't burn your sacred heart just like that

 

Bradt Travel Guide to Kosovo

The following comes from Geil Warrander, one of the authors of the first travel guide dedicated solely to Kosovo.

Bradt guides has just produced the first ever English language travel guide dedicated solely to Kosovo. Bradt are one of the world’s most respected guide book publishers and already have guides to other places  in the region - Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Albania, Hungary, Macedonia and Montenegro and City guides to Belgrade, Dubrovnik, Budapest and Llubijana.

The Kosovo guide is more than 240 pages long

19 maps including detailed town maps of Prizren, Gjilan, Gjakova, Mitrovica, Pristina x2, Peja and Decan and walking maps of Germia and Zubin Potok

walks in Strpce, Dragash and Zubin Potok

everything you wanted to know about tekkes, Kosovo historical figures, monasteries or hammams but couldn’t find anyone to ask

more than 150 restaurants, bars and cafes with opening hours, addresses and phone numbers!

more than 60 hotels

where you find working mills, ethnografic and energy museums

markets, festivals…

Gheg and Serb language glossaries

Our aim is to

- encourage internationals in Kosovo to spend more time and money there and invite their parents, family…

- persuade the diaspora to take their kids to places they haven’t seen and also spend more time in Kosovo

- bring in backpackers and pass through tourists

- encourage internationals, Macedonians, Albanians and the other neighbours to visit Kosovo

- prepare for the wider tourist market.

As a result of the guide the Kosovo tourism potential has already featured in The Times Newspaper and had a spot in Wanderlust travel magazine and was also on Yahoo news.

The authors are internationals who each lived in Kosovo for more than 4 years.

We are putting Kosovo on the tourist map. We’d like your suppport to promote the guide to  visitors of your web site. It makes a great souvenir, Christmas gift and education for your kids.

Those people in Kosovo can obtain copies from kysmetkosovo@yahoo.com or tel 038 248 342 or 044 115180 and ask for the book. We can deliver to your door at less than amazon prices. We are also selling the other Bradt guides.

Outside of Kosovo you can order the book on Amazon (US, Canada, Germany or UK web sites) , www.bradt.com or www.waterstones.com

New Kosova Report

Dear Friends,

I will cease blogging here for an undetermined time. The reason being something bigger and better in the works over at New Kosova Report.

Our goal is to make NKR the central place for news and opinion on Kosova status, politics, society and the economy for international audiences. The project came as a result of our realization that it is easy to remain indifferent to the fate of people that you barely know or understand.

NKR welcomes those that might want to share their thoughts on Kosova and its people - just drop me a line.

Happy blogging,
Warchild

Merci France

"There is a clear determination that this is a key deadline," said Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for the chief European Union foreign policy representative, Javier Solana. "This is absolutely fundamental. There should be no further delay in terms of additional mechanisms" for talks, she said from Brussels in an interview.

"We can no longer accept a Russian veto on EU policy," said one European Union official in Kosovo, who is not authorized to speak to the press and spoke on the condition of anonymity. "I believe we will still have the Ahtisaari plan, but without a Security Council resolution."

IHT



Whether Europe will deliver is on everybody's mind.

The question of two million Albanians once again is on the doorsteps of Europe. With a lackluster Germany, a country very dear to every Kosovar gastarbaiter family's heart, it is France that has come aggressively pro independence. True, French position may have nothing to do with Kosovo or Albanians as such, and more with what seems to me a very weird French desire to cuddle with the Unite States. If Chavez and Ahmadinajad can do it too, it is not schick anymore and France must now move on. Whatever the reason, I'd still like to thank France. It feels weird having you on our side, but we certainly would like to thank you. Merci France!

________


Back in 1878 a resurgent Russian Empire was beating a retreating Ottoman Empire on every front. What better allies Russia could find than the Serbs and the Montenegrins who had opened another front in the Balkans. The only problem was that there were Albanians in between. Being unable to stand on Russia's way, at Berlin the Grand Powers signed away Albanian populated lands to Russia's allies in the Balkans.

I would like to reach back into history and try to (crudely) translate a few lines from Lute of the Mountain of Father Gjergj Fishta. It should be noted that he had no predisposition to be anti-European. He was schooled in philosophy in several European countries and died a staunch catholic. The drawing of the border lines at conference rooms thousand of kilometers away and the massive movements of population that ensued such borders pained him. As the Ottomans were being kicked out, the question of the position of Albanians on the East-West spectrum was raised. Fr. Fishta would naturally propagate a European future for Albanians, only to find out that Europe wasn't interested in them and then some. His lines go a long away in explaining the fuzzy feelings that Albanians have towards Europe and the sympathy for the US instead.

Today they want to tear it into parts:
And why? Why wants Europe...
Ah! Europe, you old bitch,
That denies God and besa*
Is this the sign of your civilization:
Splitting the land of Albania
To feed the cubs** of Russia?

*Albanian code of honor
**Montenegro and Serbia

Kosovo Leader Demands Equality in Talks with Serbia

25 09 2007 Pristina _ Talks between Kosovo and Serbia over the territory’s final status will not end in agreement, unless the two parties are seen as equals in the negotiations, Veton Surroi, a member of Kosovo delegation said on Tuesday.

“As long as Belgrade keeps on offering us a concept on the basis of which we will be asking for their permission to be allowed to govern ourselves, no agreement is possible”, the Kosovo politician told reporters.

BIRN

Kosovo on Yahoo! News Photos

 

AP - Wed Aug 15, 12:09 PM ET

An elderly woman touches the wooden icon of the Virgin Marry as they pray for better health during the feast of Assumption in the village of Letnica, Kosovo, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007. Thousands of pilgrims gathered in southeastern Kosovo in the small Roman Catholic community where Mother Teresa prayed before she decided to become a nun. The pilgrims from the region, including Kosovo's majority Muslims, came to pray to the town's Black Madonna, one of rare such icons of Virgin Mary in Europe's churches. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Source: Kosovo on Yahoo! News Photos

Indonesia is in

Indonesia is one of the 57 countries to have supported a resolution in the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad calling for the independence of Kosovo. Along with Indonesia, Qatar is another rotating member of the UN Security Council and already a strong supporter of the coming UN resolution. Indonesia is concerned about Muslim-majority provinces of its own, says daily Express. This block would give Kosovo 57 votes of support in the UN General Assembly, where 2/3 of the 192 members states must support Kosovo's membership in the organization.

UN's Secretary General and Kosovo and US diplomats are still working on isolating Russia's likely veto in the Security Council.

Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright discusses what Kosovo should do in the first 120 days after independence. May 2007, Rockefeller Brothers, New York.

Russia turns lights off

Russia explicitly confirms the veto at the Security Council. What next? Possible divison? Possibly. Though that only is too simple to be true. A second Yugoslav-type war? Not likely. But as I say, absence of war does not necessarily mean peace. A series of prolonged conflicts in the region will more likely be the case. Virtually everybody in the Balkans will end up a loser.

Wish us luck!

Open Letter to Kostunica

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica
Belgrade, 11 Nemanjina St.
Serbia

Your Excellency,

I recently read a blog post from one Good Reverend disproving the hitherto assumed true statement "every time you masturbate, Allah kills a kitten." As much as I am happy to learn of this, I am also saddened. If masturbations are not to blame, then there is only one other explanation for the large number of kittens being found dead. Every time Your Excellency mentions something to the effect "international law" and "Kosovo-Metohija is part of Serbia" in the same sentence, Allah must be killing a kitten. Terrified, I urge you - I beg you - to be more mindful of the poor kittens when you make such irresponsible statements. Kittens have done nothing to deserve this kind of death.

Sincerely,
Your Fan
Warchild

Rezallë of Skenderaj marks the 8th anniversary of execution of 97 of its inhabitants. There is still no information about the bodies.

Village Nishor of Theranda got a memorial to an older massacre. Graves of 44 Albanians killed in 1913 during Serbia's first invasion of Kosovo were discoreved recently there. New graves cover old ones and we move on.

Who's up for more talks?

I'm putting below UNOSEK's latest document which it otherwise published in .doc enforcing once again the belief of an existing West/Bill Gates conspiracy against Serbia. This document also seems to answer those that want more talks.

The Status Process

(updated 14 March)

The SE and the DSE paid their first visit to the parties and the region in November 2005, visiting Pristina and Belgrade, as well as the neighbouring capitals of Tirana, Podgorica and Skopje. Since then, the Special Envoy, his Deputy and senior staff members of UNOSEK have made frequent visits to the region.

In the course of 2006, UNOSEK has held 15 rounds of direct talks between the Belgrade and Pristina negotiating teams.

Fourteen of theses rounds of talks have focused on decentralization, the protection of cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo, economic issues, and the protection of community rights.

In addition, the SE presided over direct talks with the Serbian and Kosovo leadership in Vienna on 24 July 2006. President Boris Tadić and Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica led the delegation of Serbia, while President Fatmir Sejdiu led the Kosovo Team of Unity. The meeting gave each party the opportunity to present at the highest level its view of the future of Kosovo to the other, as well as to the international community, represented both by UNOSEK and by observers from the CG, the EU and NATO.

Listing of Direct Talks between the Belgrade and Pristina Delegations

• Meeting of the Serbian and Kosovo leadership in Vienna (24 July)
• Eight meetings related to decentralization: (20-21 February, 17 March, 3 April, 5 May, 19 July, 7 August, 7 September and 15 September)
• Three meetings related to the protection of cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo: ( 23 May, 18 July and 8 September)
• Two meetings related to community rights: (8 August and 8 September)
• One meeting related to economic issues: (31 May)

In addition to these direct talks between the parties, since January 2006, 26 UNOSEK-led expert missions have visited Belgrade and Pristina to talk separately to the parties on various issues.

Seemingly, since November 2005, the SE and his Deputy have been meeting extensively with other key players in the process. Those have included briefings to the Security Council (4 March, 13 July and 22 September 2006); meetings with the CG, EU Foreign Ministers, and other international actors, including NATO and the OSCE.

On 25 January 2007, the Special Envoy met the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon in Paris to brief him on the latest developments in the status process and share with him the proposal. The next day, the Special Envoy met in Vienna with the Contact Group (CG) members and also shared the content of his proposal, as part of the regular consultations and close cooperation process between UNOSEK and the CG.

On 2 February, the Special Envoy travelled to Belgrade and Pristina to present his draft Comprehensive proposal for a Kosovo Status Settlement to both parties. In Belgrade, the proposal was handed over to President Boris Tadić of Serbia. In Pristina, the Special Envoy presented his proposal to President Fatmir Sejdiu and the Team of Unity.

The Special Envoy then invited both parties in Vienna to a series of meetings on the draft proposal. During a first round of talks, held between 21 February and 2 March, delegations reviewed the whole document. UNOSEK then revised its initial draft and the Special Envoy invited the highest representatives of both parties to attend a High-level meeting in Vienna on 10 March. Belgrade delegation was led by President Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and Pristina´s Team of Unity was led by President Fatmir Sejdiu. Representatives of the Contact Group, EU and NATO also participated in the meeting.

At the end of the High level meeting, the Special Envoy observed that there was no will from the parties to move away from their previously stated positions. Left with no doubt that the parties’ respective positions on Kosovo’s status did not contain any common ground to achieve an agreement and that no amount of additional negotiation would change that fact, the Special Envoy concluded that the potential of negotiations was exhausted. He announced his intention to finalise his proposal for submission to the UN Security Council in the course of the month of March

On 14 March, Deputy Special Envoy Albert Rohan went to New York to hand over to the Secretary-General the Final Comprehensive proposal for a Kosovo Status Settlement, as well as the Report of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Kosovo’s Future Status.

Kosovo's cadets forge ahead

BBC is doing a series of reports from Kosovo starting with the one below.

With the UN proposal for Kosovo's final status envisaging a new security force, the BBC's Patrick Jackson visits Pristina's fledgling military academy to meet the cadets.

"The future starts here," reads the sign above the entrance to the academy, based in the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) training centre on a hill above the once Serbian-run city.

Judging by the Albanian national flags around the site, the future at Pristina's two-year-old military academy is distinctly Albanian but the 23 cadets within are training for Kosovo, says Maj Valon Ahmeti, one of its officers."We accept the best cadets, male or female, Albanian or non-Albanian - it is important to be Kosovans, people from this country," he told the BBC News website.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Kosovo's cadets forge ahead

technorati tags:kosovo, kosova, bbc

The Case for Kosova at LSE

The London School of Economics Albanian Society and the Student Society cordially invite you to a discussion on

*THE CASE FOR KOSOVA*
*PASSAGE TO INDEPENDENCE*
*(Anthem Press, 2006)*
*Edited by Anna Di Lellio*

LSE
Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom
Room U8

Thursday, March 15, 2007
6:00- 8:00pm

This book makes the case for the independence of Kosova, at a time in
which the negotiation on the contested issue of its final status is
coming to a critical passage. As UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari is
about the present the Security Council a Proposal for the Settlement
of Kosova, *The Case of Kosova* aims to contribute to the debate by
providing informed arguments on the viability of an independent new
state.

Please join in a conversation.

*The Editor*

* *
Anna Di Lellio, Visiting Professor at The New School, NY and KIJAC, Prishtina

*Contributors*
Paulin Kola, BBC analyst and author of *The Search for GreaterAlbania*
(Hurst and New York University Press, 2003)

Noel Malcolm, Senior research fellow at All Souls College, Oxford and
Fellow of the British Academy, author of *Kosovo. A Short History*
(Macmillan, 1998)

USIP: Kosovo: What Can Go Wrong?

by Daniel Serwer, Yll Bajraktari, and Christina Parajon

Conclusion: Multilateral when we Can, Unilateral if we Must

There are many things that can go wrong in the days and months ahead for Kosovo. There are forces working for delay and ambiguity, which will incite violence. The time has come for clarity and alacrity.

Given Serbia’s effort to cause further delay and uncertainty, along with the EU penchant for slowness and Russia’s reluctance to allow a clear UNSC decision, the United States needs to consider its options if a negotiated, multilateral solution proves impossible within the next few months. In that event, the Ahtisaari proposal will be a dead letter—Serbia cannot expect its implementation if there is no Security Council resolution.

If Kosovo were to remain unrecognized, it would then have a status comparable to that of Gaza or the West Bank, with all that implies in terms of instability and prospects for violence. Only U.S. leadership in moving quickly to recognize Kosovo—along with as many other countries as possible—could prevent rapid deterioration of such a situation. While the NATO forces stationed in Kosovo can no doubt keep the lid on for a while, that is only a temporary solution—one that will not stand firm if 1.8 million Albanians decide to march.

The full briefing at the source

Serbia asks much, loses more

Serb side, on the negotiations for Kosovo in Vienna, has requested more than it was possible, losing this way even what could be won, Serbia newspaper Blic cites the words of a foreign diplomat.

The diplomat says that many of the requests made were done to satisfy the public in Serbia and, as an example for this statement, mentions the request for Serb police to return to Kosovo.

"This has had an additional negative effect on Albanian side. They then became intolerable even on issues where an agreement could have been reached," has said the foreign diplomat who requested to remain anonymous.

Draskovic: Russia has not promised veto on Kosovo

Russia has never promised it will use the veto on Security Council due to Kosovo, Serbia Foreign Minister, Vuk Draskovic, has told Beta news agency.

"At this moment, positions of Serbia and Russia are on the same rails...But I believe that you cannot bet on it, in the war for the defense of Serbia's territorial integrity, to look only on Russia's veto", said Draskovic.

He said that Russia has made it clear that it will not support the solution proposed for the status of Kosovo if it clashes with Russia's interests and if both parties don't agree on it, but "it hasn't ventured further".

"I know that Russia, like never before, has signaled that there is a veto possibility...but it's something else to say 'we won't support the solution, and another thing to say that we will act against it," has said Foreign Minister, Vuk Draskovic.