Actually it is Kosovo. Also, how could Milosevic 'occupy' his own territory is beyond comprehension. Kosovo always had been a part of Serbia proper. I would advise to go to www.antiwar.com and read the 'Balkan Express' by Neboja Maric just to see the different perspective.

by Mark Sashine (72 articles, 19 quicklinks, 269 diaries, 4101 comments [130 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 9:03:17 AM

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I understand you point of view since you have to lobby for Albanian Councel however if KOSOVO not Kosova, please learn English, were to become independent it will actually further set Kosovo from the West. Kosovo is full of corruption, more so then any Blakan region, they have no economy and can hardly govern anything, let alone protect minority rights as we have seen in the 7 yrs of NATO occuption. Kosovo will become another ALbania, the black hole of Europe. The only reason Albanians cannot live with Serbs is because they do not want to. They want a greater Albania and this is what the whole KOSOVO conflict is about. Should Alabanians want a better life they would not have war criminals running the country, have wide spread corruption, mind I say just like Albania, and they would want to be integrated for the sake of peace. Instead Albanians have always used force and terrorist tactics in Kosovo to terrorise Serbs. Lets not forget Albanians are not the only victims Serbs have been victims at the hands of Albanians since Ottoman occuption through WWI, WWII and to this day. KOSOVO should NOT gain independence because they have shown no progress regarding minority rights, economic progress, and corruption. Until KOSOVO government is powerful and honest enough to secure those three factors into KOSOVOs daily life Albanians do not deserve independence. ALbanians in Kosovo however have never been able to stray away from those 3 things, however Albanians have never been able to establish a successful government in Kosovo or in Albania.

by mj (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments) on Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 9:41:05 AM

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is the editor who approved this article didn't know a thing about the topic of the article, and this is often the case. THe hope is that, because this is a media COMMUNITY, other, more knowledgable readers will be able to add perspective, other points of view and corrections to any article posted. So thank you all who post on this. Regarding the name, Kosova. Is that totally incorrect, or a transliteration of the name in a different language? For exampe, we in the US say Mexico while those who live there say meh hee coh. We say Spain. Spaniards say eh span yih.

by Rob Kall (952 articles, 4177 quicklinks, 374 diaries, 2087 comments [45 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 9:50:14 AM

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Kosovo is proper English. It is also the way that Serbians say Kosovo. Yes the author wrote Kosova which is Albanian not English pronounciation.

by mj (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments) on Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 9:53:10 AM

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Body of murdered Serb handed over 23 December 2006 | 10:29 | Source: B92 MERDARE -- Missing Persons Commission representatives yesterday at Merdare took over the remains of a Serb murdered in Gnjilane in 1999. The Commission's Vesna Bošković told journalists Miroslav Metodijević (1975), was kidnapped from his car in downtown Gnjilane in 1999. His body was found in Dragodan cemetery near Priština. The post mortem revealed he was killed with gunshots. The state commission's data shows that 229 bodies of Serbs and other non-Albanians killed in Kosovo have so far been handed over, while 680 remain listed as missing. The Missing Persons Commission has announced a number of bodies identified at the forensic center in Orahovac, Kosovo, will be handed over to Serbia proper next year. Adviser with the Commission, Gvozden Gagić, says a number of the missing Kosovo Serbs' and non-Albanians' family members refuse to provide blood samples, and thus enable the identification through DNA testing. "We have over 700 bodies found in Kosovo waiting to be identifies for over a year. I appeal to the families of the missing not to let their loved ones remain in a morgue unidentified simply because they will not volunteer blood samples", Gagić said.

by mj (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments) on Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 9:50:29 AM

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When Bill Clinton and USA decited to use NATO to bomb Serbia they said that over 100,000 Albanians have been exterminated by the Serbs. Once they went into Kosovo they dropped the number to 50,000, then 20,000. For the past 5 yrs the number has stood at 10,000 people dead from both Albanian and Serbian sides. Now the latest report which was only published by India Daily states that NATOs latest research shows that around 2,500 people from both Albainan and Serbian side have been killed. The report also goes to say that initially NATO double counted bodies. Once again American propaganda at work, doesnt this remind you of IRAQ and WMD bid?

by mj (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments) on Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 9:56:38 AM

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the ' Balkan express' series on www.antiwar.com tells the story more or less objectively, Serbian side included. It is a conservative site and very anti-Bush. Cross- referencing between this site and that one is very useful sometimes.

by Mark Sashine (72 articles, 19 quicklinks, 269 diaries, 4101 comments [130 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 10:09:21 AM

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In complete agreement with commenters "panurg" and "matijaj" and, in total, abject and violent disagreement with the author, Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi, I feel it necessary to add my 2 cents worth here. I refer any and all those who read these comments to reference Edward Herman's numerous articles (many can be found at zmag.org) where he details the coordinated and nefarious campaign of disinformation waged by the West (not only the Clinton administration) against the Serbs dating back to the Reagan administration. What would Americans say if, in the not too distant future, when Mexican-Americans outnumber Anglo-Americans in the Southwest, a concerted campaign were organized by, say the Chinese, militating that Texas, New Mexico and Arizona (as well as parts of California) be handed back to Mexico? I don't think that that idea would get a very favorable reception. However, in the case of Kosovo, it is even worse. It would be the rough equivalent of handing most of the NE (including Boston, Philadelphia, New York City) NOT to the original inhabitants of that area but to some third party (oh, for the sake of argument, let's say the Puerto Ricans). This is what is being proposed here. Before we go 3,000 miles away to hand over 1/7 of someone else's country to a people we deem appropriate, perhaps we should see if we would wish to be on the receiving end of such treatment ourselves, eh?

by Putnik (0 articles, 1 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 32 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 4:35:06 PM

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Ms Dioguardi has spoken the truth. Kosova deserves to be independent. It has developed democratic institutions, has a potential for a strong economy, once it becomes independent, and has met all the standards imposed by the international community. It is in fact less corrupt than other countries in the region. It was promised a referendum on independence three years after the end of the war in 1999, and the international community repeatedly has reneged on promises to let the people of Kosova determine their future through a democratic process. Serbia forfeited its claim to Kosova by its defiance of international law and its ethnic cleansing of 850,000 Kosovars in 1998 and 1999. And, by the way, Kosova is in common use, as are other Albanian spellings and pronunciations of Kosovar place names.

by Henry H. Perritt, Jr. (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 7:00:14 PM

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1) You say: "...Kosova deserves to be independent." Hmmm, 'deserves to be independent.' Mighty nice of you to parcel out someone else's land to your benefit, don't you think? You think that the Mexican-American population (which, in many areas, exceeds Anglo-Americans) in the SW would say that they 'deserve' independence? 2) Then you say: "It has developed democratic institutions, has a potential for a strong economy, once it becomes independent, and has met all the standards imposed by the international community." Oh, you mean like the behavior exhibited St. Patrick's Day 2005, where a coordinated attack on the few remaining Serb enclaves was launched? You mean the continued destruction of Serbian heritage sites (Orthodox churches and monastaries, many over 1,000 years old; Serbian burial sites) where the 'Kosovars' have already destroyed in excess of 100? You mean like the unprovoked murder of over 1,000 Serb civilians AFTER June 1999? You mean like the kidnapping and disappearance of another 1,000 in that same time? 3) "It is in fact less corrupt than other countries in the region. It was promised a referendum on independence three years after the end of the war in 1999, and the international community repeatedly has reneged on promises to let the people of Kosova determine their future through a democratic process." Far less corrupt, eh? Is THAT why Interpol locates the VAST majority of drug and white slave trading in present day Kosovo? Regardless of what the 'Kosovars' were 'promised' by the 'international community' it is in stark contravention of international law and international treaties. What you're complaining about is that the big bully on the block 'promised' you a share of his haul and now refuses to give it to you. Too bad; you've gotten what you deserve...nothing! 4) "Serbia forfeited its claim to Kosova by its defiance of international law and its ethnic cleansing of 850,000 Kosovars in 1998 and 1999." You mean the vast numbers of Kosovar Albanians who were ORDERED BY THE KLA to leave their homes or die? Oh, you mean the 'ethnic cleansing' accomplished by NATO's 79 day illegal bombing of civilian targets (including 2 or more Kosovar Albanian refugee convoys)? Isn't it interesting that the VAST majority of those who left Kosovo said they did so BECAUSE OF THE BOMBING? Isn't it amazing that many of those 'ethnically cleansed' Kosovars were well dressed, in possession of money and valuables? Sure sounds like the trains pulling up to the gates of Dachau to me! NOT!

by Putnik (0 articles, 1 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 32 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 7:44:30 PM

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http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/link.php?id=28106

by Juda S. Engelmayer (5 articles, 4 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 6 comments) on Friday, Dec 29, 2006 at 10:39:26 AM

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