Posted on 01/16/2006 7:58:27 AM PST by joan
Belgrade, 16 Jan. (AKI) - Sensing that Serbia’s southern Kosovo province, with majority ethnic Albanian population, might be moving towards independence, ethnic Albanians in the neighboring Presevo Valley have expressed a demand for greater autonomy and possibly joining their Muslim brothers in Kosovo. Ethnic Albanian representatives in three municipalities in southern Serbia, Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja on Saturday adopted a resolution demanding “political and territorial autonomy” for their region and withdrawal of Serbian army from the area.
The platform adopted over the weekend recalled that ethnic Albanians in the three municipalities had voted at a referendum in 1992 for independence of the region.
“Unless the question of Albanians in this valley is resolved properly, the region will remain a permanent flash point,” the document stated.
Serbia opposes Kosovo independence, though it has no authority in the province since it was put under United Nations administration in 1999. Belgrade politicians thus reacted in a similar manner to the new ethnic Albanian initiative, saying that it was aimed at the creation of a Greater Albanian state.
The talks on the final status of Kosovo are expected to begin later this month and the platform adopted on Saturday said that in case of any changes of borders in the Balkans, ethnic Albanians in the Presevo Valley want to join Kosovo.
Tomislav Nikolic, leader of the main opposition force in Serbian parliament, the Serbian Radical Party, has said that Belgrade should ask the permission of the international community to disband the three municipalities after Saturday’s provocation. “We cannot behave as if nothing has happened, otherwise Albanians will start to transform their fancies about a greater state into reality,” Nikolic said.
Other Serbian politicians reacted in a similar manner, because by losing Kosovo and Presevo Valley, Serbia would be completely cut off from Orthodox Christian countries, like Macedonia and Greece. Furthermore, a Muslim bridgehead would be established from Turkey through Muslim-populated areas in southern Bulgaria, Presevo Valley and Kosovo all the way to Bosnia, and Serbia’s main traffic routes south would come under Muslim, or more precisely, ethnic Albanian, control.
ping
I am also one of your Serbian Freepers...:)
comprises all territory east of Toledo, Ohio, west to Vladisvostok. It also includes all territory from Toronto to Buenos Aires.
Joan, you're just going to have to move. As you know, these colorful, quaint, and friendly Albanians are our allies.
OK, now what?
They are denied their rigts? They are subjected to genocide? Or maybe thay are just a bunch of muzzie expansionists lefovers of Clintonist era?
And, what about Antartica? It is well known that that is purely Muslim land and that penguins commited genocide on Albanians.
Send B-2s to bomb penguins!
Withdraw Serbian army from Serbia NOW!
Serbs out from Serbia!
Serbs go home!
Muslim brothers? People seem to forget that Albania has nearly 1 million Christian adherents. And that until Communism fell all religion was banned. Unfortunately it looks like Muslims proselytizers got to them before we could.
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