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The international community is deploying a new mission to Kosova [Kosovo] with a more acceptable name than the previous one. But, the powers of the new mission remain the same as the old one's. EULEX will have the power to replace the president, prime minister, and other more junior officials. It will have the power to appoint key officials, annul laws, and arrest us - each and everyone of us - indefinitely and without justification. These are the "executive powers" of EULEX, which have been described as "softer," "less severe," and "more humane" than those that UNMIK [UN Interim Administration...

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA -- Regional UNMIK chief Gerard Gallucci has resigned, but the UN HQ has not accepted his resignation. The U.S. diplomat in charge of the UN operations in Kosovska Mitrovica was asked to withdraw his resignation. This is what an anonymous diplomatic source told Beta news agency tonight, adding that Gallucci was "currently on vacation, and will resume his duties once he returns". Earlier today, KIM Radio reported that Gallucci, who is currently abroad, opted for this move because of the differences he has with Priština. KIM's sources with the UN mission in the province's capital confirmed this. "Gallucci...

Over 1,300 Kosovo Serbs, in addition to those for whom we know they have been killed and whose remains were handed over to their families by the UNMIK during the past 8 years, are still listed as missing. In some cases the entire families were kidnapped by the KLA/UCK at some point during the 1998-1999 war and after UN/NATO took over the administration and security of the southern Serbian province. These people were taken away in an unknown direction and, for all we know, disappeared from the face of the earth. Over the years, we have learned that a number...

....(Albanian) Women used to be relegated to restrictive lives at home, guarded behind the high-walled compounds that traditionally housed extended ethnic Albanian families, or clans. It wasn't freedom, but it was out of the reach of outside exploitation. Traffickers brought women from elsewhere, such as Moldova and Romania, initially to be shuttled to Italy or other parts of Europe and, after the war, to remain in Kosovo to "service" a growing international population..... ...After a brutal crackdown by Slobodan Milosevic in 1999, Kosovo came under the stewardship of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the United Nations. During the years...

The West will live to regret its betrayal of the Serbs An independent Kosovo offers a European foothold for jihadists, argues Hermann Kelly Gordon Brown's support for Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence should surprise and disappoint people in equal measure. Surprise because, as Prime Minister, he failed to discuss the matter in any depth in the Parliament before he made this announcement. And disappoint because this ill-thought-out move breaks international law, creates a dangerous precedent and gives succour and hope to every crackpot secessionist group in the world. This latest Government move has sent out the message that if secessionists...

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, PRIŠTINA, -- Kosovo Serbs yesterday marked Zadušnice, a religious holiday dedicated to the souls of the dead. Orthodox Christian Serbs observe four such days each year, when families visit cemeteries to light candles and say prayers at the graves of their loved ones. For many Serbs in Kosovo, especially those whose relatives were buried in cemeteries that are now located in ethnic Albanian communities, observing the holiday has since 1999 been a practice that endangered their personal safety, but also brought with it a particular heartbreak – that of finding the grave of a loved one desecrated. Serb...

It is expected that early on in 2008, probably February, the United Nations-supervised Albanian Muslim Administration of the Serbian province of Kosovo will make a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI). The United States has said it is prepared to recognize Kosovo, despite the objections of the Serbian government and more importantly, despite the fact that Russia, a key ally of Serbia, does not want Kosovo independence. While unclear, it is likely a number of European countries starting with the United Kingdom, France and Germany will follow Washington's lead. Several other countries, notably Spain, Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia and Greece say they...

Kosovo-Metohija is the very heart and soul of the Serbian nation. Kosovo province is to Serbs what Westminster Abbey is to Britons, Paris is to the French or Jerusalem is to the three world religions. It is not something the Serbian nation is willing to surrender to NATO, Albanian Muslims or the US State Department, however mighty they might think they are, and however persistently they demand to steal it. The Serbian province of Kosovo, administered by NATO since June 1999, is the fourth region with the highest corruption rate in the world, right after Albania, according to a report...

Kosovo auf Deutsch 11/18/2007 (Balkanalysis.com) By David Binder Forget about status negotiations for a moment. The near-term outlook for Kosovo is unalterably grim: an economy stuck in misery; a bursting population of young people with “criminality as the sole career choice;” an insupportably high birthrate; a society imbued with corruption and a state dominated by organized crime figures. These are the conclusions of “Operationalizing of the Security Sector Reform in the Western Balkans,” a 124-page investigation by the Institute for European Policy commissioned by the German Bundeswehr and issued last January. This month the text turned up on a weblog....

By JEFFREY GOLD – 6 hours ago CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — An anonymous jury will hear the case of six men accused of plotting to attack soldiers at Fort Dix, a federal judge ruled Thursday. U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler rejected defense complaints that such a jury would be biased. He agreed with federal prosecutors that the trial presents an exceptional case and could create apprehensive jurors. Several factors led to his decision, including pretrial publicity, he said. The six were arrested in May and charged with planning to raid the New Jersey military installation, which is being used...

Forget about status negotiations for a moment. The near-term outlook for Kosovo is unalterably grim: An economy stuck in misery; a bursting population of young people with "criminality as the sole career choice;" an insupportably high birthrate; a society imbued with corruption and a state dominated by organized crime figures. These are the conclusions of "Operationalizing of the Security Sector Reform in the Western Balkans," a 124-page investigation by the Institute for European Policy commissioned by the German Bundeswehr and issued in January. This month the text turned up on a Web log. It is labeled "solely for internal use."...

The United States on Wednesday slammed as "baseless" a Serbian minister's accusation that Washington wanted to create a "NATO state" in Kosovo. A plan drawn up by UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari -- which envisaged a supervised independence for Kosovo -- has been backed by the United States, the European Union and most Western countries. "Calling the Ahtisaari plan for Kosovo a NATO state is quite a stretch," US State Department spokesman Gonzo Gallegos said, commenting on the reported remarks by Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic last week. "We do not consider this statement to represent the official view of the...

GRAČANICA -- Three unidentified persons kidnapped and raped a Serb girl in Gračanica Monday evening, Tanjug reported. Another Serb, who was with her, was severely beaten and robbed, Kosovo Police Service (KPS) representatives told the agency Tuesday. KPS regional spokesman Agron Borovci said the incident occurred in Gračanica at around 9 p.m. yesterday, and that police were in active search of the perpetrators. “An Opel Vectra automobile blocked the road ahead of the victims and then three persons dragged the young man out of his vehicle, beat him up and closed him in the trunk, from where he was released...

The younger brother of the slain 11-year-old Pantelija Dakic was carrying the cross to mark his brother’s grave at the funeral. August 13, 2003, Gorazdevac, Kosovo-Metohija, Serbia.Four Years Later: Massacre of Serbian Children Unpunished Monday August 13 marks the four year anniversary since the brutal massacre of two Serbian children and wounding of four more in the Bistrica River, in the village of Gorazdevac, close to Pec in Kosovo province. The memorial service held each year for the slain boys was held today in the Church of the Most Holy Mother of God in Gorazdevac. Out of six Serbian boys...

While few businesses seem willing to invest in ‘risky’ Kosovo, some wealthy New York Albanians hope to combine their patriotic instincts with their wish to make a profit. By Andi Balla in New York With its nondescript offices in Brooklyn, Triangle General Contractors could be a typical small American business aspiring to expand its niche market - roofing and construction in New York City. But its owner, Florin Krasniqi, has other plans. Against the advice of many, he bets that Triangle can flourish by investing in his native Kosovo. When the company won an international bid to reconstruct an 8.3...

VIENNA, Austria-Police said Saturday they arrested an ethnic Albanian from Kosovo after he allegedly stabbed a Serbian man during an argument at a hotel restaurant in eastern Austria. Authorities said the 52-year-old suspect, whose name was not released in line with Austrian privacy laws, stabbed the unidentified 33-year-old Serb with a hunting knife on Friday at the restaurant in Oberwart, in the easternmost province of Burgenland. Investigators said the victim was seated at the restaurant when the suspect and his 24-year-old son entered and approached him. They said the Serb was stabbed in the chest and face during the altercation,...

Washington/Belgrade, 23 July(AKI) – Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian leaders were due to meet in Washington on US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice on Monday to try and clarify the diplomatic impasse over the breakaway province's independence from Serbia. The Kosovan leaders and Rice will try and chart a way forward on the province's future status after the United Nations Security Council last Friday withdrew a draft resolution granting Kosovo internationally supervised independence. After repeated efforts to push through a resolution based on the proposal by UN special negotiator Martti Ahtisaari, western powers, which favour independence, decided to shift the problem to...

Bexhet Pacoli, the richest Kosovo Albanian in the world from whose telephone, according to BND findings, a transaction in the amount of two million euros was arranged from a Swiss bank to one in Cyprus in the name of Kosovo special envoy Martti Ahtisaari, openly claims that he is paying 60 people just in Washington who are lobbying for the independence of Kosovo. "In Washington I am paying a team of 60 people who are lobbying for Kosovo in the administration of president George Bush and in the U.S. Senate and Congress," said Pacoli in a recently published interview. He...

After my article “The ‘Successful War’ we Lost in Kosovo” came out in this month’s American Legion Magazine, I received a letter from an American soldier who deployed there last year. He was stunned that anyone was talking about Kosovo, even more that someone was aware of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in Kosovo and of the jihadists passing through there freely. “With all the attention on Iraq,” he told me by phone, “everyone underestimates this region. No one understands that what happens here will play a key role in European security for the next 10 [or more] years.” Following...

U.S. State Department Unable to Deny Reports on Ahtisaari Corruption Excerpt From July 13 Press Briefing .... QUESTION: One more on the same issue. According to reports, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon already started an investigation about these payments, confirmed the existence by a report prepared for him by the German intelligence agency BND unit assigned to the UN mission in Kosovo. Any comment on it? MR. CASEY: Mr. Lambros, you’re free to go ask the UN what investigations it has or hasn’t started. [...] If you’d like to pursue shadows, feel free to talk to the UN about...