I chuckled to see this on the news. What exactly are they trying to do? Can they even survive on their own? Currently they got one of the lowest GPD, very high unemployment, crime. They are surviving on aid, what will independence achieve? A good feeling from champagne celebration that they are "independent". The irony is that if they go "independent", they are still dependent.
Why set a precedent where its OK for separatist regions to secede? Are we to grant every region the right to secede if a particular ethnic group becomes majority? Should California be allowed to secede if the majority become from Mexican descent? And why is that are we trying to carve every region to little islands of ethnic groups? Shouldn't we try to achieve cohabitation rather than empower ethnic groups with their own state? Without cohabitation, won't ethnic groups become more intolerant of other groups?
Why are they waving Albanian flag? I thought the idea was to become "independent" not an "extension" of Albania. There is an Albania already...
Do not carve borders out of contested regions, look the mess in Palestine/Israel.
Bottom line is that, currently Kosovo is not in shape to sustain itself, so going "independent" is a joke. Secondly, although I hate to agree with Putin, he is right, this is dangerous double standard from US and EU in recognizing independent Kosovo. It will set a precedent for breakaway regions, and claiming that Kosovo situation is "special", doesn't fly with me, because every breakaway regions will claim their situation is "special" too.
Based on their current logic for "independence", please grant independence to the following regions within Kosovo that the majority are ethnic Serbians:
Leposavic, Zvecan, Zubin, Potok, and Strpce. And maybe grant NATO administrative areas where there are Serbian monasteries... So ridiculous.
Why does Bush seek approval in countries which obviously give him a "Hero's welcome"? Remember the countries in his "Coalition of the Willing"? They are either already allies of US or poor small countries seeking US financial/trade aid. So sad.
1 comment:
"this is dangerous double standard from US and EU in recognizing independent Kosovo. It will set a precedent for breakaway regions,"
Yep. In fact, I'll bet this ricochets most seriously in... the USA itself. The Lakota Sioux Indian tribe in the Great Plains has already declared independence from the US government, and the American recognition of the Kosovo Albanian state-- which has a much weaker claim, frankly (Kosovo is the heartland of Serbia where it was founded, and the Albanians became majority only after WWII)-- means that the much stronger, more solid claim of the Lakota, as the region's indigenous people, now has legal authority to back it up.
AFAIK the Lakota are now minting their own coins, running their own schools, collecting their own taxes, and to be honest, there's not a thing we can do about it now b/c the Kosovo precedent gives them every right to do so. For that matter, same goes for the Hawaiians and Puerto Ricans. And for the Latinos in the Southwest-- Aztlan, anybody? The Latinos were invaded and expelled in the Mexico-American War, now they're the majority in much of the Southwest, soon to be the majority in New Mexico, Arizona, California, Texas, Florida-- they now have exactly the same basis.
Not to mention African-Americans.
The UK is already breaking up, with Scotland, N. Ireland, Wales, even Cornwall all moving in that direction.
So IMHO, Bush's recognition of Kosovo here seems like a classic case of, "be careful what you wish for."
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