Kosovo Declares Independence from Serbia

Yesterday, an old nation declared itself the newest state in the world. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. Although the Serbs and their Russian allies are not happy about it, to say the least, no one moved any troops against anyone else. At least, not so far, and with cool heads in the right places, no one will.

Kosovo is considered by the Serbs a very important place in their history. In 1389, the Serbian Christian army fought a brave but ultimately useless battle against the Ottoman Empire, a Muslim operation. Kosovo today is 90% ethnic Albanian, and almost 100% of them are Muslim. However, memories of past glorious defeats in that part of the world are as fresh as this morning’s headlines. The Serbs refuse to admit that the region doesn’t want to follow Serbia’s path but rather wants its own future.

Serbian President Boris Tadic, who counts as a pro-Western voice in that country, said, “Serbia will never recognise the independence of Kosovo.” However, his country “will go through this peacefully, with dignity. Serbia will persist ... and defend its interests and international law, no matter how long it takes.” Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who leans more to Moscow, said, “As long as the Serb people exist, Kosovo will be Serbia. The declaration by the false state under the tutelage of the United States and EU is the final act of the policy of force which started with the insane bombing of Serbia and continued with the arrival of NATO troops in Kosovo.”

However, the Serbian government has been relatively restrained in its response, relying on propaganda attacks and threatening economic prickliness. On the other hand, Bishop Artemije, who leads the Serb Orthodox Church in Kosovo, complained that the Serbian military was doing nothing and stated that Serbia should buy arms from Russia to fight. His boss, Jesus of Nazareth, was undoubtedly of a different opinion, but the Prince of Peace isn’t always well-served.

Thus far, Serbia and its big brother, Russia, have not done anything violent. A couple of hand grenades were tossed at international organizations’ headquarters in the country, and some bricks got tossed at the American embassy in Belgrade, but there are always a few extremists who shoot first and ask questions rarely. One can only hope that the Serbians, whose nationalism was the spark that caused World War I (but who share the blame for that stupidity with all of Europe), come to realize that a border between neighboring groups can be a blessing and that Serbia just might be better off without those Albanians who wanted so badly to leave.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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