Political Developments Spark Kosovo Identity Debate

One day I was reading about East and West Germany .One prominent german socilogist says that is going to take another 40 years Germany to be united mentaly etc. Well Germans have been separated only for 45 years and will take them another 40 years to be complete united. Kosovo and Albania were separated since 1912 ,and I can say that we are doing absolutely well towards ''unification'' as a one nation . It may take another 20-30years to ''heal '' all the differences ,but one is for sure that WE ARE 1 NATION !

Since 1912? Let's talk about 1389! If you think Serbians are going to get over the last 10 years of “UN Rule,” you are sorely mistaken. The Serbs still haven’t recovered from the 1389 Battle of Kosovo. It is not likely they will either. In the course of 6 centuries the geographical boundaries and demographic constituency of Kosovo, as well as the political and social conditions have changed. Serbs, who represented a majority in Kosovo, have been reduced to a minority. Uncontrolled migration of thousands of people from neighboring Albania to Kosovo on one hand and, on the other, mass exodus of Serbs from that territory, because of the merciless oppression to which the Serbs have been subjected by the newcomers, especially in the period 1943-1988, has changed the status of the Serbian population from a majority to a minority. Atrocities, unheard of even in uncivilized countries, have been perpetuated against the Serbian population in Kosovo. Regretfully, biased reporting in the world press, including the American, misrepresents the situation in Kosovo. Victims – Serbs – are portrayed as oppressors, whereas oppressors – the Muslim population in Kosovo – are depicted as victims. It is incomprehensible that the freedom-loving Serbs, the allies of America in 2 world wars, are being taunted and attacked in the American press, whereas their oppressors, the former allies of Hitler and Mussolini in World War II, are undeservedly favored and supported. Thus, not only geographical territories, social and political conditions, but allegiances change, too.

@mike serbs were never a majority in the area that is now known as kosovo. ever. please put the tired old propaganda to rest. I have always found it interesting how various serb propaganda "explains" how serbs "became" a minority time and time again throughout various periods of history. Yet there is never, ever, any mention of how serbs ever became a majority..time and time again. Albanians are witness to the ebb and flow of serb visitors and squatters over time. Serbs will never convince anyone that that particular patch of land in the balkans was the only uninhabited piece of land on the face of the earth until slavs immigrated there. just wont happen. And one more time. Desperate denials and lack of a shred of responsibility is what gives serbs a bad name, not the media. Serb propaganda has individual "explanations" for all serb actions against all there neighbors....but it is not the responsibility of the media to regurgitate serb propaganda. You can wail at how serb Aggression didnt turn out as planned, but you will never be able change the fact that serbs were the aggressors. Throughout all of the violence these past few decades in balkans. serbs and ONLY serbs are the common denominator throughout All of the violence across ALL ethnic and religious lines. Thats the fact. serbs were the bad guys. of what was Yugoslavia, serbs warred on ALL their neighbors. there are 8 count em... 8 new countries formed out of what yugoslavia was. The only common thread between 7 of them was they all sought escape / separation from the oh so misunderstood serbs. The republic of Serbia a nation in and of itself today...exists by having managed to drive off everyone else in its feeble attempt to dominate what was Yugoslavia. Thats the fact. Its not an accident. Suck it up. serbs are not victims, its not the medias fault, its not the wests fault, there was no conspiracy against serbians. It's Serbs own fault. Suck it up. Nationalist delusions has brought nothing but misery to serbs and their neighbors ... it certainaly wont do anything for serbs now.

Albanians are by no means victims by any means. Let me remind you yet again you Albanians are part of the Axis powers and fought side by side with Nazi...that is you heritage . You have identity issue because you have no culture of you own, you even resort to stealing the land and cultural history of Serbs.

I don’t believe in “ethno-religious nations”, but in civic-political nations. Kosovars, Albanians and Albanian-speaking Macedonians may have a base language in common, but for the last hundred years had different histories, cultural developments and political environments. The United States, Canada and the Bahamas were all considered the same predominately English-speaking British North America until they differentiated into different countries. The same thing happened to the predominately Spanish-speaking Spanish possessions in Latin America and in Europe to predominately German-speaking Switzerland, Austria and Germany.

To those blinded by the Serbian propaganda, like Mike: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/26/kosovo.serbia This is just one of many objective statements on this topic!

This is an excellent article, which fairly sets out the history and the misconceptions of Albanians whether trapped in Hoxha's prison or Sloba's madhouse. Divided countries do not heal easily and the Albanians are one people, with many centers: Tirana, Prishtina, Tetova, Ulqini and Presheva. It will take a long time and not a little forbearance to learn to live in unity (even if not in the same state) without some feeling sidelined. Now to the comments. In WW2, Serbia was ruled by Milan Nedic, an ally of Hitler. Nationalist Serbs damn America's allies, Tito's Partisans, in favor of the Mihajlovic's Chetniks, also collaborators with Hitler. Nationalist Serbs say Albania was on the side of the Axis. Serbia was invaded by Hitler and divided up; but Albania had already been invaded by Mussolini, and parts of Kosova were run by the Bulgarians and the Germans. If Albania was an Axis ally, then so was Serbia. If the local Albanian authorities were collaborators, so were the Chetniks. If the Serbian Partisans were American allies, so were the Albanian Partisans. Between 1943 and 1966, hundreds of thousands of Albanians were forcibly deported to Turkey, tens of thousands arrested. Any Albanian-speaker and even those who read the official Party paper in Albanian received the attention of UDBa. The "Atrocities, unheard of even in uncivilized countries," were detailed by Anastasije Jevtic, and include such barbarities as a) being taught in Albanian b) allowing Albanians to buy land c) not forcibly steralizing Albanian women d) permitting the official use of the Albanian government. Add to this the hysteria about alleged anti-Serbian rapes, disproved by Serbian scientists. Meanwhile, we are asked to ignore apartheid laws, mass sackings, closing of all education and health treatment for Albanians, mass arrests and torture, and eventually mass expulsions and mass murders. Or even today, the attacks on UN personnel, courtrooms and the assault on Albanians and their homes in the north. Now we can understand what is to be understood by "unheard of atrocities." It would be strange if the Serbs couldn't get over 1389, as Albanians, Bosnians and Hungarians and other fought alongside Serbs on Lazar's side, while some Serbs fought on Murad's side. And it wasn't until 1455 that the Serbs lost Kosova anyway. As far as getting over it, there was no great commemoration until 1913. Only then did the Serbs decide they couldn't get over it.

"In WW2, Serbia was ruled by Milan Nedic, an ally of Hitler. Nationalist Serbs damn America's allies, Tito's Partisans, in favor of the Mihajlovic's Chetniks, also collaborators with Hitler." Please provide proof of this. Mihailovic recieved a medal from the American president after the war. Do you honstly belive that the US president would award a medal to a Hitler supporter? How can you possible make claims which are so easily proved wrong? Now to Gita, Have a look at this: http://www.lewrockwell.com/pilger/pilger20.html How about this. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20070702gc.html Before you scream "Serbian propaganda" have a look at who wrote these articles and the sources. You see, we can all come up with information.

United as one! I was talking to a friend who said that Kosovars should accept that they're a new nation with a new flag. I could not help but laugh at him histerically. Yes, we are a new state but so far as nation is concerned, we are Albanan. that's wwhy when people ask me where i'm from, I reply "Albania." Not only because I seek to be a part of a united Albania, but because to say "kosova/o" seems like im changin identities. I have many friends from Albania proper and we all have had our misconceptions about eachother. however, we have now realized that the same blood runs through our veins. we are ONE. whatever differences we have are mere individual differences not because we've developed different identities. Despite EU's policies to create a new "nation" and change our flag. We are and will always remain Albanian and loyal to the red and black flag. Whether you speak Geg or Tosk, are Christian or Muslim, it matters none. Because we're all Albanians and stand United as One. cheers!

in fact this article DOES not deal with identity but with life experiences,what is absolutly differend.Albanian diaspora too has experienced a differend pattern,do you really think they are not albanian? The best exemple of our common identity is precisly the Kosovo exemple:albanians united all around the world to free kosova! Do you consider that texas or florida have a different american identity? No,so we too have not differend identity,we just have some differences just as in kosova proper you have differences between prizren and prishtina,or lap region and dukagjin region... United as one are the United States of Albania,not from 1912 but from centuries,and so they will be for centuries!