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Kosovo declares independence | 190 comments (189 topical, 1 editorial, 0 hidden)
Re: Kosovo declares independence (none / 1)
Don't know about Romania. It just occurred to me, however, that for all my complaining, the former Yugoslav republics themselves probably have no choice but to recognize Kosovo since they had broken away as well.

Ugh. I can't think straight about this anymore....

by lychee on Sun Feb 17th, 2008 at 06:28:00 PM EST
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Re: Kosovo declares independence (none / 1)
Oh, the BBC is reporting Romania doesn't support it.
by lychee on Sun Feb 17th, 2008 at 06:32:17 PM EST
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Re: Kosovo declares independence (none / 0)
They list Romania as definitely opposed, but not Spain and Greece? In-te-rest-ing.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Sun Feb 17th, 2008 at 06:35:46 PM EST
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Re: Kosovo declares independence (none / 1)
Romania has plenty of reason to be opposed: they have Transylvania, Moldova and Transdnistria to worry about.

As do Spain (Basque country, Catalonia, Galicia, Ceuta and Melilla, the Canary Islands, Olivenza...) and Greece (Northern Cyprus, Macedonia), of course.

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Feb 19th, 2008 at 06:59:48 AM EST
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Re: Kosovo declares independence (4.00 / 2)
Greece has Northern Cyprus and Western Thrace, where in one district (of three) the Moslem minority (dominantly turkish) is actually a majority and in another it's 50-50 with the Greek population.

In Macedonia there is no significant area in which seperatist Macedonian Slavs are even a substantial minority, let alone a majority.

Note also that various areas in S. Albania have a Greek majority/significant minority (despite the fact that most of them left for Greece they retain citizenship and property there). Although the only people advocating seccession of "Northern Epirus" (as it is called in Greece) are a few ultranationalist wingnuts, given the new situation that has developed, I'm betting on their resurgence...

The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom - William Blake

by talos (mihalis at gmail dot com) on Tue Feb 19th, 2008 at 11:12:02 AM EST
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Re: Kosovo declares independence (none / 1)
Reports say Romania was opposed alongside Blgaria, but it's not clear to me that theirs was a categoric opposition.

From the words of those two IDIOTS the German foreign minister and the CDU's foreign policy guy, it appears the pro-independence majority in the Council wants to push the minority to also agree so that there is EU unity on the matter.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Sun Feb 17th, 2008 at 06:34:03 PM EST
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Re: Kosovo declares independence (none / 1)
::Sigh::

Sometimes secession can be good. After all, my own country seceded from England in 1776. In Kosovo's case, I think at the very least, the timing was quite bad.

DoDo, where in what-would-become-Croatia were you and when? I didn't realize you had actually lived there.

by lychee on Sun Feb 17th, 2008 at 06:38:46 PM EST
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Re: Kosovo declares independence (none / 1)
A looong time ago, end of seventies. Six months in Obrovac, which was right at the border of the Krajinas, and two years in Zadar. Returned a number of times. I think my parents still have contact with the landlords.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Sun Feb 17th, 2008 at 06:42:09 PM EST
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Re: Kosovo declares independence (none / 0)
I hope they got through the war alright.
by lychee on Sun Feb 17th, 2008 at 06:47:24 PM EST
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Re: Kosovo declares independence (4.00 / 2)
Yes. They sent their children to Australia. Zadar itself didn't receive much in terms of warfare, only three days of shelling (and the blowing up of the homes of Serbians after the cleansing of the Krajinas), during which an unexploded shell got stuck in their wall. (The hole was still unrepaired when we first visited after the war.)

We also had one post-war greeting card exchange with a Bosnian-Muslim family from the Croatian-Bosnian border, who once pre-war gave us shelter on a travel; how they made it, I'd be curious.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Sun Feb 17th, 2008 at 07:04:47 PM EST
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Re: Kosovo declares independence (none / 1)
What is Germany's game in the Balkans? They also were the first to recognize Croatian independence.

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Feb 19th, 2008 at 07:02:29 AM EST
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Re: Kosovo declares independence (none / 1)
I really don't know if, overall, there is more to it than a mistaken liberation ideology and even more mistaken sense of responsibility; plus, in the case of the government's foreign policy elites, mad blind naive Atlanticism. (I wonder what parallels there could be in Germany to the Slovenian case in the leak discussed in melo's first link.)

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Tue Feb 19th, 2008 at 07:08:07 AM EST
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Re: Kosovo declares independence (none / 1)
It's the old alliance. Except Italy used to be included.

Italy, Austria, Germany and a huge chunk of the ex-Yugoslavia.

by Upstate NY on Tue Feb 19th, 2008 at 11:27:26 AM EST
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Re: Kosovo declares independence (none / 0)
Germany had not much to say on the Western Balkans until WWII: that was the Habsburg Monarchy's backyard. They had more influence on the Eastern Balkans (Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, Romania all building best relations, including dynastic ones, with Prussia.)

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Tue Feb 19th, 2008 at 11:55:51 AM EST
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Kosovo declares independence | 190 comments (189 topical, 1 editorial, 0 hidden)
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