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| Europe |
| Constitution of Newly Independent Kosovo Takes Effect |
| 2008-06-16 |
| PRISTINA, Kosovo, June 15 -- Kosovo's government took control of the newly independent nation Sunday as the country's constitution went into force after nine years of U.N. administration. The charter, a milestone that comes four months after leaders declared independence from Serbia, gives the government sole decision-making authority. But it threatens to worsen ethnic tensions between Kosovo's majority Albanians and Serb minority. Security in the divided northern town of Mitrovica was tight a day after a gunman attacked a police station, wounding one officer. Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders marked the transition in a low-key ceremony in Pristina, the capital, that opened with Kosovo's newly approved, wordless anthem. Prime Minister Hashim Thaci told local and international dignitaries the constitution comes after years of "hardship and sacrifice." "Today the dream of the people of the Republic of Kosovo has come true," Thaci said. Earlier, President Fatmir Sejdiu called it the most important act since Kosovo's declaration of independence in February. However, Serbs -- who make up less than 5 percent of Kosovo's population of 2 million -- strongly oppose the ethnic Albanian leadership's decision to declare independence from Serbia after U.N.-mediated talks fell through last year. "Serbia views Kosovo as its southern province," Serbian President Boris Tadic said Sunday. "It will defend its integrity by peaceful means, using diplomacy, without resorting to force." |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #4 The Koran isn't already in effect? |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-06-16 15:14 |
| #3 I don't think that Kosovo should be a state, either, but I've been to both Kosovo and Albania. Most of them are as radical as Methodists. Hell, they even drink beer. I'm going to Albania's beaches in late July for my summer vacation. That should say it all about the Muslim "threat". |
| Posted by: Mizzou Mafia 2008-06-16 15:04 |
| #2 Happy, happy! Joy, joy! |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-06-16 14:33 |
| #1 Hmmm...Muslim remnants of savage Ottoman imperialism get to have 2 states in Europe (none of which permit construction of Christian churches), while Christian Lebanon is gonzo and Jewish majority Israel is under genocide threat. Screw Clintonism; Muslims asserted their sovereignty by destroying centuries old Orthodox cathedrals in Kosovo. Quid pro quo and common sense are essential to good diplomacy. This catering to the predatory Muslim animal, is suicidal. Go Serbs; leave the Croats and Montenegrans alone, but do your stuff. The interventions in Eastern Europe, after the Russian pullouts will backfire. If Clinton hadn't stuck his nose in, Europeans would have an integrated energy superstructure by now. NOW WE HAVE TO PAY FOR RUSSIAN REACTION TO CLINTON OSTPOLITICK. That dirtbag swung his johnson in the Oval Office; why afford him post-office credibility for his surrender to the slaves of allah. Muslims can eat dirt. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2008-06-16 01:44 |