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Dear William Markiewicz
I would like to have some opinion from you about the actual situation in Kosovo.
I'm trying to do an enssay about serb, croatia, bosnia, kosovo and so. I'm from South America in Ecuador.
I really need some good thinking to help.
Any comment is welcomed.
Thank you.
Carlos Vera
USFQ
cvera@interactive.net.ec
Carlos -- Probably the seceding provinces of Yugoslavia would have separated just as peacefully and harmoniously as Czechoslovakia did. Nobody can retain anybody by force but the problems related to separation must be handled firmly and decisively -- national borders, minority rights, national debt... Nobody would risk a war to avoid those problems but the foreign powers, for their own political reasons (Germany, Turkey, U.S.A) practically put pressure on Croats and Muslims not to negotiate with the Federal Government of Yugoslavia, with a guarantee of total support. In these conditions who would negotiate? So they didn't and of course the wars exploded and the outside powers kept their promise, giving total help to the seceders and smashing the Serbs. Everybody takes for granted that the Krajina Serbs had to leave their ancestral homeland and as well, the Bosnian Serbs. Only situation of the Muslim and Croat refugees is broadcast, and now the purely pro-Albanian propaganda is in effect. Concerning Kosovo and all other questions you could direct yourself to the Srpska-Mreza Discussion Forum http://srpska-mreza.com/ (Discussion is one of the places you can click) This web site is full of material about Kosovo. To be sure of a fair vision from both sides you could try to look at an Albanian newsgroup. One is soc.culture.albanian There are also several Bosnian Muslim newsgroups which you may find through AltaVista search engine. Personally, what I see is a particularly complex situation because Kosovo happens to be as holy to the Serbs as Mecca for Arabs, Jerusalem for Jews, Vatican for Catholics. And yet, the vast majority of the population there is Albanian origin. So nobody wants to give in and both have their arguments. The Serbs' argument is spiritual and the Albanians -- geopolitical. For me, all the disputed territories be it Kosovo, Quebec, Cyprus, Northern Ireland, you-name-it, should be divided because the opposing sides will always remain enemies. Good luck on your essay. WM
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William Markiewicz