Kosovo Observes 5th Anniversary Of Independence Amid Ethnic Tensions
(Vatican Radio)-- Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo have celebrated the fifth anniversary
of their declaration of independence from Serbia, despite international concerns about
ethnic tensions in the impoverished territory. A man enthusiastically announced a
parade of police and armed forces. They marched through the main square of Kosovo's
capital Pristina for the first time since the end of the 1998-99 war for independence
with neighboring Serbia. The lightly armed Kosovo Security Force paraded in armored
vehicles alongside firefighters. Special police units were seen wearing masks to conceal
their identities. Their NATO-trained force has 2,500 members and wants to become an
army, but alliance members such as Greece and Spain oppose that because they reject
Kosovo's independence.
ETHNIC TENSIONS
It underscores the remaining
tensions between the majority ethnic Albanians and minority Serbs in this impoverished
nation of nearly two million people. Thousands of staff members of the European police
mission EULEX and NATO-led peacekeepers remain in Kosovo to maintain stability. Minority
Serbs in northern Kosovo refuse to recognize the central leadership and view Belgrade
as their capital. In a report seen by Vatican Radio, Belgrade-based Balkan rights
group Centar 9 said Serbian Orthodox Christians in Kosovo struggle with a "sharp rise"
in threats and vandalism against their churches and other religious sites. Since last
month's Orthodox Christmas assailants attacked a monastery, set on fire a chapel and
wooden crosses, and destroyed over 100 Orthodox tombstones. Rights activists say the
clashes are linked to anger within Kosovo's mainly Muslim Albanian population about
the removal of a memorial to their fallen independence fighters in neighboring Serbia.
STILL
HOPEFUL
Yet, Kosovo's president insisted Sunday insisted that its independence
was an "irrefutable reality," after talks with her Serbian counterpart and similar
negotiations between Kosovo's and Serbia'prime ministers.
"The republic of
Kosovo is an irrefutable reality and its independence is irreversible," President
Atifete Jahjaga said in a televised statement.
Critics make clear however that
recent talks were about practical issues, such as border controls, not about independence
of Serbia's former province. The troubles have attributed to social tensions in Kosovo,
which struggles with 45 percent unemployment. Yet for a moment, citizens in Pristina
seemed to forget these worries as they celebrated their young nation's independence,
which has been recognized by over 90 countries.