long time...no posts

Hello everyone,

It has been qiet a long time that I didnt post anything in this blog...and frankly speaking I thought that 'forgottendiaries' was forgotten...

Thanks to Anush and her e mail that I received, I started thinking about it again and even visiting new postings. (Thanks Anush)...

So, Not much to say from Kosova, except the fact that after independence declaration, things start to change for good for everyone in Kosova. At least now we know who is responsible for what (more or less) and where to seek responsability and accountability.

You will receive more and more postings from me in few comming days...and I hope you will not be bothered with my 'casual' writting style here...I like discussions and i love it when others debate with me and present their arguments...please comment and disagree...never stop questioning...

Best from Kosova,

A.

Novobërdë historical castle in Artana - Kosova

History

Novobërdë or Artana in Albanian was a famous mining city in medieval times. The site was predominantly used for mining silver. Now it has remained just a historical site to be visitetd and it has been left uncared for.

Novobërdë (in Latin documents written as Novaberd, Novus Mons or Novamonte; and in the Sasi's own documents as Nyeuberghe) was mentioned in the historical documents as early as 1326.

Novo Brdo was a metropolis at the time. In the outer wall of the fortress a large Illyrian Icon (Illyrian Queen) is visable, built into the stones. The castle, or fortress, was thought at one point to have dated back to the Byzantine Empire.

The population at its height was estimated to exceed 10,000 people. There were mines and smelting furnaces for iron, lead, gold and silver ores. Novobërdë silver is known by its argentum glame (an alloy of silver with 1/6-1/3 gold). In 1450 the mines of Novobërdë were producing about 6,000 kg of silver per year. The Ottomans occupied the town on June 1, 1455 and made it a trade center and one of the most influential multicultural towns of medieval times in today region of Balkans.

By the early 20th century, Novobërdë's population had dwindled, with most inhabitants moving to the more easily accessible area of Gjilan town. In 1999, with the entry of KFOR and UNMIK into Kosova, the area had a small military outpost occupied by US soldiers, as well as a station of International Police and Kosovian Police. The military has since removed its presence, but the police presence can still be seen today. It's a place with inter-ethnic harmony and co-living now, unlike during the rule of Serbs when atrocities, genocide agains Albanians and burning of houses were committed there.

Kosovo keeps receiving recognition boost

Ethnic Albanians celebrated Kosovo independence in February

The governments of Montenegro, Macedonia Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Columbia and Portugal have formally recognised Kosovo as independent following its secession from Serbia recently.

It means that, apart from Serbia, only Bosnia-Hercegovina among ex-Yugoslav republics has yet to recognise Kosovo.

Serbia reacted angrily, expelling the Montenegrin and Macedonian ambassadors and saying their countries had "jeopardised" regional stability.

About 63 countries have recognised Kosovo's independence so far.

But more than 120 have not yet.

Macedonia's Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki said his government approved the move after parliament adopted a resolution by an overwhelming majority to make the recommendation.

Montenegro and Serbia made up a single state until a referendum in 2006.

Montenegro hopes to become a future member of the EU and Nato; its foreign minister said the decision was guided by his county's national interests and that an independent Kosovo was a reality.

The BBC's Nick Thorpe in Pristina says that recognition by its neighbours brings both psychological and practical trading benefits for Kosovo.

The small country of only two million inhabitants, of which 92% are Albanian, has constantly appeared isolated in the western Balkans. This is where injustice takes place. The United Nations is treating Kosovo as an under-privileged orphan.

Peace and stability

Serbian's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic described the decision to eject Montenegro's ambassador from the country as "proportionate".

He told the state news agency, Tanjug, that "regional countries have special responsibility in preserving peace and stability in the Balkans".

Earlier, Serbia said it was reinstating its ambassadors to the US and other Western nations that had angered it by recognizing Kosovo's independence.

The declarations from Serbian's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic that Kosovo's recognitions from 63 countries would undermine the stability in the region eventually proved to be "a desparate monologue".

Serbia recalled many of its ambassadors in February from countries that backed Kosovo's unilateral declaration - a move that Serbia has condemned as illegal.

In a statement, the Serb government said the decision was made because of "continued diplomatic activity to preserve Serbia's territorial integrity and sovereignty".

It comes amid a week of both defeats and victories for Kosovan diplomacy.

On Wednesday, a substantial majority at the UN General Assembly agreed to allow Serbia to challenge the legality of Kosovan independence at the International Court of Justice.

Ertan Bikliqi - Kosova, Prishtina

Kosova

(Koh-SOH-vah), also known as Kosovo, is the disputed region between Kosova's Albanian majority and Serbia. Once an autonomous federal unit of Yugoslavia, in 1989 it was stripped away of its autonomy by the government of Slobodan Milosevic, whose later actions would result in the break-up of Yugoslavia, which Serbia is a part of, and the ensuing wars in Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, and Kosova.

After the revocation of Kosova's autonomy, the Serbian authorities closed schools in the Albanian language, massively dismissed Albanians from state-owned enterprises, and suspended Kosova's legal parliament and government. Serbia instituted a regime of systematic oppression of the Albanian population in Kosova, and flagrant violations of basic rights of Albanians occured frequently.




Initially the Albanians responded to the repression with peaceful and passive resistance. In 1992 the people of Kosova held free elections in which they chose their leadership, expressed their determination for the independence of Kosova in the 1991 referendum, and in the same year the Kosovar parliament declared the independence of Kosova. They formed a parallel government, found means of continuing Albanian-language education outside of occupied premises and providing health care (most Albanian doctors were dismissed from state-owned hospitals by Serb installed authorities).



In early 1998 the Serbian government began a crackdown against the Kosova Liberation Army (UÇK), a guerilla movement which emerged after it became apparent that the peaceful approach was ineffective in face of the brutal regime of Milosevic. After 1998 Serbian security forces conducted a scorched earth policy in Kosova, raising villages to the ground, creating an exodus of over one million refugees and internally displaced persons, and committed horrific atrocities against unarmed civilians, including women and children.




The NATO bombing campaign, which began in March 1999 after Serbia's refusal to sign a peace accord for the settlement of the conflict in Kosova, lasted until June 1999 when the Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic capitulated and agreed to withdraw all Serbian security forces from Kosova. United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 established a United Nations civilian administration in Kosova (known as the United Nations Mission in Kosova; UNMIK) and allowed a NATO-led peacekeeping force to enter Kosova to ensure security.

The war in Kosova had created over one million refugees and internally displaced persons, left over 300,000 people without shelter, an estimated 10,000 dead, and mass graves containing bodies of up to one hundred civilians, including women and children, who have been summarily executed.





The Kosovars, UNMIK, NATO and the international community are now making efforts to rebuild Kosova, revitalize its economy, establish democratic institutions of self-government, and heal the scars of war. (For more up-to-date information on the deveopments in Kosova please check out the Kosova Crisis Center.)




Geographic Features

Kosova borders Serbia in the north and northeast, Montenegro in the northwest, Albania in the west and the FYR of Macedonia in the south. It covers a total of 10,887 squared kilometers and its population is around two million, 93 percent of which are ethnic Albanian.





By: Ertan Bikliqi