4.1.2008 by admin.

Blast rocks Serbian bank in Kosovo

The Associated Press

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

PRISTINA, Serbia: A powerful blast rocked the offices of a Serbian bank in southern Kosovo late Tuesday, officials said. No one was injured.

The explosion took place in the ethnically mixed town of Dragas, in the mountainous region bordering Macedonia, and targeted the only Serbian bank allowed to operate in Kosovo by the United Nations mission that runs the province, said police spokesman Veton Elshani.

Police said the blast ripped through the bank’s offices, shattering windows and causing considerable damage to the building’s structure.

The area where the explosion happened is inhabited by a Serbian-speaking Muslim community that shuns Kosovo’s authorities and mostly follows instructions from Belgrade.

The bank has offices in areas where the Serb minority lives, surrounded by the ethnic Albanian majority and handles funds from Serbia earmarked for the minority in Kosovo.

On Monday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had warned that progress in Kosovo could be reversed if no agreement was reached on the future of the province.

He said that events on the ground could overtake diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue and “risk the achievements and legacy of the United Nations in Kosovo.”

Although ethnically motivated incidents have dropped significantly in recent years, tension between ethnic Albanians and Serbs persist and there are fears they could worsen as Kosovo’s leaders prepare to declare independence from Serbia in 2008.

Kosovo is legally a province of Serbia, but is administered by the U.N. and NATO troops. Ethnic Albanians, who account for about 90 percent of the province’s 2 million population, demand independence. Serbia insists the province should remain within its borders.

Kosovo’s leaders and Serbia’s officials met for over a year in a fruitless effort mediated by international officials to decide whether Kosovo becomes independent or remains part of Serbia. With the failure of the talks, the issue has gone to the U.N. Security Council.

The ethnic Albanian leaders have said they will press on with declaring independence early in 2008, but said they would not move without support from the U.S. and EU.

Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Global Recession, and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

Sam Vaknin

Sam Vaknin (samvak.tripod.com) is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and other books.He served as a columnist for online publications such as Central Europe Review, Global Politician, PopMatters, United Press International (UPI) (as Senior Business Correspondent), editor in The Open Directory and Suite101 and, until recently, the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

Sam Vaknin Ph.D.

January 2, 2008

Part I. The Republic of Macedonia - A Case Study (2007)

They have hinted, however, that they would not wait for approval from the United Nations, where Russia has threatened to use its veto power to block any decision that leads to independence……….

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=47708

Macedonia: One policeman killed, two wounded by unknown attackers

Skopje, 4 Jan. (AKI) – One Macedonian policeman was killed and two were wounded by unknown attackers in the capital of Skopje Thursday, MIA news agency said on Friday.

Police spokesman Ivo Kotevski was quoted as saying the attackers opened automatic fire on a police jeep in the Autokomanda section of Skopje from an Opel car before fleeing the scene. The vehicle, which had false plates, was later found at a petrol station in the nearby ethnic Albanian village of Aracinovo, Kotevski said.

The police had blocked the area in search for the attackers whose identity and motives were unknown, Kotevski added.

Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski told local television: “The police will find the attackers and they will be brought to face justice”. He said the attackers “mostly likely belong to a criminal group”.

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.1734496424 

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4.1.2008 by admin.

Austrian chancellor says EU’s credibility hinges on Kosovo

03/01/2008

VIENNA, Austria — The EU must resolve the issue of Kosovo’s future status if it wants to enhance its credibility as an organisation able to “solve problems at home in Europe”, Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer said in an interview published on Wednesday (January 2nd). His will be among the first countries to recognise Kosovo’s independence, Gusenbauer told the APA news agency. “We will not sit on the first row and just watch what the others are doing,” he said.

In response, Serbia’s Foreign Ministry issued a “strongly worded demarche” Wednesday condemning such statements and reiterating its stance that talks on the Kosovo status issue should continue under the auspices of the UN Security Council.

Separately, Serbian President Boris Tadic reiterated that Belgrade would not send its army into Kosovo, as any military operation would only create a confrontation with the international community. (Blic - 03/01/08; AFP, Itar-TASS, Tanjug, APA, B92 - 02/01/08)

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