[Jetmir]

roberto, I didnt even know there were any jews in Kosova.

[Jetmir]

YouTube - Kosovo za patike

Look at how they mourn the loss of their "heart". You know one of the last memories I have of Kosova when we were driven out, is of these serb youth looting albanian stores. And what did they do after we left. Our furniture was found in the house of the neighbour hood serb, who grew up there and everyone got along with.

[Good_ol_JR]

Originally Posted by Jetmir

riiight . There were mujahideen in Kosova, not many though, probably cause there wasnt a call to jihad by albanians.

That's another think I'm wondering, for all this talk about them being ethnic Albanians, the country of Albania didn't do a damn thing during the 99 conflict. You obviously can't agree with the Serbs in this conflict, but you have to understand where they are coming from. The

Balkans= White man's Africa. You have a bunch of ethnic and religious groups that dislike one another but were forced to live together after the downfall of first the Ottomans and then the Eastern Bloc. There is a reason why in the 90"s the US intervened against Serbia, while it ignored the atrocities committed in Chechnya, Rwanda, and Kurdistan. Main reason is that the Serbs have never been business partners with the US; unlike the Russians, Turks, and corrupt African warlords.

This is why, after receiving worldwide criticism for not putting an end to genocides, the US decided to make an example of Serbia, even though they're genocide was less severe than what was occurring in the other 3 regions (not even comparable to Chechnya and Rwanda imo). It's kind of like how everyone is paying so much attention to Darfur whilst the more severe conflict in the Congo is occurring.

That's why the Serbs and those why sympathise with them are so bitter at the US for applying double standards to them and screwing them of with the statehood of Kosova. Make no mistake what Milosevic did was barbaric, but the way the Albanians have treated the Serbs isn't exactly angelic either.

I know that many of them are our brothers and sisters in Islam, but the Albanians as an ethnic group do not exactly have the greatest reputation in Europe, often shown by crime stats. In addition there is the fact that majority of Albanians in Kosova immigrated to the region fairly recently, so the Serbs still consider it as part of Serbia.

But I'm not taking sides here just looking at the big picture and why so many are siding with the Serbs.

[Jetmir]

Originally Posted by Good_ol_JR

That's why the Serbs and those why sympathise with them are so bitter at the US for applying double standards to them and screwing them of with the statehood of Kosova. Make no mistake what Milosevic did was barbaric, but the way the Albanians have treated the Serbs isn't exactly angelic either.

I know that many of them are our brothers and sisters in Islam, but the Albanians as an ethnic group do not exactly have the greatest reputation in Europe, often shown by crime stats. In addition there is the fact that majority of Albanians in Kosova immigrated to the region fairly recently, so the Serbs still consider it as part of Serbia.

But I'm not taking sides here just looking at the big picture and why so many are siding with the Serbs.

How did albanians treat serbs? the only serbs that got killed, besides the ones fighting, were the ones that stayed in Kosova when the Kosovars came back to their homes after being kicked out a few months earlier. So they took it out on the serbs they found.

What do you mean Albanians in Kosova immigrated fairly recently? Albanians have been in the region centuries before serbs came there. Kosova only became part of serbia when the ottomans left in 1912, then the serbs took over and have occupied it ever since, and there have never been more than 200 000 serbs in Kosova, thats about 8%.

[Variable]

Originally Posted by Jetmir

How did albanians treat serbs? the only serbs that got killed, besides the ones fighting, were the ones that stayed in Kosova when the Kosovars came back to their homes after being kicked out a few months earlier. So they took it out on the serbs they found.

What do you mean Albanians in Kosova immigrated fairly recently? Albanians have been in the region centuries before serbs came there. Kosova only became part of serbia when the ottomans left in 1912, then the serbs took over and have occupied it ever since, and there have never been more than 200 000 serbs in Kosova, thats about 8%.

I thought it was that the Serbs were there 'first', and were evicted by the Ottomans when they invaded way back when.

[Revert]

Originally Posted by Good_ol_JR

That's another think I'm wondering, for all this talk about them being ethnic Albanians, the country of Albania didn't do a damn thing during the 99 conflict. You obviously can't agree with the Serbs in this conflict, but you have to understand where they are coming from.

That's why the Serbs and those why sympathise with them are so bitter at the US for applying double standards to them and screwing them of with the statehood of Kosova. Make no mistake what Milosevic did was barbaric, but the way the Albanians have treated the Serbs isn't exactly angelic either.

I know that many of them are our brothers and sisters in Islam, but the Albanians as an ethnic group do not exactly have the greatest reputation in Europe, often shown by crime stats. In addition there is the fact that majority of Albanians in Kosova immigrated to the region fairly recently, so the Serbs still consider it as part of Serbia.

But I'm not taking sides here just looking at the big picture and why so many are siding with the Serbs.

Albanians have been in Kosova longer than the Serbs. The Kosovar region belongs to the Albanians there, the Serbs are/were the unwelcome minority and have been since the Battle of Kosova in 1389..thats not recent my friend.

Being an Ethnic Albanian and being a Albanian National are not one in the same thing. Ethnically they are the same people, but their Nationalities differ.

[Revert]

Originally Posted by Variable

I thought it was that the Serbs were there 'first', and were evicted by the Ottomans when they invaded way back when.

The Albanians were the majority there since the great battle in 1389, the ottomans took over in the 1400's this lead to the mass conversion of the Albanians in the region.

[albano]

For those who don't know most of the slavic people came to Balkans after VII century AD.
The oldest people in Balkanic Peninsuala are Albanians and Greeks. Any major historian accepts this fact.
If we accept the argument of Serbs they put forward - 'Kosovo is their craddle' why they didn't live in Kosovo but left only serbian minority in there?

[LEGALEAGLE]

Originally Posted by Variable

I thought it was that the Serbs were there 'first', and were evicted by the Ottomans when they invaded way back when.

?! I don't think so...the Slav's are pretty late migrants to Europe...

[Revert]

Originally Posted by albano

For those who don't know most of the slavic people came to Balkans after VII century AD.
The oldest people in Balkanic Peninsuala are Albanians and Greeks. Any major historian accepts this fact.
If we accept the argument of Serbs they put forward - 'Kosovo is their craddle' why they didn't live in Kosovo but left only serbian minority in there?

Exactly. THe Serbs refer to Kosovo as the "Cradle of Kosovo" which only refers to a brief period before Ottoman Rule. Before then It was an Illyrian area. Illyrians are a pre cursor to the Albanian people.

[Revert]

Originally Posted by Jetmir

roberto, I didnt even know there were any jews in Kosova.

Me either, i thought they were driven out of Yugoslavia following WW2.

[psychoteddybear]

Originally Posted by Jetmir

YouTube - Kosovo za patike

Look at how they mourn the loss of their "heart". You know one of the last memories I have of Kosova when we were driven out, is of these serb youth looting albanian stores. And what did they do after we left. Our furniture was found in the house of the neighbour hood serb, who grew up there and everyone got along with.

lol...i actually responded to this video...those two serb girls are *%^&#$%#@$

[psychoteddybear]

Originally Posted by Revert

Exactly. THe Serbs refer to Kosovo as the "Cradle of Kosovo" which only refers to a brief period before Ottoman Rule. Before then It was an Illyrian area. Illyrians are a pre cursor to the Albanian people.

I have heard and used this argument myself but honestly this rationale is a bit ...invalid in this case, especially when you're dealing with such a multicultural area as the Balkans. This is the same argument used where I'm from, where Georgians are trying to oppress my people from seeking independence as well. Actually, that's a great deal why I was happy for Kosovo...hopefully then Abkhazia and other de facto states can then declare their own independence...who knows.

History is important, but the present is just as important...I'm sure that if Kosovo was majority Serb you would never have seen what is going on today happening...so I guess there's a lesson to be learned here: if you're a minority fighting for independence/self-determining rights, have as many babies as possible...

[Variable]

Originally Posted by Revert

Exactly. THe Serbs refer to Kosovo as the "Cradle of Kosovo" which only refers to a brief period before Ottoman Rule. Before then It was an Illyrian area. Illyrians are a pre cursor to the Albanian people.

After I got a neg rep for that question ( ), I dug into it a little...

"Albanians claim that they are its original inhabitants, being the descendants of the ancient Illyrians.

The Serbs say that Kosovo lay at the heart of its medieval kingdoms and that during the middle ages few, if any, Albanians lived amongst them."

BBC News | Kosovo | History, bloody history

It looks like they might be both right - the Serbs moved into that area long before any sort of Serbian state took control, and even when it did there seemed to be little conflict. There may have been few Albanians there (and others), and those who were there got along fine with the Serbs. I found one source saying that both the Albanians and Serbs fought together against the Ottomans in 1389, while some Serbs actually fought for the Ottomans.

So when Serbia managed to gain autonomy from the Ottomans in many places (but not Kosovo), many Serbians fled to be with their newly independent kin, and that's when Kosovo became predominantly Albanian - the Albanians didn't have any similarly independent brethren.

In any case I haven't obviously conducted some kind of conclusive 'who was there first' research, but to me that's really not the point. The vast majority who live in that area now are Albanian, who aren't too keen on Serbian rule, (I don't blame them), so I'm glad they have their own little patch.