Would be interesting to see how this event gets spun, whether all Serbs get blamed for the actions of a few, just as in the past....
Some 250,000 people, according to city authorities, attended Thursday's peaceful official rally in Belgrade, listening to speeches and songs in a melancholy atmosphere. Serbia's Interior Ministry put the number at half a million.

But several hundred young male rioters split off, smashed their way into the U.S. embassy and set fire to part of the building, the second time in a week that it had beePublish Postn attacked.

A crowd of about 1,000 cheered "Serbia, Serbia" as one ripped the Stars and Stripes off its pole and others jumped up and down on a balcony, holding a Serbian flag.

Some 130 people were injured in street clashes, including 50 police and some journalists, and almost 200 were arrested. European and U.S. leaders criticized police for a slow reaction.

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, whose fiery anti-Western rhetoric has been at the forefront of Serbia's diplomatic battle to keep Kosovo, said the peaceful rally "was magnificent and showed what the people of Serbia thought about Kosovo."

In a statement to state news agency Tanjug, he condemned the violence, saying it "directly inflicts damage to our fight" to protect national interests.

Liberal commentators have attacked him for stoking up tension in the hope that the West would back off from supporting Kosovo so as not to risk a nationalist backlash in Serbia.

"This was a disgrace, it was hooliganism of the worst kind," said Miroslav Markovic, walking his dog past looted, broken kiosks near Belgrade's train station. "The government should have been prepared and not have encouraged these people." Publish Post

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080222/wl_nm/kosovo_serbia_dc_75

Isn't it amazing how much news there is these days. It's as if this whole event just materialized out of nowhere, as if it weren't 10 years in the making. This current incarnation of the problem was caused by the U.S. and NATO sticking their nose where it didn't belong.

US orders some diplomats to leave Serbia

By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press WriterFri Feb 22, 1:02 PM ET

The State Department on Friday ordered nonessential diplomats and the families of all American personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade to leave Serbia, following an attack on the compound.

The move, made at the request of U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Cameron Munter, came as U.S. diplomats across the Balkans went on alert, girding for more anti-American violence after Serb rioters stormed and torched the Belgrade embassy Thursday, causing as-yet undetermined damage and drawing fierce condemnation from Washington.

"We are not sufficiently confident that they are safe here," Munter said in an interview in Belgrade.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080222/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_kosovo_15

Well, imagine that....YA THINK????

Hundreds of thousands expected at 'Kosovo is Serbia' rally

by Katarina SubasicWed Feb 20, 10:54 PM ET

Hundreds of thousands of protestors from across Serbia are expected in the capital Belgrade Thursday in a show of unity against Kosovo's independence.

Shell-shocked by the loss of its spiritual heartland Kosovo, Serbia has called on "workers, farmers, clerks, everybody" to attend the rally as part of its vow to bring the territory back diplomatically.

Celebrities including tennis star Novak Djokovic and film director Emir Kusturica are expected to give their support to the "Kosovo is Serbia" protest. The government has urged demonstrators to keep it peaceful.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080221/ts_afp/serbiakosovopoliticsprotest_080221035412

US hopes for close relations with Serbia

By DESMOND BUTLER, Associated Press WriterWed Feb 20, 12:56 PM ET

The United States is assuring Serbia it wants to help integrate it into Western institutions and repair relations roiled by the recognition of Kosovo's independence.

But a U.S. official is also cautioning that Serbia's chances of joining the European Union and NATO will hinge on letting go of Kosovo and coming to terms with the policies of its former leader Slobodan Milosevic.

"We think that Serbia, if it can overcome the conflicts of the '90s has a very bright future," Rosemary DiCarlo, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary for European affairs, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "But overcoming the '90s, overcoming the recent past, means apprehension of war criminals, it means recognition that Milosevic lost Kosovo."

The United States and some European countries have demanded that Serbia step up cooperation with the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague. The tribunal is still searching for the leaders of the Serb faction during Bosnia's civil war in the early 1990s, Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080220/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_kosovo_2

And so it begins, again....

NATO Troops Close Kosovo Roads, Cutting Off Route To Serbia

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Kosovo (AP)--North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops have closed the roads leading to border checkpoints Tuesday, cutting off the only link between northern Kosovo and Serbia, U.N. spokesman Besim Hoti said.

Earlier, smoke billowed from two posts separating Kosovo from Serbia and flames engulfed several U.N. vehicles set ablaze in protest against Kosovo's weekend proclamation of independence and anger over international recognition of the new nation.

The attacks on U.N. border crossings showed the protesters' willingness to use violence to hold onto Kosovo - and could clear the way for Serbian militants to return to fight in Kosovo, a land Serb nationalists consider the cradle of their state and religion.

Kosovo has not been under Belgrade's control since 1999, when NATO launched airstrikes to halt a Serbian crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists. A U.N. mission since has governed Kosovo, with more than 16,000 NATO troops and a multiethnic police force policing the province.

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
 02-19-081312ET
 Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Kosovo declares independence, Serbia rejects

by Ismet Hajdari and Robert MacphersonMon Feb 18, 1:21 AM ET

Kosovo began its first full day of self-declared independence from Serbia Monday, despite riots in the streets of Belgrade and a last-ditch Russian bid to block the move at the United Nations.

Tens of thousands of people in central Pristina erupted in cheers on Sunday as the Kosovo parliament formally voted to break from Serbia, completing the conflict-strewn breakup of the former Yugoslavia.

The celebrations there went on into the night.

But in the Serbian capital Belgrade, riot police using tear gas and batons dispersed about 800 youths who went on the rampage for several hours, smashing two McDonald's restaurants, and those of the US and Slovenian embassies.

Hospital officials said at least 50 people including 20 policemen were injured during the rioting, but none seriously.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080218/wl_afp/serbiakosovopoliticsindependence_080218062112

Bush recognizes Kosovo's independence

50 minutes ago

President Bush on Monday hailed Kosovo's bold and historic bid for statehood, saying "The Kosovars are now independent."

Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership announced its independence from Serbia over the weekend, and suspense gripped the province on Monday as its citizens awaited key backing from the United States and key European powers.

"It's something that I've advocated along with my government," Bush said in an interview on NBC's "Today."

By appealing directly to the U.S. and other nations for recognition, Kosovo's independence set up a showdown with Serbia — outraged at the imminent loss of its territory — and Russia.

In Washington Monday, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement: "The United States is reviewing this issue and discussing it with its European partners. ... The United States calls on all parties to exercise the utmost restraint and to refrain from any provocative act."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080218/ap_on_re_af/bush_kosovo

Well, the day has come. It will be interesting to see what the "secret plan" entails....

Kosovo declares independence from Serbia

By Matt Robinson1 hour, 41 minutes ago

Kosovo Albanians declared independence on Sunday, drawing instant condemnation from Serbia and triggering angry scenes outside the U.S. embassy in Belgrade.

Serbia's backer Russia called for an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council, but with no prospect of changing Western backing for the secession.

Ethnic Albanians partied in the streets of the Kosovo capital Pristina, and in Tirana in neighboring Albania, but in Belgrade up to 2,000 angry Serbs converged on the U.S. embassy, hurling stones, smashing windows and lighting firecrackers.

Riot police tried to push them back and appeared to be getting the upper hand and dispersing the crowd.

In the Kosovo Serb stronghold of Mitrovica, three hand grenades were thrown at buildings of the United Nations and European Union. One exploded, causing minor damage.

The reaction came within hours of the Kosovo parliament proclaiming the territory independent and sovereign, sparking jubilant scenes on the snow-covered streets of Pristina.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080217/ts_nm/kosovo_serbia_dc_28

Albanian triumph and Serb anger as Kosovo secedes

By Douglas HamiltonSat Feb 16, 6:15 PM ET

Kosovo Albanians will proclaim independence from Serbia on Sunday, ending a long chapter in the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia.

Kosovo will be the 6th state carved from the Serb-dominated federation since 1991, after Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro, and the last to escape Serbia's embrace.

The Serbs vow never to give up the land where their history goes back 1,000 years.

They will reject independence in defiance of the Albanians and their Western backers and will keep their grip on strongholds in northern Kosovo, making the ethnic partition of the new state a reality from the start.

"The influence of Belgrade has ended," Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said. "The success of Kosovo's independence as a new beginning will be clearly measured by respect for the rights of minorities, especially Serbs," the former guerrilla promised.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080216/wl_nm/kosovo_serbia_dc_15

Kostunica tells Serbia Kosovo can't be held

By Douglas Hamilton 25 minutes ago

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica told Serbs for the first time on Thursday the imminent loss of their historic province of Kosovo was a reality, but in a televised address he vowed the nation would never accept it.

Kostunica's statement was his most open acknowledgment yet that Serbia cannot prevent Kosovo's Albanian majority from proclaiming independence on Sunday, with the promise of Western recognition but without United Nations approval.

He said his coalition had adopted a document to pre-emptively annul "an event which will become reality in a few days, about illegal violence and an act of declaring independence of Kosovo."

"This decision confirms full national unity," Kostunica said, adding that what was about to happen was "a gross violation of international law."

At the United Nations in New York, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that Belgrade will use all its economic, political and diplomatic means to stop Kosovo seceding but will not resort to violence.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080214/wl_nm/serbia_kosovo_dc_7

Serbia plans wholesale rejection of Kosovo state

12 Feb 2008 17:39:39 GMT

Source: Reuters

By Douglas Hamilton BELGRADE, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Serbia intends to declare Kosovo's proclamation of independence annulled in advance as an illegal act by "terrorists" to set up a fictitious state, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said on Tuesday. Its annulment will be the centrepiece of a "Thursday of rejection" ahead of Kosovo's independence declaration on Sunday. "We have made a decision that the Serbian government will on Thursday, in advance, annul all acts that are against the law which concern a unilateral proclamation of the independence of this fictitious state on Serbian territory," he said. "We shall not allow such a creation to exist for a minute. It has to be legally annulled the moment it is illegally proclaimed by a leadership of convicted terrorists."

Serbia blocks signing of cooperation deal with EU: Brussels

Wed Feb 6, 10:00 AM ET

The European Commission announced Wednesday that the planned signing of a cooperation deal with Serbia this week had been scrapped, deploring the "obstruction" of Serbia's prime minister.

"I very much regret we have to postpone tomorrow's signing of the political agreement, of course the EU commitment is firm and the invitation remains on the table," EU Enlargement Commisioner Olli Rehn told reporters after discussions on Serbia in the EU's executive Commission.

He said he regretted "the obstruction by certain politicians in Belgrade in blocking the signature," in a clear reference to nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who opposes rapprochement with the EU and sees the overtures as a sop ahead of an expected declaration of independence from Kosovo.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080206/wl_afp/euserbiakosovodeal_080206150018

but we aren't out of the woods yet....

Serbia coalition close to collapse over EU accord

By Ellie TzortziTue Feb 5, 11:51 AM ET

Serbia's prime minister on Tuesday denounced an offer to sign an accord with the European Union as a trick to lure it into rubber-stamping an independent Kosovo, piling pressure on his tottering coalition.

The statement by Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica exposed a deep rift with pro-Western President Boris Tadic over Serbia's EU accession drive and could threaten plans to sign a deal that would put Serbia on the road to membership.

Tadic won re-election on Sunday on a pledge of pursuing EU membership no matter what happens with Serbia's breakaway province where the 90-percent Albanian majority is poised to declare independence this month, with the West's backing.

The EU, which on Monday authorized a supervisory mission to Kosovo ahead of its independence declaration, had hoped to sign the accord -- focusing on trade, visa and education issues -- on Feb 7 in the hope of preventing a nationalist backlash.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080205/wl_nm/serbia_eu_dc_4

We got lucky...or did we?

Serbia's Tadic ekes out narrow, pro-Europe mandate

By Robert Marquand

Tue Feb 5, 3:00 AM ET

European leaders breathed a sigh of relief after Serbian democrat Boris Tadic eked out a victory Sunday over ultranationalist Tomislav Nikolic in a divisive election held days before the expected loss of Kosovo, often spoken of here as the soul of ancient Serbia.

The Serbian presidencPublish Posty does not carry great powers. But the election won by the incumbent Mr. Tadic with 50.5 percent and a record turnout was seen as a psychological crossroads at a point of crisis – a referendum on reprising the chauvinist spirit of the 1990s and a pro-Moscow tilt, or moving toward Europe's economic and open-travel regime and a greater emphasis on civil society norms.

A radical Serbia is seen in many European capitals and Washington as a threat to Balkan stability. Yet Tadic's message of a bright future and rejection of brutal war years only narrowly triumphed over the Radicals, whose message of change was starting to sell.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080205/wl_csm/oround2_1