Blasts in Kosovo

Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Sat, 07/02/2005 - 23:44

European Theater

OK, is it the Serbs or Albanians who are behind this one? From the AP, July 2:

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro — At least three blasts rocked the centre of Kosovo's capital late Saturday and one targeted the UN mission headquarters. At least three UN vehicles were set ablaze in the parking lot of the mission headquarters. There were no immediate reports of any injuries after at least two near-simultaneous blasts, said Hua Jiang, chief UN spokeswoman.

The second blast happened near the building of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the OSCE, which is some 100 metres down the road from the UN compound. The third blast went off near the Kosovo government building which also houses the occupied Serbian province's legislature, said Jiang. She did not say what caused the blasts. Police sealed off the areas after the explosions.

Kosovo has been administered by the UN mission and occupied by NATO troops since 1999.

See our last post on Kosovo/a, the Balkan mess generally, and why the left is almost consistently wrong on the question.

Rugova sees destabilization plot

Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Sun, 07/03/2005 - 16:25

The Albanians are (implicitly) blaming the Serbs. How long before the Serbs blame the Albanians?

Kosovo Leaders: Blasts Meant To Block Independence

3 July 2005 -- Kosovo's ethnic Albanian president says that three explosions in the capital Prishtina late yesterday were efforts to sabotage independence for the province.

The blasts shook a triangle of central Prishtina. No one was injured.

President Ibrahim Rugova said today that the aim of the perpetrators is to destablize the country and to influence a UN assessment of its stability.

UN envoy Kai Eide arrived in Kosovo on 1 July to begin an assessment of whether Kosovo -- a Serbian province now under UN administration -- has matured sufficiently to participate in negotiations on its future status.

The province's ethnic Albanian majority wants independence, but Kosovo's Serbian minority and its Serbian neighbors insist that it remains part of the federation of Serbia and Montenegro.

(Reuters/AP)

Via RFE/RL