Hoping to become Europe's newest sovereign state, politicians in Kosovo are drawing up a unilateral declaration of independence to free their land from Serbia. They say that independence is never freely given and that it must be taken. Pridnestrovie is watching the move as a precedent-setting event in international law.

According to the U.N., Kosovo is part of Serbia. But this is not the desire of the majority of Kosovo's residents

PRISTINA, 28 August 2007 - As Kosovo Albanians are getting impatient for the independence that has been promised them by the United States, members of the negotiating team are preparing their citizens for the possibility that the territory will secede from Serbia through a unilateral declaration of independence.

Veton Surroi, an ethnic Albanian who is part of the team of officials negotiating the province's future, has spent the month of August campaigning for such an outcome. Visiting Albanian homes in Kosovo throughout this month, he told voters that the time to negotiate is nearly through, and stressed that " Independence is never freely given. It must be claimed."

Kosovo is currently involved in status settlement talks with Serbia. The talks take place under an imposed deadline which the United States has advocated despite no such precedent for deadlines in similar self-determination cases like Palestine, Somaliland or Pridnestrovie (Transdniester).

Surroi and his team want Kosovo to declare independence when the deadline expires, with or without an agreement, the Washington Post reports. Such a move is guaranteed to inflame Serbia, because Kosovo is the historical heartland and cradle of the Serbian nation. It is an inseperable part of its historical and religious heritage, in stark contrast to Moldova's territorial claim on Transdniester, which was never part of any independent Moldovan state at any time in history and where the majority population has always been Slavic for more than two thousand years.

Nevertheless, Surroi says that independence for Kosovo is required in order to give the territory's citizens a chance for a decent life. "No one wants to invest in a country with an uncertain future," he said. "And no country was ever given independence without taking it."

Historical heart of Serbia

Independence is strongly opposed by Serbia and by some member countries of the United Nations. Among these, Russia carries the most weight and a veto in the U.N. Security Council. Normally, U.N. approval is not required for a new country to be created under international law, but in the case of Kosovo it is different: Kosovo is currently functioning as a U.N. protectorate, and created by a U.N. Security Council resolution, so any change in status will require the United Nations to make the decision.

" - I asked the Russian representative, 'If you will always veto any independence proposal that Serbia doesn't want, then why are we even negotiating?'" Surroi told the Washington Post.

" - We won't change, Belgrade won't change. Moscow won't change. It's time to move on."

In Pridnestrovie, Minister of Foreign Affairs Valeri Litskai has said that his government is watching the outcome of Kosovo negotiations with great interest. Officials openly state that Pridnestrovie has a stronger legal and historical claim to independence than Kosovo, but are nevertheless not opposed to applying any possible precedent that Kosovo might set under international law if this is to the advantage of the people of Pridnestrovie.

Pridnestrovie - which is also known as Transnistria - declared indepdendence 17 years ago. Although its independence has not yet been internationally recognized, its functions as a fully independent "de facto" country with none of the restrictions on its sovereignty that Kosovo currently suffers. Its only hurdle is the 17 year old territorial claim by Moldova. But like Kosovo, many in Tiraspol are now stating clearly that if Chisinau won't change, it is time to move on, too. Just like in Kosovo. (With information from Washington Post Foreign Service)

Source: TIRASPOL TIMES & WEEKLY REVIEW