Note: By Benet Koleka TIRANA, May 15 (Reuters) - Kosovo and Albania have begun exploring how best to bring their economies closer, focusing on ... more...
Played live in orthodox monastery Banjska, Kosovo, Serbia.
Lyrics:
Густа ми магла паднала, на тој ми рамно Косово! Ништа се живо не види, до једно дрво високо. Под њег` ми седив терзије, они ми шијев јелече. Колко су дзвезде на небо, Толко су шарке на њега.
(in English) The dense fog came down, hey The dense fog came down On the Kosovo plain. You cannot see a living soul round Besides one tree very high. Underneath a tailor seats My jacket stitches he. It has as many patterns on As the stars in the sky
A popular Serbian wedding song from Kosovo and Metohia. Although it is performed on festive occasions, the song begins with sad verses: "A dense fog has fallen... not a thing can be seen." A large number of songs from Kosovo begin with the same verses. These words are a metaphor for the suffering and pain of the Kosovo Serbs in slavery under the Turks. Dense fog symbolizes the burden of life, under the pressure of which freedom cannot be glimpsed ("not a thing can be seen"). In the very next verse, like light shining through the darkness of slavery, the song places a tall tree in sight. Beneath it sits a tailor, sewing a wedding waistcoat upon which silver adornments shine like stars in the sky. These verses testify to the existence of faith, hope and joy even in slavery. The words of this song are as true today as they were once.
Tags: Popular Beautiful Music Song Chant Orthodox Church Monastery Folk Folklore Ethno Dance World Medieval Traditional Old Ancient Heritage European Europe Culture Ottoman Turkish Turks Balkans Serbia Bulgaria Macedonia Wedding Kosovo Metohija Metohia Vocals Kaval Tambura Tapan Violin Lazar Dusan Milutin Stefan Roots Of The Balkan - Music & Songs From Old Serbia (Ensemble Renaissance)
Around one thousand people took part in the Easter March
Around one thousand people gathered in the Russian capital to take part in the Easter March for Serbia. The demonstrators expressed their support for Serbia and its territorial integrity.
Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and President Vladimir Putin have been stepping on the gas. They've signed a deal for the South Stream pipeline in Moscow.
Russia has reaffirmed its support for Serbia in rejecting Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence a week ago. At a meeting in the Serbian capital Dmitry Medvedev promised there would be no shift in Russia's support for Serbia's demand for territorial integrity.
Kosovo je srce Srbije! Za krst casni i slobodu zlatnu!
Kosovo zauzima 10.887 km² i 1999. godine je prema procenama imalo gotovo dva miliona stanovnika. Nalazi se istočno od Crne Gore, jugo-istočno od Raške, severo-zapadno od Makedonije i severno od Albanije. Najveći gradovi su: Priština sa 209.000 stanovnika i Prizren sa 127.000. Pokrajina obuhvata dve geografske regije: Kosovo i Metohiju.
Klima na Kosovu je kontinentalna, sa toplim letima i hladnim zimama. Kosovo i Metohija se sastoje iz dve regije, Kosova na istoku i Metohije na zapadu.
Metohija na najširem delu ima 23 km širine, a duga je oko 60 km, na prosečnoj nadmorskoj visini od 550 metara. Glavna reka je Beli Drim. Metohiju okružuju planine Mokra Gora na severu i severozapadu, Prokletije na zapadu, Pastrik na jugozapadu, Šar-planina na jugu i jugoistoku i Drenica, koja je odvaja od ostatka Kosova, na istoku i severoistoku.
Pokrajina je uglavnom brdovita. Najpopularniji turistički centri je Brezovica i Prevalac, na Šar planini, koja se nalazi na jugu i jugoistoku na granici sa Mekedonijom. Najveći vrh je Deravica (2.656 m), na Prokletijama, na granici Albanije i Crne Gore. Deo planine Kopaonik se nalazi na severu ove pokrajine. Od reka, najveće su Beli Drin, Morava, Sitnica, Ibar.
Serbia Asks Security Council To Keep UN Kosovo Mission In Place
By Nikola Krastev
UNITED NATIONS -- In his March 11 address to the UN Security Council, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic called on the UN to maintain its mission in Kosovo, urged countries that have recognized Kosovo's independence to reconsider their decision, and urged those that have not done so to stay the course and defend international law.
Jeremic also told the Security Council that Serbia "does not intend to impose an embargo" on Kosovo, and reiterated that Belgrade will not use force against Kosovo for seceding.
Jeremic addressed the council shortly after current Security Council president Russia circulated a draft statement that would have condemned Kosovo's independence and reaffirmed Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo. The draft was acknowledged by Britain and the United States, but the two allies said there was no way to reverse what has happened in Kosovo.
Addressing plans to gradually replace UN troops with European Union forces in Kosovo, Jeremic said that only the Security Council's 1999 Resolution 1244, which reaffirms Serbia's territorial integrity, is the legal basis for any international presence or operations in Kosovo. He said the resolution is currently being undermined by an attempt to transfer some of the powers of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to unauthorized bodies -- in this case, the EU.
Jeremic said international law had been broken by a unilateral declaration of independence by what he described as one of Serbia's "southern provinces."
Irreconcilable Goals
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said last week that his government could no longer stay in office because of the conflicting goals of trying to retain Kosovo and joining the European Union.
Early elections are scheduled for May. Jeremic said vote will be critical for Serbia.
"Some deep differences exist in Serbia over an array of issues: economic issues, social issues, and perhaps most fundamentally, the issue of whether or not Serbia belongs to Europe, the question of Serbia's future in the European Union," Jeremic said. "But there's one thing that these elections are not going to be about -- they're not going to be about Kosovo. The policy of Serbia toward Kosovo is not going to change. And this was also the message that I have for the Security Council. On the issue of Kosovo, Serbia is united and there's no way this unity is going to go away."
Jeremic said Serbia remains ready for further dialogue, describing the situation as "very precarious" and "very unstable."
The British ambassador to the UN, John Sawers, rejected a Russian draft statement that would have condemned Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence and urged the preservation of Serbia's territorial integrity.
"It's based on a premise which is now overtaken -- many members of the Council have recognized Kosovo as an independent country, and what we would want to do is make a success of that independence," Sawers said. The statement "would only be adopted if, first of all, it was radically changed, and secondly, if certain members of the Council radically change their position. And we are not about to radically change ours," he said.
Asked about Serbia's appeal to keep UNMIK intact, Sawers said that new realities dictate that the mission gradually be replaced by personnel from the European Union. "As the European Union role grows, as Kosovo's independence and sovereignty is more widely recognized, UNMIK will need to adapt to that," Sawers said.
The U.S. ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, also rejected the proposed Russian statement. "Any resolution statement going forward from now on by the council, for it to have our support, it must be based on the clear recognition that there is a changed reality: there is Kosovo, an independent state, and there is, of course, Serbia," Khalilzad said.
Khalilzad assured Serbia it is being respected and taken seriously, but that at the same time Belgrade must accept and adapt to the new reality. "We want the Serb people to know that the world, the international community, and the Security Council respect them, take them seriously," he said. "But those in Serbia who believe that what has happened in Kosovo can be undone are being misled."
No New Reality
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, however, rejected assertions that a "new reality" regarding Kosovo has been established.
"We believe that what has happened is some kind of a 'Matrix'-type virtual reality, which cannot be recognized as legal international reality until and unless there is an agreement between the parties and a new decision of the Security Council on something which will replace [Resolution] 1244," Churkin said.
Churkin also condemned as illegal the efforts of the EU to replace the UN mission on the ground in Kosovo.
"We do not accept the legality of the European mission.... Especially we reject their assertions that they are working toward replacing UNMIK, which is wrapping up its operation in Kosovo. All this is clearly outside of the bounds of [Resolution] 1244 and their responsibilities. No one should usurp or try to usurp the responsibilities of UNMIK and the United Nations in Kosovo."
Russia and China -- both permanent, veto-holding members of the Council -- have said the only legal solution for Kosovo must be based on Resolution 1244. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/decani2
BELGRADE, March 10 (Beta) - Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said in the evening on March 10 that the best response of the citizens of Serbia to the EU ministers' position would be to confirm at the upcoming elections the policy that Serbia "with Kosovo as its integral part will continue its European integrations."
"In such a case, a new government would have full legitimacy to start talks with the EU in such a way that Serbia with its province of Kosovo will continue the accession process," it is said in Kostunica's statement delivered to BETA.
According to Kostunica, the new government should receive clear support in the upcoming elections that Serbia, within its recognized borders, must be a partner of the EU.
"It is not a policy of selfisolation, but rather a responsible statehood policy and the only one with a future. We must respect ourselves and Serbia must respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity so that the EU can have esteem for us," Kostunica stressed.
The prime minister added that the EU countries that have recognized "the false state of Kosovo would surely like Serbia to do the same in some way, as that would be the easiest solution for them."
german-foreign-policy.com —Belgrad will die UNO-Vollversammlung veranlassen, beim Internationalen Gerichtshof in Den Haag ein Gutachten über die Abspaltung seiner Südprovinz einzuholen. Eine entsprechende Abstimmung wird am kommenden Mittwoch erwartet. Die deutschen Anstrengungen, gegen die serbische Initiative eine Mehrheit zu mobilisieren, bleiben erfolglos. KOSOWOisSERBIA http://digg.com/politics/Kosovo_Politik_vor_einer_schweren_Niederlage_UNO_Initiative
