Some More on Kosovo

Because 88% of the inhabitants of Kosovo are ethnic Albanian - and the fact that the region has been seperate from Serbia proper for the majority of the last 700 years - it's actually pretty difficult to put together a convincing arguement as to why the war-torn Balkan province should be forced under the yolk of Serbian authority.

But that's not to say people haven't tried. In fact, one Californian writes a surprisingly well-written blog making his narrow-minded opinion on the fate of the disputed region very clear. You can 'enjoy' it here - SerbBlog.

In one post in particular, he points out some rather worrying trends emerging from Kosovo that have neatly ducked under the radar of the international press.

The fact is, distracted all the ethnic cleansing and angry rhetoric of the angry Serbs, we often forget that the people of Kosovo aren't all that cuddly either.

Transparency International - an international organization dedicated to exposing corruption - recently published a list of the world's five most 'corrupt' countries. Albania was first and coming in forth and fifth were Macedonia and Kosovo respectively.

The three regions which make up 'ethnic Albania' - or rather, the demographic that makes up what might one day become 'Albania Proper.'

Under the auspices of the United Nations occupation, ethnic Albanians are funnelling drugs, weapons and even people from East to West via the disputed Balkan region. Heroin from Afghanistan, weapons and explosives (the same explosives used by al-Qiada to make the bombs in Madrid and London) and, according to Amnesty International, an increasing number of girls and women forced into prostitution across Europe.

All of this crime is being encouraged by two factors.

Firstly, the moribund state of Kosovo. The country, with most of it's infrastructure destroyed by Milosevic and his Serbian security forces, is understandably unable to rebuild while it floats in the Limbo of UN administration. There is 40% unemployment across the region and in a country without industry or law, crime is sadly the most logical way to make a living.

Secondly, the stranglehold criminal organisations have on the region. During Milosevic's brutal campaign to reclaim Kosovo, the 'freedom fighters' known as the Kosovo Liberation Army ran a guerrilla campaign against the Serbian security forces. But like many paramilitary organisations, their aims became somewhat diluted over time. Now, much like the criminal Provisional IRA in Northern Ireland, the KLA is known as much for arms dealing, smuggling and intimidation as for the 'freedom fighting' they did in the nineties.

Throw into that the spreading evil of fundamentalist Islam - which burns like wildfire through a largely Muslim population struggling with poverty, crime and oppression - and you've got a recipe for disaster.

On SerbBlog, the writer declares that this is further evidence to support rejoining Kosovo to Serbia. Personally, I think it's a very convincing argument to do just the opposite.

It's amazing to me that the Kosovo crisis has gone on for as long as it has without resolution. In Iraq, American and British troops are struggling to build an infrastructure and government to prevent the spread of crime, terrorism and anarchy. Meanwhile, practically in the heart of Europe, we have a lawless region waiting - as Kosovo has done for hundreds of years - for it's fate to be decided by the shadowy 'great powers.'

The answer seems simple to me - give Kosovo what it so richly deserves. The right to choose it's own fate as a sovereign nation. At least as a country - with it's own government and authority - it can start to tackle it's own internal crisis.

Any other option is just inviting disaster. Give Kosovo back to Serbia and we're repeating the same mistakes of the 20th century. All we'd see is more aggressive 'policing' from Serbia and a resurgence of the KLA - swelled by the legitimacy of another Serbia 'occupation.'

Whatever flimsy 'evidence' there is linking Kosovo to Serbia's history, the facts are indisputable. For well over a century, the population of Kosovo has been made up of a vast majority of ethnic Albanians. The current figure is 88% of the population. These are people who do not recognize Serbian authority over their region and have the weapons, manpower and desperation to fight bitterly against it.

Give Kosovo back to the Serbs and we'll watch the region burn.