By Shaban Buza
REUTERS
6:40 a.m. June 22, 2005
PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro – Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi Wednesday took the first salute from a new "ceremonial guard" of ex-guerrillas from the force he says will soon make up the army of an independent Kosovo.
Dressed in black with yellow braid and belts, the 80-strong guard saluted stiffly at the headquarters of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), the civil emergency force formed in 1999 from the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
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"We see the KPC as the nucleus of the army of the state of Kosovo," Kosumi told reporters after meeting Corps commander Agim Ceku, who twice fought against Serb forces during the 1991-95 Croatian war and later in Kosovo in 1998-99.
"Kosovo in the future needs an army, small in number but well-equipped and founded on European standards," he said.
The ceremonial guard will honor foreign dignitaries visiting Kosovo as diplomacy accelerates toward a decision in the next 12 months on the Albanians' drive for independence from Serbia.
Serb leaders were likely to see it as yet another Albanian attempt to pre-empt talks by setting up as many trappings of statehood as possible before negotiations start.
The 3,000-strong KPC was created in 1999 from the ranks of the guerrilla army that waged a two-year war against Serb forces, eventually aided by NATO which bombed Serbia for 11 weeks to force Belgrade to withdraw its troops.
The United Nations took control of Serbia's southern province and the KLA was transformed into an unarmed disaster response force. But its officers and Kosovo's political leaders have never hidden their intention to make it Kosovo's army.
Serbia says independence is out of the question and has dismissed the KPC as a band of "terrorists."
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16 comments:
Does Kosova have a flag or is that in the works?
it's been sorted
No it doesn't have its own flag......and it will need to be addressed soon by the 'people of Kosova'.
However, recently the President presented his own version which is that of the ancient Dardania....
Although, if Kosova is granted independence, I can foresee the international community forcing Kosova to create a flag not based on history or ethnicity, and it will most likely be a map of Kosova (similar to that of Cyprus').
There is no need for the "President" to waste time with the flag design. Kosova has a flag, and that is the red flag with a double-headed eagle.
Instead of doing something that will help Kosova, this old fart is designing flags and giving rocks to people who visit him.
No need to something that has already been there. Kosova has a flag. If you are that interested find out more about it by browsing the net.
I asked my Professor about Kosovos flag. "Its blue, red and white, son"
TT UCLA
"red, blue and white"
What, the French flag? :p
Your "proffesor" seems a little confused.
Kosovas flag is the red and black one.
Or, alternatively, the Dardania flag...
Tosi
Sweden
blue red and white, ok no prob but with a black double headed eagle in the middle. careful my serb friends, Belgrade isnt far, and Craots haven't finished up yet.
How about the regular red flag with the double headed eagle and to distinguish it, instead of writing kosovo as one posted earlier, how about a map of kosovo (preferably red) at the heart of the eagle.
maybe a star on top of the eagle, heheh, jk!
Dude go get your tuition monies back because with professors like that you are are getting robed son.
No need to distinguish Kosova's flag from the Albanian flage though. The maps, writings and stars on flags are gimmicks and we do not need any of that. The star thing was funny though but you never noted the color of the star. The French colors was not that funny though because we do not want to associate with those "freedom haters" since we are "freedom lovers."
Alright now that we got the flag issues settled, let's have some fries with this independence.
Biggie size that, please
ohhhh and cant forget that frosty!
International law prohibits two countries from having the same flag...
BUT we're in luck, cause the Albanian eagle and the Kosovar eagle differ. The Albanian eagle is thicker, the Kosovar is nicer :)
It's true, check out the official Albanian flag at the UN, that eagle is FAT!
You already have the Serbian flag for the province. Still anyone that thinks independence. I think you´ll be surprised and disappointed.
what do ever mean , you currently have a nice flag, Red Blue and White wit a two headed eagle on it. It Rocks!
Kosova must have a flag representing its people, or colors of the flag must be similar to USA colors of the flag, as Americans are the most respected people by Kosova Albanians.
France, Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Paraguay all use blue-red-white strips on their flags.
Serbian and Serbia government made the statement.
No red-white-blue-black colors on Kosova (Dardania) flag, because Serbian minority will be offended.
We Ilirian don't beg for equality, parity from Europeans because they were ignoring and are ignoring us.
We have the right publicly to condemn this act of Serbians and their government as a SUBVERSIVE and DIVERSIVE act that means to SABOTATE the FLAG and the future of Dardania.
SERBIA WAS THE TROUBLEMAKER OF BALKAN.
Their tactics were manipulating the history, forging lies to swim in the half-truth waters, humiliating, stealing, torturing, killing their non Serb neighbors.
Unfortunately no matter that the facade is changed, from inside they remain the same.
Their actions prove this.
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