Word: kostunica
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...declaration of independence are poised to do well in the upcoming vote. They include the ultranationalist Radical Party, led by indicted war criminal Vojislav Seselj, who is facing trial before a special tribunal in the Hague, and the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), led by Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who has called on the international community to "annul" the independence of what he terms a "fake state...
...schools and hospitals, Kosovo's new Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, did the unthinkable: he delivered part of his inauguration speech in the hated Serbian language. Even in Serbia, whose citizens feel genuine humiliation over losing Kosovo (which Serb nationalists call their "Jerusalem"), the protests should abate. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has threatened to retaliate against Kosovo's becoming independent by suspending talks with the European Union, but Kostunica can't afford to cut ties with the West. The E.U. supplies 49% of Serbia's imports and buys 56% of its exports--a far more valuable trade relationship than Serbia...
...nationalist leaders have been stoking confrontation. For example, surveillance cameras recorded police being ordered to leave their posts minutes before the crowd gathered for the attacks on foreign embassies; some did not return until 45 minutes after the first rocks began to fly. Yet Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica later declared himself satisfied with the performance of his police force, and Transport Minister Velimir Ilic even remarked that the damage done to the embassies pales next to Serbia's suffering over the loss of Kosovo. Foreign ambassadors, he said, "fared really well, considering what they deserved...
...While Serb officials expressed regret over the incident, and some have criticized Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica for inciting violence, their focus remains on challenging Kosovo's secession. Branislav Ristivojevic, spokesman for Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia, accused the U.S. of violating the U.N. Charter and Resolution 1244 (which ended the Kosovo war but stipulated that Kosovo was still part of Serbia) by recognizing Kosovo's unilateral independence declaration, calling that, rather than the events at the embassy, "the deepest violation of international law". And U.N. troops used teargas to disperse some 5,000 Serb demonstrators trying to cross into...
...Thursday's rally, Prime Minister Kostunica asked the crowd: "Is there anyone here who is not from Kosovo? Is there anyone here who's ready to give Kosovo away?" The crowd cheered. No one volunteered. "They want us to give away our Serbian identity, our origins, our Kosovo, our ancestors, and our history. They say we'd be better off without these things, as a nation without memory and history. They say we will live better if we just forget we're Serbs and agree to be humiliated...