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After Serbia lost control over Kosovo in 1999, when NATO bombed for 11 weeks to halt the slaughter and ethnic cleansing of Albanians by Serb forces, the International Community tried to negotiate a final political status for Kosovo. The International Community is torn between two totally different options: Kosovo is seeking full independence and the Serbian regime is asking for autonomy for Kosovo within Serbia. In 2004, the United Nation’s Security Council approved a document for Kosovo called Standards before Status.  With this document, the UN asked Kosovo Provisional Institutions to improve the rule of law after which the UN would move towards determining Kosovo’s final status. One year later, the UN Security Council approved a report by their representative, Norwegian Ambassador Kai Aide, that improvement of standards reached a level to allow beginning of talks on Final Kosovo Status. In 2005, the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Anan, appointed former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari to start a long process of shuttle diplomacy between Prishtina, Belgrade, Vienna, and New York.  In March of 2007, Mr. Ahtisaari wrote a report for the UN Security Council stating that “the best possible solution for future status of Kosovo is Supervised Independence. Despite many objections, especially concerning ethnic decentralization that gives Serbian minority rights that do not exist in to International Law, the Kosovo Parliament approved this report. The Serbian Government refused to do the same, justifying their position by claiming it would lead to the breaking of International Law concerning a sovereign country The United States, European Union and NATO supported Ahtisaaria’s report. The majority of UN Security Council members supported it too. Russia was the only UN Security Council Principal Member State to oppose it and threatened to use its veto, accusing the Finnish President of being biased pro Kosovo Albanians. To satisfy Russia, the UN Security Council decided to send a Fact Finding Mission, composed of ambassadors of Security Council Members, to Kosovo and Belgrade.  Vienna was used as the official seat of the United Nations Office lead by Martti Ahtisaari to see if Ahtisaari’s report is biased or not. The Fact Finding Mission, after their visit, wrote a report and offered it to the UN Security Council. The US and eleven other members of Security Council drafted a new Resolution recognizing Supervised Independence for Kosovo. After diplomatic negotiations, Russia again threatened to veto any solution that is not liked by Serbia. The US suggested this issue be left for future Contact Group members (USA, UK, France, Italy and Russia) and the EU could have another try. After many meetings there was established a group of representatives from the US, EU and Russia.  Their task would be to lead negotiations between Prishtina and Belgrade for another 120 days, starting from August 10 up to December 10, 2007, at which point they would give a report to the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Kee Moon. Ambassadors from the USA, EU and Russia organized several meetings in Prishtina, Belgrade, Vienna, and London. All of these meetings were held between representatives of Kosovo and three ambassadors, as well as meetings between Serbian representatives and ambassadors, but Kosovo and Serbian officials never met. On September 28, 2008 there will be direct talks (face-to-face) between Kosovo and Serbian officials. Both delegations have published their plans for these talks. Serbia is offering full autonomy, but Belgrade would control foreign policy, borders and monetary policy. Serbian officials are inviting Albanians from Kosovo to negotiate on substantial autonomy, how they can self govern administration, education and healthcare issues Kosovo Leaders refused this proposal saying that Kosovo can not be part of Serbia because of genocide that Serbia did against Kosovo population. In the mean time, Kosovo Leaders offered a document for future talks, planned to be held in New York, on October 18th, 2007 named: “Friendly treaty about relations between two independent and sovereign states. Based on this treaty Kosovo and Serbia should talk on these issues: 1. Good neighboring relationship, 2. Cooperation with bilateral interests, 3. Full protection of ethnicities in Kosovo and Serbia, 4. Progress on missing people and return of dislocated people, 5. Establishing joint committees for cooperation based on this treaty, 6. A partnership on implementation of our vision on European integration. Serbia refused the Kosovo-proposed Treaty saying that this Treaty is about two states.

SEVENTY EIGHT DAYS OF NATO BOMBS. ONE SYMBOL OF A PERILOUS PEACE. VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE the first documentary feature about post-war Kosovo. Confused with the earlier Balkan conflicts and overshadowed by Afghanistan and Iraq, Kosovo’s story may hold the most compelling lessons of all. The bridge in the town of Mitrovica has become a flashpoint in the continuing conflict between Muslims, Christians and Roma (Gypsies). Through riveting first-person accounts the dreams and nightmare of Kosovars unfold.  Muslims who love America, Christians who despise it. Roma (Gypsies) dying of lead poisoning.  Orphans of war, wives of the missing, parents of the murdered.  Families who just want to go home. Their vivid stories reveal powerful insights into the religious and ethnic conflicts raging around the world today. Sometimes hopeful, sometimes tragic, the struggle to make peace in Kosovo exposes the human cost of the politics of hate, and reminds us that the ultimate responsibility for peace lies within us all.

Violence involving ethnic Albanians in Macedonia has sparked concerns that tensions over the unresolved status of Kosovo are beginning to bubble over.  The most recent incident came on September 10 when a police commander and a gunman were killed in a clash in an ethnic Albanian village near Macedonia’’s border with Kosovo. The violence has made headlines and prompted the parliament in Skopje to call emergency sessions to discuss the situation. The latest sitting is taking place today. Some analysts suggest the incidents are tied to Kosovo, where demands by the ethnic-Albanian majority for full independence from Serbia have so far been thwarted by Belgrade and its main ally on the UN Security Council, Russia. Whatever the explanation, some six years after an internationally brokered peace deal prevented a civil war from breaking out in Macedonia, the fresh violence is again raising questions about the future of the Balkans, Europe’’s most volatile region. “[The violence] may involve matters of smugglers,” says Patrick Moore, a regional analyst for RFE/RL. “It may involve some other criminal relations. It could involve family feuds, politics, or any combination of these factors. They all overlap there.”