Independence for Kosovo

last updated 8 January 2015

Pristina, Kosovo

The U.N. this week gave Kosovar Albanians a “road map” to de facto independence. U.N. diplomat Martti Ahtisaari proposed that Kosovo remain under international supervision for an unspecified period of time while it develops the hallmarks of statehood, including a constitution, a NATO-trained army, a flag, and an anthem. Kosovo, a province of Serbia, fought for independence in the late 1990s, when then-Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic tried to drive out the majority ethnic Albanians. It has been under international administration since then. Under Ahtisaari’s plan, the persecuted Serbian minority in Kosovo would maintain ties with the Serbian capital, Belgrade, and be allowed to maintain its own police force and education system.