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Posted: 11:51 08/07/2008
I'm a 6th generation Australian so am ignorant of the complex interweavings of history around Kosovo, Albania and countries which made up former Yugoslavia.
My easy-going view is that if Kosovo wants to be for Kosovans, so it ought to be. Just the same as (to me) Chechans wish to be Chechans in their country of Chechnya.

I am so happy for Georgia which seems (to me) to be a truly wonderful country, people living longish lives, and thank you Georgia for the Georgian State Dancers trotted out to Australian under USSR banner. Georgians are so close to Iranian people (to me)and they deserve to be Georgians in Georgia.

Can anyone explain the problem with Kosovo wishing to be for Kosovans? I'm very willing to listen and to read comments.

Thank you,
AN AUSTRALIAN IN AUSTRALIA
WHO IS VERY FOND AND PROUD OF PRAGUE AND CZECH REPUBLIC
Jacquie

Posted: 17:59 26/06/2008
It may be a destiny for a small European country to be subservient to a master such as the United States or the European Union.
The Czechs, however, need not be sterile in being a part of a larger club, nor ignorant of who they are and what their past was like. In their own history, Czechs were official allies with Yugoslavia through the Little Entente between the two world wars. It is natural for the Serbs to feel betrayed. For all that the Serbs bid for and lost in former Yugoslavia after the breakup of the country, Kosovo cannot be the punishment.
For Kosovo is Serbian and you don't right a wrong by inflicting another wrong.
Kosovo was, is and always will be Serbian, no matter how conflicted the Czechs are over being close relatives to the Serbs who just could not disassociate themselves from the newest and hippest club they just joined. Having high friends is important at the moment, but in the long run, it is your kin that should be your priority.

Posted: 16:54 26/06/2008
Serbia as a country was complicit in a near genocide committed against several ethnic groups in former Yugoslavia.
Recognizing Kosovo is a reasonable step as a matter of independent Czech foreign policy. Independence should not mean opposition against the United States just for the sake of opposition.
However, I agree that the Czech Republic should defend its independent positions where appropriate, for instance when it comes to excessive restrictions of human rights as part of the "war on terror" or the need for decisive action on global warming.

Posted: 13:19 26/06/2008
Mr Jatras is absolutely right. Not only has the Czech Republic become a lapdog of the United States, but, in addition, its government quite brazenly goes against the express wishes of its people.
Unfortunately, a lot of people in East and Central Europe are still dangerously naive about the United States.

Posted: 19:50 07/07/2008
What an unpleasant subject for an article!

Posted: 18:26 07/07/2008
Dear Sir/Madam

I have been working here for over three months now, teaching English to Czech and international businesses in Prague. Previously, I taught English at an elementary school in Incheon, South Korea.

Similar in both societies, is the high relatively level of literacy, and respect for educational, academic and cultural attainment.

However in terms of technology, there is a great difference. Incheon's metro was technologically sophisticated; cellphones in South Korea can perform many different functions besides calls (dictionaries, watching movies, wireless internet etc).

In Prague's Metro, there is little electronic information available on station platforms; the escalators are old and hazardous. Electronic doors on trams, trains and shopping centres don't open and close very well. Cash takes comparitively longer to transfer electronically.

If Prague is to attract business and investment, I think the city's authorities must address the gap in the capital's amenities,

Yours faithfully,

Shouvik Datta.

Posted: 19:18 26/06/2008
This reminds me of the way the Russians were kept in the Contact Group and other Kosovo forums without having any influence. It only helped the international careers of the diplomats and politicians involved.

It might be a better strategy to expose the ISG as a blatantly pro-Albanian lobby group that does not possess the objectivity required to assure human rights in Kosovo.

Posted: 16:57 26/06/2008
The recognition has nothing to do with the past relations with Serbia! The recognition has nothing to do with the events in Kosovo 1997 onwards! The recognition has nothing to do with the reality, rights, history, or whatever.
It is strictly related to the fact that CEZ (or whatever the name is of the Czech electric company) will have the right to build the power plant in Kosovo.
So, the recognition has to do with Euro 4 billion!

Posted: 16:48 26/06/2008
The situation in Kosovo was nothing like that in the Sudetenland, it's really an absurd comparison. The Czechoslovak government had been giving the Germans there increasing freedom, unlike in Yugoslavia where autonomy was taken from the Kosovars after they had been given it. The Czechoslovak police did not murder entire families in seeking to put down unrest in the region. The Czechoslovak army did not force the inhabitants of the Sudentenland from their homes and out of the country. And as for support in 1968, Albania withdrew from the Warsaw Pact rather than support the invasion - on that basis, maybe its attitudes should receive some consideration here.

On the other hand, why in the world does Serbia want Kosovo back? There are only about 6 million Serbs in the country (they have large minority populations). Two million angry ex-Kosovars could swing their elections to the tiny liberal party and start influencing the country's politics even before the combination of the growing Albanian population and the shrinking Serbian population resulted in the Albanians being the majority in the country. At which point it could vote to merge with Albania for a truly "Greater Albania". Why in the world would the Serbians want that?

Posted: 13:13 26/06/2008
The Czechs will do whatever they are told by their masters in Washington and London.

Posted: 13:09 26/06/2008
It is sad to think that people are questioning Kosovo recognition based on the relationship between the two countries.
Please look at this at a realistic way and understand that Serbs have ruled over Kosovo with an iron fist for way too long.
They did not care about Kosovo or its people and thus left it as the most underdeveloped region in former Yugoslavia.
If kosovo was so important and critical to Serbia, why did they not invest more in it? At the same time, please remember what they did to my country of Bosnia and to Croatia, Slovenia and then Kosovo.
Serbia started four wars - lost all of them - and caused the murder of hundreds of thousands of people.
They lost every right to rule over Kosovo, since you can't kill one's family and be welcomed back.
Forget the historical ties with Serbia and look at what they did in the middle of Europe.

Serbia is talking about international law and how 1244 should be followed, but in the '90s, they did not care much about international law.
How interesting. They are again trying to use Kosovo for their political gain, but Kosovo is on its way toward the European Union and Serbia is still trying to form a government. There are still freezer trucks of Albanians in the bottom of Danube River that will come up one day.

There is not one reason why Serbia should rule Kosovo.

Posted: 17:40 26/06/2008
"This is because free nations are based on the principle of unbridled expression."

Perhaps you should have said "free nations would be...". If you think that you have freedom of expression in your country you are *extremely* naive.

Posted: 16:42 26/06/2008
"Arab-American" - TRUE Americans do not refer to themselves as Arab-American, African-American, Irish-American, German-American, Asian-American ..... etc.

Even though government forms require such dribble in their completion, TRUE Americans are simply Americans, even though they are aware of their ancestry.

TRUE Americans do not care about your religion, although they will invite you to their church (but at least we go to church) or if you are an immigrant (although they might be interested in your former culture). Most (but not all) Americans do not care about your sexual orientation, race, or anything else - they simply treat you as their neighbor, work colleague, etc. - even if they disagree with your sexual orientation, race, or anything else.
TRUE Americans really just try to get along - and do not understand others who do not wish to just get along.

By the way, we actually get to know our neighbors and help them when they are in need - we don't just say 'dobry den' because it's a cultural thing to do.

I recently gave money to the Czech-Slovak museum in Cedar Rapids that sustained damage due to flooding. Why? I have no Czech or Slovak or any Slavic blood in my family line - but I like preserving the history of cultures - I find it fascinating - even the Muslim and Arab cultures that I cannot identify with.

But I will admit, there are a few American citizens (not TRUE Americans) that give us a bad name.
Of course, should I judge all Czechs to be LIARS like those that I have met - probably not.

Posted: 21:42 25/06/2008
>>such narrow-minded people in the United States, but fortunately they are few.

actually *most* Americans are like that. Try talking to an Arab-American and see what his or her opinion about this is. See how much *you* would like relentless racist propaganda on the television every day. My guess is that you are white.

Posted: 16:41 26/06/2008
This museum, while perhaps having been the most extensive, is not the United States' only Czech and Slovak museum. I have visited the one in the Chicago area and I think there might be another in Pennsylvania. Please check your facts.

Posted: 13:15 26/06/2008
Czechs will soon begin to understand the consequences of cozying up to a country which breaks international law and supports torture. Within a few years the USSR will seem like a fond memory.

Posted: 11:15 26/06/2008
The government needs an "educational effect" as much as irresponsible dog owners. Punishing the majority of responsible owners won't accomplish a whole lot (other than padding the coffers). The cruelest thing I could do to my dog is tie her up on her leash and walk away. No law broken, eh?

Czechs are very canine friendly. There's a lot of public tolerance, and children learn respect towards dogs, not fear. This is a good thing. Some people fear dogs, and there are some dogs to fear, but both of these groups are relatively small here, thankfully. Fear-based legislation is not a good move - it's so... American.

The proposed law, as described in this article, is severe and badly conceived. Dogs can be restricted to leashes in urban parks where there are designated areas for them to run free. And I'll be the first in line at such a park. But my 4-year old dog will have lived out her natural life before I can expect one in our neighborhood. So until then, I'll be a criminal in the wild, tossing the frisbee and glacing over my shoulder, waiting to be "educated."

Posted: 21:44 25/06/2008
"Dogs need to be obedient when out in public."

And no doubt, in your little world, blacks should be kept indoors...

Posted: 20:12 25/06/2008
I really think that Internet gambling is a more dangerous problem than some gambling on the machines... (In areas where there are herna bars, the crime rate is higher for stealing cars, vandalism and disturbing the peace at night. The Prague Post)
Why not "ban" the entire tourist-army from the UK!
After all, they have the bad habit of causing trouble in the neighborhood. (Not to mention "Philip" from San Francisco)

Posted: 16:11 25/06/2008
The Czech Republic is in Eastern Europe if you think of the Cold War doctrine.
It is in Central Europe, if you think geographically.
But then again, Europe is not a continent, but rather a subcontinent of Asia, geologically speaking.

Does it really matter, except to understand the context of the writer - to which the writer should be clear in their context of Eastern Europe so that no misunderstandings might exist?

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