Kosovo declaration hailed with hand grenades

HAND grenades were thrown at EU and UN buildings yesterday in the Kosovo Serb stronghold city of Mitrovica, after Kosovo declared independence with EU backing.

One grenade exploded at the UN mission, causing no significant damage.

EU officials evacuated their building, which houses the team preparing a mission to supervise Kosovo’s independence.

Kosovo’s parliament declared the territory a nation yesterday, in a bid to become an “independent and democratic state” backed by the US and EU.

Serbia denounced the declaration as illegal, and Russia also rejected it, demanding an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

President George W Bush said the US would work to prevent violence and the EU also appealed for calm.

“Kosovo is a republic — an independent, democratic and sovereign state,” parliament speaker Jakup Krasniqi said. Across the capital, Pristina, revellers danced in the streets, fired guns into the air and waved red and black Albanian flags in jubilation.

The declaration was orchestrated with the US and key EU powers, and Kosovo was counting on swift international recognition that could come as early as today when EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels. Mr Ahern is to recommend Ireland formally recognise Kosovo’s independence. “Given the fact Kosovo has been under, in effect, UN administration for the past nine years since the ethnic cleaning that was meted out on it by Serbia, in effect [by] Milosevic and his thugs, the reality is this day was going to come sooner rather than later,” he said.

By sidestepping the UN and appealing directly to the US and other nations for recognition, Kosovo set up a showdown with Serbia and Russia. A total of 90% of Kosovo’s two million people are ethnic Albanian — most of them secular Muslims — and they see no reason to stay joined to the rest of Christian Orthodox Serbia.

Mr Krasniqi, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and President Fatmir Sejdiu signed the declaration and unveiled a new national crest and a flag. Mr Thaci pledged “a democratic, multiethnic state”.