The second round of status talks began today, marred by objections by Serbia over the participation of former KLA commander and Albanian politician Hashim Thaci. After voicing their objections, both parties got down to business and jumped into discussing minority issues such as integrating the Serbs in Kosovo into the current Albanian-run government. For the most part, the Serb community has boycotted and refused to participate in the Kosovo government leaving it to the Albanians to run everything...and then crying foul over their participation in government. A certain number of seats are reserved for each of the minorities so active participation is possible but perhaps can be improved if minorities feel that their opinions really matter to the Albanian majority.
The Serbian government is proposing the creation of a Serbian entity in Kosovo with links to Belgrade but the Albanian party objects this protesting ethnic division. No matter what the outcome, the Serbian community is likely to be ethnically divided in my opinion as hatred based on past events seem to be unforgivable even if the people didn't participate in the conflict. It is difficult to wrap one's head around hatred for the sake of hatred, hating a person just because they are from the wrong ethnic group, even if they are four years old but it does happen here. But that's not an everyday occurrence but there are fanatical groups that pledge the downfall of Serbs or Albanians in Kosovo. It mostly boils down to politics. The area I live in is a mix of all the different ethnic groups in Kosovo: Serb, Albanian, Bosniac, and Roma. Their children all grew up together, the Albanians and Bosniacs celebrate Bajram together, and they go over to each others homes for coffee...there is no hatred between these ordinary people. They see past the politics and into the heart of the real person.
