kosovo1 Lyrics

February 18, 2008
Kosovo breaks free

Kosovars celebrate in central Pristina. AP

Kosovo has now declared independence from Serbia. Are there any lessons here for Thailand which has its own troubled region in the deep South, a region where many of the people would also like to go their own way? Well, if you think about it there some striking similarities, but there are also significant differences. Read through each of the statements in the following list and decide whether you think the situation in Kosovo seems similar to the situation in Thailand's deep South or quite different.

1. The vast majority of the population of Kosovo is ethnically different from Serbia.
2. Most Kosovars follow a different religion to that of the Serbs.
3. Kosovo is bordered by a country (Albania) with the same ethic makeup, i.e., most Kosovars are ethnically Albanian.
4. The Serbian government sent in troops to quell a guerrilla uprising in Kosovo.
5. The harsh crackdown prompted an international reaction with NATO coming to the aid of Kosovo and bombing Serbian targets.
6. Kosovo was placed under the authority of the United Nations.
7. Yesterday, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia, breaking hundreds of years of Serbian control.

The story has many more details. What was the reaction from Serbia?

striking - very noticeable เด่นชัด
vast - extremely large ส่วนใหญ่
majority - most of the people in a group เสียงส่วนใหญ่ คนส่วนใหญ่
ethnically - relating to a group of people who have their own culture and traditions เกี่ยวกับชนกลุ่มน้อย ในที่นี้หมายถึง กลุ่มชนที่มีวัฒนธรรมและประเพณีต่างไปจากกลุ่มใหญ่ในประเทศ
quell - to cause a violent situation to end ยุติความรุนแรง
guerrilla - of a military group that is not official and usually wants to change a political situation กลุ่มทหารกองโจร
uprising - a political situation in which a large group of people opposes and tries to defeat the government or a ruler ความปั่นป่วนทางการเมือง
harsh - strict, unkind and often unfair อย่างรุนแรง
crackdown - strong action that someone in authority takes to stop a particular activity การใช้กำลังสลายผู้ประท้วง
prompted - caused ก่อให้เกิด

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Kosovo declares independence
Thousands in Pristina celebrate 'a new life'

AP, REUTERS

Pristina - A decade after Serbia crushed a rebellion, Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership convened an extraordinary session of parliament yesterday to declare independence - a bold and historic bid for statehood in defiance of Belgrade and Russia.

Lawmakers voted on a declaration proclaiming the Republic of Kosovo as a sovereign and democratic state.

''From today onwards, Kosovo is proud, independent and free,'' said Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. ''We never lost faith in the dream that one day we would stand among the free nations of the world, and today we do.''

Parliament speaker Jakup Krasniqi said: ''Kosovo is turning a new page in its history. We are committed to a democratic state for all citizens, in cooperation with the international community.''

The US and most EU members are expected to recognise the new state. Serbia and Russia are fiercely opposed.

Serbs vow never to give up a territory in which their history goes back 1,000 years. Kosovo is the sixth state carved from the former Serbian-dominated Yugoslav federation since 1991, after Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro.

Serbs in the north of Kosovo, adjoining Serbia proper, reject independence, cementing an ethnic partition that will weigh on the new state for years to come.

Fewer than half of Kosovo's 120,000 remaining Serbs live in the north, while the rest are in scattered enclaves protected by Nato peacekeepers.

Mr Thaci sought to reassure them, saying: ''Kosovo is the homeland of all its citizens.''

He added that Kosovo was committed to a Western-backed plan for independence, supervised by the European Union and providing guarantees for the Serb minority.

The EU, which on Saturday endorsed a rule-of-law mission to Kosovo, will meet today to discuss the territory's secession after years of economic and political limbo as a ward of the United Nations.

decade - a period of ten years ทศวรรต
crushed - defeated using force or violence ปราบให้ราบคาบด้วยกำลังทหาร
rebellion - an attempt to remove a government or leader by force การก่อการกบถ
convened - gathered for a meeting เข้าชุมนุม ที่มาชุมนุม
extraordinary - done in addition to the normal activities of an organisation เป็นพิเศษ
session - a formal meeting การชุมนุม ประชุม
bold - involving a risk; confident and unafraid กล้า ท้าทาย
bid - an attempt ความพยายาม
statehood - the status of a place as an independent country ความเป็นอธิปไตย
defiance - the refusal to obey การขัดขืน
proclaiming - announcing something officially ประกาศ
sovereign - (of a country) ruling itself เอกราช อำนาจอธิปไตย
recognise - to officially agree that a country of organisation exists เป็นที่ยอมรับโดยทั่วกัน
carved - cut out from แยกออกจาก
adjoining - next to and connected to
proper - belonging to the main or most important part เป้นส่วนหนึ่ง
cementing - making stronger เสริมให้แข็งแรง
partition - a division, separating a country into two or more parts การแบ่งกลุ่ม
weigh - to have an important effect of influence มีผลต่อ
scattered - spread over a large area กระจัดกระจาย
enclave - an area of a country or city where a particular group of people live
supervised - overseen; watched over to ensure that things are done correctly อยู่ในการควบคุมดูแล
endorsed - officially approved รับรอง
secession - the act of separating from a country การแยกประเทศ
limbo - a situation of uncertainty สภาวะที่ไม่มั่นคง
ward - officially being looked after or taken care of ภายใต้การควบคุม

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