Comments by Basquiat

I fail to see the "Kosovo connection" here. Uka was born, raised and educated in Germany; it is doubtful if he even holds Kosovar citizenship (knowing that his family emigrated out of Kosovo 40 years ago, and that Germany doesn't allow dual citizenship). If this was a religiously-motivated attack, he was "trained" and brainwashed in Germany - not Kosovo.

I realize bashing Kosovo has become the new fad, but this is just too much.

I suppose the entire point of this article is that, if you throw enough mud, something will stick. No matter that there's scarcely any proof (I have some gauze at home too, guess that makes me an organ trafficker too!), no hard evidence (no photographs, no video, no journals, no trip tickets from Albania to wherever) - nothing. It's based on the words of Carla del Ponte, whose lifelong goal as Chief Prosecutor was to establish "equality" among Serbs and Albanians, Croats, Bosnians (otherwise known as the "we're-all-guilty syndrome that is prevalent all over Serbia). It's also based on the "investigations" of Dick Marty, whose life-long opposition to Kosovo's independence and emancipation is widely known (he criticized Switzerland when it recognized Kosovo, and long before he took up the "cause" left idle by Carla), even though Marty himself says he's no judge or prosecutor.

A question: what kind of "investigation" is that then, if he himself says that he's no judge or prosecutor? When asked for evidence, he says we should wait for an official inquiry (preferably by Lukashenko and Putin, his favorite buddies) - um, if he has no evidence, no witnesses, then why should we believe him? And more importantly, why does Tim Judah keep rehashing his stories as if any shred of evidence came up? Judah, you quoted some "testimonies" from that UN document, but you didn't mention that the UN itself says that the RELIABILITY OF THESE "witnesses" is UNKNOWN. It's also "interesting" that all of these "witnesses" are allegedly Albanian, yet the names they give for other alleged Albanians all have SERBIAN spellings. For example, for Naim Maloku (normal Albanian spelling), they say "Naim Maljoku (normal Serbian spelling). Same goes for Xhavit Elshani (normal spelling) is given as "Dzavid Elshani" (typical Serbian spelling). Seems like these "researchers" got their "secret" info from Serbia, always willing to fight for justice and for the benefit of all people, especially Albanians (ha!).

The "super sekrit" document that Tim Judah is selectively quoting from can be downloaded here: http://www.france24.com/static/infographies/documents/kosovo_house_2003.pdf

Poor show by The Economist.

This certainly changes the dynamics in Kosovo's governing coalition. Thaci may feel buoyed by this clear 'victory' against the junior partner, but his willingness to test his chances through early elections is not necessarily established just yet.

We'll have to see what LDK says or does; strangely, the ball is in their court in a way, even if they are weakened and in a bit of a shock right now (though they certainly shouldn't be) over the decision of the court.

'Dreams' of Kosovo? What 'dreams' are those? And what does corruption have to do with any of this? Terrible article.

Corruption is a problem in Kosovo - but it's also a problem elsewhere, particularly in the region. Kosovo is a young state, and its institutions are rapidly maturing. These growing pains - however unfortunate they may be - are part of institutional growth and maturity. Where institutions are nascent, problems exist. They will be taken care of, however, not least due to Kosovo's friends and partners who gently remind Kosovo's political elite of its duties responsibilities. With great power comes great responsibility, and this is a lesson that is still being learned here. But not to worry - there isn't a single non-governmental organization, civic movement or other political/social group that doesn't highlight the fight against corruption as one of the major priorities of the state.

Thanks for this article Economist, and especially for the last part in the article which some people seemingly choose to ignore.