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Protesters rally against Kosovo independence
Canadian Press

February 24, 2008 at 8:06 PM EST

MONTREAL — Serbian nationalists gathered Sunday in two more Canadian cities to protest U.S. recognition of Kosovo's declaration of independence.

Close to 200 demonstrators marched through downtown Montreal before holding a vocal but peaceful rally in front of the U.S. consulate.

Several speakers criticized countries like the U.S., France and Germany for quickly endorsing Kosovo's break from Serbia last week.

“The democratic rights of a country are being violated,” organizer Diana Todic said of Serbia. “What precedent are we creating?”

She called on Canada to avoid doing the same, warning it could embolden Quebec sovereigntists.

Several supporters from the Greek Orthodox community also joined in the protest as they, like Serbians, trace their spiritual roots to medieval Kosovo.

While the protest was peaceful, demonstrators did not disguise their enmity for Kosovo's Albanian majority.

One protester's sign read “Albaniens (sic) are immigrants in Serbia.”

“Albanians . . . invaded our province and then settled there and never allowed Serbs to come back,” Ms. Todic said following the rally.

“This is an issue that, for the past 50 years, the rest of the world has known nothing about.”

Canada has so far avoided taking a stand on the Kosovo issue. Many observers have attributed Ottawa's reluctance to concerns about the domestic implications of recognizing a unilateral declaration of independence.

The protest came a day after similarly peaceful event Saturday in Toronto, which drew upward of 2,000 people.

Serbian flags and protest placards dotted a crowd of about 800 who rallied in Vancouver against Kosovo's breakaway move.

“Canada, help Serbia at this difficult time,” pleaded speaker Boris Malagurski, a Serbian-born university student. “Help us and we shall not forget your kindness and will forever be grateful.

“The world must understand that we shall never recognize Kosovo's independence, not now, not in a year, not in a decade, never. Kosovo will remain Serbia forever.”

Mr. Malagurski, who helped organize the rally, said separatist groups in places such as Quebec and Spain's Basque region are watching closely how countries react to Kosovo's move.

“If you break international law once in the case of Serbia, you can't explain to all the other regions why that can't secede,” he said in an interview. “That's why we think the Kosovo secession is very bad for the world right now.”

Mr. Malagurski, 19, said the Albanian-dominated Kosovo government has done nothing to protect minority Serbian rights in the region. He said the best solution for both groups is an autonomous Kosovo as part of a united Serbia.

More protests are planned next weekend in Ottawa, Edmonton and Calgary.


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redneck wrote:[Comments removed due to racist nature - Milly]

redneck wrote:[Comments removed due to racist nature - Milly]

SlyckMyx wrote:Hey, Canada hasn't done anything, some of our citizens are protesting something. It's called free speech and the right to assemble. Right or wrong it's their right to voice their displeasure. If you disagree, you march down there and protest what you feel. That's how democracies work.

redneck wrote:AAGGHHH **** I missed all the racist comments...Anyone wanna fill me in?

Millenium wrote:

redneck wrote:AAGGHHH **** I missed all the racist comments...Anyone wanna fill me in?

You wrote exactly one of them. What are you trying to do?

redneck wrote:

Millenium wrote:

redneck wrote:AAGGHHH **** I missed all the racist comments...Anyone wanna fill me in?

You wrote exactly one of them. What are you trying to do?

What?

racist? saying I dislike Canada?

You really confused me there...

bLuE_fLaMe wrote:
you called us Canadians stupid because 200 Quebecois protested against the US, when the Kosovo people are burning down the US embassy you choose to criticize Canada? jeez -_-

Key-J wrote:Oi, Fat_Smurf. Just because they protested against Kosovo, does not mean they are retarded.

The Spanish also Protested.

Personally, i think it wasn't a smart move either, this is gna push for more "countries" to declare independence, and going to create the world of a thousand mini countries.

Yasakira wrote:You shouldn't be offended when Americans say Canada sucks. Most Canadians think America sucks, so its all good

Juicy wrote:

Yasakira wrote:You shouldn't be offended when Americans say Canada sucks. Most Canadians think America sucks, so its all good

No, most canadians aka me think americans are dumb
EDIT: Like my brother was talking about rick mercer and my brother said rick mercer asked a few americans questions and they all got the wrong answer, even a professor at like harvard or something got the answer wrong... and it was a simple question...

dom wrote:The seperatist movement in Quebec is made up of a couple old educated scholars and young ignorant kids. The polls clearly show that seperatism is dying, just look at the last provincial election.

Quebec has many social and economic problems, other than Montreal and Quebec city, you would be hard pressed to find a place that has a booming demand for workers. For that reason, it's one of the few provinces in Canada that receives money from richer provinces to help balance its budget. Without the federal government Quebec would be lost. Its American paid jobs would be lost to english speaking Canada, Canadian jobs would be lost to Ontario, and all that would be left are the few poutine stands and francophone media.

The issue is that the few old intellectuals have had a huge impact on impressionable youth, they grow up seperatists but almost all of them turn to federalists when they realize how the real world works.

Québec could live as a country it have been proven several time, the economy is good and we wouldn't have any trouble.

XemnasXD wrote:FREE QUEBEC!!!!

agent420 wrote:

XemnasXD wrote:FREE QUEBEC!!!!

a revolution shouldn't be too hard...you only have to beat these guys!

Icealya wrote:gree qubec of what?