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**時間與地點:2008年2月17日在歐洲南部巴爾幹半島的科索沃，正式宣佈獨立，而成為最年輕的國家。
上圖依序為: 科索沃地理位置圖、總統 Fatmir Sejdiu 、總理 Hashim Thaci。
**科索沃: 人口約兩百三十萬人(尚無正式統計)，90% 是阿爾巴尼亞人(回教徒)，少部份是斯拉夫人(基督徒)。產業仍以農業、礦業為主，工業尚待發展，近年歷經內戰、宗教衝突、種族衝突，百廢待興，為歐洲最貧困地區之一。聯合國、歐盟等組織目前派駐有約2000人員在科索沃，協助其維持司法運作及自立的準備工作，獨立後料將受聯合國等西方國家在軍事安全、財政、經濟上的大力支持(尤其是德國與義大利)，以為持維其生存與發展。
**國際上誰贊成其獨立? 誰反對其獨立?
大部份西方國家贊成科索沃獨立，如美國和大部份歐盟國家，因為這樣等於加強了西方國家的勢力範圍，但歐盟中的西班牙、塞普路斯則因內部分離主義問題而對科索沃獨立持保留態度，反對科索沃獨立最力的有俄羅斯和塞爾維亞政府。中共有西藏、台灣問題、新疆分離主義問題，想是反對科索沃獨立的。
**西方國家的終極目標是使科索沃成為歐盟及北約的一員。
** 我們可以想想台灣處境與科索沃處境的異同……。
以下三則BBC 新聞供大家參考!
**科索沃宣布獨立 但塞爾維亞稱其非法
哈奇：科索沃將是所有公民的家園
科索沃議會17日舉行特別會議，通過了科索沃獨立宣言。 科索沃議會議長克拉斯尼奇在宣言通過后說，科索沃是一個“獨立、主權和民主國家”。
盡管受到貝爾格萊德政府及其盟友俄國的反對，科索沃總理哈辛﹒塔奇向議會提交了獨立宣言，議會全票表決通過。
塞爾維亞總理科什圖尼察譴責科索沃宣布擺脫塞爾維亞獨立，并稱科索沃是一個虛假的國家。
早些時候，塔奇要求在首府普里什蒂納召開一次議會緊急會議，討論獨立宣言和新的國家標志。
塔奇說，"我們正處于最重要的歷史時刻。現在該作出決定讓我們的國家成為一個自由和獨立的國家。"
據認為，許多西方國家很可能會承認科索沃獨立，但塞爾維亞和俄國都表示堅決反對，并稱其非法。俄羅斯要求聯合國安理會立即召開緊急會議。
來自紐約的報道說，安理會即將召開緊急會議。
**"不惜一戰"
塞爾維亞政府部長目前正在往來于科索沃的不同地區，向當地占人口少數的塞族居民表示支持。
星期天塞爾維亞的報紙駁斥了科索沃的獨立舉動，并說塞爾維亞不惜一戰也不會輕易放棄科索沃。
不過， 在科索沃的BBC記者們表示，當地的塞爾維亞裔、以及阿爾巴尼亞裔民眾之間，爆發潛在沖突的危機仍然非常巨大。
**歡慶活動
“獨立派對”已經在普裡什蒂納開始
就在科索沃正式宣布獨立前夜，數以萬計科索沃民眾已涌向街頭，提前開始歡慶活動。
科索沃總理哈奇早間已經公開暗示，星期日(2月17日) 將會是一個"重要的日子"。
他說，科索沃人民將夙愿以償。
在科索沃首都普里什蒂納，阿爾巴尼亞族民眾周六傍晚已經開始在市中心集會。
人群點放煙花爆竹，同時揮舞著紅黑兩色的阿爾巴尼亞國旗。好多人開車進入市中心，并且不停地鳴笛、按喇叭以示慶祝。
**歐盟協助
還有很多人在建筑物牆壁上張貼海報，感謝美國、英國同歐盟，支持科索沃獨立。
歐盟通過向即將宣布獨立的科索沃派遣民警部隊和司法人員，協助當地維持法紀。
這個為數2000人的使團將在從下周起陸續進駐。德國和意大利將是使團的主力，歐盟各國除馬耳他外也將參與派員。
派出民警和司法人員的還將包括美國、土耳其和克羅地亞等非歐盟成員國。
**國際法爭議
阿爾巴尼亞裔以塗鴉“表明心跡”
反對科索沃獨立的俄羅斯和塞爾維亞政府都指出，聯合國安理會1244號決議沒有直接授權允許科索沃獨立，因此這種作法必然是不合國際法的。
而以美國、英國和多數歐盟國家為首的支持科索沃獨立的國家則認為，最終允許科索沃獨立符合安理會1244號決議的精神。
自從塞爾維亞軍隊在1999年北約狂轟濫炸下被迫撤出以來，科索沃一直由依照1244號決議由聯合國托管。
聯合國制定了科索沃獨立的計划，但也設下了一定條件。
這包括科索沃得接受國際人員監察、為少數的塞爾維亞人提供強力保障，還有承諾推展多種族民主。
此外，科索沃或其任何部分都不可以加入別的國家。
科索沃官員在國會、民眾在街上慶祝獨立的景象!
Regions and territories: Kosovo
Kosovo, an impoverished territory with a population of mainly ethnic Albanians, unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.
It has been the backdrop to a centuries-old and often-strained relationship between its Serb and ethnic Albanian inhabitants.
The province has been administered by the UN, having endured a conflict in the late 1990s which was fuelled by ethnic division and repression. Reconciliation between the majority ethnic Albanians, most of whom support independence, and the Serb minority remains elusive.
OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | MEDIA
The landlocked region is one of Europe's poorest, with more than half of its people living in poverty. Although it possesses rich mineral resources, agriculture is the main economic activity.
Kosovo's economy revolves around agriculture
Ethnic Albanians number about 2 million - about 90% of the population. Some 100,000 Serbs remain following a post-war exodus of non-Albanians. The Serbian minority live in separate areas watched over by Nato peacekeepers. International diplomats have voiced concern over slow progress on their rights.
History
Slavic and Albanian peoples have co-existed in Kosovo since the eighth century. The region was the centre of the Serbian empire until the mid-14th century, and Serbians regard Kosovo as the birthplace of their state.
Over the centuries, as the ethnic balance shifted in favour of Albanians, Kosovo came to represent a Serbian golden age, embodied in epic poetry.
Serbia's defeat at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 ushered in centuries of rule under the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Serbia regained control of Kosovo in 1913, and the province was incorporated into the Yugoslav federation.
Path to autonomy
Serbs and ethnic Albanians vied for control in the region throughout the 20th century. In the 1960s the suppression of Albanian national identity in Kosovo gave way to a more tolerant line from Belgrade. Ethnic Albanians gained a foothold in the Kosovan, and Yugoslav, administrations.
Divided town: Mitrovica has been a flashpoint for inter-ethnic tensions
The 1974 Yugoslav constitution laid down Kosovo's status as an autonomous province, and pressure for independence mounted in the 1980s after the death of Yugoslav President Tito.
But resentment over Kosovan influence within the Yugoslav federation was harnessed by the future leader, Slobodan Milosevic. On becoming president in 1989 he proceeded to strip Kosovo of its autonomy.
A passive resistance movement in the 1990s failed to secure independence or to restore autonomy, although ethnic Albanian leaders declared unilateral independence in 1991.
In the mid-1990s an ethnic Albanian guerrilla movement, the Kosovo Liberation Army, stepped up its attacks on Serb targets. The attacks precipitated a major, and brutal, Yugoslav military crackdown.
War
Slobodan Milosevic's rejection of an internationally-brokered deal to end the crisis, and the persecution of Kosovo Albanians, led to the start of Nato air strikes against targets in Kosovo and Serbia in March 1999.
Meanwhile, a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Kosovo Albanians was initiated by Serbian forces. Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled to Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro. Thousands of people died in the conflict.
Serbian forces were driven out in the summer of 1999 and the UN took over the administration of the province.
FACTS
OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | MEDIA
Status: Break-away province of Serbia, UN-administered (從塞爾維亞分離出來的一省，由聫合國托管)
Population: 1.8 million-2.4 million (estimate) (人口估計)
Capital: Pristina(首都)
Major languages: Albanian, Serbian(語言)
Major religions: Islam, Christianity (宗教信仰-回教徒、基督徒)
Natural resources: Coal, lead, zinc, chromium, silver(主要礦產)
LEADERS
OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | MEDIA
President: Fatmir Sejdiu (總統)
Fatmir Sejdiu was elected by parliament in February 2006. The leader of Kosovo's biggest party, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), he was the sole candidate.
Fatmir Sejdiu supports independence from Serbia
He was a close ally of the former president, writer-turned-politician Ibrahim Rugova, who died of cancer just days before UN-mediated talks on Kosovo's future status began in February 2006.
Ibrahim Rugova was nicknamed the "Gandhi of the Balkans". He led an ethnic Albanian campaign of passive resistance against Serb rule in the 1990s. He was twice elected president in unofficial elections, and won official presidential elections in 2002.
Like his predecessor, President Sejdiu supports independence for Kosovo.
He was born near the town of Podujevo in northern Kosovo. He studied law in France (總統早期留學法國研習法律) and the US and speaks both English and French.
Prime minister: Hashim Thaci (總理，在學生時就是激進學運份子，後來去當地下游擊隊，拿槍桿子搞革命，並長期成功逃過政府當局的追捕，現在是溫和派的總理!)
Hashim Thaci is a veteran of the ethnic Albanians' drive to break away from Serbia.
The former guerrilla is now regarded as a moderate politician
He began agitating for the Kosovo Albanian cause while still in his teens, and first came to prominence as the political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), the guerrilla group that took up arms against Serb forces in the late 1990s.
He became known outside Kosovo when he formed part of the Kosovo Albanian negotiating team at internationally-sponsored peace talks at Rambouillet, France, early in 1999.
He made such a powerful impression at the talks that he succeeded in sidelining veteran Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova - who was more in favour of passive resistance to Serbia - and was appointed leader of the Kosovo Albanian negotiating team.
After the talks broke down and NATO launched its air campaign against Serbia that resulted in Kosovo becoming a UN protectorate, Mr Rugova reasserted his authority within the province and officially became president in 2002.
Meanwhile, Mr Thaci underwent a gradual process of transformation from fiery left-wing guerrilla to respectable politician. His Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) emerged out of the KLA and finally won an election in November 2007.
Some analysts believe that the years spent by Mr Thaci as prime minister-in-waiting allowed him to hone his political skills and made him into one of the province's most moderate leaders.
On being elected prime minister, he made an attempt to reach out to Kosovo's dwindling Serbian minority by switching to speaking Serbian as he called on the Serbs to consider Kosovo their home.
Hasim Thaci was born in 1968 in the Drenica region, a stronghold of the ethnic Albanian revolt against Serbia.
He was a student activist in 1989-91, and later went underground to join the KLA, which was formed in 1993. It was at that time that he acquired the nom de guerre of "the Snake" on account of his success in evading capture.
He is married, with one son.
MEDIA
OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | MEDIA
After 45 years of communism and 10 years of repressive rule from Belgrade, ethnic Albanian journalists in Kosovo returned to work in June 1999.
A Temporary Media Commission, set up by the UN, has set out a code of conduct for journalists. The TMC aims to prevent incitement to hatred in the media.
The public broadcaster, RTK, was set up as an editorially-independent service.
International organisations run support programmes for independent media in the province. UN-supervised Blue Sky Radio aims to provide a multi-ethnic audience with impartial news.
Kosovo MPs proclaim independence (科索沃國會正式通過獨立宣言!)
Albanian and American flags have been on prominent display (看到這麼多美國國旗出現在街上慶祝，就可知道美國在科索沃獨立上的"貢獻"了!!)
**Declaration
Kosovo's parliament has unanimously endorsed a declaration of independence from Serbia, in a historic session.
Celebrations went on into the night after Prime Minister Hashim Thaci promised a democracy that respected the rights of all ethnic communities.
Serbia's PM denounced the US for helping create a "false state".
A split later emerged at the Security Council, when Russia said there was no basis for changing a 1999 resolution which handed Kosovo to the UN.
Seven Western countries said it was quite clear the situation had moved on.
See a map of Kosovo's ethnic breakdown
Tens of thousands of people had thronged the streets of Kosovo's capital, Pristina, since the morning.
We have waited for this day for a very long time... from today, we are proud, independent and free
Hashim Thaci
Kosovo Prime Minister
Kosovo's 'dream come true'
Mark Mardell's Euroblog
Serb and Albanian views
When news came of the declaration in parliament, the centre of the city erupted with fireworks, firecrackers and celebratory gunfire.
Crowds surrounded an independence monument which was unveiled during the evening and signed by Mr Thaci and Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu.
Ethnic Albanians staged noisy celebrations in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, and in Brussels, outside the headquarters of Nato and the European Union.
Hand grenades
The first sign of trouble in Kosovo came in the ethnic Serbian area of the flashpoint town of Mitrovica, where two hand grenades were thrown at international community buildings.
Police clash with protesters in Belgrade
Enlarge Image
One exploded at a UN court building while the other failed to go off outside offices expected to house the new EU mission.
In Belgrade, demonstrators threw stones and broke windows at the US embassy as riot police tried to fend off a crowd of around 1,000 people.
The protesters, described as gangs of youths, also attacked a McDonald's restaurant, the Serbian government building and the embassy of Slovenia which currently holds the EU presidency.
Several Serbian ministers had travelled to Kosovo to show their support for the ethnic Serbian minority.
Kosovo's 10 Serbian MPs boycotted the assembly session in protest at the declaration.
Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica blamed the US which he said was "ready to violate the international order for its own military interests".
"Today, this policy of force thinks that it has triumphed by establishing a false state," Mr Kostunica said.
Search for equality
The declaration was approved with a show of hands. No-one opposed it. KOSOVO PROFILE
Population about two million
Majority ethnic Albanian; 10% Serb
Under UN control since Nato drove out Serb forces in 1999
2,000-strong EU staff to take over from UN after independence
Nato to stay to provide security
In pictures: Celebrations
East-West split over Kosovo
In quotes: World reaction
"We have waited for this day for a very long time," Mr Thaci told parliament before reading the text, paying tribute to those who had died on the road to independence.
From today, he said, Kosovo was "proud, independent and free".
"The independence of Kosovo marks the end of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia," the prime minister said.
He said Kosovo would be built in accordance with the UN plan drawn up by former Finnish President, Martti Ahtisaari.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Unfortunately today Kosovo and Serbia are to become two dispensable chess-pieces of EU/NATO and Russia
Mat, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Send us your commentsThe international military and civilian presence - also envisaged by the Ahtisaari plan - was welcome, the PM said.
There should be no fear of discrimination in new Kosovo, he said, vowing to eradicate any such practices.
The declaration was signed by all the MPs present.
Russian protest
The UN Security Council went into emergency session on Sunday evening after Russia called for the United Nations to declare the Kosovo declaration illegal.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on all sides to keep to their commitments and refrain from violence.
Legal furore over recognition
Analysis: Anxious Balkans
Full text: Kosovo declaration
Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters that the resolution allowing the UN to administer Kosovo since 1999 was still in force so there could be no legal basis for any change in status.
But seven Western states said the UN Security Council could not agree on Kosovo's future and all attempt to reach a negotiated outcome had been exhausted.
"We regret that the Security Council cannot agree on the way forward, but this impasse has been clear for many months," Belgium's UN ambassador Johan Verbeke said.
He gave the statement on behalf of Belgium, France, Italy, the UK, Croatia, Germany, and the United States.
Limitations of independence
The declaration approved by Kosovo's parliament contains limitations on Kosovan independence as outlined in Mr Ahtisaari's plan.
Kosovo, or part of it, cannot join any other country. It will be supervised by an international presence. Its armed forces will be limited and it will make strong provisions for Serb minority protection.
Recognition by a number of EU states, including the UK and other major countries, will come on Monday after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, says the BBC's Paul Reynolds.
The US is also expected to announce its recognition on Monday.
Three EU states - Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia - have told other EU governments that they will not recognise Kosovo, says our correspondent.
Russia's foreign ministry has indicated that Western recognition of an independent Kosovo could have implications for the Georgian breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Show distribution of Albanians inside Kosovo
(上圖標示阿爾巴尼亞裔人與少數塞爾維亞裔人的分部情況)
上圖依序為: 科索沃地理位置圖、總統 Fatmir Sejdiu 、總理 Hashim Thaci。
**科索沃: 人口約兩百三十萬人(尚無正式統計)，90% 是阿爾巴尼亞人(回教徒)，少部份是斯拉夫人(基督徒)。產業仍以農業、礦業為主，工業尚待發展，近年歷經內戰、宗教衝突、種族衝突，百廢待興，為歐洲最貧困地區之一。聯合國、歐盟等組織目前派駐有約2000人員在科索沃，協助其維持司法運作及自立的準備工作，獨立後料將受聯合國等西方國家在軍事安全、財政、經濟上的大力支持(尤其是德國與義大利)，以為持維其生存與發展。
**國際上誰贊成其獨立? 誰反對其獨立?
大部份西方國家贊成科索沃獨立，如美國和大部份歐盟國家，因為這樣等於加強了西方國家的勢力範圍，但歐盟中的西班牙、塞普路斯則因內部分離主義問題而對科索沃獨立持保留態度，反對科索沃獨立最力的有俄羅斯和塞爾維亞政府。中共有西藏、台灣問題、新疆分離主義問題，想是反對科索沃獨立的。
**西方國家的終極目標是使科索沃成為歐盟及北約的一員。
** 我們可以想想台灣處境與科索沃處境的異同……。
以下三則BBC 新聞供大家參考!
**科索沃宣布獨立 但塞爾維亞稱其非法
哈奇：科索沃將是所有公民的家園
科索沃議會17日舉行特別會議，通過了科索沃獨立宣言。 科索沃議會議長克拉斯尼奇在宣言通過后說，科索沃是一個“獨立、主權和民主國家”。
盡管受到貝爾格萊德政府及其盟友俄國的反對，科索沃總理哈辛﹒塔奇向議會提交了獨立宣言，議會全票表決通過。
塞爾維亞總理科什圖尼察譴責科索沃宣布擺脫塞爾維亞獨立，并稱科索沃是一個虛假的國家。
早些時候，塔奇要求在首府普里什蒂納召開一次議會緊急會議，討論獨立宣言和新的國家標志。
塔奇說，"我們正處于最重要的歷史時刻。現在該作出決定讓我們的國家成為一個自由和獨立的國家。"
據認為，許多西方國家很可能會承認科索沃獨立，但塞爾維亞和俄國都表示堅決反對，并稱其非法。俄羅斯要求聯合國安理會立即召開緊急會議。
來自紐約的報道說，安理會即將召開緊急會議。
**"不惜一戰"
塞爾維亞政府部長目前正在往來于科索沃的不同地區，向當地占人口少數的塞族居民表示支持。
星期天塞爾維亞的報紙駁斥了科索沃的獨立舉動，并說塞爾維亞不惜一戰也不會輕易放棄科索沃。
不過， 在科索沃的BBC記者們表示，當地的塞爾維亞裔、以及阿爾巴尼亞裔民眾之間，爆發潛在沖突的危機仍然非常巨大。
**歡慶活動
“獨立派對”已經在普裡什蒂納開始
就在科索沃正式宣布獨立前夜，數以萬計科索沃民眾已涌向街頭，提前開始歡慶活動。
科索沃總理哈奇早間已經公開暗示，星期日(2月17日) 將會是一個"重要的日子"。
他說，科索沃人民將夙愿以償。
在科索沃首都普里什蒂納，阿爾巴尼亞族民眾周六傍晚已經開始在市中心集會。
人群點放煙花爆竹，同時揮舞著紅黑兩色的阿爾巴尼亞國旗。好多人開車進入市中心，并且不停地鳴笛、按喇叭以示慶祝。
**歐盟協助
還有很多人在建筑物牆壁上張貼海報，感謝美國、英國同歐盟，支持科索沃獨立。
歐盟通過向即將宣布獨立的科索沃派遣民警部隊和司法人員，協助當地維持法紀。
這個為數2000人的使團將在從下周起陸續進駐。德國和意大利將是使團的主力，歐盟各國除馬耳他外也將參與派員。
派出民警和司法人員的還將包括美國、土耳其和克羅地亞等非歐盟成員國。
**國際法爭議
阿爾巴尼亞裔以塗鴉“表明心跡”
反對科索沃獨立的俄羅斯和塞爾維亞政府都指出，聯合國安理會1244號決議沒有直接授權允許科索沃獨立，因此這種作法必然是不合國際法的。
而以美國、英國和多數歐盟國家為首的支持科索沃獨立的國家則認為，最終允許科索沃獨立符合安理會1244號決議的精神。
自從塞爾維亞軍隊在1999年北約狂轟濫炸下被迫撤出以來，科索沃一直由依照1244號決議由聯合國托管。
聯合國制定了科索沃獨立的計划，但也設下了一定條件。
這包括科索沃得接受國際人員監察、為少數的塞爾維亞人提供強力保障，還有承諾推展多種族民主。
此外，科索沃或其任何部分都不可以加入別的國家。
科索沃官員在國會、民眾在街上慶祝獨立的景象!
Regions and territories: Kosovo
Kosovo, an impoverished territory with a population of mainly ethnic Albanians, unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.
It has been the backdrop to a centuries-old and often-strained relationship between its Serb and ethnic Albanian inhabitants.
The province has been administered by the UN, having endured a conflict in the late 1990s which was fuelled by ethnic division and repression. Reconciliation between the majority ethnic Albanians, most of whom support independence, and the Serb minority remains elusive.
OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | MEDIA
The landlocked region is one of Europe's poorest, with more than half of its people living in poverty. Although it possesses rich mineral resources, agriculture is the main economic activity.
Kosovo's economy revolves around agriculture
Ethnic Albanians number about 2 million - about 90% of the population. Some 100,000 Serbs remain following a post-war exodus of non-Albanians. The Serbian minority live in separate areas watched over by Nato peacekeepers. International diplomats have voiced concern over slow progress on their rights.
History
Slavic and Albanian peoples have co-existed in Kosovo since the eighth century. The region was the centre of the Serbian empire until the mid-14th century, and Serbians regard Kosovo as the birthplace of their state.
Over the centuries, as the ethnic balance shifted in favour of Albanians, Kosovo came to represent a Serbian golden age, embodied in epic poetry.
Serbia's defeat at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 ushered in centuries of rule under the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Serbia regained control of Kosovo in 1913, and the province was incorporated into the Yugoslav federation.
Path to autonomy
Serbs and ethnic Albanians vied for control in the region throughout the 20th century. In the 1960s the suppression of Albanian national identity in Kosovo gave way to a more tolerant line from Belgrade. Ethnic Albanians gained a foothold in the Kosovan, and Yugoslav, administrations.
Divided town: Mitrovica has been a flashpoint for inter-ethnic tensions
The 1974 Yugoslav constitution laid down Kosovo's status as an autonomous province, and pressure for independence mounted in the 1980s after the death of Yugoslav President Tito.
But resentment over Kosovan influence within the Yugoslav federation was harnessed by the future leader, Slobodan Milosevic. On becoming president in 1989 he proceeded to strip Kosovo of its autonomy.
A passive resistance movement in the 1990s failed to secure independence or to restore autonomy, although ethnic Albanian leaders declared unilateral independence in 1991.
In the mid-1990s an ethnic Albanian guerrilla movement, the Kosovo Liberation Army, stepped up its attacks on Serb targets. The attacks precipitated a major, and brutal, Yugoslav military crackdown.
War
Slobodan Milosevic's rejection of an internationally-brokered deal to end the crisis, and the persecution of Kosovo Albanians, led to the start of Nato air strikes against targets in Kosovo and Serbia in March 1999.
Meanwhile, a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Kosovo Albanians was initiated by Serbian forces. Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled to Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro. Thousands of people died in the conflict.
Serbian forces were driven out in the summer of 1999 and the UN took over the administration of the province.
FACTS
OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | MEDIA
Status: Break-away province of Serbia, UN-administered (從塞爾維亞分離出來的一省，由聫合國托管)
Population: 1.8 million-2.4 million (estimate) (人口估計)
Capital: Pristina(首都)
Major languages: Albanian, Serbian(語言)
Major religions: Islam, Christianity (宗教信仰-回教徒、基督徒)
Natural resources: Coal, lead, zinc, chromium, silver(主要礦產)
LEADERS
OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | MEDIA
President: Fatmir Sejdiu (總統)
Fatmir Sejdiu was elected by parliament in February 2006. The leader of Kosovo's biggest party, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), he was the sole candidate.
Fatmir Sejdiu supports independence from Serbia
He was a close ally of the former president, writer-turned-politician Ibrahim Rugova, who died of cancer just days before UN-mediated talks on Kosovo's future status began in February 2006.
Ibrahim Rugova was nicknamed the "Gandhi of the Balkans". He led an ethnic Albanian campaign of passive resistance against Serb rule in the 1990s. He was twice elected president in unofficial elections, and won official presidential elections in 2002.
Like his predecessor, President Sejdiu supports independence for Kosovo.
He was born near the town of Podujevo in northern Kosovo. He studied law in France (總統早期留學法國研習法律) and the US and speaks both English and French.
Prime minister: Hashim Thaci (總理，在學生時就是激進學運份子，後來去當地下游擊隊，拿槍桿子搞革命，並長期成功逃過政府當局的追捕，現在是溫和派的總理!)
Hashim Thaci is a veteran of the ethnic Albanians' drive to break away from Serbia.
The former guerrilla is now regarded as a moderate politician
He began agitating for the Kosovo Albanian cause while still in his teens, and first came to prominence as the political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), the guerrilla group that took up arms against Serb forces in the late 1990s.
He became known outside Kosovo when he formed part of the Kosovo Albanian negotiating team at internationally-sponsored peace talks at Rambouillet, France, early in 1999.
He made such a powerful impression at the talks that he succeeded in sidelining veteran Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova - who was more in favour of passive resistance to Serbia - and was appointed leader of the Kosovo Albanian negotiating team.
After the talks broke down and NATO launched its air campaign against Serbia that resulted in Kosovo becoming a UN protectorate, Mr Rugova reasserted his authority within the province and officially became president in 2002.
Meanwhile, Mr Thaci underwent a gradual process of transformation from fiery left-wing guerrilla to respectable politician. His Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) emerged out of the KLA and finally won an election in November 2007.
Some analysts believe that the years spent by Mr Thaci as prime minister-in-waiting allowed him to hone his political skills and made him into one of the province's most moderate leaders.
On being elected prime minister, he made an attempt to reach out to Kosovo's dwindling Serbian minority by switching to speaking Serbian as he called on the Serbs to consider Kosovo their home.
Hasim Thaci was born in 1968 in the Drenica region, a stronghold of the ethnic Albanian revolt against Serbia.
He was a student activist in 1989-91, and later went underground to join the KLA, which was formed in 1993. It was at that time that he acquired the nom de guerre of "the Snake" on account of his success in evading capture.
He is married, with one son.
MEDIA
OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | MEDIA
After 45 years of communism and 10 years of repressive rule from Belgrade, ethnic Albanian journalists in Kosovo returned to work in June 1999.
A Temporary Media Commission, set up by the UN, has set out a code of conduct for journalists. The TMC aims to prevent incitement to hatred in the media.
The public broadcaster, RTK, was set up as an editorially-independent service.
International organisations run support programmes for independent media in the province. UN-supervised Blue Sky Radio aims to provide a multi-ethnic audience with impartial news.
Kosovo MPs proclaim independence (科索沃國會正式通過獨立宣言!)
Albanian and American flags have been on prominent display (看到這麼多美國國旗出現在街上慶祝，就可知道美國在科索沃獨立上的"貢獻"了!!)
**Declaration
Kosovo's parliament has unanimously endorsed a declaration of independence from Serbia, in a historic session.
Celebrations went on into the night after Prime Minister Hashim Thaci promised a democracy that respected the rights of all ethnic communities.
Serbia's PM denounced the US for helping create a "false state".
A split later emerged at the Security Council, when Russia said there was no basis for changing a 1999 resolution which handed Kosovo to the UN.
Seven Western countries said it was quite clear the situation had moved on.
See a map of Kosovo's ethnic breakdown
Tens of thousands of people had thronged the streets of Kosovo's capital, Pristina, since the morning.
We have waited for this day for a very long time... from today, we are proud, independent and free
Hashim Thaci
Kosovo Prime Minister
Kosovo's 'dream come true'
Mark Mardell's Euroblog
Serb and Albanian views
When news came of the declaration in parliament, the centre of the city erupted with fireworks, firecrackers and celebratory gunfire.
Crowds surrounded an independence monument which was unveiled during the evening and signed by Mr Thaci and Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu.
Ethnic Albanians staged noisy celebrations in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, and in Brussels, outside the headquarters of Nato and the European Union.
Hand grenades
The first sign of trouble in Kosovo came in the ethnic Serbian area of the flashpoint town of Mitrovica, where two hand grenades were thrown at international community buildings.
Police clash with protesters in Belgrade
Enlarge Image
One exploded at a UN court building while the other failed to go off outside offices expected to house the new EU mission.
In Belgrade, demonstrators threw stones and broke windows at the US embassy as riot police tried to fend off a crowd of around 1,000 people.
The protesters, described as gangs of youths, also attacked a McDonald's restaurant, the Serbian government building and the embassy of Slovenia which currently holds the EU presidency.
Several Serbian ministers had travelled to Kosovo to show their support for the ethnic Serbian minority.
Kosovo's 10 Serbian MPs boycotted the assembly session in protest at the declaration.
Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica blamed the US which he said was "ready to violate the international order for its own military interests".
"Today, this policy of force thinks that it has triumphed by establishing a false state," Mr Kostunica said.
Search for equality
The declaration was approved with a show of hands. No-one opposed it. KOSOVO PROFILE
Population about two million
Majority ethnic Albanian; 10% Serb
Under UN control since Nato drove out Serb forces in 1999
2,000-strong EU staff to take over from UN after independence
Nato to stay to provide security
In pictures: Celebrations
East-West split over Kosovo
In quotes: World reaction
"We have waited for this day for a very long time," Mr Thaci told parliament before reading the text, paying tribute to those who had died on the road to independence.
From today, he said, Kosovo was "proud, independent and free".
"The independence of Kosovo marks the end of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia," the prime minister said.
He said Kosovo would be built in accordance with the UN plan drawn up by former Finnish President, Martti Ahtisaari.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Unfortunately today Kosovo and Serbia are to become two dispensable chess-pieces of EU/NATO and Russia
Mat, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Send us your commentsThe international military and civilian presence - also envisaged by the Ahtisaari plan - was welcome, the PM said.
There should be no fear of discrimination in new Kosovo, he said, vowing to eradicate any such practices.
The declaration was signed by all the MPs present.
Russian protest
The UN Security Council went into emergency session on Sunday evening after Russia called for the United Nations to declare the Kosovo declaration illegal.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on all sides to keep to their commitments and refrain from violence.
Legal furore over recognition
Analysis: Anxious Balkans
Full text: Kosovo declaration
Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters that the resolution allowing the UN to administer Kosovo since 1999 was still in force so there could be no legal basis for any change in status.
But seven Western states said the UN Security Council could not agree on Kosovo's future and all attempt to reach a negotiated outcome had been exhausted.
"We regret that the Security Council cannot agree on the way forward, but this impasse has been clear for many months," Belgium's UN ambassador Johan Verbeke said.
He gave the statement on behalf of Belgium, France, Italy, the UK, Croatia, Germany, and the United States.
Limitations of independence
The declaration approved by Kosovo's parliament contains limitations on Kosovan independence as outlined in Mr Ahtisaari's plan.
Kosovo, or part of it, cannot join any other country. It will be supervised by an international presence. Its armed forces will be limited and it will make strong provisions for Serb minority protection.
Recognition by a number of EU states, including the UK and other major countries, will come on Monday after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, says the BBC's Paul Reynolds.
The US is also expected to announce its recognition on Monday.
Three EU states - Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia - have told other EU governments that they will not recognise Kosovo, says our correspondent.
Russia's foreign ministry has indicated that Western recognition of an independent Kosovo could have implications for the Georgian breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Show distribution of Albanians inside Kosovo
(上圖標示阿爾巴尼亞裔人與少數塞爾維亞裔人的分部情況)
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