MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — Kosovo's march toward independence is gathering pace, with the leaders of Kosovo's Albanians — Hashim Thaci and Agim Ceku — threatening to declare unilateral independence any day now. This is something that Serbia will undoubtedly reject, with the backing of Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Much of the world seems to think that Serbia's role in the Balkan wars of the 1990s puts it in the wrong, and that that should be the end of the matter. But Serbia's point of view is not without merit, and many other countries with territorially concentrated ethnic minorities have reason to be anxious about the precedent that might be set if Kosovo's declaration of independence is recognized.
Consider, first, that Kosovo is the historical heart and religious soul of Serbia. Hundreds of Serb Orthodox churches, monasteries and holy sites in Kosovo attest to this.