http://calibre.mworld.com/m/m.w?lp=GetStory&id=296074721
Protesters in Sweden rally against Kosovo's independence Released : Saturday, March 01, 2008 1:38 PM STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Hundreds of protesters Saturday gathered in Sweden's three largest cities in peaceful rallies urging the Nordic country not to recognize Kosovo's independence. Demonstrations, staged by The Serbian Youth Organization in Sweden, began in central city squares in Stockholm, Malmo and Goteborg at 12:44 p.m. (1144 GMT), symbolizing U.N. Resolution 1244 which in 1999 formally recognized Serbia's sovereignty while simultaneously placing Kosovo under a U.N. interim administration backed up by NATO-led forces. Police and organizers said around 600 demonstrators, mainly of Serb origin and backed up by many Swedish, Greek and Cypriot sympathizers, had rallied in the capital, while another 600 braved the cold and rain in Goteborg and 500 more in Malmo. Sweden has not yet formally recognized Kosovo, but has said it will join the growing number of states to do so after a parliamentary committee meeting next week. Serbia considers Kosovo its sacred heartland and has rejected Kosovo's declaration of independence. Demonstrators carried Serb and Swedish flags as well as banners calling for the rescue of the U.N. and saying that Kosovo belongs to Serbia. Jeremija Isakovic, a 32-year-old second-generation Serb living in Sweden, said "Kosovo is the cultural and historic cradle for Serbia." "The way things are right now, one side has won everything, while the other has been totally degraded," he said. "There has to be a solution that both parties can sign." During the Stockholm demonstration, police said they stopped and frisked around 20 members of the Swedish Resistance Movement, an organization linked to some neo-Nazi acts, who were on their way to the rally. Police spokeswoman Ann-Charlotte Wejnas said they were equipped with cobblestones, bottles and golf clubs and were "making trouble." One of them was arrested for assault, while another was arrested for resistance. Wejnas added that police had also been forced to remove around 20 demonstrators from the heart of the city after the rally had ended because they had hurled fireworks at cars.
