Riots in Kosovo. Albanians attack Greek peacekeepers

[VetLegion]

Originally posted by paiktis22



You're wrong about that. It has huge minerals and before the war a mining business which provided much much richness to Yugoslavia. I thought you would know that.

False. It has mines but they are practically worthless and didn't contribute squat to Yugoslavian richness. Kosovo was a hellhole with GDP/capita at 40% of the Yugoslavian average at it's best days when mines were fully exploited and enormous federal funds were spent on the infrastructure of the region. The funds were designe to take money from more developed parts of the country and invest in the backwards regions. Kosovo was the largest net beneficiary.

[Bereta_Eder]

The crowd dissolved after 100 more Greek peacekeepers came to the aid of the 15 guard. Albanian protestors (although I dounb one can still describe people who threw a grenade as mere protestors) are still there but things are described now as "calm". Fortunately the injuries of the soldier (ypolochagos but I don't know the equivalant grade in english, he might have been the leader of the guard) are minor and he won't have to be transfered to Thessaloniki for attendance. They can take care of him there.

[Bereta_Eder]

Originally posted by VetLegion


False. It has mines but they are practically worthless and didn't contribute squat to Yugoslavian richness. Kosovo was a hellhole with GDP/capita at 40% of the Yugoslavian average at it's best days when mines were fully exploited and enormous federal funds were spent on the infrastructure of the region. The funds were designe to take money from more developed parts of the country and invest in the backwards regions. Kosovo was the largest net beneficiary.

My sources tell me that the mines were profitable and a major work for renovation of the mines had begun.
I'm glad you acknowledge it isn't resource poor BTW.

[VetLegion]

Think of it this way - Kosovo was to Yugoslavia what Greece was to EU. Lots of money spent on trying to bring it up to standard but with dismal results

We're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars here. Communists thought that higher living standard would help alleviate the Albanian problem.

One of the reasons for the breakup of Yugoslavia and Slovenia leaving was that the developed countries were fed up with picking up the bills for mostly failed modernization projects for the poor interior such as Bosnia and Kosovo.

[Bereta_Eder]

I'm not questioning the financial status of Kosovo. I'm saying that it isn't resource poor and that the mines were profitable. Actually the situation in the mines played an important role in the escalation of the conflict.

[Bereta_Eder]

After your edit: maybe you have something wrong again. Croatia is dumbed under "developing country" in the UN chart. Maybe compared to Kosovo it was developed.

Also, another errour you make, all the profits from the Kosovo mines and they were A LOT went straight to the coffers of the central government in Belgrade.

[VetLegion]

It is resource rich in Yugoslavian standards (not very mineral rich country), but I believe it is resource poor in world standards.

I can't remember what is it that they dig down there (or up there from Greece), but you can bet it didn't show much profit. And it certainly didn't make enough for some of the wild conspiracy theories I've read about Albanian conflict having a background of a struggle for resource control. Whatever it is they are excavating I think it is in small quantities and uncompetitive (cheaper to import).

I might be wrong thoug, I am not following the mining scene closely

[Bereta_Eder]

I have some knowledge about the mines. All sides agree that what happened there led to the escalation of the conflicts but it's too long to raport. The profits were certaintly not insignificant and that is by european standards.

[VetLegion]

Quick surfing finds me some sites that talk about immense mineral richness of Kosovo. So I might indeed be wrong.

It baffles me why it would be a money drain if that was the case, and so poor.

[VetLegion]

Prior to the NATO bombing campaign in spring of 1999, the Yugoslav government had attempted to privatise Trepca. In 1998, despite international sanctions, the first phase of a restructuring of the site was undertaken in partnership with Mytileneos Holdings S.A., the Greek metals group. According to one study, Mytileneos signed several contracts with the Serbian agency of foreign trade “for a total of $519 million.” In return, Trepca would receive concentrates for production and modern mining equipment. However, “Any further development was hampered by the precipitation of events and by the collapse of the economic, judicial, and administrative system of Kosovo,” the study found.

Ah, I see the Greek connection

From the world socialist web site (one of the more conspiracy lunatic sites on the net)

[Bereta_Eder]

Originally posted by VetLegion
Quick surfing finds me some sites that talk about immense mineral richness of Kosovo. So I might indeed be wrong.

It baffles me why it would be a money drain if that was the case, and so poor.

I can only offer an educated guess. The money from the mines went directly to the pockets of the central government, not to the region itself.

[VetLegion]

Some quick investigative work

There is over 30 percent lead and zinc in the ore’, said Novak Bjelic, the mine’s beefy director.... We export to France, Switzerland, Greece, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Russia and Belgium.... In the last three years we have mined 2,538,124 tons of lead and zinc crude ore ... and produced 286,502 tons of concentrated lead and zinc and 139,789 tons of pure lead, zinc, cadmium, silver and gold.

Okay. http://www.metalprices.com/#Tables gives me that the price for lead is 900 punds or dollars (can't figure out) for metric ton.

This would mean that yearly earnings (not profits) from the mines are in the about 100 million dollar to 150 million dollar range. Not bad. But not that much for a region of 2 million people. Those mines were and are practically the only industry existing there, and even if spread to the entire population can't lift the standard much.

Compare to Slovenia, also 2 million population and no minerals, but a strong exporter with a GDP of 20 billion dollars or so. Kosovo is at about 2 billion dollars.

The ratio is stunning and while Slovenia shot forward in the last decade and Kosovo sunk, it was not that different back in Yugoslavia.

An overview for Kosovo economy: http://www.grida.no/enrin/htmls/kosovo/SoE/economy.htm

[Bereta_Eder]

Yes not bad. Notice that they were underdevelopped and using very old technology. The contract with the Greek company aimed at modernizing them. So I'd guess their output would increase more, actually maybe dramatically more.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Shi Huangdi
Why are Greeks even allowed in Kosovo with their long standing support of Slobodan Milosevich who massacred Albanians?

Could be cuz, try as they might, they still haven't found evidence that the Serbs massacred any Albanians.

[Dinner]

I've been to this town and this church several times. I know that 3.5 years ago the Albanians claimed the Greeks sided with the Serbs during the civil war and so they hated the Greeks.

This sucks but the Greeks were doing the right thing and didn't deserve to be attacked.