On the 25th of June I wrote about the competition for a flag for Kosovo. In the mean time there has been some progress. The rest of the world doesn't notice that since all international media coverage on Kosovo is about the negotiations between USA, Russia and the EU on its final status. But behind this diplomatic veil the contours of a new country slowly become visible.
Late June the working group on the symbols of Kosovo met to evaluate the submissions for Kosovo’s flag and emblem. 972 Proposals were recieved. The working group decided to delay the opening and screening of the submissions for flag and emblem for a week, to allow for those sent by mail to reach Kosovo (the proposals from the Kosovar diaspora). On the anthem, it was decided that there would first be a competition on the music and possibly one on lyrics at a later stage.
The music for the anthem seems to be ready. The rumour goes that it has been decided that the anthem will not have any lyrics. They could not find away around what language to use: Albanian or Serbian. So the Kosovar anthem seems to become an anthem that you can only humm. Like the first verse of the German one.
Since a few weeks the draft law on the use of state symbols circulates here. Since it is status related (only a country can have such a law) it waits at the parliamentary secretariat to be approved when the status is settled (read: after Kosovo has declared its independence). It is no secret anymore that this will happen soon. Some political analyst expect it even before Christmas.
The plot thickens.
1 comment:
Hey Norbert,
I just read the election results on the Volkskrant-site. They stated only 45% of the population took a vote and they blamed a general sense of fatigue with the population as a factor for the lack of interest. I can imagine it must be hard on you and your team if this lack of interest is generaly spread! Let's hope the independence talks will add new momentum to the nation building and decentarlisation process.
In the meantime, keep on having fun! By the way, do you manage to go to a concert once in a while?
I enjoy your sparse reports a lot, just having an acquaintance reporting from that region keeps my interest alive.
Oh, and i definitely don't like that flag design....
Franz
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