Published On:Saturday, May 01, 2010

NOELLE NICOLLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

nnicolls@tribunemedia.net

A two man-team from the non-profit organisation, 'Flying for Kosovo', landed in Nassau on Wednesday night to lobby the Bahamian government to recognise their homeland's independence.

Kosovo natives James Berisha and Neil Spahiu, a freelance journalist, are on the tail end of their self-appointed diplomatic tour of the American continents.

"What we have been trying to do is raise awareness that we exist; we are human beings, we want to be accepted as part of the same planet. We would like the people and the government of the Bahamas to recognise our independence," said Mr Berisha.

Kosovo is a self-declared independent state recognised by 66 out of 192 United Nations (UN) Member States, including the United States, Canada, and 22 out of 27 European Union states. It has a population of about 2.2 million.

It declared itself independent of Serbia on February 17, 2008. Serbia was a territory in Yugoslavia prior to its disintegration. Serbia does not recognise the secession of Kosovo. Russia is one of the largest supporters of Serbia.

At this time, the Bahamas does not recognise Kosovo as an independent state, although representatives of several countries in that region have lobbied the government directly and through various diplomatic offices, said Brent Symonette, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"The government of the Bahamas has been approached by numerous countries in the region regarding the sovereignty or independence of Kosovo and matters in the area. We have considered and continue to consider the situation on the ground on both sides and maintain a status of awaiting the outcome of negotiations between Kosovo and its neighbouring countries before committing support to either of the two countries," said Mr Symonette.

He was yet to meet with the non-profit representatives, although they said it was their intention to walk into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and seek an audience with the Minister.

"The issue is very sensitive. There has been quite a lot of international lobbying by both sides and hence our position at the moment," said Mr Symonette.H

The Bahamas is not the only Caribbean country withholding its support. The Dominican Republic is so far the only Caribbean country recognising Kosovo's independence.

"CARICOM is working on it. More and more pressure is being created. There is something moving right now. I am sure in this year more things will happen," said Mr Berisha.

He said the most receptive countries on the trip so far were Paraguay, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, and St Kitts and Nevis.

Founder

Mr Berisha is the founder of Flyer for Kosovo. He took a leave of absence from his job as an airline pilot to fly a four-seat Cessna 174 airplane with Mr Spahiu, fellow Kosovo native, across the Americas.

Over the past year, they visited every country in South America, Central America and North America, except the three countries still on the list: Cuba, the United States and Canada.

Some experts say the Kosovo-Serbia dispute is as riddled with politics, history and tension as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A complex web of geo-politics, global-politics and internal politics has worked against the Kosovo independence movement.

"By being a dark spot on the planet you are basically nonexistent. I don't want to be that nonexistent person. We are missing a lot of stuff like cultural and educational exchange," said Mr Berisha.

"It stops a lot of tourists coming here from Kosovo. People would love to see the Bahamas. The Bahamas is a famous place. If there is not that relationship between the countries you are stopping a lot of people from coming here," he said.

Mr Symonette said there are outstanding issues for the government to resolve. He said the Bahamian government is knowledgeable on the matter and "it is an issue we are still investigating".