Kosovo on Friday marked the fourth anniversary of its unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia as the defiant Serb minority in the north of the breakaway territory again rejected Pristina's rule. The modest celebration will include a parade by Kosovo Security Force (KSF) units along the main Pristina avenue due to start at 1000 GMT.
President Atifete Jahjaga and prime minister Hashim Thaci will address the crowd from a stage set at the main square, already decorated with Albanian flags rising high above the snow-covered grounds. But the anniversary has already been marred by a two-day referendum earlier this week in which an overwhelming majority of Serbs living in volatile northern Kosovo blatantly rejected ethnic Albanian rule in this area bordering Serbia proper.
Although the vote had no significant impact on the political scene - as the Serbs, like Belgrade itself, have always refused to recognise the independence - the referendum is seen as a blow to efforts by Serbia and the EU to resolve differences over the disputed territory. Despite Serbia's fierce diplomatic struggle against Kosovo's independence, it has been engaged since last March in EU-sponsored talks with Pristina. The positive outcome of the negotiations is one of key conditions for Belgrade's EU membership bid.
Several agreements aimed at improving everyday lives of all Kosovo inhabitants have been reached so far, but major breakthroughs are yet to come. For Pristina, the referendum is another sign that one third of the Kosovo Serb minority refuses to recognise its authority. In total, 120,000 Serbs live in Kosovo, two thirds of them in enclaves surrounded by ethnic Albanian majority, who are more willing to cooperate with Pristina than the Serbs in the north.