Kosovo Marks Independence Day With Little Joy

"How can we celebrate independence when the situation is like this? There is no progress that we can see," Astrit Hajrullahu said.

He and his friend had come out to assist in decorating the Newborn monument, dedicated to Kosovo's independence, which is repainted every year.

Decorations on the city's main square this year were otherwise minimal, however, as Pristina mayor Shpend Ahmeti said the capital had no money to stage a major celebration.

Official celebrations are also humble in scope. Officials planned to lay flowers at the graves of Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo first president, and Adem Jashari, a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army. The parliament was to hold a ceremonial session.

Another dampener on this year's celebrations is the spike in the migration of Kosovars seeking asylum in the EU in the past couple of months. This is snowballing into a major foreign-policy problem, as EU countries are unwilling to take over the burden of looking after unemployed, unhappy Kosovars.

The poverty level in Kosovo is about 30 per cent, with 10.2 per cent living in extreme poverty. Active participation in the workforce is at 40 per cent, with especially high unemployment amongst the young.

"The politicians represent Kosovo as an independent state, with the Kosovo flag and such. But these politicians offer Kosovo citizens very little, with high unemployment and little job security," Shpend Kursani, a policy analyst, said.

Kursani said Kosovo's Western patrons and partners had enabled the political class to "bring the country to where it is today.

"There are two addresses: the corrupt politicians who have been corrupt since the [1990s] war, and the second address to pin blame on are the Western embassies, who have been...