Kosovo Albanians shun Serbia, but not its passport.

Photo (AFP): An ethnic Albanian poses with his former Yugoslav republic passport (R) and his UNMIK (United Nations mission in Kosovo) travel document, 04 September 2007. Kosovo Albanians who normally shun anything do with Serbia are applying in their tens of thousands for the former Yugoslav republic's passports.

BERNICE, Serbia (AFP) — Kosovo Albanians who normally shun anything do with Serbia are applying in their tens of thousands for the former Yugoslav republic's passports. The scramble for the travel documents is continuing unabated even as the international community frets about deadlocked Kosovo status talks, and ethnic Albanians' thinning patience for independence from Serbia.
Thousands of such applications are awaiting processing, as the independence-seeking Albanian majority in the tiny Balkan territory seeks less restricted travel abroad.
Although she admits feeling "bad" about it, 23-year-old Majlinda says she has no option but to apply for a Serbian passport at the same time as wanting Kosovo to become the world's newest state.
"We want independence but we also want their passports. But I have no choice," said the Pristina resident.
Majlinda, who refused to provide her surname, brushed off the possibility of being branded a traitor by ethnic Albanian hardliners.
"If they want us to be patriots, let them provide us with Kosovo passports that make life easier for travelling abroad. If they did so, I wouldn't even think of asking for a Serbian passport," she said defiantly.
Ethnic Albanians have been fraught with travel problems since Kosovo's 1998-1999 war, when Serbian forces expelled hundreds of thousands of them from their homes and destroyed their identity documents.
The province has since been managed by the United Nations mission in Kosovo, which has been given the authority to issue locals passports bearing the mission's "UNMIK" acronym.
More than 40 countries recognise the UNMIK passports, but of neighbouring countries only Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro accept them without restrictions.
For Kosovo Albanians travelling under UNMIK's name, a simple journey abroad can turn into a wrangle of red-tape left over from the communist era.
Those carrying Serbian passports say they find it easier to obtain visas with the dark-blue travel booklets of the country from which they wish to separate.
Ramadan Shala, a 53-year-old maintenance worker from Pristina, travelled to Gracanica, a Serb-populated enclave near the Kosovan capital, to hand over the necessary documents for his son Rifat's passport.
"Rifat got asylum in London where he works now, but he has to submit a passport to the British authorities" in order to claim residency, said Shala.
Rifat left Kosovo for Britain two years ago, travelling with an UNMIK passport. But it expired and he has asked his father to get him a Serbian one, believing it would make it easier for him to settle in Britain.
"Rifat will be fired and expelled if he doesn't get a Serbian passport by the end of this year," a worried-looking Shala said.
Milos Tabakovic, a notary and registrar in the small village of Bernice, near Pristina, said he noticed an increasing number of Kosovo Albanians seeking Serbian passports.
Tabakovic, in charge of collecting applications for documents such as birth certificates and citizenship papers necessary for obtaining passports, said that "people want to solve the problem of unrestrained travel abroad."
"They do it by obtaining a Serbian passport which is valid from five to 10 years and is recognised by more countries than UNMIK travel documents," he said.
After filing documents to the administrative centre in charge of the southern part of Serbia proper in Nis, Tabakovic later receives passports to hand out to the applicants.
"Our administration has received more than 10,000 applications only in July, while we receive around 500 applications a day," said Goran Djurdjevic, an official at Serbia's Interior Ministry office in Nis.
Tabakovic is a small but crucial link in the chain of Serbian administration that has remained in Kosovo, mainly in Serb enclaves. Belgrade still considers Kosovo as a part of its territory and is happy to issue its papers to anyone in Kosovo who wants them.
Despite being the sole official provider of passports to the citizens of Kosovo, the UN administration has so far never tried to put an end to this booming activity.
According to its data, UNMIK has issued some 600,000 passports since 2001, while Serbian authorities say they have issued some 200,000 passports to Kosovo residents in the past eight years.
Kosovo is awaiting a decision on its future status due by the end of this year.
Ethnic Albanians want nothing short of independence, while Belgrade has staunchly been opposing these calls, instead offering the province wide autonomy.