Disputes - international:
as the final status of the Serbian province of Kosovo approaches
resolution through the six-nation contact group, the several
thousand peacekeepers from the UN Interim Administration Mission in
Kosovo (UNMIK) since 1999, continue to keep the peace between
Kosovar Albanians overwhelmingly supporting Kosovo independence and
the Serb minority in Kosovo and Serbian officials in Belgrade, who
oppose independence for the province; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo
oppose demarcation of the boundary with Macedonia based on the 2000
Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement; Serbia and
Montenegro delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and
Herzegovina, but sections with Serbia along the Drina River remain
in dispute
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 100,651 (Croatia), 46,951 (Bosnia and
Herzegovina)
IDPs: 228,000 (mostly ethnic Serbs and Roma who fled Kosovo in 1999)
(2006)
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western
Europe on the Balkan route; economy vulnerable to money laundering
This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007
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@Seychelles
Introduction Seychelles
Background:
A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands
ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. Independence came
in 1976. Socialist rule was brought to a close with a new
constitution and free elections in 1993. President France-Albert
RENE, who had served since 1977, was re-elected in 2001, but stepped
down in 2004. Vice President James MICHEL took over the presidency
and in July 2006 was elected to a new five-year term.
Geography Seychelles
Location:
archipelago in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar