Impatient Kosovo Albanians Press For a Declaration of Independence

But in one scenario, Kosovo's Serbs would respond to a declaration of independence by carving off enclaves to remain part of Serbia. This in turn might cause Kosovo's Albanians to take up arms to keep the territory intact. Minority communities in neighboring countries could find inspiration for breakaway actions of their own.

If the Serbs secede, "there is certainly potential for violence, even beyond Kosovo," said one Western diplomat in Pristina, who declined to be quoted by name because of the sensitivity of ongoing talks. The United States and European Union have urged patience to let the talks run their course.

But patience is wearing thin in the smoke-filled Pristina office of the Kosovo Liberation Army's veterans association. The ethnic Albanian militia officially disbanded after the war, but claims to maintain a network of 25,000 former fighters. If independence does not come soon, some members say, they'll be forced to fight again.

"For eight years we have stood back and given the political process time and space to unfold, but the door is open to a new escalation," said Faik Fazliu, 30, the group's president. "People died for independence and still we are waiting. This country is a room full of gas, and it only takes a spark."

Fazliu said the ex-soldiers' frustration is fueled by poverty and unemployment. Kosovo's languishing economy has emerged as a dominant theme in the independence debate and led to growing frustration with the international presence here.

Despite more than $2.5 billion in foreign aid to Kosovo, unemployment runs as high as 50 percent territory-wide, and many of the best jobs are tied to international organizations whose presence here will not be permanent.

Electricity, a focus of postwar reconstruction efforts, is available less than 12 hours a day in much of the province. In Europe, only Moldova has a higher infant mortality rate.

Judged by the numbers, Kosovo "is on par with some of Africa's poorest countries," a top U.N. development official wrote this summer.

International officials, however, warn that becoming a country is not a panacea.

"Independence is sold as manna from heaven. It isn't. They are setting people up to be disappointed and furious," said Ranjit Nayak, resident representative of the World Bank. "They're all fixated on the goal of independence. That's what they fought for. But you ask what are your plans for after that and they don't have a clue."

Serb leaders say that independence would bring instability, not prosperity. Deeply segregated from the Albanian majority, Serbs fly a different flag (the red-white-and-blue Serbian national banner), spend a different currency (Serbian dinars), speak a different language (Serbian) and take their cues from a different government (Serbia's).

"If independence comes, the Albanians will shoot in the air to celebrate for the next three weeks, but it won't make their lives better," said Milan Ivanovic, who heads Kosovo's Serbian National Council, a political organization allied with Belgrade. As for the prospect of Serbia responding militarily, or local Serbs seceding, he said: "Everything is on the table."