Kosovo to declare independence, backed by the West

By Matt Robinson

PRISTINA, Serbia (Reuters) - The last time Kosovo declared independence in 1990 it went unrecognized and ignored. When it splits from Serbia this weekend, it will have the support of the West, which sees no way back.

The breakaway province is poised to cement a secession that its 2 million Albanians believe became irreversible the moment NATO went to war to save them from Serb forces in 1999.

"These will be days of joy and happiness," Kosovo Prime Minister Has him Thaci said on Wednesday, flanked by the commander of NATO troops in Kosovo and the head of the United Nations mission that has run the province since the war.

"This is a decision based on the sacrifice and political will of the citizens," said the former guerrilla commander.

The date for the declaration has not been announced, but political sources say plans are in place for Sunday.

Certain of recognition from the United States and most members of the European Union, Kosovo will become the last state to emerge from the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s.

Backed by Russia, Serbia will reject the move. It will encourage Kosovo's 120,000 remaining Serbs to do the same, worsening a de facto ethnic partition that will weigh on the new state for years to come.

A new flag is being prepared and the Kosovo Philharmonic is primed to perform Beethoven's Ode to Joy to kick off the celebrations. Money has been set aside to import electricity between Feb 15 and 20 to ensure crippling power cuts do not spoil the party.