Kosovo became a nation and a state on Sunday following a declaration of independence by its prime minister in the capital city of Pristine, effectively separating itself from Serbia.

At least, that is the intention of its leaders. Whether they will have their freedom and independence will now depend very much on how the world responds.

Watching the event unfold on Sunday, one cannot avoid sharing the relief and joy the majority of Kosovars felt. Here in Indonesia, we inevitably draw parallels with our own proclamation of independence by Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta on that fateful August 17, 1945.

We proclaimed it first, and then we fought tooth and nail to defend it against foreign aggressors. We emerged bloody but victorious more than four years later with formal United Nations recognition.

A closer parallel to Kosovo's situation however would be Timor Leste, which became a new nation in May 2002, three years after the people overwhelmingly voted to run their own state rather than joining Indonesia, which occupied the territory between 1975 and 1999.

Timor Leste today is on the verge of a political collapse following last week's attempted assassination of its leader Jose Ramos Horta, and its economy continues to be propped up by the United Nations, as are some of the administration aspects of the government.

Now, Timor Leste is a problem for its neighbors, particularly Australia and Indonesia, to handle. The dust has settled, and the nostalgia and romanticism of independence have worn out. The world has effectively abandoned East Timor and turned its attention to the next problem. Its neighbors however cannot ignore or abandon the Timorese.

The challenge of starting up a new nation is always daunting. All newly independent countries must go through the process of setting up a bureaucracy and an effective administration. And it has to have a viable economy to sustain itself.

Kosovo is closer to Timor Leste than Indonesia. It's tiny and it does not look like it has a viable economy. It's a landlocked country, making it heavily dependent on its neighbors for some of its trade and transportation.

Pristine still needs to secure the United Nations recognition, which will likely be another long drawn and even bloody battle given stiff oppositions in Belgrade and Moscow. Only then can it start to seriously focus on building the nation.

Indonesia, as a democratic country and one that respects the freedom and independence of people anywhere in the world and their right to self determination, should be among the first to recognize the state of Kosovo.

It should quickly overcome fears the move would be replicated by separatist movements in the country, most particularly in the easternmost province of Papua.

Those who are fearful say Kosovo is setting a precedent for other territories to declare their own independence. Never has the United Nations been confronted with this issue in the past.

As a member of the Security Council, Indonesia should help to ease the passage of international recognition.

We believe each case is different. Looking at the Kosovo case, the people there deserve their independence. The current arrangement is clearly not working. If we treat Papuans the way Serbs had treated Kosovars, murderously, then we will surely lose Papua some day.

For now, let us remind ourselves of the lyric of Bob Dylan's song about the long and bloody struggle for some people to win their freedom: How many deaths will it take till he knows/That too many people have died? ... How many years can some people exist/Before they're allowed to be free?

The answer my friend, is in the hands of the Kosovars and all the freedom-and-peace-loving people around the world.

Let us all give them their chance. Congratulations and good luck.

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