Kosovo was an autonomous region until Serbia's thuggish ruler, Slobodan Milosevic, imposed direct rule in 1989.
"If direct rule had not been introduced one or two things would have happened, " he says.
It is expected, however, that Dr Reid would reintroduce direct rule before the assembly collapsed.
BBC: David Trimble arriving at Stormont for a series of meetings
Still, for younger Kurds, who never experienced direct rule by Baghdad, cutting ties cannot come soon enough.
In July the Caribbean Community said meekly that a new election would be better than direct rule.
After Britain imposed direct rule on Ireland in 1800, the problems of Ireland became the problems of Britain.
Direct rule was imposed on St Maarten in 1992, after a financial scandal.
The move to end 27 years of direct rule, is one of the key parts of the Good Friday Agreement peace accord.
During the 24 years of direct rule from London, Ulster's politicians got used to the luxury of having no prospect of power.
Last autumn, he had imposed direct rule by the central government, primarily to bring order to violence-prone Karachi, the country's commercial centre.
Between them, these two co-ordinated a strategy of non-violent resistance to the direct rule which Mr Milosevic imposed on the province from 1989.
Aubrey Butterfield Junior, Chair of the Providenciales Chamber of Commerce, was one of those who publicly advocated for Britain to introduce direct rule.
In March of this year, direct rule minister David Hanson had been wrestling with a decision about 96 acres at Ballee in Ballymena.
He talked tough this week, promising to cancel the elections and resume direct rule in earnest if either party looked less than committed.
If both houses of the national Parliament ratify direct rule in Bihar, the government will dissolve the state assembly and hold new elections.
She is the fourth direct rule education minister in three-and-a-half years.
BBC: NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | NI education reform 'must happen'
But suddenly Congress decided to vote against direct rule, making ratification impossible in the upper house, where the coalition has barely 35% of the seats.
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has issued a stark warning that he is ready to walk away from the peace process if there is a return to direct rule.
He was speaking after a meeting with Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson in Belfast, as efforts intensified to restart talks following the re-imposition of direct rule at the weekend.
In a statement the Department for Regional Development said the secretary of state has ruled out privatisation under direct rule and this will be up to the devolved administration to decide.
BBC: NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Minister denies water sale plans
It had issued a decree sacking the Bihar state government for its failure to stem the slaughter of low-caste labourers by private armies of landowners, and imposed direct rule from Delhi.
Direct rule has been in place since that date.
BBC: NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Leaders returned in assembly poll
He accused some of the protest organisers of "total bankruptcy of their thoughts" and claimed their real goal was to replace Northern Ireland's devolved Assembly at Stormont with direct rule from Westminster.
Although parades remain the responsibility of direct rule ministers, the Stormont parties have been struggling to design a "new and improved framework" for marching ever since the Hillsborough agreement on justice in February 2010.
On Thursday, the Northern Ireland Executive is due to meet for the first time and will begin to take political responsibility for most of the departments currently dealt with by Northern Ireland Office direct rule ministers.
This old revolutionary slogan was, it seems, a guiding principle for the leaders of Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian majority during the dark years of direct rule from Serbia which followed the suppression of the province's autonomy in 1989.
If the powersharing arrangement collapses in the days after Monday's debate, Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid could return Northern Ireland to direct rule from Westminster and start a review of the workings of the Good Friday Agreement.
If all had gone well, Mr Trimble in turn would have delivered an assurance that he would not again walk out on a power-sharing provincial government or threaten to do so the step that a year ago brought Northern Ireland back under direct rule from London.
MPs, who voted by a majority of more than 300 to approve the bill, were told by Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson that the Good Friday Agreement was the nearest thing to a "perfect settlement", but that reimposing direct rule from London might be the only way to save it.
He is not likely to opt for direct presidential rule again, as some nationalist politicians are now urging.
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