As Kosovo’s Albanians prepare for victory - full independence - in the status talks taking place between Belgrade and Pristina, the province’s fearful minorities are holding their breath, unsure who to trust and how all this will pan out after six years of waiting. If Belgrade agrees to sever ties with Kosovo, it is likely many will leave, unwilling or too afraid to give the Albanians and the international community the chance to make good on promises of their protection - promises that have been broken time and again.
Last Friday Human Rights Watch released a statement criticizing the KLA for committing human rights abuses against ethnic Serbs, as well as against some ethnic Albanians and Roma, in the western part of Kosovo. Yesterday I gave an interview to the BBC Albanian section about the issue, but I wish to explain a bit more of the position, organizationally and personally.
Today's scenes of desperate refugees pouring out of Kosovo, thousands by the hour, should come as no surprise. These people are not fleeing NATO's bombs. They're fleeing the troops of Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, and his campaign to murder or forcibly expel the ethnic Albanians from their homeland.
As Kosovo’s Albanians prepare for victory - full independence - in the status talks taking place between Belgrade and Pristina, the province’s fearful minorities are holding their breath, unsure who to trust and how all this will pan out after six years of waiting. If Belgrade agrees to sever ties with Kosovo, it is likely many will leave, unwilling or too afraid to give the Albanians and the international community the chance to make good on promises of their protection - promises that have been broken time and again.
Last Friday Human Rights Watch released a statement criticizing the KLA for committing human rights abuses against ethnic Serbs, as well as against some ethnic Albanians and Roma, in the western part of Kosovo. Yesterday I gave an interview to the BBC Albanian section about the issue, but I wish to explain a bit more of the position, organizationally and personally.
Today's scenes of desperate refugees pouring out of Kosovo, thousands by the hour, should come as no surprise. These people are not fleeing NATO's bombs. They're fleeing the troops of Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, and his campaign to murder or forcibly expel the ethnic Albanians from their homeland.