Welcome Kosovo
17 February 2008 12:21 pm by Taylor Marsh
 |
| Kosovo Declares Its Independence From Serbia |
What a story. What pictures.
Today is a day of celebration for me. Though most of the world will neither
notice nor much care, Kosovo is today an independent nation (and you can thank
Bill Clinton for this triumph of American foreign policy). After 60 years
being under the thumb of first Yugoslavia and then Serbia, Kosovo’s Albanian
population is now able to determine their own course, free from the oppressive
rule of their former Serbian overlords. – Jack
Cluth (emphasis added)
Clinton’s statement:
I welcome the historic declaration of Kosova independence issued today in
Pristina. I urge our friends and allies and around the world to join the United
States and European Union countries in promptly recognizing an independent
Kosova.This is a historic step that will allow the people of Kosova to finally live
in their own democratic state. It will allow Kosova and Serbia to finally
put a difficult chapter in their history behind them and to move forward.
Resolving this issue has taken too long and has held both of these proud peoples
back from pursuing a better European and Euro-Atlantic future. It is time
now for all of us to look ahead and to focus on the challenge of building
an independent Kosova and supporting a democratic Serbia in an integrated
Europe.I want to underscore the need to avoid any violence or provocations in the
days and weeks ahead. Kosovars and Serbs have seen too much violence and too
many provocations in the past. It is time to focus on improving the lives
of people living in both countries and the integration of these countries
into the West.In recognizing the independence of Kosova, I want to stress the high importance
that I attach to full protection of the rights of all minorities in Kosova,
especially the Serbs, and to safeguard Serbian cultural and religious heritage
sites in Kosova. The international community must stand firm on these points.I remain concerned about the deterioration of the situation in neighboring
Bosnia and urge the Bush Administration to pay more attention to this issue,
so that it does not once again become a major threat to European stability.I regret that is has taken so long for us to reach this historic juncture
and that the Bush Administration has not always given the issues of Kosova,
Serbia’s democratic future, and the Balkans the attention they deserve.
This has helped contribute to the complicated and risky situation on the ground
in the Balkans that we still face today. I look forward to working with the
democratic leaders in this region and will once again make the full integration
of the Western Balkans into Europe and the Euro-Atlantic community the priority
it should be.
The violence, however, will likely not end.
