Mr. Stainsby clearly does not sympathize with the Albanian majority of Kosovo nor appers to recognize their right to direct their own destiny. He states that the Kosovars were disrupting the running of the autonomous government & thus it was justified for Milosevic to terminate their self-government. This sounds like the same argument used by 19th Europeans to justify colonialsim in Africa & elsewhere: "the natives are degenerated, too stupid to know what's good for them, and that is why we, the enlightened Whites, must come to their rescue"!. Again, Mr.Stainsby clearly does not understand the effects of colonialism on the subject people: the Albanians of Kosovo, just like the Arabs of Palestine, or the inhabitants of the American 13 colonies; became radicalized ONLY after their interests were neglected or actively opposed by the ruling foreign powers. Mr. Stainsby also fails to notice that radical movements, such as the KLA, can only prosper with the supoport of a large portion of the population. I am convinced that the average Albanian Kosovar had never thought about independence, or harbored any deep animosities against their Roma or Serb neighbors, until Milosevic began to enact measures that had a direct effect on the quality of life of the people. Again, most average Albanian citizens were not concerned by the initial nationalist bombastics emanating from Belgrade until words began to be transformed into action and their daily life began to be affected. That, Mr. Stainsby, is the issue: the Albanians lost self-government, and this meant that their schools were not funded, their roads not repaired, Serb staff at hospitals gave better medical treatment to fellow Serbs than to Albanians; loans & credit where given to Serb-owned (and Milosevic-connected) bussiness but not to local Albanians. THAT, Mr.Staiansby, is what colonialists do, and when the natives finally decide that they are fed-up with the situation, they then take action. While it is clear that Serbs and other minorites in Kosovo had been persecuted by the Albanian majority, the fact remains that none of this would have happened if Milosevic and his supporters had not whipped-up Serb nationalistm and followed-up their rhetoric with the continued oppression of the Albanians. Once Kosovo becomes an independent nation, it too should be held accountable for it's actions againts it's own minorities, just like Milosevic & Serb nationalists must be held accountable for alienating their own people and for stirring inter-ethnic hatred inside Serbia.
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