As a Kosovan-Albanian who has lived through the horrors of the Serbian occupation of Kosovo in the '90s, I am very disappointed that Mr. Jurich misled the Gainesville community Friday by suggesting that the U.S., United Kingdom, France, Germany and other western countries are sponsoring terrorism by supporting Kosovo's independence.
The conflict between Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo was not religious just as the conflict between Croats - mostly Christians - and Serbs was not religious. However, the conflict had ethnic and historical character.
The Kosovo Liberation Army was a guerrilla movement similar in nature to the Continental Army in its beginnings. It was not helped militarily or financially by any terrorist organization, and no evidence for such claims exists except from the Serbian propaganda. The movement was mostly financed by the large Kosovar diaspora.
By ethnically cleansing almost one million Albanians from Kosovo, including women, children and elderly, the Serbian government tried to deal with the "Albanian Problem" just as Nazi Germany dealt with Jews. Some people need to be reminded of the reasons why Kosovo wanted and recently gained its independence. I am proud to state the fact that Albanians are one of the most pro-American nations in the world, and a strong ally in its war on terror.
