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To: Merritt who wrote (697)	9/6/1999 3:20:00 PM
From: Merritt	Respond to of 1449

C2: An addendum to my previous note: <<The place is 90% Albanian, and it's been that way for a long time.>> I disagree with that. What's your source for that statistic...and is it today's makeup, or from before our intervention?>> After doing some research of my own, I would tend to agree with you as to the recent make-up of the population of Kosovo...but it's really nebulous as to the whos and whens of the demography. For an insight as to how complicated see: albanian.com The Illyrians/Albanians were the inhabitants of the area from Antiquity, however the Serbs settled into the area around the 6th-7th century, and Kosovo was their primary center of culture up until the Ottomans occupied the territory in the 14th Century. The original Illyrian/Albanian culture was Christian prior to the Ottoman occupation, so an argument could be made - possibly weak<g> - that the previous culture of the Illyrian/Albanians didn't count, because it was so abridged by the occcupation as to be unrecognizable. There have been so many shifts, migrations, and exoduses(sp?) through the whole area, that it's truly difficult, if not impossible to assign any one group precedence, much less endow them with sanctity. (In the 1300's one observer noted of the Albanians, that they would feel their hands sanctified if washed with the blood of the Serbs!) Like I said, these people love to hate. The Serbs are today invoking a "famous" (to them) curse of Stefan Musich that dates back to The Battle of Kosovo of 1389 (and wishes great misfortune on any that fail to fight along-side Prince Lazar), against Milosevic; for what they perceive to be his capitualization to the West re: Kosovo. Nasty people on both sides, IMHO, and I don't believe we belong there.

To: Merritt who wrote (697)	9/6/1999 3:42:00 PM
From: chalu2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1449

The population was 90% Albanian before the latest hostilities. The area may have been once entirely Serbian, but that was in 1389, the date of the Serbo-Turkish war. The Albanians, however, claim that this is their historic homeland as they are descendants of the ancient Illyrians, who are indigenous to the area. The truth is unknown. What is clear is that by 1900, one-third of Kosovo was ethnic Albanian. Because the Albanians were more willing to live on its poor land (many working for Serbs), and had large families, a historical trend was set in place, with Kosovo growing more and more Albanian. By the early 1950's Albanians constituted a majority of the population. Serbs continued leaving, Albanians continued procreating, and by 1990, 90% of the population was Albanian. Serbs tried to reassert power over Kosovo when Tito died. They do not like the Albanians for several reasons: (1) their Moslem faith; (2) their good relations with Serbia's bitter enemy Turkey; (3) their feeling that Kosovo is part of historic Serbia, which was diminished as a result of the 1389 war; (4) the Albanians' desire for independence from the Serbs, a people with whom they have nothing in common. The Serbians intense dislike of their Albanian subjects led to oppressive rule, and atrocities on both sides. But it is clear that the Albanians were fighting for their freedom, while the Serbians were basically fighting to expand their territory and to settle a 600 year old grievance with "Moslem infidels." Anyone who studies the situation with an open mind has to conclude that the Kosovars were fighting for liberty, while Milosevic was powered by ignoble desires. That Clinton intervened in this to create a diversion is absurd but, then again, some people are brainwashed to believe that anything Bill Clinton does must be wrong. I happen to think that most of his actions are despicable; including the disgusting clemency offer to the Puerto Rican terrorists designed to further Hillary's Senate bid. But in Kosovo he did the right thing.