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Kosovo Unveils Statue in Honour of Bill Clinton

by albertacowpoke | November 1, 2009 at 11:10 am

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Bill Clinton was a special guest in Kosovo today to attend the unveiling of a 11 foot statue in his honour. Majority Ethnic Albanians see Bill Clinton as a national hero.

Kosovo, a former Province of the former Yugoslavia and later of Serbia was seeking independence from Serbia in the mid 90s. This resulted in a brutal crackdown by Serbia which was trying to protect the minority Serbs in that Province.

Bill Clinton ordered a bombing campaign by NATO on Serbia in 1999. Kosovo erected this statue on a key boulevard that also carries Bill Clinton.s name.

With signs "Kosovo welcomes a hero" with American flags, Albanian and Kosovo flying, thousands of Albanians cheered as they welcomed Bill Clinton.

This was Bill Clinton's first visit to Kosovo since it declared independence on year ago.

PRISTINA, Kosovo (Nov. 1) - Thousands of ethnic Albanians braved low temperatures and a cold wind in Kosovo's capital Pristina to welcome former President Bill Clinton on Sunday as he attended the unveiling of an 11-foot (3.5-meter) statue of himself on a key boulevard that also bears his name. Clinton is celebrated as a hero by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority for launching NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999 that stopped the brutal Serb forces' crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians. This is his first visit to Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia last year. Many waved American, Albanian and Kosovo flags and chanted "USA!" as the former president climbed on top of a podium with his poster in the background reading "Kosovo honors a hero."

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Paschen

at 17:20 on November 1st, 2009

Well, this should boost his ego.

albertacowpoke

at 17:19 on November 1st, 2009

Lol Uwe:)

sara star

at 14:36 on November 2nd, 2009

Some people are wondering why Kosovo chose this particular moment to dedicate a public memorial to a still living, breathing, former American president. After all, such honors are usually paid posthumously.

One good reason is that Kosovo is presently fighting something of a public relations war against Serbia in its bid for independence.

The United States and a number of other western countries have supported Kosovo’s claims to independence, whereas other countries, including China, India and Russia, continue to regard Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia.

albertacowpoke

at 14:44 on November 2nd, 2009

Kosovo (Albanian: Kosova, Kosovë; Serbian: Косово or Косово и Метохија, Kosovo or Kosovo i Metohija[6]) is a disputed territory in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo (Albanian: Republika e Kosovës; Serbian: Република Косово, Republika Kosovo), a self-declared independent state which has de facto control over the territory; the exceptions are some Serb enclaves. Serbia does not recognise the secession of Kosovo and considers it a United Nations-governed entity within its sovereign territory, the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (Serbian: Аутономна Покрајина Косово и Метохија, Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo i Metohija), according to the Constitution of Serbia (2006).