Albania
Ironic that the Unites States supports Independence for Kosovo and yet not for Puerto Rico
From ABC News, "Joy Anger After Kosovo Claims Independence" :
Ethnic Albanians, who with nearly 2 million people make up 90 percent of Kosovo's population, have struggled for years to achieve independence from what they say is illegitimate Serbian rule.
But Serbians have for centuries considered Kosovo an integral part of their nation, and the government has cracked down on ethnic Albanian separatist movements in the past. Serbian leaders today denounced Kosovo's declaration of independence as a breach of international law.
In the Serbian capital of Belgrade, angry crowds sang patriotic songs and attacked the American embassy with stones, breaking windows and stopping traffic in nearby streets.
The declaration of independence also pits Belgrade against the United States and the European Union, which have long supported Kosovo Albanians' aspirations to self-rule.
In 1999, a U.S.-led NATO bombing campaign halted a Serbian attack on Albanian separatists. Since then, the province has been patrolled by 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers and administered by UN and NATO officials.
independence | Political Autonomy | Albania | Kosovo | NATO | Serbia | United Nations
