MONDAY, MAY 3, 1999

War in Kosovo justified

Imagine that you live in a small village, surrounded by your friends and neighbors, the same friends and neighbors that have lived there since your grandparents were born. You may not be of the same ethnicity, but that seemed insignificant.

Now imagine, one night men in dark uniforms and masks burst through your door, with their guns drawn. They force you from your home, the home that your father built as a child with his father. As you are dragged away, the armed men shout obscenities in your face.

They accuse you of being less than human and occupying a land that is historically theirs. They then set fire to your home, as they have set fire to other homes in the neighborhood. Those homes once housed families of the same ethnicity as you are. As you look up in shock to those who are committing these atrocities, you recognize the faces of several of your neighbors beneath their masks. They are of a different ethnicity. You guess that it does matter after all.

When and where could this happen? Perhaps Nazi Germany during World War II? No, it is happening right now in the war-ravaged region of the former Yugoslavia known as Kosovo.

For the last two months, Slobodan Milosevic, the leader of the Serbian government in the former Yugoslavia, has been waging a war against the ethnic Albanians who live in Kosovo. The problem stems from age-old conflicts between two ethnic groups regarding religion and land.

On the religious front, the differences are easy to see. The Serbs, who are of Slavic origin, practice Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The ethnic Albanians, whose roots come more from the Turkish region, practice Islam.

Land, on the other hand, is a slightly more complicated subject. The history of the region is one of petty skirmishes that seem to escalate into great conflicts.

Almost immediately after the Bosnian war was resolved, Milosevic jockeyed himself into the position of being the best choice to lead the re-formed Yugoslavia. He was at least, at the time, the lesser of the evils present.

Less than two years after the dust had settled, Milosevic annexed the region and declared that its status is null and void.

Fast-forward to several years ago, we find Milosevic steadily consolidating his power in the region. This would prove to be the precursor to his current actions within the region.

One should not view this situation as one of pure ethnic hatred. Milosevic is far shrewder than that. In the northern-most region of Kosovo lie mineral deposits that represent a wealth that he would love to possess. This would supplement the petroleum operations that currently fund the Yugoslav economy.

Ultimately, the question is "What do we do now?" This is a question that will need to be decided by each and every one of us. We have to ask ourselves whether this situation is tolerable in the world today.

I believe that we should not stand idly by as thousands of innocent lives are placed in such obvious risk and treated as excess baggage.

This may include the loss of lives on our side, but compared to the loss of life that could be prevented, the cost is justifiable.

Kerry Bromberg is a public relations journalism major.