Pristina, July 25,
2000
Leaving Kosovo
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Major Kahrs, soon to be civilian Kristian Kahrs getting my diploma for my service in KFOR, the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo.
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My time as an officer in Kosovo is almost over, but I don't think
this is the end of Kosovo and the Balkans for me. I have a strong
feeling I'm going to be back pretty soon.
On Thursday I'm leaving for Skopje taking a plane back to Norway,
and on Friday I'll walk out the gates of the military camp near
Oslo as a civilian. The time in Kosovo has given me a lot, and I
have been fortunate to see how beautiful Kosovo can be. As a
press officer, I've had the ability to see Kosovo in a way a
patrolling soldier would not be able to do. I feel very
privileged about that. I've experienced the good and the bad
sides of the Kosovar society, and I have seen the enormous
challenges in this province. I have spoken to Oliver Ivanovic for
45 minutes, (Ivanovic is the leader of the Serb community in
Mitrovica), I have interacted with local Kosovars, and I have
seen massgraves, one of the reasons for our presence in Kosovo,
One reason that I want to come back to Kosovo is that the
Kosovars will face the challenge of the first democratic
elections in October. The Kosovars (all ethnic groups) do not
have a tradition of solving their differences in a democratic
way, but most Kosovars are enthused about the chance to determine
their own future. Over 1,000.000 Kosovars have registered for the
elections, and observers in the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) believe in a very big turnout for
the elections.
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Many of the Kosovo Serbs are very radicalized and far away from reality. This Serb lady living in an enclave outside Pristina is an example of that. "The Albanians had a very good life under Milosevic. He gave them jobs, housing and food. Just wait a year, and they will cry to get Milosevic back," she said.
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What makes me sad is that much of the Kosovar Serb community has
boycotted the election registration. Only just under 1,000 Serbs
have registered. I believe that the ordinary Serb would take part
in the elections, but they are badly advised by their leaders.
The OSCE tries desperately to talk to the Serb leaders; in their
opinion this is a matter of leadership, and they need to convince
the leaders to tell their people to vote. There are many Serb
refugees outside the borders of Kosovo, and the OSCE has several
teams ready to go into Serbia proper to register Kosovar Serbs
for the elections. However, it is not in the interest of Slobodan
Milosevic and his friends to allow democratic elections. For them
that would mean acknowledging Kosovo's legal status; as far
as they are concerned, we are an uninvited occupation force that
has taken away all their rights.
I've experienced the Serb hatred personally, and I have been
called the worse things. I'm getting used to letters saying
things like: "You Nazi bastard, get the hell out of my
country." The Nazi rhetoric is very strong from the
extremist Serbs, and even if what the Belgrade regime does is
pure fascism, they accuse the rest of the world of being Nazis
with a single goal to destroy the Serb Nation. To some Serbs my
nickname is Vidkun Kahrs. (After Vidkun Quisling, the Nazi
traitor in Norway during WWII). However, I do not believe these
extremists are representative for the ordinary Serb who just want
peace and security.
I'm looking forward to seeing my family again. You must promise
not to tell my mum, but I plan to buy her and my dad a computer
to get them online. My dad had a stroke some years ago, and
I don't think he's going to be able to be an expert surfer, but
I'll do as best as I can with my mum. I promise you; that is
going to be a long term project, but I have to show them the
possibilities of the Internet. I have a feeling I'm going to
spend some years in missions abroad, and then it would be perfect
to talk to my mum via e-mail and cheap phone calls through the
Internet.
Anyway, when I've trained my mum, I'll head back for Kosovo. I've
got a couple of options lined up, but if they fail me, I'll try
to work as a freelance journalist working for Norwegian and
international media. In the seven months I've spent in Kosovo, I
have gathered much knowledge about the region, and I believe
there is a market for me as a freelancer here.
rgds
k
PS: If anybody wish not to receive e-mail updates from me, please
give me a note, and I'll take you out immediately.
--
Major Kristian Kahrs, Internet Coordinator, KFOR Online
KFOR Press and Information Center, Pristina, Kosovo
Phone: +389 91 68 2727 Sat phone: +871 382 060 323
Official KFOR homepage: http://kforonline.com
Private homepage: http://home.sol.no/~kkahrs
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