Operation Allied Force

The roots of our identity run deep through its soil. The soil will tell all and all that is needed.

Albanian, Serbian, Roma, Turkish, it doesn’t matter what truth they speak, the soil knows and tells. We will see that soil soon and then the truth will be known but I only hope that our hearts are strong enough, for the soil knows all. The soil knows all…

Oh Sweet Maiden, Please Don’t Leave!

Operation Allied Force Oh Sweet Maiden, Please Don’t Leave!

Nathaniel Grann

We have taken her beauty and made it our own. We will hide it from the world as we have hide ourselves. She has lived on within all of us, yet we never knew that until we lost her. Our Lord, my maiden, my soul and, my country.

14:00:00EST 24031999

Operation Allied Force was the codename for

acts of violence to one another. The Kosovo

the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia during the

Force (KFOR), a NATO led international

Kosovo War. The operation took place between

peacekeeping force, became a necessity in

March 24 and June 20, 1999, during which it is

trying to maintain the peace and deter violence.

believed that 700 military personal were killed, and between 430 – 520 civilians. The end result

February 17, 2008 brought about the Kosovo

was the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from

declaration of Independence and another

Kosovo and the establishment of the United

period of great unrest. The UNMIK slowly

Nations Interim Administration Mission in

emerged as the European Union Rule of Law

Kosovo (UNMIK), marking an end to the

Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) and KFOR slowly

Yugoslav Wars of the 1990’s.

started to diminish their public prescience. It is during this time that the Kosovar civic identity

The war completely halted all production and

came into a full political force as it started to

growth within the region and awoke a radical

appear within media as a unilateral meaning

ethnic tension that is still prevalent within

for all individuals from Kosovo rather than its

modern Kosovo between the Albanian majority

previous meaning of an Albanian living within

and Serbian minority. As periods of great

Kosovo.

unrest plagued Kosovo, this ethnic tension continued to inflame large demonstrations and

Slobodan Milošević: “You know General Clark...we know how to handle problems with these Albanian killers” General Wesley Clark: “Well, how do you do that?”

Slobodan Milošević: “We have done this before.”

General Wesley Clark: “When?”

Slobodan Milošević: “Drenica 1946” General Wesley Clark: “How did you handle it?”

Slobodan Milošević: “We kill them, all of them. It took several years but we kill them all”

It was as if our mother of grace had come to rescue us. It was like a knight in shining armor to rescue the maiden, it was a thing of fairytales. But it wasn’t a fairytale, it was genocide. They stopped it with missiles and power, and because of that I can tell my tale.

10:00:00EST 10061999

We have no quarrel with the people of Yugoslavia who for too long have been isolated in Europe because of the policies of their government.

Our actions are directed against the repressive policy of the Yugoslav leadership. We must stop violence and bring an end to the humanitarian catastrophe now taking place in Kosovo. We have a moral duty to do so.

Javier Solana - NATO Secretary General (‘95-’99)

10:50:00EST 20061999

The change was slight and politically a cor-

Kosovo sovereignty. The West has come under

rect way to address an individual from the

attack for attempting to create a simple fix for

newly formed Republic of Kosovo, yet this

something that has a complex divide, or even

small change helped to fuel a greater hostility

worse accusations of neocolonialism. While

between the Albanian, Serbian and even Roma,

there may be strains of truth within these criti-

Ashkali, and Egyptian (RAE) communities.

cisms, it is more likely that the intention was

Hostility as such was likely not expected, but

commendable, meant to follow under a new

when the historical differences and foundations

beginning for the people of Kosovo, regardless

of their ethnic identities, the conflict between

of ethnic identity, and form a common ground.

these groups begin to make sense.

While the Kosovar civic identity appears to have missed the mark, it has created an interest-

The Kosovar civic identity today has been pro-

ing new identity that grasps between Albanian

pelled into a campaign of acceptance that now

and Serbian roots, which may blossom into

aligns itself to the debate over the legitimacy of

being as the country continues to grow.

O pe rat i o n A lli e d Fo r c e Oh S weet Mai den, P l e a se D on’t L e a ve !

Na t ha n i e l Gr a n n Em p ty S tre tc h P re s s fi rst e di t i on co ve r q u ot e UÇK so lider upon e n t e r i n g Pr i sht i n a n a t ha n i e l g r a n n .com astol dby n a t e @g ma i l .com e mp t y st re t c h.com ©Em p ty S tre tc h, 2 0 1 2