Southland Albanians Hail NATO Airstrikes

Relieved that Western powers have come to the aid of Kosovo, about 100 Albanians and supporters rallied in Westwood on Wednesday to thank NATO for the airstrikes on the Serbian military.

“For 10 years, [the Serbians] have been killing our people,” said an Albanian from Montenegro who spoke on condition of anonymity. “NATO really is doing the right thing. If it weren’t for them, they’d wipe us out completely.”

Some of the estimated 50,000 Albanians in Southern California came here 30 years ago; some fled the fighting in Kosovo only months ago. Many of the demonstrators outside the Federal Building said they have not slept much lately, staying glued to television sets until early morning watching for news from their hometowns. Although many of their families in Kosovo are missing, the demonstrators said that the airstrikes were the best thing that could have happened.

“They were killing us anyway, bombing or no bombing. But this is hurting them a lot,” said Rino Jonay, who was demonstrating with 12 other family members who had escaped. Jonay and his wife, Ermionia, fled from Kosovo six months ago, he said, when Serbian police burned their village to the ground.

The message of the demonstration, however, went beyond gratitude. Waving the Albanian flag, which is red with a double-headed eagle, demonstrators argued that Kosovo needs to be a sovereign nation. That will never happen, they said, unless the United States either commits ground troops or arms Kosovar Albanians.

The conflict in Kosovo began 10 years ago when Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic dissolved the autonomous province of Kosovo, shut down its schools and banned the Albanian language. For the immigrants and refugees who have watched these changes fearfully from thousands of miles away, the airstrikes are long-overdue relief.

“We bless the USA for what it has done for us,” said Naida Dukaj, an Albanian from Montenegro who helped organize the demonstration. “If the U.S. arms the Albanians, they will help them defend their land, their honor, and their families. If they don’t stabilize Kosovo by giving it independence, it will never have peace.”

“Milosevic: Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo,” one sign read. “Three Strikes, You’re Out.”

“Thank you, thank you American troops!” said Ibrahim Kulenovic, a Bosnian refugee who arrived in the United States two years ago. Holding signs with his wife, Kulenovic said that Serbian aggression in Kosovo and Bosnia is one and the same. “Milosevic is guilty in all situations.”