Independence Is Proclaimed By Kosovo

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Emotions Run High as Kosovo Declares Independence

Poor and mostly Muslim but feverishly pro-Western, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on Sunday, ending a long chapter in the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia. U.S. President George Bush hailed the newly independent Kosovo and officially recognized it as a state and a "close friend" on Monday.

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"The past should not be forgotten, but it belongs to the past and should be forgiven," the newspaper Koha Ditore said, referring to the brutalities inflicted on the ethnic Albanian population by Serb forces in the 1990s. Singers invited to perform at a celebratory concert Sunday night had to submit their lyrics to authorities to make sure there were no overly patriotic anthems on their song lists, according to Eliza Hoxha, a pop star in Kosovo.

"They want us to sing about love," Hoxha said, "and I think that's a good thing."

The streets of Pristina were thronged Sunday with crowds carrying the traditional flag of ethnic Albanians, a black eagle on a red background. But the trappings of independence will include a new flag that is not associated with any ethnic group. Ethnic Albanians make up 90 percent of Kosovo's population.

American flags were also plentiful on the streets of Pristina on Sunday, a recognition of the leading role the United States took in the 1999 bombing campaign and in the move toward independence.

President Bush, while expressing support for Kosovo's internationally supervised independence, tried to ease Serb concerns and vowed to help prevent violence in the ethnically torn region.

"On Kosovo, our position is that its status must be resolved in order for the Balkans to be stable," Bush said during a session with reporters on a trip to Tanzania.

Bush avoided a direct answer when asked whether the United States would recognize Kosovo, but he noted his past support for a plan formulated under former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari that calls for supervised independence.

"We are heartened by the fact that the Kosovo government has clearly proclaimed its willingness and its desire to support Serbian rights in Kosovo," he said. "We also believe it's in Serbia's interests to be aligned with Europe, and the Serbian people can know that they have a friend in America."

Kostunica harshly criticized the U.S. role in steering Kosovo toward Sunday's declaration.

"The president of the United States, who is responsible for this violence, as well as his European followers, will be inscripted in the history of Serbia with black letters, but also in the history of international law on which the world's order is based," Kostunica said.

The U.S. Embassy in Belgrade was stoned later Sunday, and grenades exploded in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo.

At a special session of Kosovo's parliament Sunday, 109 legislators supported the declaration of independence through a show of hands. But 11 minority legislators, including Serbs, boycotted the vote.

Shortly after the declaration was announced, crowds along the newly pedestrian Mother Teresa Street erupted with shouts and tears of joy, and the streets crackled with fireworks and occasional gunshots.

"I'm 80 and I've waited all my life for this day," said Nezim Bajrakiari, who traveled to Pristina from his home near the Macedonian border to take part in the celebration. "I can die today."

Dance and drum folk bands, dressed in traditional costumes, snaked through streets adorned with posters of fallen ethnic Albanian fighters. Many of the country's current leaders are former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, a guerrilla force that challenged Serb rule in the 1990s.

"We are a new country now," said Orenc Nimani, 35, pulling out his trumpet for an impromptu concert on a street corner where vendors sold T-shirts celebrating Kosovo as the world's 193rd state. "We are your neighbors now."

Staff writer Peter Baker in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, contributed to this report.