Long-simmering animosity between Serbia and Kosovo has broken into open hostility in northern Kosovo in recent months.
Northern Kosovo, which borders Serbia, has an ethnic Serb majority whereas the country as a whole is around 93% ethnic Albanian. Serbian capital Belgrade does not recognize its neighbor as an independent state.
A key recent tipping point was local elections in the spring that saw ethnic Albanians elected to a number of municipalities in northern Kosovo. The results caused outrage among the ethnic Serb community in the region who had boycotted the votes, saying their demands for more autonomy had not been met.
It's a bit more complex than this. The Kosovo Serb population refused to participate in the elections that were driven by Kosovo's government in Pristina, so only a few of the Kosovar Albanians...
A key recent tipping point was local elections in the spring that saw ethnic Albanians elected to a number of municipalities in northern Kosovo. The results caused outrage among the ethnic Serb community in the region who had boycotted the votes, saying their demands for more autonomy had not been met.
It's a bit more complex than this. The Kosovo Serb population refused to participate in the elections that were driven by Kosovo's government in Pristina, so only a few of the Kosovar Albanians voted in those elections and naturally voted for their own kind, which then got elected as they received the votes, which the Kosovo Serbs are angry about.
It's quite a situation, that I don't think we will really see a fix on until one side demonstrates an actual willingness to compromise. I spent a year over there as a NATO/KFOR peacekeeper and thought the country was beautiful, but we are foolish to think we can resolve issues that run centuries deep. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try, or keep them from starting bloodshed.
How do you even get into being a NATO peacekeeper? Do you have to have prior service in the military of your country? I've just never talked to anyone that has done something like that, sorry if...
How do you even get into being a NATO peacekeeper? Do you have to have prior service in the military of your country?
I've just never talked to anyone that has done something like that, sorry if I'm prying.
I think when people say NATO peacekeeper, they just mean they are/were part of a NATO-country's military that contributed forces. So like it could be regular troops from the US or the Netherlands...
I think when people say NATO peacekeeper, they just mean they are/were part of a NATO-country's military that contributed forces. So like it could be regular troops from the US or the Netherlands or Canada or wherever, that happened to be deployed to and stationed in Kosovo as part of NATO's KFOR mission. When I was in elementary school in the 90s, one of my teachers was a member of the US Army Reserve, and she got called-up and deployed to Kosovo by the federal government. Therefore she was a NATO peacekeeper.
It's basically the same as a UN Peacekeeper. The UN doesn't have its own forces; it just deploys member nations' soldiers that have been volunteered/committed by the respective member nations.
JCPhoenix is correct, I was there as part of the US military mission over there and the US is included as both NATO and KFOR peacekeepers. It was like other deployments viewed from the soldier's...
JCPhoenix is correct, I was there as part of the US military mission over there and the US is included as both NATO and KFOR peacekeepers. It was like other deployments viewed from the soldier's perspective (Iraq, Afghanistan, etc).
It's a bit more complex than this. The Kosovo Serb population refused to participate in the elections that were driven by Kosovo's government in Pristina, so only a few of the Kosovar Albanians voted in those elections and naturally voted for their own kind, which then got elected as they received the votes, which the Kosovo Serbs are angry about.
It's quite a situation, that I don't think we will really see a fix on until one side demonstrates an actual willingness to compromise. I spent a year over there as a NATO/KFOR peacekeeper and thought the country was beautiful, but we are foolish to think we can resolve issues that run centuries deep. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try, or keep them from starting bloodshed.
How do you even get into being a NATO peacekeeper? Do you have to have prior service in the military of your country?
I've just never talked to anyone that has done something like that, sorry if I'm prying.
I think when people say NATO peacekeeper, they just mean they are/were part of a NATO-country's military that contributed forces. So like it could be regular troops from the US or the Netherlands or Canada or wherever, that happened to be deployed to and stationed in Kosovo as part of NATO's KFOR mission. When I was in elementary school in the 90s, one of my teachers was a member of the US Army Reserve, and she got called-up and deployed to Kosovo by the federal government. Therefore she was a NATO peacekeeper.
It's basically the same as a UN Peacekeeper. The UN doesn't have its own forces; it just deploys member nations' soldiers that have been volunteered/committed by the respective member nations.
Ahh ok, that makes a lot more sense than what I was thinking of in my head in terms of how it worked. Thanks for the link and for elaborating!
JCPhoenix is correct, I was there as part of the US military mission over there and the US is included as both NATO and KFOR peacekeepers. It was like other deployments viewed from the soldier's perspective (Iraq, Afghanistan, etc).