Last night more then 150,000 rioters turned out to protest Western support for Kosovo's independence in Belgrade, Serbia. (What exactly were the Serbs protesting? The bid made by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority to create their own state out of what Serbs consider the ancient heartland of their culture.) A group on angry Serbs broke into the US Embassy and set it ablaze as other rioters ran wild through the streets of Belgrade carrying sign that read "stop American Terror". Rioters destroyed a McDonald's, looted stores, fought with police and burned American flags in a display of anger thats raising in Serbia
over the secession of what has been its southernmost province.
The violence last night came after violence earlier in the week that Serbian officials wrote off as "insignificant." During a mass rally earlier yesterday Kostunica attacked the U.S. and others for supporting Kosovo's independence. "Is there any other nation on
Earth from whom (the great powers) are demanding that they give up their identity, to give up our brothers in Kosovo?" he told the crowd.
Once the Embassy fire was put of a charred body was found. An Embassy spokeswomen said that all the Embassy staff was accounted for so it must have been a rioter.
Of course the White House strongly criticized the violence in Belgrade and called the rioters "thugs." The spokesman for the State Department said they would hold Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica
and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic responsible for any further damage.
But can we really blame the Serbs? They are trying to protect something that is important to them and they don't have the same luxuries that we do in America. In America if we don't like a bill thats going to be pasted(this is just one example), we can vote against it or petition it. Over there they don't have the luxury. They have to deal with a corrupt government. If they want something done they have to riot and still that doesn't always work. Am I saying what they didn't was right? No, but I think we should stop and think about what motived them to do what they did and look at what options they had before we criticize them.
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This is a link to a site with related information.
http://politicalkudzu.com/