Kosovo Declares Independence as a new territory

        A little over a year ago, a new country in Europe was formed.  On February 17, 2008, the ethnic Albanian government of Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia, thus forming a new country.  However, Serbia refuses to acknowledge Kosovo’s independence.   Kosovo is a small, landlocked territory, which borders Albania and Macedonia.  At 4,200 sq. miles Kosovo is about the size of the state of Connecticut.  Roughly 90% of Kosovo’s 2 million citizens are ethnic Albanians.    As with any new country, there are growing pains involved in developing an emerging nation’s identity.  The situation in Kosovo is no different.  About half of the territory’s people live in poverty.  Kosovo faces several challenges, including: high unemployment, government corruption, and poor infrastructure.  According to human rights groups, Kosovo is a major location for the forced trafficking of women into prostitution.         The United States was Kosovo’s most ardent supporter for independence.  Contrastingly, Russia and Serbia were opposed to Kosovo’s desire to become an independent nation.  Prior to gaining independence, Kosovo was led by the United Nations and NATO from 1999 to 2008.  NATO intervened in governing Kosovo after defeating Serbian military forces.  As a result of an ethnic cleansing initiative against Kosovo Albanians by Serbian forces, 10,000 people were killed and nearly 1 million people became refugees.   “We know Kosovo faces real challenges in creating a functioning state,” said Kosovo’s President Fatmir Sejdiu as quoted in a February 18, 2008 Los Angeles Times article by Tracy Wilkinson.