kosovo2 Lyrics

President George W. Bush said the United States, which has 1,700 troops in Kosovo's Nato-led force of 16,000, was determined to keep the peace.

''The United States will continue to work with our allies to do the very best we can to make sure there's no violence,'' he said during a visit to Tanzania.

French peacekeepers stepped up security in the flashpoint town of Mitrovica, preparing concrete and razor-wire barriers to keep Serbs and Albanians apart. Small groups of Serbs gathered at the bridge between the Serb north of the town and the Albanian south.

Snow blanketed Kosovo's capital Pristina after a night of early celebration as thousands of Albanians poured into the streets ahead of schedule. Banners proclaimed ''Happy Independence''.

''Today, a new life begins. The past should not be forgotten, but it belongs to the past, and should be forgiven,'' the Kosovo daily Koha Ditore wrote.

''This is the happiest day,'' said Tahir Bajrami, an elderly Kosovo Albanian who flew from New York to join the celebrations. ''We were prisoners, but this marks a new beginning.''

Ten years ago, Serbian forces were fighting an Albanian guerrilla uprising, killing civilians who got in the way.

Determined to end a decade of humiliation from Belgrade under the late autocrat Slobodan Milosevic, the Albanians fought on until the West bombed Serbia into submission in 1999.

Serbian forces withdrew from Kosovo and the United Nations took over.

The EU will deploy 2,000 police, judges and civil administrators over a 4-month transition from the UN.

Serbia says the mission is illegitimate and promised reprisals against the new state and its backers, but kept them secret.

troops - soldiers, especially in large numbers กองทหาร
allies - countries which work together ประเทศพันธมิตร
stepped up - increased เพิ่ม
flashpoint - a place where violence is likely to develop ที่ล่อแหลม (ต่อการเกิดความรุนแรง)
razor-wire barriers - a gate or structure made of very sharp wire that stops people or vehicles from entering an area รั้วลวดหนามที่นำมาใช้กั้นการจราจร ไม่ให้คนผ่านไปมาได้
mark - to show that something is happening เป็นเครืองแสดง
civilians - people who do not belong to the armed forces or the police พลเรือน
humiliation - an unhappy and ashamed feeling ความอัปยศ ความน่าอับอาย
autocrat - someone who has complete power in a country or organisation เผด็จการ
submission - the act of formally accepting that someone has defeated you การยอมจำนน
deploy - to put into position and use การนำ (กำลังเจ้าหน้าที่) ลงประจำท้องที่
illegitimate - not allowed by the rules or laws ฝ่าฝืนกฎหมาย
reprisal - something unpleasant that is order to punish and enemy or opponent because of something bad that they have done to you การแก้แค้น

Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 08:25 AM