[ALBSA-Info] Bush Aide Meets Serbian Orthodox Bishop From Kosovo

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

Bush Aide Meets Serbian Orthodox Bishop From Kosovo
  
WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - A moderate Serbian Orthodox bishop from Kosovo 
met a U.S. official at the White House on Monday to discuss events in the 
province, the scene of ethnic cleansing against its Albanian population two 
years ago. 

A U.S. official who asked not to be named said the bishop, Artemije 
Radosavljevic, had met U.S. deputy national security adviser Stephen Hadley. 

"The bishop was here to consult with new members of the administration," said 
the U.S. official. "They discussed the situation in Kosovo and developments 
over the last few months." 

Although theoretically part of Serbia, Kosovo effectively became a U.N. 
protectorate after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization bombed Yugoslavia 
in 1999, forcing the Serb-led Yugoslav army and Serbian security police from 
the province. 

Washington has sought to enlist the bishop in its effort to build a 
multiethnic society in Kosovo following the bombing, which aimed to stop 
ethnic cleansing of Kosovo's Albanians by forces led by former Yugoslav 
president Slobodan Milosevic. 

Fearing retribution by Kosovo Albanians for past Serb persecution, more than 
150,000 Serbs and other non-Albanians fled Kosovo for Serbia after NATO-led 
troops and the United Nations took control of the province in June 1999. 

Bitter hostility continues to rage between Kosovo's Serb minority and 
Albanian majority populations in many parts of the province, with regular 
acts of violence against one community prompting retaliation by the other.