Serbian
royals seek help from Serb expatriates in US
Monday, October 02, 2006 2:14 PM
HOBART, Indiana-Serbia's once-exiled crown prince and princess appealed
to expatriate Serbs to provide humanitarian aid to the Balkan nation and
said it was time to end the religious and ethnic extremism that had fueled
the years of fighting between the republics that made up the former Yugoslavia.
The appeal came during a visit to Indiana by Crown Prince Alexander
II and Crown Princess Katherine, who was a keynote speaker at a Serbian
Sisters luncheon in Hobart.
 |
 |
 |
|
| Crown
Prince Alexander II |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
The 62-year-old princess talked about the deep social and
economic crisis in her country stemming from the fighting in the 1990s.
She said that with 650,000 refugees and unemployment at 40 percent, many
Serbs, both young and old, struggle for basic social services.
"These children in refugee camps have not known any other life other
than the life they've lived in a refugee camp," she said.
The royal couple returned to live in Belgrade in 2001 after decades
of exile.
The house of Karadjordjevic reigned in Serbia off and on from the early
1800s until 1941, when King Peter II fled the country ahead of advancing
Nazi forces. Yugoslavia's communist government abolished the monarchy in
1945 and seized the family's palaces, lands and vineyards.
The ouster in 2000 of Slobodan Milosevic cleared the way for the royals'
return. Many Serb royalists have voiced hope that Alexander would play
a key role in pushing the republic along the road to democracy.
About 10,000 people were killed during the Kosovo war, which erupted
in 1998 when ethnic Albanians launched a rebellion against Serbia's rule.
The brutality of Serbia's crackdown against the Kosovo rebels prompted
NATO in 1999 to bomb Serbia for 78 days, forcing Serb troops to pull out
of the province.
Kosovo has been an international protectorate since 1999, and talks
are under way to determine its future status. Even so, the Serbian parliament
on Saturday overwhelmingly approved a new constitution declaring Kosovo
part of Serbia, despite the ongoing negotiations on the province's future.
Alexander addressed the growing democracy in Serbia and urged for a
compromise in the ongoing U.N.-mediated talks on Kosovo's final status
to allow Serb-populated parts of Kosovo, a holy place for the Serbian Orthodox,
to retain close ties to Serbia.
He made clear he wanted an end to extremism in the name of nationality
and religion, and praised Serbia for being a nation of Orthodox Christians,
Roman Catholics, Jews, Muslims and Protestants.
"It's about time we all work together," Alexander, 61, told the luncheon
audience on Sunday. "I'm proud to respect our Muslims."
The prince said he hopes the visit will continue to build a relationship
between Serbia and the United States.
On Sept. 18, the state of Illinois and Serbia entered into a sister
state agreement that will translate into better economic and social cooperation,
he said.
