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February 17, 2000
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(CNN) - CNN Interactive Correspondent Steve Nettleton joined the CNN.com Chat room on Wednesday, February 16, 2000, to discuss the situation in Kosovo. Nettleton recently returned from spending two weeks in Kosovo and has written a reporters notebook documenting his trip.

The chat was part of a series that examined the climate of Kosovo since the bombings in Yugoslavia by NATO forces, and the future prospects for peace.

Nettelton participated in the chat from the CNN.com Chat Studio at CNN Headquarters in Atlanta, GA and CNN provided a typist. The following is an edited transcript of the chat

Chat Moderator: Thank you for joining us today Steve Nettleton and welcome to chat!

Steve Nettleton: Hello everyone

Chat Moderator: You've just returned from Kosovo and the region. What are your impressions of the political situation there?

Steve Nettleton: The political situation is still unresolved. There are very serious ethnic differences that are not going to be solved overnight, perhaps not in a generation. We are seeing more and more separation of the different ethnic groups. The Serbs, fearing revenge attacks and reprisals by ethnic Albanians, have taken to virtual enclaves protected by the NATO-led Kosovo force (KFOR), while the ethnic Albanians are getting angry with what they see as a gradual partitioning of the province, especially in the north, where they believe Serb paramilitaries are operating under the very nose of NATO

Question from Tygress: I haven't been following any international issues and/or affairs. What kind of danger are the peacekeeping soldiers in?

Steve Nettleton: The soldiers are becoming increasingly caught in the middle of new violence in Kosovo. Over the weekend, two French peacekeepers were wounded by sniper fire in the northern city of Kosovska Mitrovica. The French and Russians are particularly at risk, as they are seen as sympathetic to the Serbs. The French and Russians, however, deny such sympathies. In fact, some Albanians I spoke to praised the Russians for their tough, fair approach to quelling violence.

Chat Moderator: You were in the divided Kosovo city of Mitrovica when fighting broke out there between rival Serb and ethnic Albanian factions. Please describe the scene, and tell us what it is like to cover a breaking event like that?

Steve Nettleton: Mitrovica is a special case in Kosovo, as it is one of the few places where large numbers of Serbs and Albanians share the same city. Two bridges, heavily guarded by KFOR, separate the predominantly Serb northern part from the predominantly Albanian southern part and these bridges often become the focal points of violence. When I was there, hundreds of ethnic Albanians gathered on the south side of the bridge, angry with the French peacekeepers that patrol Mitrovica. The night before, seven Albanians had been murdered by Serbs. The Albanians demanded the French do more to protect their people in northern Mitrovica, and when their anger boiled over, they began a push to cross the bridge and press into northern Mitrovica. French troops and Italian police responded with tear gas and percussion grenades and the scene dissolved into chaos. Unfortunately, I was standing at the very mouth of the bridge when this erupted. So I, along with my translator, dashed to the safety of nearby buildings. However, I discovered tear gas has a way of diffusing across a wide area. So our coverage essentially broke down into a dash for a place to breathe. I was amazed at how many young Albanians were willing to run up to the bridge, despite the tear gas and the truncheon-wielding police, and hurl large chunks of concrete at the defending troops. But it reveals the deep resentment they hold for the Serbs and anyone who tries to defend them.

THE PRESENT • Kosovo Journal • Situation Report • Reporter's Notebook • Missed Opportunities • Map: KFOR Troop Deployments • News report archive

Question from Allen_US: What is the employment situation there? Do most people have things to do or they are mainly relying on outside aid?

Steve Nettleton: There are not that many jobs to go around. Many have opened shops and restaurants. Others are hired by international organizations and by KFOR and the UN Mission in Kosovo. But most must find a novel way to make money. Some enterprising residents in Pristina have taken to selling time on their cell phones. They stand at city intersections and offer their cell phone to passing traffic. You pay a fee for five minutes of cell time. Others sell trinkets at markets or along the sidewalk. The international police fear that many people are resorting to crime to survive. There are allegedly car smuggling, narcotics and cigarette-smuggling rings operated by Albanian organized crime groups, as well as individuals seeking a get-rich-quick scheme to solve their financial troubles.

Chat Moderator: You visited the U.S. military compound, Camp Bondsteel, in Kosovo. Please tell us about your trip there.

Steve Nettleton: Camp Bondsteel is an amazing place. I was informed by one soldier that it is the largest forward U.S. camp since the Vietnam War. It is home to more than 3,000 troops, and can provide all their daily needs and recreation. I discovered there was even a Burger King on site. The U.S. officer who took me on a tour of the base escorted me to the flight line, where several Apache attack helicopters sat on the tarmac. It amazed me how close they allowed me to get to these machines. I could stick my fingers inside the missile-launchers hung on its side. The size and depth of Bondsteel suggests that the United States plans to stay in Kosovo for quite some time.

Question from Thomas: Do you think the escalation in Mitrovica is about to continue?

Steve Nettleton: From what both Albanians and Serbs told me in Mitrovica, it doesn't seem likely that ethnic violence is going to decrease. Mitrovica has seen periodic flashes of violence from time to time. Now that NATO troops have come under fire, we may see a more rigorous response by NATO to the violence. But the anger is growing. The Albanians accuse KFOR of tacitly allowing the Serbs to build a paramilitary force in northern Kosovo. One U.S. police officer in Mitrovica told me he knew that there were paramilitary units in the north, but that little had been done to track their movements or disarm them. The French categorically deny any paramilitary presence in the north. The Serbs, meanwhile, feel that Mitrovica is their last stand in Kosovo. They've been pushed out from almost everywhere else in the province. They are no longer willing to pull back. The Ibar River, which cuts Mitrovica in two, provides a convenient border between the two sides, one the Serbs feel they can protect. There is no interest in ethnic reconciliation here. After two Serbs were killed in a rocket attack on a UN bus two weeks ago, one Albanian told me, "I don't approve of that, but I can't say I feel sorry for them." Too much has been done to them for the Albanians to forgive. Mitrovica has become the symbol of divisions in Kosovo and will likely foster more and more violence in the months to come.

Chat Moderator: Do you have any final observations you would like to share with us?

Steve Nettleton: It seemed to me that Kosovo was, on the surface, much better off than I expected. Many homes were being rebuilt. In some neighborhoods, I was hard-pressed to find damage from the Serb crackdown or NATO's bombing campaign. People have winterized their homes, found ways to generate their own electricity and have generally managed to move forward. However, below that external improvement, there lies a serious rift. The anger of the ethnic Albanians has hardened into a grim determination to expel the Serbs and any influence from Belgrade from their lives. Not everyone feels this way. There are those who openly discuss a multi-ethnic Kosovo with Serbs and Albanians sharing power and ruling the province under some future framework. But at the root, I don't think the Albanians overall really want to have the Serbs around anymore. There are factions who will continue to fight and kill to terrorize them into fleeing. As long as NATO tries to protect the minorities in Kosovo, as they must under their mandate, they will find themselves in the middle. The question is, how long will the international community commit itself to protecting a multi-ethnic Kosovo, and how long will the Albanian majority accept what they see as a dividing of Kosovo into ethnic enclaves. The answer to that will determine how much peace and stability the world can expect in Kosovo.

Chat Moderator: Thank you for joining us today!

Steve Nettleton: Thanks. Goodbye.