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CNN Sunday Morning

KFOR Troops Keep Peace in Kosovo

Aired April 15, 2001 - 07:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. renewed a commitment this week to keep U.S. troops in Kosovo. The message was given to Macedonian leaders by Secretary of State Colin Powell. The U.S. troops are part of a NATO peacekeeping force that patrols Kosovo's border with Macedonia as well as inside the province.

CNN's Stephen Frazier and photographer Adam Shumaker has (sic) this look at their work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sergeant Hector Roman is a member of KFOR, the international peacekeeping force deployed in Kosovo. Like many in his unit, he is a police officer at home in Puerto Rico, but he's also a member of the U.S. National Guard. His military police unit was deployed to Kosovo this past summer, where they patrol the streets in this town of 50,000.

SGT. HECTOR ROMAN, KFOR PEACEKEEPER: The separation about the population right here and the population in Puerto Rico is the same. You know, we try to keep everybody together, keeping peace. And I think it's the most important thing, and this is like what I do in my civilian job.

FRAZIER: They refer to these walks as "presence patrols"; well named, because most in this town see them as a sign of peace.

ROMAN: They know that we are here to help them.

FRAZIER: With the help of his translator Lina, Sergeant Roman checks with the store owners. He's essentially conducting a public opinion poll by asking them about the presence of KFOR and the safety of the town.

LINA BEJTA, TRANSLATOR: Long time, no see you, he says. I didn't see you for a long time; where you been?

HECTOR: Well, how long do you want the KFOR to stay out here?

BEJTA: A lot; until the end. And here it's quiet, though; that's how we want (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the KFOR.

HECTOR: We've been working on that. Don't worry about it. FRAZIER: Sergeant Roman says there are relatively few problems in this town. That's because ethnic Albanians make up most of the population. Few Serbians live here now, following the end of fighting, so ethnic conflicts are rare.

BEJTA: I like country music; this is our country music. It's very old.

FRAZIER: Lena Bejta is a native of this town. She now works for the U.S. Army as a translator, but remembers what the area was like before peace.

BEJTA: When the war started we had a gang here; there was no gang. The used to do the raping thing; the used to threaten people, they used to kill people in the front of everybody. But now is different life. Look, everybody is going out, everybody's going and having fun. We didn't have that before.

Now look at people -- they are with handicaps now because they used to beat them until death.

FRAZIER: Ethnic hatreds are still evident, and Sergeant Roman uses his patrols to see how ready these Albanians are for a future peaceful return of Serbians.

ROMAN: How do you think about the idea of the KFOR bring Serbians who came to Kosovo?

BEJTA: Until I am alive (sic) and everybody's alive here, we don't want the Serbians come back.

ROMAN: Sometimes they -- I'm asking what they're going to do when the KFOR -- it's time to move on and they say they're moving with the KFOR members.

FRAZIER: Even with the peace in this town, Sergeant Roman and his soldiers remain aware that here in Kosovo the situation can change at a moment's notice.

ROMAN: We always keep in mind, you know, maybe we're going to be engaged. At this time, it's good, you know; and we are prepared for everything.

FRAZIER: Stephen Frazier, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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