Posted on 10/15/2006 7:13:41 PM PDT by Bokababe
PRISTINA, Serbia-Nicole Kidman began a tour of Kosovo on Saturday as a United Nations goodwill ambassador, pledging to provide a voice for the troubled province.
Kidman arrived in Kosovo's capital, Pristina, after attending the premiere of her movie "Fur" at the inaugural Rome Film Festival. She is to spend two days in Kosovo.
"I'm here ... to learn so that I can help your country at this crucial, crucial time for the future," Kidman said. "To meet people, hear their stories and educate myself, and I suppose be a voice for you if you need it."
Kidman shook hands with Kosovo's top U.N. official, Joachim Ruecker, dozens of local leaders and diplomats attending a welcome reception.
The actress was named goodwill ambassador of the U.N. Development Fund for Women, or UNIFEM, in January 2006, and the tour of Kosovo is her first visit in that role.
Kidman was cheered by onlookers as she walked through the center of town to her hotel.
She is expected to travel on Sunday to the southwestern town of Djakovica, among the hardest hit areas during the 1998-1999 war. Some 1,000 men disappeared from the town in the conflict.
UNIFEM has run several projects in Kosovo assessing the impact of the conflict on women. It funded a recent analysis of the Agricultural Department's budget for Djakovica that concluded the spending did not reflect the needs of female farmers.
Kosovo, which formally remains part of Serbia, has been run by a U.N. mission since mid-1999 when NATO forced Serb forces to halt a crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians.
Kidman visited the province at a sensitive time, with ethnic Albanians and Serbs negotiating the future status of Kosovo. Ethnic Albanians want full independence for the province of 2 million, while Serbia insists Kosovo should remain under its sovereignty.
Somehow I don't think this is the solution to the Kosovo problem.
Wonder if she's taking any pot with her?
Is she visiting any Serb areas?
Is she talking about Serbia?
Good question Andy, is she visiting Serbs?
"Somehow I don't think this is the solution to the Kosovo problem."
You've got that right!
Another question might be will they let her talk to the Serbs?
Who's next as an official for the Useless Nations? Ellen DeGenerate? Oprah? Jane Fonda Herself? Is Marilyn Chambers still around? How about that, that .. woman, that .. Miss Lewinsky!
What a total ninny!!!! Just because one is a Hollyweird celebrity doesn't give one the intelligence/wisdom/expertise/moral authority to inject oneself into a situation of which one knows virtually NOTHING. For example, Kosovo, a province of Serbia, is NOT a "country"!!!!
And UNIFEM sounds like a real feminazi New World Order scheme!!!! The "new UN" (UN Millennium Goals, United Religions, UNIFEM, etc.) is nothing but a nefarious plan to make the NWO a reality in our lifetime. It should be rejected by one and all!!!!
She ought to get the heavy breathing started from that backwards bunch. Her walking around just gives them a goal for R&R.
Again, ethinic Albanians = muslims
This must be the new tax shelter or publicity. These stars don't care one wit about the world except the one centered around them
Maybe Nicole can do it for the Balkans.
Kosovo is a Serb area.
In two days to educate herself? Who is she kidding and I'm sure she'll pulling a Richard Gere.
The use of movie stars is not by accident. They are used to spread the word and to the highest bidder, but the key is their fame and they are carefully chosen for the impact. This is not Nicole Kidman coming on her own, and trying to make a name for herself. There is no question that she has been approached and contracted to be there and as are result her trip will lead to exposure to enhance the bid for Kosovo independence and influence our congress. Reports about her visit will be used to also throw in the "missing 1000 men" misinformation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.