Jaric watches Kosovo from afar

Talking to Marko Jaric, you could feel the intensity. It was after Timberwolves practice Monday, and Jaric still was covered in sweat. But he was filled with frustration.

"This is so upsetting," he said, leaning forward. "It's just so ... upsetting."

The subject: independence for Kosovo. As an ethnic Serb, it's not hard to guess where Jaric stands on the issue.

"First of all, I don't want to get involved too politically in this," Jaric began. "But I'm just thinking that it's very unfair what is happening in my country right now. How powerful Western nations are making decisions on what needs to be done over there."

Jaric grew up believing Kosovo was an historic part of his country. To see his country broken up bothers him.

"It is a very tough situation ...," Jaric said. "Others around the world want independence, too. Catalonia, in Spain. Mongolia, in China. But that won't happen, because those are powerful countries. But just because my country is not economically very strong, it happens. I'm very upset."

Meanwhile, also in Minnesota, more than 200 Kosovars, including some Albanian special guests and a few U.S. soldiers who served in Kosovo, gathered last Sunday to watch satellite TV and celebrate the independence of Kosovo, which is 90 percent ethic Albanian.

Lulzim Axhijaj-Luli is a Kosovar who lives in Minnesota. A graduate of St. Mary's University in Minneapolis, he works in the IT field. He, of course, sees it differently. He sees an Albanian majority mistreated for years, decades, generations. Most recently when Slobodan Milosevic was in power.

"Let me ask you this question: If you think it is wrong, why don't Serbs provide the basic needs for the Albanian people for decades?" Axhijaj-Luli asked. "They oppressed us, took away our freedom and burn our houses. I happened to be a professional soccer player also. We had no places where to express our gifted skill, because Serbs would not let us."

Jaric sees a part of his country wrongly taken away. Axhijaj-Luli sees a chance, after hundreds of years, for self-government.

Jaric says he sees a Serbian government that is more open and more fair in the years since Milosevic lost power. Axhijaj-Luli sees a Serbia historically unwilling to change until it has to.

"Before you could say we had Milosevic, we didn't have a good government," Jaric said. "What Milosevic did to them? He was mad; what he did was wrong. That is why Milosevic is not anymore our president and why we got bombed because of that. What he did should not have happened.

"Now we have a democratic government -- good people leading the country. And they are opening Serbia to the world, to Europe, to the United States. And the American government decides to [recognize Kosovo]. It's really unfair."

On the other side of the fence are ethnic Albanians who feel no true change will come until Kosovo is allowed to govern itself.

Intractable positions, strong opinions. One man talks to his family back home and grows more frustrated by the day. Another sees a chance at self-determination.

"I am very patriotic, and I am very angry," Jaric said. "I'm angry with what's happening over there. I don't think this is the right way to do it.

"And I don't think right now, with what's going on with Serbians attacking the embassy and things like that is right, either. That's stupid, because it shows a bad picture of Serbia to the world. But there is nothing I can do."

And that might be the most frustrating part of all of this for Jaric. "It's tough to be so far away from that," Jaric said. "All my family is there. All I'm saying is that it shouldn't be done this way."