November 1, 2009 Statue of Former President Clinton unveiled in Kosovo capital Play video

(NECN/APTV) - Thousands of ethnic Albanians braved low temperatures and a cold wind in Kosovo's capital Pristina to welcome former US President Bill Clinton on Sunday as he attended the unveiling of an 11-foot (3.5-meter) statue of himself on a key boulevard that also bears his name.

Clinton is celebrated as a hero by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority for launching NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999 that stopped the brutal Serb forces' crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians.

This is his first visit to Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia last year.

Clinton addressed Kosovo's 120-seat assembly, encouraging them to forgive and move on from the violence of the past.

"You're off to an unbelievably good start. I am proud of you. I am grateful that I had a chance to play a small role and now I pray that you will make the most of the opportunity you have created," Clinton told lawmakers. Many waved American, Albanian and Kosovo flags and chanted "USA!" as the former president climbed on top of a podium with his poster in the background reading "Kosovo honors a hero."

Some peeked out of balconies and leaned on window sills to get a better view of Clinton from their apartment blocks.

To thunderous applause Clinton waved to the crowd as the red cover was pulled off from the statue.

The statue is placed on top of a white-tiled base, in the middle of a tiny square, surrounded by communist-era

"I never expected that anywhere, someone would make such a big statue of me, " Clinton said of the gold-sprayed statue weighing a ton (900 kilograms).

The statue portrays Clinton with his left arm raised and holding a portfolio bearing his name and the date when NATO started bombing Yugoslavia, on March 24, 1999.

An estimated 10-thousand ethnic Albanians were killed during the Kosovo crackdown and about 800-thousand were forced out of their homes.

They returned home after NATO-led peacekeepers moved in following 78 days of bombing.