Kosovo

Kosovo A disputed territory claimed by Serbia and Albania, which both nationalities regard as central to their cultural identity: It was the birthplace of the first independent Serbian state, and the location where Serbia was beaten into submission by the Ottoman Empire in 1389. At the same time, it was the site where the Albanian hero Skaderberg held back the armies of the Ottoman Empire in the fifteenth century. It was occupied by Serbia before World War I, after which the Albanian majority was discriminated against and repressed. Repression of Albanians increased after World War II, when the Serb-dominated secret police became much more effective. Kosovo's prospects improved with the dismissal of the hardline Minister of the Interior, Alexandar-Markko Rankovic, and in 1974 its distinctiveness was recognized in the new constitution, which gave it autonomous status.

Soon after Tito's death, the Albanian population staged a series of public protests against continued discrimination. The region was one of the poorest in the country, while the few spoils that there were usually went to Serbs. This injustice had become all the more glaring owing to shifts in the relative size of the populations, so that the Serbian minority had decreased from around 30 per cent in 1946 to 10 per cent in the late 1980s, as a result of higher Albanian birth rates and Serbian emigration to Serbia. After renewed demonstrations in 1989, the little autonomy that had remained since 1981 was taken away, and it was fully integrated into Serbia. Unofficial elections were held in 1992, which Serbia refused to recognize. These were won by the Democratic League of Kosovo under Rugova. Tensions increased further during the Bosnian Civil War, as Serbs who fled from Croat-and Muslim-controlled areas were resettled in Kosovo, in a blatant attempt to strengthen Kosovo's ties to Serbia. New elections organized by the Albanian population in 1998 led to the acclamation of Rugova as Albanian President, but when he was sworn in by the Albanian parliament, it was dissolved by Serb police. In protest, the ‘Kosovo Liberation Army’ (UČK) took up armed resistance against the Serbs. In return, Serb army and police units moved in. However, they not only fought the UČK, but also carried out programmes of ethnic cleansing, as whole villages were butchered and buried in mass graves. As the situation escalated and reports of human rights violations surfaced, the US sprang into action.

Where the EU with its economic boycotts had been unsuccessful in bringing about change, NATO started a campaign against Serbia after its leader, Milošević, had refused to compromise. Between 24 March and 10 June 1999, a campaign of air strikes was conducted by NATO, and principally the US forces within it. Although there were a number of civilian casualties, targets were military, political (government offices), infrastructural (notably bridges over the Danube), and economic (affecting power supplies). Ultimately, the Serbs agreed to withdraw their forces. Sanctioned by the UN, KFOR was set up. This was composed of British, German, French, Italian, and US forces which each occupied a different sectors of Kosovo. Under these conditions, Albanians were encouraged to set up limited political institutions, and in 2000, the province's first elections at a local level were won by Rugova's party, the moderate Kosovan Democratic League, with an overwhelming majority. Rugova was also President of an interim administration, but this had only limited powers, as KFOR continued to hold the monopoly of power, with a particular mandate to prevent violence between the Albanian majority and the Serb minority in Kosovo.