2008 headline after Kosovo declared independence:
SOME KEY MOMENTS
THE BUILD-UP TO CONFLICT
1987: future Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic rallies Kosovo Serbs, a key step in his rise to power in Yuglosalvia; as President he stripped Kosovo of its regional autonomy under the constitution
1990: before Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia declared independence in 1991 it was Albanian Kosovo leaders who were the 1st to declare independence from Yugoslavia. 100,000 ethnic Albanian workers were worked, leading to a general strike. Conflict brewed as a new president (Rugova) was elected for the self-proclaimed republic
1995: The KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) publicly announce their formation, growing out of earlier independence groups. They reacted against the perceived weakness of President Rugova and the absence of any concessions in the 1995 Dayton Accords; they declare their aim to militarily resist Serbian rule in 1997.
ARMED CONFLICT BEGINS: SWIFT, DECISIVE NATO AIRSTRIKES - BUT CIVILIAN AREAS BOMBED
1998, March: Serbia launches a military crackdown on Kosovo rebels, leading to 1000s of ethnic Albanians being forced out of their homes by militias and the Serbian army (still officially the Yugoslav army). Around 2,000 Kosovan civilians + KLA combatants killed.
1998, September: Nato gives President Milosevic an ultimatum: cease the attacks or face retribution
1999, March: a year after the armed conflict began, Nato launches 78 days of airstrikes against Belgrade, terming this a "humanitarian war". 1000s of ethnic Albanian refugees tell horror stories of suffering at the hands of Serb forces/militias.
1999, June: 'President Milosevic agrees to withdraw troops from Kosovo. UN sets up a Kosovo Peace Implementation Force (Kfor) and Nato forces arrive in the province. The KLA agrees to disarm. Serb civilians flee revenge attacks.' (BBC)
The war ended with the Kumanovo Treaty, with Yugoslav and Serb forces agreeing to withdraw from Kosovo to make way for an international presence
After the war, a list was compiled which documented that over 13,500 people were killed or went missing during the two year conflict. The Yugoslav and Serb forces caused the displacement of between 1.2 million to 1.45 million Kosovo Albanians
The NATO bombing campaign has remained controversial. It did not gain the approval of the UN Security Council and it caused at least 488 Yugoslav civilian deaths, including substantial numbers of Kosovar refugees. (Wiki)
 |
| NATO description of KFOR |
A VERY UNEASY PEACE - WITH FRESH OUTBREAKS OF VIOLENCE. UN FORCES
2004 March - Nineteen people are killed in the worst clashes between Serbs and ethnic Albanians since 1999. The violence started in the divided town of Mitrovica.2004 October - President Rugova's pro-independence Democratic League tops poll in general election, winning 47 seats in 120-seat parliament. Poll is boycotted by Serbs.
2004 December - Parliament re-elects President Rugova and elects former rebel commander Ramush Haradinaj as prime minister. Mr Haradinaj's party had entered into a coalition with the president's Democratic League.
2005 March - Mr Haradinaj indicted to face UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, resigns as prime minister. [BBC]
2008 June - A new constitution transfers power to majority ethnic Albanian government after nine years of UN rule. Kosovo Serbs set up their own rival assembly in Mitrovica.
2008 December - European Union mission (Eulex) takes over police, justice and customs services from the UN. Serbia accepts the EU mission.
2009 January - New multi-ethnic Kosovo Security Force launched under Nato supervision, replacing a unit dominated by veterans of independence campaign against Serbia.
2012 September - The group of 23 EU countries, the US and Turkey overseeing Kosovo since 2008 end its supervisory role over the government, although Nato-led peacekeepers and EU rule-of-law monitors remain.
2013 April - Kosovo and Serbia reach a landmark agreement on normalising relations that grants a high degree of autonomy to Serb-majority areas in northern, while both sides agree not to block each other's efforts to seek EU membership.
STARTER ARTICLES
BBC timeline (+ alternate version)
BBC (video): the war that won't end
BBC Newsbeat: NATO explained in pictures
BalkanInsight: 78 days of terror
NATO's own guide
IrishTimes: example of sceptical Western media from 1999
Britannica: encyclopedia entry
Euronews: Serbia/Kosovo relations explained
Looooong read: Was NATO’s decision to militarily intervene in the Kosovo War a ‘last resort’?
VIDEOS
This is a pretty good amateur video explaining the context of the breakup of Yugoslavia and outbreak of multiple wars, though the sound quality isn't great (4:58, 2015).
You can find lots of useful vids; not a bad idea when revising to try a video you haven't watched before.
A simple YouTube search (you can also try looking for BBC or C4 News features)
Most of these sources will mainly uncritically follow the line that the NATO action was legitimate and proportionate, and for exam purposes this is a case study of NATO success. There is a critique though, that NATO targeted civilian infrastructure as well as military, bombing a modern European capital city. This short Spanish video (subtitled) quotes a Serbian media worker beside a headstone commemorating his fellow workers killed by a NATO bomb hitting a media centre.
There are some unlikely features out there too - like ex-soldier now terrible solo singer James "You're Beautiful" Blunt returning to see Kosovo. There are alternate news sources like this Turkish one too, plus longer docs like this 30min one from 1999.
THE ECONOMIST: HOW DID KOSOVO BECOME A COUNTRY? 7:52 (2018)
The final point in this vid is interesting: both Serbia and Kosovo aspire to EU membership; impossible if continued hostility from Serbia continues - so could this bring about a more settled peace? The video highlights that many Kosovans (just as in Bosnia) simply reject the Kosovo identity, perceiving themselves still as simply Serbian.
NATO: HOW KFOR DEVELOPED (REFLECTS ON 20 YEARS, ESPECIALLY POST-WAR REBUILDING ROLE) 9:27 (2019)
Obviously not an objective source! Useful detail nonetheless.BBC: KOSOVO WAR, THE CONFLICT THAT WON'T GO AWAY 5:31 (2019)
As noted in the Economist video above, this conflict may have moved past direct military confrontation, but tension and conflict over borders and national identity remains very strong - as seen in some flashpoint sporting events.
You can get a sense of how the Western media portrayed the conflict with this 1999 appeal for the UK public to donate aid to Kosovo, fronted by a BBC journalist.
BBC: GROWING UP IN KOSOVO I'VE NEVER MET A SERBIAN 8:19 (2019)
We've discussed the sectarian schooling in Northern Ireland, and the 'peace walls' that continue to divide many communities decades after the ceasefires and GFA. This video explores the reality of a sharply ethnically divided European state, whose very existence is still contested by Serbia, Russia and more.
COULD THE SERBIA/KOSOVO BORDERS CHANGE AGAIN (PEACEFULLY)? LAND-SWAP DISCUSSIONS 1:30, BBC 2018
The EU initially signalled they were in favour of this, but changed tack after the US expressed opposition. No dialogue in this video, just titles.
...
No comments:
Post a Comment