SETimes.comMilosevic's crackdown and the road to war
15/12/2006
Less than two years after Slobodan Milosevic became the leading political figure in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia, the high degree of autonomy Kosovo had been granted in 1974 was revoked. After enjoying almost the same rights as the six Yugoslav federal republics for about 15 years, the province was brought under Belgrade's direct control in March 1989.
(BBC, CNN, AP, US Department of State, KFOR, Wikipedia, Encarta)
Less than two years after Slobodan Milosevic became the leading political figure in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia, the high degree of autonomy Kosovo had been granted in 1974 was revoked. After enjoying almost the same rights as the six Yugoslav federal republics for about 15 years, the province was brought under Belgrade's direct control in March 1989.
The move was followed by the mass sackings of Kosovo Albanians from state-run companies and institutions, including the police, schools and Pristina University. Others who were not fired left their jobs in sympathy. The Kosovo Albanian media was suppressed and education in the Albanian language was suspended, to be restored in 1994.
In response, the Kosovo Albanians established an unofficial parallel system of Albanian-language education.
Protesting the Serbian regime's policies, tens of thousands of Kosovo Albanians took part in riots that erupted in early 1990. To quash the escalating unrest, the Yugoslav Army sent troops, tanks and warplanes, and the police presence in the province was strengthened. By the end of February, more than 20 people were killed in the disturbances and a state of emergency was declared.
In July 1990, after Kosovo Albanian lawmakers declared independence, Serbia dissolved the province's assembly amid continuing strikes and demonstrations.
Following a self-organised plebiscite not recognised by Belgrade or any foreign government, Kosovo Albanian intellectual and writer Ibrahim Rugova -- the founder of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) -- was elected president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo in May 1992.
Tension continued to build in the province over the next three years.
The exclusion of the Kosovo question from the negotiations that led to the conclusion of the Dayton Peace Agreement in November 1995 undermined Rugova's strategy of "passive resistance" and eroded his credibility among Kosovo Albanian radicals, who set up the clandestine Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
The militant separatist group first emerged in 1996, when it claimed responsibility for a series of bombings and attacks in the province. The KLA continued to stage gun and bomb attacks on a regular basis over the following months. By the summer of 1998, it effectively controlled at least a quarter of the province.
A major crackdown launched by the Yugoslav Army and the Serbian security forces in February that year helped them weaken the KLA and regain control over most of the province. Meanwhile, hundreds of people were killed and more than 200,000 people -- mostly Kosovo Albanians -- were forced to flee their homes.
On September 23rd, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1199, calling for a ceasefire and warning the Belgrade authorities that they could face "additional measures" if they failed to comply.
Facing a NATO threat of airstrikes on Serbian military targets, Milosevic agreed several weeks later to pull out some troops and to allow an OSCE monitoring mission into Kosovo.
The subsequent truce proved short-lived. In December, Serbs claimed they had killed more than 30 KLA fighters in a series of engagements along the border. Later that month, the Yugoslav Army and internal security police conducted a joint military action near Podujevo, in northern Kosovo.
In January, the bodies of 45 Kosovo Albanians were discovered in the village of Racak, sparking international condemnation.
As the violence continued, the warring parties were summoned to Rambouillet, France, for internationally-brokered peace talks in February and March 1999. The negotiations broke down on March 20th after the Serbian representatives rejected the proposed deal, which had been signed by the Kosovo Albanian side.
On October 22nd, US envoy Richard Holbrooke arrived to Belgrade in a last-ditch effort to convince Milosevic to accept the agreement, but left the Serbian capital empty-handed.
On March 24th, NATO launched air strikes against Yugoslavia, aimed at ending its crackdown in Kosovo and driving its forces out of the province.