republic of kosovo - florenthajrizi.com · kosovo in yugoslavia •1919 –1920 the yugoslav state...

Republic of Kosovo

Presented by:

Florent Xh. HAJRIZI

A New Born Country

• Declared Independence on the

17th of February 2008

• Location:

– South East Europe

Facts about Kosovo

• Area: 10,887 sq km

• Population: 1 804 838 (July 09 estimated)

• Ethnic Groups:

– Albanians 90%

– Serbs 5%

– Others (Bosniak; Gorani; Roma; Turk; Ashkali; Egyptian) 5%

Facts about Kosovo

• Official languages:

– Albanian

– Serbian

– English

• Government type: Republic

• Capital City: Prishtina

Facts about Kosovo ( cont’d )

• Member of:

– International Trade Unit Confederation

– World Federation of Trade Units

– International Monetary Fund

– The World Bank Group

Historical Chronology

• Roots of Separation• Kosovo during World War I• Kosovo in Yugoslavia• Kosovo during World War II• Kosovo still under Yugoslavia• The War in Kosovo• Kosovo under the United Nations

administration

AND LET’S HEAR HOW IT ALL BEGAN. . .

The Roots of Separation

• 3 March 1878 – Treaty of St. Stefan

• Russia & Ottoman Empire

• Austro-Hungary & England

• 13 June 1878 – Congress of Berlin

• 28 November 1912 – Albania declares Independence

World War I

• June 1914 – Gavrilo Princip, a serbian nationalist, assassinated the Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo

• Austria issued an ultimatum to Serbia

• Austria-Hungary, supported by Germany, declared war on Serbia

• Russia, in support of Serbia, joined the war

• World War I started

World War I ( cont’d )

Effects of the war on Yugoslavia in general and Kosovo in particular

• The war declared by Austria-Hungary was greeted by Albania

• Serbia saw Albania as its enemy

• Guerilla fighting, between Albanians and Serbs, took place in the territory of Kosovo

World War I ( cont’d )

• 1915 – Western Allies, during the Secret Pact of London, decided to divide Albania between Greece and Italy leaving only a small autonomous state in the central region

• Austria-Hungarian and Bulgarian troops moved into Kosovo

• Kosovo was occupied by Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria

Kosovo in Yugoslavia

• 1919 – 1920 The Yugoslav state was established with the name "The Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs“, governed by Belgrade

• Kosovo was again an integrated part of Serbia

• The Kingdom was comprised of 12 million people, of whom 400,000 were Albanian

• 1921 Albanian Kosovars requested the League of Nations to take steps to unite Kosovo with Albania

Kosovo in Yugoslavia ( cont’d )

• They alleged that 12,000 Albanians had been killed and 22,000 imprisoned in Kosovo since 1918

• No action taken by the league

• Colonization of Kosovo by Serbian settlers was attempted

Kosovo during World War II

• 1939 - Albania was occupied by Italian forces in April 1939

• March 25, 1941 - Tripartite Pact (Germany, Italy and Japan)

• Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Fascist state allied with Germany

Kosovo during World War II ( cont’d )

• Slovenia was annexed to Italy and Montenegro was occupied by Italian forces

• Most of Kosovo was occupied by Albania except for the important mining region which remained under German control


• Resistance to German occupation - Loyalist Chetnicks, General Mihailovic

• Partisans under the command of the head of the Communist Party Josip Broz, a Croat, later known as Marshall Tito


• In 1943 the British Government withdrew support from Mihailovic and supported Tito

• This enabled Tito to fight both the Germans and Mihailovic and the Loyalists thus consolidating post-war communist rule over Yugoslavia


• In Kosovo, under Albanian and German rule, nearly 100,000 Albanians moved into Kosovo. Serbs were harassed and attacked by the occupying force of Albanians

Kosovo still in Yugoslavia

• 1945 - 1946 - Conference of Bujan

• 1946 Constitution – Kosovo is "autonomous region" within Serbia

• 1963 constitution – Kosovo becomes autonomous province within Serbia

Kosovo still in Yugoslavia ( cont’d )

• 1970 – The foundation of University of Pristina

• 1974 Constitution – Kosovo becomes federal entity together with Vojvodina

• The Serbians felt unfairly diminished


• The death of Josip Broz Tito on 4 May 1980

• 1981 - Kosovar students organized protests seeking that Kosovo become a republic within Yugoslavia


• 23 May 1985- Assembly of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( SANU ) adopts decision to draw up a study ‘of current social issues’, the future SANU memorandum

• 24 April 1987- Slobodan Milosevic attends a meeting with Serbians in Kosovo, pretending that serbs are being mistreated from Albanians


• 23 February 1989- Assembly of Serbia approve the paragraphs of 1974 Constitution, violating Kosovo’s rights for autonomy

• 14 Feb 1989- Protests in 1500 mines of Kosovo. Students got contaminated. 350000 people remained unemployed

• 5 July 1990- Serbia approves the permanent closing of Kosovo Assembly and takes its responsibilities


• 25-26 June 1991- Slovenia and Croatia declare their independence

• 22 September 1991- Kosovo declares its formal independence

• 24 May 1992- Selections in Kosovo. LDK wins. Results remain without recognition from Serbia

• 8 July 1992- Yugoslavia got suspended from participating in OSBE


• 22 September 1991- Kosovo declares its formal independence

• 24 May 1992- Selections in Kosovo. LDK wins. Results remain without recognition from Serbia

• 8 July 1992- Yugoslavia got suspended from participating in OSBE


• 14 August 1992- Foundation of long-term missions of OSBE in Kosovo, Sanxhak and Vojvodina

• 1991- War in Croatia starts

• 1992- War in Bosnia starts

• 9 August 1993- Endorsement of the Security Council’s resolution 855, the only act of the Council that refers Kosovo between years 1988-1998

• 1995- War in Bosnia and Croatia ends

The War in Kosovo

• 14 December 1995- Peace agreement of Dayton is endorsed in Paris

• July - Serbian court sentences 68 Kosovo Albanians, charged with setting up a parallel police force, to up to eight years in prison

• August - A move by the Serbian authorities to settle several hundred Croatian Serb refugees in Kosovo sparks protests among ethnic Albanians

The War in Kosovo (cont’d)

• 1996 - A group, calling itself the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) appears for the first time officially

• October 1997 - Kosovo Albanian student demonstrations crushed by Serbian police, caused new KLA attacks


• 1998 February-March -- Serbia begins major crackdown in Kosovo. Dozens of people are killed and hundreds of thousands of civilians, mostly Kosovo Albanians, are forced to flee their homes

• April -- 95% of Serbs vote in a referendum against international mediation in Kosovo

• May -- Milosevic and Rugova hold talks for first time, but following a Serb offensive in Decani that leaves several dozen Kosovo Albanians dead, the Albanian side refuses to attend further meetings


• September -- Twenty-two Kosovo Albanians found massacred in central Kosovo following Serb attacks in the region. The UN Security Council adopts a resolution, calling for a ceasefire in Kosovo and warning the Belgrade authorities that they could face "additional measures" if they fail to comply.


• October -- Facing a NATO threat for airstrikes against Serbian military targets and under a deal brokered by US envoy Richard Holbrooke, Milosevic agrees to pull out some troops and to allow 2,000 OSCE monitors into Kosovo

• December -- Thirty-six KLA fighters are killed by Serbian forces in the worst clash since the ceasefire


• January 1999 - The bodies of 45 ethnic Albanians are discovered in the village of Racak

• February, March 1999- Internationally-brokered peace talks with representatives of the warring parties held in Rambouillet, France. The talks are suspended on March 19th after the Serbian representatives reject the proposed deal, signed by the Kosovo Albanian side

• March 20th - International peace monitors evacuate, citing security and possibility of NATO airstrikes

Kosovo under the UN administration

• March 24th -- NATO launches air strikes against Yugoslavia

• June 10th -- NATO Secretary General Javier Solana calls off airstrikes. UN Security Council passes Resolution 1244, welcoming Yugoslavia's acceptance of a political deal, including an immediate end to violence and a rapid withdrawal of its military, police and paramilitary forces. Placing Kosovo under UN administration, the resolution also authorizes the establishment of UNMIK and the deployment of a NATO-led peacekeeping force (KFOR)


• November 2001-- Kosovo holds its first democratic general elections, won by Rugova's Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK)

• February 2002-- Rugova elected president of Kosovo, while Bajram Rexhepi becomes prime minister

• 14th October 2003 -- Serbian and Kosovo Albanian leaders meet in Vienna for their first face-to-face talks since the end of the 1998-1999 conflict

• December -- UN outlines a set of standards Kosovo must meet for talks on determining its final status to be launched in 2005


• 2004 March -- Three days of ethnic clashes -- the worst since the end of the 1998-1999 conflict -- leave 19 people dead and hundreds of others wounded. Hundreds of homes and dozens of religious monuments are damaged or destroyed during the unrest across the province

• October -- President Rugova is re-elected after the LDK wins general elections, boycotted by Kosovo Serbs. Former KLA commander and leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj heads the government as prime minister

• 2005 March -- Haradinaj resigns as Kosovo prime minister to face war crimes charges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Bajram Kosumireplaces him in the post


• 2007 February 2nd -- The UN's special envoy, MarttiAhtisaari, presents a draft proposal for Kosovo's future status. It seeks to protect Kosovo's minorities while giving the province the right to join international organizations and adopt national symbols

• March 26th -- Ahtisaari reports to the UN Security Council. He says Belgrade and Pristina cannot reach an agreement and that internationally supervised independence is the only answer for Kosovo

• April 3rd -- The UN Security Council begins discussing the Ahtisaari plan, which is accepted by Albanian leaders but rejected by Belgrade


• July 20th -- A draft Security Council resolution based on the Ahtisaari plan is shelved due to opposition from Russia

• August 10th -- A "troika" of mediators representing the EU, the United States and Russia launches a new round of talks on Kosovo's status

• November 29th -- The troika-led talks end without an agreement


• 2006 January 21st -- President Rugova dies of lung cancer at his Pristina home to be succeeded the following month by Fatmir Sejdiu

• February 20th -- Direct UN-sponsored talks between Serbian and Kosovo Albanian officials on the province's future status open in Vienna. The negotiations are led by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's envoy, former Finnish President MarttiAhtisaari

• March -- former KLA commander Agim Ceku was elected as prime minister


• October -- Serbian voters approve in a referendum a new constitution, describing Kosovo as an inalienable part of the country's territory

• 2008 January 16th -- The UN Security Council meets to discuss Kosovo, but remains split over the issue

• January 28th -- EU foreign ministers discuss a planned mission to Kosovo

Back to the Beginning

• February 17th -- Kosovo's parliament votes to declare independence from Serbia. Kosovo is subsequently recognized as an independent state by the United States, several EU member states, and other countries around the globe

• Mars 14th 2008 -- Serb protesters forcibly occupied UN courthouse in the northern part of Mitrovica. More then 100 people are injured when they faced the NATO and UN forces. One of the UN soldiers was killed this day

• 15 Qershor 2008-Kosovo’s Constitution has been implemented

Back to the Beginning ( cont’d )

• 2009 Serbia’s question about declaration of the independence of Kosova for the International Court of Justice

• The most eminent experts of international law of Serbia have prepared a 300 page file where they question whether the declaration of Kosovo is in harmony with the international law. The case will be discussed in the ICJ

• The 35 state members of the United Nations are submitting written statements about this issue until the 17 July 2009.

Back to the Beginning ( cont’d )

• All the states that have recognized Kosovo have abstained in the voting, on the request whether this question should be discussed on the court

• Michael Wood- the leader of Kosovo team before the ICJ in Hague

Thank you for your attention

☺

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