Crisis in Kosovo-Talking Points

From AFSC, April 1999

Where is Kosovo and What is its Significance?

Until 1990, Kosovo was an autonomous province of Serbia, within the former Yugoslavia. The first Yugoslavia (the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croates, and Slovenes) was formed in 1918. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was constituted during World War II and was an original signatory to the United Nations and numerous international conventions. This Yugoslavia consisted of six republics: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia, and two autonomous regions within Serbia-Kosovo and Vojvodina. Federal power was based in Belgrade.

Many Serbs consider Kosovo the "heartland of mother Serbia." The original Serbian Orthodox Church is located there as well as other important Serbian monasteries and historical monuments. Kosovo was the site of significant battles against the Ottoman Empire, captured in epic poems and heroic tales, including the Battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389, in which it was said that Prince Lazar was finally defeated by the Ottomans. Thus, the region has enormous religious, cultural, and historical meaning for the Serbs, even though they comprise only 10% of Kosovo's population.

Since 1991 four of the republics-Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia, and Macedonia-have declared independence and left the Yugoslavian state. Serbia and Montenegro are the two republics remaining in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, along with Kosovo and Vojvodina. Under the Tito-led government, Kosovo, with a 90% Albanian population, and Vojvodina, with a large population of ethnic Hungarians, were both autonomous provinces within Serbia.

How did Slobodan Millosevic Come to Power?

The post-Tito political leadership in Yugoslavia was characterized by the exploitation of ethnic differences. Rising to power in the late 1980s and assuming the post of Communist Party chief for the entire republic of Serbia, in 1989 Slobodan Milosevic seized the issue of rising Albanian nationalism in Kosovo as a rallying point for Serb nationalism. By June 1990 he had taken control of the security organs and militia in Kosovo, revoked the autonomy of both Kosovo and Vojvodina, and absorbed them into the Serbian state. Hoping to "legitimize" the unilateral usurpation of Kosovo's autonomy, Milosevic scheduled a referendum in July. He received 96.8% of the vote, but the Albanian majority boycotted the election, thus compromising his "win."

What Happened in Kosovo?

By 1990 the Kosovo Democratic Party (KDP), formed in response to Milosevic's actions, had several hundred thousand members and was the most powerful electoral force in Kosovo. Led by the moderate Ibrahim Rugova, head of the nonviolent resistance movement of ethnic Albanians, the KDP and other Albanian parties met secretly in September 1990 and proclaimed the "sovereign Republic of Kosovo," which neighboring Albania recognized. Rugova was elected president and declared that the independence of Kosovo within the Yugoslav federation was the only acceptable solution. The Milosevic government's response was to purge Albanian employees from government and state operations and censor the independent Albanian media, in addition to restricting political and cultural expression by the Albanian population. Ethnic Albanian students were barred from entering university buildings, and a new curriculum, substituting Serbian for the Albanian language and introducing Serbian versions of history, was instituted. Arbitrary arrests and police violence directed toward Albanians became routine practice.

Milosevic's Reaction to Rugova and Kosovo

Moving to institutionalize this repression in 1990, Milosevic imposed a new constitution on Serbia to reinforce his measures. The constitution gave both Vojvidina and Kosovo "territorial autonomy" but not the jurisdiction of a state. Moreover, it provided that federal authorities could override any local authorities who did not comply with federal law. The constitution also allowed Belgrade to "adopt acts seeking to defend the interests of the Republic," should Serbia face threats to its "rights and duties" from either the federation or "other republics," and the government was empowered to "maintain connections" with Serbs living outside the Republic of Serbia. Essentially, this was the federal government of Serbia announcing that its authority extended wherever there were Serbs and was clearly directed at the Albanian population in Kosovo. It must be noted, however, that the conflict between Serbs and ethnic Albanians has been mutual. Serbs within Kosovo had earlier been subjected to hostility and discrimination by Kosovar provincial authorities.

Response to Withdrawal of Autonomy

Led by Rugova and committed to a policy of nonviolence, the Albanian community responded by establishing parallel structures of state, including political, cultural, educational, and media systems. The showpieces of this parallel state were the health-care system and a social security network that provided basic necessities for needy families. Education took place in private homes, financed by a three% tax, which Albanians living both in Kosovo and in exile paid to the "shadow" government.

Emergence of the KLA

Although Albanians continued to be subjected to the arbitrary authority of Belgrade, their nonviolent resistance created a false sense of calm, and the international community failed to take a proactive stance in resolving the dispute with Serbia, despite the fact that civic groups and NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) were alerting them to the urgent need to support a peaceful resolution of the conflict as soon as possible. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) emerged into this vacuum in 1996. Although initially a disorganized group with little semblance of being an army, the KLA grew to a force in 1998 that could contend with the Serbian forces in Kosovo, many of which were little more than a police force. Whereas Rugova's nonviolent strategy yielded no significant political dividends, the KLA succeeded in mounting a series of attacks on Serbian police stations and Yugoslav army sites that by July 1998 left the KLA in partial control of approximately 30% of Kosovo's territory.

The Conflict Escalates

Serbia responded to the KLA's increasing strength by accelerating assaults on Albanian villages and massacres of Albanian populations, which were exposed by international human rights monitors. In October 1998, US Special Envoy Richard C. Holbrooke brokered a "cease fire" with President Milosevic that included the introduction of 2000 unarmed monitors under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). However, only 600 of the monitors had arrived by mid-January. Between October and February, a series of assaults on unarmed civilians by both sides resulted in a Serbian crackdown. Serbian forces conducted house-to-house searches; dozens of people were arrested; many were beaten. The killing of a Serbian policeman in a Kosovo village in December led to sealing off the village with 100 Serbian tanks and armored vehicles in an attempt to destroy KLA strongholds. This was the largest mobilization yet by Serbia and became a harbinger for the subsequent months leading up to the NATO bombing.

Failed Efforts at Peace

In February 1999, the Contact Group of the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, and Russia convened peace talks in Rambouillet, France. The Albanian delegation represented a range of perspectives from Kosovo and included both Rugova and members of the KLA. The Serbian delegation, however, reflected only the views of Milosevic. Through a two-tier process, the Albanians agreed to a status of autonomy for three years, after which it would be reviewed by Serbia and the international community. Although Serbia gave tacit approval to autonomy, it balked at the introduction of NATO peacekeeping troops on Serbian soil. On March 24, 1999, NATO began the bombing of Yugoslavia.

The Situation in Montenegro

Montenegro is the only independent republic left in Yugoslavia other than Serbia. It is important to Serbia in that it provides that land-locked country vital access to the Adriatic Sea. With a population of 600,000 people, it is dwarfed by Serbia's population of nearly 10,000,000. Nevertheless, Montenegro has been able to retain a distinct identity. An estimated 61.5% of the republic's population identifies as ethnically Montenegrin, with only 9% calling themselves Serbs.

Under the present leadership of President Milo Djukanovic, Montenegro has built a democratic government with guarantees for human rights. The republic has opposed Milosevic's assault on Kosovo, supported the Rambouillet agreement, and welcomed refugees from Kosovo. However, NATO has bombed targets in Montenegro, which has undermined Djukanovic's government. It has also created a context for Milosevic to replace top military officials in Montenegro with his own supporters. It is possible that Milosevic will use this opportunity to restrict the political autonomy of Montenegro.

Opposition within Serbia

Coming to power on an empty program of nationalism, Milosevic has manipulated historical emotions to maintain control. He has never put forward a program to address the multitude of economic and social needs facing Serbia. His cynical behavior toward his own people can be seen in his attempts to populate Kosovo with Serbian refugees expelled from Bosnia and Krajina, part of Croatia. On a personal level, neither he nor his wife has visited Serbian soldiers wounded in the current conflict; while it is illegal for men between the ages of 18 and 60 to leave the country, his son is sitting out the war outside Serbia.

Throughout the wars among the republics of the former Yugoslavia, many Serbs have opposed Milosevic's policies. Opposition surfaced strongly during November and December 1996, when an eclectic array of opposition groups held daily mass demonstrations in Belgrade to protest "stolen elections" by the Milosevic government. Milosevic relented on some elections, but then cracked down on other fronts by firing university professors and civil servants opposing his regime and expelling students from the university. He also was able to co-opt some of the leadership, and the opposition imploded over internal differences.

Nevertheless, many protest and refugee organizations that emerged during the Bosnian war (1992 to 1995) continued to provide an alternative Serbian anti-war voice. One of the best known of these groups is Women in Black, with members of all ethnic groups throughout former Yugoslavia. Since 1995 they have brought together Serbian, Croatian, Muslim, and ethnic Albanian women for their annual gathering in Novi Sad, Vojvodina. Other important opposition groups include the Center for Antiwar Action, Belgrade Circle, and Serbia's Helsinki Watch. Numerous opposition groups emerged during the 1990s, but it is important to note that the US State Department virtually ignored these organizations and has staked its policies on the credibility of Milosevic, emphasizing his role in reaching the Dayton Peace Accords.

Regional Destabilization

NATO's bombing of Serbia has the potential to create a political complexity in the Balkans that will impact on many countries in the region. The massive influx of refugees into Macedonia and Albania has put a severe strain on the two poorest countries in Europe. Moreover, in the case of Macedonia-which has a 30% Albanian minority with a set of grievances not unlike those of Kosovo Albanians-internal civil strife could be the legacy of this tragedy. Albania, which is still groping with its post- cold war future, is a fragile democracy that may not survive this crisis.

NATO members Greece and Turkey both have a direct interest in the outcome of this crisis. Greece has never accepted the state of Macedonia, viewing its name as an appropriation of Greek history. Turkey, with its Kurdish minority seeking autonomy, fears that the KLA model will embolden the Kurdish Workers Party. However, Turkey's position is compromised because of tension with Russia and its opposition to Serbia during the Bosnian war. Moreover, with the encouragement of the United States, Turkey has positioned itself as a secular counterpoint to Islamic fundamentalism. In addition Russia's ally Bulgaria has always viewed Macedonia and the Slavic Macedonians as Bulgarians.

Although the media has projected Russia's alignment with Serbia as the result of Pan Slavic Nationalism, this view is simplistic. Throughout the Yugoslavian war Russia has been faced with domestic nationalism and concerns about a replication of the KLA model among its many minority and Islamic populations.