THE KOSOVO CONFLICT

ISSUES & PROSPECTS

EDWIN D. PADRILANAN
SOCIAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
ADAMSON UNIVERSITY
 OUTLINE:
A. Yugoslavia and Kosovo: Profile and History

B. Ethnicity and Religion: The Roots of Conflict

C. NATO, US and EU Involvement: Responsibility to

Protect?

D. Conflict Resolution and Lessons from the Kosovo

Experience

E. Conclusion
Yugoslavia and
Kosovo:
Profile & History

The Balkans
Yugoslavia
Kosovo
 Ethnicity & Religion: The Roots of Conflict

• The central Balkans were part of the Roman and

Byzantine Empires before ethnic Serbs migrated to
the territories of modern Kosovo in the 7th century.

• During the medieval period, Kosovo became the

center of a Serbian Empire and saw the construction
of many important Serb religious sites, including
many architecturally significant Serbian Orthodox
monasteries.
• The defeat of Serbian forces at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 led to
five centuries of Ottoman rule during which large numbers of
Turks and Albanians moved to Kosovo.
• By the end of the 19th century, Albanians
replaced the Serbs as the dominant ethnic
group in Kosovo.

• Serbia reacquired control over Kosovo from

the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan
War of 1912.
Images from the First Balkan
Wars, 1912.

This conflict pitted the Balkan

League (Serbia, Greece,
Montenegro and Bulgaria)
against the Ottoman Empire
 The First World War
and the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia

• During WWI, Kosovo saw the retreat of the Serbian army as Kosovo
was occupied by Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary.

• In 1918, the Allied Powers pushed the Central Powers out of Kosovo.
After the end of World War I, the Kingdom of Serbia was transformed
into the Kingdom of Serbs Croats and Slovenians on 1 December 1918.

• Kosovo was split into four counties, three being a part of Serbia and
one of Montenegro (northern Metohija). However, the new
administration system split Kosovo among three Areas of the Kingdom:
Kosovo, Raska and Zeta.

• In 1929, the Kingdom was transformed into the Kingdom of

Yugoslavia and the territories of Kosovo were reorganized among
the Banate of Zeta, the Banate of Morova and the Banate of Vardar
 Yugoslavia During WWII

• After the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in

1941, most of Kosovo was assigned to
Italian-controlled Albania, with the rest
being controlled by Germany and Bulgaria.
• A three-dimensional conflict ensued,
involving inter-ethnic, ideological, and
international affiliations, with the first being
most important.
 Kosovo in Communist Yugoslavia
• The province as in its outline today first
took shape in 1945 as the Autonomous
Kosovo-Metohian Area.
• 1974 - A revised Yugoslav constitution grants
autonomy to Kosovo, a Serbian province largely
occupied by ethnic Albanians.

• 1989 - Escalating tensions between Serbs and

ethnic Albanians and fear of secession prompt
Milosevic to strip the province -- now 90 percent
Albanian -- of its autonomy. The army and police
are sent in battle strength to keep order.
• 1992 - Kosovo's Albanian majority votes to
secede from Serbia and Yugoslavia, and
indicates a desire to merge with Albania.

1996 - The Kosovo

Liberation Army (KLA), a
small militant group, was
organized and, in 1997,
begins killing Serb
policemen and others who
collaborate with the Serbs.
They also establish areas
from which the Serbs are
driven entirely
• 1998 February -- Milosevic sends troops into
the areas controlled by the KLA, destroying
property and killing 80 Kosovars, at least 30
of them women, children and elderly men.
The killing provokes riots in Pristina, the
Kosovar capital, turns the conflict into a
guerrilla war and raises again the specter of
ethnic cleansing by the Serbs.
• 1998 July through 1999 March:
• violence escalates on both sides, death count rises
• intermittent attempts at diplomacy fail

• 1999 March 23 -- Serb parliament solidly rejects NATO

demands to send peacekeeping troops into Kosovo.
Milosevic has refused to agree to a plan for autonomy
for Kosovo, secured by NATO troops. The failure of
diplomacy opens the way for NATO airstrikes.
• 1999 June 9 -- Yugoslav and NATO generals
sign an agreement on the withdrawal of Serb
troops from Kosovo, following a marathon
session of intense talks near the Yugoslav-
Macedonian border. Once it is verified that the
pullout has begun, NATO airstrikes will be
suspended.

• June 10 -- Yugoslavia begins the process of

withdrawing its security forces from Kosovo.
NATO announces that it has suspended the
bombing campaign, and the U.N. Security
Council formally ratifies the negotiated peace
proposal.
Hundreds of license plates lying by the side of the road in Kosovo just
across the border from Albania. Serb border police had stripped them
from the vehicles of fleeing refugees as part of a systematic effort to
destroy proof of Yugoslav citizenship.
© Joanne Mariner/Human Rights Watch
These twenty people were
killed and their bodies burned
in the Vejsa house at 163
Milos Gilic street in Djakovica.
© Fred Abrahams/ Human Rights Watch
A memorial service
held in Cuska on July
18, 1999, for the forty-
one ethnic Albanian
men killed in the
village on May 14 by
Serbian security
forces. Villagers are
carrying photographs
of the deceased.
© Fred Abrahams/ Human Rights
Watch
Funeral in Velika Krusa where more than ninety men were killed.
© Photo by Alban Bujari
Serb children leaving Prizren with their families on June 14, 1999. Most of
the Serbian population in the municipalities of Prizren, Pristine, Pec,
Urosevac, and Istok fled their homes after the war due to revenge attacks.
© Joanne Mariner/ Human Rights Watch
• Was the Kosovo crisis an ethnic conflict or a
religious conflict?

There have been a series of struggles for independence

during the 1990's in the area once covered by the country
of Yugoslavia. This series started in 1990 in Slovenia;
1991 in Croatia; 1992 in Bosnia Herzegovina.

Each of these conflicts have often been described as an

"ethnic conflict." In reality, the Serbs, Croats, Slovenes and
Muslims in those countries share a common Slavic ethnic
origin. They view themselves as distinct peoples, largely
because of their different religious heritages.
• Unlike the rest of the former Yugoslavia, the
conflict in Kosovo had both ethnic and religious
components. Before the recent exterminations
and forced "ethnic cleansing," 90% of the
population of Kosovo were ethnic Albanians.
These are descendants of the ancient Illyrian
tribes who occupied this area since before the
Roman Empire. Their language is unrelated to
all other languages in the area; they are now
mainly Muslim.
So, the Kosovo conflict was fueled by
differences of:

• Ethnicity: between Serbs, of Slavic origin,

and ethnic Albanians who are Illyrian in
origin.

• Religion: between Serbs, who are almost

entirely followers of the Serbian Orthodox
Church, and non-Serbs, who are
overwhelmingly followers of Islam, and
Roman Catholicism.
• Religious/ethnic makeup of Kosovo (1998):

- 1.89M
- 81% Muslims, 10% Serbian Orthodox, 9%
Roman Catholics
- 90% Albanians, 10% Serbs, 3% Roma
(Gypsies), 1.5% Turks

The above data is believed to be accurate in late 1998. The percentage of Serbs
left in the province as of 1999 is probably slightly under 5%.
NATO, US and EU Involvement:
Responsibility to Protect?
 Why NATO?
• Serb aggression threatened peace
throughout the Balkans and the stability of
NATO’s Southern European region
• Belgrade’s repression in Kosovo created a
humanitarian crisis of staggering
proportions
• President Milosevic’s conduct directly
challenged the credibility of NATO.
On 18 March 1999, the Albanian, American
and British delegation signed what became
known as the 'Rambouillet Accords' while the
Serbian and Russian delegations refused.

The accords called for NATO administration of

Kosovo as an autonomous province within
Yugoslavia; a force of 30,000 NATO troops to
maintain order in Kosovo; an unhindered right
of passage for NATO troops on Yugoslav
territory, including Kosovo; and immunity for
NATO and its agents to Yugoslav law.
 NATO’s Objectives
• a stop to all military action and the immediate
ending of violence and repression;
• the withdrawal from Kosovo of the military,
police and paramilitary forces;
• the stationing in Kosovo of an international
military presence;
• agree to work on basis of past agreements in
conformity with international law and the UN
charter;
• the unconditional and safe return of all
refugees and displaced persons
 Military Objective
• Degrade and damage the military and
security structure President Milosevic has
used to depopulate and destroy the
Albanian majority in Kosovo.

William Cohen, US SECDEF

15 April 1999
• February 10, 1999 – Serbia rejected peacekeepers in
Kosovo

• February 20, 1999 – NATO warned Serbia that if no peace

deal would be made, it will attack

• March 15, 1999 – Serbs launched a massive attack on the

KLA, ethnic Albanians, their homes, and farms

• March 16, 1999 – NATO offered to deploy 28,000 troops in

Kosovo

• March 19, 1999 – Pres. Milosevic denied NATO

peacekeepers access to Kosovo
• March 24, 1999 - NATO launches airstrikes

• May 31, 1999 - Belgrade say it agrees to the principles of

the G-8's plan for peace in Kosovo. The Western allies
remain skeptical.

• June 3, 1999 - The Serbian parliament approves the G-8's

peace plan. Milosevic reportedly also votes in favor of the
plan

• June 9, 1999 – NATO ceased operations after 78 days of

bombing
Withdrawal Plans
for Serb Troops
Distribution of NATO
Peacekeeping Forces
 Conflict Resolution and Lessons
from the Kosovo Experience
Questions raised by the peacemaking process and the
crisis response:
• Has the international community succeeded in managing
the inter-cultural and inter-ethnic conflict in Kosovo?
• Did the approaches adopted in mitigating the effects of
intolerance, discrimination, weak social cohesion, solidarity
and integration capacity were the most appropriate?
• Were the strategies adopted effective in countering the
threats posed by this conflict? Were the NATO approach
and international intervention appropriate and legal?
• Why were the regional communities and organizations
ineffective in solving the ethnic conflict?
• Power was the main factor and the most
influencing one in the appearance of this
conflict

• After more than 12 years of evolution,

Kosovo is still a conflict area

• Was the US military bombing campaign

really necessary?

• Is the KLA a terrorist group?

• The national identity and the inherited collective
consciousness proved a critical factor in this long-term
conflict

• The culture of the Kosovars and the Serbs should be

considered as an integrative concept

• Before 1389 the Kosovo Albanians were Christians

• Political power, territorial, economical or religious

advantages

• The Kosovo conflict: ethnic and cultural conflict, long

duration, violence, depth and global nature
The Kosovo Conflict: A Comparative Perspective
Between the US and the European Union
 Lessons in Conflict
• Militarily, Europe remains dependent on Americans
– Best technology, weapons & platforms
– Politicians unwilling to pay the cost of matching
unique U.S. military capabilities

• US cannot always be counted on to serve the Alliance’s

interests
– U.S. focus shifted with opinion polls
– Fear US commitment could falter if its forces take
heavy casualties
• EU can provide diplomatic muscle. Many foreign policy
interests are similar among EU Nations
– Refugee issue
– Humanitarian (ethnic cleansing)
– Need to build external identity

• Europe can overcome internal diversity to maintain

cohesion
– German Luftwaffe conducted first combat missions
since 1945
– Greece provided logistical support despite popular
opposition
– Italy and France (which have Communist ministers)
offered air bases
 Conclusions
The Kosovo issue at present deals with five specific types of
transformation:

• modifying actors’ goals

• challenging the meaning and perceptions of conflict itself

• redefining the issues that are central to the prevailing conflict and
reformulating the position of key actors on those very issues

• changing the norms and rules governing and making at all levels in
order to ensure that conflict are dealt with constructively through
institutional channel

• adjusting the prevailing structures of relationships, power-

distribution and socio-economic condition that are embedded in the
conflict
 Issues & Prospects
• Kosovo can still be considered a potential
conflict area
• The social and economic conditions are
still precarious and the underground
economy is a major problem
• Kosovo’s future: on the right track or will
lead to a new conflict?
FIN