Revista Haemus nr. 30-32 - Libraria pentru toti

CÆLESTIS ARCUS
1ST DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE OF KOSOVA
Inter-ethnic tensions continued to worsen in Kosova throughout the 1980s.
The 1986 SANU Memorandum warned that Yugoslavia was suffering from
ethnic strife and the disintegration of the Yugoslav economy into separate
economic sectors and territories, which was transforming the federal state
into a loose confederation. On June 28, 1989, Milošević delivered a speech
in front of a large number of Serb citizens at the main celebration marking
the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosova, held at Gazimestan. Many
think that this speech helped Milošević consolidate his authority in Serbia.
In 1989, Milošević, employing a mix of intimidation and political
maneuvering, drastically reduced Kosova's special autonomous status
within Serbia. Soon thereafter Kosova Albanians organized a non-violent
separatist movement, employing widespread civil disobedience, with the
ultimate goal of achieving the independence of Kosova. On July 2, 1990, an
Kosova parliament declared Kosova an independent country, the Republic
of Kosova. The Republic of Kosova was formally disbanded in 2000 when
its institutions were replaced by the Joint Interim Administrative Structure
established by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in
Kosova (UNMIK). During its lifetime, the Republic of Kosova was only
recognized by Albania.
THE KOSOVA WAR
The Kosova War was initially a conflict between Serbian and Yugoslav
security forces and the Kosova Liberation Army (KLA), an ethnic Albanian
guerrilla group identified by some as terrorist, seeking secession from the
former Yugoslavia. In 1998 Western interest had increased and the Serbian
authorities were compelled to sign a unilateral cease-fire and partial retreat.
Under an agreement devised by Richard Holbrooke, OSCE observers
moved into Kosova to monitor the ceasefire, while Yugoslav military forces
partly pulled out of Kosova. However, the ceasefire was systematically
broken shortly thereafter by KLA forces, which again provoked harsh
counterattacks by the Serbs.
The Serbs then began to escalate the conflict, using military and
paramilitary forces in another ethnic cleansing campaign this time against
against the Kosovar Albanians. An estimated 300.000 refugees were
displaced during the winter of 1998, many left without adequate food or
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