North or Northern Kosovo (, ''Severno Kosovo''; ) refers to a region in the northern part of Kosovo with an ethnic Serb majority that functions largely autonomously from the remainder of the disputed territory, which has an ethnic Albanian majority. Ibarian Kolashin (, ''Ibarski Kolašin''; ), a toponym that pre-dates the political partition, is also used to refer to the area. Neither the name nor the boundary has any official status in either Kosovar Albanian or Serbian designation: to Pristina, the borders mark a land which is left alone to function independently; to Belgrade, the entire Kosovan region remains subject to the terms of the Kumanovo Treaty.

Kosovo is subject to a contested constitutional status: it had been defined by UNSCR 1244, in the interim, as part of the FRY (being an autonomous province of the constituent republic of Serbia) under United Nations international administration, but its provisional government declared unilateral independence on 18 February 2008 and has since received partial recognition. Most Serb institutions in Kosovo refuse to acknowledge and recognize this, continuing to consider the territory an integral part of Serbia. The Kosovan institutions, in turn, claim the entirety of the territory and oppose any kind of parallel government for Serbs in Kosovo. The entirety of Kosovo is under the effective control of the NATO forces which provide security from external and internal threats

North Kosovo is by far the largest of the Serb-dominated areas within Kosovo, and unlike the others, directly borders Central Serbia. This has facilitated its ability to govern itself almost completely independently of the Kosovo institutions in a ''de facto'' state of partition; the authorities in turn choose to observe Belgrade's direct rule which they believe to be the legal authority over Kosovo as a whole. However, despite the region being contiguous with Central Serbia, its location within Kosovo and the subsequent conditions of the Kumanovo Treaty in 1999 mean that access to and from Central Serbia is subject to passing a border transit administered and staffed by UNMIK. This renders the relationship between North Kosovo and Belgrade closer to that of an exclave (an island with its main region). Before the unilateral declaration of independence by the Kosovo authorities, it had been speculated that Kosovo might be partitioned with North Kosovo remaining part of Serbia. The complexity of the region is on the agenda of the 2011 Pristina-Belgrade Talks.

Geography

North Kosovo consists of the region's three northernmost municipalities, Leposavić, Zvečan and Zubin Potok, plus a relatively small portion of Kosovska Mitrovica municipality (North Kosovska Mitrovica). The latter includes those parts of the city of Kosovska Mitrovica proper that are on the north bank of the Ibar River. It covers around 1,200 km², or 11% of Kosovo's land area. Owing to its border with Serbia proper, North Kosovo is not, strictly speaking, a "Serb enclave" or "Serb exclave".

North Kosovo is rich in mineral resources, once known for the Trepča mining complex.

Parts of North Kosovo are:

Leposavić

Zvečan

Zubin Potok

North Kosovska Mitrovica

Demographics

Before the 1999 Kosovo War the area was predominately inhabited by Serbs, with a substantial Albanian minority and smaller populations of Muslims (Gorani and other Slavic Muslims), Roma and Turks. The Yugoslav census of 1991 recorded a population of some 35,000 people in the municipalities of Leposavić, Zvečan and Zubin Potok, of whom 85% were Serbs, 11% Albanians and 4% others, though the Statistical Office of Kosovo regards the accuracy of this census as "questionable" given that most Albanians boycotted it. The population of Kosovska Mitrovica municipality was predominantly Albanian, with the town itself and two of the nearby villages being ethnically mixed.

The war resulted in major population changes brought about by ethnic cleansing and refugees fleeing the fighting elsewhere in Kosovo. The number of Serbs rose with the arrival of people driven out from other Serbian communities elsewhere in Kosovo. In 2006 the OSCE estimated that the population of the municipalities of Leposavić, Zvečan and Zubin Potok had increased to around 46,000 people, of whom 95.5% were Serbs, 3% Albanians and 1.5% others. Kosovska Mitrovica was split between Serbs and Albanians at the end of the war, with the Ibar River marking the dividing line. The north of Kosovska Mitrovica is now home to approximately 17,000 Serbs and 3,000 members of other minorities. Most of the Roma population was displaced to the north, while small numbers of Turks and Goranis continue to live on both sides of the river. The OSCE has, however, been unable to estimate accurately the population of the municipality.

Such figures would total to an approximate North Kosovo population of 66,000, of which slightly more than 95% is ethnically Serb. Based on a PISG estimate of a total Kosovan Serb population of 112,700, 54% of all Kosovo's Serbs live in North Kosovo. A special bus service operates in parts of North Kosovo to facilitate the movement of non-Serb residents around the territory. The bus operates with an accompanying secuirity presence to ensure the safety of the passengers and permits those residents to more safely enter and leave the North Kosovo area.

Economy

The economy of the region was devastated by the war - by 2006, the unemployment rate had reached 77% in Kosovska Mitrovica municipality. The largest employer was the Trepča mining complex in Zvečan which employed 4,000 people at the height of its operations. However, it was shut down in August 2000 due to the severe pollution which it was producing. The economic situation has deteriorated significantly in recent years due to a lack of capital investment, exacerbated by the uncertainty caused by the political dispute over the region's future. The region uses the Serbian dinar rather than the euro used elsewhere in Kosovo. Smuggling of goods such as alcohol have become a business in North Kosovo where the customs authorities of the Kosovo authorities are unable to enforce the customs regulations of the Kosovo authorities. The Kosovo customs authorities do, however, attempt to curtail the flow of illegal goods from North Kosovo into the rest of Kosovo and have an elaborate network of surveillance cameras in place in that regard. The smugglers smuggle goods over the porous frontier between Central Serbia and North Kosovo.

Government, Politics and the Rule of Law

Politics

Since 1999, the Serb-inhabited north of Kosovo has been governed as ''de facto'' independent from the Albanian-dominated government in Pristina. It uses Serbian national symbols and participates in Serbian national elections, which are boycotted in the rest of Kosovo; and in turn, it boycotts Kosovo's elections. The municipalities of Leposavić, Zvečan and Zubin Potok are run by local Serbs, while the Kosovska Mitrovica municipality had rival Serb and Albanian governments until a compromise was agreed in November 2002, whereby the city has one mayor.

The region has united into a community, the Union of Serbian Districts and District Units of Kosovo and Metohija established in February 2008 by Serbian delegates meeting in Kosovska Mitrovica, which has since served as North Kosovo's capital. The Union's President is Dragan Velić. This union is not recognised by Kosovo authorities, or by UNMIK.

There is also a central governing body, the Serbian National Council for Kosovo and Metohija (SNV). The President of SNV in North Kosovo is Dr Milan Ivanović, while the head of its Executive Council is Rada Trajković.

Local politics are dominated by the Serbian List for Kosovo and Metohija. The Serbian List is led by Oliver Ivanović, an engineer from Kosovska Mitrovica.

Government

The principal issue facing the region is its future relationship with Serbia and independent Kosovo. The North Kosovo Serbs have taken a consistently hard line, refusing to cooperate with the government in Pristina or to take up their seats in the Assembly of Kosovo. Their stance has been encouraged by the Serbian government of Vojislav Koštunica & they remain in control of this area of Kosovo with parallel Serbian structures.

However, Ivanović and other Kosovo Serb leaders have expressed increasing frustration at Belgrade's approach and have voiced their support for a more moderate stance, speaking openly of rejoining the Assembly of Kosovo and taking part in its government. This line has proved highly controversial, as many Kosovo Serbs reject any compromise; in February 2004, Ivanović's car was destroyed by a bomb explosion outside his home in Kosovska Mitrovica.

The Serbian government, the Serbian List, the Government of Kosovo and the United Nations all officially oppose the separation of North Kosovo from the rest of the province. However, many Serbs in the region are adamantly opposed to living under the rule of an Albanian-majority provincial government and reject an independent Kosovo. Ivanović has spoken out against partition, pointing out that more than 60,000 (55%) of the Serb population of Kosovo lives south of Ibar, and that all of the important cultural and economic assets are also in the south of Kosovo.

Most inhabitants of North Kosovo have boycotted the elections for the provisional institutions held in November 2007 upon advice from Belgrade, putting themselves in an awkward situation, as ethnic Albanian parties are leading on all local elections in North Kosovo.

In February 2007 the Union of Serbian Districts and District Units of Kosovo has transformed into the Serbian Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija presided by Marko Jakšić. The Assembly strongly criticized the independence moves of the Kosovo Assembly and demanded unity of the Serb people in Kosovo, boycott of EULEX and announced massive protests in "support of Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo." On 18 February 2008, a day after Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, the Assembly declared it null and void in an open assembly together with the presence of the pro-Serb opposition from Montenegro.

In June, 2008 the Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija was gathered to coordinate the efforts of the Serbian community in North Kosovo.

In 2011, former President of Kosovo Behgjet Pacolli crossed into the Northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica in a sign of unity. It marked the first time that a high ranking Republic of Kosovo official visited Northern Kosovo. Such a symbolic gesture was accompanied by a heavy security presence.

Rule of Law

Law enforcement and green border checkpoints are carried out by KFOR, EULEX and Kosovo Police. According to an International Crisis Group report, covert agents of Serbian police also operate in the area. North Kosovska Mitrovica in particular continues to remain a hot spot for organized crime.

Notes and references

Notes:

References:

External links

International Crisis Group. NORTH KOSOVO: DUAL SOVEREIGNTY IN PRACTICE, Europe Report N°211 – 14 March 2011

Category:Geography of Kosovo Category:Subdivisions of Kosovo Category:North Kosovo Category:Serbian enclaves in Kosovo Category:Parallel Structures in Kosovo

bg:Северно Косово de:Nordkosovo es:Kosovo del Norte fr:Nord du Kosovo os:Цæгат Косово it:Kosovo del Nord mk:Северно Косово no:Nord-Kosovo pt:Kosovo do Norte ro:Nordul Kosovo ru:Северное Косово sq:Kollashini i Ibrit sr:Северно Косово sv:Nordkosovo

Coordinates	54°43′16″N18°19′4″N
Conventional long name	Kosovo
Common name	Kosovo
map caption	Kosovo physical map
Ethnic groups	88% Albanians7% Serbs5% others
Ethnic groups year	2009
Capital
Largest city	capital
Latns	N
Longew	E
Area magnitude	1 E10
Area km2	10,908
Area sq mi	4,212
Percent water	n/a
Population census	1,733,872
Population census year	2011
Population density km2	159
Population density sq mi	412
Gdp ppp year	2011
Gdp ppp	€4.740 / $6.488 billion
Gdp ppp per capita	€2,070
Gdp nominal year	2010
Gdp nominal	$5.601 billion
Gdp nominal per capita	$3,103
Currency	Euro (€); Serbian Dinar
Currency code	EUR; RSD
Time zone	CET
Utc offset	+1
Time zone dst	CEST
Utc offset dst	+2
Drives on	right
Calling code	+381
Footnote1	Officially +381; some mobile phone providers use +377 (Monaco) or +386 (Slovenia) instead. }}

Kosovo (; ; ) is a region in southeastern Europe. For most of the existence of Yugoslavia, it was the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (Serbian: Аутономна Покрајина Косово и Метохија, ''Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo i Metohija'') within Serbia (Serbia then being one of the constituent republics of Yugoslavia), and is still so regarded by Serbia (as declared in the 2006 Constitution of Serbia). In consequence of Yugoslavia's defeat in the Kosovo War, the country relinquished control of this territory, whose governance was taken over by the United Nations. The partially recognised Republic of Kosovo (Albanian: ''Republika e Kosovës''; Serbian: Република Косово, ''Republika Kosovo''), a self-declared independent state, has ''de facto'' control over most of the territory, with North Kosovo being the largest Kosovo Serb enclave. Serbia does not recognise the unilateral secession of Kosovo and considers it a UN-governed entity within its sovereign territory.

Background

Kosovo is landlocked and borders the Republic of Macedonia to the south, Albania to the west and Montenegro to the northwest. The remaining frontier belt is with the Central Serbian region which is the source of international dispute. The largest city and the capital of Kosovo is Pristina (alternatively spelled ''Prishtina'' or ''Priština''), while other cities include Peć (Albanian: ''Peja''), Prizren, Đakovica (''Gjakova''), and Kosovska Mitrovica (''Mitrovica''). Nominally, the name of Kosovo has come to represent a number of different entities over the centuries and its borders have subsequently altered. There have also been periods when no political entity has existed with the name of Kosovo. Today's outline dates back to 1946.

During classical antiquity, the territory roughly corresponding to present-day Kosovo was part of several tribal alliances, including that formed by the Dardani. Upon conquest, the Romans dissolved existing tribal alliances and re-integrated communities centred on Roman civitates as part of the Roman province of Moesia Superior. Subdivisions in Late Roman times created the region of "Dardania". After the collapse of Roman control, the region was contested between Avars, Sklavenes and Byzantines, and later beween the Byzantines, Bulgarians and Serbs.

The name and the region ''Kosovo'' first appears as part of a newly created region within an expanded Serbian medieval state, and soon became its ecclesiastical and secular centre; the region was subsequently enshrined by Serbs as the cradle of their national identity. Following the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, it became part of the Ottoman Empire, while some parts of it remained in the Albanian Principality of Dukagjini, until the middle 15th century. During the Ottoman the region came into close contact with the Ottoman culture Islam was introduced to the population. During the late 19th century, Kosovo was the centre of the Albanian national awakening and the battlefield of the Albanian revolts of 1843–44, 1910 and 1912. In 1912, the Ottoman province was divided between Montenegro and Serbia, both of which became part of Yugoslavia in 1918. During World War II, the majority of Kosovo was part of Italian-occupied Albania, followed by a Nazi German Occupation before becoming an autonomous province of the SR Serbia under the Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

After the Kosovo War and the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the territory came under the interim administration of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), most of whose roles were assumed by the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) in December 2008. In February 2008 individual members of the Assembly of Kosovo (acting in personal capacity and not binding the Assembly itself) declared Kosovo's independence as the ''Republic of Kosovo''. Its independence is recognised by and the Republic of China (Taiwan). On 8 October 2008, upon request of Serbia, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution asking the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on the issue of Kosovo's declaration of independence. On 22 July 2010, the ICJ ruled that Kosovo's declaration of independence did not violate international law, which its president said contains no "prohibitions on declarations of independence".

Name

''Kosovo'' (, ) is the Serbian neuter possessive adjective of ''kos'' (кос) "blackbird", an ellipsis for ''Kosovo Polje'', 'blackbird field', the site of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo Field. The name of the field was applied to an Ottoman province created in 1864.

The region currently known as "Kosovo" became an administrative region in 1946, as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. In 1974, the compositional "Kosovo and Metohija" was reduced to simple "Kosovo" in the name of the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, but in 1990 was renamed back to Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.

The entire region is commonly referred to in English simply as ''Kosovo'' and in Albanian as '''' (definite form, ) or '''' ("indefinite" form, ). In Serbia, a distinction is made between the eastern and western areas; the term '''' () is used for the eastern part, while the western part is called ''Metohija'' ().

History

Kosovo's current status is the result of the turmoil of the disintegration of Yugoslavia, particularly the Kosovo War of 1998 to 1999, but it is suffused with issues dating back to the rise of nationalism in the Balkans during the last part of Ottoman rule in the 19th century. The Kosovo Albanians claim that the Illyrians, whom they claim as their direct ancestors, were the majority population in the region, and continued to be so throughout history despite failing to create any 'national institutions' in Kosovo until modern times and despite encroachments on their native territories. The Serbians deny this claim. Moreoever, they argue that, even if there is some linguistic connection between the pre-Slavic population of "Dardania" and modern Albanians, this cannot be used to justify modern territorial aspirations since it relies on territorial claims from pre-Migration Age Europe, at a time where there were no states or nations as we know them today. Serbian claims to Kosovo extend even farther than the migrations dated to c. 6–7th century, on the account of admixture with preexisting "Illyrians" and Roman populations and their preservation of certain of their customs. Moreover, in line with the consensus historical viewpoint, they see modern Albanians to have emerged in the Middle Ages after significant admixture with various other ethno-linguistic groups, including Slavs. Finally, Serbs claim that Kosovo very rapidly became the 'heart of Serbia' in the Middle Ages, and revere the Battle of Kosovo, eponymous with the Kosovo region.

Early history

During antiquity, the area which now makes up Kosovo was inhabited by various tribal ''ethnes'', who were liable to move, englarge, fuse and fissure with neighbouring groups. As such, it is difficult to locate any such group with precision. The ''Dardani'', whose exact ethno-linguistic affilitation is difficult to determine, were a prominent group in the region during the late Hellenistic and early Roman eras.

The area was then conquered by Rome in the 160s BC, and incorporated into the Roman province of Illyricum in 59 BC. Subsequently, it became part of Moesia Superior in AD 87. The region was exposed to an increasing number of 'barbarian' raids from the fourth century C.E. onwards, culminating with the so-called Slavic migrations of the 6th to 7th centuries. Archaeologically, the early Middle Ages represent a hiatus in the material record, and whatever was left of the native provincial population fused with the ''Sklavene'' colonists.

The subsequent political and demoghraphic history of Kosovo is not known with absolute certainty until c. 13th century C.E. Archaeological findings suggest that there was steady population recovery and progression of the Slavic culture seen elsewhere throughout the Balkans. The region was absorbed into the Bulgarian Empire in the 850s, where Christianity and a Byzantine-Slavic culture was cemented in the region. It was re-taken by the Byzantines after 1018, and became part of the newly established Theme of Bulgaria. As the centre of Slavic resistance to Constantinople in the region, the region often switched between Serbian and Bulgarian rule on one hand and Byzantine on the other until the Serb principality of Rascia conquered it definitively by the end of the 12th century. An insight into the region is provided by the Byzantine historian-princess, Anna Comnena, who wrote of "Serbs" being the main inhabitants of the region (referring to it as "eastern Dalmatia" and the "former Moesia Superior"). The earliest references to an Albanian population is derived from late eleventh century Byzantine chroniclers, who consistently located the ''Arber'' around the hinterland districts of Dyrrachium, modern Durrës.

The zenith of Serbian power was reached in 1346, with the formation of the Serbian Empire. During the 13th and 14th centuries, Kosovo became a political and spiritual centre of the Serbian Kingdom. In the late 13th century, the seat of the Serbian Archbishopric was moved to Pec, and rulers centred themselves between Prizren and Skopje, during which time thousands of Christian monasteries and feudal-style forts and castles were erected. When the Serbian Empire fragmented into a conglomeration of principalities in 1371, Kosovo became the hereditary land of the House of Branković. In the late 14th and the 15th century parts of Kosovo, the easternmost area of which was located near Pristina, were part of the Principality of Dukagjini, which was later incorporated an anti-Ottoman federation of all Albanian principalities, the League of Lezhë.

In the 1389 Battle of Kosovo, Ottoman forces defeated a coalition of Serbs, Albanians, and Bosnians led by the Tsar Lazar Hrebeljanović. Soon after, parts of Serbia accepted Turkish vassalage and Lazar's daughter was married to the Sultan to seal the peace. By 1455, it was finally and fully conquered by the Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman Kosovo (1455–1912)

Kosovo was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1455 to 1912, at first as part of the ''eyalet'' of Rumelia, and from 1864 as a separate province (''vilayet''). During this time, Islam was introduced to the population. The Vilayet of Kosovo was an area much larger than today's Kosovo; it included all today's Kosovo territory, sections of the Sandžak region cutting into present-day Central Serbia and Montenegro along with the Kukës municipality, the surrounding region in present-day northern Albania and also parts of north-western Macedonia with the city of Skopje (then Üsküp), as its capital. Between 1881 and 1912 (its final phase), it was internally expanded to include other regions of present-day Republic of Macedonia, including larger urban settlements such as Štip (''İştip''), Kumanovo (''Kumanova'') and Kratovo (''Kratova'').

The Serbian position is that archives reveal an overwhelming Serbian demographic majority in Kosovo, which was reversed by the end of Ottoman rule, as Banac summarised: "Ottoman raids, plunder, slaving forays, as well as the general devastation caused by constant wars uprooted large numbers of Serbs even before the 'Great Serb Migration'". This was followed by the transplantation of Albanian pastoralists from the highlands of Albania to the fertile valleys of Kosovo. However, Anscombe highlights that the most common archives – those derived from the Ottomans – do not clarify unequivocally the 'ethnic' character of the region's inhabitants, because the Ottomans classified their subjects along religious lines (''millets''). Anscombe suggests that records show that the demography of Kosovo was very much mixed and that both Serbian and Albanian ethnic groups dominated. Moreover, they seem to indicate more cases of Albanians rebelling than any other ethnicity in the region. However, mainstream historiography clarifies that "there is no conclusive evidence that a people unambiguously identifiable as "Albanian" constituted the majority of the population in Kosovo prior to the Ottoman occupation". Even the relatively "pro-Albanian" history written by Noel Malcolm concedes that "the region probably had a predominantly Orthodox Christian and Slavic population from the eight to the mid-nineteenth centuries". Allowing for the possibility of some connection between the regions inhabitants prior to successive Slavic/ Serbian inflows, the Albanians who 'returned' to Kosovo in modern times were certainly not ''the same'' people, having interbred extensively with Vlachs, Slavs, Greeks and Turks. Whilst there is little evidence of ethnic Albanian institutional presence in medieval Kosovo, this might be due to the fact that they were often baptised into Orthodox Christianity and subjected to a process of "Serbianisation". Prior to Islamification, the Albanians might have existed as transhumance pastoralists inhabiting Balkan highland areas, like the Vlachs, engaging in a symbiotic existence with the predominantly agricultural Slavs who inhabited the valleys and plains.

Kosovo, like Serbia, was occupied by Austrian forces during the Great War of 1683–1699, but the Ottomans re-established their rule of the region. Such acts of assistance by the Austrian Empire (then arch-rivals of the Ottoman Empire), or Russia, were always abortive or temporary at best. In 1690, the Serbian Patriarch of Peć Arsenije III apparently led a group of 37, 000 families from Kosovo to the Christian north, although, this might have been around 30 – 40, 0000 individuals. In 1766, the Ottomans abolished the Patriarchate of Peć and the position of Christians in Kosovo further deteriorated, including full imposition of jizya (taxation of non-Muslims).

Although initially stout opponents of the advancing Turks, Albanian chiefs ultimately came to accept the Ottomans as sovereigns. The resulting alliance facilitated the mass conversion of Albanians to Islam. Given that the Ottoman Empire's subjects were divided along religious (rather than ethnic) lines, Islamicisation greatly elevated the status of Albanian chiefs. Prior to this, they were organised along simple tribal lines, living in the mountainous areas of modern Albania (from Kruje to the Sar range). Soon, they expanded into a depopulated Kosovo, as well as northwestern Macedonia, although some might have been autochthonous to the region. However, Banac favours the idea that the main settlers of the time were Vlachs. As Hupchik states, "Albanians had little cause of unrest" and "if anything, grew important in Ottoman internal affairs", and sometimes persecuted Christians harshly on behalf of their Turkish masters. According to the Serbian viewpoint, the most numerous Albanian migrations occurred during the eighteenth century. These Albanians were almost all of the Muslim faith, and their settlement was defended by the Ottomans, amounting to a mass-colonisation of Kosovo by Albanians and the genocide of Serbian inhabitants. According to the Albanian perspective, this was merely a consolidation of previously held territory.

In the 19th century, there was an awakening of ethnic nationalism throughout the Balkans. This systematised the underlying ethnic tensions into a broader struggle of Christian Serbs against Muslim Albanians. The ethnic Albanian nationalism movement was centred in Kosovo. In 1878 the League of Prizren () was formed. This was a political organisation which aimed to unify all the Albanians of the Ottoman Empire in a common struggle for autonomy and greater cultural rights, although they generally desired the continuation of the Ottoman Empire. The League was dis-established in 1881 but nevertheless enabled the awakening of a national identity amongst Albanians. It would be clear that Albanian ambitions were at odds with Serbian aims. The Kingdom of Serbia wished to incorporate this land formerly within its empire.

20th century

Balkan Wars

The Young Turk movement took control of the Ottoman Empire after a coup in 1912 which disposed of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. The movement supported a centralised form of government and opposed any sort of autonomy desired by the various nationalities of the Ottoman Empire. An allegiance to Ottomanism was promoted instead. An Albanian uprising in 1912 exposed the Empires Northern territories in Kosovo and Novi Pazar which led to an invasion by the Kingdom of Montenegro. The Ottomans suffered a serious defeat at the hands of Albanians in 1912, culminating in the Ottoman loss of most of its Albanian inhabited lands. The Albanians threatened to march all the way to Salonika and reimpose Abdul Hamid.

A wave of Albanians in the Ottoman army ranks also deserted during this period, refusing to fight their own kin. Two months later in September of the same year, a joint Balkan force made up of Serbian, Montenegrin, Bulgarian and Greek forces drove the Ottomans out of most of their European possessions.

The rise of Nationalism unfortunately hampered relations between Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo, due to influence from Russians, Austrians and Ottomans. Kosovo's status within Serbia was finalised the following year at the Treaty of London. Soon, there were concerted Serbian colonisation efforts in Kosovo during various periods between Serbia's 1912 takeover of the province and World War II. So the population of Serbs in Kosovo fell after World War II, but it had increased considerably before then.

An exodus of the local Albanian population occurred. Serbian authorities promoted creating new Serb settlements in Kosovo as well as the assimilation of Albanians into Serbian society. Numerous colonist Serb families moved into Kosovo, equalising the demographic balance between Albanians and Serbs.

First World War and birth of Kingdom of Yugoslavia

In the winter of 1915–16, during World War I, Kosovo saw the retreat of the Serbian army as Kosovo was occupied by Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary. In 1918, the Serbian Army pushed the Central Powers out of Kosovo. After World War I ended, the Monarchy was then 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 (Zvečan, Kosovo and southern Metohija) and one of Montenegro (northern Metohija). However, the new administration system since 26 April 1922 split Kosovo among three Areas of the Kingdom: Kosovo, Raška and Zeta. In 1929, the Kingdom was transformed into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the territories of Kosovo were reorganised among the Banate of Zeta, the Banate of Morava and the Banate of Vardar.

In order to change the ethnic composition of Kosovo, between 1912 and 1941 a large-scale Serbian re-colonisation of Kosovo was undertaken by the Belgrade government. Meanwhile, Kosovar Albanians' right to receive education in their own language was denied alongside other non-Slavic or unrecognised Slavic nations of Yugoslavia, as the kingdom only recognised the Slavic Croat, Serb, and Slovene nations as constituent nations of Yugoslavia, while other Slavs had to identify as one of the three official Slavic nations while non-Slav nations were only deemed as minorities.

Albanians and other Muslims were forced to emigrate, mainly with the land reform which struck Albanian landowners in 1919, but also with direct violent measures. In 1935 and 1938 two agreements between the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Turkey were signed on the expatriation of 240,000 Albanians to Turkey, which was not completed because of the outbreak of World War II.

Second World War

In 1941, Kosovo and Yugoslavia became involved in World War II after the Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia in 1941. Large parts of Kosovo became a part of Italian-controlled Albania, other parts went to Bulgaria and German-occupied Military Administration of Serbia. The Italian Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini with its expansionist and irredentist aims on both Albania and Yugoslavia exploited the nationalist sentiment amongst Albanians to gain favour of the Albanian population for the Italian-run protectorate which ruled Albania, and thus encouraged the establishment of a Greater Albania which included large portions of Kosovo which was achieved in the Second World War.

At the 1944 wartime Bujan conference the Kosovar communist resistance leaders passed a resolution on the postwar assignment of Kosovo to Albania, but their opinion was later disregarded. After numerous uprisings of Partisans led by Fadil Hoxha, Kosovo was liberated after 1944 with the help of the Albanian partisans of the Comintern and became a province of Serbia within the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia.

Kosovo in Communist Yugoslavia

The province as in its outline today first took shape in 1945 as the ''Autonomous Kosovo-Metohian Area''. Until World War II, the only entity bearing the name of Kosovo had been a political unit carved from the former vilayet which bore no special significance to its internal population. In the Ottoman Empire (which previously controlled the territory), it had been a vilayet with its borders having been revised on several occasions. When the Ottoman province had last existed, it included areas which were by now either ceded to Albania, or found themselves within the newly created Yugoslav republics of Montenegro, or Macedonia (including its previous capital, Skopje) with another part in the Sandžak region of Central Serbia.

Tensions between ethnic Albanians and the Yugoslav government were significant, not only due to national tensions but also due to political ideological concerns, especially regarding relations with neighbouring Albania. Harsh repressive measures were imposed on Kosovo Albanians due to suspicions that they there were Kosovo Albanian sympathisers of the Stalinist regime of Enver Hoxha of Albania. In 1956, a show trial in Pristina was held in which multiple Albanian Communists of Kosovo were convicted of being infiltrators from Albania and were given long prison sentences. High-ranking Serbian communist official Aleksandar Ranković sought to secure the position of the Serbs in Kosovo and gave them dominance in Kosovo's nomenklatura.

Islam in Kosovo at this time was repressed and both Albanians and Muslim Slavs were encouraged to declare themselves to be Turkish and emigrate to Turkey. At the same time Serbs and Montenegrins dominated the government, security forces, and industrial employment in Kosovo. Albanians resented these conditions and protested against them in the late 1960s, accusing the actions taken by authorities in Kosovo as being colonialist, as well as demanding that Kosovo be made a republic, or declaring support for Albania.

After the ouster of Ranković in 1966, the agenda of pro-decentralisation reformers in Yugoslavia, especially from Slovenia and Croatia succeeded in the late 1960s in attaining substantial decentralisation of powers, creating substantial autonomy in Kosovo and Vojvodina, and recognising a Muslim Yugoslav nationality. As a result of these reforms, there was a massive overhaul of Kosovo's nomenklatura and police, that shifted from being Serb-dominated to ethnic Albanian-dominated through firing Serbs in large scale. Further concessions were made to the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo in response to unrest, including the creation of the University of Pristina as an Albanian language institution. These changes created widespread fear amongst Serbs that they were being made second-class citizens in Yugoslavia by these changes. In the 1974 Constitution of Yugoslavia, Kosovo was granted major autonomy, allowing it to have its own administration, assembly, and judiciary; as well as having a membership in the collective presidency and the Yugoslav parliament, in which it held veto power.

In the aftermath of the 1974 constitution, concerns over the rise of Albanian nationalism in Kosovo rose with the widespread celebrations in 1978 of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the League of Prizren. Albanians felt that their status as a "minority" in Yugoslavia had made them second-class citizens in comparison with the "nations" of Yugoslavia and demanded that Kosovo be a constituent republic, alongside the other republics of Yugoslavia. Protests by Albanians in 1981 over the status of Kosovo resulted in Yugoslav territorial defence units being brought into Kosovo and a state of emergency being declared resulting in violence and the protests being crushed. In the aftermath of the 1981 protests, purges took place in the Communist Party, and rights that had been recently granted to Albanians were rescinded – including ending the provision of Albanian professors and Albanian language textbooks in the education system.

Due to very high birth rates, the number of Albanians increased from 75% to over 90%. In contrast, the number of Serbs barely increased, and in fact dropped from 15% to 8% of the total population, since many Serbs departed from Kosovo as a response to the tight economic climate and increased incidents of alleged harassment from their Albanian neighbours. While there was tension, charges of "genocide" and planned harassments have been debunked as an excuse to revoke Kosovo's autonomy. For example in 1986 the Serbian Orthodox Church published an official claim that Kosovo Serbs were being subjected to an Albanian program of 'Genocide'.

Even though they were disproved by police statistics, they received wide play in the Serbian press and that led to further ethnic problems and eventual removal of Kosovo's status. Beginning in March 1981, Kosovar Albanian students of the University of Pristina organised protests seeking that Kosovo become a republic within Yugoslavia along with human rights. The protests were brutally suppressed by the police and army, with many protesters arrested. During the 1980s, ethnic tensions continued with frequent violent outbreaks against Yugoslav state authorities resulting in a further increase in emigration of Kosovo Serbs and other ethnic groups. The Yugoslav leadership tried to suppress protests of Kosovo Serbs seeking protection from ethnic discrimination and violence.

Disintegration of Yugoslavia

Inter-ethnic tensions continued to worsen in Kosovo throughout the 1980s.

The 1986 Memorandum of the Serbian Academy 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 28 June 1989, Slobodan Milošević delivered the Gazimestan speech in front of a large number of Serb citizens at the main celebration marking the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo. Many think that this speech helped Milošević consolidate his authority in Serbia. In 1989, Milošević, employing a mix of intimidation and political manoeuvring, drastically reduced Kosovo's special autonomous status within Serbia and started cultural oppression of the ethnic Albanian population. Kosovo Albanians responded with a non-violent separatist movement, employing widespread civil disobedience and creation of parallel structures in education, medical care, and taxation, with the ultimate goal of achieving the independence of Kosovo.

On July 2, 1990, the self declared Kosovo parliament declared Kosovo an independent country, the Republic of Kosova. In May 1992, Ibrahim Rugova was elected president. During its lifetime, the Republic of Kosova was only recognised by Albania; it was formally disbanded in 2000, after the Kosovo War, when its institutions were replaced by the Joint Interim Administrative Structure established by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

Kosovo War

In 1995 the Dayton Agreement ended the Bosnian War, drawing considerable international attention. However, despite the hopes of Kosovar Albanians, the situation in Kosovo remained largely unaddressed by the international community, and by 1996 the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), an ethnic Albanian guerilla group, had prevailed over the non-violent resistance movement and had started offering armed resistance to Serbian and Yugoslav security forces, resulting in early stages of the Kosovo War.

By 1998, as the violence had worsened and displaced scores of Albanians, Western interest had increased. The Serbian authorities were compelled to sign a ceasefire and partial retreat, monitored by OSCE observers according to an agreement negotiated by Richard Holbrooke. However, the ceasefire did not hold and fighting resumed in December 1998. The Račak massacre in January 1999 in particular brought new international attention to the conflict. Within weeks, a multilateral international conference was convened and by March had prepared a draft agreement known as the Rambouillet Accords, calling for restoration of Kosovo's autonomy and deployment of NATO peacekeeping forces. The Serbian party found the terms unacceptable and refused to sign the draft.

Between 24 March and 10 June 1999, NATO intervened by bombing Yugoslavia aimed to force Milošević to withdraw his forces from Kosovo. This military action was not authorised by the Security Council of the United Nations and was therefore contrary to the provisions of the United Nations Charter. Combined with continued skirmishes between Albanian guerrillas and Yugoslav forces the conflict resulted in a further massive displacement of population in Kosovo.

During the conflict, roughly a million ethnic Albanians fled or were forcefully driven from Kosovo. Altogether, more than 11,000 deaths have been reported to Carla Del Ponte by her prosecutors. Some 3,000 people are still missing, of which 2,500 are Albanian, 400 Serbs and 100 Roma. Ultimately by June, Milošević had agreed to a foreign military presence within Kosovo and withdrawal of his troops.

Since May 1999, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has prosecuted crimes committed during the Kosovo War. Nine Serbian and Yugoslavian commanders have been indicted so far for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war in Kosovo in 1999: Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milošević, Serbian President Milan Milutinović, Yugoslavian Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Šainović, Yugoslavian Chief of the General Staff Gen. Dragoljub Ojdanić, Serbian Interior Minister Vlajko Stojiljković, Gen. Nebojša Pavković, Gen. ''Vladimir Lazarević'', Deputy Interior Minister of Serbia Vlastimir Đorđević and Chief of the Interior for Kosovo Sreten Lukić. Stojiljković killed himself while at large in 2002 and Milošević died in custody during the trial in 2006. No final judgement concerning the other defendants has been produced so far. The indictment against the nine has alleged that they directed, encouraged or supported a campaign of terror and violence directed at Kosovo Albanian civilians and aimed at the expulsion of a substantial portion of them from Kosovo. It has been alleged that about 800,000 Albanians were expelled as a result. In particular, in the last indictment as of June 2006, the accused were charged with murder of 919 identified Kosovo Albanian civilians aged from one to 93, both male and female.

Six KLA commanders were indicted in two cases: Fatmir Limaj, Isak Musliu and Haradin Bala, as well as Ramush Haradinaj, ''Idriz Balaj'' and ''Lahi Brahimaj''. They were charged with crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war in Kosovo in 1998, consisting in persecutions, cruel treatment, torture, murders and rape of several dozens of the local Serbs, Albanians and other civilians perceived unloyal to the KLA. In particular, Limaj, Musliu and Bala were accused of murder of 22 identified detainees at or near the Lapušnik Prison Camp. In 2005 Limaj and Musliu were found not guilty on all charges, Bala was found guilty of persecutions, cruel treatment, murders and rape and sentenced to 13 years. The appeal chamber affirmed the judgements in 2007. In 2008 Ramush Haradinaj and Idriz Balaj were acquitted, whereas Lahi Brahimaj was found guilty of cruel treatment and torture and sentenced to six years. Notices of appeal are currently being considered.

UN administration period

On 10 June 1999, the UN Security Council passed UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which placed Kosovo under transitional UN administration (UNMIK) and authorised KFOR, a NATO-led peacekeeping force. Resolution 1244 provided that Kosovo would have autonomy within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and affirmed the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia, which has been legally succeeded by the Republic of Serbia.

Some 200,000–280,000, representing the majority of the Serb population, left when the Serbian forces left. There was also some looting of Serb properties and even violence against some of those Serbs and Roma who remained. The current number of internally displaced persons is disputed, with estimates ranging from 65,000 to 250,000. Many displaced Serbs are afraid to return to their homes, even with UNMIK protection. Around 120,000–150,000 Serbs remain in Kosovo, but are subject to ongoing harassment and discrimination due to physical threats for their safety.

International negotiations began in 2006 to determine the final status of Kosovo, as envisaged under UN Security Council Resolution 1244. The UN-backed talks, led by UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, began in February 2006. Whilst progress was made on technical matters, both parties remained diametrically opposed on the question of status itself.

In February 2007, Ahtisaari delivered a draft status settlement proposal to leaders in Belgrade and Pristina, the basis for a draft UN Security Council Resolution which proposes 'supervised independence' for the province. A draft resolution, backed by the United States, the United Kingdom and other European members of the Security Council, was presented and rewritten four times to try to accommodate Russian concerns that such a resolution would undermine the principle of state sovereignty.

Russia, which holds a veto in the Security Council as one of five permanent members, had stated that it would not support any resolution which was not acceptable to both Belgrade and Kosovo Albanians. Whilst most observers had, at the beginning of the talks, anticipated independence as the most likely outcome, others have suggested that a rapid resolution might not be preferable.

After many weeks of discussions at the UN, the United States, United Kingdom and other European members of the Security Council formally 'discarded' a draft resolution backing Ahtisaari's proposal on 20 July 2007, having failed to secure Russian backing. Beginning in August, a "Troika" consisting of negotiators from the European Union (Wolfgang Ischinger), the United States (Frank G. Wisner) and Russia (Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko) launched a new effort to reach a status outcome acceptable to both Belgrade and Pristina. Despite Russian disapproval, the U.S., the United Kingdom, and France appeared likely to recognise Kosovar independence.

UN administration 1999–present

On 10 June 1999, the UN Security Council passed UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which placed Kosovo under transitional UN administration (UNMIK) and authorised KFOR, a NATO-led peacekeeping force. Resolution 1244 provided that Kosovo would have autonomy within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and affirmed the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia, which has been legally succeeded by the Republic of Serbia.

According to the Constitutional Framework, Kosovo shall have a 120-member Kosovo Assembly. The Assembly includes twenty reserved seats: ten for Kosovo Serbs and ten for non-Serb minorities (Bosniaks, Roma, etc.). The Kosovo Assembly is responsible for electing a President and Prime Minister of Kosovo.

Provisional Institutions of Self-Government

In November 2001, the OSCE supervised the first elections for the Kosovo Assembly. After that election, Kosovo's political parties formed an all-party unity coalition and elected Ibrahim Rugova as President and Bajram Rexhepi (PDK) as Prime Minister. After Kosovo-wide elections in October 2004, the LDK and AAK formed a new governing coalition that did not include PDK and Ora. This coalition agreement resulted in Ramush Haradinaj (AAK) becoming Prime Minister, while Ibrahim Rugova retained the position of President. PDK and Ora were critical of the coalition agreement and have since frequently accused the current government of corruption.

Parliamentary elections were held on 17 November 2007. After early results, Hashim Thaçi who was on course to gain 35 per cent of the vote, claimed victory for PDK, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, and stated his intention to declare independence. Thaçi formed a coalition with current President Fatmir Sejdiu's Democratic League which was in second place with 22 percent of the vote. The turnout at the election was particularly low. Most members of the Serb minority refused to vote.

However, since 1999, the Serb-inhabited areas of Kosovo, such as North Kosovo have remained ''de facto'' independent from the Albanian-dominated government in Pristina. Local politics in the Serb areas are dominated by the Serbian List for Kosovo and Metohija. The Serbian List is led by Oliver Ivanović, an engineer from Mitrovica. Within Serbia, Kosovo is the concern of the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija, currently led by minister Goran Bogdanović.

Declaration of independence

Republic of Kosovo declared independence on 17 February 2008 and over the following days, a number of states (the United States, Turkey, Albania, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Australia, Poland and others) announced their recognition, despite protests by Russia and others in the UN. Currently, recognise the independence of Kosovo and it has become a member country of the IMF and World Bank as the Republic of Kosovo.

The UN Security Council remains divided on the question (). Of the five members with veto power, USA, UK, and France recognised the declaration of independence, and the People's Republic of China has expressed concern, while Russia considers it illegal. , no member-country of CIS, CSTO or SCO has recognised Kosovo as independent. Kosovo has not made a formal application for UN membership yet in view of a possible veto from Russia and China.

The European Union has no official position towards Kosovo's status, but has decided to deploy the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo to ensure a continuation of international civil presence in Kosovo. , most of the member-countries of NATO, EU, WEU and OECD have recognised Kosovo as independent.

, all of Kosovo's immediate neighbours except Serbia have recognised the declaration of independence. Montenegro and Macedonia announced their recognition of Kosovo on 9 October 2008. Albania, Croatia, Bulgaria and Hungary have also recognised the independence of Kosovo.

The Serb minority of Kosovo, which largely opposes the declaration of independence, has formed the Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija in response. The creation of the assembly was condemned by Kosovo's president Fatmir Sejdiu, while UNMIK has said the assembly is not a serious issue because it will not have an operative role. On 8 October 2008, the UN General Assembly resolved to request the International Court of Justice to render an advisory opinion on the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia. The advisory opinion, which is legally non-binding but had been expected to carry "moral" weight, was rendered on 22 July 2010, holding that Kosovo's declaration of independence was not in violation of international law.

Geography

Kosovo represents an important link between central and southern Europe and the Adriatic and Black Seas. Kosovo has an area of 10,908 square km. It lies between latitudes 41° and 44° N, and longitudes 20° and 22° E. The border of Kosovo is approximately 602.09 kilometers long.

Its climate is continental, with warm summers and cold and snowy winters. Most of Kosovo's terrain is mountainous, the highest peak is Đeravica (). There are two main plain regions, the Metohija basin is located in the western part of the Kosovo, and the Plain of Kosovo occupies the eastern part. The main rivers of the region are the White Drin, running towards the Adriatic Sea, with the Erenik among its tributaries), the Sitnica, the South Morava in the Goljak area, and Ibar in the north. The biggest lakes are Gazivoda, Radonjić, Batlava and Badovac. 39.1% of Kosovo is forested, about 52% is classified as agricultural land, 31% of which is covered by pastures and 69% is arable. Phytogeographically, Kosovo belongs to the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency, the territory of Kosovo belongs to the ecoregion of Balkan mixed forests.Currently, the 39,000 ha Šar Mountains National Park, established in 1986 in the Šar Mountains along the border with the Republic of Macedonia, is the only national park in Kosovo, although the Balkan Peace Park in the Prokletije along the border with Montenegro has been proposed as another one.

The largest cities are Pristina, the capital, with an estimated 500,000 inhabitants. The old city of Prizren is towards the south west, with a population of 110,000. Peć in the west has 70,000 inhabitants with Kosovska Mitrovica in the north at around 70,000.

North or Northern Kosovo is a region in the northern part of Kosovo with an ethnic Serb majority that functions largely autonomously from the remainder of Kosovo. Ibarian Kolashin, a toponym that predates the political partition, is also used to refer to the area. North Kosovo is by far the largest of the Serb-dominated areas within Kosovo, and unlike the others, directly borders Central Serbia. This has facilitated its ability to govern itself almost completely independently of the Kosovo institutions in a de facto state of partition. Although the Kosovo status process had repeatedly ruled out formalising this partition as a permanent solution, it has been increasingly mooted amidst continued deadlock.

Demographics

According to the Kosovo in Figures 2005 Survey of the Statistical Office of Kosovo, Kosovo's total population is estimated between 1.9 and 2.2 million with the following ethnic composition: Albanians 92%, Serbs 4%, Bosniaks and Gorans 2%, Turks 1%, Roma 1%. CIA World Factbook estimates the following ratio: 88% Albanians, 8% Kosovo Serbs and 4% other ethnic groups. According to latest CIA The World Factbook estimated data, as of July 2009, Kosovo's population stands at 1,804,838 persons. It stated that ethnic composition is "Albanians 88%, Serbs 7%, other 5% (Bosniak, Gorani, Roma, Turk, Ashkali, Egyptian, Janjevci – Croats)"

Albanians, steadily increasing in number, have constituted a majority in Kosovo since the 19th century, the earlier ethnic composition being disputed. Kosovo's political boundaries do not quite coincide with the ethnic boundary by which Albanians compose an absolute majority in every municipality; for example, Serbs form a local majority in North Kosovo and two other municipalities, while there are large areas with an Albanian majority outside of Kosovo, namely in the neighbouring regions of former Yugoslavia: the north-west of Macedonia, and in the Preševo Valley in Central Serbia.

At 1.3% per year, ethnic Albanians in Kosovo have the fastest rate of growth in population in Europe. Over an 82-year period (1921–2003) the population of Kosovo grew to 460% of its original size. If growth continues at such a pace, the population will reach 4.5 million by 2050. However, this is unlikely to happen; until about 1990, Kosovo Albanians had very high birth rates of about 4 children per woman, similar to many poor developing countries, but this has fallen down to about two since then and will likely sink below replacement eventually, as it has in Albania itself. In addition, Kosovo has a high emigration rate now which it did not have before 1990.

By contrast, from 1948 to 1991, the Serb population of Kosovo increased by a mere 12% (one third the growth of the population in Central Serbia). In addition, in the same period, hundreds of thousands have left to settle in more prosperous Central Serbia or Western Europe. 60% of Kosovo's pre-1999 Serbian population resides in Serbia proper following the ethnic cleansing campaign in 1999. The population of Albanians in Kosovo increased by 300% in the same period a rate of growth twenty-five times that of the Serbs in Kosovo. Serbs, similar to most other Eastern European Christian ethnic groups, since about 1990 have had very low birth rates (about 1.5 children per woman) and more deaths than births. This ensures a continued dwindling of the Serb minority as a percentage of the population, even with the dropping births among the Albanians.

Languages

The most common language of Kosovo is Albanian, the first language of 88 - 92% of the population. The native dialect of the Kosovar Albanian population is Gheg Albanian, although Standard Albanian is now widely used as an official language. Serbian is the next most common, spoken as a first language by 5-7% of the population. According to the draft Constitution of Kosovo, Serbian is also an official language. Other minority languages in Kosovo include Turkish, Gorani, Romani and the other Serbo-Croatian languages.

Religion

The two main religions of Kosovo are Islam and Christianity. Muslims make up 90% of Kosovo's population, and followers are mostly Sunni, with a Bektashi Islam minority. If considered an independent state, Kosovo would be one of three Muslim-dominated countries which lie exclusively within Europe - next to Bosnia and Hercegovina and Albania - and the most Muslim of them all percentage wise. Islam was brought into the region with the Ottoman conquest in the 15th century and now nominally professed by most of the ethnic Albanians, by the Bosniak, Gorani, and Turkish communities, and by some of the Roma/Ashkali-"Egyptian" community. Islam, however, does not dominate the Kosovar society, which remains largely secular. About three percent of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo remain Roman Catholic despite centuries of the Ottoman rule. There are an estimated 65,000 Catholics in Kosovo and another 60,000 Kosovar born Catholics outside of Kosovo. The Serb population, estimated at 100,000 to 120,000 persons, is largely Serbian Orthodox. Kosovo is densely covered by numerous Serb Orthodox churches and monasteries. Some 140 churches are reported to have been destroyed and partly looted for the black market in the 1999 to 2004 period, of these 30 in a single outburst of violence in March 2004.

There is also a small number of evangelical Protestants, whose tradition dates back to the Methodist missionaries' work centred in Bitola in the late 1800s. They are represented by the Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church (KPEC).

According to the governments of the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia, there is no official or state religion of Kosovo.

Society

Relations between Albanian and Serb communities

The relations between Kosovo's ethnic Albanian and Serb populations have been hostile since the rise of nationalism in the Balkans during the 19th century, rivalry which became strong after Serbia gained Kosovo from the Ottoman Empire in 1913 and after Albania became independent in the same year. During the Ottoman period however, Serbs and Albanians within Kosovo enjoyed good-neighbourly relations, working together to oppose foreign meddling in the territory on many occasions During the Tito-era of communist rule in Yugoslavia, the ethnic Albanian and Serb populations of Kosovo were strongly irreconcilable with sociological studies during the Tito-era indicating that ethnic Albanian and Serb peoples in Kosovo rarely accepted each other as neighbours or friends and few held interethnic marriages. Ethnic prejudices, stereotypes and mutual distrust between ethnic Albanians and Serbs have remained common for decades. Many camps around Kosovo continue to house thousands of Internally Displaced People, all of which are from minority groups and communities. Because many of the Roma are believed to have sided with the Serbs during the conflict, taking part in the widespread looting and destruction of Albanian property, Minority Rights Group International report that Romani people encounter hostility by Albanians outside their local areas. The report adds:

Culture and media

Although in Kosovo the music is diverse, authentic Albanian music (see ''World Music'') and Serbian music do still exist. Albanian music is characterised by the use of the ''çiftelia'' (an authentic Albanian instrument), ''mandolin'', ''mandola'' and ''percussion''. Classical music is also well known in Kosovo and has been taught at several music schools and universities (at the University of Prishtina Faculty of Arts in Pristina and the University of Priština Faculty of Arts at Kosovska Mitrovica).

Sports

Several sports federations have been formed in Kosovo within the framework of Law No. 2003/24 "Law on Sport" passed by the Assembly of Kosovo in 2003. The law formally established a national Olympic Committee, regulated the establishment of sports federations and established guidelines for sports clubs. At present only some of the sports federations established have gained international recognition.

Rule of law

Following the Kosovo War, due to the many weapons in the hands of civilians, law enforcement inefficiencies, and widespread devastation, both revenge killings and ethnic violence surged tremendously. The number of reported murders rose 80% from 136 in 2000 to 245 in 2001. The number of reported arsons rose 140% from 218 to 523 over the same period. UNMIK pointed out that the rise in reported incidents might simply correspond to an increased confidence in the police force (i.e., more reports) rather than more actual crime. According to the UNODC, by 2008, murder rates in Kosovo had dropped by 75% in five years.

Although the number of noted serious crimes increased between 1999 and 2000, since then it has been "starting to resemble the same patterns of other European cities". According to Amnesty International, the aftermath of the war resulted in an increase in the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation. According to the IOM data, in 2000–2004, Kosovo was consistently ranked fourth or fifth among the countries of Southeastern Europe by number of human trafficking victims, after Albania, Moldova, Romania and sometimes Bulgaria.

Residual landmines and other unexploded ordnance remain in Kosovo, although all roads and tracks have been cleared. Caution when travelling in remote areas is advisable.

Kosovo is extremely vulnerable to organised crime and thus to money laundering. In 2000, international agencies estimated that Kosovo was supplying up to 40% of the heroin sold in Europe and North America. Due to the 1997 unrest in Albania and the Kosovo War in 1998–1999 ethnic Albanian traffickers enjoyed a competitive advantage, which has been eroding as the region stabilises. However, according to a 2008 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, overall, ethnic Albanians, not only from Kosovo, supply 10 to 20% of the heroin in Western Europe, and the traffic has been declining.

In 2010, a report by Swiss MP Dick Marty claimed to have evidence that a criminal network tied to the Kosovo Liberation Army and the Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, executed prisoners and harvested their kidneys for organ transplantation. The Kosovo government rejected the allegation. On 25 January 2011, the Council of Europe endorsed the report and called for a full and serious investigation into its contents.

See also

References

External links

Category:Balkans Category:Kosovan entities Category:Disputed territories in Europe

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Kosovo Serbs (, meaning "''people of Kosovo''", sing; m ''Kosovac'', f ''Kosovka'') are the second largest ethnic group in Kosovo. By the 12th century, the cultural, diplomatic and religious core of the Serbian Kingdom was located in Kosovo. This became essential to the Serbian Empire of the 14th century.

During the 20th century Serbian population constantly decreased. Their share in the overall population of the region is currently estimated at 7% by the CIA. Serbs today mostly populate the enclaves across Kosovo, North Kosovo being the largest one.

Large-scale emigration of ethnic Serbs, especially since 1999 onwards, makes them the only major ethnic group in Kosovo to have a negative natural growth rate with deaths exceeding births. BBC reports that fewer than 100,000, 5% Serbs remained in Kosovo following a post-war exodus of non-Albanians. The Serbian minority live in separate areas watched over by NATO peacekeepers. International diplomats have voiced concern over slow progress on their rights. Human Rights Watch pointed out discrimination against Serbs and Roma in Kosovo immediately after the War in Kosovo.

Population

According to the Statistical Office of Kosovo, in 2006 there were 111,300 ethnic Serbs in Kosovo, making up 5.3 per cent of the population, compared to 24.1 per cent in 1948. In modern times, the absolute number of Serbs was highest at the time of the 1971 census, when it stood at 228,264. Serbs constitute 98% of population in North Kosovo, whose comprise 11% of Kosovo's territory.

Geography

According to the 1991 census, Serbs formed a majority in five municipalities of Kosovo:

Leposavić

Novo Brdo

Štrpce

Zvečan

Zubin Potok

''For other places in Kosovo inhabited by Serbs, see: Kosovo Serb enclaves.''

History

Medieval

Slavs came to the territories of roughly modern-day Kosovo in the 6th-7th centuries, with the largest waves coming in the 630s. The Slavs were Christianized in several waves, between the 7th and 9th century, with the last wave taking place between 867 and 874. The northwestern part of Kosovo - Hvosno, became a part of the Byzantine-vassalaged Serb Principality of Rascia, with Destinikon as the Principality's capital.

In the late 9th century entire Kosovo was seized by the forces of the Czardom of the Bulgarians. Although Serbia restored control over Metohija throughout the 10th century, the rest of Kosovo was returned to the Byzantine Empire after the Bulgarian Empire crumbled in the late 10th century. In a renewed Slavic rebellion of Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria, entire Kosovo was controlled by the renewed Bulgarian Czardom from the late 10th century, until the Byzantine restoration of 1018. In 1040–1041 a massive Slavic rebellion against the Eastern Roman Empire arose that temporarily controlled Kosovo. After its break, the Byzantines restored control.

In 1072 the local Slavs under George Voiteh pushed a final attempt to restore Imperial Bulgarian power and invited the last heir of the House of Comitopuli - Duklja's prince Konstantin Bodin of the House of Vojislavljević, son of the Serbian King Mihailo Voislav. The Serbs decided to conquer the entire Byzantine theme of Bulgaria, so King Mihailo dispatched his son with 300 Serb fighters led by Duke Petrilo. Constantine Bodin was crowned in Prizren as Petar III, Czar of the Bulgarians by George Voiteh and Slavic Boyars. The Empire swept across Byzantine territories in months, until the significant losses on the south had forced Czar Petar to withdraw. In 1073 the Byzantine forces chased Constantine Bodin, defeated his army at Pauni and had him imprisoned.

The full Serbian takeover was carried out under a branch of the House of Voislav Grand Princes of Rascia. In 1093, Prince Vukan advanced all the way to Lipljan, burned it down and raided the neighbouring areas. The Byzantine Emperor himself came to Zvečan for negotiations. Zvečan served as the Byzantine line-of-defence against constant invasions from the neighbouring Serbs. A peace was concluded, but Vukan broke it and defeated the army of John Comnenus, the Emperor's nephew. His armies stormed Kosovo. Byzantine Emperor Alexius had to come to Ulpiana in 1094 and negotiated again. Peace was concluded and Vukan gave hostages to the Emperor, including his two nephews Uroš and Stefan Vukan. Prince Vukan renewed the warring in 1106, once again defeating John Comnenus' army, but Vukan's following death put a halt to a total conquest of Kosovo.

In 1166, a Serbian nobleman from Zeta, Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the House of Nemanja asserted to the Rascian Grand Princely throne and conquered most of Kosovo, in an uprising against the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus. He defeated the previous Grand Prince of Rascia Tihomir's army at Pantino, near Pauni. Tihomir, who was Stefan's brother, was drowned in the Sitnica river. Stefan was eventually defeated and had to return some of his conquests, and vouched to the Emperor that he would not raise his hand against him. In 1183, Stefan Nemanja embarked on a new offensive with the Hungarians after the death of Manuel I Comnenus in 1180, which marked the end of Byzantine domination of Kosovo.

Nemanja's son, Stefan II, recorded Nemanja's conquests, as Nemanja restored Kosovo from the Greeks, the border of the Serbian realm reaching the river of Lab. Grand Prince Stephen II finished the inclusion of the Kosovo territories in 1208, by which time he had conquered Prizren and Lipljan, and moved the border of his realm to the Šar mountain.

In 1217, the Serbian Kingdom achieved recognition. In 1219, an autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church was created, with Hvosno, Prizren and Lipljan being the Orthodox Christian Episcopates on Kosovo. By the end of the 13th century, the centre of the Serbian Church was moved to Peć from Žiča.

King Stefan Dušan founded the vast Monastery of Saint Archaengel near Prizren in 1342–1352. The Kingdom was transformed into an Empire in 1345 and officially in 1346. Stefan Dušan received John VI Cantacuzenus in 1342 in his Castle in Pauni to discuss a joint War against the Byzantine Emperor. In 1346, the Serbian Archepiscopric at Peć was upgraded into a Patriarchate, but it was not recognized before 1370.

After the Empire fell into disarray prior to Dušan's death in 1355, feudal anarchy caught up with the country during the reign of Tsar Stefan Uroš V. Kosovo became a domain of the House of Mrnjavčević, but Prince Voislav Voinović expanded his demesne further onto Kosovo. The armies of King Vukašin Mrnjavčević from Pristina and his allies defeated Voislav's forces in 1369, putting a halt to his advances. After the Battle of Maritsa on 26 September 1371 in which the Mrnjavčević brothers lost their lives, Đurađ I Balšić of Zeta took Prizren and Peć in 1372. A part of Kosovo became the demesne of the House of Lazarević.

The Ottomans invaded the Serbian Realm and met the Christian coalition under Prince Lazar on 28 June 1389, near Pristina, at Gazi Mestan. The Serbian Army was assisted by various allies. The epic Battle of Kosovo followed, in which Prince Lazar himself lost his life. Prince Lazar amassed 70,000 men on the battlefield and the Ottomans had 140,000. Through the cunning of Miloš Obilić, Sultan Murad was murdered and the new Sultan Beyazid had, despite winning the battle, to retreat to consolidate his power. The Ottoman Sultan was buried with one of his sons at Gazi Mestan. Both Prince Lazar and Miloš Obilić were canonised by the Serbian Orthodox Church for their efforts in the battle. The local House of Branković came to prominence as the local lords of Kosovo, under Vuk Branković, with the temporary fall of the Serbian Despotate in 1439. Another great battle occurred between the Hungarian troops supported by the Albanian ruler George Kastrioti Skanderbeg on one side, and Ottoman troops supported by the Brankovićs in 1448. Skanderbeg's troops which were going to help John Hunyadi were stopped by the Branković's troops, who was more or less a Turkish Vassal. Hungarian King John Hunyadi lost the battle after a 2-day fight, but essentially stopped the Ottoman advance northwards. Kosovo then became vassalaged to the Ottoman Empire, until its direct incorporation as the Vilayet of Kosovo after the final fall of Serbia in 1459.

In 1455, new castles rose to prominence in Pristina and Vučitrn, centres of the Ottoman vassalaged House of Branković.

Ottoman rule

The Ottomans brought Islamisation with them, particularly in towns, and later also created the Viyalet of Kosovo as one of the Ottoman territorial entities. During the Islamisation many Churches and Holy Orthodox Christian places were razed to the ground or turned into Mosques. The big Monastery of Saint Archangels near Prizren was torn down at the end of the 16th century and the material used to build the Mosque of Sinan-pasha, an Islamized Serb, in Prizren. Although the Serbian Orthodox Church was officially abolished in 1532, an Islamized Serb from Bosnia, Grand Vizier Mehmed-pasha Sokolović influenced the restoration of the Patriarchate of Peć in 1557. Special privileges were provided, which helped the survival of Serbs and other Christians on Kosovo.

Kosovo was taken by the Austrian forces during the War of Holy League (1683–1698). In 1690, the Serbian Patriarch of Peć Arsenije III, who previously escaped a certain death, led 37,000 families from Kosovo, to evade Ottoman wrath since Kosovo had just been retaken by the Ottomans. The people that followed him were mostly Serbs, but there were numerous Orthodox Albanians and others too. 20,000 Serbs abandoned Prizren alone. Due to the oppression from the Ottomans, other migrations of Orthodox people from the Kosovo area continued throughout the 18th century. It is also noted that some Serbs adopted Islam and some even gradually fused with the predominantly Albanians and adopted their culture and even language. By the end of the 19th century, Albanians replaced the Serbs as the dominating nation of Kosovo.

In 1766 the Ottomans abolished the Patriarchate of Peć and the position of Christians on Kosovo was greatly reduced. All previous privileges were lost and the Christian population had to suffer the full weight of the Empire's extensive and losing wars, even to take the blame for the losses.

Serbian/Yugoslavian rule

The arising Principality of Serbia planned a restoration of its rule on Kosovo as the Ottoman might crumbled on the Balkan peninsular. The period witnessed a rise of Serbian nationalism, as the Serb elite refused to admit the Albanian national spirit and referred to the Albanians as ''Arnauts'', "Albanians of Serbian origin" or "Albanian-speaking Serbs". Serbia's plans for a post-Ottoman period included the return of Kosovo.

Albanians formed the nationalistic League of Prizren in Prizren in the 19th century. The Aim of the League of Prizren was to unite the four Albanian-inhabited Vilayets by merging the majority of Albanian inhabitants within the Ottoman Empire into one Albanian Vilayet. However at that time Serbs were opposing the Albanian nationalism along with Turks and other Slavs in Kosovo, which disabled the Albanian movements to establish Albanian rule over Kosovo.

In 1912 during the Balkan Wars, most of Kosovo was taken by the Kingdom of Serbia, while the region of Metohija was taken by the Kingdom of Montenegro. The Serbian authorities planned a recolonization of Kosovo. Numerous colonist Serb families moved into Kosovo on land earlier confiscated from them, restoring at some extent the demographic balance between Albanians and Serbs.

In the winter of 1915–1916 during World War I Kosovo saw a large exodus of Serbian army; tens of thousands of soldiers have died of starvation, extreme weather, as the Serbian army were approaching the Allies in Corfu and Thessaloniki. In 1918 the Serbian Army pushed the Central Powers out of Kosovo. Kosovo was unified as Montenegro subsequently joined the Kingdom of Serbia. The Monarchy was then transformed into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

The 1918–1929 period of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes witnessed a decrease in Serbian population in the region and a boost in Albanian figures. In the Kingdom, the former Ottoman province of Kosovo was split into four counties - three being a part of the entity of Serbia: Zvečan, Kosovo and southern Metohija; and one of Montenegro (itself now a ceremonial entity): northern Metohija. However, the new administration system since 26 April 1922 revised the plan and split Kosovo among three areas of the Kingdom: Kosovo, Rascia and Zeta.

In 1929, the Kingdom was transformed into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia with the ''Yugoslav'' nationality unifying all Kosovan Slavs. The territories of Kosovo were split among the Banate of Zeta, the Banate of Morava and the Banate of Vardar. The Kingdom lasted until the World War II Axis invasion of 1941.

Following the Axis invasion, the greatest part of Kosovo became a part of Italian-controlled Greater Albania, and smaller bits by the Tsardom of Bulgaria and Nazi German-occupied Kingdom of Serbia.

Prior to the surrender of Fascist Italy in 1943, the German forces took over direct control of the region. After numerous uprisings of Serbian Chetniks and Yugoslav Partisans, the latter being lea by Fadil Hoxha, Kosovo was liberated after 1944 with the help of the Albanian partisans of the Comintern, and most of it became a province of Serbia within the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (other parts lay outside the province within Serbia whilst another part went to the newly formed Macedonian republic).

The Province of Kosovo was formed in 1946 as an autonomous region to protect its regional Albanian majority within the People's Republic of Serbia as a member of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia under the leadership of the former Partisan leader, Josip Broz Tito, but with no factual autonomy. After Yugoslavia's name changed to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia's to the Socialist Republic of Serbia in 1953, the Autonomous Region of Kosovo gained some autonomy in the 1960s. In the 1974 constitution, the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo's government received higher powers, including the highest governmental titles - President and Premier and a seat in the Federal Presidency which made it a ''de facto'' Socialist Republic within the Federation, but remaining as a Socialist Autonomous Region within the Socialist Republic of Serbia. Serbian (called Serbo-Croatian at the time) and Albanian were defined official on the Provincial level marking the two largest linguistic Kosovan groups: Serbs and Albanians. In the 1970s, an Albanian nationalist movement pursued full recognition of the Province of Kosovo as another Republic within the federation, while the most extreme elements aimed for full-scale independence. Tito's regime dealt with the situation swiftly, but only gave it a temporary solution. The ethnic balance of Kosovo witnessed unproportional increase as the number of Albanians rose dramatically due to higher birth rates. Serbs barely increased and dropped in the full share of the total population down to 10% due to higher demographic raise of the Albanian population.

In 1981, Albanian students organized protests seeking that Kosovo become a Republic within Yugoslavia. Those protests were harshly contained by the centralist Yugoslav government. In 1986, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) was working on a document, which later would be known as the SANU Memorandum. An unfinished edition was filtered to the press. In the essay, SANU explained the Serbian peoples history as victims of a 500 year and more genocide from Kosovo, and therefore called for the revival of Serb nationalism. During this time, Slobodan Milošević's rise to power started in the League of the Socialists of Serbia. Milošević used the discontent reflected in the SANU memorandum for his political goals.

One of the events that contributed to Milošević's rise of power was the ''Gazimestan Speech'', delivered in front of 1,000,000 Serbs at the central celebration marking the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo, held at Gazimestan on 28 June 1989. In the speech, Milošević criticised the "dramatic national divisions" and called Yugoslavia "a multinational community which can survive only under the conditions of full equality for all nations that live in it".

Soon afterwards, as approved by the Assembly in 1990, the autonomy of Kosovo was revoked back to the old status (1971), before the communist hostile overtaking of Kosovo in 1974. The proclamation of an autonomous Kosovo by Tito and his communists was in fact a part of Tito's hope to continue the communist Yugoslavia. He had said "Strong Serbia, Weak Yugoslavia - Weak Serbia, Strong Yugoslavia" Milošević, however, did not remove Kosovo's seat from the Federal Presidency. After Slovenia's secession from Yugoslavia in 1991, Milošević used the seat to attain dominance over the Federal government, outvoting his opponents.

After the Dayton Agreement of 1995, the Kosovo Liberation Army started terror against the Serbian civilians and Yugoslav army and police, bombing police stations and government buildings, killing Yugoslav police and innocent people of all nationalities, even Albanians who were not on their side. This triggered a Yugoslav interior ministry counter strike, aiming at crippling terrorist KLA-members, but since this was a terror organization it was hard to establish civilians from terrorists. Partly because of the support they had in the community and partly because they deliberately wanted civilians to die since this would trigger an international reaction. Albanians started a Lobby in the USA congress, which led the world to think that there was genocide in Kosovo. The numbers that US, UK, NATO and UN officials operated with were around 100,000 Albanians killed. This triggered a 78-day NATO campaign in 1999. During the conflict, many Serbs and Roma in Kosovo were killed and many more fled Kosovo. When UN-authorities took over administrative power in Kosovo in accordance with UN-Resolution 1244, they later found out that the maximum number of killed in the conflict before NATO bombing was 12,000 people, these were from all of Kosovo's ethnic groups.

With the arrival of NATO, a large number of Serbs fled the region, estimated at 100,000 by the UNHCR. Around 120,000 remain in Kosovo and oppose any rule by Albanians. During the unrest in Kosovo, 35 churches and monasteries were destroyed or seriously damaged. In total, 156 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries have been destroyed since June 1999. Many of the churches and monasteries dated back to the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries.

Unilateral Declaration of Independence

The interim Kosovo government declared unilaterally independence from Serbia on Sunday, February 17, 2008 . Serbia refuses to recognise this declaration of independence. The independence has been recognised by UN countries, and one non-UN country the Republic of China (Taiwan). The remaining Serbs from North Kosovo want to remain in the Republic of Serbia, but Serbian majority towns are now rare in the Albanian-dominated semi-recognised Republic of Kosovo.

Some officials in the Serbian & international government proposed partitioning of de facto Serbian ruled North Kosovo, taking away a little over 1/8, 13.75% (one eighth, 1500 km² with Strpce) of the territory and fully integrating it with Serbia.

Attacks on the border posts of Kosovo raised fears of a separation of Northern Kosovo and subsequent merger with Serbia. Russian diplomat Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, who took part in the negotiations on the status of Kosovo, said such partition was inevitable:

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The USA's Under Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, in response to the suggestion that Kosovo be partitioned, said "We absolutely oppose the partition of Kosovo," and that the "great majority of countries around the world are not going to stand for that." In response to the seizure of railways in Northern Kosovo and formation of Serbian offices to serve as part of a parallel government, Kosovo's Prime Minister stated that they would "not tolerate any parallel institution on Kosovo's territory" and would assert their authority over all of Kosovo. The UN's Special Representative in Kosovo said the "international community has made it very clear that no partition of Kosovo will be acceptable."

Ivan Eland a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute suggested such "a partition within a partition" would prevent a "Serbia-Kosovo War" and provides the "best chance" of Kosovo having a long-term stable relationship with Serbia. Chairman of the Serb Municipalities of Kosovo Alliance Marko Jakšić dismissed the talk of partition and said the action of Serbs in Kosovo is to protest the Kosovo declaration. Oliver Ivanović a Kosovo Serb leader, said he was against Kosovo's partition because "most Serbs live south of the Ibar and their position would become unsustainable".

A Reuters analysis suggeted that Kosovo may be divided along ethnic lines similar to Bosnia-Herzegovina. James Lyon of the International Crisis Group thinktank was quoted as saying "The Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb Republic) style is acceptable for Serbia, but within the confines that it (Kosovo) is still part of Serbia." Pieter Feith, the European Union's special representative in Kosovo, and the International Civilian Representative for Kosovo said no plans are under discussion to carve out a canton or grant any other autonomy to Serbs living in the north of Kosovo. He told the Pristina, Kosovo, daily Koha Ditore, "It is quite clear that the privileged relations between the Serbs here (in Kosovo) and Belgrade are in the spheres of education, health care, and religious objects," adding that "the government in Pristina has to be respected."

On 22 March 2008 Serbia's Minister for Kosovo, Slobodan Samardzic said he had submitted a proposal to the United Nations Mission which would create "the functional separation of Serbs and Albanians" within Kosovo. Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said implementing such a proposal was necessary to avoid violent conflict. Yevgeny Primakov, Chairman of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and former prime minister under Boris Yeltsin, said “the best solution now would be if the Serbs (could) move from the southern parts... to the north, which is closer to Serbia, and to then join Serbia."

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica declared in an interview with a local television station in Jagodina that a "functional separation" of Kosovo was inevitable. A Kosovo Serb ally of Kostunica, Marko Jaksic, said Kosovo Serbs would form their own assembly following local elections considering the plan for the "functional division" of Kosovo. He argued that the Kosovo Assembly was dominated by "Albanian puppets" who would not work in the interest of the Serb minority. The mayor of Mitrovica condemned the formation of a parallel municipal assembly in North Mitrovica by Serbs on June 6, 2008 following the election, saying the institution was illegal as well as the elections. Serbian parties also agreed to form a parliament for Kosovo Serbs including 45 delegates, 43 from the local assemblies and two seats reserved for Romani and Muslims. Slobodan Samardžić announced that the Kosovo Serb assembly would be formed on June 28. He said the body would be representative not executive. Pieter Feith said it would be "regrettable if another set of parallel institutions" were formed in Kosovo and added "the state of Kosovo must rule in its entire territory". On June 23, 2008 NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said "any form of partition is not an option" in Kosovo.

Samardzic said in an interview that the UN had accepted a Serb proposal on Kosovo which included a partnership with UNMIK that would effectively give it rights to run vital services. Areas identified as key were police, customs, justice, control of the Serbia-Kosovo border, transport and telecoms, and protection of Serbia's cultural heritage. He said it was included in a package on reconfiguring UNMIK. According to some reports the UN will give way to EULEX in Albanian areas, but retain control over police in Serb-inhabited areas and set up local and district courts serving minority Serbs. On June 12 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, in a report to the U.N. Security Council, said he plans to give more authority to the EU over police, courts and other official duties in Kosovo with EULEX under the UN umbrella. Argon Bajrami, editor in chief of the Kosovo daily Koha Ditore, said the proposal would legal the "so-called 'soft partition'" saying, "We will see the U.N. taking care of Serbs, and the EU of Albanians."

Mayor of Mitrovica, Bajram Rexhepi, who is also a former prime minister of Kosovo claimed Serbian interior ministry forces were operating in North Kosovo. The mayor urged security authorities to insure no parallel structures exist in Kosovo. He added that though provocation is being avoided their restraint is limited.

Serbian President Boris Tadic on 30 September 2008 said he would consider partitioning Kosovo if all other options were exhausted. Former Foreign Minister for Serbia and Montenegro, Goran Svilanović, applauded the suggestion saying "Finally this is a realistic approach coming from Serbia. Finally, after several years, there is a room to discuss." After his comments aroused controversy in the media Tadic reiterated that he was suggesting this as a possibility only if all other options were exhausted. Kosovo's parliamentary speaker, Jakup Krasniqi, condemned any suggestion of paritioning saying, "All of those who aim to divide Kosovo, I want to say, it will end in nothing. Serbs lost their right to Kosovo with the unjust war against the Albanian majority."

Recent attacks on Serbs in Kosovo

Since Kosovo's declaration of independence tensions have increased. Albanian politicians and the ICO are eager to integrate North Kosovo, into the Republic of Kosovo. In January 2010, they coined the "Plan for North Kosovo". These attempts fueled tensions amongst Serbs and Albanians across Kosovo.

Two journalists working for a local Serbian newspaper and radio were detained. An Orthodox cemetery in Laplje Selo was vandalised. The grave of Zivka Jovanovic in Gnjilane was desecrated by Albanians. The OSCE has condemned the desecration. Ljubiša Šćepanović was attacked near Žač, Istok by three Albanian men. The perpetrators were arrested. The Serbian Orthodox Church in the village of Perkovac, near Zubin Potok was vandalised. Dragan Denić was found dead near the village of Srbovac. Bojan Pesic was attacked near Paralovo by two Albanian men. Six Serbian houses were looted in Gojbulja. The Christian Orthodox cemetery in Rabovce near Liljan was badly vandalised. KFOR condemned this attack. Ivica Zivic was abducted, beaten and his car was stolen by four Albanian men near Gracanica. Following three days of prostests by Albanians who oppose the return of Serbs civilians back into their village, threw stones at the tents of the Serbian returnees near the village Žač in Metohija. On 24 January 2011, Branislav Milovanovic, a Serbian returnee, was beaten in front of his house in Central Kosovo in the village Opraske.

Culture

List of Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Kosovo:

Banjska monastery

Devič monastery

Gračanica monastery

Patriarchate of Peć

Visoki Dečani monastery

Albanization

The term ''Arnauti'' or ''Arnautaši'' was coined by ethnographers for "''Albanized Serbs''"; Serbs who had converted to Islam and went through a process of Albanisation.

In Orahovac

At the end of the 19th century, writer Branislav Nušić recorded that the Serb ''poturice'' (converts to Islam) of Orahovac began speaking Albanian and marrying Albanian women.

When Dr Jovan Hadži Vasiljević (l. 1866-1948) visited Orahovac in World War I, he could not distinguish Orthodox from Islamicized and Albanized Serbs. They spoke Serbian, wore the same costumes, but claimed Serbian, Albanian or Turk ethnicity. The Albanian ''starosedeoci'' (old urban families) were Slavophone; they did not speak Albanian but a Slavic dialect (naš govor, ''Our language'') at home.

In the 1921 census the majority of Muslim Albanians of Orahovac were registered under the category "Serbs and Croats".

Mark Krasniqi, the Kosovo Albanian ethnographer, recalled in 1957: "During my own research, some of them told me that their tongue is similar to Macedonian rather than Serbian (it is clear that they want to dissociate themselves from everything Serbian). It is likely they are the last remnants of what is now known in Serbian sources as ''Arnautaši'', Islamicised and half-way Albanianised Slavs."

Prominent individuals

Vuk Branković, a medieval ruler of Kosovo.

Nikola Lazetić, footballer

Dejan Stojanović (born 1959), Serbian-American poet, writer, essayist, philosopher, businessman, and former journalist

See also

1998–present persecution of Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo

Dominant minority

History of Serbs

Kosovo

Kosovo Serb enclaves

Serbs

Serbs of Bosnia

Serbs of Croatia

Notes and references

Notes:

References:

External links

Kosovo Roma Oral History Project Contains detailed information on the post-1999 status of Serbs, Roma and other Kosovo minorities

Filling the Vacuum: Ensuring Protection and Legal Remedies for Minorities in Kosovo by Minority Rights Group International (May 2009)

Groups working with all demographics in Kosovo

Category:Kosovo Category:Ethnic groups in Kosovo * Category:History of Kosovo Category:Ethnic minorities Category:Serbian people Category:History of the Serbs

pt:Sérvios do Kosovo ro:Sârbii din Kosovo sq:Serbët në Kosovë sr:Срби на Косову и Метохији

Coordinates	54°43′16″N18°19′4″N
name	Boris Malagurski
birth date	August 11, 1988
birth place	Subotica, SR Serbia,SFR Yugoslavia
occupation	Film director and screenwriter
years active	2005-present
website	http://www.malagurski.com
awards	}}

Boris Malagurski (Serbian Cyrillic: Борис Малагурски) (born August 11, 1988 in Subotica, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia) is a Serbian-Canadian film director, producer and screenwriter.

Malagurski's film ''Kosovo: Can You Imagine?'' (2009) dealt with the topic of human rights of Serbs in Kosovo. The film has been described as:

In December 2009, the film had its broadcast premiere on Russia Today, the first all-digital Russian TV network.

Malagurski's latest film, ''The Weight of Chains'' (2010), deals with Western involvement in the breakup of Yugoslavia The film is supported by the Global Research Institute and tackles the question of why Yugoslavia really fell apart, the answer of which, according to the author, is far from how the media present it. Malagurski also examines the current economic situation in the former Yugoslav republics and offers a unique perspective on the major political and social issues facing the people living in that part of the world.

The Serbian newspaper "Politika", the oldest daily in the Balkans, described Malagurski as the "''Serbian Michael Moore''", followed by the same description by Press. Malagurski's future plans involve a documentary film about Belgrade.

Filmography

Vreme je (2004)

The Canada Project (2005) - Director, Editor

Kosovo: Can You Imagine? (2009) - Director, Producer, Writer, Editor

The Weight of Chains (2011) - Director, Writer

Awards and screenings

Young Authors of Europe, 2005 - for "The Canada Project" at the ''International Film Festival'' in Palić, Serbia Young Authors of Europe, 2005 - for "Vreme Je" at the ''International Film Festival'' in Palić, Serbia Best Film, 2009 - for "Kosovo: Can You Imagine?" at the ''BC Days Serbian Documentary Film Festival'' in Burnaby, Canada Winner, Silver Palm Award, 2009 - for "Kosovo: Can You Imagine?" at the ''Mexico International Film Festival 2009'', Rosarito, Mexico Official Selection, 2009 - for "Kosovo: Can You Imagine?" at the ''BridgeFest International Film Festival'', East Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina Official Selection, 2011 - for "The Weight of Chains" at the ''BELDOCS International Feature Documentary Film Festival'', Belgrade, Serbia

Activism

Malagurski is also the Co-Founder of the Serbian Youth League and President of the Vancouver chapter. When Kosovo's government declared secession in 2008, Malagurski initiated protests against this act in Vancouver and drew a crowd of over 1,000 people. In 2009 he was named among the Top 30 Under 30 Serbian Young Entrepreneurs at the International Diaspora Youth Leadership Conference, chaired by Tijana Arnautović. Occasionally, Malagurski writes articles for the political magazine ''New Serbian political thought''.

References

External links

Official website

Politika newspaper article

Pečat magazine article

Article in "Press"

Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:Serbian film directors Category:People from Subotica Category:Canadian film directors

sr:Борис Малагурски sh:Boris Malagurski

Coordinates	54°43′16″N18°19′4″N
Name	Knud Bartels
Birth date	April 08, 1952
Birth place	Copenhagen, Denmark
Allegiance	Denmark
Serviceyears	1972 –
Rank	General
Awards	Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog 25 Years Good Service Medal Knight 1 st Class of the French National Order of Merit Knight of the French Order of the Legion of Honour UN Medal, UNFICYP NATO Medal, KFOR
Laterwork	}}

Knud Bartels (8 April 1952 in Copenhagen) is a Danish general.

Bartels is the Danish Chief of Defence. Appointed on 16 November 2009 (announced on 10 November). He succeeded admiral Tim Sloth Jørgensen who resigned after being involved in the controversy around a fake Arabic translation of ''Jæger – i krig med eliten'', a book by a former special forces soldier which he tried to suppress.

The Danish Chief of Defence, General Knud Bartels is the Minister of Defence military advisor. He is responsible for the Defence organisation, training and operations.

The Chief of Defence is responsible for approximately 93 percent of the Defence budget. He gives certain directives to the Defence Intelligence Service, the Home Guard and the Defence Construction Service, and will in times of tension and war assume command over the Home Guard.

Defence Command Denmark subordinated authorities are the operational commands, materiel command, Defence Health Service and the Defence Academy, and some minor joint service institutions.

Danish Chief of Defence candidate for NATO’s Military Committee

Chief of Defence, General Knud Bartels is Denmark’s candidate for the post as Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee. The position must be filled by 1 July 2012. General Knud Bartels’ tenure as chief of defence expires on 30 April 2012. His present obligations as chief of defence will therefore not be affected, in case he is elected to the post.

The election of a new chairman will be taken by a secret vote among the NATO chiefs of defence in connection with their meeting on 17 September 2011. The chairman is elected for a three-year term with a possibility of extension.

External links

NATO Biography

Narrative Curriculum Vitae

Category:1952 births Category:Danish generals Category:Living people

da:Knud Bartels