Kosovo – Serbia

By Mariah Neuhauser

Slide 1:

Kosovo is a province of Serbia, with a population of around 2

million people. The capital of Kosovo is Pristina. It is located in
southern Europe and borders Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia.

Kosovar and Serbian Conflicts:

Slobodan Milosevic, the President of Serbia at the time, was

against the idea of Kosovar Albanians becoming independent from
Serbia, and forming their own country.

He took matters into his own hands by ordering the Serbian army
to destroy Kosovar villages and kill thousands of civilians, in
which, doing so, he caused major government corruption and
committed various acts of genocide against Kosovars and
Albanians.

As a result, the Kosovo Liberation Army got involved, leading

evacuations outside of the major cities and villages of Kosovo and
fighting against the Serbian guerilla forces, sparking the beginning
of the Kosovo War of 1998 and 1999.

The lower-left picture is that of Slobodan Milosevic, and the

picture next to it is a bombed building in Serbia.

Modern Day Genocide:

Milosevic’s many abuses of power turned into genocide, as over

2200 villages were destroyed, along with over 10,000 people.
It looked as if there was little hope for the Kosovars during that
time of war. With every step they took, they risked being executed
by the Serbian army.

The two pictures at the bottom show the Serbian army making
their daily rounds in various Kosovar villages.

Slobodan Milosevic:

Slobodan Milosevic become President of Serbia in 1989 and

served two full terms until 1997, when he became President of
Yugoslavia.

He was later detained in the Hague in the Netherlands, where he

was arrested on counts of corruption, abuse of power, and
embezzlement.

He died of a heart attack while imprisoned in the Hague in 2006.

This is a picture of Milosevic, taken at his inauguration.

Kosovo Liberation Army:

The KLA was formed in 1995. It carried out numerous attacks on

Serbians between 1997 and 1999 and by 1998 it controlled a
quarter of the province of Kosovo.

Some people call them a terrorist organization, while others

consider them to be an organization that fights against oppression.
There is also some evidence that suggests that they had ties with
the terrorist group known as Al Qaeda.

The bottom-left picture is the KLA flag and the bottom-right

picture is that of the KLA army.
NATO and US involvement:

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, forced Milosevic

to sign a treaty in 1998, telling him to “sign or be bombed”.

Failure to sign the treaty later resulted in the bombing and placing
of mines in Yugoslavia, which killed innocent Kosovars, as well as
Serbians.

Many civilians are killed each day as we speak because of active

bombs and mines that have not been removed from the war sites.

The lower-left and middle pictures are the NATO and US armies
in Kosovo, Serbia, and Yugoslavia. The lower-right picture
includes a few Kosovar refugees at a NATO refugee camp.

Why US Bombed Serbia:

The U.S. bombed Serbia, but they failed to realize that Milosevic
was not going to surrender after a few bombs fell on his beloved
Serbia.

The U.S. anticipated certain events, but they knew that they’d
cause a humanitarian crisis. They knew that they’d never have
enough emergency supplies to help the Serbian civilians.

Results

The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Milosevic, sending him

straight to the Hague prison.

Kosovar Albanians are still trying to gain their independence from

Serbia.

And the NATO and U.S. bombings created world-wide hysteria

and sparked major criticism.
The lower-left picture is Milosevic’s funeral motorcade, the other
picture next to it is a political cartoon that depicts NATO causing
death to innocent civilians in Kosovo.

Conflict Resolutions:

Conflicts between Serbia and Kosovo have nearly ceased, but

who’s to say that the conflicts have ended for good?

Kosovo has gained world support and exposure as their fight for
independence continues.

Milosevic, the main cause of these conflicts, died in May of 2006.

The lower-left picture is of President Bush honoring the flag of

Kosovo, the middle picture is of a church in Kosovo that was
rebuilt after the bombing, and the lower-right picture is of a
magazine featuring Kosovo as the spotlight at a recent UN
meeting.

Kosovo’s Fight for Independence:

Recently, there was an independence rally in Pristina, Kosovo, on

December 10th.

Their independence from Serbia and European statehood is

pending approval from the United Nations and the European
Union.

European statehood for Kosovo is expected to occur as early as

spring of 2008.

The pictures at the bottom were taken at the December 10th

independence rally in Pristina.
Consequences of NATO Bombing:

Innocent Kosovar civilians were accidentally killed in the

crossfire, while NATO intended on bombing the Serbian army.

A NATO rep was reported to have said that they wanted to have a
“merciless air war targeting every power grid, bridge and road”,
and that’s exactly what happened.

The lower-left picture is of a building on fire that’d been bombed

only minutes before by NATO.

My Opinion…

I don’t believe that Kosovo will gain their independence from Serbia
anytime soon as long as Serbia stays a country. Kosovo’s been trying to
become a country for the last 100 years, and they’re taking little steps
at a time.

Even if Kosovo does become a country, it will not prevent conflicts and
wars between Kosovo and Serbia.

The two rival nations may never come to terms.