Key Facts About Kosovo
The
following points were taken Timeline Kosovo a Project of the BBC News
12th Century: Kosovo
was situated at the heart of the Serbian empire under the Nemanjic
Dynasty. During this period many
monasteries and Serbian Orthodox Churches were built.
1389: The Epic Battle of Kosovo heralded 500 years
of rule under the Ottoman Empire. This
caused an exodus of Christian Serbs.
Today, Kosovo is a Muslim nation and populated by Albanians.
1912:
Balkan Wars – The Serbs regained control of Kosovo from the Turks
1918:
Kosovo becomes part of Serbia
Sitting here as I type this, it is
amazing to see how Kosovo seemed to be trapped in the circle of Serbian
rule. Over a period of several hundred
years they seemed to function independently from Serbia only to be once again
absorbed by Serbia in 1918. World War II
resulted in much of Kosovo being under Albanian rule. I find it interesting how this relatively
small country was constantly on the hunt for being autonomous and independent. Kosovo was absorbed by the Yugoslav
Federation in 1946 and they were given de facto self-government in 1974. The next three decades saw increasing
conflict which became more severe after their autonomy was revoked by Slobodan
Milosevic in 1989.
1990 July - Ethnic Albanian leaders declare
independence from Serbia. Belgrade dissolves the Kosovo government.
1990 September - Sacking of more than 100,000 ethnic
Albanian workers, including government employees and media workers, prompts
general strike.
1991 - Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia break
away from Yugoslavia and declare their independence.
KOSOVO CRISIS
1992 - War breaks out in the Balkans.
1992 July - An academic, Ibrahim Rugova,
is elected president of the self-proclaimed republic.
1993-97 - Ethnic tension and armed unrest
escalate.
1998 March-September - Open conflict between Serb police
and separatist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Serb forces launch a brutal
crackdown. Civilians are driven from their homes.
1998 September - NATO gives an ultimatum to
President Milosevic to halt the crackdown on Kosovo Albanians.
NATO
INTERVENTION
1999 March - Internationally-brokered peace
talks fail. NATO launches air strikes against Yugoslavia lasting 78 days before
Belgrade yields. Hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanian refugees pour into
neighboring countries, telling of massacres and forced expulsions which
followed the start of the NATO campaign.
1999 June - President Milosevic agrees to
withdraw troops from Kosovo. NATO calls off air strikes. The UN sets up a
Kosovo Peace Implementation Force (Kfor) and NATO forces arrive in the
province. The KLA agrees to disarm. Serb civilians flee revenge attacks.
2002 February - Ibrahim Rugova is elected as
president by the Kosovan parliament after ethnic Albanian parties reach a
power-sharing deal. Bajram Rexhepi becomes prime minister.
2003 October - First direct talks between Serbian
and Kosovo Albanian leaders since 1999.
2003 December - UN sets out conditions for final
status talks in 2005.
2004 March - 19 people are killed in the worst
clashes between Serbs and ethnic Albanians since 1999. The violence started in
the divided town of Mitrovica.
Mitrovica
- a flashpoint for inter-ethnic tensions
Mitrovica:
Symbol of Kosovo's division
UN pulls
out of Kosovo flashpoint
Serbs
block Kosovo bridge opening
2004 October - President Rugova's pro-independence
Democratic League tops poll in general election, winning 47 seats in 120-seat
parliament. Poll is boycotted by Serbs.
2004 December - Parliament re-elects President
Rugova and elects former rebel commander Ramush Haradinaj as prime minister. Mr
Haradinaj's party had entered into a coalition with the president's Democratic
League.
2005 February - Serbian President Boris Tadic
visits, promises to defend rights of Serbs in Kosovo.
2005 March - Mr Haradinaj indicted to face UN
war crimes tribunal in The Hague, resigns as prime minister. He is succeeded by
Bajram Kosumi.
President
Rugova unhurt when explosion rocks convoy of vehicles in which he is travelling
through Pristina.
2005 July - Nearly-simultaneous blasts go off
near UN, OSCE and Kosovo parliament buildings in Pristina. No-one is hurt.
2005 August - Two Serbs shot dead and two injured
when their car is fired at.
Former
president Ibrahim Rugova fought for independence
2006 January - President Rugova dies in Pristina
after losing his battle with lung cancer. He is succeeded in February by Fatmir
Sejdiu.
2006 February - UN-sponsored talks on the future
status of Kosovo begin.
2006 March - Prime Minister Kosumi resigns
following criticism of his performance from within his own party. He is
succeeded by former KLA commander Agim Ceku.
2006 July - First direct talks since 1999
between ethnic Serbian and Kosovan leaders on future status of Kosovo take
place in Vienna.
2006 October - Voters in a referendum in Serbia
approve a new constitution which declares that Kosovo is an integral part of
the country. Kosovo's Albanian majority boycotts the ballot and UN sponsored
talks on the future of the disputed province continue.
INDEPENDENCE
PLAN
2007 February - United Nations envoy Martti
Ahtisaari unveils a plan to set Kosovo on a path to independence, which is
immediately welcomed by Kosovo Albanians and rejected by Serbia.
2007 July - US and European Union redraft UN
resolution to drop promise of independence at Russian insistence, replacing it
with pledge to review situation if there is no breakthrough after four proposed
months of talks with Serbia.
2007 November - Hashim Thaci emerges as winner in
general elections.
2008 February - Kosovo declares independence.
Serbia says declaration illegal. Europe's major powers and the United States recognize
independence.
I have given you the key facts of
the conflict as so aptly put together by the BBC. My original thoughts are in red. This blog is going to be about the issues
faced by the people of Kosovo during this time…everyday life.
No comments:
Post a Comment