Territory disputed by Serbia and Kosovo
Autonomous province in Serbia
Map of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija
The
Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija
(
Serbian
:
Косово и Метохиja
,
romanized
:
Kosovo i Metohija
,
Albanian
:
Kosova dhe Metohia
), commonly known as
Kosovo
(
Serbian Cyrillic
:
Косово
, Albanian:
Kosova
) and abbreviated to
Kosmet
(from
Kos
ovo
and
Met
ohija
; Serbian Cyrillic:
Космет
) or
KiM
(Serbian Cyrillic:
КиМ
), is an
autonomous province
defined by the
Constitution of Serbia
that occupies the southernmost part of
Serbia
. The territory is the subject of an ongoing
political and territorial dispute
between the Republic of Serbia and the partially recognised
Republic of Kosovo
. Its claimed administrative capital and largest city is
Pristina
.
The territory of the province, as recognized by Serbian laws, lies in the southern part of Serbia and covers the regions of
Kosovo
and
Metohija
. The capital of the province is
Pristina
. The territory was previously an
autonomous province
of
Serbia
during
Socialist Yugoslavia
(1946?1990), and acquired its current status in 1990. The province was governed as part of Serbia until the
Kosovo War
(1998?99), when it became a United Nations (UN) protectorate in accordance with
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244
, but still internationally recognized as part of Serbia. The control was then transferred to the UN administration of
UNMIK
. On 17 February 2008, representatives of the people of Kosovo (
Albanian
:
Udheheqesit e popullit tone, te zgjedhur ne menyre demokratike
) unilaterally and extra-institutionally declared Kosovo's independence,
[2]
which is
internationally recognized
by 104 UN members and
de facto
independent, since it’s not controlled by Serbia, Serbia still regards it as its province.
[3]
Overview
[
edit
]
In 1990, the
Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo
, an autonomous province of
Serbia
within
Yugoslavia
, had undergone the
anti-bureaucratic revolution
by
Slobodan Milo?evi?
's government which resulted in the reduction of its powers, effectively returning it to its constitutional status of 1971?74. The same year, its
Albanian
majority?as well as the
Republic of Albania
?supported the proclamation of an independent
Republic of Kosova
. Following the end of the
Kosovo War
1999, and as a result of
NATO intervention
,
[4]
[5]
Serbia
and the
federal government
no longer exercised
de facto
control over the territory.
In February 2008, the
Republic of Kosovo
declared independence.
[6]
[7]
While Serbia has not recognised Kosovo's independence, in the
2013 Brussels Agreement
, it abolished all its institutions in the Autonomous Province. As of 4 September 2020
[update]
, Kosovo's independence is currently recognized by 104 UN member states.
[4]
[8]
In 2013, the Serbian government announced it was dissolving the Serb minority assemblies it had created in northern Kosovo, in order to allow the integration of the Kosovo Serb minority into the general population of Kosovo.
[9]
History
[
edit
]
Constitutional changes were made in Yugoslavia in 1990. The parliaments of all Yugoslavian republics and provinces, which until then had MPs only from the
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
, were dissolved and multi-party elections were held within them. Kosovar Albanians refused to participate in the elections so they held their own unsanctioned elections instead. As election laws required (and still require) turnout higher than 50%, a parliament in Kosovo could not be established.
[10]
The new constitution abolished the individual provinces' official media, integrating them within the official media of Serbia while still retaining some programs in the
Albanian language
. The Albanian-language media in Kosovo were suppressed. Funding was withdrawn from state-owned media, including those in the Albanian language in Kosovo. The constitution made the creation of privately owned media possible, however their operation was very difficult because of high rents and restrictive laws. State-owned Albanian language television or radio was also banned from broadcasting from Kosovo.
[11]
However, privately owned Albanian media outlets appeared; of these, probably the most famous is "Koha Ditore", which was allowed to operate until late 1998 when it was closed after publishing a calendar glorifying ethnic Albanian separatists.
[12]
The constitution also transferred control over state-owned companies to the Yugoslav central government. In September 1990, up to 123,000 Albanian workers were dismissed from their positions in government and media, as were teachers, doctors, and civil servants,
[13]
provoking a
general strike
and mass unrest. Some of those who were not sacked quit in sympathy, refusing to work for the Serbian government. Although the sackings were widely seen as a purge of ethnic Albanians, the government maintained that it was removing former communist directors.
Albanian educational curriculum textbooks were withdrawn and replaced by new ones. The curriculum was (and still is, as this is the curriculum used for Albanians in Serbia outside Kosovo) identical to its Serbian counterpart and that of all other nationalities in Serbia except that it had education on and in the Albanian language. Education in Albanian was withdrawn in 1992 and re-established in 1994.
[14]
At the
University of Pristina
, which was seen as a centre of Kosovo Albanian cultural identity, education in the Albanian language was abolished and Albanian teachers were also dismissed in large numbers. Albanians responded by boycotting state schools and setting up an unofficial parallel system of Albanian-language education.
[15]
Kosovo Albanians were outraged by what they saw as an attack on their rights. Following mass rioting and unrest from Albanians as well as outbreaks of inter-communal violence, in February 1990, a state of emergency was declared and the presence of the Yugoslav Army and police was significantly increased to quell the unrest.
[16]
Unsanctioned elections were held in 1992, which overwhelmingly elected
Ibrahim Rugova
as "president" of a self-declared
Republic of Kosova
; Serb authorities rejected the election results, and tried to capture and prosecute those who had voted.
[17]
In 1995, thousands of Serb refugees from
Croatia
were settled in Kosovo, which further worsened relations between the two communities.
[18]
Albanian opposition to the sovereignty of Yugoslavia and especially Serbia had previously surfaced in rioting (
1968
and
March 1981
) in the capital
Pristina
.
[
dubious
–
discuss
]
Rugova initially advocated non-violent resistance, but later opposition took the form of separatist agitation by opposition political groups and armed action from 1995 by the "
Kosovo Liberation Army
" (
Ushtria Clirimtare e Kosoves
, or UCK) whose activities led to the
Insurgency in Kosovo
which led to the
Kosovo War
in 1998 ending with the
1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
and establishment of the
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK).
[19]
In 2003, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was renamed the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (Montenegro left the federation in 2006 and recognised Kosovo's independence in 2008).
[20]
Politics
[
edit
]
The regions of
Metohija
(yellow), and
Kosovo
(blue)
Since 1999, the Serb-inhabited areas of Kosovo have been governed as a
de facto
independent region from the Albanian-dominated government in
Pristina
. They continue to use Serbian national symbols and participate in Serbian national elections, which are boycotted in the rest of Kosovo; in turn, they boycott Kosovo's elections. The municipalities of
Leposavi?
,
Zve?an
and
Zubin Potok
are run by local Serbs, while the
Kosovska Mitrovica
municipality had rival Serbian and Albanian governments until a compromise was agreed in November 2002.
[21]
The Serb areas have united into a community, the
Union of Serbian Districts and District Units of Kosovo and Metohija
established in February 2003 by Serbian delegates meeting in
North Mitrovica
, which has since served as the
de facto
"capital." The Union's president is
Dragan Veli?
. 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 Ivanovi?
, while the head of its Executive Council is
Rada Trajkovi?
.
[22]
Local politics are dominated by the
Serbian List for Kosovo and Metohija
. The Serbian List was led by
Oliver Ivanovi?
, an engineer from Kosovska Mitrovica.
[23]
In February 2007 the Union of Serbian Districts and District Units of Kosovo and Metohija has transformed into the
Serbian Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija
presided by Marko Jak?i?. The Assembly strongly criticised the secessionist movements of the Albanian-dominated PISG Assembly of Kosovo 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, day after Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, the Assembly declared it "null and void".
[24]
[25]
Also, there was a
Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija
within the Serbian government, with
Goran Bogdanovi?
as Minister for Kosovo and Metohija. In 2012, that ministry was downgraded to the
Office for Kosovo and Metohija
, with
Aleksandar Vulin
as the head of the new office.
[26]
However, in 2013, the post was raised to that of a Minister without portfolio in charge of Kosovo and Metohija.
Administrative divisions
[
edit
]
Districts in Kosovo and Metohija
Under the Serbian system of administration, Kosovo is divided into five
districts
comprising 28 municipalities and 1 city. In 2000,
UNMIK
established a system with 7
districts
[
citation needed
]
and 30
municipalities
. Serbia has not exercised effective control over Kosovo since July 1999. For the UNMIK created districts of Kosovo, see
Districts of Kosovo
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Региони у Републици Срби?и"
(PDF)
.
stat.gov.rs
(in Serbian). Statistical Office of Serbia. 16 October 2019.
Archived
(PDF)
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. Retrieved
17 October
2019
.
- ^
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(PDF)
. Archived from
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(PDF)
on 21 August 2010
. Retrieved
19 August
2012
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
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.
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Archived
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3 August
2019
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- ^
a
b
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Archived
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23 January
2013
.
- ^
Steven Beardsley.
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.
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.
Archived
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23 January
2013
.
- ^
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Archived
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. Retrieved
22 July
2010
.
- ^
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. Bbc newsamerica.com. Archived from
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.
- ^
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Archived
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2019
.
- ^
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.
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2 May
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.
- ^
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.
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. 8 September 2020.
Archived
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6 December
2022
.
- ^
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. Archived from
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on 8 June 2006
. Retrieved
9 June
2006
.
- ^
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(PDF)
.
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. 2006. p. 183.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 30 December 2014
. Retrieved
5 December
2022
.
- ^
"ON THE RECORD: //Civil Society in Kosovo// - Volume 9, Issue 1 - August 30, 1999 - THE BIRTH AND REBIRTH OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN KOSOVO - PART ONE: REPRESSION AND RESISTANCE"
.
Archived
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. Retrieved
21 February
2008
.
- ^
"Kosovo/Kosova as Seen, as Told"
. Archived from
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on 11 April 2005
. Retrieved
9 June
2006
.
- ^
Clark, Howard.
Civil Resistance in Kosovo
. London: Pluto Press, 2000.
ISBN
0-7453-1569-0
- ^
Lawson, Kenneth E. (2006).
Faith and hope in a war-torn land
. Government Printing Office.
ISBN
978-0-16-087279-2
.
Archived
from the original on 19 April 2023
. Retrieved
29 January
2023
.
- ^
Noel Malcolm,
A Short History of Kosovo
, p.347
- ^
"Balkan Returns: An Overview of Refugee Returns and Minority Repatriation"
.
United States Institute of Peace
.
Archived
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. Retrieved
5 December
2022
.
- ^
"Security Council, welcoming Yugoslavia's acceptance of peace principles, authorises civil, security presence in Kosovo"
. United Nations. 10 June 1999.
Archived
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. Retrieved
4 December
2022
.
- ^
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. Lonely Planet. 2009. p.
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.
ISBN
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.
- ^
Day, Matthew (11 November 2010).
"Serbia calls for boycott of Kosovo elections"
.
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.
Archived
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- ^
Declaration of Establishing the Assembly of the Community of Municipalities of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija
Archived
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Wayback Machine
(in English)
- ^
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. Blic.rs. 12 January 2012.
Archived
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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"Kosovo Serbs set up rival assembly"
.
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. UK.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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"Kosovo"
. Worldstatesmen.org.
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- ^
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.
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Archived
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. Retrieved
28 December
2012
.
External links
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]
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Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but is still claimed as part of its territory by Serbia.
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