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Kosovo (Albanian: Kosovë/Kosova, Serbian: Косово/Kosovo) is a state-to-be in Southeastern Europe. It borders Albania, Macedonia Serbia and Montenegro. The mountainous province's capital and largest city is Prishtina. Kosovo has a population of around two million people, predominately ethnic Albanians, with tiny Serb minority.

The province is the subject of a long-running political and territorial dispute between the Serbian (and before then, the Yugoslav) government and Kosovo's Albanian population. Although the UN Security Resolution 1244 de jure considers Kosovo a part of Former Yugoslav Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia), it has been administered by the United Nations since the end of the Kosovo War in 1999. Kosovo is governed by the UN Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the locally elected Provisional Institutions of Self-Government, with security maintained by the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) and Kosovo Police Service. Negotiations began in 2006 to determine the final status of Kosovo.

Geography

For administrative divisions, see Municipalities of Kosovo

With an area of 10,912 square kilometres (4,213 sq. mi) and a population of over two million on the eve of the 1999 crisis, Kosovo borders Montenegro to the northwest, Central Serbia to the North and East, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the south and Albania to the southwest. The largest cities are Priština (Prishtinë, in Albanian) the capital, with an estimated 500,000 citizens, and Prizren in the southwest with 120,000 citizens; five other towns have populations in excess of 50,000. The climate in Kosovo is continental with warm summers and cold and snowy winters.

There are two main plains in Kosovo, located in the western part of the land (Rrafshi i Dukagjinit, in Albanian, the naming Metohija is used mostly by Serbs) and the plain of Kosovo (Albanian: Rrafshi i Kosovës, Serbian: Kosovska Dolina).

Kosovo is mainly mountainous and hilly. Sar Mountain (in Albanian Mali i Sharrit) is located in the south and south-east, bordering Macedonia. It is one of the most popular tourist and skiing resorts, with Brezovica and Prevalac (in Albanian Prevallë) as the main tourist centres. Kosovo's mountainous area, including the highest peak Deravica (in Albanian Gjeravica) (2656 m above sea level), is located in the south-west, bordering Albania and Montenegro. The mountains are known by Albanians as Bjeshkët e Nemuna (translated in English Cursed mountains) and sometimes as the Albanian Alps. Serbs call the mountain range Prokletije. The Kopaonik mountain is located in the north, bordering Serbia proper. The central region of Drenica, Carraleva (in Serbian Crnoljevo) and the eastern part of Kosovo, named Gallap (Serbian: Golak), are mainly hilly areas. There are several rivers and lakes in Kosovo. The main rivers are Drin River (in Albanian: Drini i Bardhë, in Serbian: Beli Drin), into which several other waterways flow, including the Erenik, and runs towards the Adriatic Sea, Sitnica, Morava in Gollak area and Ibar (Albanian Ibër) in the north. The main lakes are Badovc in north-east and Gazivoda in north-western part.

History

Part of a series on the
History of Kosovo
Prehistory Archaeology of Kosovo Neolithic sites Copper, Bronze and Iron Age sites
Antiquity Kingdom of Dardania Dardani
Roman Kosovo Dardania & Praevalitana Roman heritage in Kosovo Late Antiquity and Medieval sites
Medieval Kosovo Bulgarian Empire (681–1018, 1185–1396) First Empire Second Empire Kingdom of Serbia (1217–1346) Serbian Empire (1346–1371) District of Branković (1371–1412) Branković dynasty Moravian Serbia (1371–1402) Battle of Kosovo (1389) Serbian Despotate (1402–1459) Principality of Dukagjini (1387–1478) Dukagjini family
Ottoman Kosovo Eyalet of Rumelia Vilayet of Kosovo League of Prizren
20th Century Kingdom of Serbia First Balkan War Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) under Germany Albanian Kingdom under Italy under Germany Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1992) Socialist Autonomous Province
Contemporary Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2006) Autonomous Province 1991 Kosovan independence referendum First Republic Kosovo War (1998–1999) NATO bombing of Yugoslavia Kumanovo Agreement UN administration (UNMIK) 2004 unrest 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence 2008 unrest in Kosovo 2008 protests Second Republic (2008–Present) North Kosovo Crises 2011–2013 2012 Referendum Brussels Agreement Washington Agreement 2021 2022–2024 Ohrid Agreement Banjska attack
See Also Timeline of Kosovo history Destruction of Albanian heritage Destruction of Serbian heritage
v t e

See also: Demographic history of Kosovo

Ancient

The region of Kosovo has been inhabited by Illyrian tribes since the Bronze Age. In ancient times, the area was known as Dardania and was settled by a tribe with the same name. The south of Kosovo was ruled by Macedonia since Alexander the Great's reign in the 4th century BC. The local Dardani were of Illyrian stock. Illyrians resisted rule by the Greeks and Romans for centuries but after the long periods of conflict between Illyrian tribes and invading imperial powers, the region was eventually occupied by the Roman Empire under Emperor Augustus in 28 BC and became part of the Roman province of Moesia. After AD 85 it was part of Moesia Superior. Emperor Diocletian later c. 284 made Dardania into separate province with its capital at Naissus (Niš). When the Roman Empire split in A.D. 395, the area of Kosovo came under the Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire. Many inhabitants of Dardania became leaders in Rome and Constantinopolis, including Justinian the Great.

Medieval

Great Migrations and Interregnums

Slavs came to the territories that now form modern Kosovo in the 6th-7th centuries, with the largest influx of migrants 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 Serb vassal state the Principality of Rascia, with Dostinik as the principality's capital.

In the late 800s, the whole of Kosovo was seized by 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 900s. In a Slavic rebellion led Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria, the whole of Kosovo came under the control of the renewed Bulgarian Czardom from the late 10th century, until the Byzantine restoration of 1018. In 1040-1041, Slavs staged a rebellion against the Eastern Roman Empire that temporarily encompassed Kosovo. After the rebellion was crushed, the Byzantines restored control.

Throughout the following decades, numerous foreign peoples invading the Byzantine Empire stormed Kosovo, among them the Cumans.

In 1072, 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 Vojislavljevic, son of the Serbian King Mihailo Voislav - to assume power. The Serbs decided to conquer the entire Byzantine region of Bulgaria. King Mihailo dispatched his son with 300 elite Serb fighters led by Duke Petrilo. Constantine Bodin was crowned in Prizren as Petar III Czar of the Bulgarians by Goerge Voiteh and the 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 imprisoned him.

In 1166, a Serbian nobleman from Zeta, Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the House of Nemanja ascended 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. He pledged to the Emperor that he would not renew hostilies, but in 1183, Stefan Nemanja embarked on a new offensive with the Hungarians after the death of Manuel I Comnenus in 1180, marking the end of Byzantine domination of Kosovo.

Nemanja's son, Stefan II, recorded that the border of the Serbian realm reached the river of Lab. Grand Prince Stephen II completed the inclusion of the Kosovo territories under Serb rule in 1208, by which time he had conquered Prizren and Lipljan, and moved the border of territory under his control to the Šar mountain.

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. Kosovo was taken by the Austrian forces during the Great War of 1683 - 1699 with help of 5,000 Albanians and their leader, a Catholic Archibishop Pjetër Bogdani. The archbishop died of plague during the war, and his grave was later reopened, with his body scattered and given to the dogs by the Ottomans because of his role in the rebellion. 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 – 20,000 Serbs abandoned Prizren alone - but they were likely followed by other ethnic groups. 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, while some even gradually fused with other groups, predominantly Albanianians, adopting their culture and even language.

In 1766, the Ottomans abolished the Patriarchate of Peć and the position of Christians in 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 having blame forced upon them for the losses.

Modern

In 1871, a massive Serbian meeting was held in Prizren. The possible retaking and reintegration of Kosovo and the rest of "Old Serbia" was discussed at the meeting, as the Principality of Serbia itself had already made plans for expansions towards Ottoman territory, much easier than elsewhere.

Albanian refugees from the territories conquered in the 1876-1877 Serbo-Turkish war and the 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish are now known as 'muhaxher' (which means 'refugee', from Arabic muhajir) and are the ancestors of many who are still known by their same surnames, Muhaxheri. It is also estimated that 200,000 to 400,000 Serbs were cleansed out of the Vilayet of Kosovo between 1876 and 1912, especially during the Greek-Ottman War in 1897.

In 1878, a Peace Accord was drawn that gave the cities of Prishtina and Mitrovica under civil Serbian control, outside the Ottoman authorities, while the rest of Kosovo would be under Ottoman control. As a responce, the Albanians formed the nationalistic & conservative League of Prizren in Prizren later the same year. Over 300 Albanian leaders from Kosovo and western Macedonia gathered and discussed the urgent issues concerning protection of Albanian populated regions from division among neighbouring countries. The League was supported by the Ottoman Sultan because of its Pan-Islamic ideology and political aspirations of a unified Albanian people under the Ottoman umbrella. The movement gradually became anti-Christian and spread great anxiety among Christian Albanians and especially among Christian Serbs. As a result, more and more Serbs left Kosovo northwards. Serbia complained to the World Powers that the promised territories were not being held because the Ottomans were hesitating to do that. The World Powers put pressure to the Ottomans and in 1881, the Ottoman Army started the fighting the Albanian forces. The Prizren League created a Provisional Government with a President, Prime Minister (Ymer Prizreni) and Ministries of War (Sylejman Vokshi) and Foreign Ministry (Abdyl Frashëri). After three years of war, the Albanians were defeated. Many of the leaders were executed and imprisoned. The subsequent Treaty of San Stefano in 1898 restored most Albanian lands to Ottoman control, but the Serbian forces had to retreat from Kosovo along with some Serbs that were expelled as well.

In 1908, the Sultan brought a new democratic decrete that was valid only for Turkish-speakers. As the vast majority of Kosovo spoke Albanian or Serbian, the Kosovar population was very unhappy. The Young Turk movement supported a centralist rule and opposed any sort of autonomy desired by Kosovars, and particularely the Albanians. In 1910, an Albanian uprising spread from Prishtina and lasted until the Ottoman Sultan's visit to Kosovo in June of 1911. The Aim of the League of Prizren was to unite the four Albanian Vilayets by merging the majority of Albanian inhabitants within the Ottoman Empire into one Albanian State. However at that time Serbs have consisted about 40% of the whole Vilayt of Kosovo's overall population and were opposing the Albanian nationalism along with Turks and other Slavs in Kosovo, which disabled the Albanian movements to occupy Kosovo.

See also: Serbia in WWI

In 1912 during the Balkan Wars, most of Kosovo was taken by the Kingdom of Serbia, while the region of Metohija (Albanian: Dukagjini Valley) was taken by the Kingdom of Montenegro. An exodus of the local Albanian population occurred. This is best described by Leon Trotsky, who was the reporter for the 'Pravda' newspaper at the time. The Serbian authorities planned a recolonization of Kosovo. Numerous colonist Serb families moved-in to Kosovo, equalizing the demographic balance between Albanians and Serbs. Many Albanians fled into the mountains and numerious Albanian and Turkish houses were raized. The reconquest of Kosovo was noted as a vengance for the 1389 Battle of Kossovo. At the Conference of Ambassadors in London in 1912 presided over by Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, the Kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro were acknowledged sovereignty over Kosovo.

In the winter of 1915-1916 during World War I Kosovo saw a large exodus of Serbian army which became known as the Great Serbian Retreat. Defeated and worn out in battles against Austro-Hungarians, they had no other choice than to retreat, as Kosovo was occupied by Bulgarians and Austro-Hungarians. The Albanians joined and supported the Central Powers. As opposed to Serbian schools, numerious Albanian schools were opened during the occupation. Allied ships were awaiting for Serbian people and soldiers at the banks of the Adriatic sea and the path leading them there went across Kosovo and Albania. Tens of thousands of soldiers have died of starvation, extreme weather and Albanian reprisals as they were approaching the Allies in Corfu and Thessaloniki, amassing a total of 100,000 dead retreaters. Transported away from the front lines, Serbian army managed to heal many wounded and ill soldiers and get some rest. Refreshed and regrouped, it decided to return to the battlefield. In 1918 the Serbian Army pushed the Central Powers out of Kosovo. During their liberation of Kosovo, the Serbian Army committed atrocities against the population in revenge. Serbian Kosovo was unified with Montengrin as Montenegro subsequently joined the Kingdom of Serbia. After the World War I ended, the Monarchy was then transformed into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians ("Mbretëria Serbe,Kroate,Sllovene" in Albanian, " "Kraljevina Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca" in Serbo-Croatian) on 1st december 1918, gathering territories gained in victory.

Kingdom of Yugoslavia and WWII

The 1918-1929 period of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians witnessed a raise of the Serbian population in the region and a decline in the non-Serbian. In the Kingdom Kosovo was split onto four counties - three being a part of the entity 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, Rascia and Zeta. In 1921 the Albanian elite lodged an official protest of the government to the League of Nations, claiming that 12,000 Albanians had been killed and over 22,000 imprisoned since 1918 and seeking a unification of Albanian-populated lands. The League of Nations did not respond, as the appeal was found unfounded. As a result, an armed Kachak resistance movement was formed whose main goal was to unite Albanian-populated areas of the Kingdom to Albania.

In 1929 the Kingdom was transformed into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which 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 invastion of 1941.

The greatest part of Kosovo became a part of Italian-controlled Fascist Albania, and smaller bits by the Nazi-Fascist Tsardom of Bulgaria and Nazi German-occupied Kingdom of Serbia. Since the Albanian Fascist political leadership had decided in the Conference of Bujan that Kosovo would remain a part of Albania they started an ethnic cleansing campaign of the non-Albanian population in the Kosovo. The infamous SS Division Skanderbeg committed crimes. . Tens of thousands of Serbs lost their lives and around 75,000 Serbs fled Kosovo during the war. Hundreds of thousands more would leave in the following decades, following the shift of power in Kosovo.

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 lead 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 the Second Yugoslavia

The Province of Kosovo was formed in 1945 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 change to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia's to the Socialist Republic of Serbia in 1953, Kosovo gained inner 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. Serbo-Croatian and Albanian were defined as official languages 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 arbitrary regime dealt with the situation swiftly, but only giving it a temporary solution. The ethnic balance of Kosovo witnessed unproportional increase as the number of Albanians tripled gradually rising from almost 65% to over 80%, but the number of Serbs barely increased and dropped in the full share of the total population from some 25% down to 10%.

Beginning in March 1981, Kosovar Albanian students organized protests seeking that Kosovo become a republic within Yugoslavia. Those protests rapidly escalated into violent riots "involving 20,000 people in six cities" that were harshly contained by the Yugoslav government. During the 1980s, ethnic tensions continued with frequent violent outbreaks against Serbs and Yugoslav state authorities resulting in increased 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.

In 1986, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) was working on a document which later would be known as the SANU Memorandum, a warning to the Serbian President and Assembly of the existing crisis and where it would lead. An unfinished edition was filtered to the press. In the essay, SANU criticised the state of Yugoslavia and made remarks that the only member state contributing at the time to the development of Kosovo and Macedonia (by then, the poorest territories of the Federation) was Serbia. According to SANU, Yugoslavia was suffering of ethnic strives and the disintegration of the Yugoslav economy into separate economic sectors and territories, which was transforming the federal state into a loose confederation. On the other hand, some think that Slobodan Milošević used the discontent reflected in the SANU memorandum for his own political goals, during his rise to power in Serbia at the time.

By the end of the 1980s, calls for increased federal control in the crisis-torn autonomous province were getting louder. Slobodan Milošević pushed for constitutional change amounting to suspension of autonomy for both Kosovo and Vojvodina .

Kosovo War

One of the events that contributed to Milošević's rise of power was the Gazimestan Speech, delivered in front of 100,000 Serb citizens 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 "dramatical national divisions" and called Yugoslavia "a multinational community 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 reduced. After Slovenia's secession from Yugoslavia in 1991, Milošević used the seat to attain dominance over the Federal government, outvoting his opponents.

Many Albanians organized a peaceful separatist movement. State institutions and elections were boycotted and separate Albanian schools and political institutions were established. On July 2, 1990 an unconstitutional Kosovo parliament declared Kosovo an independent country, this was not recognized by the Government or any foreign states. In September of that year, the unofficial parliament, meeting in secrecy in the town of Kaçanik, adopted the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. Two years later, in 1992, the parliament organized an unofficial referendum which was observed by international organisations but was not recognized internationally. With an 80% turnout, 98% voted for Kosovo to be independent.

With the events in Bosnia and Croatia coming to an end, the Serb government started relocating Serbian refugees from Croatia and Bosnia all over Serbia, including in Kosovo. In a number of cases, Albanian families were expelled from their apartments to make room for the refugees.

After the Dayton Agreement in 1995, some Albanians organized into the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), employing guerilla-style tactics against Serbian police forces and civilians. Violence escalated in a series of KLA attacks and Serbian reprisals into the year 1999, with increasing numbers of civilian victims. In 1998 western interest increased and the Serbian authorities was forced to sign a unilateral cease-fire and partial retreat. Under an agreement led by Richard Holbrooke, OSCE observers moved into Kosovo to monitor the ceasefire, while Yugoslav military forces partly pulled out of Kosovo. However, the ceasefire was systematically broken shortly thereafter by KLA forces, which again provoked harsh counterattacks by the Serbs. On 16 January 1999, the bodies of 45 Albanian civilians were found in the town of Racak. The victims had been executed by Serb forces . The so-called Racak Massacre was instrumental in increasing the pressure on Serbia in the following conference at Rambouillet. After more than a month of negotations Yugoslavia refused to sign the prepared agreement, primarily, it has beeen argued, because of a clause giving NATO forces access rights to not only Kosovo but to all of Yugoslavia (which the Yugoslav side saw as tantamount to military occupation).

This triggered a 78-day NATO campaign in 1999. At first limited to military targets in Kosovo proper, the bombing campaign was soon extended to cover targets all over Yugoslavia, including bridges, power stations, factories, broadcasting stations, post offices, and various government buildings.

During the conflict, several thousand were killed, the numbers and the ethnic distribution of the casualties are uncertain and highly disputed. An estimated 10,000-12,000 ethnic Albanians and 3,000 Serbs are believed to have been killed during the conflict, including military personnel and civilians, primarily as a result of the ground war in Kosovo between the KLA and the Yugoslav military, Serbian police and Serbian paramilitary forces. Some 3000 people are still missing,of which 2,500 are Albanian, 400 Serbs and 100 Roma. According to OSCE numbers and Kosovar Albanian sources on population size and distribution, an estimated 45.7% of the Albanian population and 59.5% of the Serb population had fled Kosovo during the bombings (i.e. from 23 March to 9 June 1999).

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. Many Serbs fear to return to their homes since they perceive not to be safe for them, even with UNMIK protection, notably the unrest in 2004, when 900 Serbian houses were burned and other property destroyed while the Serbian populace was closed into enclaves and had to concentrate to the north of Kosovo until today, causing a wave of 3,500 Serbian refugees.

Among the numerous UNESCO World Heritage sites destroyed by the Albanian para-military forces is King Stefan Milutin's grave, Our Lady of Ljeviš Orthodox Cathedral from the 12th century in Prizren. In total, more than 30 Orthodox Serb Churches and Monasteries were destroyed during the March unrest in Kosovo. Many of the Churches and Monasteries were dating back to the 12th, 13th and 14th century. At the end of the two-day riots, 19 people were dead, 11 Albanians and 8 Serbs.

During the Kosovo War, Serbs also engaged in a deliberate campaign of cultural destruction and rampage. According to a report compiled by the Kosovo Cultural Heritage Project, Serbian forces tried to wipe out all Albanian culture and traditions. Of the 500 mosques that were in use prior to the war, 200 of them were completely destroyed or desecrated. The report concludes that most mosques were deliberately set on fire with no sign of fighting around the area. Among numerous other things, the following important objects were destroyed because they represented Albanian as well as Muslim and Catholic cultures:

Sinan Pasha Mosque in Prizren, the Prizren League Museum, the Hadum Mosque complex in Gjakova (Serbian: Djakovica); the historic bazaars in Gjakova and Pec (Albanian: Peja); the Roman Catholic church of St. Anthony in Gjakova; and two old Ottoman bridges, Ura e Terzive (Terzijski most) and Ura e Tabakeve (Tabacki most), near Gjakova.

Politics

Template:Morepolitics

The talks on the future status of Kosovo between the government of Serbia, which wants the territory to remain part of Serbia albeit with a high degree of autonomy, and the provisional government of Kosovo, which wants independence for the province, have started in Vienna, on February 20, 2006. According to the UN Envoy to the status talks the status will be resolved by the end of year 2006.

Economy

Kosovo is one of the poorest economies in Europe, with a per capita income estimated at 964 Euro (2004). Despite substantial development subsidies from all Yugoslav republics, Kosovo was the poorest province of Yugoslavia . Additionally, over the course of the 1990s, poor economic policies, international sanctions, weak access to external trade and finance, and ethnic conflict severely damaged the economy.

Kosovo's economy remains weak. After a jump in 2000 and 2001 GDP growth was negative in 2002 and 2003 and is expected to be around 3 percent 2004-2005, with domestic sources of growth unable to compensate for the declining foreign assistance. Inflation is low, while the budget posted a deficit for the first time in 2004. Kosovo has high external deficits. In 2004, the deficit of the balance of goods and services was close to 70 percent of GDP. Remittances from Kosovars living abroad accounts for an estimated 13 percent of GDP, and foreign assistance for around 34 percent of GDP.

Most economic development since 1999 has taken place in the trade, retail and the construction sectors. The private sector that has emerged since 1999 is mainly small-scale. The industrial sector remains weak and the electric power supply remains unreliable, acting as a key constraint. Unemployment remains pervasive, at around 40-50% of the labor force.

UNMIK introduced de-facto an external trade regime and customs administration on September 3, 1999 when it set customs border controls in Kosovo. All goods imported in Kosovo face a flat 10% customs duty fee. These taxes are collected from all Tax Collection Points installed at the borders of Kosovo, including those between Kosovo and Serbia.. UNMIK and Kosovo institutions have signed Free Trade Agreements with Bosnia and Hercegovina, Albania and Macedonia.

The Euro is the official currency of Kosovo and used by UNMIK and the government bodies. The Serbian Dinar is used in the Serbian populated parts.

Demographics

According to the 2000 Living Standard Measurement Survey of the Statistical Office of Kosovo, Kosovo's total population is estimated between 1,8 and 2,0 million in the following ethnic proportions:

• 88% Albanians (between 1,584,000 and 1,733,600)
• 7% Serbs (between 126,000 and 140,000)
• 1.9% Bosniaks (between 34,200 and 38,000)
• 1.7% Roma (between 30,600 and 34,000) (see also Roma in Mitrovica Camps)
• 1% Turks (between 18,000 and 20,000)

However, the figures are highly disputable. Some estimates are that there is an Albanian majority well above 90 percent. The population census is set to take place in the near future. Others give much higher figures for Roma and Turks . There was also a small minority of Circassians in Kosovo Polje but they were repatriated to the Republic of Adygea, in Southern Russia. The ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army is thought to have threatened the Adygs.

Subdivisions

Main article: Subdivisions of Kosovo, also see: Municipalities of Kosovo.

Kosovo is divided into 7 districts:

• Mitrovica/Kosovska Mitrovica District
• Prishtina/Priština District
• Gjilani/Gnjilane District
• Peja/Peć District
• Gjakova/Đakovica District
• Prizreni/Prizren District
• Ferizaji/Uroševac District

Cities

List of largest cities in Kosovo (with population figures in 2006):

• Prishtina/Priština (262,686)
• Prizreni/Prizren (165,227)
• Ferizaji/Uroševac (97,741)
• Gjakova/Đakovica (97,156)
• Peja/Peć (95,190)
• Gjilani/Gnjilane (91,595)
• Mitrovica/Kosovska Mitrovica (86,359)
• Podujeva/Podujevo (48,526)

Culture

• Music of Kosovo

List of Presidents

List of the presidents of Kosovo :

• Fatmir Sejdiu, 10 February 2006 - present
• Nexhat Daci (acting), 21 January 2006 - 10 February 2006
• Ibrahim Rugova, 4 March 2002 - 21 January 2006

List of Prime Ministers

• Bajram Rexhepi, 2002-2004
• Ramush Haradinaj, 2004-2005
• Bajram Kosumi, 2005-2006
• Agim Çeku, 2006-present

Gallery

• The building of the Government of Kosovo in Prishtina/Priština
• Prizreni/Prizren
• Gjakova/Đakovica
• KFOR
• Prishtina/Priština International Airport Prishtina/Priština International Airport
• Rahovec/Orahovac Rahovec/Orahovac
• Center of Prishtina/Priština, monument to Skenderbeg
• A 14th-century fresco in Visoki Dečani monastery

See also

• History of Kosovo
• Assembly of Kosovo
• Government of Kosovo
• Prime Minister of Kosovo
• President of Kosovo
• Albanians in Kosovo
• Kosovo war
• Serbs in Kosovo
• Post and Telecom of Kosovo
• Battle of Kosovo (1389)
• Subdivisions of Kosovo
• National awakening and the birth of Albania
• Demographic history of Kosovo
• Unrest in Kosovo (during March 2004)
• Sexual trafficking in Kosovo
• Metohija

References

1. [http://www.elsie.de/pdf/B2002GatheringClouds.pdf Elsie, R. (ed.) (2002): Gathering Clouds. The roots of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. Early twentieth-century documents. Dukagjini Balkan Books, Peja (Kosovo, Serbia). ISBN 9951-05-016-6
2. New York Times 1981-04-19, "One Storm has Passed but Others are Gathering in Yugoslavia"
3. Reuters 1986-05-27, "Kosovo Province Revives Yugoslavia's Ethnic Nightmare"
4. Christian Science Monitor 1986-07-28, "Tensions among ethnic groups in Yugoslavia begin to boil over"
5. New York Times 1987-06-27, "Belgrade Battles Kosovo Serbs"
6. SANU (1986): Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Memorandum. GIP Kultura. Belgrade.
7. http://www.opendemocracy.net/articles/ViewPopUpArticle.jsp?id=2&articleId=3361 Julie A Mertus: "Slobodan Milosevic: Myth and Responsibility"
8. Reuters 1988-07-30, "Yugoslav Leaders Call for Control in Kosovo, Protests Loom"
9. http://www.balkanpeace.org/cib/kam/kams/kams19.shtml
10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1812847.stm
11. http://www.hrw.org/press/1999/jan/yugo0129.htm
12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/781310.stm
13. http://www.haverford.edu/relg/sells/kosovo/herscherriedlmayer.htm
14. http://ec.europa.eu/comm/enlargement/serbia_montenegro/kosovo_economical_profile.htm
15. Christian Science Monitor 1982-01-15, "Why Turbulent Kosovo has Marble Sidewalks but Troubled Industries"
16. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/ECAEXT/KOSOVOEXTN/0,,menuPK:297775~pagePK:141159~piPK:141110~theSitePK:297770,00.html
17. http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/enlargement_papers/2005/elp26en.pdf
18. http://www.eciks.org/english/lajme.php?action=total_news&main_id=386
19. http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/enlargement_papers/2005/elp26en.pdf
20. http://www.buyusa.gov/kosovo/en/doingbusinessinkosovo.html
21. http://www.seerecon.org/kosovo/documents/wb_econ_report/wb-kosovo-econreport-2-2.pdf
22. http://www.euinkosovo.org/upload_press/4.06%20-%20UNMIK%20and%20Bosnia%20and%20Herzegovina%20Initial%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement%2017.2.06.pdf
23. http://www.kosovo-eicc.org/oek/index.php?page_id=64
24. http://www.buyusa.gov/kosovo/en/doingbusinessinkosovo.html
25. http://www.euinkosovo.org/uk/invest/invest.php
26. http://www.sok-kosovo.org/pdf/population/Kosovo_population.pdf 2000 Living Standard Measurement Survey of the Statistical Office of Kosovo
27. http://www.salon.com/news/1999/03/31newsa.html
28. http://www.serbianunity.net/news/world_articles/Dragnich1098.html
29. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/143667.stm BBC News: Circassians flee Kosovo conflict. Sunday, August 2, 1998 Published at 01:01 GMT 02:01 UK
30. http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&dat=32&srt=npan&col=aohdq&geo=-244
31. http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Yugoslavia.html#Kosovo

External links

• EU Commission report on economic development in Accession countries, including Kosovo
• Kosovo and the Balkans - Discussion Forum
• European Commission information on Kosovo
• Kosovo Statistical Office (SOK)
• Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Kosovo
• Template:Wikitravel
• RTK - Kosova's public television - news in Albanian, Serbian, Turkish and Roma
• Human Rights in Kosovo: As Seen, As Told. Volume I, October 1998 - June 1999.
• Kosovo maps from the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
• KosovaKosovo A source of information reflecting both sides’ claims in the dispute
• KFOR NATO led peacekeeping force in Kosovo.
• UNMIK UN led civilian administration in Kosovo.
• EU EU Pillar in Kosovo.
• KPA Kosovo Property Kosovo Property Agency - KPA.
• Housing and Property Directorate Housing and Property Directorate - HPD.
• A collection of photos from Kosovo
• Otvoreno A place where Serbian politicians speak openly on the Kosovo issue
• IOM International Organization for Migration
• (ICG) International Crisis Group, a source of independent analysis on Kosovo issues.
• Kosovo Blog Search Challenge: Helping people find information from Kosovo
• ECIKS Economic Initiative for Kosova, information on investment opportunities.

Pro-Albanian

• Save Kosova American Council for Kosovo, increasing the awareness of the recognition of Kosovo's independence in the American society.
• Balkan Update- A blog with news, analysis and the lates updates from Balkans
• Economic Initiative for Kosovo - "...latest news, analysis and publications from the Kosovar economy"
• Albanian.com - general information
• Kosova e lirë (Free Kosova) -- Material about Kosovars and Albanians in Albanian language.
• Why Independence for Kosovo? A summary of the case for an independent Kosovo by two Prishtina intellectuals
• Alliance for New Kosovo A policy resource on Kosovo Independence
• Kosovareport A collection of news on Kosovo, in English, gathered from many agencies.
• Kosova Crisis Center A collection of articles on Kosovo, in English.
• AACL Albanian American Civic League.
• Vetëvendosje (in translation Self-determination) a movement which fights for the recognition of Kosovo people's right for self-determination on the status of Kosovo.
• KosovaLive Kosovo Albanian independent news agency (this section in English).

Pro-Serbian

• Serbian Government Kosovo-Metohija site
• Kosovo.net Serbian Orthodox Church's official website on Kosovo
• Account of destroyed Serbian Orthodox churches in Kosovo and Metohija
• Kosovo Newsgroup archive
• Coordination Center of SCG and the Republic of Serbia for Kosovo
• Eastern Orthodox Resource Centre
• Southern Serbia: The second Kosovo?
• Kosovo News blog
• B92 Serbian Independent news agency
• Hugo Roth, Kosovo Origins: a historian's comprehensive overview
• The American Council for Kosovo

Template:Kosovo

• Disputed territories
• Kosovo
• UN peacekeeping missions and operations