Kosovo: Independent, Divided and Occupied

Is it a province or is it a country? Either way, the region is dominated by 92% ethnic Albanians and about 97% of the Albanian population is Muslim. This has greatly influenced the region as nationality tensions have grown throughout the centuries after much Ottoman rule and later the unification of about 6 nations. During these times, Serbian and Yugoslav leaders tried to hold their authority by not allowing the succession of any state. Kosovo was declared an autonomous province but later had that revoked. The government said there was a political and cultural genocide in Kosovo and as a result, many ethnic Albanians lost their jobs – especially those working in the areas of education. Over 80% of Kosovo’s population became unemployed as a result. In 1990, over 80,000 people were expelled from the country. On top of that, Albanian newspapers, radios and other forms of media and culture were disallowed. Albanians decided to ignore any elections and conscriptions and began to vote on a referendum. 90% voted for succession and there was a 98% voter turnout. The Kosovo Liberation Army came into effect and was recognized as a terrorist organization as it launched attacks on police and civilians. Serbian authorities began launching attacks on the KLA and massacred village people where KLA was suspected of hiding. After a series of peace conferences, the US and other western nations began siding with Kosovo Albanians after what happened with the Bosnian conflict which involved much ethnic cleansing of Bosnians and other Muslims. To help change Serbian ideology, NATO began bombing the country until it came to a peace agreement where NATO would occupy the province. Kosovo still had a rather high Serbian minority though, causing many disputes, protests, violence, kidnapping, rape and murder of one another simply because the people are of different races and religions. Many agreed that Kosovo's succession from Serbia would be good for the long run in hope to minimize the violence between different ethnic groups.

Just to get an idea, this video is about the Siege of Sarajevo in Bosnia that took place when Bosnia wanted to succeed from a Serbian dominated Yugoslavia. It expresses a need for the UN to be more involved in conflicts of ethnic cleansing through drafted soldiers' points of view which explains why the UN was right to intervene in Kosovo.

“We did have high expectations from the international community. We thought they are human as we are. They will help us because they can see, but nothing. They let us die. Purposely let us die.”-Nedzad Seric, Bosnian veteran

This video is about the crimes against ethnic Albanians by Serbian authorities. It includes personal interviews of those who survived the genocide and witnessed the gruesome attacks by Serbians.

This is a commercial promoting the independence of Kosovo as a nation. It is recognized by over 60 sovereign states.