Kosovo
... The first phase of Yugoslavian disintergration can be attributed to the conditions of the people living in Kosovo, an autonomous province of Yugoslavia. In 1981, the socioeconomic conditions in Kosovo were far worse than those in the other republics of Yugoslavia. Another significant problem with this particular province was that while the Serbs claimed the province as the cradle of Serbian empire because of a legendary battle and defeat that happened at Kosovo in 1389, the Albanians constituted approximately eighty percent of the population of Kosovo. In reality, Kosovo could be claimed more by the Albanian majority than by the Serb minority. ... (Yugoslavia) Albanians were given majority rule of Kosovo in the 1960’s by Tito in order to act as a hegemon to the power of Serbia. ... Economically, however, Kosovo was still suffering. The power in Kosovo was vested in a small group of elite Albanians In 1987 Slobodan Milosevic came to power in Serbia. His first actions were directed against Kosovo-Albanian dominance in the province. ... Unfortunately, Congress was not in agreement with how to treat the reports of the abuses in Kosovo. ... Finally, the inter-ethnic conflicts between Serbs and Croats, people of Kosovo and Serbs, Slovenes and the rest of Yugoslavia added to the unstableness of the situation, While the political unity of Yugoslavia was paramount for the White House, any financial aid that would be given to Eastern Europe would be based on that particular nations ability to move toward democracy and a free market economy. ... Slovenia’s per capita income was twice that of the rest of Yugoslavia with zero unemployment making the republic a popular place for migrant Serbs and Albanians from Kosovo. ... With Kosovo now under the control of Serbia, the time had come to turn the attention of the JNA and the government towards Slovenia which was, at this time, still teetering on the issue of independence. ... At approximately the same time, Milosevic attempted to cripple the economy of Slovenia by boycotting slovernian goods and services in Serbia, Vojvodina, and Kosovo. ... In Kosovo alone, police operations costs amounted to about half of all Yugoslavia’s military budget and Milosevic’s refusal to let anyone outside of Serbia handle the situation further crippled any hope for a unified Yugoslavia. Serbia’s actions in Kosovo were one of they key factors in Slovenia, and shortly thereafter, Croatia’s decision to leave Yugoslavia. Had Serbia not treated the people of Kosovo as second-class citizens within a now, new Greater Serbia, the Slovenes and the Croats would not have feared them as much. ... tribunal accused him May 27 of responsibility for alleged atrocities in Kosovo. ... The United Kingdoms foreign secretary Robin Cook said that there would be no "East Germany" within Kosovo, ruling out a de facto partitioning of Kosovo. ... Security Council resolution authorize an international force to move into Kosovo and provide for the safe return of an estimated 860,000 ethnic Albanian refugees. ... POLITICAL AND SECURITY SOLUTIONS: The resolution calls for an international peacekeeping force with NATO at its core to be deployed to Kosovo for an initial 12 months and indefinitely beyond then unless the Security Council decides otherwise. The force is responsible for deterring renewed hostilities, demilitarizing the Kosovo Liberation Army, the rebel group of ethnic Albanians, and establishing a secure environment for refugees to return. ... secretary-general to establish an interim civilian administration for Kosovo that would allow for the return of refugees and promote the establishment of substantial autonomy and self-government for the province within Yugoslavia. ... It would support the economic reconstruction of Kosovo and help with humanitarian and disaster relief. ... COOPERATION WITH WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL: The resolution demands full cooperation by all governments and the international security force in Kosovo with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. ... ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION: The resolution encourages governments and international organizations to contribute to the economic and social reconstruction of Kosovo and emphasizes the need to convene a donors conference as soon as possible. It welcomes work by the European Union and other international organizations to develop a comprehensive approach to the economic development and stabilization of the region affected by the Kosovo crisis. DEMANDS ON YUGOSLAVIA: The resolution demands an immediate and verifiable end to violence and repression in Kosovo and the withdrawal of all military, police and paramilitary forces from Kosovo according to a rapid timetable. ... DEMANDS ON KOSOVO ALBANIAN GROUPS: The resolution demands that the Kosovo Liberation Army and other armed Kosovo Albanian groups end all offensive actions immediately and comply with the requirements for demilitarization which will be spelled out by the head of the international military force. ... What do you think will happen if we partition Kosovo? ... First of all, it is not the NATO alliances goal to partition the province of Kosovo. ... Since it does not appear that President Milosevic is entertaining this channel, the next quickest way is for a powerful NATO ground force to eject Yugoslav forces from Kosovo and create a safe environment for the return of the ethnic Albanians. ... In fact, the 8,000 man force that was sent initially to be the peacekeeping force in Kosovo has been diverted to conduct strictly humanitarian support operations in conjunction with the UN agencies. ... General, wouldnt a ground campaign utterly destroy Kosovo? ... a: Well, the Yugoslav forces have already destroyed much of Kosovo, and theres no doubt if a NATO ground force were to be introduced into Kosovo there would be considerable additional damage. ... However, the training given to NATO forces on avoidance of collateral damage will serve to reduce damage as much as humanly possible, but youre absolutely right, there will be significant damage to the remaining infrastructure in Kosovo. ... We must be very careful in appearing to create a separate rebel army in Kosovo. NATO has been very firm in not creating a civil war in Kosovo. ... I do believe there is a very useful potential role for the KLA by providing eyes and ears to NATO on what is happening in Kosovo. We do not have in Kosovo human intelligence sources, or what is commonly known as spies. The KLA could serve a very useful role in letting the NATO command authorities know what is going on particularly in respect to location of Serb forces and the status of refugees in Kosovo. ... EST (0216 GMT) (CNN) -- The Kosovo Liberation Army is an unlikely catalyst for NATOs first attack on a sovereign nation in its 50-year history. ... Milosevic declared he would rather be bombed than give up Kosovo and allow NATO troops to deploy there WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On day three of NATO airstrikes against Yugoslavia, NATO spokesman Jamie Shea issued this simple warning: "Let me make this clear, this is not a one- or two-day affair. ... And although they do admit they were forewarned about a possible mass exodus of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, few governments paid much heed until the refugee crisis threatened to significantly destabilize parts of the region. ... Armchair generals the world over advocate sending ground troops to Kosovo. ... NATO itself is accused by some in the media of making up its Kosovo strategy as it goes along. ... Intervention on behalf of Kosovo, justified by NATO in the name of democracy, freedom, human rights and Western values, is reshaping its future. ... Solana described Kosovo as the gravest crisis that Europe and NATO have faced for many years. "If Europe is to enjoy a stable democratic peace, it is essential that our values prevail in Kosovo, and not those values of Milosevic," he said. He promised the alliance would see the Kosovo crisis through to the end. If NATO succeeds in Kosovo, alliance governments believe they will eliminate war in Europe caused by nationalism and religious fervor.