Kosovo Genocide

By: Gabriele Biondo

Jackie SerraniStephanie Garcia

Around the World in 1999

● The Human population surpassed 6 billion

● The Euro currency was introduced to 11 Countries on January 1st.

● Lance Armstrong wins his first Tour de France.

● The Millennium Dome opens in London

Continued

● Boris Yeltsin resigns as President of Russia, replaced by Vladimir Putin

● The year 2000 problem known as the Y2K problem and the millennium bug was the most important thing on most companies minds.

● MySpace is officially introduced to the internet

Prior to the Genocide

Slobodan Milošević

● Serbian President 1989-1997● President of the Federal Republic of

Yugoslavia 1997-2000

● Was the first acting head of state to be indicted on war crimes

● Charged with war crimes including genocide, and crimes against humanity in connection to the wars in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo

1987-1989

● 1987o Slobodan Milosevic’s power grows with a trip to

Kosovo. Serb nationalists embrace him when he dramatically promises to defend their interests in the province.

● 1989o Milosevic makes changes in the Serbian

constitution that vastly reduces the provincial autonomy Kosovo had since 1974.

Cont.

o Other measures by Milosevic puts tens of thousands of Kosovar Albanians out of work and restricts the activities of their cultural organizations.

o Rioting and protests by Kosovo Albanians occurs

1991

o Break-up of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia begins as Slovenia and Croatia declare their independence

o Ethnic Albanians proclaim the creation of their own Republic of Kosovo (earns little international recognition)

1992o War breaks out in Bosnia as it moves for

independenceo In May, Kosovar Albanians elect Ibrahim Rugova

president in an unofficial electiono Rugova begins creating a shadow governmento In December, President George Bush informs

Milosevic that Serbian aggression in Kosovo will cause a US military response

(The Clinton administration reiterates the threat several times through 1998)

● Elected president in 1992 ● Poll was conducted in

private houses● Election was deemed illegal

by Serbia● Died in 2006 from lung

cancer

Ibrahim Rugova

1994● NATO conducts its first air strike in history against

Bosnian Serbs1995● NATO air strikes continue● November 21 - Milosevic emerges as the region’s

leading political power● Kosovo issues are left unresolved

1994-1995

1996● The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) is formed

o Begins sporadic attacks against Serb authorities in Kosovo

1997● Violence escalates in Kosovo as Serbian forces

resist and KLA steps up its attacks

1996-1997

About

● Lasted from 1998-1999

● Albanians opposed Serbs and the Yugoslavian government

Sites in Kosovo and southern Central Serbia where NATO used forbidden munition with depleted uranium during 1999 bombing

Continued

● Serbia embarked on an orchestrated and organized campaign of ethnic cleansing to rid the province of Kosovo of its dominant Albanian Muslim population.

● Kosovar Albanians were stripped of:o passports o land titleso identity cardso other forms of legal

documentation

Stage 1: Classification

By systematically destroying schools, places of worship,

and hospitals, Serbian forces sought to destroy

social identity and the fabric of Kosovar Albanian society.

Stage 1: Classification

Stage 3: Dehumanization

● Kosovar Albanians were viewed as inferior

● Serbian forces raped women and in some cases rounded up women and raped them under commander’s orders

Stage 4: Organization

● Used violence to move Albanians in Kosovo to Turkey

● Around 300,000 men, women, and children were forced to flee their homes

● Milosevic utilized the Serbian Army, paramilitary forces and police to conduct the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo

Stage 6: Preparation

● Men that could be in the military were separated from the general population

● Kept in prisons or factories

● Forced to dig trenches and were physically abused

Stage 7: Extermination

● Methods employed by the Serbs were:o Mass starvationo Lootingo Raping mothers and wives

as well as young underage girls in front of their families

o Murdero Decapitation

Cont.

● The typical pattern of massacre that was described was:o Serbian forces to enter a village and separate the woman

and small children from the males.o Men and boys would be gathered, brutalized and beaten,

and shot to death.o Bodies would then be buried in a mass grave or burned

Stage 8: Denial

● 11 former Serbian fighters on trial for killing at least 118 Albanian civilians during the Kosovo genocide

● They insisted that they were patriots defending their country from terrorists

● Led by President Bill Clinton, NATO forces bombed the Serbs in Yugoslavia

● Had very little impact on the genocide

● Albanian refugees were used as human shields

International Response

● A stop to military action, violence, and repression

● Safe return of all refugees ● Withdrawal from Kosovo of the

military, police, and paramilitary forces

● Military stationing in Kosovo● Establishment of a political

framework agreement for Kosovo

NATO Objectives

Conclusion/Aftermath

● At least 6,000 Kosovar Albanians were victims of mass murder

● There is an unknown number of victims of individual killings and an unknown number of bodies burned or destroyed by Serbian forces throughout the conflict

● Following the withdrawal of Serbian forces Kosovo saw manifestations of a new set of human right problemso Acts of retribution against the Serb minorityo Killing of 200-400 Serb residents

● As many as 23,000 conscientious objectors and deserters in Serbia are threatened with legal action

Continued

Works Cited

Charny, Israel W., and Steven L. Jacobs. "Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide in Kosovo, 1999." World at War:

Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 7 June 2014.

Dickinson, Laura A. "The Promise of Hybrid Courts." The American Journal of International Law 97 (April 2003): 295-

310; Phillips, David L. Liberating Kosovo: Coercive Diplomacy and U.S. Intervention. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press,

2012.