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Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija Krahina Autonome e Kosovës dhe Metohisë (Albanian) Аутономна Покрајина Косово и Метохиjа (Serbian) | |
|---|---|
 Location of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia | |
| Capital | Pristina |
| Official languages | Albanian Serbian |
| Area | |
• Total | 10,887 km² |
| Population | |
• 2011 census | 1,780,021 |
The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, often shorted to Kosovo, is an autonomous region of Serbia that is currently occupied by NATO and controlled by the US-backed Republic of Kosovo.[1]
History
Second World War
During the Second World War, Albanian fascists expelled 70,000 Serbs from Kosovo and brought in a similar number of Albanians from Albania. The Nazi 21st SS division murdered thousands of Serbs in northeastern Kosovo.[2]:95
Yugoslavia
Tito made Kosovo an autonomous region after the war and then an autonomous province in 1963 in order to placate Albanian nationalists. In 1974, Yugoslavia adopted a new constitution that weakened the central government and gave more power to regional authorities in Kosovo. Kosovo had its own flag and supreme court, and all non-university education was in Albanian. Even though it only had 8% of Yugoslavia's population, it received 24% of the federal development budget.
In 1987, the newly elected Slobodan Milošević began to take action against Albanian secessionists. In 1989, he repealed the 1974 constitution that allowed Kosovo to veto federal laws. Albanians who opposed the federal government began boycotting elections and many were fired from state employment.[2]:96–98
Yugoslav Wars
Until 1992, Kosovo was an autonomous region of the Socialist Republic of Serbia within Yugoslavia. In 1999, Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević surrendered to NATO after the United States bombed Serbia for 78 days. NATO divided Kosovo into five zones occupied by the USA, UK, France, Germany, and Italy. They installed the fascist Kosovo Liberation Army as the new government of Kosovo.[1]
U.S. occupation
In early 2000, NATO occupied Kosovo, and the KLA developed into a police force that exiled 200,000 Serbs from Kosovo and killed hundreds. Serbs, Jews, Roma, and other non-Albanian ethnicities suffered from hate crimes and looting. After the NATO occupation began, Albanian supremacists destroyed over two million Serbian-language books. The mafia became very powerful and kidnapped teenagers to send them to Western Europe.
KLA and NATO members assassinated supporters of the Kosovo Democratic League (a less violent separatist group) including its leader, Fehmi Agani. 379 people were murdered in the first five months of occupation: 135 Serbs, 145 Albanians, and 99 people of other ethnicities.[3]
Demographics
Between 1945 and 1998, the non-Albanian population of Kosovo dropped from 60% to 15%. Tito did not prevent Albanians from expelling Serbs and other ethnicities.[2]:96 Serbs only make up 5% of Kosovo's population.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Richard Becker (2007-12-14). "Why the U.S. backs Kosovo ‘independence’" Liberation School. Archived from the original on 2022-05-17. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Michael Parenti (2000). To Kill a Nation: 'On to Kosovo'. [PDF] Verso.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Michael Parenti (2000). To Kill a Nation: 'Ethnic Cleansing, KLA-NATO Style' (pp. 156–160). [PDF] Verso.