Republic of Kosova

History

Proclamation

Late in June 1990, Ethnic Albanian members of the provincial assembly proposed a vote on whether to form a republic; the ethnic Serb president of the assembly immediately shut it down and promised to reopen the assembly on 2 July, which was later postponed.

On 2 July, the vast majority of Ethnic Albanian members of the provincial assembly returned to the assembly building, but it had been locked; so in the street outside they voted to declare Kosovo a Republic within the Yugoslav federation. The Serbian government responded by dissolving the assembly and the government of Kosovo, removing any remaining autonomy. The Serb government then passed another law on labour relations which dismissed 80,000 Ethnic Albanian workers.

Ethnic Albanian members of the now officially dissolved Kosovo assembly met in secret in Kaçanik on 7 September and declared the "Republic of Kosova" in which laws from Yugoslavia would only be valid if compatible with the Republic's constitution. The assembly went on to declare the "Republic of Kosova" an independent state on 22 September 1991. This declaration was endorsed by 99% of voters in an referendum held a few days later. The Republic of Kosova received diplomatic recognition from Albania. Serb authorities rejected the election results, and tried to capture and prosecute those who had voted. In 1995, thousands of Serb refugees from Croatia were settled in Kosovo, which further worsened relations between the two communities.

Parallel structures

Kosovo Albanians organized a resistance movement, creating a number of parallel structures in education, medical care, and taxation. New schools opened, with houses being turned into facilities for schools, including high schools and universities. During parallel elections, new leaders were elected, forming a new country within a country. Because of the repression, the new government had its seat in exile. There was a parallel football league, following all the sports men and women being expelled from the stadiums and sports facilities.

NATO intervention

Main article: Insurgency in Kosovo (1995–1998), Kosovo War

From 1995 onwards, tensions in the region escalated leading to the Kosovo War which began in February 1998, fought between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) guerrilla force. The KLA-led campaign continued into January 1999 and was brought to the attention of the world media by the Račak massacre, the mass killing of about 45 Albanians (Including 9 KLA insurgents) by Serbian security forces. An international conference was held in Rambouillet, France later that spring and resulted in a proposed peace agreement, called the Rambouillet Agreement, which was accepted by the ethnic Albanian side but rejected by the Yugoslav government.

The failure of the talks at Rambouillet resulted in a NATO air campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia lasting from 24 March to 10 June when the Yugoslav authorities signed a military technical agreement. NATO-led international peacekeepers established the Kosovo Force (KFOR) and an international civilian mission was established by the name of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK), which entered Kosovo on 12 June 1999.

The United Nations assumed control of Kosovo in June 1999. A Joint Interim Administrative Structure was established to allow Kosovo political and community leaders to be represented in decisions in January 2000. The KLA was disbanded and replaced by the Kosovo Protection Corps, a lightly armed civilian emergency response organization. On 31 January 2000, the interim administration in Kosovo was recognized, officially ending the Republic of Kosova.

Government

The system of governance in the Republic of Kosova was described in a constitution adopted in Kaçanik on 7 September 1990.

National symbols

Main article: Flag of the Republic of Kosova

The flag used by the Republic of Kosova was very similar to the flag of Albania, depicting a variant of the emblem on the same colored background. The national emblem of the Republic of Kosova was a double headed eagle, which was depicted on the presidential seal.

Seal of the President of Kosova.svg|Presidential seal

Executive

;President The president of the Republic of Kosova was elected on 24 May 1992.

Political parties: Main article: President of Kosovo

|- |}

;Prime Minister Main article: Prime minister of Kosovo

Political parties:

;Other ministers

;Cabinet Main article: Cabinet of Kosovo

Legislature

The Assembly of the Republic of Kosova was elected on 24 May 1992.

;Membership by party

;Chairman of the Assembly Main article: Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo

International relations

Recognition

The Republic of Kosova was recognised as an independent state by:

• Albania (22 October 1991)

Sport

A Basketball Federation of Kosovo was established in 1991 and an Olympic Committee of Kosovo was established in 1992.

In January 1993, the Football Federation of Kosovo signed a cooperation agreement with the Albanian Football Association and a team representing Kosovo played a friendly match against Albania in February 1993.

Seferi Fortuzi

Notes

References

;Bibliography

References

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2. (1999). "Kosovo: a short history". HarperPerennial.
3. "ON THE RECORD: Civil Society in Kosovo - Volume 9, Issue 1 - August 30, 1999 - THE BIRTH AND REBIRTH OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN KOSOVO - PART ONE: REPRESSION AND RESISTANCE".
4. (2021). "International Legal Responses to Kosovo's Declaration of Independence". Vanderbilt Law Review.
5. (30 September 1991). "Kosovo (Jugoslawien), 30 September 1991: Unabhängigkeit".
6. Malcolm, Noel. (1998). "Kosovo: A Short History". Macmillan.
7. "Balkan Returns: An Overview of Refugee Returns and Minority Repatriation".
8. (2000). "Civil Resistance in Kosovo". Pluto Press.
9. (19 April 2018). "How to build a parallel state".
10. (1 January 2004). "The emergence of the Kosovo "parallel state," 1988–1992". Nationalities Papers.
11. Independent International Commission on Kosovo. (2000). "The Kosovo Report". Oxford University Press.
12. Quackenbush, Stephen L.. (2015). "International Conflict: Logic and Evidence". Sage.
13. (June 1999). "Roots of the Insurgency in Kosovo".
14. Glenny, Misha. (2012). "The Balkans". Penguin Books.
15. [[Republic of Kosova#Judah. Judah 2000]], p. 193
16. Strauss, Julius. (30 June 2001). "Massacre that started long haul to justice". Telegraph.co.uk.
17. Suy, Eric. (2000). "NATO's Intervention in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia". Leiden Journal of International Law.
18. (2016-10-26). "NATO & Kosovo: Index Page".
19. (10 June 1999). "Security Council, welcoming Yugoslavia's acceptance of peace principles, authorises civil, security presence in Kosovo". United Nations.
20. "RESOLUTION 1244 (1999)".
21. "Defense.gov News Article: Larger Kosovo Force Takes to Field".
22. Imogen Bell. (2002). "Central and South-Eastern Europe 2003". Psychology Press.
23. Clark, Howard. Civil Resistance in Kosovo. London
24. "Kosovo (Province, Serbia) before the declaration of independence".
25. "Sot bëhen 31 vjet nga shpallja e Kushtetutës së Kaçanikut - Albinfo".
26. "Alternative government: Republic of Kosovo".
27. (22 October 2014). "IOC grants provisional recognition to Kosovo Olympic Committee". olympic.org.
28. (2011). "Futbolli 1991–2011, 20 vjet mëvetësim". [[Football Federation of Kosovo]].