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SERBIAN "ETHNIC CLEANSING" OF ALBANIANS IN KOSOVA
Kosova lies on the south of former Yugoslavia, bordered by Serbia proper to the northeast, Montenegro to the north, Macedonia to the south and Albania to the southwest. More than 90% of its 2 million people are Albanians, and most of the rest are Serbs. Albanians also live in large numbers in aforementioned areas bordering Kosova: 1 million in Macedonia; 100,000 in Montenegro; 50,000 in Serbia proper (Presheve, Medvegje, and Bujanovc); and 3.5 million in the state of Albania - a divided nation of 7 million people living side by side in the Balkans.
THE KOSOVA PROBLEM SINCE WORLD WAR II
The 1946 Yugoslav constitution recognized the separate identity of Kosova. At the same time, it divided Albanian - inhabited lands among Serbia, Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro. In 1963, under the influence of Serbian secret police, boss Alexander Rankovic, Kosova was incorporated as commune in Serbia. After Rankovic’s fall in 1974, Kosova was reinstated as an autonomous Province and given federal representation equal to that of the six Yugoslav republics of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia and Montenegro.
Following Tito’s death, persecution by Serbian Government troops ensued, which led to massive student uprising in Kosova in 1981. The Serbian police and troops killed at least twenty-two Albanians and beat wounded and arrested thousands more. From 1981 to 1988, official statistics confirm the arrest and jailing of more than 7000 people and the incredible figure of 586,000 Albanians (about 1/3 of the Albanian population) who passed through the hands of police for one reason or another.
Serbian determination to strip Kosova of its independence accelerated the violence. In 1989, the Serbian authorities forcibly abolished the autonomy of Kosova and sent Yugoslav tanks to patrol the streets. Six days of rioting ensued, during which more than 100 Albanians were killed and more than 900 arrested.
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