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In April, 1990, facing more demonstrations, Serbia passed a special law extending prior emergency measures. The people of Kosova through their Assembly responded on July 2nd with a declaration of independence. Three days later, Serbia suspended the Kosova Assembly, falsely purporting that the Serbian minority in Kosova was being oppressed by the Albanian majority. Serbia then seized some seventy-five enterprises, including hospitals, and energy plants. On September 7, following the general strike, the Assembly met secretly, proclaimed Kosova a Republic within the Yugoslav Federation, and adopted the Constitution. By September 17, its 111 Albanian members had been arrested or had fled into hiding or exile.

On September 28, 1990, Serbia adopted a new Constitution that completely eliminated Kosova’s autonomy. As of mid-1991, the people of Kosova held a referendum in which 87% of the population participated, resulting in a 99% vote in favor of an independent state. In October 19th, 1991, based on this referendum, Kosova was declared a sovereign independent state and a transitional government was formed. In May, 1992, the first multiparty elections for parliament and president of the Republic of Kosova took place. On June 23, 1992, however, the Serbian police used armed vehicles to prevent seating of a newly-elected government in Kosova.

In the years that followed, life for the Albanian people of Kosova deteriorated dramatically. In spite of their policy of peaceful resistance, the barbaric treatment at the hands of the Serbian Police, paramilitary, and military persisted unchecked on a daily basis.

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