Following the defeat of the Turkish Ottoman empire in the first Balkan war, a conference of the great powers of the period -- Austria-Hungary, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia -- convened in London in December 1912 and took it upon themselves to draw the frontiers of the new states which came into being as a result of the war. However, "the great powers largely ignored demographic realities." ⁴

In particular, only about half the Albanian nation was placed in the newly created state of Albania, the rest -- composed mainly of the region of Kosova -- being placed within Serbia. The great powers " ceded the vast region of Kosovo to Serbia" ⁵.

Thus, today 1.7 million ethnic Albanians live in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and 0.4 million in the republic of Macedonia. And out of a population of 2.0 million Kosovars, "Around 1.7 million or 85% of the total" ⁶ are ethnic Albanians.

After the first world war, in December 1918, the victorious allied Powers created the 'Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes' renamed 'Yugoslavia' in October 1929, and installed on the throne Aleksander, Regent of Serbia, who formally became " King in August 1921".⁷

In October 1934 Aleksander was assassinated in France, and his brother, Prince Paul, was made Regent until Alexander's son Peter should come of age.

In March 1941 "the increasingly pro-German regime of Prince Paul was overthrown in a coup, and a Government which supported the Allied Powers was installed, with King Peter as Head of State. In April, however, German and Italian forces invaded, quickly overrunning the country." ⁸.

Kosovo under the Monarchy.

Aleksander had "assumed dictatorial powers in January 1929".⁹

and under the Serb-dominated monarchy, ethnic Albanians "did not even enjoy the moat basic national and democratic rights -- the right to use the Albanian language in public business, the right of having schools in their mother-tongue,... the right of publishing in their own language, and so on. Nothing was done for the schooling of the Albanian national minority. Moreover, even those schools which had existed previously for teaching in the Albanian language were closed... In 1939 there were only three public libraries with 6,000 books (all in the Serbo-Croat language.)" ¹⁰.

As a result of this policy, "more than 90% of the Albanian population were illiterate" ¹¹.

But even worse, the monarchist government adopted a programme of 'ethnic cleansing'. Disguised as 'agrarian reforms', a series of 'colonisation' laws took land from Albanian peasants in order "to settle these parts with 'sound nationalist elements'" ¹²(B11) from Serbia or Montenegro. A semi-official report submitted in March 1937 by Vaso Chubrilovich, who later became a Minister in Titoite Yugoslavia, to the Serbian Club of Culture, concluded that "the only effective method for solving this problem (the alleged 'problem' of Kosova -- Ed.) is the mass deportation of the Albanians. When the state wants to intervene in favour of its own people in the struggle for land, it can be successful only if it acts brutally" ¹³.

Kosova in the Rankovich Period.

The official position of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia during the Second World War was expressed in a resolution of the first Conference of the National Liberation Council for Kosova and Metohija held at Bujan in December/January 1944 "under the leadership of the Provisional Committee of the CPY for Kosova"¹⁴.

This resolution pledged as follows:
"Kosova and the Dukajin Plateau is a province inhabited for the most part by an Albanian population which today, as always, wishes to be united with Albania... The only way for the Albanian people of Kosova and the Dukajin Plateau to be united with Albania is to fight together with the other peoples of Yugoslavia in the war against the bloodthirsty Nazi occupiers and those in their pay, because this is the only way to win the freedom... to decide their own future through the right of self-determination up to secession." ¹⁵.

On the basis of this resolution, Albanian partisans assisted those of Yugoslavia in the armed struggle to liberate Yugoslav territory from German occupation.

However, the leaders of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia were in fact, not Marxist-Leninists, but revisionists. And the grouping which became dominant in the immediate post-war period was one representing the interests of Serbian capital headed by Aleksander Rankovich.

In June 1948 "the expulsion of Yugoslavia from the Cominform was announced" ¹⁶ because of "deviations from Marxism-Leninism, of  pursuing a policy of 'nationalism' and 'Trotskyism'" ¹⁷
It was in accordance with this revisionist policy that, after the liberation of Yugoslavia, the leadership of the CPY reneged on the pledge of the Bujan Conference, and brought about the arbitrary inclusion of Kosova, the Dukagjin Plateau and other Albanian regions within the 'new federal Yugoslavia" ¹⁸. and proceeded to continue the policies of the Yugoslav monarchy towards the ethnic Albanian population of Kosova. As the Marxist-Leninist leader of post-war Albania, Enver Hoxha, told Stalin in April 1949:

"The Tito clique is following the same line and the same methods in Kosova and Macedonia as those used by their counterparts -- King Aleksander and others in the past... The Belgrade clique... is using large-scale terror there, with mass deportations, arrests and forced labour... as well as expropriation."¹⁹.

In November 1952 "the CPY was renamed 'the League of Communists of Yugoslavia' (LCY)... A new Constitution was adopted in January 1953, with Tito becoming President of the Republic, a post which he held until his death in 1980" ²⁰.

Kosova in the Kardelj Period.

In June 1966, a "crisis inside the League of Communists was reported to have been brought to a head by the accidental discovery... of a hidden microphone in President Tito's private apartments." ²¹

Rankovich "as State Secretary for Internal Affairs from 1945-53 and President of the Committee for Internal Affairs from 1953-63 had been primarily responsible for the organisation of the security police (generally known as the UDBA)." ²²

So in July 1966, Rankovich was expelled from the Executive Committee and Central Committee of the LCY, and "subsequently resigned as Vice-President" ²³
The investigation of the Yugoslav security services into this period "revealed that particularly grave irregularities had occurred in two autonomous provinces of the Serbian Republic, Kosova... and Vojvodina... Allegations of persecution of the Albanian community in Kosmet (Kosova and Metohija -- Ed.) had been put forward by the Albanian Government in 1958." ²⁴

After the dismissal of Rankovich, a revisionist grouping representing the interests of non-Serb capital became dominant. Its leading ideologist was Edvard Kardelj and its interests and ideas were expressed in the Constitution adopted in 1974. This Constitution handed down a significant degree of power to:
"the six republics and autonomous provinces (Vojvodina and Kosova). The confederal character of the constitution was further evidenced by the parity of all federal units... The 1974 constitution did take the devolution of power and the empowerment of federal units to unparalleled heights"²⁵.

Two years after the ousting of Rankovich, in 1968, large-scale demonstrations took place in Kosova demanding greater democracy, and these were seized upon by the Kardelj clique to force acceptance of " ...some of the demands placed by demonstrators. They approved the use of the (Albanian -- Ed.) national flag and establishment of a university".²⁶ The University of Prishtina, providing higher education in the Albanian language, was established in 1970.²⁷

The new dominant clique "did not approve the status of a republic (for Kosova -- Ed.)" (Anon: op cit.; p. 29) but the constitutional changes which were adopted under the Kardelj regime "to a certain degree, limited Serbian competence over Kosova."²⁸

The adoption of the new constitution "was followed by the formation of... supreme courts, territorial defence... Albanians were engaged in police forces and army forces and many of them were even given General's ranks".²⁹

It seemed that " Kosova was... in a new phase in its struggle to realise its long dreamt dream -- the 'Republic of Kosova'".³⁰

The Disintegration of Yugoslavia.

But the multinational state of Yugoslavia, under the basically capitalist regime of the Kardelj period, was inherently unstable.

As long ago as 1978 the Albanian Marxist-Leninist Enver Hoxha wrote:
"The Communist Party of Yugoslavia, from the very beginning, was not built on the bases and teachings of Marxism-Leninism. With each passing day it was becoming clearer that a socialist Society of the Leninist type was not being built in Yugoslavia, but that capitalism was developing instead... How does the problem of nations and nationalities in Yugoslavia stand? The Yugoslav Federation inherited deep-rooted conflicts in this field... Tito and the renegade Yugoslav clique around him did not develop a Marxist-Leninist national policy... On the contrary,... this policy served to fuel the hatred and feuds among the nations and nationalities of Yugoslavia" ³¹.

By the beginning of the 1990s, it was clear that the rise of National antagonisms between the constituent nations of this federal state had made their retention within a single state no longer possible.

Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence in June 1991, Bosnia-Herzegovina in April 1992, and Macedonia in November 1992. In April 1992, a new 'Federal Republic of Yugoslavia' was proclaimed, now composed only of Serbia and Macedonia.

Kosova in the Milosevich Period.

As, in the late 1980s, the old Yugoslav Federation approached disintegration, the Serbian capitalist class plotted to replace it with a new federation which they would dominate. Slobodan Milosevich "became president of the Serbian League of Communists in 1984... as a hard-line party leader in the pre-perestroika mould"³².

He was "an unrepentant champion of a 'Greater Serbia' 33, which would incorporate within its frontiers all those parts of the former Yugoslavia with a substantial Serb population.
This did not mean that Milosevich had the slightest sympathy for the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosova. On the contrary, he had used demagogic anti-Albanian racism as a stepping stone to power. Milosevich "(himself of Kosovar origin) ...had undertaken a hard-line and on occasions an openly nationalist campaign for the extension of Serbia's rights over its provinces (i.e., over Kosova and Vojvodina)".³⁴

In June 1987 "thousands of Serbs and Montenegrins travelled from Kosova to Belgrade, where they staged a protest march"³⁵ and by these means, the grouping around Milosevich was successful "in ousting Serbian leaders who did not share his views on this issue."³⁶

In October 1987, the Federal State Presidency imposed emergency measures on Kosova, "including the dispatch to the province of special federal police units and the effective suspension of the authority of the provincial police and judiciary."³⁷

and "the expulsion from the party of Mr. Fadilj Hoxha, an influential (ethnic Albanian) Kosovar politician who had been a member of the federal collective state Presidency between 1974 and 1984".³⁸

In particular, during 1988 and 1989 "proposals to amend the Serbian Constitution to reduce the level of autonomy of the two regions (Kosova and Vojvodina -- Ed.) were supported by regular demonstrations by Serbs".³⁹

The ethnic Albanians of Kosova replied with counter-demonstrations, and in November 1988 "an indefinite ban on all mass gatherings in Kosova was imposed".⁴⁰

In February 1989, "the LCY central committee dismissed several members from its own ranks, including Azem Vlasi, the popular ethnic Albanian former LC leader in... Kosova."⁴¹
In response, ethnic Albanian miners "began a protest strike in the Kosova town of Trepca".⁴²

When, under this pressure, the president of the Kosova  LCY, Rahman Morina, "announced his resignation... the announcement prompted the Trepca miners to call off their strike... The apparent capitulation of the Kosova LCY leadership to the strikers prompted an immediate backlash by Serbs both in Kosova and in Serbia proper. On Feb. 28 an estimated 700,000 Serbian Demonstrators massed outside the Federal Assembly building to protest against the Kosovar Albanians' 'chauvinism and separatism'."⁴³

"Rioting continued... when Vlasi was arrested in early March... Some 25 people were reported to have been killed during clashes with the police".⁴⁴

In March 1989, the Kosova Provincial Assembly "endorsed changes to the Serbian Constitution which gave the Serbian central authorities control over the internal affairs of Kosova and Vojvodina... This reduction in autonomy gave rise to a wave of rioting."⁴⁵

and later in the same month, the "ban on public protests in Kosova was reinforced to include restrictions on the movement of people into the province from other parts of Yugoslavia, and on the reporting and photographing of public protests and troop movements."⁴⁶

In April 1989 "it was reported... that the Yugoslav authorities were offering financial incentives to Serbs wanting to settle in Kosova".⁴⁷

In May 1989, Milosevich "was elected President of the Serbian State Presidency"⁴⁸ and this position became the centre of his power base for the next few years.

In January 1990 "violence erupted once again in... Kosova... Tens of thousands of Albanians in at least 12 Kosovar towns were involved in daily clashes with riot police which by the end of the month reportedly had left at least 27 people dead. A crowd of more than 10,000 ethnic Albanians gathered outside the provincial LC headquarters in the capital Prishtina... After several hours, the crowd had swelled to around 40,000 people. Riot police used water-cannon and tear gas against those who ignored warnings to disperse".⁴⁹

In April 1990, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevich "declared that Serbia's own internal affairs secretariat had now taken over from the federal authorities in administering public security in the province (Kosova -- Ed.)".⁵⁰

In May 1990 "the Serbian leadership announced new proposals for constitutional amendments that would remove Kosova's autonomy entirely".⁵¹

In June 1990, the 180-member Kosova Assembly was " ...summarily closed by the Serbian authorities"⁵² while the Serbian Assembly was "empowered to take over the affairs of the Kosova Assembly and of other official bodies."⁵³

In July 1990, the Serbian League of Communists of Serbia voted to form "a new political party to be known as the Serbian Socialist Party... Slobodan Milosevich, the Serbian President and a former leader of the Serbian communists, was elected president of the new party."⁵⁴

Also in July 1990 "the Serbian Assembly voted... to dissolve the Kosova Assembly permanently (and thereby dismiss the government), and to terminate the contracts of all Kosova parliamentary officials, transferring the Kosova bodies' responsibilities permanently to the Serbian parliament. The head of Kosova's radio and television services and the director-general of the influential Kosova newspaper 'Rilindja' (Renaissance -- Ed.) were replaced... In the following days... thousands of workers responded to calls by ethnic Albanian leaders for a one-hour daily strike".⁵⁵

And in the same month "in a referendum conducted throughout Serbia, a majority of Serbs voted in favour of proposals for a new constitution for the republic... However, the Albanian majority in Kosova province protested that the proposed constitution would effectively strip Kosova of the special autonomous status conferred on it... in the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution. Only 25% of the Kosova electorate turned out to vote, most of them being Serbs."⁵⁶

Serbian Aggression against Croatia.

The Yugoslav federal army had long been controlled by Serbia, and its officers were predominantly Serbs.⁵⁷

Furthermore, Serbia was "a major arms producer before the ending of the cold war"⁵⁸, and this large arms industry made Serbia well-equipped for aggressive war:

"The Serbs are endowed with an embarrassing wealth of heavy weapons and endless supplies of ammunition".⁵⁹

The Yugoslav Federal Army was thus a ready-made instrument to try to bring about the 'Greater Serbia' desired by the Serb capitalist class.

In mid-1991, therefore, Serb 'irregulars', armed, supplied and supported by the Yugoslav Federal Army, invaded Croatia. As a result, "by early September (1991 -- Ed.)... Croatia had lost almost one-third of its territory to Serbian nationalist forces, with whom the Serb-dominated Yugoslav National Army (JNA) was now openly identified".⁶⁰

In December 1990, the Serbian occupation forces proclaimed the "'Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina' within Croatia, comprising municipalities in Croatia with a majority Serb population"⁶¹ and in April 1992, Krajina "declared itself part of Serbia."⁶²

Serbian Aggression against Bosnia.

Shortly after the proclamation of Bosnia's independence, the Serbs permitted the UN to arrange a cease-fire with Croatia. In other words, "as soon as the Serbs had had their territorial fill of Croatia, they used the United Nations to arrange a cease-fire. This enabled them to redeploy in Bosnia"⁶³.

Then, "Serb troops, backed by the Yugoslav army, stormed into eastern Bosnia, capturing a string of... towns."⁶⁴
The Serbian aims were "to take over as much of the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina as possible by military action and terror. It was launched in the summer of 1990 and is closely linked to Slobodan Milosevich's Socialist Party of Serbia... Their strategy has been to help local militia gain control of a maximum amount of this territory, to proceed with 'ethnic cleansing' of this territory, and then to call in the UN and other international forces to separate the two sides, and finally for the 'ethnically cleansed' populations to vote to join the new Yugoslavia".⁶⁵

In other words, the policy was aimed at the murder or expulsion of non-Serbs from 'Greater Serbia':

"General Radko Mladich, the former Yugoslav army officer, Greater Serbian nationalist and Bosnian Serb military chief... is... one of the architects of the Serbian programme of 'ethnic cleansing', first on Croatia in 1991 and now on a much larger scale in his native Bosnia. The Milosevich camp in Belgrade armed, organised and supplied the Bosnian Serbs... Over the next four months Gen. Mladich's forces went on a rampage of killing, raping, looting and expelling Bosnia's Muslims from their homes"⁶⁶.

The Observer calls this 'ethnic cleansing' by its proper name - "Serbian fascism"⁶⁷.

By mid-1992, Serbian forces had occupied 70% of Bosnia: "The Serbs... have overrun 70% of Bosnia in nine months of war"⁶⁸ and in September 1992 "the parliament of the self-proclaimed 'Serbian Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina' ...declared itself in favour of union with the FRY."⁶⁹

The 'Republic of Kosova'.

Rejecting the new constitutional proposals, in July 1990, a group of 110 delegates to the Kosova Assembly declared Kosova to have republican status within the Yugoslav Federation:

"a group of 114 ethnic Albanian delegates to the Kosova Assembly issued a statement... in which they declared that Kosova was now independent of Serbia, and that it was instead a full Constituent republic within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)."⁷⁰

In September 1990, Serbia 's new Constitution entered into force. It "abolished almost completely the attributes of statehood which the... Yugoslav federal Constitution had granted to the provinces of Kosova and Vojvodina within the Serbian republic... The new constitution proclaimed the 'Republic of Serbia', dropping the adjective 'socialist'."⁷¹

In response "a general strike brought Kosova virtually to a standstill."⁷² It was "called to protest against the mass dismissals of ethnic Albanian officials"⁷³.

In the same month "the Kosova Provincial Assembly... was re-formed unilaterally by 111 of its . . . deputies at a secret session... in the village of Kacanik... Serbia immediately declared the proclamation illegal... and the Prishtina public prosecutor's office announced that criminal charges would be brought against those Assembly deputies involved."⁷⁴

Also in September 1990, Serbia's repressionn of the Kosovar Albanians was "condemned by the minority leader in the United States, Senator Robert Dole, following his visit to Prishtina at the head of a Delegation of US Republican congressmen."⁷⁵

In September 1991, 6,000 Albanian teachers were "threatened with dismissal for refusal to comply with the Serbian curriculum... The Serbian authorities were also Preventing 350,000 Albanian pupils and students from re-entering school because they had followed an Albanian curriculum."⁷⁶

In October 1991, the Kosova Assembly (illegally, according to the Serbian authorities) "organised a referendum... on sovereignty for the province of Kosova, and proceeded... to elect a provisional coalition government headed by Bujar Bukoshi... The referendum was reported as recording an 87.01% turnout and 99.87% approval for sovereignty for Kosova."⁷⁷
In May 1992 "elections were held in Kosova... to a 130-member provincial assembly. The 'Democratic Alliance of Kosova' (DAK) secured most seats in the elections (which were declared illegal by the Serbian authorities) and their leader, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, was elected 'President' of the self-proclaimed 'Republic of Kosova'. However, Serbian security forces prevented the assembly from hoolding its inaugural session⁷⁸"

In June 1992, Serbian troops "surrounded the building and arrested several deputies."⁷⁹

In July 1992, the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Dobrica Cosich "nominated Serbian-born US businessman Milan Panich as Federal Prime Minister."⁸⁰

In August 1992, Prime Minister Panich "revoked the state of emergency in Kosova, which had been in effect since the unrest of 1989-90"⁸¹. He emphasised, however, "that he was not yet proposing any withdrawal of federal troops from the province."⁸²

In October 1992, Federal Prime Minister Panich "visited the Kosova capital Prishtina... for talks with Ibrahim Rugova... on the rights of ethnic Albanians. Panich's visit followed two days of clashes in Prishtina... between police and unarmed Albanians demanding the right to education in the Albanian language and the reopening of Albanian schools."⁸³

Also in October 1992 "in what appeared to be an attempt by Milosevich to assert his power, Serbian police led by Nihail Kertes, one of Milosevich's aides, seized and retained control of the FRY Interior Ministry in Belgrade."⁸⁴

In May/June 1993 "a group of more than 20 writers and journalists staged a hunger strike... in protest against censorship and against restrictions on Albanian language publishing."⁸⁵

In August 1993 "tension rose... in Kosova, with numerous reports of beatings, house searches and arrests, including searches of  party  offices."⁸⁶

In the same month, the UN Security Council "called on the Yugoslav government to reconsider its decision not to allow the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) to continue its monitoring work in Kosova."⁸⁷

In September 1993, the Yugoslav government "ordered the closing of the 58 secondary schools and 21 of the 350 elementary schools in the Albanian language."⁸⁸

In November 1993, at the inaugural conference of the Serbian Unity Party (SSJ), paramilitary commander Zeljko Raznjatovich ('Arkan') "threatened that if he secured a seat in Kosova, Albanian nationalists would be expelled."⁸⁹

In elections to the Serbian legislature in December 1993 "less than nine-tenths of the 1,000,000-strong Kosova electorate was reported to have voted."⁹⁰

In February 1994, Ibrahim Rugova "met US President Bill Clinton... during a visit to the USA."⁹¹ In the same month, the Serbian authorities in Kosova announced "the immediate closure of the 'Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosova'. The Academy had continued to function despite its official abolition in 1992."⁹²

In December 1994 "in the largest wave of arrests since 1990 in the... province of Kosova, Serbian police detained 170 ethnic Albanian former policemen."⁹³

Instability in Serbia Proper.

In early June 1996 "several new appointments to the Serbian Government were carried out. All the new ministers appointed were members of the increasingly influential 'Yugoslav United Left' (YUL), led by Mirjana Markovich, the wife of President Milosevich"⁹⁴.
Municipal elections in Serbia in November 1996 were contested by an anti- Milosevich coalition 'Zajedno' (Together) and "provisional results... indicated that 'Zajedno' had gained control over 14 principal towns, including Belgrade... However, most of the opposition victories were annulled by (SPS-dominated) municipal courts and electoral commissions. Mass demonstrations in protest at the Government's refusal to recognise the results of the municipal elections were subsequently staged by students and other 'Zajedno' supporters in Belgrade"⁹⁵.

The demonstrations quickly became general "protests against the regime of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevich. The demonstrations were the largest witnessed in Serbia since... March 1991."⁹⁶

and by December 1996 developed "into violent clashes between protestors and members of the security forces in Belgrade. It was reported that two people had been killed and a further 58 injured"⁹⁷.

Subsequently "the Ministry of Internal Affairs... ordered a ban on demonstrations, which the security forces attempted to enforce; nevertheless, anti-government rallies continued"⁹⁸.

At the end of December 1996 "a delegation from 'the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe' (OSCE)... issued a report upholding the results of municipal elections that had been invalidated⁹⁹."

In late December 1996 "reports in the Western press suggested that Milosevich was becoming increasingly isolated."¹⁰⁰
In January 1997, for example, "the Serbian Orthodox Church (which had hitherto supported Milosevich) issued a statement urging him to acknowledge the results of the municipal elections.¹⁰¹"

Throughout January 1997 "mass protests against the regime of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevich continued... Students continued to hold daily rallies in Belgrade (the capital) throughout January, despite an Interior Ministry ban on marches."¹⁰²

In mid-February 1997 "the Serbian Parliament passed legislation... which recognised victories by the opposition coalition 'Zajedno' in municipal elections held in November".¹⁰³

Thereupon "the leaders of 'Zajedno' announced an end to the daily anti-government demonstrations. Students, however, continued to demonstrate throughout February in support of their demands for political reform...
Teachers also began strike action in February in support of their demand for increased pay".¹⁰⁴

In March 1997, the 'Agence-France Presse' news agency reported "that the Serbian authorities were taking steps to drive the privately-owned TV station 'BK Television' off the air. 'BK Television' had been one of the few domestic media outlets which had provided extensive coverage of the anti-Milosevich protests which had engulfed Serbia from November 1996 to February 1997."¹⁰⁵

In April 1997 "the Serbian government bowed to widespread pressure and dropped a controversial section of a proposed new media law which would have permitted private radio and television stations to broadcast to only 25% of Yugoslavia's total population".¹⁰⁶

In early April 1997, informal talks on Kosova were held in New York: "The talks, between Serb and ethnic Albanian officials, ended without any significant agreement".¹⁰⁷

In June 1997, Milosevich made an "attempt to move his power-base from the Serbian presidency to the presidency of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). The ruling Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS)... officially nominated Milosevich (the party's president) for the federal presidency." ¹⁰⁸
The impetus for the move "lay in the fact that he was barred by the Serbian constitution from running for a third term as Serbian President when his current term ended in December 1997".¹⁰⁹

In July 1997, "Milosevich formally resigned as President of Serbia"¹¹⁰ and "was elected unopposed to the post of President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." ¹¹¹
In September/October 1997, elections in Serbia resulted in the election to the post of President of Serbia of "Milan Milutinovich"112 the outgoing Foreign Minister. The 'Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe' (OSCE) "which monitored the election, issued a report in late December which claimed that the contest had been 'fundamentally flawed'." ¹¹³
In Kosova, ethnic Albanian electors "largely boycotted the polls." ¹¹⁴

In October 1997 "a large demonstration was held... by students in Prishtina"¹¹⁵
, the capital of Kosova:

"The students, who had been boycotting Prishtina University for some six years, had organised the demonstration to press the Serbian authorities to implement the 1996 agreement which had provided for the restoration of Albanian-language education at all levels in Kosova... The demonstration was broken up violently by police." ¹¹⁶

Conclusion.

The attempt of the Serbian racists to deprive the ethnic Albanian people of Kosova even of the limited freedoms they experienced in the Kardelj period is futile and doomed to failure.
On the other hand, the attempt by Rugova and most of the imperialist powers to restore to the Kosovars merely the limited and obviously fragile autonomy they experienced in that period does not go far enough to satisfy the aspirations of the great majority of Kosovars.

Furthermore, the strategy of trying to achieve even this through military intervention from outside, as a gift from 'philanthropic' powers, is a dangerous illusion. The imperialist powers are interested in Kosova only as they are interested in Britain -- as a source of profit!

There can be no valid reason for trying to redraw, at the end of the 20th century, the purely artificial and divisive frontiers which the Great Powers were able arbitrarily to draw at the beginning of the century.
Thinking people in Kosova have in recent years learned that it is not enough -- except in the rarest of circumstances -- merely to demand liberty.

Liberty has to be fought for with force of arms and those Kosovars who have learned this lesson from experience have given it tangible form in the Kosova Liberation Army, which must receive the support of all progressive people throughout the world.

1 The Guardian, 2 march 1998; p. 12.
2 The Guardian, 20 march 1998; p. 15.
3 The Times, 4 March 1998; p. 1.
4 New Encyclopaedia Britannica volume 14; Chicago; 1997; p. 617.   Back
5 New Encyclopaedia Britannica, volume 14; Chicago; 1997; p. 617.
6 Keesing's record of world events, volume 34; p. 35,785.
7 Europa World Year Book : 1997, Volume 2; London; 1997; p. 3,661.
8 Europa World Year Book : 1997, Volume 2; ibid.; p 3,661  Back
9 Europa World Year Book : 1997, Volume 2; ibid.; p. 3,661   Back
10 Ali Hadri: 'The Albanian Population of Kosova between the Two World Wars', in:  Academy of Sciences of the  Republic of Albania: 'The Truth on Kosova';  Tirana;  1993; p. 131, 136
11 Ali Hadri: ibid.; p. 131, 136.
12 Ali Hadri: ibid.; p. 128
13 Vaso Chubrilovich: 'The Expulsion of the Arnauts', in: Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Albania: op. cit.;  p.184
14 Enver Hoxha: 'The Titoites; Historical Notes' (hereafter listed as 'Enver Hoxha  (1982)'; Tirana; 1982; p. 117   Back
15 'Resolution of 1st Conference of National Liberation Council for Kosova and  Metohija', in: Enver Hoxha (1982):  ibid.; p. 117
16 Keesing's Contemporary Archives, Volume 7; p. 9,381.  Back
17 Keesing's Contemporary Archives, Volume 7; p. 9,381  Back
18 Enver Hoxha (1982): op. cit.; p. 120).
19 Enver Hoxha: 'With Stalin: Memoirs'; Tirana; 1979; p. 108
20 Europa World Year Book: 1997, Volume 2; op. cit.; p. 3,161