1990 Kosovo declaration of independence

This article is about the partially recognised state in the 1990s. For the present-day partially recognised state, see Kosovo. For other uses, see Kosova (disambiguation).
Republic of Kosova
Republika e Kosovës
1991–2000
Anthem: Himni i Flamurit
"Hymn to the Flag"
Location of the Republic of Kosova in relation to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1999)
Location of the Republic of Kosova in relation to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1999)
StatusRecognised only by Albania
CapitalPristina
42°39′48″N 21°9′44″E / 42.66333°N 21.16222°E / 42.66333; 21.16222
Common languagesAlbanian (official)
GovernmentRepublic
President 
• 1992–2000
Ibrahim Rugova
Prime Minister 
• 1990–1991
Jusuf Zejnullahu
• 1991–1999
Bujar Bukoshi
• 1999–2000
Hashim Thaçi
Historical eraYugoslav Wars
• Declared
22 September 1991
26–30 September 1991
24 May 1992
1995–1998
1998–1999
10 June 1999
• Administration recognized
31 January 2000
Population
• 1995
2,100,000
CurrencyYugoslav dinar
Albanian lek
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo
United Nations Administered Kosovo
Today part ofKosovo

The Republic of Kosova (Albanian: Republika e Kosovës), also known as the First Republic of Kosovo (Albanian: Republika e Parë e Kosovës), was a self-declared proto-state in Southeast Europe established in 1991.[1] During its peak, it tried to establish its own parallel political institutions in opposition to the institutions of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija held by Yugoslavia's Republic of Serbia.

History

Further information: Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija

Proclamation

Late in June 1990, Albanian members of the provincial assembly proposed a vote on whether to form an independent 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 Albanian members of the Provincial Assembly returned to the Assembly, but it had been locked; so in the street outside they voted to declare Kosovo a Republic within the Yugoslav federation.[2] 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 another 80,000 Albanian workers.[3]

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.[4] This declaration was endorsed by 99% of voters in an unofficial referendum held a few days later.[5] The Republic of Kosova received diplomatic recognition from Albania.[1] Serb authorities rejected the election results, and tried to capture and prosecute those who had voted.[6] In 1995, thousands of Serb refugees from Croatia were settled in Kosovo, which further worsened relations between the two communities.[7]

Parallel structures

Kosovo Albanians organized a resistance movement, creating a number of parallel structures in education, medical care, and taxation.[8] 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.[9][10]

NATO intervention

Main article: Kosovo War

From 1995 onwards, tensions in the region escalated leading to the Kosovo War which began in February 1998,[11][12][13] fought between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) guerrilla force.[14] 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)[15] by Serbian security forces.[16] 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.[17]

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[18] 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),[19][20] which entered Kosovo on 11 June 1999.[21]

UNMIK assumed control of Kosovo. Provisional Institutions of Self-Government were established to allow Kosovo political and community leaders to be represented in decisions. The KLA was disbanded and replaced by the Kosovo Protection Corps, a lightly armed civilian emergency response organization.[22] On 31 January 2000, the interim administration in Kosovo was recognized, officially ending the Republic of Kosova.[23]

Government

Position Name Period Notes Ref
President Ibrahim Rugova 1992–2000 In exile in Italy from 5 May to 15 July 1999 [23]
Prime Minister
Bujar Bukoshi 1991–2000 In exile in Ljubljana, then from May 1992 to Aug 1999 in Bonn
Hashim Thaçi 1999–2000 Provisional Prime Minister in opposition
Defence Minister Hajzer Hajzeraj 1991–1993
Chairman of the Assembly Ilaz Ramajli 1990–1992

Flag

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.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Statement of Prime Minister of Albania Mr. Sali Berisha on Recognition of Independence of Kosova". Republic of Albania Council of Ministers. 2008-02-18. Archived from the original on 2012-04-20.
  2. ^ Malcolm, Noel (1999). Kosovo: a short history. New York: HarperPerennial. p. 346. ISBN 9780060977757.
  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". Archived from the original on 11 November 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
  4. ^ Vidmar, Jure (2021). "International Legal Responses to Kosovo's Declaration of Independence". Vanderbilt Law Review. 42 (3): 779. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  5. ^ Müller, Beat (30 September 1991). "Kosovo (Jugoslawien), 30 September 1991: Unabhängigkeit". sudd.ch (in German). Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  6. ^ Malcolm, Noel (1998). Kosovo: A Short History. Macmillan. p. 347. ISBN 978-0-333-66612-8.
  7. ^ "Balkan Returns: An Overview of Refugee Returns and Minority Repatriation". United States Institute of Peace. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  8. ^ Clark, Howard (2000). Civil Resistance in Kosovo. London: Pluto Press. p. Back side. ISBN 0745315690.
  9. ^ Demi, Agron (19 April 2018). "How to build a parallel state". prishtinainsight.com. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  10. ^ Pula, Besnik (1 January 2004). "The emergence of the Kosovo "parallel state," 1988–1992". Nationalities Papers. 32 (4): 797–826. doi:10.1080/0090599042000296131. S2CID 154818009. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  11. ^ Independent International Commission on Kosovo (2000). The Kosovo Report (PDF). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 9780199243099.
  12. ^ Quackenbush, Stephen L. (2015). International Conflict: Logic and Evidence. Los Angeles: Sage. p. 202. ISBN 9781452240985.
  13. ^ "Roots of the Insurgency in Kosovo" (PDF). June 1999. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-06-25. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  14. ^ Glenny, Misha (2012). The Balkans. US: Penguin Books. p. 652. ISBN 9780142422564.
  15. ^ Judah 2000, p. 193
  16. ^ Strauss, Julius (30 June 2001). "Massacre that started long haul to justice". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  17. ^ Suy, Eric (2000). "NATO's Intervention in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia". Leiden Journal of International Law. 13 (1): 193–205. doi:10.1017/S0922156500000133. S2CID 145232986. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  18. ^ "NATO & Kosovo: Index Page". 2016-10-26. Archived from the original on 2016-09-12.
  19. ^ "Security Council, welcoming Yugoslavia's acceptance of peace principles, authorises civil, security presence in Kosovo". United Nations. 10 June 1999. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  20. ^ "RESOLUTION 1244 (1999)". undocs.org. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  21. ^ "Defense.gov News Article: Larger Kosovo Force Takes to Field". archive.defense.gov. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  22. ^ Imogen Bell (2002). Central and South-Eastern Europe 2003. Psychology Press. pp. 633–. ISBN 978-1-85743-136-0.
  23. ^ a b "Alternative government: Republic of Kosovo". WorldStatesmen.org. Retrieved 17 January 2023.

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