Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija

History

Socialist Yugoslavia

Between 1945 and 1963 the region was officially named the Autonomous Region of Kosovo and Metohija, with a level of self-government lower than that of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. In 1963 it was granted the same level of autonomy as Vojvodina, and accordingly its official name was changed to Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. In 1968, the prefix "Socialist" was added and the term "Metohija" was dropped, changing the official name of the province to Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo. In 1974 both autonomous provinces (Vojvodina and Kosovo) were granted significantly increased levels of autonomy. In 1990 the term "Metohija" was reinserted into the provincial name, with "Socialist" being dropped. From that point on the official name of the province was once again Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.

Anti-bureaucratic revolution

Constitutional changes were made in Yugoslavia in 1990. The parliaments of all Yugoslavian republics and provinces, which until then had MPs only from the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, were dissolved and multi-party elections were held within them. Kosovar Albanians refused to participate in the elections so they held their own unsanctioned elections instead. As election laws required (and still require) turnout higher than 50%, a parliament in Kosovo could not be established.

The new constitution abolished the individual provinces' official media, integrating them within the official media of Serbia while still retaining some programs in the Albanian language. The Albanian-language media in Kosovo were suppressed. Funding was withdrawn from state-owned media, including those in the Albanian language in Kosovo. The constitution made the creation of privately owned media possible, however their operation was very difficult because of high rents and restrictive laws. State-owned Albanian language television or radio was also banned from broadcasting from Kosovo. However, privately owned Albanian media outlets appeared; of these, probably the most famous is "Koha Ditore", which was allowed to operate until late 1998 when it was closed after publishing a calendar glorifying ethnic Albanian separatists.

The constitution also transferred control over state-owned companies to the Yugoslav central government. In September 1990, up to 123,000 ethnic Albanian workers were dismissed from their positions in government and media, as were teachers, doctors, and civil servants, provoking a general strike and mass unrest. Some of those who were not sacked quit in sympathy, refusing to work for the Serbian government. Although the sackings were widely seen as a purge of ethnic Albanians, the government maintained that it was removing former communist directors.

Albanian educational curriculum textbooks were withdrawn and replaced by new ones. The curriculum was (and still is, as this is the curriculum used for ethnic Albanians in Serbia outside Kosovo) identical to its Serbian counterpart and that of all other nationalities in Serbia except that it had education on and in the Albanian language. Education in Albanian was withdrawn in 1992 and re-established in 1994. At the University of Pristina, which was seen as a centre of Kosovo Albanian cultural identity, education in the Albanian language was abolished and ethnic Albanian teachers were also dismissed in large numbers. Albanians responded by boycotting state schools and setting up an unofficial parallel system of Albanian-language education.

Kosovo Albanians were outraged by what they saw as an attack on their rights. Following mass rioting and unrest from ethnic Albanians as well as outbreaks of inter-communal violence, in February 1990, a state of emergency was declared and the presence of the Yugoslav Army and police was significantly increased to quell the unrest.

On 2 July 1990, еthnic Albanian members of the provincial assembly declared Kosovo а republic within the Yugoslav federation. The "Republic of Kosova" was declared an independent state by the assembly 22 September 1991. Unsanctioned elections were held in 1992, which overwhelmingly elected Ibrahim Rugova as "president" of a self-declared Republic of Kosova; 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.

Kosovo War and NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

Ethnic Albanian opposition to the sovereignty of Yugoslavia and especially Serbia had previously resulted in rioting (1968 and 1981) in the capital Pristina. Rugova initially advocated non-violent resistance, but later opposition took the form of separatist agitation by opposition political groups and armed action from 1995 by the "Kosovo Liberation Army" (Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës, or UÇK) whose activities led to the Insurgency in Kosovo which led to the Kosovo War in 1998.

The worsening security situation resulted in the United Nations Security Council passing Resolution 1199 demanding an immediate ceasefire. A subsequent agreement between Yugoslavia and NATO led to the deployment of an OSCE verification mission in Kosovo. In early 1999, the Rambouillet conference was convened in an attempt to end the Kosovo conflict. Following a failure to reach an agreement, NATO launched a bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in March resulting in Kosovo being placed under United Nations administration in June 1999.

In 2003, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was renamed the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. As a result of the 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, Montenegro left the federation in June 2006.

On 17 February 2008, representatives of the people of Kosovo unilaterally declared Kosovo's independence, an act not recognised by Serbia.

Politics

Since 1999, the Serb-inhabited areas of Kosovo have been governed as a de facto independent region from the Albanian-dominated government in Pristina. They continue to use Serbian national symbols and participate in Serbian national elections, which are boycotted in the rest of Kosovo; in turn, they boycott Kosovo's elections. The municipalities of Leposavić, Zvečan and Zubin Potok are run by local Serbs, while the Kosovska Mitrovica municipality had rival Serbian and Albanian governments until a compromise was agreed in November 2002.

The Serb areas have united into a community, the Union of Serbian Districts and District Units of Kosovo and Metohija established in February 2003 by Serbian delegates meeting in North Mitrovica, which has since served as the de facto "capital." The Union's president is Dragan Velić. There is also a central governing body, the Serbian National Council for Kosovo and Metohija (SNV). The President of SNV in North Kosovo is Dr Milan Ivanović, while the head of its Executive Council is Rada Trajković.

Local politics are dominated by the Serbian List for Kosovo and Metohija. The Serbian List was led by Oliver Ivanović, an engineer from Kosovska Mitrovica.

In February 2007 the Union of Serbian Districts and District Units of Kosovo and Metohija has transformed into the Serbian Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija presided by Marko Jakšić. The Assembly strongly criticised the secessionist movements of the Albanian-dominated PISG Assembly of Kosovo and demanded unity of the Serb people in Kosovo, boycott of EULEX and announced massive protests in support of Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo. On 18 February 2008, day after Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, the Assembly declared it "null and void".

Also, there was a Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija within the Serbian government, with Goran Bogdanović as Minister for Kosovo and Metohija. In 2012, that ministry was downgraded to the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, with Aleksandar Vulin as the head of the new office. However, in 2013, the post was raised to that of a Minister without portfolio in charge of Kosovo and Metohija.

Administrative divisions

Under the Serbian system of administration, Kosovo is divided into five districts comprising 28 municipalities and 1 city. In 2000, UNMIK established a system with 7 districts and 30 municipalities. Serbia has not exercised effective control over Kosovo since 1999. For the UNMIK created districts of Kosovo, see Districts of Kosovo.