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KOSOVO

KOSOVO – SERBIA’S HOLY LAND

Kosovo has often been called Serbia’s Jerusalem. Foreigners and visitors often think they know the reason for this - the province has so many monasteries and churches that it would be a misnomer to describe it asanything other than a holy land. For Serbs, however, Kosovo is Holy for more reasons than just the number of monasteries and churches it contains. Kosovo is our Holy Land because every aspect of our history, our culture, and our civilization is inextricably linked to Kosovo. From the Nemanja Dynasty, to the establishment of Orthodoxy, to Tsar Dusan’s Code of Laws, to the battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389, Kosovo defined Serbia. It is because of all that we established in Kosovo before being defeated by the Ottoman Turks at Kosovo Polje in 1389, that we were able to survive nearly 500 years of oppression under the Turks. We managed to keep our tradition alive during those difficult years. When Serbia gained independence from the Turks in the 19th century, the tradition established so many centuries before in Kosovo again became prevalent. Instead of installing a Turkish political and social system, Serbs looked to their glorious past as a model for their new state. The Monarchy returned, Orthodox Christianity flourished again, Byzantine style art became prevalent, Serbian literature was renewed, a society based on law and equal rights for all was again achieved, and Serbian resistance to oppression and injustice lived on. None of this would have been possible without Kosovo. The Serbian tradition established in Kosovo remains until this day. Western Europeans and Americans should see that our beliefs and we are not so different than you and your beliefs (no matter how hard the mass-media and your governments try to convince you that we are evil and subhuman). We believe in freedom, Christianity, a lawful society, equal rights, and we are always opposed to tyranny and oppression. We’ve held and practiced these beliefs since Kosovo (before most European states were formed, and long before America even existed). That is why Kosovo is Serbia. That is why Kosovo is our Holy Land, and always will be.

MASS MEDIA AND GOVERNMENT LIES ABOUT KOSOVO

IS KOSOVO REALLY POOR?

The first myth created by American and Western European Governments about Kosovo that needs to beaddressed is the perception of Kosovo as poor. Once this lie is exposed, the real reason for the Spring 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, and the subsequent occupation of Kosovo becomes quite obvious. Contrary to what you may have been told, Kosovo is not a poor province. Kosovo has been economically mismanaged and under-exploited by western standards, but it is by no means poor. However, the media has repeated this lie so many times that it has become accepted as the truth. Why have the government and media insisted on portraying Kosovo as poor? Think of what would have happened if they had revealed to the public that Kosovo has immense mineral wealth, and an almost endless supply of energy from its coal mines. The Trepca mines of Kosovo have large deposits of lead, zinc, cadmium, silver, gold, and chromium, as well as several other minerals. Chromium is especially valuable because it is found in large quantities in only three places on Earth - Northern Russia (Siberia), South Africa, and Kosovo. Chromium is a key component of stainless steel, which needless to say is critical to the military. In addition to this, Trepca has the largest lignite (coal) deposit in Europe, which supplies nearly half of Europe's coal. Had the American public known this, we would have known immediately why NATO wanted to intervene in Kosovo - the wealth to be gained from the Trepca Mines. President Clinton and the mass media convinced us that NATO was bombing Yugoslavia for humanitarian reasons. They told us (and still continue to tell us) we bombed Yugoslavia to halt the oppression of Albanians by Slobodan Milosevic. It was a lie, and continues to be a lie. It was a lie that even Slick Willy couldn't have convinced us was true if the public had known how rich Kosovo is. The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was unpopular throughout the world even with the lies our government and media told us to support their claims that it was a humanitarian bombing campaign.

DEMOGRAPHICS

The Second major lie that needs to be addressed is the media's representation of the demographics of Kosovo. It is a classic case of the media ignoring history (in this case very recent history) and facts, and portraying only one viewpoint. Since Kosovo became a major issue, nearly every newspaper and magazine article, radio broadcast, or television story about Kosovo stated that the province had a population that was 90% Albanian. It was an explanation that was simpleenough for the public to follow, and served the US and European governments purpose of portraying the situation in Kosovoas one of a minority (Serbs) ruling and oppressing the majority (Albanians). This portrayal of a minority ruling over a majority was meant to recall images of grotesque situations of the past in the minds of the public such as slavery in the American South, and apartheid in South Africa. This media propagated lie (that the Serbs were oppressing the Albanians) is absurd, and will be dealt with shortly. I bring it up here to explain why the media kept reporting that Kosovo had a population that was 90% Albanian.

90% was the percentage of Kosovo's population that the media reported was Albanian. 1.8 million Albanians (90% of 2 million) they reported. What the media did not report in any article or story, is that no one knew the exact population or demographics of Kosovo. The last census for Kosovo was in 1980 - twenty years ago. Albanians in Kosovo boycotted the scheduled 1990 census, so how could the media know that they constituted 90% of the population? The media didn't know the exact population distribution, but they used the 90% Albanians figure to make it clear that Kosovo's population was overwhelmingly Albanian, and thus they had the right to the land.

Another thing the media conveniently left out was the history of the demographics of the region. They don't ever state that Serbs were continuously ethnically cleansed from Kosovo since the defeat at Kosovo Polje in 1389. They never say that Albanians are not the original inhabitants of Kosovo, and most Albanians in Kosovo today are illegal immigrants. They don't say that before WWII, Kosovo's population was over 70% Serbian. They don't mention that during WWII, Albanians sided with the Nazis and formed two of Hitler's SS divisions, while Yugoslavia was on the side of the Allies. They don't state that despite the fact that the Albanian SS division killed tens of thousands of Serbs in Kosovo, Serbs still constituted about 50% of the population. They don't state that after WWII under communist dictator Tito, the Serb exodus from Kosovo continued and Albanian immigration into Kosovo skyrocketed due to Tito's policy of an open border with Albania and preferential employment for Albanians. They don't state that when Tito died in 1980, the Albanians constituted 80% of Kosovo, and the Serbs less than 20%. They don't state the reasons for the Albanian population being so much greater than the Serbian Population in Kosovo. They merely repeat that Kosovo is 90% Albanian over and over again. Why do theyignore the history? Because if media stated that the Serbian population in Kosovo has dropped from 70% to 10% in the last 60 years, while the Albanian population has risen from 30% to 90%, people would begin to ask, who is really cleansing whom? It seems that the Albanians are the ones cleansing the Serbs from Kosovo, not the other way around. If the mass media had told the public the history of the demographics of Kosovo, the whole story of the Serbs oppressing the Albanians would have been invalidated.

SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC

The third major lie about Kosovo that needs to be addressed is the role played by Slobodan Milosevic. The SCSC is no friend of Milosevic or his government. But we oppose him for reasons other than those commonly presented in the media. Milosevic has been branded a 'war criminal' and as the man who incited the wars in Slovenia, Krajina, Bosna, and Kosovo.

All these wars were bound to happen. The borders created by dictator Tito(1945-1980) as well as his policies of favoritism towards specific ethnic groups, all but insured civil war in Yugoslavia after his death. American and European Governments and the mass media point to three main events that they claim Milosevic used to start trouble in Kosovo: (1) His famous speech at Kosovo Polje on June 28th, 1989, (2) His revocation of Kosovo's Autonomy, and (3) His oppression against Albanians by means of police brutality, from late 1997 until the NATO bombing in the Spring of 1999.

(1) Milosevic's speech at Kosovo Polje was portrayed in the West as a nationalist, fascist, and generally hateful speech. The media makes it sound like his speech was in the mode of one of Mussolini's nationalistic Italy for Italians speeches. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Several members of the SCSC were in Kosovo on that day along with millions of Serbs from around the world, celebrating the 600th anniversary of the battle of Kosovo. I heard Milosevic's speech first hand, and can tell you that it was anything but fascistic, racist, and hateful. It sounded more like a speech of inclusion, where he stressed the need for multiculturalism and ethnic unity in Yugoslavia - all of the old Yugoslavia (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Macedonia included). He never singled out any minorities, incited racism, or showed favoritism for any ethnic group in that speech.

(2)A major misconception in the West is that Slobodan Milosevic unilaterally revoked Kosovo's autonomy in 1989. The media repeatedly tells us that Milosevic "stripped away" Kosovo's autonomy. They claim that by doing so, Milosevic wasdirectly oppressing the Albanians because he was denying them their right to a voice in the government. This was another media created myth. First of all, Milosevic didn't revoke Kosovo's autonomy by himself. Every Republic in Yugoslavia (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia) voted to revoke autonomy from the Serbian Provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina. On top of this, the provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina also voted to revoke their own autonomy, and share a common legislative branch with Serbia once again. The reason that all of the republics of Yugoslavia voted this way was to limit the disproportionately large power wielded by the two autonomous provinces. Dictator Tito, who hated Serbs and loved Albanians, changed Yugoslavia's constitution and gave Kosovo and Vojvodina legislative autonomy in 1974. Along with this legislative autonomy Kosovo and Vojvodina were given veto power in Yugoslavia's parliament. This would be like the Connecticut State Senate having veto power over the Congress of the United States - absolutely crazy. The Albanian dominated Kosovo legislature routinely tied up the national parliament, and prevented passage of any new laws. Yugoslavia could not function because the Albanians in Kosovo's legislature vetoed everything. This is why legislative autonomy was revoked from Kosovo and Vojvodina in 1989 by all of Yugoslavia. It wasn't Milosevic alone that revoked Kosovo's autonomy.

When Kosovo's autonomy was revoked in 1989, the media also began the myth that Slobodan Milosevic was oppressing the Albanians by denying them their culture. Reports began to circulate about Albanians being forced from their jobs, not being allowed to vote or hold office, Albanian literature being destroyed, and the Albanian language being banned in schools. Absolutely none of this was true. In 1989, the only change that took place was that Kosovo lost its veto power over the rest of Yugoslavia. The cultural autonomy of Kosovo was never challenged. Albanians were not forced from government jobs, they had the right to vote and run for public office, and the government did not try to eradicate the Albanian language. In fact, Albanian was still the official language in Kosovo schools. Even non-Albanians in Kosovo had to learn at least 6 years of Albanian. The culture of the Albanians was never in jeopardy because of the revocation of Kosovo's autonomy. What did happen in 1990 were massive protests and boycotts in Kosovo by the Albanians. They quit government jobs, boycotted voting and running for the legislature, professors and teachers quit teaching at the University of Pristina and at schools, and they took their books with them, and the students boycotted schools and the university. These were all actions under the nonviolent protests organized by Ibrahim Rugova. Rugova and his supporters didn't even hide the fact that they sought the independence of Kosovo from Yugoslavia. The revocation of Kosovo's autonomy in 1989 was a major setback to them. It did not hurt the Albanians culturally and they still had all the rights they previously enjoyed. However, it was a major problem politically, because it hampered their dreams of gaining independence from Yugoslavia and uniting with Albania to form a greater Albania. Independence minded Albanians envisioned first gaining republic status in Yugoslavia, and then declaring independence. Revocation of Kosovo's autonomy was a step in the opposite direction for them.

(3) Near the end of 1997, the mass media began to circulate reports about police brutality in Kosovo. Naturally, Slobodan Milosevic was directly blamed for it. This would be like the Russian government and media blaming president Clinton for the actions of the LAPD. President Clinton, Madeline Albright, and the rest of the State Department, along with Tony Blair, Robin Cook, Jamie Shea, and the rest of the NATO leaders did exactly this though. They ignored that the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army - a terrorist organization) was behind the civil unrest in Kosovo, and instead blamed the violence on their favorite scapegoat, Slobodan Milosevic. The articles below give a more comprehensive explanation of the events leading up to the Spring 1999 war, and the war itself, than I could possibly do myself. In short, the KLA was responsible for starting the war in Kosovo, not Slobodan Milosevic. Milosevic may have used the war to gain support among his people as the defender of Serbia. Usually wars fought in self defense are popular among the masses. However, it was unquestionably the KLA, supported by the NATO governments and mass media, that started war.

Albanian Terrorism in Kosovo before 1989

Do we really want to bomb?

Yes, the bombing was Illegal and so is independence for Kosovo

Yugoslav Muslims against NATO bombing

WWII US Veterans against NATO bombing

Kosovo Jewish Leader on Bombing

Albanians and Serbs fight NATO together

Albanians in Belgrade

Albanians flee to Yugoslavia

The Rambouillet "peace" accord

KLA Provoked Serbs to get NATO to bomb - Thaci Confesses

KLA heroin trafficking through Kosovo Safe Haven