Map of Kosovo
With some background knowledge about Yugoslavia under my belt, it has made tackling the question of what is Kosovo much easier to understand. Kosovo is claimed by both the Albanians and the Serbs yet it’s “independence” made the front page of the New York Times on February 18, 2008
The Slavic and Albanian people have lived together since the 8th Century and it reminaed mostyly Serbian with Serbians regarding Kosov as their birthplace. Throughout the decades, Albanians began to dominate the population. Today, Kosovo is populated with about 90% Albanians yet the Serbs refuse to recognize its declaration depiste UN administration of independence.
Serbia’s defeat at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 ushered in centuries of rule under the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Serbia regained control of Kosovo in 1913, and the province was incorporated into the Yugoslav federation.
(In case you don’t remember everything about the break up of Yugoslavia, here is a little refresher: The two republics of Yugoslavia are Serbia and Montenegro. Serbia is a multi-ethnic state. Although it is a majority Serbian, there are many Albanian, Roma, Montenegrin, Bulgarian, Slovak, Croat and other nationalities living in Serbia. Kosovo is the only part of present-day Yugoslavia where there is any ethnic conflict).
Kosovo is an area a little smaller than Connecticut. It is entirely mountainous with two large valleys–Kosovo valley and Metohija valley. Kosovo is de facto an international protectorate but legally is part of Serbia. Its status remains the subject of a bitter dispute between the Albanian majority, who seek independence, and the minority Serbs. It is a dispute in which Belgrade retains a keen interest. UN-sponsored talks on the future status of Kosovo got under way in November 2, 2009.
On November 15, 2009, The New York Times featured an article stating that despite the corruption, low employment and poor infrastructure, the people of Kosovo hit the polls and participated in their first election since declaring independence from Serbia. “Kosovo’s Statehood Faces First Test At Local Polls,” http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/11/15/
Has it been successful with international recognition? So far 63 counties have recognized it as an independent state. Maybe if it demonstrate that is it going to be a fully functioning democracy – it will gain more international recognition. But it gets more complicated than that. Since achieving independence, unemployment is 40 percent and average per capita income is 1,760 euros. That compares with average joblessness of just under 10 percent in the European Union and an average salary of about 24,000 euros (21,000 pounds). Over the past decade, it has received 3 billion euros in aid but it needs more – more aid, more investment and significantly less corruption. In the heartland of the ethnic Albanian rebellion against Serb rule 10 years ago, people like Jonuzi and his ethnic Albanian family are among the 15 percent of Kosovo’s two million people living in extreme poverty, making less than 93 cents a day, according to the World Bank. Perhaps, if Kosovo can overcome these major hurdles, more and more countries will begin to recognize its “independence.”
