The Conflict in the Balkans Essays -- War Violence Serbia Military Swi

The Conflict in the Balkans The conflict in the Balkans is interesting because for years, reporters and politicians have touted it as being the result of ancient ethnic hatred. The first phase of Yugoslavian disintegration can be attributed to the conditions of the people living in Kosovo, an autonomous province of Yugoslavia. In 1981, the socioeconomic conditions in Kosovo were far worse than those in the other republics of Yugoslavia. Poverty was rampant and unemployment was around twenty percent as compared to about two percent in Slovenia that same year. The standard of living in Kosovo was deplorable and whatever aid was given to the province by the federal government was mismanaged. Another significant problem with this particular province was that while the Serbs claimed the province as the â€Å"Cradle of Serbian Empire† because of a legendary battle and defeat that happened at Kosovo in 1389. The Albanians constituted approximately eighty percent of the population of Kosovo. In reality, Kosovo c ould be claimed more by the Albanian majority than by the Serb minority. Many of the valiant warriors who fought and died at the Battle of Kosovo were in fact Albanian warriors, a fact seldom acknowledged by the Serb leadership. The â€Å"Serb Empire† was not as grand and powerful as modern Serbia would contend. Relations between Albanians and Serbs were good in the Middle Ages. Under independent rule, the region was able to make available an Albanian curriculum and Albanian culture grew in importance. Economically, however, Kosovo was still suffering since whatever gains the economy made were outdone by the gains in population made by the Albanian Muslims. The power in Kosovo was vested in a small group of elite Albanians who did well at advancing national identity and improving education and other public works but who were poor at managing and maintaining a functional economy. Whenever federal funds were given to the province, those elites at the top either wasted the money on grandiose projects and ornate buildings or on their new and privileged lifestyles. In the late 1980’s, Slobodan Milosevic came to power in Serbia. His first actions were directed against Kosovo Albanian dominance in the province. He removed virtually all of the Albanian’s rights, their leadership role in government, their party, and their parliament. He further removed their control of ... ...t this help, something could be done against the police and army. The citizens could be taught to take a stand and protect themselves in a non-violent way. Having the knowledge that how you are living is not wrong and that the action by higher authority is not right, can make strength grow. The bottom line is that something needs to be done about the way citizens are treated in Albania. Maybe it isn’t the place for the USA to step in, but on the other hand we could help them. In the near future things need to change over there but it is going to be a feat to get through to them. Nothing is ever a guarantee but every try is worth it to the citizens. Works Cited CIA World Factbook 2000 Serbia and Montenegro 1999. http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sr.html Human Rights Watch. Yugoslav Military and Serbian Police Commit War Crimes in Kosovo 30 Jun. 1998. http://www.hrw.org/hrw/press98/june/kosov630.htm Malerba, Ainello D. â€Å"The Long Hard Road† The Washington Post July, 1995: 57-69 The U.S. Swiss Embassy Ustasha http://www.usis.usemb.se/nazigold/ustasha.html Visiglia, Michael A. Baltic Conflicts New York, New York: Workman, 1987