Endgame in Kosovo Across this near-exhausted century, imagery recurs. The knock at the door, the forced march, the mass evacuation - expressions now impossible to hear without their attendant echoes. -- Mark Danner, New York Review of Books, May 6, 1999 (More by Mark Danner here.)

Only in the Balkans That writing about the Balkans is a free-for-all, with no inhibitions about political correctness, is shown in a recent editorial in the Evening Standard which - following the news that Albania was to hold a referendum on the restoration of the monarchy - suggested that 'Lord Archer or Mrs. Camilla Parker-Bowles could be persuaded to take on the Albanian job . . . And if some bearded, wild-eyed, bomb-throwing Balkan anarchist brought their reign to a premature end - well, that is a blow that we, like their subjects, would have to bear with fortitude.' Why do so many Westerners shake their heads in laughter and despair at the Balkans? Why are the region's inhabitants seen either as congenitally irrational and bloodthirsty mobs, never happier than when they are slitting the throats of their neighbours, or as incompetent clowns in fanciful uniforms that mysteriously invoke a medieval past? It would be hard to find academics or Balkan specialists who take the view that the collapse of Yugoslavia was a product of ancient hatreds. But this belief is stubbornly held by the Western media and Western policy-makers, including many who have participated or are still participating in the crisis, and whose influence helps to perpetuate the myths. -- Misha Glenny (author of The Fall of Yugoslavia and The Rebirth of History), London Review of Books, April 29, 1999.

Kosovo War Crimes Chronology: January 1998 - April 1999 War crimes and crimes against humanity by the Yugoslav forces in Kosovo have been a focus of international attention since the NATO bombing began on March 24, 1999. However, civilians have been the targets of war crimes and other violations of humanitarian law since the Kosovo conflict began in early 1998. Human Rights Watch presents a chronology of the major war crimes it has documented from January 1998 to April 1999. Far from exhaustive, this list is meant only to provide a context for the serious abuses now being committed by Serbian and Yugoslav government forces. -- Human Rights Watch, April 28, 1999.

The Politics of Pronunciation Linguists explain the difference between "Kosovo" and Kosova." -- Eve Gerber, Slate.com, April 2, 1999.

Kosovo: The Beginning of the End Kosovo is Yugoslavia's West Bank, with Serb nationalism confronting the reality of a huge Albanian majority, by now over 85 percent. Serbian claims to Kosovo, much like Israeli claims to the West Bank, are based on a mixture of strategic considerations, historical assertions, and mystical religious themes. Ultimately the Serbs believe that the special historical suffering of their people gives their claims greater weight than those of the present inhabitants of Kosovo. -- Bogdan Denitch, Dissent, March, 1999.

Prospects for Peace in Kosova Concise history of the recent development of the struggle for self-determination. -- Howard Clark, War Resisters International, Jan-Feb, 1999.

Will There Be a War in Kosovo? In 1991 ethnic Albanians declared their own Republika e Kosoves an independent state. Ever since, they have built up their own parallel schools and clinics; but the province remains under tight Serbian control. The abuses of Serbian police, whether in arresting or in beating up Albanians, are probably the worst in Europe today. One question arises, as the Serbs continue to dismiss Albanian demands for statehood: Is war inevitable? The answer is: perhaps, but not necessarily. Kosovo is not Croatia or Bosnia. It is a looking-glass world all of its own. (Includes historical background on the relationship between Kosovo Albanians and Yugoslavs.) By Tim Judah, New York Review of Books, May 14, 1998

Origins of a Catastrophe Concise history of the dissolution of Yugoslavia, and the positions taken by the US. Reviewed by Branka Magas, 1996

The Complicity of Serbian Intellectuals in Genocide in the 1990s The war against Croatia and Bosnia in the 1990s was planned by Serbian intellectuals and authorities long before the first Serbian attacks. In the fall of 1986, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, representing Serbia's most prominent intellectuals, issued a memorandum demanding that Serbia's borders be expanded. By Philip J. Cohen, in chapter 2 of This time we knew: western responses to genocide in Bosnia, edited by Thomas Cushman and Stjepan Mestrovic, 1996. (Excerpts available at the link shown.)

The Serbian Occupation of Kosova Background: Serbian treatment of Kosovars after the 1989 revocation of their autonomous status. -- Peter Lippman, 1995.

The Serbian Blueprint for Cleansing Kosovo Voislav Seselj, Serbian deputy prime minister and leader of the Radical Party of Serbia, outlined this plan for the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo in 1995. It bears a close resemblance to what happened there in 1998-99.  October 14, 1995

The New York Times, Croatia and History A review of The New York Times has shown that when reporting on the history of Croatia its correspondents have consistently presented Croatia's past in a simplistic manner. This is particularly true with respect to descriptions concerning Croatia's role in World War II. Almost without fail, Croatia and Croats have been portrayed as allies of the Nazis, ruled by the pro-fascist Ustashe who killed hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Gypsies and Jews.  By John Kraljic, March 1994

The curse of Kosovo The roots of Serbian racism in a myth about a battle fought 600 years ago. By Branka Magas, New Internationalist, September 1993

Programme Declaration of the Serb Radical Party  " ... to expel without delay all 360 thousand Albanian emigrants and their descendants," [along with specific steps for the complete annihilation of all Kosovar Albanian culture, society, social benefits, property benefits, educational benefits, employment, industry, domicile, and existence]. Adopted February 23, 1991

The Plight of Kosovo A letter from numerous intellectuals and activists calling attention to the growing repression of Kosovo Albanians - a long series of measures which the Serbian government has taken to remove the autonomy of the province of Kosovo. New York Review of Books, April 11, 1991

Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU Memorandum) This document was significant at the time for its claims of victimization of and discrimination against the Serb nation. September 29, 1986 (English translation)

U.S. Policy Toward Yugoslavia U.S. National Security Decision Directive (NSDD). Proclaims U.S. support for the "territorial integrity and national unity of Yugoslavia." March 19, 1984 [Other Reagan Administration NSDDs are indexed here.]

Yugoslavia's National Minorities under Communism See Section II on the relationship between the Partisans and national minorities in the aftermath of World War II. By Paul Shoup, Slavic Review, March 1963 (PDF)

The Expulsion of the Albanians This memorandum was secretly submitted to the Yugoslav government as a plan to rid the country of Kosovo Albanians. "From 1918 onwards it was the task of our present state to destroy the remainder of the Albanian triangle [Kosova]. ... The only way and the only means to cope with them is the brute force of an organized state." Cubrilovic suggested that Albania and Turkey would be the best places to ship Kosovar Albanians. By Vasa Cubrilovic, March 7, 1937 Summarized here.

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