A Brief Historical Framework

 

1389 - The Battle of Kosovo. Although the battle ended in a stalemate, it was the turning point in Ottoman efforts to conquer the Balkans. Shortly afterwards, Kosovo became part of the Ottoman Empire, and was to remain so until the twentieth century.

1987 - Milošević’s rise to power within Yugoslav politics, with an aggressive reassertion of Serbian rights and power, later to become ethnic cleansing. From this date on, and with increasing levels of severity, Albanians in Kosovo were dis- criminated against, threatened, and on occasion killed by the Serbian regime.

1999 - Fuelled by fear of a repeat of Bosnian atrocities, Western frustration with Milošević and outrage at his policies of ethnic cleansing led NATO to launch its first ever humanitarian mission, a bombing campaign which lasted from March to June, and resulted in the withdrawal of Serbian troops from Kosovo, and the administration of Kosovo by the United Nations.

2004 - Frustration at the slow progress of transfer of powers from the UN to local administration was brought to a head by what was in fact an unrelated incident in which three Kosovo Albanian children died, allegedly as the result of Serb actions, leading to widespread rioting by Albanian groups. Thirty-three major riots were reported and large ethnic Albanian crowds targeted Serb and other non- Albanian communities, burning at least 550 homes and27 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries. Nineteen people were killed and over 1000 wounded.

2006-2008 - The period when the action of this book takes place.