History

The quarrel over just whom Kosovo belongs to goes back to the earliest accounts of life in the region and is split into two distinct camps. The Albanians believe that they are the direct descendents of the Illyrians, who were (arguably) the first tribe to settle in the region. The Serbs on the other hand see it rather differently, claiming that the Albanians first arrived in Kosovo in the Middle Ages (ie. after the Serbs), and are the descendents of a series of intermarriages between nomadic shepherds and the unromanised remnants of the Illyrians and the Dardanians from Thrace. In short, the current situation in Kosovo that led to the ethnic conflict in 1999 and independence in 2008 boils down to who got there first. What is known for sure is that the region was conquered by Alexander the Great 300 years before the birth of Christ and became part of the Roman province of Dardania in the 4th century.

6th Century
Slavs cross the Danube and move into the Balkans. These migrations weaken the Byzantium Empire sufficiently that Illyrian-speaking people, known to their neighbours as Albanians, move eastwards from the Adriatic into the Kosovo region of the Balkans. Their language becomes known as Albanian and their culture allies with Byzantium after the break up of the Catholic Church into Eastern and Western branches in 1054.

12th Century
Almost all arable land in the region now known as Northern Albania and Kosovo is in Slavic hands. By 1190 Kosovo becomes the administrative and cultural centre of the Medieval Serbian state ruled by the powerful Nemanjic dynasty. The dynasty lasts 200 years and still today Kosovo is known by the Serbs as Old Serbia.

14th Century
The battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389, in which the Serbs concede an honourable defeat to the Ottomans, secures the region a place in Serbian minds

15th Century
Serbia, including Kosovo, is conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1459. During this time the great majority of Albanians are still Christians. Serbs and Albanians live together in reasonable harmony. Gradually Albanians, and to a lesser extent Serbs, convert to Islam.

19th Century
The League of Prizren is created on June 10, 1878 in a Mosque in Prizren, attended by some 300 Albanian nationalist leaders from what is now Kosovo, Macedonia, and Muslim leaders from Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Sandzak. The aim of the League is to achieve an autonomous Albanian state made up of the former Ottoman vilayets of Shkodra, Illyria, Chameria, Janina, Bitola and Kosovo. The 60-member board of the League, led by Abdyl Bey Frashëri, sends a letter to the Great Powers at the Congress of Berlin, asking for the settling of the Albanian issues resulting from the Turkish War. The memorandum is ignored and the territories are given to Serbia and Montenegro.

20th Century
In the first Balkan War of 1912 Serbs join the army in large numbers to avenge the Serbian defeat at the Battle of Kosovo Polje. They plunder and occupy Pristina and the Albanian majority are forced into the surrounding mountains. Serb peasants follow the army into Kosovo and re-occupy the region. After fierce battles the Serbs take control of the region and Kosovo comes under Serbian authority. At the Conference of Ambassadors in London in 1912 presided over by Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, Serbia is given sovereignty over Kosovo, which it retains to this day. For the first time in history Albania is internationally recognised. The Treaty of London in 1913 declares Albania a fully independent and sovereign state. The population of Kosovo remains mostly Albanian, and anti-Serb sentiment continues to bubble just under the surface.

1914
On June 28 the teenage Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinates the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, changing the course of European and world history forever. Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian troops move into Kosovo, defeating the Serbs decisively. Many Kosovar Albanians join the Austro-Hungarian army. Albanian language schools are opened to undermine the Serbian presence.

1918
The Serb army take revenge, massacring women and children and destroying homes. The peace treaties of 1919-1920 establish a Yugoslav state with the name The Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. Kosovo is again an integral part of Serbia.

Between the wars
Between 1918 and 1941 the Serbs attempt a mass colonisation of Kosovo. Land is illegally taken away from the Albanians and they are encouraged to leave. Many Albanians resist, and the attempt fails.

1943
Yugoslavia consists of the republics of Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia. Tito consolidates his supremacy and the rule of the Communist Party over all of Yugoslavia. For political reasons Tito favours a Serbian-ruled Kosovo as he needs Serbian support to win them over to Communism. The Second League of Prizren is founded by leading Albanian officials in Kosovo to campaign for the ethnic unification of Albanians in Albania and Kosovo. Their aim is to ensure the formation of a greater Albania made up of Albania, Kosovo and areas such as Debar (now in western Macedonia) that contain significant Albanian populations. Bedri Pejani is appointed President of the League.

1946
The Yugoslav constitution fails to grant territorial autonomy to Kosovo or recognise Albanian as a distinct nationality.

1961-1971
The combined impact of Albanian immigration, Serb emigration and a higher than average Albanian birth-rate, the Albanian population in Kosovo increases from 67% to 74%.

1967
Tito visits Kosovo for the first time.

1974
The new Yugoslav Constitution makes Kosovo an autonomous province and it becomes one of eight federal units of the Yugoslavian Federation. Although not a republic, its authority within the Federation is equal to that of Serbia.

1980
Tito dies on May 4.

1987
In February the Serbian government proposes to take away Kosovo's autonomy, despite having no right to do so. Slobodan Milosevic visits Kosovo for the first time in April and replaces Ivan Stambolic as president later in the year. Milosevic gives a now famous speech in Kosovo Polje promising to return the two autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo to Serbian authority.

1989
The process to abolish autonomy begins in March.

1990
Civil disturbances erupt throughout Kosovo by tens of thousands of Albanian protesters. The complete removal of autonomy is completed in September when a change in the Serbian constitution redefines Kosovo as a region within Serbia. Administrative and executive control is now in the hands of the Serbian National Assembly.

1991
The League for a Democratic Kosovo (LDK) is formed, with 700,000 members. The LDK has offices in Zurich, Stuttgart and Brussels among other cities. The LDK is led by Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, whose ideology for independence was sought through a non-violent solution to the crisis.

1993-1997
Ethnic tension and armed unrest escalate due to rising nationalism with the break-up of Yugoslavia and Serbia’s dissolution of the Kosovo Assembly. In defiance of the Serbian authorities, ethnic Albanians elect Ibrahim Rugova as president of a self-proclaimed republic and set up a provincial assembly.

1998
Fighting between the KLA and civilians on one side and the Serbian military, paramilitary and police forces becomes a mainstay of media reporting throughout the world. In March US Secretary of State Madeline Albright blames the Kosovo crisis squarely on the shoulders of Slobodan Milosevic.

1999
On January 28, Nato warns that it’s ready to use military force immediately. In February a conference is held at Rambouillet, France, to negotiate an end to the conflict. The settlement, dictated by the West, demands that Yugoslavia withdraws its forces from Kosovo, that the KLA lays down its arms, that NATO peacekeepers are placed on the ground to enforce the agreement and a three-year period to settle the political future of Kosovo is put in place. The Albanian representatives agree to sign the what’s known as the Rambouillet Agreement. Milosevic refuses to sign and US President Bill Clinton dispatches special envoy Richard Holbrook to Belgrade for one last meeting with Milosevic on March 22. Holbrook is unable to convince Milosevic to sign the agreement, and two days later on March 24 the bombing starts. After 73 days of continuous bombing Serbian infrastructure is seriously damaged. in June 1999 Yugoslavia and NATO sign a peace deal agreeing on the withdrawal from Kosovo of all Serbian military, police and paramilitary forces, the return of all refugees, and an international armed security presence in Kosovo with ‘substantial’ NATO participation. The agreement also calls for respect of the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia.

1999-2006
The UN Security Council Resolution adopted on June 10, 1999 places Kosovo under UN administration. On January 21, 2006 President Ibrahim Rugova dies of cancer. In February, Fatmir Sejdiu, a law professor and assembly deputy, is elected to succeed Rugova as president. Rugova’s death comes at the worst possible time, at a crucial point in the negotiations to reach a final solution to Kosovo crisis. Marti Ahtisaari, the former Finish President and status negotiator in Kosovo is expected to make an official statement about full independence in September 2006 when he meets UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. There is however a distinct possibility that the decision will be postponed until 2007.

2006
October 29 In a referendum, Serbians vote in favour of a new constitution which asserts that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia. Kosovo Albanians were not able to vote.

2008
The Declaration of Independence is signed on February 17, and thousands of people party the night away. The new constitution is ratified in April. Based on Ahtisaari's recommendations, it grants specific rights to minority groups.
June: Parliament approves Mehdi Mengjiqi's wordless song 'Europe' as Kosovo's national anthem.

2009
In May, a local Raiffeisen bank manager and her boyfriend are sentenced to six years in prison for stealing €220,000 from the bank.
Unlike Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro, Kosovo is not included on the EU’s whitelist for visa-free travel in July, due to insufficient passport technology.
In August Vetevendosje (self determination) protests against EULEX’ cooperation with Serbia on organised crime by vandalising some 25 EULEX vehicles.
The election commission denies the opposition parties’ demand to install cameras in all polling stations for the November 2009 local elections.
Miss Kosovo, Marigona Dragusha, comes third in the Miss Universe beauty contest in the Bahamas.
Pristina’s historical Union Hotel building is badly damaged by fire. A homeless man living in the empty building is suspected of accidentally starting the fire and is arrested.