Kosovo8+synopsis

The two topics that we chose to group our country in were tensions and political instability. The tensions in Kosovo stem from ethnicity. The biggest rivalry is between the ethnic Albanians and the Serbs. The Serbs, for most of history, controlled the country, suppressing the Albanians. The Albanians constantly revolted against the ruling Serbs, calling for independence. Most of the time their revolts were met with brutal force. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was a group formed by the Albanians, and they were quite violent. The U.N. began to intervene when Serb police among other people began to die. The Serbs would not accept the talk of peace and continued the fighting. Finally the Albanians signed a peace treaty with NATO, however the Serbs refused. In February of 2008 Kosovo declared its independence, but the Serbs declared it illegal. Political Instability comes from the area having many leaders, with their own biases. For the most part very anti-Albanian, pro-Serbs were in power. The U.N. tried one of the leaders, Milosevic as a war criminal, for the crimes that he had done to the ethnic Albanians. It is constantly a fight for power between the Serbs and the ethnic Albanians. As the Albanians began to gain their "freedom", which is in quotations because the Serbs believe it is illegal and refuse to recognize it, they elected Ibrahim Rugova as president. For a short time they had some political stability. After he died, they were once again plunged into instability. Even their declaration of independence in February does not end their problems with their rival Serbs, who still feel that Kosovo is part of their country.