I.Backround
The conflict over Kosovo dates back many centuries ago. In 1389 the Turks defeated the Serbs and Christian mercenaries allied to the Serbs at the Battle of Kosovo. The Battle of Kosovo would be remembered as the "Field of Blackbirds" because bodies of dead soldiers lay everywhere. The battle ended the Serbian Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire continued to tighten its grip on the Balkans. Serbian Prince Lazar was given 2 choices by the Turks: Fight to the Death or Surrender. He chose to die and with this choice Serbian nationalism began.
In 1989 over one million Serbs from all over the world came on a pilgrimage to Kosovo. President Milosevich gave a powerful speech where he said "Never again will the Serbian people be defeated!" Milosevich revived Serb nationalism but he also alarmed minorities in Yugoslavia. Soon after full scale war broke Yugoslavia apart. Sister republics Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Macedonia broke free and became independent. Slovenia and Macedonia were lucky because they got away without a fight. But Croatia and especially Bosnia felt the wrath of Milosevich. The last time the Balkans witnessed such gruesome crimes the Nazis were in power. Concentration camps were built to house Muslims captured by the Serbs. The UN intervened and after the US supplied Bosnia with weapons the tide of the war had turned.
Milosevich began cracking down on Albanians in fear of losing Kosovo. At the time Kosovo's population was 90% Albanian, and enjoyed some autonomy. Milosevich took this away and soon after street protests erupted. The Serb police took tough measures against the Albanians, including beatings and murders. It is at this point that the KLA(Kosovo Liberation Army) was born. The KLA's goals were independence from Yugoslavia and possible reunification with Albania. Serb units had the advantage in weapons, the KLA only had some small weapons. The KLA thus resulted to a guerilla war in Kosovo attacking Serb checkpoints, Police stations, etc. This infuriated Belgrade and sent in the Army to deal with the KLA. As the international community had flashbacks of Bosnia, the Serb Army began a campaign of killing Albanians who they said were part of the KLA. In just a few week an estimated 2,000 Albanians died. The Serbs said that this was a Civil War and not a crackdown on Albanians. Things went out of hand when mass numbers of refugees left Kosovo for Albania and Macedonia. The US took the initiative to try to calm thing down, because this situation could lead to war across the Balkans.
The Kosovo crisis began in early 1998 when large-scale fighting broke out, resulting in the displacement of some 300,000 people. A ceasefire was agreed in October 1998 which enabled refugees to find shelter, averting an impending humanitarian crisis over the winter. A Verification Mission was deployed under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). However, violence continued and the situation worsened significantly in January 1999. A peace conference, held in Rambouillet Paris, broke up on 19 March with the refusal of the Yugoslav delegation to accept a peaceful settlement. NATO set out to get Yugoslavia to accept 5 key points, since they refused only airstrikes could make them negotiate.
1. Ensure a verifiable stop to all military action and the immediate ending of violence and repression in Kosovo.
2. Withdrawal from Kosovo of Serbian military, police and paramilitary forces.
3. Agreement to the stationing in Kosovo of an international military presence.
4. Agreement to the unconditional and safe return of all refugees and displaced persons, and unhindered access to them by humanitarian aid organizations.
5. Provide credible assurance of Serbian willingness to work on the basis of the Rambouillet Accords in the establishment of a political framework agreement for Kosovo in conformity with international law and the Charter of the United Nations.
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