Kosovo

Republic of Kosovo (Albanian: Republika e Kosoves) is a proposed country in the region of Kosovo in the Balkans. Kosovo borders the Republic of Macedonia, Albania, and Serbia and Montenegro.

Geographical regions
Rrafshi i Dukagjinit ("Dukagjin plateau"), is a large basin in the west of the province. The region includes the towns of Istog, PejaDeçani, Gjakova, Rahoveci, and Prizreni. The second largest region is Kosovo, a basin around the Sitnica river containing the cities of Ferizaji, Prishtina, Vuçitërna, and Trepça. Fushë Kosova (Kosovo Field) is just a small field which was the site of the Battle of Kosovo; when the communist government changed the name of the province to Kosovo in 1968, they also started pushing "Kosovo Polje" as the name of entire region. Just between the Dugagjini and Kosovo is the Drenica with the cities of Skenderaj ,Klina and Malisheva. At the southmost tip of the province, along the border with Macedonia lie the Gora, Sreda&#269;ka &#381;upa and Sirini&#263;ka &#381;upa.

Former official names

 * Dardania
 * Kosova Sancak ( 1455–1878
 * Kosova Vilajet 1878–1912
 * Autonomous Kosovo-Metohijan Area (1945–1963)
 * Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (1963–28 November 1968)
 * Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo (28 November 1968–1989)
 * Kosovo &mdash; Kosova (UN protectorate) (2000–present)
 * Kosovo was also called
 * Republika e Kosovës (26–30 September 1991–2000) by the shadow Kosovo Albanian government between a 1990 declaration of independence and the Kosovo War in 1999. Only Albania recognised the province's independence but neither Serbia nor the international community followed suit. The "Republic of Kosovo" was effectively replaced by the current UN protectorate following the war.
 * Kosovo i Metohija (1989–2000) &mdash; Kosovo War and the rise of Slobodan Milosevic international is not recognised

Politics and international status
Kosovo's international status is anomalous in that although it is a province of the Republic of Serbia, actual administration is presently conducted by the United Nations with no involvement on the part of the Serbian governments (under Security Council resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999; see Security Council Resolutions 1999). The government of the province is the responsibility of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Under the terms of the Kumanovo agreement and subsequent UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which ended the Kosovo War, security is provided by the Kosovo Force (KFOR), which is led by NATO and is answerable to UNMIK.

UNMIK has so far established a provisional assembly, provisional government and the office of provisional president, which are legislative and executive bodies under UNMIK's control. Control of security, justice and external affairs are still under full UNMIK control. The Assembly of Kosovo was elected in November 2001 and Ibrahim Rugova was elected as president in March 2002. The seat of the assembly, government and president is in Pristina. So far, the parliament has enacted and UNMIK approved a constitutional framework, customs code, and two criminal codes.

UNMIK is issuing travel documents which serve instead of passports in countries which are accepting to recognise them as such; UNMIK is also issuing identity cards and car plates, which again are valid only in countries which are accepting them as such. Kosovo's postal system is also usable only in countries which are accepting to recognise it as such (letters addressed to Kosovo only, or to Serbia and Montenegro have a chance of not arriving; the Universal Postal Union advises correspondents to use "Kosovo (UNMIK)" as the address ).

UNMIK has also created a police force (the Kosovo Police Service) with employees from all ethnic communities (Albanian, Serbian, Roma, Bosniac, Roma, etc), and manages the province's railways and airline (Kosova Airlines). The airspace of the province is controlled by KFOR. UNMIK uses the United Nations flag.

The Constitutional Framework enacted by the Kosovo assembly (with UNMIK approval) has adopted a policy of affirmative action in the assembly to ensure that the province's minorities are properly represented. Out of 120 seats, 10 are reserved for Serbs and another 10 for non-Albanian minorities, while the remaining 100 seats are elected through direct voting.

Kosovo is still recognised internationally as a part of Serbia. Its final status has not yet been resolved, though talks on the subject are planned for later in 2005, and considerable difficulties lie ahead in reconciling the apparently incompatible positions of the Serbian and Albanian sides. The Albanians reject Serbian sovereignty; although the fall of the Milosevic government has eased some of the political tensions between the two administrations, most Kosovo Albanians do not believe that the Serbian side will respect Albanian rights. On the other side, Serbia is adamantly opposed to the independence of Kosovo and for historical and religious reasons continues to see the province as the heartland of Serbian culture. The international community is reluctant to see Kosovo become independent, as its independence without Serbia's consent would violate international law (the principles of territorial integrity and noninterference in internal affairs). It could also potentially provide a precedent for the secession of the Republika Srpska from Bosnia, which could re-ignite the war in that country. The most likely outcome is the indefinite continuation of the current situation (with EU institutions taking over the roles of UN and NATO, a process which can be observed in present-day Bosnia)



Administrative
At present these towns are adminstrated by UNMIK:
 * Gjakova District
 * Gjakovë &mdash; Deçan &mdash; Rahovec
 * Gjlani District
 * Gjilan &mdash; Kamenicë &mdash; Viti
 * Mitrovica District
 * Mitrovicë &mdash; Albaniku &mdash; Zubin Potok &mdash; Skenderaj &mdash; Vushtrri &mdash; Zveçan
 * Peja District
 * Pejë &mdash; Klinë &mdash; Burim
 * Prishtina District
 * Prishtinë &mdash; Fushë Kosovë &mdash; Lipjani &mdash; Gllogovc &mdash; Novobërdë &mdash; Kastriot &mdash; Podujevë
 * Prizreni District
 * Prizren &mdash; Opojë &mdash; Malishevë &mdash; Suharekë
 * Ferizaji District
 * Ferizaj &mdash; Shtime &mdash; Kaçanik &mdash; Shterpcë

In addition, the Presheva District, with Preshevë, Bujanoc and Medvegjë is a southern part of Serbia proper. Its relation to the Republic of Kosova is yet undefined.

Currency
UNMIK declared the euro to be official currency of the province in 2001 in the course of implementing a currency reform. This was undertaken to replace the previous widespread use of the Deutschmark, which had become de facto currency even before the 1999 war. However, the Serbian dinar remains an official currency, though used principally by the Kosovo Serb enclaves; it is only used sporadically outside of them. Most trade is conducted using the euro, Kosovo's administration uses euros exclusively, and all commercial banks use the euro as the primary currency. Of other international currencies, the United States dollar and Swiss franc are the most widespread.

Demographics
Main article: Demographic history of Kosovo

Albanians make up almost ninety percent of the population of the province. Their percentage as a proportion of the province's population has increased steadily over time as a result of a high birth rate, immigration from Albania, and a concentration of Albanians from areas formerly under the Sandjak of Nish, southern Serbia. Most of the province's Albanian population became refugees during the war, but quickly returned to their homes at its end. In the aftermath of the conflict, several hundred thousand non-Albanians (especially Serbs and Romas) fled the province to escape renewed intercommunal violence. The non-Albanian population of Kosovo has continued to fall in recent years due to a combination of economic hardship and tension (and occasional violence) in ethnically mixed area.

According to the 2000 Living Standard Measurement Survey of the Statistical Office of Kosovo, Kosovo's total population is approximately 1,970,000, with the following ethnic proportions:


 * 88% Albanians (1,733,600)
 * 7% Serbs (137,900)
 * 1.9% Muslim Slavs (37,400)
 * 1.7% Roma (33,500)
 * 1% Turks (19,700)

Science and culture

 * National Network Libraries