Kosovo

Kosovo (Albanian: Kosova; Serbian: &#1050;&#1086;&#1089;&#1086;&#1074;&#1086;) is a province of southern Serbia which is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Serbian government and the province's ethnic Albanian population. It is still formally part of Serbia, where it is officially called Kosovo and Metohija (&#1050;&#1086;&#1089;&#1086;&#1074;&#1086; &#1080; &#1052;&#1077;&#1090;&#1086;&#1093;&#1080;&#1112;&#1072;), but since the Kosovo War it has been administered by the United Nations. Its Albanian population referred to the province as the Republic of Kosova between 1990 and 1999, but its self-proclaimed independence was recognized internationally only by Albania. The province's final status has yet to be determined.

Geography
With an area of 10,887 km&sup2; and a population of almost 2 million on the eve of the 1999 crisis, Kosovo borders with Montenegro to the northwest, the rest of Serbia (often called "Serbia proper" in English) to the north and east, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the south and Albania to the southwest. The largest cities are Pri&#353;tina, the capital, with estimated 500,000 inhabitants, and Prizren in the southwest with 120,000: five other towns have populations in excess of 50,000.

Geographical regions
Metohija, called Rrafshi i Dukagjinit ("Dukagjin plateau") by Albanians, is the large basin at the west of the province. The region includes the towns of Istok, Pe&#263;, De&#269;ani, &#272;akovica, Orahovac, and Prizren. The second largest region is Kosovo, a basin around the Sitnica river containing the cities of Uro&#353;evac, Pristina, Vu&#269;itrn, and Kosovska Mitrovica. Kosovo Polje (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. Part of Kosovo along the river Lab which contains the city of Podujevo is called Malo Kosovo (literally "Little Kosovo"). Just between the Metohia and Kosovo is the Drenica with the cities of Srbica and Klina and Mali&#353;evo. Around the river Bina&#269;ka Morava is Bina&#269;ko pomoravlje. 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.

Name
The province is best known as Kosovo - this name has been the most widely used by maps and gazetteers within Serbia and abroad. The alternative spelling Kossovo was frequently used until the early 20th century and before that, Cassovo or Cassua, an Italianisation of the name.

The name Kosovo (pronounced "KOS-so-vo" by Serbs, "ko-SO-va" by Albanians) appears to have its roots in the Slavic word kos which means "blackbird". The root word is widely used as a toponym in Slavic countries and the historical German name for Kosovo Polje, Amselfeld, does indeed mean "field of the blackbird". The name "Kosovo" is itself used in other Slavic countries, appearing in Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Russia (see Kosovo (disambiguation)).



Kosova (pronounced "ko-SO-vah") is the Albanian spelling for the province. Albanians tend to use "Kosova" exclusively in preference to the Serbian name, which many of them reject as a symbol of Serbian dominance. It is also occasionally spelled as Kosovë; this is due to the fact that in Albanian, adding the definite article to a noun changes the ending of the word.

Some Albanian researchers claim that the name is a Serbian form of an old Albanian placename meaning "high plain", but this is not a widely accepted theory and would not explain the widespread distribution of the name across the Slav countries. The Albanian form is generally thought to be an Albanian version of an originally Slavic placename.

The Albanian-populated areas of the province and Albania itself tend to use "Kosova" exclusively. "Kosovo" is used, again almost exclusively, in the Serb-populated north of the province and in the rest of the former Yugoslavia. The international community tries to steer a middle path by referring formally to "Kosovo/Kosova." In practice, however, the Serbian variant is still the most frequently used outside of Kosovo while the Albanian variant is widely used by "internationals" within the province.

The use of the two alternative names is a highly sensitive political issue for both Serbs and Kosovo Albanians, who regard the use of the other side's name as being a denial of their own side's territorial rights (in much the same way that Macedonians and Greeks have disputed the name of the Republic of Macedonia). During the Kosovo War, United States President Bill Clinton was criticised for frequently using "Kosova" and appearing to pronounce "Kosovo" the Albanian way, putting the emphasis on the middle syllable rather than on the first syllable as in the Serbian pronunciation. This may, however, have been a simple mispronunciation.

Metohia (alternatively spelled Metohija) derives from the Greek word &#956;&#949;&#964;&#972;&#967;&#953;&#945; (metochia), a term which denotes church-owned land. Historically, the estates of the Serbian Orthodox Church were located principally in this region. The name does not indicate a modern administrative district. Albanians tend not to use the name, regarding it as a statement of Serbian territorial ownership (which they reject for political reasons), and instead prefer to call it Rrafsh i Dukagjinit, the "Dukagjin plateau".

The province is occasionally referred to as Kosmet, a contraction of Kosovo and Metohia which has tended to be used by the Serbian government.

Former official names

 * Autonomous Kosovo Area (1945-1963)
 * Autonomous Province of Kosovo (1963-1968)
 * Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo (1968-1989)
 * Autonomous Province of Kosovo (1989-present)

Kosovo has also been called the Republic of Kosova by Albanians since a 1990 declaration of independence, but this is unrecognised by Serbia or the international community and has no official status.

Adjective form
The question of what to call the inhabitants of Kosovo collectively has also aroused some debate. They have been called variously "Kosovars", "Kosovans" and "Kosovians". The two words accepted by the Oxford English Dictionary are "Kosovar" (borrowed from Albanian), the most widely used variant in English, by a long way, and "Kosovan" (using the English rules for demonyms) much less used. "Kosovian" is considered a non-standard word and very little used at all.

As Kosovo has no formal statehood, current international usage is to refer to Kosovo Serbs and Kosovo Albanians. Most of the Albanian-descended community in Kosovo would prefer the use of Kosovar or Kosovan because of the attendant political overtones, whilst the Serb minority continue to think of themselves as Serb or Serbian (from Kosovo).

Kosovo placenames
Most localities in Kosovo have distinct Serbian and Albanian placenames, nearly all very similar, some differing radically. During the Serbian administration of 1912-1999, Kosovo localities were known internationally almost exclusively by their Serbian names.

Since the United Nations took over administration of the province in June 1999, the administration and some international organisations have adopted a policy of treating both versions equally. For the sake of convenience, this article gives alternative placenames the first time a locality is mentioned, but will use the more familiar Serbian version thereafter. A useful list of Serbian and Albanian forms of Kosovo placenames is available at www.osce.org/kosovo/documents/reports/hr/part1/p5app.htm.

Flag
The province never had an official flag of its own. The Albanian flag is used by the Albanian-dominated administration and the vast majority of Kosovo Albanians. The Serb-inhabited area of north Kosovo uses only the flag of Serbia and Montenegro, which is formally the flag of the whole of Serbia including Kosovo, although this usage is rejected by virtually all Kosovo Albanians. The United Nations administration in Kosovo intends to establish a new flag for the province, which will undoubtedly be very different from the two national communities' existing flags. The current flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina emerged from a similar process of national reconciliation.

History
See History of Kosovo.

Politics and international status
Kosovo's international status is anomalous in that although it is formally 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; your best bet is Yugoslavia).

UNMIK has also created a police force (the Kosovo Police Service) with employees from both the Serbian and Albanian communities, and organised railways and airline (Kosova Airlines). The airspace of the province is controlled by KFOR. UNMIK uses the United Nations flag.

UNMIK has adopted a policy of affirmative action in the Kosovo 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 formally recognised internationally as a part of Serbia. Its final status has not yet been resolved, 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.

Administrative subdivisions
Main article: Subdivisions of Serbia and Montenegro

Administrative subdivisions in Kosovo are known as opstinas, usually named after the largest town in them. They were originally set up by Yugoslavia and do not precisely parallel the administrative subdivisions set up by the parallel ethnic Albanian government.

Economy
UNMIK declared the euro, as official currency of the province in 2001, when implementing a currency reform, 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 and outside of them only sporadically. 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 comprise an almost 90% majority 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 and immigration from Albania. 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)
 * 3% Muslim Slavs (59,100)
 * 2% Roma (39,400)
 * 1% Turks (19,700)

Provisional Institutions of Self-Government

 * Assembly of Kosovo
 * Kosovo Prime Minister

Pro-Albanian

 * Kosova Information Center (in Albanian)
 * Kosovapress - Kosovo news agency
 * Radio Television of Kosova (news in Albanian, Serbian and English)
 * General information from Beqiraj.com (in German)
 * General information from Beqiraj.com (in Albanian)
 * General information from Albanian.com
 * Kosovo Crisis Center - Serbian Massacres of Albanians

Pro-Serb

 * Kosovo.com
 * Account of destroyed Serbian Orthodox churches in Kosovo and Metohia
 * News from B92 Belgrade
 * News from the Serbian Government
 * News from the Serbian Orthodox Church
 * News archive
 * Serb Kosovo Coordination Center
 * The Crisis in Kosovo and Metohia
 * The Emperor's New Clothes: The Serbs Were Not Oppressing the Kosovo Albanians...
 * The tragic blunder in Kosovo
 * BBC: Admiral Gregory Johnson said almost 1,000 Serbs had been driven from their homes after attacks by ethnic Albanians
 * Agence France-Presse: Some Serbs said they had been given 10 minutes to leave their homes or die

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