Civil Resistance in Kosovo

This text recounts the history of the Kosovo Albanians' struggle for liberation - from peaceful demonstrations to the KLA's taking up of arms. Written by a peace studies expert. It draws on the lessons of Kosovo to provide hopeful suggestions for peace-building in the future. The world woke up to the conflict between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians too late - when Kosovo erupted into full-scale war in the spring of 1999. But many Balkans watchers were surprised war in Kosovo did not happen sooner. Howard Clark argues that war had been avoided previously because of the self-restraint exercised by the Kosovo Albanians with their policy of non-violence. Prior to the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)'s taking up of arms, Kosovo Albanians had had a log history of civil resistance in the face of Serbian ultra-nationalism. They were committed to a strategy of non-violent resistance even as they were harassed by Serbian police, vilified in racial terms, and excluded from jobs, education and government benefits. Left out of the 1995 Dayton Agreement, Kosovo became a breeding ground for frustration and ethnic strife, ultimately leading to war and the NATO bombings.