CAMPAGNA KOSSOVO

KOSOVA FACTBOOK

Official name (Albanian dominated "shadow-state"): Republic of Kosova

Official name (Serbia and FR of Yugoslavia): Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija

Former: Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosova (autonomous province of Serbia with self-administration, federal unit of Yugoslavia)

Kosova is de facto a province of Serbia. Its parliament and government were illegaly (in accordance with Yugoslav law of the time) suspended by Serbia. The Albanian dominated government which is seeking international recognition functions in parallel with the Serbian regime, although its rule is limited due to the overwhelming presence of Serbian police and military forces.
De jure, Kosova's international status has not been determined, as neither the Republic of Kosova nor the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are internationally recognized states.

Independence Declared: July 2nd, 1990

Constitution: September 7th, 1990

Geographic Position: Kosova streches between 41°52' and 43°16' north geographical latitude and 19°59' and 21°16' of the east geographical longitude.

Area: Territorial area covers 10,887 squared kilometers.

Borders: Montenegro to the northwest, Serbia to the north and northeast, (FYR of) Macedonia to the south, Albania to the west and southwest.

Population: 2,100,000 (1993 estimate)

Ethnic Composition: Albanian 90%, Serb and Montenegrin 8%, Others 2% (Turks, Romani, etc.)

Sources include: Limani, Musa, Ph.D. The Geographic Position, Natural Riches, Demographic Characteristics, and the Economical Development of Kosova. Prishtina, Kosova: The Association of Lawyers of Kosova, 1992.

Kosova, also known as Kosovo, is the disputed region between Kosova's Albanian majority and Serbia. Once an autonomous federal unit of Yugoslavia, it has been stripped away of its autonomy by the Serbian government. The Serbian authorities have closed schools in the Albanian language, have massively dismissed Albanians from state-owned enterprises, have suspended Kosova's legal parliament and government. Presently there is a systematic oppression of the Albanian population in Kosova by the Serbian government, and flagrant violations of basic rights of Albanians occur frequently. The Albanians of Kosova have held free elections in which they have chosen their leadership, expressed their determination for the independence of Kosova in the 1991 referendum, and the Kosovar parliament has declared the independence of Kosova, first from Serbia, then from the Yugoslav federation, after its disintegration. They have formed a parallel government, have found means of continuing Albanian-language education outside of occupied premises and providing health care (most Albanian doctors were dismissed from state-owned hospitals by Serb installed authorities).

Many analysts, including the U.S. government, have warned that Kosova is a potential powder keg, and may ignite a war spreading beyond its borders with consequences far worse than those of the war in Bosnia. The Kosovar Albanian leadership has declared that it will seek a peaceful resolution of the problem of Kosova.

Kosova borders Serbia in the north and northeast, Montenegro in the northwest, Albania in the west and the FYR of Macedonia in the south. It covers a total of 10,887 squared kilometers and its population is two million, 90 percent of which are ethnic Albanian.

POPULATION STATISTICS

From official census data of the Kingdom of Serbia, Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Year Total number Ethnic composition (%)
Albanian Serb Montenegrin Turkish Muslim Others
1913 497,456
1921 439,010 65.8 26.0 6.4
1931 552,064 60.0 32.6 7.4
1948 733,034
1953 815,908
1961 963,988
1971 1,243,393
1981 1,588,400 77.5 13.2 1.7 0.8 3.7 4.1
1991* 2,000,000 90.0 8.0 2.0

* the data for 1991 is estimated, the census of that year was boycotted by the
Albanian population.

Source: Limani, Musa, Ph.D. The Geographic Position, Natural Riches, Demographic Characteristics, and the Economical Development of Kosova. Prishtina, Kosova: The Association of Lawyers of Kosova, 1992.

EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS

From official data of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Number of Persons Employed per 1000 People

Year Yugoslavia Kosova Participation of Kosova in Yugo. (%)

1952 103 48 46.6
1962 176 77 43.8
1972 203 88 43.3
1982 270 118 43.7
1988 292 124 42.5

Employment in Kosova by Ethnicity

Year Total Albanian Serb Montenegrin
1966 91,673 46,804 33,514 7,517
1968 92,335 48,176 32,706 7,451
1970 98,504 53,988 32,739 7,188
1974 128,538 74,787 39,912 7,329
1976 142,935 85,356 42,775 7,557
1978 160,007 99,522 44,352 7,574
1980 176,394 114,591 45,183 7,447
1982 192,234 129,132 45,389 7,076
1984 205,259 140,310 46,249 6,746
1986 220,745 152,836 48,429 6,727
1988 234,511 162,499 51,092 6,954

Note: Other nationalities, Turks, Romani, and others, have not been included in this list.

1991 REFERENDUM

Text of Official Report

Report

on the Results of the referendum on the Republic of Kosova as a Sovereign and Independent State, 26 - 30 September, 1991.

Out of the total number of the citizens of Kosova eligible to vote (estimated to be 1,051,357 citizens), 914,802 voted in the Referendum, i.e. 87.01 percent.

Out of this number, 913,705 voters, that is 99.87 percent, voted "FOR." 164 citizens voted "AGAINST" while 933 ballots were declared "INVALID." 136,555 citizens with the right to vote, i.e. 12.99 percent, did not participate in the Referendum.

According to the legal regulations of the Republic of Kosova, a referendum is considered successful if two thirds of the total number of citizens with the right to vote participate in a referendum and if more than half of them declare themselves "for," therefore, the Central Board of the Parliament of the Republic of Kosova for the Conducting of the Referendum concludes that the Referendum on the Republic of Kosova as a sovereign and independent state, held on September 26-30, 1991 was successful.

1992 ELECTIONS

On the elections held the 24th of May, 1992, of 821,588 registered voters, 721,554 (87.37 percent) participated.

100 deputies are elected by the majority system and 30 by the proportional system.

The result of the election for the seats elected by the majority system:

LDK (Democratic League of Kosova) - 96 seats
PPK (Parliamentary Party of Kosova) - 1 seat
LDK-PAD coalition - 1 seat
Independent candidates - 2 seats

For the seats elected by the proportional system, aside from the LDK three other parties got over 3 percent of the votes. These parties were the Parliamentary Party, the Peasants Party and the Albanian Democratic-Christian Party.

Therefore, on the elections held the 24th of May, 1992, LDK won 76.44 percent of the votes, the Parliamentary Party of Kosova 4.86 percent or 36,549 votes, the Peasants Party of Kosova 3.15 percent or 23,682 votes, and the Albanian Democratic-Christian Party of Kosova 3.10 percent or 23,303 votes.
Source: Kosova Daily Report, Number 119, May 26th, 1992, and Kosova Daily Report, Number 122, May 29th, 1992.

Information courtesy of the Kosova Information Centre in the U.K.

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