The 2004 unrest in Kosovo is the worst ethnic violence case in
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
since the end of the
1998–99 conflict. The violence erupted in the partitioned town of
Kosovo Mitrovica, leaving hundreds wounded and at least 14 people dead. The unrest was precipitated by misleading reports in the
Kosovo Albanian
The Albanians of Kosovo ( sq, Shqiptarët e Kosovës, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar/Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars/Kosovans, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo.
Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-gr ...
media which falsely claimed that three Kosovo Albanian boys had drowned after being chased into the
Ibar River
The Ibar ( sr-cyrl, Ибар, ), also known as the Ibër and Ibri ( sq, Ibër, Ibri), is a river that flows through eastern Montenegro, northern Kosovo and central Serbia, with a total length of . The river begins in the Hajla mountain, in Rož ...
by a group of
Kosovo Serbs
Kosovo Serbs are one of the ethnic groups of Kosovo. There are around 100,000 Kosovo Serbs as of 2014 and about half of them live in North Kosovo. Other Serb communities live in southern Kosovo. After Albanians, they form the largest ethnic com ...
.
UN peacekeepers and
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
troops scrambled to contain a raging gun battle between Serbs and Albanians.
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
call the event the March
Pogrom
A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...
( sr, Мартовски погром, translit=Martovski pogrom), while the Albanians call it the March Unrest ( sq, Trazirat e marsit).
International courts in
Pristina
Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians an ...
have prosecuted several people who attacked several
Serbian Orthodox
The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches.
The majori ...
churches, handing down jail sentences ranging from 21 months to 16 years. A part of the destroyed churches have since been rebuilt by the
Government of Kosovo in cooperation with the
Serbian Orthodox Church and the
UN mission in Kosovo.
Background
The
Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was an ethnic-Albanian
paramilitary organisation which had as its founding goal unification of Albanian inhabited lands in the Balkans, stressing
Albanian culture, ethnicity and nation.
[.][.][.] Conflict escalated from 1997 onward due to the Yugoslavian army retaliating with a crackdown in the region resulting in violence and population displacements.
[.][.] The bloodshed, ethnic cleansing of thousands of Albanians driving them into neighbouring countries and the potential of it to destabilize the region provoked intervention by international organizations and agencies, such as the United Nations, NATO and
INGOs.
Some people from non-Albanian communities such as the Serbs and Romani fled Kosovo fearing revenge attacks by armed people and returning refugees while others were pressured by the KLA and armed gangs to leave.
[.] Post conflict Kosovo was placed under an international United Nations framework with the ''
UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo'' (UNMIK) overseeing administrative affairs and the ''
NATO Kosovo Force'' (KFOR) dealing with defence.
[.] Within post-conflict Kosovo Albanian society, calls for retaliation for previous violence done by Serb forces during the war circulated through public culture.
[.] In 2004, prolonged negotiations over Kosovo's future status, sociopolitical problems and nationalist sentiments resulted in the Kosovo unrest.
[.][.]
Prelude
Shooting of Serbian teen
On 15 March 2004 an 18-year-old Serb, Jovica Ivić, was shot and wounded in a drive-by shooting in the village of
Čaglavica
Čaglavica ( al, Çagllavicë, sr-Cyrl, Чаглавица) is a village near Pristina, Kosovo.
History
2004 unrest in Kosovo
During the unrests in March 2004 that occurred throughout Kosovo, 12000 Kosovo Albanian rioters tried to stor ...
in the central region of Kosovo.
16 March pro-KLA protests
On 16 March, three KLA war veterans associations organized widespread demonstrations in ethnic Albanian cities and towns, protesting the arrests of former KLA leaders on war crime charges, including the February arrests of four commanders. The pro-KLA, anti-UNMIK protests, with 18,000 protesters, lay the basis for the following demonstrations sparked by the sensational reports of drowning of three Albanian children.
Drowning of Albanian children
On 16 March, three Albanian children drowned in the Ibar River in the village of Čabar, near the Serb community of
Zubin Potok
Zubin Potok ( sr-cyr, Зубин Поток, sq-definite, Zubin Potoku); is a town and municipality located in the Mitrovica District in Kosovo. As of 2015, it has an estimated population of 15,200 inhabitants. It covers an area of , and consis ...
. A fourth boy survived. It was speculated that he and his friends had been chased into the river by Serbs in revenge for the shooting of Ivić the previous day, but this claim has not been proven.
UN police spokesman Neeraj Singh said the surviving boy had been under intense pressure from ethnic Albanian journalists who had suggested what he should say. His version of events differed from that of two other children who had also been in the river, Singh told a news conference in Pristina. The spokesperson said there were "very significant" inconsistencies in the accounts given by the child during two separate interviews, and a lack of corroboration of his story. "In fact, it is logically at odds in several respects with other evidence," Mr. Singh said.
The UN found no evidence that Serbs were responsible for drowning the three Albanian children.
Violence
![Facade of Serb House Destroyed in 2004 Pogrom - Prizren - Kosovo - 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Facade_of_Serb_House_Destroyed_in_2004_Pogrom_-_Prizren_-_Kosovo_-_02.jpg)
On 17 and 18 March 2004, a wave of violent riots swept through Kosovo, triggered by two incidents perceived as ethnically-motivated acts. Demonstrations, although seemingly spontaneous at the outset, quickly focused on Serbs throughout Kosovo.
Thousands of Albanians gathered at the south end of the bridge across the Ibar at
Kosovska Mitrovica
Mitrovica ( sq-definite, Mitrovicë; sr-cyrl, Митровица) or Kosovska Mitrovica ( sr-cyrl, Косовска Митровица) is a city and municipality located in Kosovo. Settled on the banks of Ibar and Sitnica rivers, the city is ...
, which divides the Serb and Albanian districts of the town. A large crowd of Serbs gathered at the north end to prevent the Albanians from crossing. Peacekeepers from the NATO-led
Kosovo Force (KFOR) blockaded the bridge, using tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to keep the crowds apart. However, gunmen on both sides opened fire with sub-machine guns and grenades, killing at least eight people (two Albanians and six Serbs) and wounding over 300. Eleven peacekeepers were also injured, of which two seriously.
The violence quickly spread to other parts of Kosovo, with Kosovo Serb communities and Serbian cultural heritage (churches and monasteries) attacked by crowds of Albanians. Serb returnees were attacked. Some of the locations were ostensibly under the protection of KFOR at the time. During the riots and violence, at least 35 churches were damaged, including 18
monuments of culture, which were demolished, burnt or severely damaged.
According to
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
, the violence resulted in the deaths of nineteen people; 8 Kosovo Serbs and 11 Kosovo Albanians. More than a thousand were wounded including more than 120 KFOR personnel. More than 4,000 Serbs were driven out of their homes and more than 900 houses belonging to non-Albanians were burned.
By one estimate, more than 50,000 people participated in the riots. The Legal System Monitoring Section of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo (“the OSCE”) has closely monitored the investigations and trials from March 2004 until present. With its monitoring of 73 cases (Municipal, District and Minor Offences Courts) pending between December 2005 and March 2008, the OSCE now follows up on a first report of December 2005.
Čaglavica
In
Čaglavica
Čaglavica ( al, Çagllavicë, sr-Cyrl, Чаглавица) is a village near Pristina, Kosovo.
History
2004 unrest in Kosovo
During the unrests in March 2004 that occurred throughout Kosovo, 12000 Kosovo Albanian rioters tried to stor ...
, 12,000 Kosovo Albanian rioters tried to storm the Serb-populated areas.
KFOR peacekeepers from Sweden, Norway and Finland led by Swedish Lieutenant Colonel Hans Håkansson created a blockade by using tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun grenades, in order to keep the two groups apart. A truck was driven by a Kosovo Albanian at full speed towards the barricade in an attempt to penetrate the line. After firing warning shots at the truck, the peacekeepers had to use deadly force to avoid friendly casualties, and shot the driver. 16 peacekeepers were injured, and 13 had to be evacuated.
Another KFOR unit consisting of mostly Swedish soldiers also participated in defending Čaglavica that day, supported by people from the barracks who normally worked with non-military tasks. Lieutenant Colonel Hans Håkansson, who commanded 700 people during the unrest, reported that the fighting went on for 11 hours, and that many collapsed due to dehydration and injuries while struggling to fend off waves of rioters.
In total, 35 people were injured while defending the town.
[ Hans Håkansson was awarded with a medal for his actions by the ]Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademien) is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for m ...
in 2005.
Priština/Prishtina
Following the attacks in Čaglavica
Čaglavica ( al, Çagllavicë, sr-Cyrl, Чаглавица) is a village near Pristina, Kosovo.
History
2004 unrest in Kosovo
During the unrests in March 2004 that occurred throughout Kosovo, 12000 Kosovo Albanian rioters tried to stor ...
, the mob of Albanians turned their attention on the few remaining Serbs living in Pristina
Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians an ...
in the YU Program apartments. The apartments came under attack after the mob of Albanians blocked all of the entrances and set fire to the ground floors. Serbs who tried to flee the apartments were shot at by firearms or stabbed by members of the crowd. The mob began to loot apartments and were chanting pro Kosovo Liberation Army chants and calling for the killing of Serbs. It took KFOR (mainly Irish Soldiers)and UNMIK
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is the officially mandated mission of the United Nations in Kosovo. The UNMIK describes its mandate as being to "help the United Nations Security Council achieve an overall ...
police over 6 hours to evacuate the Serbs who were under constant fire from armed Albanians. Following the evacuation the crowd began to converge on the Church of the Christ Savour burning and damaging the facade and inside.
Peć/Pejë
Albanians rioted in the city of Pejë, attacking UN offices. One Albanian was killed by UN police. Serb returnees were attacked at Belo Polje.
Lipljan
Albanians and KFOR were engaged in gunfights in the town of Lipljan
Lipjan ( sq-definite, Lipjani) or Lipljan ( sr-Cyrl, Липљан) is a town and municipality located in the Pristina District of Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Lipjan has 6,870 inhabitants, while the municipality has 57,605 i ...
. Four Serbs were murdered, while Serbs taking refuge in the local Orthodox church were attacked.
Vučitrn/Vushtrri
All Serb houses in the Serb-inhabited village of Svinjare in Vučitrn (Vushtri), near Kosovo Mitrovica, were burnt down.[
]
Prizren
On 17 March, ethnic Albanians started attacking the Serb settlement in Prizren, including the Seminary, and reportedly there was no UNMIK, Kosovo Police
The Kosovo Police ( sq, Policia e Kosovës, sr-Cyrl, Полиција Косова, sr-Latn, Policija Kosova) is the national policing law enforcement agency of Kosovo.
History
A Kosovo Police Service was created in 1999 in the aftermath o ...
and KFOR present there at the time. The mob set the Seminary on fire, with people inside, and beat several elder people, with one man dying in the burning.
The German KFOR's refusal to mobilize to protect the local Serbs are one of the main security failures of the 2004 unrest. UNMIK in Prizren said that the terror, 56 Serb houses and 5 historical churches that were burnt down, could have been prevented by KFOR .
Destroyed churches
In an urgent appeal, issued on 18 March by the extraordinary session of the Expanded Convocation of the Holy Synod of Serbian Orthodox Church (), it was reported that a number of Serbian churches and shrines in Kosovo had been damaged or destroyed by rioters. At least 30 sites were completely destroyed, more or less destroyed, or further destroyed (sites that had been previously damaged). Apart from the churches and monasteries, tens of support buildings (such as parish buildings, economical buildings and residences) were destroyed, bringing the number close to 100 buildings of the SPC destroyed.
All churches and objects of the SPC in Prizren were destroyed. The list includes several UNESCO World Heritage Sites
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
. Among those destroyed and damaged were:
* St Elijah's Church in Podujevo destroyed and desecrated, coffins from the nearby Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
n cemetery were dug up, and bones of the dead were scattered away.
*Skenderaj
Skenderaj ( sq-definite, Skënderaj or ''Skënderaji'') or Srbica ( sr-Cyrl, Србица) is a town and municipality located in the Mitrovica District of Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Skënderaj has 9,372 inhabitants, while ...
: Devič
The Devič Monastery ( sr, Манастир Девич, Manastir Devič; sq, Manastiri i Deviçit) is a Serbian Orthodox abbey in Kosovo. It was built in 1434 and is dedicated to St Joanikije of Devič. Devič was declared Monument of Culture o ...
Monastery in Drenica
Drenica ( al, Drenicë, Drenica, ), also known as the Drenica Valley, is a hilly region in central Kosovo, covering roughly around of Kosovo's total area (6%). It consists of two municipalities, Drenas and Skenderaj, and several villages in Kli ...
, nuns evacuated by Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
soldiers, monastery pillaged and torched, the tomb of St Joannicius of Devič was desecrated.[
* Our Lady of Ljeviš in Prizren from 1307 (]UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
)
* the Church of Holy Salvation in Prizren, destroyed by vandals after German KFOR troops had left the site.[
* Church of St George in Prizren] (the city's largest church)
* Church of St George in Prizren (Runjevac)
* Church of St. Kyriaki, Church of St Nicolas (Tutić Church) in Prizren
* the Monastery of The Holy Archangels
The Monastery of the Holy Archangels ( sr, Манастир Светих Архангела, Manastir Svetih Arhangela; al, Manastiri i Arkangjelit të Shenjtë) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located in Prizren, Kosovo. The monastery was foun ...
in Prizren as well as
* Prizren's Orthodox seminary of Saint Cyrillus and Methodius in Prizren
HRW lists 27 Orthodox churches and monasteries burned and looted.
Reactions in Kosovo
Kosovo Albanian politicians such as President Ibrahim Rugova
Ibrahim Rugova (; 2 December 1944 – 21 January 2006) was a prominent Kosovo Albanian political leader, scholar, and writer, who served as the President of the partially recognised Republic of Kosova, serving from 1992 to 2000 and as President ...
and Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi
Bajram Rexhepi (3 June 1954 – 21 August 2017), was a Kosovar politician who served as the first elected post-war prime minister and later as interior minister of Kosovo and as a member of the Kosovo Assembly. He was a member of the second large ...
joined UN governor Harri Holkeri, NATO southern commander Gregory Johnson, and other KFOR officials in condemning the violence and appealing for peace in Kosovo.
Hashim Thaçi
Hashim Thaçi (; born 24 April 1968) is a Kosovar Albanian politician who was the president of Kosovo from April 2016 until his resignation on 5 November 2020 to face a war crimes tribunal. He was the first prime minister of Kosovo and the For ...
, the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leader, "rejected ethnic division of Kosovo and said independence is a pre-condition for stability in the region." He has also said, "Kosovo, NATO and the West have not fought for Kosovo only for Albanians, nor for a Kosovo ruled by violence. Violence is not the way to solve problems, violence only creates problems."
Kosovo Police established a special investigation team to handle cases related to the 2004 unrest and according to Kosovo Judicial Council by the end of 2006 the 326 charges filed by municipal and district prosecutors for criminal offenses in connection with the unrest had resulted in 200 indictments: convictions in 134 cases, and courts acquitted eight and dismissed 28; 30 cases were pending. International prosecutors and judges handled the most sensitive cases. By March 2010, 143 Kosovars of Albanian ethnicity were convicted, of which 67 received prison terms of over a year.
Reactions in Serbia
The events in Kosovo brought an immediate angry reaction on the streets of Serbia. On the evening of 17 March, crowds gathered in Belgrade, Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
and Niš
Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
to demonstrate against the treatment of the Kosovo Serbs. Despite appeals for calm by Metropolitan Amfilohije
Amfilohije ( sr-Cyrl, Амфилохије; , English: Amphilochius; born Risto Radović, 7 January 193830 October 2020) was a bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, theologian, university professor, author and translator. He was first the bishop ...
, the 17th-century Bajrakli Mosque was set on fire. Islam-aga's Mosque in the southern city of Niš was also set on fire, while demonstrators chanted "Kill, kill Albanians!" When police arrived the mosque was already burning and some media reported that the police didn't move the crowd, so they blocked the fire fighters access to the mosque, leaving them unable to extinguish the fire.[Dangerous Indifference: Violence against Minorities in Serbia: March 2004 Violence Against Albanians and Muslims](_blank)
/ref> Both buildings were extensively damaged but were saved from complete destruction by the intervention of police and firefighters. Also properties of Muslim minorities, such as Goranis, Turks or Albanians were vandalized in Novi Sad and other cities throughout Serbia. Human Rights Watch has concluded that the Serbian state failed to prosecute violence in Novi Sad.
The Serbian government publicly denounced the violence in Kosovo. Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica ( sr-cyrl, Војислав Коштуница, ; born 24 March 1944) is a Serbian former politician who served as the last president of FR Yugoslavia from 2000 to 2003 and as the prime minister of Serbia from 2004 to 2008.
...
strongly criticized the failure of NATO and the UN to prevent the violence, and called for a state of emergency to be imposed on Kosovo. He gave a speech blaming organized Albanian separatists: "The events in northern Kosovo-Metohija reveal the true nature of Albanian separatism, its violent and terrorist nature ... he government willdo all it can to stop the terror in Kosovo". The Minister of Minority Rights of Serbia and Montenegro, Rasim Ljajić, himself a Muslim, said "What is now happening in Kosovo confirms two things: that this is a collapse of the international mission, and a total defeat of the international community." Nebojsa Čović, the Serbian government's chief negotiator on matters relating to Kosovo, was sent to Kosovska Mitrovica on March 18 in a bid to calm the situation there. Serbian security forces also guarded the border between Serbia and Kosovo in a bid to prevent demonstrators and paramilitaries from entering the province to foment further unrest. The events were compared by Prime Minister Koštunica to ethnic cleansing.
The Serbs, represented by the "Union of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija", described the ordeal as "genocide" in a letter sent to the Serbian and Russian patriarchs, to Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
and the Serbian government, where, besides that, they quote the burning of seven villages during the World War II-German occupation to the "several hundreds" burnt "under the rule of the troops of Christian Europe and America" and according to which the "occupation of Kosovo surpasses all we had to sustain under fascism." The spared Serb villages are compared to "concentration camps" because of the missing freedom of movement, electricity and heating. According to the letter, after 1999 there were 8,500 homicides or disappearances of non-Albanian people with no single accomplice tried.
In 2011, seven years after the incident, Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić spoke at the Wheaton College in Chicago:
In less than 72 hours, 35 churches and monasteries were set on fire, many of which date back to the 14th century or even further away in history, which represents an irretrievable loss for the mankind. Dozens of people were killed. Several thousand were wounded. Thousands of houses and shops were leveled to the ground. More than 4,000 Kosovo Serbs were expelled from their homes.
In Serbia the events were also called the March Pogrom.[Anti-Serb programs in Kosovo](_blank)
By The Washington Times[B92.net, ]
FM talks Kosovo at U.S. college
', 18 March 2011
International reaction
The international community was taken by surprise by the sudden upsurge in violence. Kosovo had been fairly quiet since the end of 1999, although there had been occasional small-scale ethnic clashes throughout the past five years and an ongoing tension between Serbs and Albanians. This had, however, largely gone unnoticed by the Western media since 1999.
KFOR troops closed Kosovo's borders with the remainder of Serbia and Montenegro and the UN suspended flights in and out of the province. NATO announced on 18 March that it would send another 1,000 troops – 750 of them from the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
– to reinforce the 18,500 troops already there.
The UN and European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
both appealed for calm, calling on local leaders to restrain their supporters. UN Secretary General
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
The role of the secretary-g ...
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...
urged both sides to cooperate with the peacekeeping forces but pointedly reminded the Kosovo Albanians that they had a responsibility "to protect and promote the rights of all people within Kosovo, particularly its minorities".
An Austrian OSCE
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
official called the events an orchestrated plan to drive out the remaining Serbs, while one anonymous UNMIK official reportedly referred to the event as ''Kosovo's Kristallnacht
() or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation fro ...
''. The commander of NATO's South Flank, Admiral Gregory G. Johnson, said on 19 March that the violence verged on ethnic cleansing of Serbs by Albanians. On 20 March, Kosovo's UN administrator, Harri Holkeri
Harri Hermanni Holkeri (; 6 January 1937 – 7 August 2011) was a Finnish statesman representing the National Coalition Party of Finland (Kokoomus / Samlingspartiet). He was the Prime Minister of Finland 1987–1991, president of the UN Gen ...
, told journalists that "Maybe the very beginning was spontaneous but after the beginning certain extremist groups had an opportunity to orchestrate the situation and that is why we urgently are working to get those perpetrators into justice."
According to Amnesty International, at least 27 people died—11 Albanians and 16 Serbs—and over 1,000 were injured while some 730 houses belonging to minorities, mostly Kosovo Serbs, as well as 36 Orthodox churches, monasteries and other religious and cultural sites were damaged or destroyed. In less than 48 hours, 4,100 minority community members were newly displaced (more than the total of 3,664 that had returned throughout 2003), of whom 82% were Serbs and the remaining 18% included Romani (and Ashkali) as well as an estimated 350 Albanians from the Serb-majority areas of Kosovska Mitrovica
Mitrovica ( sq-definite, Mitrovicë; sr-cyrl, Митровица) or Kosovska Mitrovica ( sr-cyrl, Косовска Митровица) is a city and municipality located in Kosovo. Settled on the banks of Ibar and Sitnica rivers, the city is ...
and Leposavić.
* Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
pledged to send an additional 100 peacekeepers to the region after the violence began.[Kosovo clashes 'ethnic cleansing'](_blank)
BBC, March 20, 2004. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
* Germany's Defence Minister Peter Struck said on March 19 that a further 600 peacekeepers were being sent to join German forces in Kosovo, with deployment to the region beginning on March 20.
* France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
pledged to send about 400 more troops immediately to the region after the violence began.
* Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
and Serbia-Montenegro called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
, which condemned the violence. On 19 March, the Russian Duma
A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions.
The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were for ...
passed a resolution (397 to 0) calling for the return of Serbia-Montenegro's troops.
* Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica ( sr-cyrl, Војислав Коштуница, ; born 24 March 1944) is a Serbian former politician who served as the last president of FR Yugoslavia from 2000 to 2003 and as the prime minister of Serbia from 2004 to 2008.
...
described the attacks as "planned in advance and co-ordinated... this was an attempted pogrom and ethnic cleansing" against Kosovo's Serbs.
* The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
sent an additional 750 peacekeeping soldiers, which arrived in the region's capital Pristina
Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians an ...
within 24 hours of the first attacks, to reinforce British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
troops already on the ground.
* White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
spokesman Scott McClellan
Scott McClellan (born February 14, 1968) is the former White House Press Secretary (2003–06) for President George W. Bush, he was the 24th person to hold this post. He was also the author of a controversial No. 1 ''New York Times'' bestseller ...
told reporters the Bush administration called "on all groups to end the violence and refrain from violence."[NATO rushes troops to Kosovo](_blank)
CNN, March 18, 2004. Retrieved 2011-01-28. The U.S. State Department also repeated its call to stop the violence, stating: "The escalating violence threatens the process of democratization and reconciliation in Kosovo and must end."
See also
*Persecution of Serbs
Anti-Serb sentiment or Serbophobia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, србофобија, srbofobija, separator=" / ") is a generally negative view of Serbs as an ethnic group. Historically it has been a basis for the persecution of ethnic Serbs.
A distincti ...
* Destruction of Serbian heritage in Kosovo
* Gračanica bus bombing
*'' Stolen Kosovo'', documentary
* 2008 unrest in Kosovo
* Destruction of Albanian heritage in Kosovo
* 2003 Goraždevac murders
*Kosovo Serb enclaves
Serbian enclaves are settlements in Kosovo outside North Kosovo ("south of the Ibar") where Serbs form a majority. After the initial outflow after the Kosovo War the situation of the Kosovo Serb communities has improved and under the Ahtisaari ...
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
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* https://ericherring.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/eh-nato-war-on-serbia-00.pdf
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External links
Pictures of the violence and its aftermath
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Christopher Deliso, "An Uncertain Future for the Serbian Refugees in Kosovo," Antiwar.com, April 7, 2004
Christopher Deliso, "The Internationals and the Mobs: Kosovo's Moment of Truth," Antiwar.com, April 15, 2004
where non-Serbian property was vandalized by Serbian mobs.
SEE Security Monitor: Seven years since Albanian pogrom against Serbs in Kosovo
Caglavica during the Kosovo unrest 2004 (eng. subtitles)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosovo unrest
2004 riots
2004 in Kosovo
2004
March 2004 events in Europe
Ethnic riots
Anti-Serbian sentiment
Anti-Christian sentiment
Attacks on churches
Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Europe
Persecution of Serbs
Persecution of Christians by Muslims
Persecution of Eastern Orthodox Christians
Sectarian violence
Albanian nationalism in Kosovo
Serbian–Albanian conflict
Ethnic cleansing
Attacks in Europe in 2004