Ibrahim Rugova
Encyclopedia
Ibrahim Rugova was an Albanian
politician who was the first President of Kosovo
and of its leading political party, the Democratic League of Kosovo
(LDK).
During the many conflicts in Kosovo
, Rugova was regarded as a moderate ethnic Albanian
leader, later by some as "Father of the Nation
" and he was also called "Balkan's Gandhi".
, near the end of World War II
, to a family that is a branch of the Kelmendi
Albanian clan. At this time, the major part of Kosovo was unified with Albania
(controlled by Benito Mussolini
's Italy
since 1941, and later by the Germans since 1943). Yugoslav control was re-established towards the end of the war when the area was liberated by the Partisans who defeated Albanian collaborators. His father Ukë Rugova and his paternal grandfather Rrustë Rugova were summarily executed in January 1945 by Yugoslav communists. Rugova finished primary school in Istog and high school in Peja, graduating in 1967.
He moved on to the newly established University of Pristina, where he was a student in the Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Albanian Studies and participated in the 1968 Kosovo
Protests. He graduated in 1971 and re-enrolled as a research student concentrating on literary theory
. As part of his studies, he spent two years (1976–1977) at the École Pratique des Hautes Études
of the University of Paris
, where he studied under Roland Barthes
. He received his doctorate in 1984 after delivering his thesis, The Directions and Premises of Albanian Literary Criticism, 1504-1983.
Rugova was active as a journalist throughout the 1970s, editing the student newspaper Bota e Re ("New World") and the magazine Dituria ("Knowledge"). He also worked in the Institute for Albanian Studies in Pristina, where he became the editor-in-chief of its periodical, Gjurmime albanologjike ("Albanian Research"). He formally joined the Yugoslav Communist Party
during this period; as in many other communist states, Party membership was essential for anyone who wanted to advance their careers. Rugova managed to make a name for himself, publishing a number of works on literary theory, criticism and history as well as his own poetry. His output earned him recognition as a leading member of Kosovo's Albanian intelligentsia and in 1988 he was elected chairman of the Kosovo Writers' Union (KWU).
unilaterally abolished Kosovo's autonomy within Yugoslavia
. A harsh regime was imposed, leading to widespread violations of human rights
and the repression of dissenters. An estimated 130,000 Kosovo Albanians were sacked from their jobs and the police in particular were almost completely purged of Albanians There were numerous reports of extrajudicial beatings, torture and killings, attracting strong criticism from human rights groups and other countries.
Milošević's actions were strongly opposed in Kosovo, not least by the Kosovo Albanian political élite (including the local Communist Party), which had been stripped of authority. Members of the abolished Kosovo assembly met to declare an independent "Republic of Kosovo", which was not recognised by the outside world. The Serbian government responded by arresting 112 of the 120 members of the assembly and six members of the Kosovo government and charging them with "counter-revolutionary activity." Journalists who reported the assembly's declaration were also detained and imprisoned. Kosovo's intellectuals also opposed the changes; Rugova was one of 215 signatories of the "Appeal of Kosovo Intellectuals" against Milošević's decision to change Kosovo's status. He was immediately expelled from the Communist Party in retaliation.
In December 1989, Rugova and a number of other dissents set up the Democratic League of Kosovo as a vehicle for opposing Milošević's policies. Rugova became leader after the first candidate, Rexhep Qosja
, a prominent nationalist writer, refused the job. The new party was an overwhelming success and within months, 700,000 people – virtually the entire adult population of Kosovo Albanians – had joined. The LDK established a "shadow government" and a "Parallel Social System" to provide education and health services to the Albanian population, which was either excluded from or chose not to use the equivalent services provided by the Serbian government. An underground Kosovo Assembly was founded with Bujar Bukoshi
acting as Prime Minister from the safe distance of Germany
. The shadow government's activities were mostly funded by the overseas Kosovo Albanian diaspora, based primarily in Germany and the United States
. However, Rugova's government was recognised officially only by the government of Albania.
The Kosovo Albanians boycotted Yugoslav and Serbian elections on the grounds that they would legitimise the Milošević regime and would in any case most likely be rigged. In May 1992, separate elections were held in Kosovo in which Rugova won an overwhelming majority and was elected President of Kosovo. Although there were questions about the fairness and propriety of the elections – they were held virtually in secret in Albanians' houses, there were repeated reports of harassment by state security forces, and there were allegations of vote-rigging – it was nonetheless generally accepted that Rugova was the legitimate winner of this election.
In 1991 the Yugoslav wars
began with the secession of Slovenia
and Croatia
from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
. By the summer of 1992, Yugoslavia was fully absorbed with the wars in Croatia and Bosnia
, and had no spare military capacity to deal with conflicts elsewhere. Rugova supported Kosovo's independence but strongly opposed the use of force as a means of achieving it, fearing a Bosnia-style bloodbath. He instead advocated a policy of Gandhi-like passive resistance, stating on a visit to London that
The Serbian and Yugoslav governments subjected LDK activists and members to considerable harassment and intimidation, and argued that the shadow government was an illegal organisation. However, they did not try to shut down the LDK completely and they allowed him to travel abroad. It seems likely that Milošević saw Rugova as being useful in averting an uprising in Kosovo. The Yugoslav government would have found such a situation difficult to contain at the same time as supporting simultaneous wars in Croatia and Bosnia.
For his part, Rugova stuck to a hard line throughout the 1990s, rejecting any form of negotiation with Serbia's authorities other than on achieving outright independence of Kosovo. A compromise, or a setback in the eyes of his critics, came in 1996 when he reached an agreement with Serbia over educational facilities, under which the parallel shadow education system would not be integrated with that of Serbia.
of 1995, which ended the Bosnian War
, seriously weakened Rugova's position. The agreement failed to make any mention of Kosovo and the international community made no serious efforts to resolve the province's ongoing problems. Radicals among the Kosovo Albanian population began to argue that the only way to break the impasse was to launch an armed uprising, in the belief that this would force the outside world to intervene. They blamed Rugova's policy of non-violence for Kosovo's failure to achieve independence.
In 1997, the Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA) emerged as a fighting force and began carrying out attacks and assassinations against Serbian civilians, paramilitia and security forces as well as Albanians deemed to be "collaborators". The Serbian response was, as the KLA had predicted, forceful and often indiscriminate. By 1998, the KLA had grown into a full-scale guerrilla army, 100,000 Kosovo Albanians were refugees and the province was in a state of virtual civil war. Rugova was re-elected president in the same year and was awarded the Sakharov Prize
for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament
. However, he was by now clearly being eclipsed by the KLA. This was highlighted in February 1999 when he was passed over in favour of the KLA's political chief Hashim Thaçi
, who was chosen by the underground Kosovo Assembly to head the Kosovo Albanian negotiating team in the discussions on the aborted Rambouillet Agreement
.
At the end of March 1999, after negotiations at Rambouillet
had broken down, NATO launched Operation Allied Force
to impose a resolution of the Kosovo War
. Rugova spent the first few weeks of the war under virtual house arrest, along with his family, in Pristina
. At the start of April 1999, Rugova was forcefully taken to Belgrade
, where he was shown on Serbian state television meeting Milošević and calling for an end to the war.
Rugova was allowed to leave Kosovo for temporary exile in Italy in early May 1999, not long before the war ended. He attracted further criticism for his slowness to return to Kosovo – it was not until July that he arrived back in the province. Nonetheless, he received a hero's welcome and returned to political life under the new United Nations administration in Kosovo.
, polled only 27%. On Monday, 4 March 2002, Rugova was appointed as President by the Kosovo Assembly, though this only took place at the fourth attempt after lengthy political negotiations.
As the new President of Kosovo – this time formally acknowledged as such by the international community – Rugova continued to campaign for Kosovo's independence from Serbia. However, he insisted that it had to be achieved by peaceful means and with the agreement of all parties. He also pursued a policy of very close relations with the United States, as well as with the European Union
. His incremental approach was criticised by radicals, but he sought to bring along the supporters of the former KLA; in November 2004, he appointed Ramush Haradinaj
, the former commander of the KLA, as Prime Minister. The following month, Rugova was again elected President by the Kosovo Assembly. Nonetheless, he still encountered violent opposition. On 15 March 2005, he escaped —unhurt —an attempted assassination when a bomb exploded in a waste container
as his car passed by.
Rugova demonstrated a number of unusual traits during his time as President. He was readily identifiable by the silk neckscarf that he wore and was known for his habit of giving visitors samples from his rock collection. His presents were carefully graded; the size of a crystal could reflect Rugova's feelings about the outcome of a meeting, prompting diplomats to compare notes afterwards about the size of the rocks presented to them. He was also a chain-smoker, and it may have been this habit that caused his eventual fatal condition.
On 30 August 2005, Rugova left Kosovo and went to the United States Air Force
Landstuhl Military Hospital
in Germany for medical treatment after earlier treatment in Pristina and Camp Bondsteel
, the main US base in Kosovo and the second-biggest in Europe. After a week at Landstuhl he returned to Kosovo. On 5 September 2005, he announced that he was suffering from lung cancer
, but said that he would not be resigning from the post of President. He underwent chemotherapy
, conducted by U.S. Army doctors, at his residence in Pristina but the treatment failed to resolve the cancer. He died four months later, on 21 January 2006. He was buried without religious rites on 26 January at a funeral attended by regional leaders and a crowd estimated to number one and a half million people. There are rumors Mr Rugova converted to Catholism but there are no confirmation evidence to this report.
.
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Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
politician who was the first President of Kosovo
President of Kosovo
The President of the Republic of Kosovo is Head of State of the disputed Republic of Kosovo. The President of Kosovo is elected by the Assembly of Kosovo. The first post-war president, who served until his death in January 2006, was Ibrahim Rugova. His successor was Fatmir Sejdiu. When Sejdiu...
and of its leading political party, the Democratic League of Kosovo
Democratic League of Kosovo
The Democratic League of Kosovo is the second largest political party in Kosovo. It is a conservative and liberal conservative party; the main right-wing party in Kosovo....
(LDK).
During the many conflicts in Kosovo
History of Kosovo
In antiquity, the Kosovo region in the Balkans was known as Dardania and from the 1st century AD it formed part of the Roman province of Moesia. From c. 700 to 1455, the Kosovo region became part of the Bulgarian Empire, the Byzantine Empire and then the Serbian medieval states, notably Raška...
, Rugova was regarded as a moderate ethnic Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
leader, later by some as "Father of the Nation
Father of the Nation
Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a man considered the driving force behind the establishment of their country, state or nation...
" and he was also called "Balkan's Gandhi".
Family and early life
Ibrahim Rugova was born on 2 December 1944 in Cercë, Istog, KosovoKosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, near the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, to a family that is a branch of the Kelmendi
Kelmendi
Kelmend, or Kelmendi mountains is a region and clan in the mountainous borderlands of Albania and Montenegro, of the wider Malësia-region . Part of the region lies within the Kelmend municipality, and is composed of a Roman Catholic majority and Muslim minority...
Albanian clan. At this time, the major part of Kosovo was unified with Albania
Albania under Nazi Germany
The Albanian Kingdom existed as a de jure independent country, between 1943 and 1944. The usual de facto name in most of the historic German literature and documents is Großalbanien, sometimes Gross-Albanien...
(controlled by Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
's Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
since 1941, and later by the Germans since 1943). Yugoslav control was re-established towards the end of the war when the area was liberated by the Partisans who defeated Albanian collaborators. His father Ukë Rugova and his paternal grandfather Rrustë Rugova were summarily executed in January 1945 by Yugoslav communists. Rugova finished primary school in Istog and high school in Peja, graduating in 1967.
He moved on to the newly established University of Pristina, where he was a student in the Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Albanian Studies and participated in the 1968 Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
Protests. He graduated in 1971 and re-enrolled as a research student concentrating on literary theory
Literary theory
Literary theory in a strict sense is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for analyzing literature. However, literary scholarship since the 19th century often includes—in addition to, or even instead of literary theory in the strict sense—considerations of...
. As part of his studies, he spent two years (1976–1977) at the École Pratique des Hautes Études
École pratique des hautes études
The École pratique des hautes études is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions....
of the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, where he studied under Roland Barthes
Roland Barthes
Roland Gérard Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. Barthes' ideas explored a diverse range of fields and he influenced the development of schools of theory including structuralism, semiotics, existentialism, social theory, Marxism, anthropology and...
. He received his doctorate in 1984 after delivering his thesis, The Directions and Premises of Albanian Literary Criticism, 1504-1983.
Rugova was active as a journalist throughout the 1970s, editing the student newspaper Bota e Re ("New World") and the magazine Dituria ("Knowledge"). He also worked in the Institute for Albanian Studies in Pristina, where he became the editor-in-chief of its periodical, Gjurmime albanologjike ("Albanian Research"). He formally joined the Yugoslav Communist Party
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Yugoslavia , before 1952 the Communist Party of Yugoslavia League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Savez komunista Jugoslavije/Савез комуниста Југославије, Slovene: Zveza komunistov Jugoslavije, Macedonian: Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na...
during this period; as in many other communist states, Party membership was essential for anyone who wanted to advance their careers. Rugova managed to make a name for himself, publishing a number of works on literary theory, criticism and history as well as his own poetry. His output earned him recognition as a leading member of Kosovo's Albanian intelligentsia and in 1988 he was elected chairman of the Kosovo Writers' Union (KWU).
Political career
In 1989, Serbian President Slobodan MiloševićSlobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
unilaterally abolished Kosovo's autonomy within Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
. A harsh regime was imposed, leading to widespread violations of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and the repression of dissenters. An estimated 130,000 Kosovo Albanians were sacked from their jobs and the police in particular were almost completely purged of Albanians There were numerous reports of extrajudicial beatings, torture and killings, attracting strong criticism from human rights groups and other countries.
Milošević's actions were strongly opposed in Kosovo, not least by the Kosovo Albanian political élite (including the local Communist Party), which had been stripped of authority. Members of the abolished Kosovo assembly met to declare an independent "Republic of Kosovo", which was not recognised by the outside world. The Serbian government responded by arresting 112 of the 120 members of the assembly and six members of the Kosovo government and charging them with "counter-revolutionary activity." Journalists who reported the assembly's declaration were also detained and imprisoned. Kosovo's intellectuals also opposed the changes; Rugova was one of 215 signatories of the "Appeal of Kosovo Intellectuals" against Milošević's decision to change Kosovo's status. He was immediately expelled from the Communist Party in retaliation.
In December 1989, Rugova and a number of other dissents set up the Democratic League of Kosovo as a vehicle for opposing Milošević's policies. Rugova became leader after the first candidate, Rexhep Qosja
Rexhep Qosja
Rexhep Qosja is a prominent Albanian politician and literary critic from the area of Malësia in modern Montenegro....
, a prominent nationalist writer, refused the job. The new party was an overwhelming success and within months, 700,000 people – virtually the entire adult population of Kosovo Albanians – had joined. The LDK established a "shadow government" and a "Parallel Social System" to provide education and health services to the Albanian population, which was either excluded from or chose not to use the equivalent services provided by the Serbian government. An underground Kosovo Assembly was founded with Bujar Bukoshi
Bujar Bukoshi
Bujar Bukoshi was the Minister of Healthcare in Kosovo in the first government of Hashim Thaci. Previously, he served as Prime Minister of Kosovo within the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosova from 1991 to 2000. He graduated from the University of Belgrade's Medical School.-Notes:...
acting as Prime Minister from the safe distance of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The shadow government's activities were mostly funded by the overseas Kosovo Albanian diaspora, based primarily in Germany and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. However, Rugova's government was recognised officially only by the government of Albania.
The Kosovo Albanians boycotted Yugoslav and Serbian elections on the grounds that they would legitimise the Milošević regime and would in any case most likely be rigged. In May 1992, separate elections were held in Kosovo in which Rugova won an overwhelming majority and was elected President of Kosovo. Although there were questions about the fairness and propriety of the elections – they were held virtually in secret in Albanians' houses, there were repeated reports of harassment by state security forces, and there were allegations of vote-rigging – it was nonetheless generally accepted that Rugova was the legitimate winner of this election.
In 1991 the Yugoslav wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
began with the secession of Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
. By the summer of 1992, Yugoslavia was fully absorbed with the wars in Croatia and Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, and had no spare military capacity to deal with conflicts elsewhere. Rugova supported Kosovo's independence but strongly opposed the use of force as a means of achieving it, fearing a Bosnia-style bloodbath. He instead advocated a policy of Gandhi-like passive resistance, stating on a visit to London that
- The slaughterhouse is not the only form of struggle. There is no mass humiliation in Kosovo. We are organised and are operating as a state. It is easy to take to the streets and to head towards suicide, but wisdom lies in eluding a catastrophe.
The Serbian and Yugoslav governments subjected LDK activists and members to considerable harassment and intimidation, and argued that the shadow government was an illegal organisation. However, they did not try to shut down the LDK completely and they allowed him to travel abroad. It seems likely that Milošević saw Rugova as being useful in averting an uprising in Kosovo. The Yugoslav government would have found such a situation difficult to contain at the same time as supporting simultaneous wars in Croatia and Bosnia.
For his part, Rugova stuck to a hard line throughout the 1990s, rejecting any form of negotiation with Serbia's authorities other than on achieving outright independence of Kosovo. A compromise, or a setback in the eyes of his critics, came in 1996 when he reached an agreement with Serbia over educational facilities, under which the parallel shadow education system would not be integrated with that of Serbia.
The slide to war
Rugova's strategy of passive resistance attracted widespread support from the Kosovo Albanian population, who had seen the carnage wrought in Croatia and Bosnia and was wary of facing a similar situation. However, the Dayton AgreementDayton Agreement
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, Dayton Accords, Paris Protocol or Dayton-Paris Agreement, is the peace agreement reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio in November 1995, and formally signed in Paris on...
of 1995, which ended the Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
, seriously weakened Rugova's position. The agreement failed to make any mention of Kosovo and the international community made no serious efforts to resolve the province's ongoing problems. Radicals among the Kosovo Albanian population began to argue that the only way to break the impasse was to launch an armed uprising, in the belief that this would force the outside world to intervene. They blamed Rugova's policy of non-violence for Kosovo's failure to achieve independence.
In 1997, the Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
(KLA) emerged as a fighting force and began carrying out attacks and assassinations against Serbian civilians, paramilitia and security forces as well as Albanians deemed to be "collaborators". The Serbian response was, as the KLA had predicted, forceful and often indiscriminate. By 1998, the KLA had grown into a full-scale guerrilla army, 100,000 Kosovo Albanians were refugees and the province was in a state of virtual civil war. Rugova was re-elected president in the same year and was awarded the Sakharov Prize
Sakharov Prize
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament as a means to honour individuals or organisations who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought...
for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. However, he was by now clearly being eclipsed by the KLA. This was highlighted in February 1999 when he was passed over in favour of the KLA's political chief Hashim Thaçi
Hashim Thaci
Hashim Thaçi is the Prime Minister of Republic of Kosovo, the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo , and former political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army .-Early life and education:...
, who was chosen by the underground Kosovo Assembly to head the Kosovo Albanian negotiating team in the discussions on the aborted Rambouillet Agreement
Rambouillet Agreement
The Rambouillet Agreement is the name of a proposed peace agreement between then-Yugoslavia and a delegation representing the ethnic-Albanian majority population of Kosovo. It was drafted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and named for Chateau Rambouillet, where it was initially proposed...
.
At the end of March 1999, after negotiations at Rambouillet
Château de Rambouillet
The château de Rambouillet is a castle in the town of Rambouillet, Yvelines department, in the Île-de-France region in northern France, southwest of Paris...
had broken down, NATO launched Operation Allied Force
Operation Allied Force
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
to impose a resolution of the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
. Rugova spent the first few weeks of the war under virtual house arrest, along with his family, in Pristina
Pristina
Pristina, also spelled Prishtina and Priština is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and district....
. At the start of April 1999, Rugova was forcefully taken to Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, where he was shown on Serbian state television meeting Milošević and calling for an end to the war.
Rugova was allowed to leave Kosovo for temporary exile in Italy in early May 1999, not long before the war ended. He attracted further criticism for his slowness to return to Kosovo – it was not until July that he arrived back in the province. Nonetheless, he received a hero's welcome and returned to political life under the new United Nations administration in Kosovo.
Post-war
Despite the political damage suffered by Rugova during the war, he soon regained public esteem and won a decisive victory against his political rivals in the KLA. The guerrillas had been welcomed as liberators by Kosovo Albanians but subsequently alienated many by the perception that they were engaging in organised crime, extortion and violence against political opponents and other ethnic groups in Kosovo. When elections were held in Kosovo in October 2000, the LDK won a landslide victory with 58% of the vote. Its nearest rival, Hashim Thaçi's KLA-linked Democratic Party of KosovoDemocratic Party of Kosovo
The Democratic Party of Kosovo is the largest political party in Kosovo . It is a social democratic party and the main leftist party in Kosovo....
, polled only 27%. On Monday, 4 March 2002, Rugova was appointed as President by the Kosovo Assembly, though this only took place at the fourth attempt after lengthy political negotiations.
As the new President of Kosovo – this time formally acknowledged as such by the international community – Rugova continued to campaign for Kosovo's independence from Serbia. However, he insisted that it had to be achieved by peaceful means and with the agreement of all parties. He also pursued a policy of very close relations with the United States, as well as with the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. His incremental approach was criticised by radicals, but he sought to bring along the supporters of the former KLA; in November 2004, he appointed Ramush Haradinaj
Ramush Haradinaj
Ramush Haradinaj is a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army and former prime minister of Kosovo. He leads the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and is among former KLA officers charged of war crimes during the 1999 Kosovo War by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia...
, the former commander of the KLA, as Prime Minister. The following month, Rugova was again elected President by the Kosovo Assembly. Nonetheless, he still encountered violent opposition. On 15 March 2005, he escaped —unhurt —an attempted assassination when a bomb exploded in a waste container
Waste container
A waste container is a container for temporarily storing refuse and waste. Different terms are in use, depending on the language area, the design and material and the respective site .The most general terms are waste receptacle and container bin.Common terms include dustbin ,...
as his car passed by.
Rugova demonstrated a number of unusual traits during his time as President. He was readily identifiable by the silk neckscarf that he wore and was known for his habit of giving visitors samples from his rock collection. His presents were carefully graded; the size of a crystal could reflect Rugova's feelings about the outcome of a meeting, prompting diplomats to compare notes afterwards about the size of the rocks presented to them. He was also a chain-smoker, and it may have been this habit that caused his eventual fatal condition.
On 30 August 2005, Rugova left Kosovo and went to the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Landstuhl Military Hospital
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center
The Landstuhl Regional Medical Center is an overseas military hospital operated by the United States Army and the Department of Defense. LRMC is the largest military hospital outside of the continental United States. It is located near Landstuhl, Germany, and serves as the nearest treatment center...
in Germany for medical treatment after earlier treatment in Pristina and Camp Bondsteel
Camp Bondsteel
Camp Bondsteel is the main base of the United States Army under KFOR command in Kosovo. Located near Uroševac in the eastern part of Kosovo, the base serves as the NATO headquarters for KFOR's Multinational Brigade East . The base is named after Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient United States...
, the main US base in Kosovo and the second-biggest in Europe. After a week at Landstuhl he returned to Kosovo. On 5 September 2005, he announced that he was suffering from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
, but said that he would not be resigning from the post of President. He underwent chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
, conducted by U.S. Army doctors, at his residence in Pristina but the treatment failed to resolve the cancer. He died four months later, on 21 January 2006. He was buried without religious rites on 26 January at a funeral attended by regional leaders and a crowd estimated to number one and a half million people. There are rumors Mr Rugova converted to Catholism but there are no confirmation evidence to this report.
Ukë Rugova
His son, Ukë Rugova is also active in Politics and took part as a candidate in the Kosovan Parliamentary elections 2010Kosovan parliamentary election, 2010
The Kosovan parliamentary election was held in Kosovo on 12 December 2010 following a vote of no confidence in the government that brought forward the election....
.
Books by and about Ibrahim Rugova
- Prekje lirike, [Lyrical Touches], essays, Rilindja, Pristina, 1971;
- Kah teoria, [Towards Theory], essays, Rilindja, Pristina, 1978;
- Bibliografia e kritikës letrare shqiptare 1944-1974, [Bibliography of Albanian Literary Criticism 1944-1974], Instituti Albanologjik, Pristina, 1976 (together with Isak Shema),
- Kritika letrare (nga De Rada te Migjeni), [Literary Criticism], anthology with commentary, Rilindja, Pristina, 1979 (together with Sabri Hamiti);
- Strategjia e kuptimit, [Strategy of Meaning], essays, Rilindja, Pristina, 1980;
- Vepra e Bogdanit 1675-1685, [Bogdani’s Oeuvre 1675-1685], monograph study, Rilindja, Pristina, 1982;
- Kahe dhe premisa të kritikës letrare shqiptare 1504-1983, [Directions and Premises of Albanian Literary Criticism 1504-1983], monograph study, Instituti Albanologjik, Pristina, 1986;
- Refuzimi estetik, [Aesthetic Rejection], essays, Rilindja, Pristina, 1987;
- Pavarësia dhe demokracia, [Independence and Democracy], interviews and other occasional pieces, Fjala, Pristina, 1991;
- Çështja e Kosovës, [The Kosovo Issue], (together with Marie-Françoise Allain and Xavier Galmiche), Dukagjini, Peć, 1994; translation of the original La question du Kosovo – entretiens avec Marie-Francoise Allain et Xavier Galmiche, Preface de Ismail KadareIsmail KadareIsmail Kadare is an Albanian writer. He is known for his novels, although he was first noticed for his poetry collections. In the 1960s he focused on short stories until the publication of his first novel, The General of the Dead Army. In 1996 he became a lifetime member of the Academy of Moral...
, Paris, 1994; - Ibrahim Rugova: “La frêle colosse du Kosovo” , Desclée de Brouwer, Paris, 1999;
- Kompleti i veprave të Ibrahim Rugovës në tetë vëllime [Ibrahim Rugova’s Oeuvre in eight volumes], Faik Konica, Pristina, 2005.
- On the first anniversary of Rugova’s death, the Kosovo Presidency published a book entitled President Rugova, with a Preface by President Fatmir Sejdiu (‘The First Statesman of Kosovo’) and a long introduction by Sabri Hamiti (‘Memento for Rugova’). The book collects some of the President’s major speeches/addresses as a leader and statesman.
- "Rugova: Vizioni nacional", a publicistic book by Vehbi Miftari, „AIKD”, 2007
- "Rugova: The symbol of independence", a publicistic book by Vehbi Miftari „AIKD”, 2008
- "Rugova – mendimi, kultura, politika", a book by Vehbi Miftari, 2010
Honours
- 1995 Peace Prize of Paul Litzer Foundation, Denmark.
- 1996 Honorary Doctorate of University of Paris VIII: Vincennes - Saint-DenisUniversity of Paris VIII: Vincennes - Saint-DenisThe University of Paris VIII or University of Vincennes in Saint-Denis is a public university in Paris. Once part of the federal University of Paris system, it is now an autonomous public institution and is part of the Academy of Créteil...
, France - 1998 Sakharov PrizeSakharov PrizeThe Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament as a means to honour individuals or organisations who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought...
of the European ParliamentEuropean ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. - 1998 Homo Homini AwardHomo Homini AwardThe Homo Homini Award is given annually by the Czech human rights organization People in Need to "an individual in recognition of a dedication to the promotion of human rights, democracy and non-violent solutions to political conflicts"...
for human rights activism, People in NeedPeople In Need (Czech Republic)People in Need is a Czech nonprofit, non-governmental organization that implements humanitarian relief and long term development projects in crisis regions all over the world, while working to defend human rights and democratic freedom.... - 1999 Peace Prize, City of MünsterMünsterMünster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
- 1999 Honorary Citizen of the Cities of VeniceVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and BresciaBresciaBrescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
(Italy). - 2000 Peace Prize of the Democratic Union of CataloniaDemocratic Union of CataloniaThe Democratic Union of Catalonia is a political party in Catalonia, Spain. Together with the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia, it is part of the Convergence and Union coalition.It describes itself as Catalan nationalist and Christian Democrat....
, Barcelona, Spain. - 2003 Prize European Senator of Honour.
- 2004 Honorary Doctorate of TiranaTiranaTirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
University. - 2006 Order of the Flag (posthumously), by President of AlbaniaAlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
Alfred MoisiuAlfred Moisiuwas the fourth President of the Republic of Albania from July 24, 2002 to July 24, 2007. He is the son of Albanian Army general Spiro Moisiu.... - 2007 Order "Hero of Kosovo" (posthumously), by President of Kosovo Fatmir SejdiuFatmir SejdiuFatmir Sejdiu is a politician from Kosovo. He was the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo and was the first President of the Republic of Kosovo.-Early life and education:...
See also
- KosovoKosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
- History of KosovoHistory of KosovoIn antiquity, the Kosovo region in the Balkans was known as Dardania and from the 1st century AD it formed part of the Roman province of Moesia. From c. 700 to 1455, the Kosovo region became part of the Bulgarian Empire, the Byzantine Empire and then the Serbian medieval states, notably Raška...
- Democratic League of KosovoDemocratic League of KosovoThe Democratic League of Kosovo is the second largest political party in Kosovo. It is a conservative and liberal conservative party; the main right-wing party in Kosovo....
- Operation Allied ForceOperation Allied ForceThe NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
- Slobodan MiloševićSlobodan MiloševićSlobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
- Kosovo Liberation ArmyKosovo Liberation ArmyThe Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
Sources
Obituaries:- The Economist on Ibrahim Rugova, 26 January 2006
- Ibrahim Rugova, The Guardian obituary
- Independence leader Rugova given hero's funeral, The Guardian
- Kosovo Albanians Mourn Pro-Independence Leader, The New York Times
- Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo Albanian Leader, Is Dead, The New York Times "Ibrahim Rugova – Profile", Vreme News Digest Agency No 257, 7 September 1996
- San Francisco Chronicle, 22 January 2006
- The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, Financial Times - 23 January 2006
External links
- Official website of the President of Kosovo Book of Condolence Democratic League of Kosovo Assembly of Kosovo Extended bio by CIDOB Foundation
- Kosovo Albanians mourn lost leader
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