Kosovo Polje
Encyclopedia
Kosovo Polje or Fushë Kosova (Albanian
: Fushë Kosovë or Fushë Kosova; Serbian
: Косово Поље / Kosovo Polje, literally "Kosovo Field"or "blackbird field") is a town and municipality
in the Pristina district of central Kosovo
, at 42.63° North, 21.12° East, or approximately eight kilometres south-west of the capital Pristina
. In 2011 the Fushë Kosovë Municipality had a total population of 34,718.
of 1389. In April 1987 it became the scene of a famous incident when Slobodan Milošević
– at the time chairman of the League of Communists of Serbia
– was sent to Kosovo Polje's Hall of Culture (town hall) to calm a crowd of angry Serbs protesting at what they saw as anti-Serb discrimination by the Albanian-dominated Kosovo administration. When Serb citizens complained they had been beaten by Albanian police, he told them that "No one has the right to beat you ... No one will beat you ever." The incident earned Milošević the support of Serbian people, propelling him to the presidency of Serbia two years later.
Prior to the 1999 Kosovo War
, Kosovo Polje was the town in Kosovo in which the Serb population formed its largest percentage at 24%. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimated in March 1998 that its population (estimated at 40,000) was around 24% Serb, 59% Albanian and 17% from other national communities.
Kosovo Polje saw considerable violence before, during and after the war. In December 1998, the Serb deputy mayor of Kosovo Polje was killed by Kosovo Liberation Army
fighters despite reportedly taking a moderate line on Serb-Albanian relations. Kidnaps and assassinations of Serbs and Albanians continued until the war began. The town's Albanian population was forcibly expelled, reportedly by local Serbs and paramilitaries, and many local Albanians were killed.
At the war's end in June 1999, most of the Albanian population returned while many of the town's Serbs were expelled. The remaining Serb population found themselves in an enclave in an Albanian-dominated region. Thousands of Serbs and Roma from other parts of Kosovo, who had fled their homes, took refuge in Kosovo Polje, where a large refugee camp was established.
Ethnic tension flared repeatedly in the years after the war and a number of Serbs were killed by Albanian nationalists. Under this continuing pressure, the Serb population of Kosovo Polje shrank steadily until, by July 2002, the newspaper Blic
was reporting that only 550 Serbs remained in Kosovo Polje. The town was seriously affected by the March 2004 unrest in Kosovo, which saw a number of Serb houses burned and more Serbs forced to flee (the Serbian government claimed that 2,000 people had been expelled, though this is inconsistent with the earlier reports of the number of Serbs in the town). A number are reported to have returned since then and at least some of the destroyed properties have been rebuilt by the UNMIK.
Source: UN Municipal Community Office. Accurate figures for the April 2002, but previous year’s statistics are estimate only, due to lack of insufficient data. It is noted that the 1991 census was highly politicised and is thus unreliable. Ref: OSCE
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
: Fushë Kosovë or Fushë Kosova; Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
: Косово Поље / Kosovo Polje, literally "Kosovo Field"or "blackbird field") is a town and municipality
Municipalities of Kosovo
A Municipality is the basic administrative division in Kosovo.-List of Municipalities:The first name is Serbian and the second one is Albanian:* Dečani / Deçan* Dragaš / Dragash* Đakovica / Gjakovë* Glogovac / Gllogovc * Gnjilane / Gjilan...
in the Pristina district of central 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...
, at 42.63° North, 21.12° East, or approximately eight kilometres south-west of the capital 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....
. In 2011 the Fushë Kosovë Municipality had a total population of 34,718.
History
Kosovo Polje is the nearest town to the site of the Battle of KosovoBattle of Kosovo
The Battle of Kosovo took place on St. Vitus' Day, June 15, 1389, between the army led by Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Murad I...
of 1389. In April 1987 it became the scene of a famous incident when Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan 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...
– at the time chairman of the League of Communists of Serbia
League of Communists of Serbia
The League of Communists of Serbia was the Serbian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the sole legal party of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1990. Under a new constitution ratified in 1974, greater power was devolved to the various republic level branches. In the late 1980s, the party was...
– was sent to Kosovo Polje's Hall of Culture (town hall) to calm a crowd of angry Serbs protesting at what they saw as anti-Serb discrimination by the Albanian-dominated Kosovo administration. When Serb citizens complained they had been beaten by Albanian police, he told them that "No one has the right to beat you ... No one will beat you ever." The incident earned Milošević the support of Serbian people, propelling him to the presidency of Serbia two years later.
Prior to the 1999 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...
, Kosovo Polje was the town in Kosovo in which the Serb population formed its largest percentage at 24%. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimated in March 1998 that its population (estimated at 40,000) was around 24% Serb, 59% Albanian and 17% from other national communities.
Kosovo Polje saw considerable violence before, during and after the war. In December 1998, the Serb deputy mayor of Kosovo Polje was killed by 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....
fighters despite reportedly taking a moderate line on Serb-Albanian relations. Kidnaps and assassinations of Serbs and Albanians continued until the war began. The town's Albanian population was forcibly expelled, reportedly by local Serbs and paramilitaries, and many local Albanians were killed.
At the war's end in June 1999, most of the Albanian population returned while many of the town's Serbs were expelled. The remaining Serb population found themselves in an enclave in an Albanian-dominated region. Thousands of Serbs and Roma from other parts of Kosovo, who had fled their homes, took refuge in Kosovo Polje, where a large refugee camp was established.
Ethnic tension flared repeatedly in the years after the war and a number of Serbs were killed by Albanian nationalists. Under this continuing pressure, the Serb population of Kosovo Polje shrank steadily until, by July 2002, the newspaper Blic
Blic (newspaper)
Blic is a tabloid daily newspaper in Serbia owned by Ringier AG group from Switzerland.Started in 1996, it has gone through a slight format change during the mid 2000s to include more in-depth coverage, but it is still, as its name aptly suggest, a paper devoted to quick, concise,...
was reporting that only 550 Serbs remained in Kosovo Polje. The town was seriously affected by the March 2004 unrest in Kosovo, which saw a number of Serb houses burned and more Serbs forced to flee (the Serbian government claimed that 2,000 people had been expelled, though this is inconsistent with the earlier reports of the number of Serbs in the town). A number are reported to have returned since then and at least some of the destroyed properties have been rebuilt by the UNMIK.
Demographics
| Ethnic Composition, Including IDPs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Albanians | % | Serbs | % | Ashkali | % | Roma | % | Other | % | Total |
| 1991 | 17,374 | 53.4 | 8,346 | 25.7 | 32,500 | ||||||
| 1998 | 23,600 | 59 | 9,600 | 24 | 40,000 | ||||||
| June 2000 | 34,000 | 84 | 4,000 | 10 | 2,600 | 6.4 | 300 | 0.7 | 60 | 0.14 | 40,500 |
| April 2002 | 34,000 | 85 | 3,239 | 8 | 2,259 | 5.6 | 388 | 1 | 21 | 0.05 | 40,000 |
Source: UN Municipal Community Office. Accurate figures for the April 2002, but previous year’s statistics are estimate only, due to lack of insufficient data. It is noted that the 1991 census was highly politicised and is thus unreliable. Ref: OSCE