Secessionism and Terrorism: Bombs, Blood and Independence in Europe and Eurasia by Glen M. E. Duerr

Author:Glen M. E. Duerr [Duerr, Glen M. E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781138595514
Amazon: B07FSK54P1
Barnesnoble: B07FSK54P1
Goodreads: 44424095
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2018-08-02T00:00:00+00:00

Legitimization

As a result of the international involvement in Bosnia, the Serbian government was already under close scrutiny. When hostilities sparked in Kosovo, reactions from international actors were swift. The fear of allowing a repeat of Bosnia motivated international actors to pay close attention to Belgrade’s actions in Kosovo. Consequently, in 1993, UN Security Council issued Resolution 855 (August 9, 1993) in which it warned Belgrade that it was “determined to avoid any extension of the conflict in Yugoslavia.” In 1997, the Contact Group for the former Yugoslavia that had first convened to resolve the conflict in Bosnia voiced deep concerns over the situation in Kosovo. When hostilities escalated in 1998, UN Security Council responded with Resolution 1160, and NATO issued a statement on May 28, 1998 encouraging Milosevic to peacefully resolve the crisis. As fighting escalated, so did international concerns, eventually leading to the international intervention in Kosovo.

As discussed in the previous section, initially international actors concurred with Milosevic in viewing the KLA as a terrorist organization. However, as Milosevic stepped up his response in Kosovo, the international community started viewing the KLA actions as proportionate to the actions of the Serbian government. This way, in disapproval of the bloodshed in Kosovo, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright warned that the United States was not “going to stand by and watch the Serbian authorities do in Kosovo what they can no longer get away with doing in Bosnia” (Erlanger 1998). When asked about the nature of the group, Albright did not call the KLA a terrorist group but instead justified its actions as provoked by the Serbs:

We were concerned by some of the activities of the KLA. We did know that they were involved in some provocative activity. But it was also evident that what the Serbs were doing to the Kosovars was enough to provoke anything.

(Frontline 2000)

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