The Balkans has a long and complex history. What is the story behind the headlines?
by Cecil E. Maranville
A broader perspective of
the Balkans is needed than what the electronic news media typically
provides. Much information about this "campaign" cum war is
presented in the form of fast moving video clips and short sound bites.
A more valuable insight can be gained in part from history, and in
part from holding current events up against the backdrop of biblical
prophecy.
Population statistics for the Kosovo
of early 1999 indicate there were between one and two million people,
90 percent of which were ethnic Albanians. In the mid-60s the population
of Kosovo was roughly 75 percent Albanian and 25 percent Serb. A quarter
century before that it was about 65 percent Albanian descent and 35
percent Serb. But as recently as 1918, the ethnic Serbs and Albanians
were relatively equal in size in Kosovo. What happened to the
Serbs that used to live in Kosovo? That's a long and complex story
that has much to do with recent events. They were forced out in part
by the knives and guns of Albanian militia, in part by the troops of
Mussolini, in part by the governing policies of Marshall Tito, and
in part by economic forces.
Yugoslavia, meaning "Southern Slavs," was
literally created by the Allied Powers after World War I. From its
inception it was an unstable, bitterly divided kingdom in which its
various ethnic groups feuded with each other. Marshall Josip Broz Tito
governed Yugoslavia from 1953-1980, and did much to create the present
situation. It was in his best interest to encourage various rival ethnic
groups to dominate different parts of the country. In line with that
strategy, he refused to allow Serbs to return to Kosovo after WWII
and encouraged immigration by and growth of the ethnic Albanians. A
one-percent payroll tax was imposed upon all of Yugoslavia to subsidize
the development of Kosovo along Tito's design. He established an autonomous
government in the region (Serbs who live in Kosovo, from that day up
to the present time, are required by law to study the Albanian language
from the 7th to the 12th grades).
