yugoslavias implosion

discrimination, which was then stepped up by Milošević in the late
1980s. After Serbian military forces withdrew from Kosovo in June
1999, they were located along the Kosovo border in the vicinity of the
three municipalities. Under the pressure of this intimidating Serbian
military presence, Albanians began to emigrate to Kosovo—for
instance, only 5 percent of Albanians who had resided in Medveđa
before the intervention remained in the town by 2001. Nato, the
United States, and the European Union pressed Belgrade to relocate
its troops further from the border, and Belgrade did so, resulting in a
cessation of Albanian emigration. In return, the government in Belgrade
received support and financial credit from the West. Nebojša
Čović, who skilfully negotiated with the United States and European
Union, proposed a plan in 2001 to split Kosovo into two entities:
a Serbian entity comprising most Serbian historical and cultural
monuments and an Albanian one in which the majority of Albanians
would live. The Serbian entity would be under the protection of
the Yugoslav Army and police, whereas the Albanian entity, which
would have the highest level of autonomy, would be protected by
international forces. Yugoslav and kfor border troops would ensure
that no attacks were launched by one entity on the other. This plan,
Čović said, presupposed the “relinquishment of maximum demands,
i.e. both the Albanian and Serb side ought to rid themselves of the
illusion that the whole of Kosovo belongs to either.” 454 The crisis that
had meanwhile erupted in Macedonia in 2001 reinforced the thesis in
Belgrade that the Balkans should be recomposed along ethnic lines.
Such ideas and proposals were supported by major Serbian institutions,
including the Institute of Modern History. Nikola Popović,
the director of the institute, said that “there will be no peace on the
conflict, some 70 percent were Serbs, the remainder Albanians . Almost all the Albanians
fled, and only some 800 have returned . Preševo is almost 90 percent Albanian . Bujanovac,
approximately 55 percent Albanian, 34 percent Serbian and 9 percent Roma . See the Republic
of Serbia, “Zavod za statistiku ‘Saopstenje CH31’”, Br . 295, god .LII, 24 December 2002 .
454 Danas, May 21, 2001 .
257
ChApter 3