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Ibrahim Rugova, the most prominent Kosovo Albanian leader during the 1990s, was the “President” of the parallel Kosovo state, unrecognised by Serbia, from 1992 through 1999. |
Ibrahim Rugova answers questions about a conversation he had with Slobodan Milošević in Belgrade on 2 April 1999, in which Rugova told him about crimes being committed in Kosovo by Serb forces:
"Q. You've told us of what was being done by way of crimes committed against the people. Did you make any mention of that to him?
A. I made some mention, but he certainly knew. In fact, I didn't go into details, but I mentioned them, what was happening those days.
Q. And in particular, because we need to know what it was you told him, what did you tell him of what was being done in Kosovo by Serb forces or those working with them?
A. I expressed my concern over my associates first, and told him that people are being driven out of Kosova by military and police forces and other groups. I asked him to find out what was the matter, to do something, and he was listening to me."
Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo’s most important leader during the 1990s, provided testimony that supported the Prosecution’s contention that Slobodan Milošević intended to rid Kosovo of its ethnic Albanian population. Rugova was also one of a number of the Prosecution’s witnesses who put Milošević on notice that forces under his command or control were committing massive crimes in Kosovo in March 1999 after the NATO bombing campaign began.
Rugova testified about widespread repression of Kosovo Albanians in Kosovo by the Serbian regime, then led by Slobodan Milošević, throughout the 1990s. Until 1989, Kosovo had enjoyed autonomy under the former Yugoslav constitution. But that all changed in March when, under Milošević’s influence, Kosovo’s autonomy was revoked. After that, Rugova testified, Kosovo became a virtual police state.
By 1991 all ethnic Albanian police officers had been dismissed from their jobs, Kosovo Albanian language media were closed down, and Kosovo Albanian pupils could not enter their schools. Rugova claimed that “in this period, about 150,000 [Kosovo] Albanian workers were expelled from their jobs, and at that time there were about 240,000 people employed in Kosovo as a whole.” Kosovo Albanian political activists were targeted, and ordinary citizens were “maltreated, detained, stopped at checkpoints (…), or might be punished for some minor things.”
Rugova told the court that as a result of this repression, in September 1991 about 98 or 99% of Kosovo Albanians voted for independence in a referendum which was considered illegal by Belgrade. Kosovo Albanians set up parallel government structures to provide basic social services to the population. In 1992, Rugova was elected President of this “parallel state”.
Rugova and his party, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), maintained overwhelming popular support for their policy of achieving independence by peaceful means. However, the LDK’s political dominance among the ethnic Albanian community was eroded from around 1998 by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) which challenged Serb-rule over the territory by armed resistance.
When this happened, Milošević, then President of Yugoslavia, called Rugova and other Kosovo Albanian leaders to a meeting in Belgrade on 15 May 1998. The delegation informed Milošević about their plan for an independent Kosovo and asked him to stop the violence. Milošević answered that the violence in the province was perpetrated by terrorists and that the state had to respond in such a harsh manner. Rugova testified that no real progress was achieved during the meeting.
Rugova gave evidence that on his return from the meeting, he saw the situation in Kosovo deteriorate. He saw the army, together with tanks, on the move throughout the province. Shortly afterward, the first refugees from Kosovo crossed to Albania, expelled from their villages by Serb forces.
Rugova told the Court that peace talks held in Rambouillet, France, in February 1999 did nothing to stop the Serbian push. When Rugova returned to the province in March 1999, he saw that many villages had been completely deserted.
On 24 March 1999 NATO started its bombing campaign against Serbian forces in Kosovo and the rest of Yugoslavia. Rugova stayed in Pristina, where he witnessed Serb forces expelling the town’s population en masse. On 31 March 1991 Serbian soldiers and police broke into his house, putting him under house arrest. He testified that he was forced to travel to Belgrade to meet with Milošević on 2 April 1999, and to appear on television. “It was not something that I wanted at all, but the accused had requested it and that was what was conveyed to me. And if I hadn't gone, there would have been consequences,” Rugova explained.
Rugova testified that he believed that the meeting with Milošević was largely staged for Serb propaganda purposes. In his view, Milošević was not interested in solving any issues, and had no comments on Rugova’s reports of violence in the province. Rugova said that Milošević was very keen on publicising the meeting, broadcasting it on television and forcing Rugova to sign a statement to the press that both sides were committed to resolving the conflict by political means. This statement was later presented in the media as an “agreement”.
Rugova stated that he was also forced to sign another, more comprehensive, agreement with the then President of Serbia Milan Milutinović, later indicted by the Tribunal as one of Milošević’s accomplices. The text said that Rugova agreed to the creation of self-government in Kosovo, which was to remain a part of Yugoslavia. Rugova claimed that this “agreement” was handed to him as a fait accompli. “I had the occasional suggestion, but it was no use. So this was nothing to do with my own will.… It was signed without any talks at all.”
Rugova was aware that he was being exploited. He repeatedly asked to be allowed to leave Kosovo, but to no avail. “Of course, they thought that they could compromise me politically and discredit me in the eyes of the Kosovar public, the Albanian public, and they also wanted to foment conflicts on the Albanian political stage among Albanians. This was no doubt the purpose of this exercise, the purpose of what they were doing to me,” explained Rugova. Milošević finally allowed him to leave for Italy during their last meeting on 4 May 1999.
Ibrahim Rugova founded the political party Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) in 1989. The LDK, which had the support of 90% of the ethnic Albanian population of Kosovo, advocated for Kosovo’s independence by peaceful means. The party established a “shadow government” that provided basic government and social services to the Kosovo Albanian population, including education and health care, in effect creating a parallel state. In May 1992, Rugova was elected “President” of this parallel state. In March 2002, with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo administering the province, he was elected President of Kosovo. He held this position until his death in January 2006.
Read Ibrahim Rugova full testimony on 3 May 2002 and on 6 May 2002.