Copyright Heroes Past and Present
Designed and developed by Stuart Gradwell and Helen Robinson. www.twoequal.com
Yugoslavia consisted of 6 constituent republics: Bosnia/ Hercegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. It shares boundaries with Hungary and Romania and is separated from Italy by the Mediterranean Sea.
Although Kosovo is within Serbia, the population consisted largely of ethnic Albanians in the South and Serbs in the North.
Following the death of President Tito in 1980, ethnic tensions rose to the surface once again with ethnic Albanians resenting Serb rule. The Serb leader, Slobodan Milosovic attempted to bring Kosovo under the direct control of Serbia – even to the extent of changing the official language from Albanian to Serbian.
After 6 years of oppression, many Kosovans attempted to follow the lead of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Macedonia to break away from Serbian rule by establishing an armed resistance movement, The Kosovan Liberation Army (KLA). The fierce response by Slobodan Milosovic caused widespread international concern.
