Humanitarian Intervention: The Kosovo Crisis

METAKOSOVO: A PERSPECTIVE OF THE EVENTS THROUGH VARIOUS LENSES

• INTRODUCTION

The Kosovo Crisis is a war that garnered international attention and intervention. The need for humanitarian intervention highlights the political realism perspective and the international community’s reaction to this need. The actual war stems from another perspective, the theory of structural realism and the struggle for power and freedom by the Kosovans.

• THE KOSOVO CRISIS

The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 5 March 1998 until 11 June 1999. It was battled by the powers of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (at this point, comprising of the Republics of Montenegro and Serbia), which controlled Kosovo before the war, and the Kosovo Albanian

The definition of humanitarian intervention will entail: “the threat of use of force across state borders by a state (or group of states) aimed at preventing or ending widespread and grave violations of the fundamental human rights of individuals other than its own citizens, without the permission of the state within whose territory force is applied.” (Holzgrefe 2003, 18). The general understanding of humanitarian intervention is the use of military force by a state or a group of states (including through UN structures) to protect foreign nationals from intrastate abuse and conflict, without the consent of the sovereign power in the given

o Use of child soldiers:

The Kosovo Liberation Army consisted of 10 percent of insurgents between the ages of 13-18. The KLA also hired girls to cook for the army. o Organ theft:

It was and still is a major problem in Kosovo. During the initial days of the war, many Serbians were killed and had many organs removed which were sold in the black market. This issue came to light in 2010-11, but the case was dismissed under the premise of ‘no evidence’ concerning the allegations by the European Parliament. The head of the European Law and Justice Mission in Kosovo said that "The fact is that there is no evidence whatsoever in this case, no bodies. No witnesses. All the reports and media attention to this issue have not been helpful to us. In fact they have not been helpful to anyone." o Destruction:

The KLA destroyed close to 155 Orthodox Serbian Churches from the war era to the unrest in Kosovo in 2004. The KLA are also accused of vandalising murals, paintings, monasteries,