History of Discrimination in Yugoslavia

History of Discrimination in Yugoslavia Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Date History of Discrimination in Yugoslavia Introduction The numerous cases of discrimination in Yugoslavia were mainly fueled by the virtual disintegration of central authority, constant armed conflicts in Croatia and the continuous repression in Kosovo. All these issues led to a dramatic worsening of discrimination since 1991. Argument By the end of 1991, the federal government of Yugoslavia did not function anymore and the European community made the choice of acknowledging Croatia and Slovenia by the beginning of 1992. Serbia, however, controlled the federal army during this period (Ingrao, 2012). This only led to nationalist republican governments with harmful policies that led to numerous violations of the civil and political rights of minorities. The paper will, therefore, provide a historical evidence of discrimination in Yugoslavia and the consequences of this issue to the people, which was significantly rampant. Evidence In 1989, the basis of repression by the Serbian government against the ethnic Albanians was that it was a partial attempt that was carried out to protect the Serbian minorities within the Kosovo province from abuse that they had suffered at the hands of the Albanian majority. This was the rationale of the government and not just simply focused on the subjugation of the ethnic Albanian population (Rusinow, 2008). By the end of 1990, there no longer appeared to be a suitable justification for this rationale that the Serbian government intervention within this region focused on safeguarding the rights of the Serbian minority. Slobodan Milosevic, who was the Serbian President during this period stated in most of his speeches that Serbia’s reclaiming of power over Kosovo was the only justification of tacking back the ancient birthplace of the Serbians. The Serbian government, therefore, undertook an ambitious program that focused on resettlement of the Serbians in Kosovo or the purpose of taking the entire Kosovo province (Hayden, 2012). This resettlement was accompanied by a policy that focused on the displacement of ethnic Albanians from schools, government and workplaces. Ultimately, the policy only led to huge violations of human rights and also the imposition of a military occupation on the civilian population (Rusinow, 2008). In 1990, ethnic Albanians in Kosovo were arrested, beaten and in some cases tortured in prison. Serbian police units constantly utilized excessive force as they confronted ethnic Albanian demonstrator which led to killings of more than fifty Albanians in 1990 alone (Hayden, 2012). The oppression of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo by the Serbian government in 1991 is one of the most protracted human rights issues in Yugoslavia. These discriminatory practices included physical mistreatment and also systematic discrimination which increased dramatically during this period (Ingrao, 2012). Most Albanian professionals especially those that worked in healthcare and education sectors were dismissed from their jobs and replaced with Serbian and Montenegrin employees. During this period, over twenty thousand Alba...