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How did the ICTY handle the Kosovo war?
Initially it was believed that Kosovo would provide all the evidence it needed to convict Milosevic and others of genocide and war crimes.
Did this happen?
No.
Why not?
Because, one by one, all the major claims of Serb brutality in Kosovo collapsed under scrutiny.
How so?
The first blow came from the international forensic and DNA teams brought to Kosovo to discover the mass graves that were supposed to contain hundreds of thousands of executed Kosovo Albanians. These teams all left saying there were no such graves and there was no job for them to do.
What else?
The world started to become aware of the true nature of the Kosovo Albanian regime when it became clear that the tidal wave of drug and people smuggling that swept across Europe in the early 2000s was organised crime initiated in Kosovo.
Anything more?
Yes. Some voices began to be heard making the evident point that it was not Kosovo’s Serbs who had been oppressing the Kosovo Albanians – quite the reverse. The huge Albanian majority had been ruthlessly oppressing the remaining Serbs in Kosovo.
But doesn’t that suggest that Kosovo was essentially Albanian?
No. It shows that Albanians – thanks to Tito’s open border policy, the appalling regime of Enver Hoxha and the fastest birth-rate in Europe – had effectively colonised Kosovo by turning themselves from a minority in the early 20th century to an overwhelming majority by the 1990s.
So why do Serbs still want Kosovo?
It is the oldest part of Serbia and the cradle of Serbian culture. Kosovo Serbs did not leave of their volition. They were driven out and many would return if they felt it was safe to do so.