International press and diplomatic circumstances in Kosovo in the years 1988-1990

Abstract

The dramatic events of 1988 and 1989 years in Kosovo, followed by strikes, protests and demonstrations in defense of the autonomy of Kosovo began with "Trepca" miner’s incarceration in seven-day strikes in the depths of the mine galleries. Students and Kosovo people continued strikes, affected agencies and the strongest international newspaper journalists to come in Kosovo and inform their readers what actually was happening in Kosovo. Events in Kosovo undertaken by internal affairs organs of the Yugoslav Federation caused numerous reactions in domestic opinion as well as in the international. CNN, BBC, France Press, DPA, Corriere della Sera, ANSA and many other mediums were giving a completely true situation in front of other official state propaganda then. These media correspondents were reporting on the continuing violence arrests and killings of Kosovo citizens by these state bodies. These were brave journalists who disseminated in public the appearance of intellectuals isolated in Kosovo that were being held in prisons without the right decision and the question of: What would happen to them if they do not come on the front pages of news in these media? As a merit of their work, Kosovo came on the front pages of all prestigious international journals which set in motion the intellectual elite of their countries and official reactions to the states. Thanks to these reports Kosovo for the first time was visited by a European Parliament delegation who was informed closely with the real situation.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n19p274