Destruction of Albanian heritage in Kosovo

The architectural heritage of the Kosovo Albanians during Yugoslav rule was shown institutionalised disregard for decades prior to outright conflict at the end of the 20th century.^[1]^[2] Numerous Albanian cultural sites in Kosovo were destroyed during the period of Yugoslav rule and especially the Kosovo conflict (1998-1999) which constituted a war crime violating the Hague and Geneva Conventions.^[1] In all, 225 out of 600 mosques in Kosovo were damaged, vandalised, or destroyed alongside other Islamic architecture during the conflict.^[3]^[4] Additionally 500 Albanian owned kulla dwellings (traditional stone tower houses) and three out of four well-preserved Ottoman period urban centres located in Kosovo cities were badly damaged resulting in great loss of traditional architecture.^[5]^[6] Kosovo's public libraries, of which 65 out of 183 were completely destroyed, amounted to a loss of 900,588 volumes, while Islamic libraries sustained damage or destruction resulting in the loss of rare books, manuscripts and other collections of literature.^[7]^[8] Archives belonging to the Islamic Community of Kosovo, records spanning 500 years, were also destroyed.^[7]^[8] During the war, Islamic architectural heritage posed for Yugoslav Serb paramilitary and military forces as Albanian patrimony with destruction of non-Serbian architectural heritage being a methodical and planned component of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.^[6]^[9]

^ ^a ^b Herscher & Riedlmayer 2000, pp. 109–110. "Reciprocally, architectural heritage associated with Kosovo’s Albanian majority has been subjected to institutionalized disregard in the management of Kosovo’s cultural heritage and, during the 1998-1999 conflict, catastrophic destruction. While this destruction constitutes a war crime in violation of the Hague and Geneva Conventions, it is also the counterpart to a sanctioned cultural heritage policy carried out for decades before the war."
^ Brosché et al. 2017, p. 250. "For instance, before the Kosovo War of 1998–1989, Kosovar cultural property such as mosques from the Ottoman age was, with a few exceptions, not protected by Serbian legislation."
^ Cite error: The named reference Herscher87 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Mehmeti72 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference HerscherRiedlmayer111112 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Bevan85 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Riedlmayer124 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference FrederiksenBakken3839 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Herscher 2010, p. 13. "One aspect of this consolidation involved the narration of late-socialist vandalism against Serbian Orthodox graves and cemeteries as "ethnic violence" carried out by Kosovar Albanians against Serbs; another involved the postsocialist destruction of Islamic buildings posed as Albanian patrimony by Serb military and paramilitary forces."

[HerscherRiedlmayer109110-1] Herscher & Riedlmayer 2000, pp. 109–110. "Reciprocally, architectural heritage associated with Kosovo’s Albanian majority has been subjected to institutionalized disregard in the management of Kosovo’s cultural heritage and, during the 1998-1999 conflict, catastrophic destruction. While this destruction constitutes a war crime in violation of the Hague and Geneva Conventions, it is also the counterpart to a sanctioned cultural heritage policy carried out for decades before the war."

[BroscheLegnerKreutzIjla250-2] Brosché et al. 2017, p. 250. "For instance, before the Kosovo War of 1998–1989, Kosovar cultural property such as mosques from the Ottoman age was, with a few exceptions, not protected by Serbian legislation."

[Herscher87-3] Cite error: The named reference Herscher87 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Mehmeti72-4] Cite error: The named reference Mehmeti72 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[HerscherRiedlmayer111112-5] Cite error: The named reference HerscherRiedlmayer111112 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Bevan85-6] Cite error: The named reference Bevan85 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Riedlmayer124-7] Cite error: The named reference Riedlmayer124 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FrederiksenBakken3839-8] Cite error: The named reference FrederiksenBakken3839 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Herscher13-9] Herscher 2010, p. 13. "One aspect of this consolidation involved the narration of late-socialist vandalism against Serbian Orthodox graves and cemeteries as "ethnic violence" carried out by Kosovar Albanians against Serbs; another involved the postsocialist destruction of Islamic buildings posed as Albanian patrimony by Serb military and paramilitary forces."

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