Date: January 15, 1999
On this day with SHAC in 1999, the Račak Massacre occurred in central Kosovo. During this attack on the village or Račak, perpetrated by Serbian security forces, at least 45 Kosovo Albanians were slaughtered in a mass killing that was a suspected order from Slobodan Milošević’s office. Milošević was the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at the time, and his involvement was suspected, as the Serb government refused to let a war crimes prosecutor visit the site,and maintained that the casualties were all members of the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army killed in combat by state security forces.
This massacre became a major factor for NATO deciding to use force against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to end its campaign of violence against Kosovo Albanians. At the time of the killings, the Kosovo War was nearing the middle of its duration, and was claiming lives on both sides. However, after the killings occurred, NATO stepped in and, with support from the air, ended the raging war. In the midst of the strike led by the NATO forces on Yugoslavia, Milošević was charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) with war crimes including genocide, as well as crimes against humanity in connection to the wars in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo.
With the war in Kosovo mirroring the events in Ukraine, with some wishing for independence, while others fighting to be a part of Russia, it shows that history can repeat itself if problems – like a lack of nationalism and the ignorance of identity – are allowed to continue. If the Serbians and the Albanians had only been afforded the opportunity to reach a diplomatic agreement over their differences, rather than being egged on to fight by individuals like Slobodan Milošević, then they may have been able to avoid the blatant disregard for the basic human rights of life, liberty, and security of person.