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.
[10] In the aftermath of World War Two, Yugoslavia was governed by communist authorities who implemented various modernisation drives toward changing the architectural landscape and design of urban settlements.
[12] Buildings who had protection status received funding for historical preservation, while unlisted mosques, many from the Ottoman period that were renovated during this time was done without the Institute's supervision often resulting in damage or original architectural elements being destroyed.
[13][16] The Yugoslav Serbian Ministry of Justice claimed that the removal of public records from Kosovo to Serbia in 1999 was "to prevent the Albanian secessionists from destroying or forging [them]".
[18] According to the Islamic Community of Kosovo the duration of conflict resulted in an estimated 217 mosques being damaged, destroyed or demolished along with 4 madrassas (traditional Muslim schools) and 3 Sufi lodges.
[21] In an in depth survey conducted by Physicians for Human Rights of Kosovo Albanian refugees, it found they were often not present to see the destruction of Islamic architecture due to their flight.
[17] Additionally 500 or 90 percent of kulla dwellings belonging to prominent Albanian families along with historic bazaars were targeted; where three out of four well preserved Ottoman period urban centres located in Kosovo cities being badly damaged resulting in great loss of traditional architecture.
[22] In Kosovo, the destruction of historical architecture occurred within the context of the Serbian campaign of ethnic cleansing which followed a pattern that happened in Bosnia and was made worse, due to lessons of efficiency learned from that conflict.
[6] Harvard University scholars Andrew Herscher and András Riedlmayer[6] note that the destruction of individual homes and properties in addition to historic architecture signified that the entire Kosovo Albanian population was targeted as a culturally defined entity during the conflict.
[23] Andrew Herscher and Andras Riedlmayer instead conducted research, raised funds and 3 months after the 1999 war ended went in October to Kosovo and documented damage done to cultural heritage institutions and buildings.
[23] With the conclusion of the field survey, their findings and documentation were placed into a database, a final report was written with copies given to the Department of Culture of the UN Mission in Kosovo and the Office of the Prosecutor presiding over the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague.
[24] In his defense, Milošević asserted that Kosovo Albanian heritage sites, in addition to Serb Orthodox historical and religious monuments were damaged by NATO bombing.
[25] Yugoslav Serb authorities in several cases alleged that NATO destroyed monuments, however the investigative team led by András Riedlmayer found them intact like two Ottoman bridges and the Sinan Pasha Mosque.
[25] Riedlmayer's report to the trial concluded that kulla dwellings and a third of mosques were subjected to damage and destruction, with three Ottoman period urban centres being devastated due to intentionally lit fires.
[26] Destruction of multiple Serbian churches occurred in a post-conflict environment done by members of the Albanian community, who viewed that architectural heritage as a surrogate for revenge against the Milošević government and its military forces for violence committed during the Kosovo conflict (1998-1999).
[27][28] The Serbian government has used such attacks as a basis to petition the United Nations to allow its police and armed forces to return and guard historical monuments in Kosovo.
[30] In all, some 211 mosques damaged due to the Kosovo conflict have been reconstructed through contributions from donors and local communities, non-governmental agencies and foreign governments such as assistance from some Muslim countries, in particular Turkey and Arab states.
