A WebQuest for High School

Designed by

Judy Gressel gresselj@nttc.org

Introduction | Task | Process | Resources |Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits| Teacher Page

Introduction

In the Spring of 1999, NATO launched an air war against Yugoslavia to stop Serbs from terrorizing Albanians. The ethnic cleansing of Kosovo expanded and intensified despite military intervention by the international community. The U.S. State Department reported on ten broad categories of human rights violations in Kosovo: forced expulsions, looting, burning, detentions, use of human shields, summary executions, exhumation of mass graves, systematic and organized rape, violations of medical neutrality, and a new type of ethnic cleansing, identity cleansing. At the end of the 20th century, war waged between armed soldiers dressed up in uniform fighting only against each other is extremely rare. The trend now is that 90 percent of war-associated casualties occur in the civilian population. In Hague, the UN has assembled the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia which is investigating the genocide in Kosovo. The War Crimes Tribunal will test the reach of international law and the will of governments to bring high officials to justice.

With your group, design a panel discussion (15 minutes in length), to be presented to the class (audience) which answers the following questions:

Will the process of the War Crimes Tribunal be likely to oust Slobodan Milosevic from power in the former Yugoslavia? Will this process be an effective weapon in curtailing other leaders from directing genocide and other heinous war crimes?

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1) All discussion panel members should familiarize themselves with basic background information about the war in Kosovo.

Origins Of The Kosovo War

http://www.calong.dircon.co.uk/other.kosovowar.html

Kosovo Connection: Web Links Teaching Resource http://asweb.unco.edu/kosovoconnecti/links_page.htm

Kosovo: A Bitter Struggle in a Land of Strife --Includes recent news, background information, timelines, maps, literature guide, web guide, and a Quiz. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/specials/kosovo/

Kosovo Crisis: Who's Who and What's What? A Quiz http://www.nytimes.com/learning/students/quiz/kosovo.html

2) Each group should assemble a panel of experts. One student should be a discussion moderator, and the others can take one of the following roles and think about these questions:

(You may also establish other roles and questions for any other roles!)

UN High Commissioner for Refugees

• Describe the plight of the Kosovo refugees during and after the war.
• Is there continuing aid by the international community?

War Crimes Tribunal Investigator

• What evidence is there of NATO war crimes?
• What evidence is there of war crimes by high officials in the former Yugoslavia?
• Does this new era of humanitarian interventions in foreign wars appears to be the result of a trend of increased casualties in civilian populations?

War Crimes Tribunal Prosecutor

• Will Milosevic and his aides be convicted at the Hague tribunal?
• Is conviction possible if the perpetrators are not apprehended?
• Will the Serbian people bring their high officials to justice?

Lawyer Specializing in International Law

• How do the laws of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their two protocols of 1977 inject of modicum of restraint and predictability in war zones?
• What can realistically be accomplished by international law in the face of a genocidal leader?

Officer of the NATO Peacekeeping Force (KFOR)

• Will the NATO troops have to stay forever to prevent ethnic violence and slaughter?
• Is there continued bloodshed despite the presence of NATO forces?
• Is the existence of the Kosovo Liberation Army against UN and NATO policy.

Physician for Human Rights

• What is the status on relief shelters, medical supplies and other assistance to refugees?
• How are Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro dealing with their refugee population?

World Peace Activist

• What is the definition of war crimes?
• Was NATO guilty of war crimes during the 78 days of the bombing of Kosovo?

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights

• What human rights violations have been documented in Kosovo?
• Is it possible to make two peoples "reconcile" with each other when one has attempted to wipe the other off the face of the earth?
• After the Kosovo intervention, President Clinton said that people everywhere, victims of mass crimes, would know that "we" will save them. Is he speaking about the moral responsibility of the U.S. or about the responsibility of the international community?

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3) Each participant will research information pertinent to their role using the following  Resources:

General Resources:

Conflict in the Balkans: More Links Than You Can Imagine

http://members.home.net/albeej/pages/Balkans.html

Balkan Conflict Links

http://www.nyu.edu/globalbeat/balkanlinks.html#Kosovo

KOSOVO War: Suggested Background Reading Material

http://www.sentex.net/~xwing/kosovo/#the_end

The War on Yugoslavia: a Personal Odyssey

http://www.intouch.ca/miniato/WaronFRY.htm

Kosovo: War, Health of the State

http://www.intouch.ca/miniato/kosovo.htm

International Law

Kosovo: Part 2-International Law and Human Rights

http://www.abcclassroom.com/newsconnect/04-16-99/index.htm#resources

International Law Relating to the Kosovo Genocide and Conflict

http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/Kosovo/Kosovo-International_Law.htm

Kosovo: The Bankruptcy of International Law

http://ariga.com/peacewatch/kosovch.htm

Crisis in Kosovo: International Law and Human Rights

http://204.62.227.231/weblec/webbuzz/archive/02/top.htm

Kosovo: International Law

http://www.nyu.edu/globalbeat/balkan/HRW040599.html

War Crimes

Crimes in Kosovo: Taking Turns in Violence

http://www.bndlg.de/~wplarre/back346.htm

European hearings on U.S. NATO war crimes against Yugoslavia: Reports from Berlin, Rome, Paris, and Amsterdam

http://www.iacenter.org/warcrime/eurowc99.htm

War Crimes Resources

http://www.nesl.edu/research/warcrim2.htm

Crimes of War: Resources

http://www.crimesofwar.org/resources.html

Yugoslav Govt claims evidence for NATO war crimes

http://abolishnato.com/abolishnato/warcrimes/ausarticle.htm

NATO ON TRIAL

http://www.nationalbolshevik.com/nbSerbiawarcrimes.html

Yugoslav Forces Guilty of War Crimes in Racak, Kosovo

http://www.hrw.org/hrw/press/1999/jan/yugo-prs.htm

CNN - Internal Yugoslav tribunal report looks into NATO war crimes

http://cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/01/04/bc.warcrimes.nato.ap/

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War Crimes Tribunal

Tribunal Indicts Milosevic for War Crimes

http://kosovafreedom.com/indictment.html

Yugoslavia: War Crimes Tribunal Beginning Work In Kosovo

http://rferl.org/nca/features/1999/06/F.RU.990615134607.html

United Nations: International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

http://www.un.org/icty/

Yugoslavia: War Crimes Tribunal Investigates Kosovo Crimes

http://rferl.org/nca/features/1999/05/F.RU.990512124442.html

Kosovo War Crimes Tribunal

http://199.212.22.103/pages/law/kos/kwct.htm

Transcript: State's Scheffer on Kosovo War Crimes, July 19 Worldnet

http://www.usis.it/wireless/wf990721/99072108.htm

War Crimes Trials - Not a Good Idea

http://www.wcl.american.edu/pub/humright/brief/v1i1/schwar11.htm

Can Milosevic be brought to justice?

http://www.msnbc.com/news/273745.asp

FBI begins work in Kosovo: U.S. experts gather evidence for war crimes tribunal

http://www.msnbc.com/news/283273.asp

4) Each panel member should be prepared to answer the kinds of questions suggested in #2 above.

5) Each panel member should prepare notes in outline form that address possible questions.

6) Moderator will lead the discussion and design effective questions which should not lead to a series of "mini-reports" but rather resemble a real panel discussion with some give and take from the "experts". The moderator must make sure all persons participate and that one does not dominate the discussion.

 

7) Individual outlines and moderator questions shall be handed in to the teacher after the discussion.

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Your grade will be made up of points for individual outlines/discussion questions and individual presentation, and points for the group presentation. Total is 20 points possible.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Individual outlines and moderator discussion questions	Limited awareness of audience and/or purpose Minimal idea development, limited and/or unrelated details Random or weak organization	Attempts to establish purpose and communicate with the audience Unelaborated ideas unelaborated or repetitious details Lapses in focus and/or coherence	Depth of idea development support by elaborated, relevant details Logical organization Acceptable effective language Establishes and maintains clear focus	Depth and complexity of ideas supported by rich, engaging, and or pertinent details Evidence of analysis, reflection and insight. Indicate substantial research Careful and/or suitable organization
Individual presentation in panel discussion	Completely scripted Completely relies upon notes while speaking	Relies on notes somewhat. Does not attempt to interject comments. Only responds when spoken to.	Can respond to questions or comments spontaneously. Rarely relies on notes. Good eye contact and body language.	Knows material so thoroughly that he/she is convincing as an expert. Interjects intelligent, pertinent information that is not read from notes. Ability to ask questions of others.
Group Collaboration/ Synthesis of Ideas	Discussion questions are taken directly from the suggestions in the WebQuest.	Moderator with group collaboration has developed many questions after researching that are unique.	Moderator with group collaboration is able to develop discussion questions which showcase the breadth and depth of knowledge of the group.	Moderator has developed a few surprise questions to test his/her group's ability to think on their feet. Clever ways to bring out divergent opinions are evident. Questions asked do not allow for a couple of people to dominate the discussion.
Quality of group information from a variety of resources	All group members agree on everything. All seem to have read the same limited resources.	An ample variety of resources as evidenced by many different facts and perspectives.	A wide variety of resources as evidenced by varied interpretations of the facts and divergent perspectives.	Groups members have so much information to offer that they run overtime. Moderator has to be proactive in calming down participants. Arguments abound.
Group dynamics in panel presentation	The group presentation is completely scripted. The group has not done enough reading to know the material well and must completely rely upon notes while speaking	Group members rely on notes somewhat. They do not attempt to interject comments. They only responds when spoken to. Presentation seems stiff, not well practiced.	Group members can respond to questions or comments spontaneously, rarely relying on notes. Good eye contact and body language among the group.	Knows material so thoroughly that they are convincing as a panel of experts. Most group members interject intelligent, pertinent information that is not read from notes. Highly engaged with each other and have the audience highly engaged in listening.

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Will the future of NATO and the UN be determined by the outcome of the War Crimes Tribunals of Bosnia and Kosovo?

Several Bosnia war criminals have been convicted. Now that you have a basic understanding of recent events in the Balkans, continue your understanding by following the developments of the KosovoWar Crimes Tribunal.

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Teacher Page

Suggestion for Panel Discussions:

Divide your class into 3-4 groups. Allow a class period of research before students/groups decide upon their roles. Much of this can be researched independently after school, in the library, computer labs, or at home. For the presentations, have each group present to another class. This will sharpen the student's focus and preparation. Have other teachers/administrators score the presentations based on the rubric. You can evaluate the individual notes/questions, and enlist a few colleagues to help you with evaluating other groups. This way the presentations can happen simulataneously and the class won't be bored by listening to the other presentations.

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Reading Suggestions

If you are looking for a book to read along with your research on this topic, the following print resources can be used to extend your students' understanding of the Crisis in Kosovo. Additioning reading allows for an understand the conflict and the fact that there are no clear-cut, easy answers.

For further reading try these books:

Adem's Cross by Alice Mead

Fourteen-year-old Adem, an Albanian boy, lives in Serb-occupied Kosovo. The Albanians are helpless, and even passive resistance can get you killed--as is Adem's sister gunned down while reading a protest poem. Adem's family is singled out for further suffering and violence, and Adem decides to escape this nightmare in order to survive. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults.

Between Serb and Albanian : A History of Kosovo by Miranda Vickers

The ethnic conflicts in the Yugoslavian province of Kosovo are often bewildering to readers without a grounding in the tangled history of the Balkans. Miranda Vickers, the leading English-language student of Albanian history, does much to clarify the situation with this thorough account of the tiny region, a fertile, mountain-ringed plateau whose Serbian name means something like 'place of the blackbirds.' That bucolic place name, however, does not speak to the violence that has been visited on the land for centuries.

The Road to Kosovo : A Balkan Diary by Greg Campbell

In the summer of 1998, freelance journalist Greg Campbell got into a rental car in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, and drove across Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro into Kosovo, where Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic had recently begun stepping up an ongoing 'ethnic cleansing' campaign against the ethnic Albanians who make up the majority of the region's population. Staying with local journalists--some of whom were also part of the underground Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)--Campbell was forced to confront the consequences of the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.

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Credits & References

T.V. & Radio transcripts can be found in Electric Library from the New Trier Library Home Page.

• NPR radio transcripts - on war crimes and the role of the international community.
• CBS News Sunday Morning
• New York Times
• Chicago Tribune
• State Department Briefing on Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo
• ABC Nightline

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Last updated on January 26, 2000. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page

Send comments to Judy Gressel @ New Trier High School, Winnetka, IL.