The minority rigths of Turks in Kosovo

With the Kosovo War of 1389, which represents a great trauma in the Serbian conception of history, Kosovo began to be ruled by the Ottoman Empire. Turkish presence in the region has become permanent in line with the Turkish population displaced from Anatolia to the region. The migration of the Muslim/Turkish population from Kosovo, which separated from the Ottoman Empire with the Balkan Wars, started and the remaining Turkish population fell into a minority and took place as Muslim minorities in the territory of the Serbian Kingdom. During the Serbian sovereignty, in line with the Serbian understanding of history, which defines the Ottoman Empire period as slavery, there was oppression against Muslims. In addition, being a minority in Kosovo, which is the main center of the Albanian-Serbian ethnic conflict, placed Turks in a different position than other Balkan Turks. In the study, the situation, political and legal status of the Turkish minority in Kosovo are examined in the line extending from the post-Balkan Wars to independence. In this context, firstly a theoretical explanation about the minority was made, and then the situation and rights of Kosovo Turks were analyzed in line with historical developments.