Digest # 7 (1994)

ALBANIA

"THE LIGHT OF THE PARTY" THAT SWALLOWED THE LANDS

by ALEKSANDER FURRXHI/Tirana

When in 1978 the construction of the hydropower plant, called "The light of the Party" ended,
nobody could think that it would be the source of evil to thousands of peasants of Fierzë, who
were forced out of their lands and houses, deserting thus some 2 thousand hectares, which
were then flooded, for the creation of an artificial lake. Even songs for this "victory of
Socialism" were sung, while the peasants were settled in new houses and new villages
constructed by the Government. Of course nobody could ask for compensation, the displaced
were to be treated equally as the rest, all of them members of the Socialist agricultural
cooperatives. But, the ruin of the cooperatives and the return of old properties, has questioned
the future of these people whose "property" is at the bottom of the lake of 72 squared
kilometres. Thus, the concerned of 24 villages started their struggle in 1991. Many letters
and petitions were sent to the administration, there were many meetings with MP's and
Ministers and now the situation has become critical. "Our economic situation is serious", says
Jahir Trota, chairman of the huger-strikers, "90% of our grown up population is unemployed.
Many families fear from starvation. We have no land and no income. We are under the
pressure of the former owners of the lands where our houses were built. Since 1990 we have
approached all the instances, but our problem was not solved."

Two months ago, the peasants gave an ultimatum that they would start a hunger-strike if they
receive no replies from the Government by April 30. "We want compensation for our lands,
in one of the two options: either a year's rental payment for the land or to become co-owners
of the hydropower plan of Fierza, if it is sold. We also request the part of compensation for
our houses and our fruit-trees and other objects that we ourselves have constructed. We also
request from the Government to, in an organized way, displace the rest of the people who are
desperate. We request loans with facilities which we can use for private enterprises."

Since they got no answer, on May 4, over 200 peasants took over the building of the Regional
Council of Kukës and started their hunger-strike. The same night, four ministers (of Public
Order, Construction, Energetics and Agriculture) came to speak to the strikers. They staid
there until four o'clock in the morning and promised they would try to find solutions. They
asked the strikers to stop the strike and to leave the building. A part of the strikers listened to
them, but the majority wouldn't move from there, so Special Task Forces which came in from
Tirana were put in action. According to the witnesses, the struggle lasted about three hours.
The police shot in the air, trying to intimidate groups of people coming from the town of
Kukës. The official communique stated that there were 26 wounded with hard objects and
rocks, 14 of them policemen, whilst 19 civilians were attended in the town's hospital. In

The weekly Koha (The Times) was published in Prishtina (Kosovo) between 1994 and 1997. Edited by Veton
Surroi, a young Kosovar journalist and one of the pioneers of democratisation in former Yugoslavia, Koha
soon became a symbol of quality among the region's media. In 1997 it started to be published daily under the
name of Koha Ditorë. W ith the kind permission of Mr. Surroi, Koha digests were originally posted on
http://koha.estudiosbalcanicos.org.
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order to evade further quarrels, the special task force has retreated from Kukës. At that time,
the regional road towards this town was blocked. The Ministry of Public Order declared the
organizers and authors of theies acts as extremists, Enverists, and ex-collaborators of the
State Security.

The event immediately sensitized the public. President Berisha convened Premier Meksi and
several ministers to an urgent meeting. The Government is seriously engaged in this matter,
even though part of the requests are financially absurd and not accomplishable.

President Berisha spoke of the existence of two realities: on one hand the requests and the
serious difficulties of the displaced families and on the other hand the political manipulation
they have been object to. He also reprimanded the government by saying that it should have
been more active in the solution of the problems of those he called "the forgotten". In this
group, the President included the former political prisoners, ex-owners and the unsheltered
throughout the country.

The strikers strongly request to meet Premier Meksi in Kukës, but the meeting is to be held
on Sunday in Tirana. However, the problem needs time to be solved. On the other hand, the
Minister of Agriculture Halili has promised that during this month he will present to the
government the list of the displaced families in whose favor will the government undertake
concrete measures.

MACEDONIA

THE PRESS IS PREPARING THE PUNISHMENT

by ILIR AJDINI/Shkup

The arrest, then the, several times postponed, trial and all the rest which is happening to 10
accused Albanians of the so called "weapons affair", were a magnificent occasion for some,
first of all, certain media in Macedonia to go back to the old positions and to again affirm the
postures they had in "times of the development of the ideal society of the rule of the working
class". Then, all it was needed was to find someone who would sign the article (and that was
not hard to do), which was usually written at Secretariats, Committees or Commissariats.

One of the most efficient in the sense of hunting the "enemies of the people" (read:
Albanians), and had equalled the efforts of Belgrade's "Politika", "Vecernje Novosti" and the
Belgrade TV was at that time, without any doubt, the Shkupi daily "Vecer". The contribute of
this newspaper to formulate and strengthen the position that "all Albanians are guilty (apart of
a handful of the "honest ones"), until proven innocent", was beyond value.

Someone has maybe thought that it would be hard for "Vecer" to keep up its "image" of a
fighter against the "Albanian terrorism and irredentism", which took it a decade to achieve.
But, "Vecer" is not of those that gives up easily.

Now it has started publishing "exclusive" alleged statements of two of the ten accused during
investigations. From the way the "statements" were published, it is clear that the attempt is to
convince the public that these people have sinned and that they can't be let without a

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punishment. On the other hand, this material started being published the same day the trial
commenced (which was postponed because of the strike of the attorneys at law). Another
issue of concern is where did "Vecer" get all of this, and nobody has even attempted to give
an answer in this regard. It was enough to state that "they were not taken from here or there".

To "Vecer", its readers and those who help "editing" the newspaper it is enough to state that
"there is nothing wrong with it", that is, with the fact that it can freely prepare the terrain to
punish ten people (and eventually many others which are mentioned in the articles), much
before the trial is over.

In some elements, it reminds us of the past. One may think that new Macedonia has once
again decided to develop a "sane society", where the "destabilizing and hostile elements" will
be fought against with no mercy. And, as regarding the Courts ("Vecer" is engaged and fights
for them to become "independent"), theirs is last word to say. In case you have forgotten, the
word is - Amen!

THE ALBANIAN ISSUE AT THE AMBASSADORS' CONFERENCE IN LONDON

HOW DID THEY BREAK US INTO PIECES

by REXHEP QOSJA

In the times before the Balkans' wars, the Albanian issue had become severe: it had become
thus because of the Albanian movement for independence and because of the deeper crisis of
the Ottoman Empire. The Albanians and Macedonians were two, totally conquered, people.
The attempts of the New Turks to save the great Ottoman Empire by osmanizing the leftover
people, hastened its downfall even more. The Eastern issue was the issue, that is why, it was
constantly on the agenda of the European diplomacy. In fact, the main issues in this sense had
become the Albanian issue - for in the Albanian space the territorial pretensions of the
Balkans' neighbors - that of Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece- were clashing, and the Macedonian
issue- because in the Macedonian plane there were also territorial pretensions of Serbia,
Bulgaria and to a certain extent of Rumania which were also clashing. It is understood that
these clashes of pretensions of small states were heavily influenced by the interests of the
Great European Powers' interests. After the Berlin Congress, without their intervention, the
clashes wouldn't have been nor could have been of opposite interests. The Albanians had it
clear that these were the decisive years for their future: they would either come out from the
Empire which was suffering the last shocks before being ruined, or would be buried under its
ruins; they would either be a free people in their independent and free state or they would be
divided upon their Balkan's neighbors and lose once and for all their national and statehood
identity.

The insurrection they organized was an expression of the consciousness of this. From the
political aspect, as well as the military, it was of great importance for the Albanians not to be
lonely in this struggle, but to have the assistance of their Balkan's neighbors. Their
insurrection, finally, was against a long-time conqueror - the Ottoman Empire, which had also
conquered the Serbs, Greeks, Montenegrins, Bulgarians and Rumanians living on those lands.
Even though Belgrade, Cetinje and Athens were insisting on the division of the Albanian
lands which were told to be the Balkans' inheritance of this Empire, the leaders of the

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Albanian insurrection did not hesitate to call upon their neighbors to join the insurrection
against Turkey. None of them gave them a straight answer or support, for they had their own
plans which they didn't want the Albanians to be aware of. For example, the Albanian leaders
wanted the Greek government to give them weapons - since they were not willing to take part
in the conflict. The Greeks then answered that they would give them arms, but only if the
insurrection would take place in the Albanian regions from the Shkumbin river and upwards!
This answer clearly showed the Albanians that their lands southwards the Shkumbin river
were Turkish lands which would be inherited by Greece!

The leaders of the Albanian insurrection in Northern Albania, asked for the support of
Montenegro, where the persecuted Albanians had found refuge, but King Nikola always had
answered that he was willing to cooperate with the Albanians of Malësia e Madhe (Great
Malësia), but not with the others, from the other Albanian lands. It is true that King Nikola
had invited Ismajl Qemali to Cetinje to "agree upon how will Albania stand towards the
allies", but Ismajl Qemali and the other leaders of the insurrection wanted an equal
cooperation and support, and not subjugate to the conditions that the Montenegrin king was
setting, similar to the Greek ones. At that time, Montenegro was not concealing its territorial
pretensions towards Northern Albania, the Shkodër region and the Dukagjin plane! The
well-known poem "There, There", which spoke of the conquering ambitions of King Nikola
and were extended up to the "capital city of Tsar Dusan", and which had become a
Montenegrin anthem, did not upset the Albanian leaders less than the opinion which Nikola
used to repeat, "...that if the Albanian rebels, assisted by his warriors, would win, the
Montenegrin flag would fly in Malësia"!

The Albanian leaders, at the same time, asked for the support of Serbia too. Differing for
Greece and Montenegro and their conditions, it seemed as if Serbia were showing sympathy
for their cause. In order to incite the Albanians to rebel against Turkey, the Serbian
government even sent its envoys to Kosova as liaisons with the Albanian leaders, especially
with "the strongest amongst them", Isa Boletini. Rapidly, though, the Albanian leaders saw
that Serbia was not supporting them in order to join the Albanians against the Turks, but in
order to make it easier for the Balkans' Allies, who were preparing to declare war against
Turkey. Its allies in Kosova were also accomplishing another important task: they were
trying to find out how were the Albanians feeling towards the Serbian army which would
march through Kosova and other Albanian lands in the future Balkan's war.

The answers gotten from political and military circles of Greece, Montenegro and Serbia were
not a surprise: the three of them could be new conquerors of Albanians and not their warring
mates! Finally, some years before this, they had reached an agreement about the division of
this land under Turkish occupation: "lets' take a ruler and with a movement of the hand, not
wasting many words, let's determine our mutual spheres of interest, first of all having
seriously in mind that the political and economic conditions of each of our states be almost
equally protected". And almost at the same time when the Albanian leaders were requesting
the support of their neighbors, Serbia and Bulgaria in the secret annex of the Treaty on
Friendship and Alliance, present their spheres of interest: "Serbia acknowledges the right of
Bulgaria over the territories to the East of Rodop and the Struma river; Bulgaria
acknowledges the right of Serbia over territories that are to the North and West of the Shar
mountains". And to the North of the Shar is Albania, whilst to the West, Albania and
Macedonia. It was not a surprise thus, to hear Ismajl Qemali, the leader of the Albanians, say:
"From the aspect of saving Albania, any political combination could be imagined, but not a
unification with Balkan states".

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As it is evident, just before the Balkans' wars as well as the Berlin Congress, the Albanians
were not only lonely, but also late: they were late in organization - for the insurrection was
not covering the whole national plane and were late in their requests - for they were trying to
find a solution within the constitutional-juridical framework of the Ottoman state! They had
lost much time hesitating to make a choice between two concepts of the solution of the
national issue: the concept of independence - which was not recommended by any of the
Great Powers, and on whose support they were counting on, and the concept of administrative
and territorial autonomy of the Villayet of Albania, which would unite all the ethnic lands -
as recommended by Vienna, which was very much interested to keep the status quo in the
Balkans and thus stop the Slavs' penetration.

Convinced that the path of evolution towards the administrative and cultural autonomy is the
most secure one, the General Assembly of the Albanian leaders approved a memorandum in
June of 1911. It sent this memorandum to the Great Powers, which contained the requests of
Albanians expressed in 12 points, and which were mainly requests for human, civil, and
political rights in an administrative and cultural autonomy within Turkey. Almost one year
later, two other memorandums approved by Albanian leaders of Southern Albania- in Sinjë
and Vlorë- foresaw the solution of the Albanian issue through an administrative and cultural
autonomy within Turkey!

It is true that in January 1912, some personalities of the national life, including some
Albanian MP's in the Turkish parliament, met in Istanbul and discussed the serious situation
of the Albanian people and consequently concluded that political and parliamentarian struggle
would not provide freedom and political independence for the Albanian people; the only way
out was a national insurrection. This conclusion, which was reached before the fall-down of
the Ottoman Empire, made the option of the solution of the problem through the autonomy
anachronic and really non-historic. It was later proven by the defeat which the Empire
suffered in the war with the Balkans' Allies. It was clear that the Albanian leaders were hasty
for their neighbors had taken the ruler in their hands and were planning the division of the
inheritance of the Ottoman Empire! They were pressed in the middle between the old
conquerors which they knew, the Turks, and the one who pretended to be new conquerors,
their neighbors; if they wouldn't have fought the Turks, then they would have succumbed
along with them. It was a situation in which luck and bravery helped more than political
ability.

And it was precisely in those times that the Albanian insurrection grew strong, that
Austro-Hungarian and the Germans, who understood the historic function of Albania to stop
the Slavs from spreading, started pressuring Turkey to accept the requests of the Albanians
for autonomy within, that even Turkey proper accepted go give autonomy to Albanians, that
the Albanian issue was looked upon by the European diplomacies as an issue which has to be
solved by all means, that the Albanians had won some battles, that their neighbors - Serbia,
Greece, Montenegro and Bulgaria started fearing from the diplomatic, military and political
successes of the Albanians that could have lead to the creation of the Albanian state within
the border of their ethnic lands, and which would spoil their plans for territorial extensions as
they had thought to do. This was precisely the reason why the neighboring countries started
developing secret political and military agreements and decided to attack Turkey: Serbia in
direction of Kosova, Montenegro in the direction of Northern Albania and Dukagjin; Greece
in direction of Salonica and Southern Albania; Bulgaria in direction of Istanbul. This was a
liberation war - for the liberation of members of the Serb, Montenegrin, Greek and Bulgarian
people, which after the creation of their states had remained in territories under the rule of the

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Ottoman Empire and at the same time it had been a war of conquests - of new territories, first
of all, the Albanian and Macedonian.

The Balkans war, which started in 1912, didn't last long: it ended with the full victory of the
Balkans allies over Turkey and the conquest of the majority of Albanian lands which were
until then, under Turkish control. Serbia conquered Eastern and Central Albania; Montenegro
conquered Northern Albania up to Mat; Greece occupied Southern Albania up to Korça! The
solution to the Albanian issue was solved by the neighboring countries, as they had longed:
by breaking apart the Albanian lands!

Albanians remained unconquered only in a small triangle between Lushjna, Vlora and Berat.
And, in the most famous city of the three, in Vlora, the leaders of the Albanian insurrection
met on November 28, 1912 and declared the independence of Albania in its ethnic borders,
which would be extended up to the territories where Albanians make up the majority. Even
though the territory of the newly declared state was very restricted, the new conquerors,
which had replaced the Ottoman Empire in Albanian ethnic territories, tried to militarily and
through diplomacy destroy the new country at its beginning.

Apart from the neighboring countries, on one hand, and Albanians on the other, the Great
Powers had their own concept of how to solve the problem. Meanwhile the Balkans
neighbors concentrate all their political, diplomatic and military efforts to make Albania
disappear from geography, the Great Powers considered it as an urgent matter that needs
solution. After the down-fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Balkans Allies were covering up the
great vacancy created by its disappearance, in the way that it could have serious consequences
for the Balkans' future! It was then clear that the Balkan states were not able to create a new
order in the region: at least not an order of peace and justice. It was clear that their
expansionist illusions would cause the extension of the Balkans crisis - which was reflected
in the Second Balkans War caused by the disagreement between Serbia and Bulgaria about
Macedonia. Even though they had reached an agreement previously, by which Bulgaria was
to keep Macedonia, after the occupation of Albania, Serbia was not satisfied only with
Kosova, but it wanted its share of Macedonia, too!

The new political and state architecture of the Balkans should be created only by directives of
the Great Powers, which since the War of Crimea had dealt with all the conflicts between
states and people. The European forum which built this new political architecture was the
Ambassadors Conference in London which started in December 1912 an ended in August
1913.

The Ambassadors Conference in London was convened by the European Great Powers in
order to find a solution to the Balkans' crisis and to install a new order of justice and peace in
the Balkans. The Conference worked on the level of Ambassadors, with the participation of
the ambassadors of Germany, France, Austro-Hungary, Russia, Italy and the British foreign
Minister Edward Gray, who presided the meetings. After the ruin of the Ottoman empire and
the conquests of the Balkan states, the Albanian issue came out to be the most important.
Such a circumstance, having the Albanian issue discussed on such a high level, was very
convenient for Albanians having in mind that their requests had been so often ignored. But it
is another issue whether the decisions of the Conference were be convenient and just for the
Albanian cause.

The Ambassadors' Conference discussed three separate items of the general Albanian issue: 1.

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the status of Albania; 2. the organization of the new Albanian state and 3. the borders.

Even though at the beginning of the Conference they had chosen autonomy "under the
sovereignty of the Sultan", later, influenced by the political and military events in the
Balkans, on one hand, and the pressure of the Albanians and the efforts of Austro-Hungary on
the other, the Ambassadors of the Great Powers acknowledged the full independence of
Albania, without any connection to Turkey or any other Power - as the solution to the
Albanian issue. Before this decision was made, the posture of the Russians had to be
changed. Russia then insisted that Albania should be an autonomous province under the
sovereignty of the Great Powers and that it would be controlled by military power! The
ultimate purpose of Russia was to have this province, after the withdrawal of Turkey, broken
into pieces mainly among the Slav countries.

The other issue of discussion by the Ambassadors of the Great Powers was the issue of the
new organization of the Albanian state. And this was understandable: it was important that
Albania be declared independent, but it was not least important to see how will it be
organized. The interest of the Great Powers was conditioned not so much by the possibilities
or the lack of possibilities of Albania to self- organize, but on the aims of the Powers proper.
It was clear that Albanians had enough people apt to organize the new country; they had
political, diplomatic, military and governmental experience which they had gotten, first of all,
in the Ottoman state, but also in other countries where they had fled. This experience was
visible from the documents of the times of the National Albanian Renewal and the
functioning of the political and governmental institutions which had been established when
the state was formed. The Great Powers, especially some of them, were interested to see how
it will be organized because of their own interests. They worked based on what they always
had claimed: "The bigger ones would take care of the small ones, but the smaller ones would
have to pay back with obedience!".

The third issue, and the most important for the Albanians, which was discussed by the
Ambassadors was the third act of the drama called "The division of Albanian lands" - the
longest, the most dramatic and the most tragic act of this drama. The European political scene
has seen many of similar dramas of small and large people playing upon the borders, but in
none of them has a country been damaged as much as Albania had, and in none of them has a
people been massacred as has the Albanian people! (To be continued)

KOSOVA

THE SUPPORT TO THE SUPPORTERS OF SUPPORT

by VETON SURROI/Prishtina

Douglas Hogg, the British Secretary of State, was the highest ranked official who had visited
the then Baltic republics of the former Soviet Union. Not long after his visit, they converted
into independent states. If this is some consolation, last week Hogg made a precedence,
becoming the first high ranked official of Great Britain that visited Kosova.

Nevertheless, the symbols and allegories may be exciting and deceiving at the same time.
This experienced British diplomat has met with several dictators, as for example Assad in

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Syria, who still keeps up his rule, in the same way as he has done until now, by eliminating
thousands of his political opponents. And he also speaks of the abilities of dictators to convert
into pleasant interlocutors. "At times you have to remind yourself that you are speaking to an
assassin", he told me in a lunch we had in Prishtina. Mr. Hogg had met a day earlier with Mr.
Milosevic, for the sixth or seventh time, same as he had met with Assad before.

The message he was conveying, that he was here on behalf of the EU, had nothing in
common with what his visit to the Baltic republics had symbolized. In the meetings with
Milosevic, I. Rugova and on his press conferences, he stressed that the independence of
Kosova was out of the question and the "big ones" won't give their support to the idea.
Differing from the Baltic republics, where an example for the disintegration of the Soviet
Union was needed to be set, precisely the former territories of the former Soviet Union are
one of the reasons why the independence of Kosova is not preferred, said Mr. Hogg. "There
are many disputable territories that could be added to Kosova's example. We don't know
where could this lead us to".

But, judging upon the messages that Mr. Hogg gave the Kosova Albanians, the
dismantlement of Yugoslavia created new relations which must be respected. As is for
example, the law of the strongest, based upon which the approval and legalization of the
Serbian territorial conquest in Bosnia achieved by force, is about to happen. Or, that the
violation of human rights is not of primary importance, as stresses the CSCE in its human
Dimension, but its the political pragmatism to do a sloppy job in calming down crises and
mini-crises in one region, to then concentrate on other regions. In this direction, during lunch
in Prishtina, Mr. Hogg was open enough claiming that time was not working in favor of
Albanians, since the international community was awaiting the end of the war in Bosnia by
the end of this year, and the gradual opening of the process to lift up the sanctions. "It may be
that the interest of the international community concentrates in other crises, such is that of the
former Soviet Union, when Bosnia is over".

The importance of the visit was tried to be taken advantage of by all sides. For Mr. Hogg, on
one hand the message of his visit is the announcement that the issue of Kosova shall be
discussed. This announcement, naturally, comes with pressure on both sides, the Albanian
and Serbian political leaders. To Albanians, because it was clearly said to them, as Mr. Hogg
stressed it, that they must remain in Serbia, whilst to the Serbs that they must think about
great concessions "in the political rights of Albanians", in a form of an "extensive autonomy".
But as Mr. Hogg proper will admit during the lunch, it is still uncertain when will the
discussion about the issue of Kosova start.

This was best taken advantage by the Serbian president thanks to his political instinct (and
knowledge about the future strategic steps to be taken in Bosnia and Croatia), by commenting
to Mr. Hogg (according to "Borba"), "that there will be no problems" regarding the autonomy
of Kosova based on the model of the 1974 Constitution. As many times before, the Serbian
president gives promises easily, and then they come out to be serious problems for all the
involved. But, differing from other times, he did not refuse openly the political autonomy of
Kosova. This should be referred more to Mr. Milosevic's wish to show his will to cooperate
with Europe, than his willingness to reinstall what he had suppressed with tanks five years
ago. This is well known to any mediator or diplomat who has had the change to negotiate
with Milosevic.

To the Albanian side, according to the carefully written text in "BUJKU", it was of great

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interest to neutralize as much as possible the words that Hogg had said regarding the future
framework of the solution of Kosova's issue, and to give more coverage to Rugova's words
about neutral and independent Kosova. At the same time, the support of Mr. Hogg to
Rugova's policy was also stressed. These gestures are a continuation of the propaganda
coming from the LDK circles which recently, to the criticism coming from the Albanian
political movement, replied with communiques and comments about the support that Mr.
Rugova has from the USA, and now Mr. Hog. But, since it was impossible to stop Mr.
Hogg's message, as well as those coming from the American administration, it comes out that
Mr. Rugova has the support of these countries, but that the independence of Kosova platform
does not have this support. And messages coming from abroad saying "Keep it up", come out
to be foreboding.

To tell the truth, Mr. Rugova proper tried to neutralize the negative effects to his image that
may have been caused by the visit of the British diplomat, explaining that in this situation,
before the dialogue, "we too have our own strategy". If we must judge upon the past, then
"our strategy" is to be understood as regularly holding press conferences.

The messages coming from the British diplomat shouldn't be of surprise, for they have been
repeated on official levels even before the dismantlement of the former Yugoslavia. The only
element that caused curiosity was his arrival to Kosova, in this precise moment. If
interpretations were to be sought outside Kosova, then it could be said that Queen Elizabeth's
official remained in Prishtina with his eyes turned towards Belgrade, making Milosevic aware
that whatever happens in Bosnia and Croatia will have its serious repercussions in Kosova.
That is, to make him carry a little burden on his back.

It would be unreal to suppose that after Mr. Hogg's visit, there would be less offers through
diplomatic channels for mediation between the Kosova Albanians and Serbs. But only in the
platform presented by the British diplomat during the past week. But, as foreign visitors have
noticed, the Albanian-Serb negotiations are not so close. That is, they are as close as the
solution of the mess in Croatia and Bosnia.

In the meantime, in the political scene around Kosova, it is to be expected that "support" will
be sought. Whose, whom and why is support given. Looked in from this framework, the visit
of Mr. Hogg would be titled as a visit of support to the supporters of support.

EDITORIAL

MANDELA'S DANCE

by VETON SURROI

I know that in the games of the symbols, many made different associations as they saw
Nelson Mandela, the 75 years old fighter against apartheid in South Africa, dancing by the
rhythm of the African exotic sounds the day he scored the electoral victory. I have collected
some of the associations, which were either written and published or expressed in
conversations: Apartheid is dying in its cradle and now it is being brought up in the middle of
the Balkans (Europe); the sanctions abyssed apartheid, will the same thing happen to Serbia
(?); we too have our Mandela...

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I have to admit that not only once have I watched Mandela's dance, and so many times until
now, have I wished to see our Mandela, in a near future, dancing the victory dance. In
essence, it has been some time now that, in international meetings, I have tried to explain
how, from the aspect of mechanism, the problem of Kosova is similar to the one of South
Africa: we are speaking of the rule of the minority over the majority, and which in any theory
on the functioning of human society is known as dictatorship (whatever color it might have).
Conscious of the dangers that any parallelism might cause (for example that of the
Southafrican transition towards democracy, which is full of violence and the end is not to be
seen yet), I have also tried to explain that the solution to Kosova's problem should be
transitional too, where all interested parties should gather around a table, and, of course,
where strong guarantees would be given to the minority, which, once ruler now passes to its
numeric reality. In practice, Kosova would have to be the reason to have a round table where
three principles should be determined: there is no solution with only one party involved and
with means of violence, the transitional solution will last until the definitive solution is not
found and finally, democracy, with its principles regarding the rule of the majority and the
constitutional and international guarantees for the position of the minority, is not only the
purpose of the system, but also the means to reach the definitive solution.

This is all about associations. All others are differences. And I am not speaking of the
differences in the color of the skin, which was the main element upon which discrimination
and dictatorship were based in South Africa. Finally, there is no bigger hatred than the one
between the similar: the regime of apartheid seemed to have been created by Walt Disney
compared to what the Nazi regime did to the Jews, and they were of the same color of the
skin and of similar cultures.

The distinction between two situations, that of Pretoria and Prishtina must be sought in the
international conjuncture (the need to, in times when the African continent is going through
the biggest crisis, create a functional political and economic model, and it could be the rich
Southafrican republic), the end of the cold war (where South Africa is not the last bastion
against the pro-Moscow regimes in Angola and Mozambique), the effect of international
isolation of South Africa (the sanctions), but also the organization of the Black population in
a structure that during thirty years was able to keep the wish for liberty alive and manifest it.
And, naturally, the most important factor, that of the charisma of the leader in the figure of
Nelson Mandela.

But, is the charisma the whole spirit of the movement? Two years ago, I met a high official
of the ANC, a close collaborator of Mandela's who had spend half of his 35 years' long life in
prison. When he was out of prison, Mandela was inside. From a long conversation I had with
him, regarding all the organization details of the ANC, the long history of resistance against
the regime of apartheid, I was surprised to hear that all changes, decisions, events, were
linked to Mandela's name. At one stage I asked my interlocutor: "What did you do when
Mandela was in prison? And he was there for 28 years".

The answer was very simple: "We were employed by Freedom. Not by Mandela".

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MONTENEGRO

WILL ULQIN BECOME A MILITARY BASE

by NAIL DRAGA/ Ulqin

When the former Yugoslav Peoples' Army was dislocated from Croatia and moved to the
shores of Montenegro, there were many who said that Montenegro resembled a military
arsenal. Such a conclusion was correct, because almost the whole potential of the Navy
settled in the Kotorr Bay, and also in some suitable places on the seashore. But, some time
ago, an information has greatly irritated the public in Montenegro. And this was the request of
the army, which is now called Yugoslav to become owner of three locations, where it wants
to build military ports.

The two first locations are at the seashore (Ljustica and Valdanos of Ulqin), whilst the third
one is at the Krricë village on the North-West of the Shkodër Lake. It seems as if the
purposes were clear, the army wants to strengthen its bases and not just float on the Adriatic.

Until now the public opinion in Montenegro was informed about this intention through the
communiques of the opposition parties which were very specific about the details and spoke
of a problem which could cause serious consequences for the region, and even wider. The
opposition parties which are struggling for independence, the Liberals and the
Social-democrats have totally rejected such a request, because it is against the economic and
ecologic interests of Montenegro.

It has been stated that the responsible at the Yugoslav Army have asked the authorities in
Montenegro to issue them a permit, but strangely enough, the reply of the Government in the
three cases (locations) was negative. The explanation was clear and precise, for the region in
question is "the integral part of the space plan of the Republic", therefore any construction
outside this plan is a devaluation of the natural and environmental values. This negative reply
shows that there are still people in Montenegro who think logically about their future. But
there are many that claim that the role of the Minister of Urbanism was decisive in this case,
and he is member of the Liberal Party.

If this plan of the army is fully accomplished, then the territory of the municipality of Ulqin
will find itself in a critical situation. It is known that the Valdanos Bay, because of its
geographical and strategic position has always been a very important port even in ancient
times, and it has reached its greatest importance in times of the Ottoman Empire. But as the
time went by and with the change of the economic relations, Valdanos lost its importance.
Now it is known as a resort (since 1978 a military tourist resort), and also as a place rich in
olives. The people know this terrain as the "Big Olive Grove", for it has over 30 thousand
olive trees, which are very productive.

If this request is fulfilled, then this very attractive bay will lose its tourism values. Even
though the militaries have stated that this will not have repercussions on tourism, their
explanation was rather formal and sterile, for everybody has it clear what the consequences
would be. It would not be much to say that such a military base would constantly be in the
situation to create incidental situations, especially during the tourists' season, which would
spoil it and cause losses. On the other hand, the consequences would be big in the
demographic aspect too, because mechanically would the ethnic composition be changed, in

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this particular case, damaging the Albanian population, whilst in other regions, the
Montenegrin one too. What's more, the change of the ethnic composition of Ulqin is an aim
of the military authorities, and this is something they are not trying to conceal, and it is no
longer a military secret.

Even though the reply of the governmental authorities was negative and full of logical
explanations, it remains to be seen whether the Army will respect it. The doubts regarding
this are huge, because the influence of the Montenegrin government in the Army is minimal
or rather none, therefore it would not be a surprise if the Army worked on their own to realize
its political and strategic goals.

MACEDONIA

THE BULGARIAN-GREEKS, THE CENSUS, THE ELECTIONS...

by SELADIN XHEZAIRI/Shkup

Last week the Macedonian officials once again dealt with their relations with the neighbors:
the Bulgarians and the Greeks. The Minister of Culture, Ismayl Cuner annulled his visit to
Sofia as it was stated, "by request of the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture", even though it was
evident that this was done because the Bulgarians insisted to have the Protocol on Cultural
Cooperation signed in neither of the "Official languages" (Bulgarian or Macedonian), but in
English! In the diplomatic line between Shkupi and Sofia, the tension qualified as "linguistic"
is still not easing, even though last Friday, the Government of Bulgaria discussed about the
"stubborness" of its Minister of Culture, and decided that the Protocol can be signed in the
official languages of both countries, not being specific about what languages were they,
which in this precise political moment will be hardly acceptable by the Macedonians, for the
insistence to acknowledge the Macedonian language means that the Macedonian people are
acknowledge too, and this Sofia is not ready to do yet...

Regarding the relations with Greece, the chief of diplomacy Stevo Crvenkovski, after a one
month's pilgrimage in New York declared that even after all efforts of the UN and the
negotiator Cyrus Vance, the negotiations between Macedonia and Greece have reached a
dead-end. At the same time, it seems as if Athens is changing its posture towards their
Northern neighbor. Some high officials of the Papanderou Government claim that both
"Skopje" and Athens have the right to share the name of Macedonia. The deputy foreign
minister Pagalos said that Greece may consider lifting up the blockade, if Macedonia removes
the star of vergina from its flag. All of this was not commented by the Macedonian officials
at all, whilst the media claim that the real compromise would be if "the Macedonians
removed the star and the Greeks acknowledged the name". Analysts from Shkupi even say
that the best solution would be the one similar to the model of Ireland in relation to England:
Dublin chose the name of Ireland whilst the United Kingdom chose to call it Republic of
Ireland. However, Vance confirmed that he would soon "summon" the diplomats from
Athens and Shkupi to the UN, and make them prove their constructiveness...

In the domestic politics, the most important event is that of the endless sessions of the
Parliament. As the things stand, the Law on the Census will be approved with all the remarks
given by the group of experts of the European Council (who will finance it with 1,6 million

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ECU's) and of the Albanians, who are still insisting that "to determine the total number of the
citizens of the country, the people working abroad over a year should be included, by all
means".

Regarding the electoral laws, to be celebrated in November, the continuation of the

interrupted session is causing great expectation. Mahi Nesimi publisher, analyses the situation
regarding these laws, for "KOHA": "The laws that this Government is offering have almost
no difference compared to the old ones, i.e. of those approved by the one party parliament
from the times of Communism. The Law on the election of MP's has not changed at all in its
contents. The only thing that was done is that the Communist terminology was removed from
it. The law on Electoral Units is full of localisms and domination of regions and doesn't
respect the national and human equality. This is precisely why the Macedonian parliament,
which is aiming to become a democratic European parliament, has to change its contents
completely. If not, it will always be criticized by the Albanians. But, I don't think the
Albanians will succeed to change the Law on electoral Units, because simply, this is not
desired by the parties in power or those of the opposition, and here I am speaking of the
Macedonian parties. This is why the Albanians won't profit on these laws, for their basic
parameters won't change. The combined system of 120 MP's which have to be elected by
majority of votes, and only 20 based on the proportional system is a farce. The albanians
won't get a thing from this increase. I think that the Albanians would profit more on the
change of electoral units which would bring them more places in the Parliament. The
Albanian political parties have lately become conscious that in order to win a place in the
Parliament much work must be done, which doesn't mean that they have reached a mutual
language...". Menduh Thaçi (from the PPD), in a meeting he had with the CSCE delegation
said that if the elections were fair, then one third of the MP's in the Parliament would have
been Albanians. If...

INTERVIEW

Dr. Ivan Djuric

SERBIA AT THE END OF THE CENTURY: ITS WORST ENTERPRISE IN HISTORY

interviewed by GAZMEND PULA/Paris

Dr. Ivan Djuric used to be a well known Byzanthologist at the Belgrade University in the
eighties. In the first presidential elections he was the opposition candidate and had scored
success in Vojvodina, but not in Serbia. Since two years ago, after many threats he had
received, he secretly fled the country and now is residing in Paris. Now he works as a
lecturer in Paris and is an activist against Milosevic's regime.

KOHA: How do you see the actual situation in Serbia, Yugoslavia and the development of
the events in this region?

DJURIC: If you are thinking of the former Yugoslavia, that is one thing, whilst what is
pretended to be Yugoslavia today, is another. The latter is not the same state, it is Serbia and
Montenegro. And Serbia is not what it used to be, before it had two autonomous provinces,
and now it is "of one piece and unique", but has never before faced such a difficult situation.

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As regarding the political situation, it has never been so bad as it is now, and this influences
the global solution of the crisis in the Former Yugoslavia. The key to the solution of this
crisis is not in Sarajevo, but in Belgrade and Zagreb. If something is to be solved, then
Belgrade has to change first. And this is very difficult to happen, for the so called opposition
is now poisoned with nationalism. At the beginning, at least they used to criticize Milosevic
for giving promises he did not fulfil. The other factor is that this opposition never had the
neither the moral or material support of the democratic world. Finally, we must have in mind
that Milosevic was apt to manipulate with the interests and fears of the Serbs outside Serbia.
He used them to defend his power and thus, from potential victims, he turned them into the
ones to blame for the wars in Croatia and Bosnia. The fourth reason for the present crisis in
Yugoslavia is that democratic Europe doesn't exist as a concept. It also proved that the
interests of the West are not always convergent when it comes to us. The USA were right to
hesitate about engagement in the Balkans, and watching from far way how was Europe
dealing with the problem, because more then a partner, Europe is a serious rival to the USA.
And don't forget that the crisis in Yugoslavia couldn't be solved without the involvement of
Russia and the States. Whatever it might be, I think that the Russian engagement in the
conflict should have been first diplomatic and then military and not the contrary. Now the
activities regarding the Bosnian crisis is developing on a bilateral level, as in old times, and I
doubt it very much that solutions will be found. This brings us back to Serbia as the key
factor for the solution of the problem. The so called opposition, with small exceptions which,
ashamed, I won't mention at all, in reality does not represent the opposition. They are
partners in government, they are share-holders of the worst enterprise in the history of Serbia,
and whose name is "Serbia on the eve of 21-rst century"!

Serbia has lost this war, and I say this because as a historian I would ask whether there would
be more Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia and what will their position be? The answer is that there
will be less Serbs and their position will be worse. This is why the role of Europe to create a
new alternative in Serbia is more important then ever. If it fails, then we would have the
involvement of USA and Russia, and thus have a American peace and not European.

KOHA: About the "legitimate national interest" of the Serbs in Bosnia. Which is, according
to you, the optimal way to achieve and conserve it?

DJURIC: If we are speaking of a global and durable solution, it can't be achieved in Bosnia,
but only in Zagreb and Belgrade. I think the ones who acknowledge Bosnia only within its
borders, the Bosnia of three entities within one state must be encouraged.

KOHA: What do you think about the Washington Agreement and the chances for its
realization?

DJURIC: I would think all the worst about it, if I were convinced that it will be
accomplishable. Luckily enough, nobody thinks so. Nevertheless, whatever may "soften" the
situation is welcome. In the Croat-Muslim confederation is established without the
participation of the Serbs, regardless of the opinion I have of the local Serbs there, I would be
against this agreement. It is a matter of principles. Bosnia must be understood as a
three-ethnic homogeneity, from the national and civil aspect of its government. If the
opposite occurs, then I don't doubt that Izetbegovic will be happy about his part, with the
enclaves he would get. This could happen to the other sides too, but in that case, war wouldn't
be stopped. Thus, the Muslim enclaves would be designed according to the actual political
posture; one party-one state, which is unacceptable to me. I don't believe in this, and I

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wouldn't want it to happen.

KOHA: What do you think about the actual situation in Kosova and Macedonia, taking into
account their ethnic composition. What could you say about the Albanian-Serb relations?

DJURIC: I have to repeat it once again: Kosova is a Serbian myth. It is more living inside the
state of Serbia than in the heads of the ordinary Serb citizens. It was not casual that Milosevic
chose the path to get the power by manipulating with Kosova and the myth about it. It is not
casual either that Milosevic gave up on the myth and turned towards the Serbian issue in
Croatia and finally in Bosnia. He didn't not reach his goal in Kosova: to Serbianize it. This
was proven to be impossible.

I once again stress that the main one to blame for everything is Belgrade's government and
that the solution must be sought in that direction. Regarding Kosova and the democratic
movement there, I am really enthusiastic about the way the conflict was evaded. Many things
can be said in this regard, but the most important facts must be known: Albania is much
closer to the USA in politics, than to the EU. Regarding the practice of the USA in the crises,
we have been proven that the USA are always engaged in the preservation of the formal
borders. This is the base of the American engagement. The Americans think that the concept
of broad autonomy and maximal rights must be applicable in all regions similar to Kosova, as
for example Krajina. Saying this, I wouldn't want to be misunderstood, that I claim that there
is a full similarity between two problems, but that is the way I understand the American
concept to solve such problems. Therefore, the secession of Kosova

is out of the question, for then any Hungarian in Vojvodina, any Rumanian in Slovakia or
Hungarian in Rumania, etc. etc. would want to do the same thing. From conversations with
my colleagues from Albania and Kosova, I have understood that very small groups of people
have begun the understand that the broadest autonomy possible might be the best solution,
maybe just provisional, for Kosova. Finally, the position of the autonomous Kosova with a
formal border with Albania could only be positive for it. When Dobrica Cosic foresaw the
division of Kosova, he didn't do it because the admits part of Kosova is lost a political reality,
or because he considers Albanians to be cute (!?). At that time, the division of Kosova was
planned with the aim to create space for territorial conquers, which would be easy to achieve
if a part of Kosova would have detached. Nevertheless, I think that we should go back to
some Constitutional concepts of the former Federation, not for the sake of the sentiment, but
because of the compromising concepts it foresaw.

KOHA: Taking into account the heterogenous structure in the Republic of Macedonia
(officially it has been said that 25% of the population are Albanians, and it is really cca.
40%), how do you look upon the future of Macedonia?

DJURIC: There are two reason which make the issue of Albanians in Macedonia different
from the ones in Kosova: because Macedonia escaped from the Yugoslav crisis and became a
part of the international sphere of interest of the USA, but only because of the USA proper
but also because of Turkey and Albania.

The other element is that the actual rule in Macedonia is not totalitarian, hegemonist, nor
unitarian and in no way similar to the regime in Serbia. It was thanks to Gligorov, who made
the cohesion of all political structures in Macedonia. Please do not think I want to be
Macedonia's attorney but you must have in mind that they make a young people and that of

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course sometimes they, together with their government, can get of the line at time. They have
even right to be little nationalistic since they are surrounded by Tirana, Athens, Sofia and
Belgrade. The worst that can happen is the if the Macedonian people irritate other people
living Macedonia, and especially Albanians, then it can happen that a conflict can start. This
will be taken advantage by Milosevic, first of all, as did Russia once in the case of
Czechoslovakia and recently in Gruzia in order to extend the conflict and reach his goal. He
would import the conflict and the Macedonian government wouldn't be able to control it and
would call up for the assistance of the other fraternal countries to evade the conflict and
finally to end with the existence of the Macedonian state. Luckily enough, this plan has a
failure and that is the presence of the Americans in Macedonia.

KOHA: Will Macedonia be federalized, as a trend which has been applied in the recent
years?

DJURIC: I am not i favor of the federalization of this state even though I have suggested the
power be decentralized. I would rather opt for the right of veto of the Albanians in the
Macedonian parliament than create an autonomy for Albanians, which would mean ethnic
regionalization. This would not be possible, for there are Albanians in Tetova, Gostivar, etc.
but also in Ohër and the other side of the Vardar. This is not easy to accomplish. A National
Council must exist which would efficaciously control the realization of the rights of
Albanians in Macedonia. Such a Council should exist in Croatia and Hungary and it would
control the realization of the rights of these ethnic communities.

KOHA: Finally tell us something about you personal experience and problems with the
Serbian regime, knowing your postures and what the Serbian propaganda says about people
who think differently?

DJURIC: I'm not concerned about the fact that I was declared a traitor in Serbia. I staid in
Vojvodina almost half illegally some time and I was accepted greatly. I found many more
people with whom I shared the opinion, and we have concluded that we must establish a new
party and offer new options to create a new environment in Serbia. We are trying to
synthesize some parties of the former Yugoslavia. I haven't still recieved any signals from my
friends in Kosova and Montenegro, but I guess there will be no problems. I'm not in favor or
reinstalling the former Yugoslavia as it was, but I am convinced that the problems can't be
solved partially without trying to solve the problem globally. In this moment we are stronger
that the Government in Belgrade and Zagreb and other political parties.

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