Most of the Albanians have deep religious feelings and they are greatly confused when secular social duties are in contrast with their personal stands about something being banned by the Sheria, especially when women and their rights are involved. Certain Islamic religious leaders in Kosovo and Metohija promote this attitude by presenting Islam as a comprehensive view of the world that includes a state-government theory excluding all other theories not acknowledging Islam.
This is the groundwork nationalism is built upon using myths and propaganda. Those that failed to resist to such propaganda, easily succumb to Chauvinism and all its negative characteristics and weaknesses. This is best confirmed by the events in the province over the past decade. Consequently, it is clear that no form of materialistic ideology, even if it comes from the mother-country Albania, could not have been broadly diffused in and adopted by the majority of the ethnic Albanian population.
Recently, the ties between Islam and Albanian secessionism have become clearly visible. They are made evident by the presence of numerous imams and their instigation of nationalistic activities, and also by the justification of terrorist operations by bandit groups that use the romantic euphemism of “Kosovo Liberation Army”. They are also joining secessionist organizations, infiltrating the student communities in high schools and colleges, as well as entering various political organizations with “Greater Albania” orientation, preaching secessionism and taking part in illegal activities ranging from slander to intimidation, physical harassment and assassination of non-Albanian individuals. The Albanian secessionist and Chauvinist parties have copied this approach and they are now frequently operating through so-called independent unions and associations. Thanks to such a strategy, they manage to recruit many followers among the Albanians, not only in Kosovo and Metohija, but also those that live abroad, mostly in western countries.
The secessionist forces do not hesitate to use the religions sentiments of the ethnic Albanians to attain their objectives. In doing so, they enjoy the support of a part of the Islamic clergy. This takes many forms: mediating peace between families involved in blood vengeance, urging the believers to be united, appeals to ethnic Albanians that moved from Kosovo and Metohija to Turkey decades ago to become involved in the “Albanian question”, the recruitment of young men (and adults) to go to Turkey for “special” education, establishing ties between the ethnic Albanian schools (set up as part of the parallel education system) with Islamic charity and purely religious organizations, etc. Ethnic Albanian secessionists, part of which are sworn Islamic fundamentalists, are extremely intransigent in their demands. This is made visible by their public statements and resolute rejection of any compromise which is quite near to open denial of the legitimate authorities and structures of Serbia and FR Yugoslavia, where they live in spite of that.
On the other hand, it seems that the Albanian aspirations to annex Kosovo and Metohija are still just a dream for the simple reason that it isn't strong enough to do it. This is why Pristina has been made headquarters of the secessionist operations and the place where the ideas for creating “Greater Albania” are proclaimed. This is further revealed by the diffusion of ideas that all non-Albanian population should be chased out from the neighboring territories: western Macedonia and Raska territory and the transfer of terrorist activities outside Kosovo and Metohija.
When Kosovo and Metohija are discussed, one of the questions that can be raised is why is this problem associated to the notion of “Pan-Turkishness”, although it is quite evident that ethnic Albanian secessionism is involved including terrorist activities and unquestionable crime? The answer can be found in the vision proposed by Suleyman Demirel when he described Turkey for 21st century placing Albania and Kosovo and Metohija within its borders. As it is known, Albania did not protest against such statements, nor has any of the secessionist leaders in Kosovo and Metohija. On the contrary, both the Albanian and the Kosovo and Metohija leaderships cooperated with Turkey before this statement and continued to do so after it. For example in 1993, the Turkish government granted Albania a 50 million dollars loan for arms and army training, backed Albania in all its anti-Yugoslav outbursts, trained and still is training members of the Albanian Army and terrorist organizations from Kosovo and Metohija. One of the training camps of the Turkish Army — near the town of Boly — has been reserved for training Albanian terrorists.
Furthermore, the largest Albanian community in the world lives in Turkey. The total number of ethnic Albanians living there can not be established because the emigration into territories that are present-day Turkey has been uninterrupted ever since the Ottoman conquest of Albania. The question might be asked how many present-day Turks are actually from Turkey or is the majority of them descendent from some of the emigrants from Albania and Kosovo and Metohija that settled Turkey in waves. The point is that almost all Turks think of themselves as Moslems, and until World War One this was the characteristic of their theocratic state. This made feel all Albanian Moslems at in Turkey.
Many of them have reached the highest state offices. In the history of the Ottoman Empire 25 Albanians were grand viziers (prime ministers) that emigrated from Kosovo and Metohija or were descendants of emigrants from that region.
When the state of Albania was created in 1912 and subsequently confirmed after the 2nd Balkan War, a major rebellion of peasants headed by the dervish Hadji-Ohamil broke out. Rallying for a holly war — Jihad — they wanted to destroy the new Albania and reunite it with Turkey.
Interestingly enough, all the Albanians that emigrated to Turkey after World War Two, stated in their applications made to the Turkish Embassy in Belgrade that they are Turks and that their mother tongue is Turkish. Thus, a large number of Albanians has been blended into the Turkish nation without any effort of the authorities. According to some estimates, several million Turks are of Albanian descent, but many have been assimilated to the point that they never mention their origins. One of the most illustrious Turks of Albanian descent is the former commander of the Turkish Army and president of the republic — Kenan Evren.
Strangely enough, Yugoslavia is being accused of suffocating the rights of the Albanians and denying them the right to express their ethnic attributes, whilst Turkey is quoted as the friendly country that has so much understanding for the “ill-fated” from Kosovo and Metohija, even though in Turkey no nationality except the Turkish one is allowed. Even the Kurds are labeled “Mountain Turks” and their struggle for national emancipation is judged to be terrorism.
Bearing in mind the interests of the neighboring countries, and without any intention of harming them, at the Peace Conference held in Paris in 1946, Yugoslavia made certain efforts to defend the Albanian right of territorial integrity. Regardless of the contrary position of some participants, the Yugoslav delegation insisted that Albania was to be allowed to take part in the Conference and be treated like Austria, i.e. that the solution found for Austria is to be applied to Albania as well. This stand of the Yugoslav delegation, and the Yugoslav attitude towards it was appreciated by Albania after the Conference, but only until the Inform-Bureau Resolution in 1948, when it joined the general condemnation by the East European countries headed by USSR. This is when Albania initiated a thorough and hostile campaign against Yugoslavia. It has been fanatically maintained with almost constant intensity until the present day, regardless of the changes of Albanian government and ruling political party. One of the most tragic effects of this campaign was the blooming of secessionist tendencies among ethnic Albanians in Yugoslavia, especially in the extremist circles of the ethnic Albanian political elite.
After 1960, Albania broke away from USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries and initiated an forced cooperation with China. This period is also characterized by the intensification of cultural, scientific and ideological cooperation between Albania and the Albanian minority in Kosovo and Metohija. This mirrored the changes in the status of the Kosovo and Metohija region in the legal and administrative sense, following the introduction of the Yugoslav constitutions and especially the 1974 Constitution. At the time, the ethnic Albanians came up with the idea to use a demographic “explosion” to alter the ethnic structure of the province. The plan was to secure domination through population policy, all this being inspired by the Albanian state ideology. Due to the political status granted by the Constitution of SFRY the intense support from Albania, and the almost unlimited possibilities of transforming the province in the political, economic, cultural and other spheres, nationalism secessionism and even religious intransigence flourished in complete contradiction with the state, national, historical and civilizational profile of Yugoslavia.
The rapid population growth of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija, and the simultaneous fall of the Serbian and Montenegrin population in the province, was accompanied by a proportional level of indoctrination concerning ideology, culture and economy. The ethnic Albanians were being linked to all that came from Albania in a blatant and undeniable way. Furthermore, nobody — political leaders, intelligentsia and even simple ethnic Albanians — made any effort to hide it. Even textbooks were obtained from Tirana, and on the first page of the book of ABC's for first-graders there was a picture of the Albanian leader Enver Hodxa with the motto “Our motherland is Albania”. This is what Enver Hodxa used to launch a fierce attack against Yugoslavia in his speech at the Albanian Worker's Party congress in 1981 — the fact that the Albanians are living “divided” in three former Yugoslav federal entities: Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. Hodxa openly asked a change of the status of Kosovo and Metohija and anticipated the existence of a plan for creating a new geopolitical situation in this part of the Balkans.
The plan essentially had three phases: in the first one Kosovo and Metohija were to be given the status of republic within the framework of the Yugoslav federation; the second phase was to be used to integrate all territories inhabited by ethnic Albanians in Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia in a compact and ethnically defined federal unit within Yugoslavia; it was to leave the Yugoslav federation either with a referendum on independence or with the use of violence, armed rebellion and secession; the third phase was to cover the unification of the secessionist republic and Albania, the mother-country. Obviously, in order to secure the approval of the international community, the broad and coordinated efforts were to be used to influence the international public opinion and political factors and secure their consent and legitimacy for the “democratic decisions and resolutions of the Albanian majority in occupied territories”. In view of this plan mass demonstrations were set up by ethnic Albanian secessionists and — in spite of the efficient government measures to suppress political and nationalistic passions — they had a strong echo among the Albanians in Albania and those living abroad.
Some of the secessionist leaders addressed the international public with their “scientific” studies and analyses, relying on the intellectual elite of Albanian descent throughout the world as their spokesmen and promoters. The failed attempt to realize such a territorial remodeling, left deep traces in the relations between Yugoslavia and Albania, but also in the relations between Serbs, Montenegrins and ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo and Metohija. During the eighties the attitude of the Ethnic Albanians towards the Serbs, Montenegrins and Serbian and Yugoslav authorities was mainly that of a boycott, with numerous attacks on individuals and private property. Gradually this escalated into a specific terrorization carried out by the ethnic majority over the ethnic minority, and terrorist attacks carried out by nationalist and Islamic-Fundamentalist groups and organizations.
Using the general political crisis which degenerated into the secession of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia, with deep involvement and meddling of foreign political and military factors, ethnic Albanian secessionists convened on July 2 1990 in Kacanik to adopt the “Constitution of the Republic of Kosova”. This actions by he illegal and illegitimate “Assembly of the Republic of Kosova” resulted in the voluntary absence of the ethnic Albanian representatives from the debate on the future arrangement of Yugoslavia and the settlement of the crisis. In fact, secessionist leaders decided that their goals were to be realized by tearing down the outer Yugoslav borders and secession from Serbia. Acting on its “Declaration on Independence”, the secessionist leadership organized its operation in clandestine conditions, elected the “president of the Republic of Kosova”, formed the government and initiated the creation of their phantom state. Obviously the first thing to do was drawing the map of the “Republic”.
During the first six months of 1991, certain program modifications regarding priorities were made by Albania, and economic interest were put ahead of ideological ones. Thus, on June 20 1991, the meeting of the EU foreign ministers decided to renew diplomatic relations with Albania and granted it the status of full member of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (later renamed Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe — OSCE); the Albanian foreign and domestic policy was based on the multi-party system made official by the democratic elections in the spring of 1992; a change of the Albanian policy towards Yugoslavia and regarding the “Kosovo question” was expected; However, Albanian president Sali Berisha, congratulated Ibrahim Rugova on the successful organization of the elections for the “Republic of Kosova” on May 29 1992 with a message in which he stressed that “the Albanian people living in the territory of Kosovo has shown maturity and civic courage”. With it he practically reaffirmed the policy of the previous regime: to support secessionist ideology among the ethnic Albanians and to interfere with Yugoslav internal affairs. Relying on international media, he stressed on various occasions — and especially in an interview published by Corriere della Sera on November 16 1992 — the necessity of a military intervention against Yugoslavia and “Belgrade's military installations”, and in February 1993, his foreign minister appealed to the EU countries to grant recognition to the “Republic of Kosova”. At the same time, Sali Berisha stressed that “Albania will not be able to prevent Albanians from running to the aid of their brothers in Kosovo should a war break out there”. Reacting to this and some other secessionist demands, the League of Albanian Intellectuals from Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania — headed by Redxep Tchosya — invited the Albanian intelligentsia to become involved in the promotion of “spiritual, cultural and national unity”.
In March 1993, president Berisha sent an appeal to the NATO Command for Europe to seize the Kosovo and Metohija area with its troops and “prevent Serbian expansionism” forgetting the fact that he was referring to a part of the territory of the Republic of Serbia and that aggression and invasion of one's own territory has never been carried out and that the very idea of such an action is absurd. However, by admitting that the crisis that was shaking Yugoslavia has its roots in Kosovo and Metohija — confirmed by the numerous appeals to the West, mostly for political and military intervention in this territory — president Berisha and Dr. Rugova jointly asked that a UN controlled international protectorate be introduced for Kosovo and Metohija or a military intervention be carried out by NATO or at least by EU multi-national forces. Albania went a step further to help the NATO intervention and placed all its ports and military infrastructure at the disposal of the western alliance.
In February 1994, Albania signed the “Partnership for Peace” agreement with NATO. Consequently the Kosovo and Metohija policy was partially placed in the hands of the Alliance. Nevertheless, Albania continued to use every available opportunity to show its interest for Kosovo and Metohija, and it did not give up its support to the “Republic of Kosova” and demonstrated it by organizing the “Busati 95 maneuvers along the Yugoslav-Albanian border. It was meant to show its military prowess for the adventure of intervening in Kosovo and Metohija “should the situation require it” and should the West allow it.
The awareness that the international community, NATO, the US and the West in general are not completely prepared to endorse secessionism in Kosovo and Metohija unconditionally, enormous economic problems domestically, financial swindles and the sudden impoverishment of the already poor Albanian population in Albania, brought about the downfall of the Berisha policy and a rebellion, that soon spread all over the national territory, turning into uncontrolled plundering, robberies and disintegration of the entire state apparatus, including the Army and the Police, with the consequent rise of organized crime of all kinds with strong terrorist connotations. In such a situation, the only message that president Berisha addressed to the secessionist leaders was that they “must realize that democracy involves compromises” and that Albania is endorsing only the demands referring to the reinstatement of the autonomy that the province previously enjoyed according to the 1974 Constitution of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Soon after, at the parliamentary elections organized and supervised by the western countries, Mr. Berisha lost his office, and a new and apparently more moderate set of politicians — headed by Mr. Fatos Nano — came to power.
Meanwhile, the Islamic fundamentalist movement gained momentum in the country, an in accordance with the decision on full membership for Albania, passed by the Organization of Islamic Conference in 1994, a very strong system, quite convincing and agreeable to the masses, began to operate. Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and some other Group G-8 countries assumed the role of bearers of Islamic “aid”.
Under the influence of militant Islamism and with the support of western countries, after a temporary departure from the Kosovo secessionist ideas, and following the meeting between the Albanian premier and the president of FRY on Crete (1997), the Albanian policy concerning Kosovo and Metohija, FRY and Serbia, was brought back on the old track, this time with the idea that “negotiations between FRY and the leadership of the ethnic Albanians from Kosovo should start from elements founded on the 1974 Constitution of SFRY in order to find a solution that might satisfy the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo”. Furthermore, the same side insisted that talks should be under the control of a “third side”, i.e., sponsored by some international community institution. At the same time, terrorist activities were intensified in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as the propaganda aimed at the international community, and pressures made by the sponsors of the Albanian separatism — especially the US, a certain number of Western countries and several Islamic countries. Along with all this, the foreign intelligence services stepped up the efforts to organize, concentrate, and provide financial and political aid to the secessionists through the deployment of various emissaries, delegations, groups of monitors, humanitarian organizations. Illegal channels were also used to provide arms and military equipment, secret military training was organized for terrorists and other inadmissible forms of activities were used. This unveiled the ties between the Albanian political parties and the terrorists came to the surface.
When doctor Fehmi Vulya — head of the surgery department of the general hospital in Djakovica was arrested in June 1998, the plan for the creation of the so-called “Republic of Kosova free territory” was discovered. Doctor Vulya used the cover of alleged “humanitarian” efforts in the zone around Decani (close to the Albanian border), but as he later confessed to the investigators, he was the “coordinator of the armed activities together with the local activists of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Parliamentary Party and Social-Democratic Party, with the assignment to create a territory where free Kosovo might be proclaimed”. Acting from behind the scene — and posing as the “people's candidate” he was supposed to be proclaimed president of such “free territory” administered from Djakovica. The would-be president also confessed that he and his collaborators expected the international community to recognize their terrorist gangs as a “liberation army”, with the consequent international state recognition of the territory it was supposed to control. They even had a government ready, voted in March 1998 by the majority of the “deputies” of the phantasmal parliament of the inexistent republic.
International community support was far from what they had hoped for — both in its scope and volume. The support was not increased in spite of the “reputation of the mother country” that staked all it had in favor of the “Republic of Kosova”.
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