From: B Tilton 
Subject: [illusions] [BICNews] Albania: Kosovo history (Imam Kashif) (fwd)
Date: 2 Apr 1999 21:08:01 -0500
To: illusions@beyond-the-illusion.com

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Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 00:52:53 -0500
From: Ghayth Nur Kashif 
To: BICNews@MailingList.net
Subject: [BICNews] Albania: Kosovo history (Imam Kashif)


Please do not reply to BICNews unless submitting an Article!
Responses should be directed to the original sender: "Ghayth Nur Kashif" 

ASA
subscribers:
FYI
Albania view of Kosovo history:

THE ALBANIAN QUESTION

Who knows of Kosova, Albania and the Albanians? Who believes Europe=92s next
war will threaten to break out in these lands? It is true that few people
know of the geographic region and oftentimes confuse its location of events,
as if they happen in the former Soviet Union, or Argentina. This happens
because the mystery enveloping Albania and the Albanians, has not been
examined for who they are as a people. Today, the world is entertaining the
wildest fancies about the actual conditions of the Albanians, and have hazy
notions about their existence. Who are the Albanians and what are they
striving for? The answer to the question is "The Albanian Question".

For the Albanians, Kosova is central in their saga about "the Albanian
question". Kosova is a region populated with massive numbers of Albanians,
under Serbia=92s rule. Kosova is situated in the middle of the Balkans in
Europe, bordering Albania proper, Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro. Kosova
is claimed by Serbs as their Jerusalem and spiritual heart. If this is the
case, say the Albanians now make up more than ninety per cent of the region=
=92
s population, then this Serb heart has been transplanted into a foreign
body, which is Albania.

In medieval times, Serbia occupied Kosova, and the Serb Orthodox Church was
located therein. In 1912, when the Serb armies came to Kosova, in pursuit of
Turkish troops, they reconquered Kosova. The Albanians not liberated, they
have only been conquered by a new occupier. The majority of the population
of Kosova is not Serb but Albanian. Since 1912, Kosova has become, not only
a sizable thorn for Serbia itself, but has brought forth a sharp national
issue, which is penetrating through the Balkans and Europe, threatening
peace to the region. A solution must be found to this problem, and an answer
must be given to "The Albanian Question".

During the present decade, the world has become very familiar with "the
Albanian Question", as a result of the violence that has been going on in
Kosova. The situation in Kosova threatens to precipitate into a general
regional conflagration, for signs to the end of these contradictions between
Balkan states has not been reached. The Albanian Question is particularly
true to the Albanians history, past and present. The Albanians are the
oldest race in the Balkans. The determination that this remarkable race has
shown, maintaining its mountainous strongholds, through a long series of
ages, has hitherto met with scant appreciation in the outside world. The
Albanians have had to continuously rise against partition of their own
territories. "The Albanian Question" came up for settlement, first in the
Congress of Berlin in 1878, as a result of the Turco-Russian War, then again
in the London Conference in 1913, as a result of the Balkan War. At that
time, there were people who denied even the existence of such a question.
There are people who today, deny, as they did in 1878 and 1912, the problem
of the Albanian territories.

The general readjustment of the ethnic situation in the former Yugoslavia,
constitutes most of the work of the international community, since 1991. The
problem of the future of Albanians should be a predominant question in the
world today. Its solution cannot be ignored, nor can it be postponed, as it
has become a catalyst for the future of the Balkan region. Apart from its
connection with the interlocking elements of the politics of southeastern
Europe, Albania has a primary set of interests for her own survival. These
interests must be clearly comprehended and understood by the powers of the
U.N. Contact Group and the United States in particular, for the sole purpose
of redrawing the map of the former Yugoslavia. The rights of the Albanians
must be learned not through the utterances of the their occupying neighbors,
rivals and possible enemies, but through a more direct authoritative medium,
the voice of the Albanians themselves.

In the course of her long history, Albania has been invaded by various
civilized, half-civilized, and barbarian races. The Gauls, Romans, Goths,
Slavs, Normans, Venetians and finally, the Turks, set foot on and have
obtained temporary mastery over the Albanian territory. In the course of
time, the natives have gradually been driven out or assimilated the
invaders. A series of historical events, described by the Greek and Roman
writers, centuries ago, apply to the current conditions, in such a way, as
to make one imagine that the old writings are contemporary history. It is
those events, then and now, that have forced the Albanians to cling with
tenacity to their national traditions, language, and customs.

More than a thousand years before the arrival of Slavs, in the sixth century
A.D. , the lands east of the Adriatic were the home of peoples known to the
ancient world as Illyrians, the precursors of the present Albanians. The
Illyrian territory comprised much of what is now inhabited by the Yugoslavs
and Albanians. The Illyrian territory comprised the river of Danube in the
north, the Adriatic in the west, the Gulf of Ambrakia (Greece) in the south,
the Lakeland basin Scupi (Skopje) and the Kosova region in the east. The
ancient districts of Calabria and Appulia in southern Italy were included.

The Illyrians had close interrelationship with the Greeks. Being the most
ancient people in the region, they shared many old customs and traditions.
The Greek colonies, along the coast of the Adriatic, played a great role in
the infusion of the Greek civilization into the Illyrian hinterland. For
nearly three millennia, except for the present chauvinistic-shadowed
century, these two original neighbors have never been in conflict with each
other.

The earliest information about the Illyrians can be found in Homer. In the
fourteenth book of Iliad, The Paeonians, an Illyrian tribe, are quoted as
horsemen who came "from their fertile regions, under the leadership of
Asteroups", and took part in the Trojan War. According to Homer, Ulysses
landed on the fertile coasts of the Illyrian tribe of Thesprotians. On his
return from Troy, Ulysses was welcomed by Phaeton, their generous and heroic
king. The Illyrians were also related to the Macedonians. The mother of
Alexander the Great was an Illyrian princess from Epirus.

According to Strabo=92s Geography, the Greek tradition identified the
Illyrians as an ethnos different from Macedonians and Thracians, as well as
from the Greeks. They spoke a language, of which no trace has survived. This
language belonged to the "family" of Indo-European languages, as shown from
the many names of Illyrian peoples and places preserved in Greek and Roman
records, both literally and epigraphically. The Greeks had a word for
speaking of the Illyrians, "illurizein", and recognized this language as
distinct from Greek. The Albanian language of today is entirely distinct
from the tongues spoken by the neighboring nationalities. This language is
particularly interesting for it is the only surviving representative of the
Illyrian group of languages, which formed the primitive speech of the
inhabitants in the Balkan Peninsula. In the course of time, the Albanian
language has been impregnated by a number of foreign words, mainly of Greek
and Latin origin, which are younger than the Albanian language.

The Albanian language is the best available means for a rational explanation
of the meaning of names of the ancient Greek gods, as well as the rest of
the mythological creations. The Homeric poems abound in words that have
survived in the spoken Albanian language. According to the German scholars,
who laid the foundations of the Albanian studies in the 19th century, the
present day Albanian language represents the latest phase of the old
Illyrian language or more precisely, Illyrian dialect. The current version
of the theory of the Albanians origin, is centered on the unbroken descend
of modern Albanians from the Illyrian people, formed in the Bronze Age.
Geographically, it coincides with the territory inhabited presently by the
Albanians.

Frequent wars forced the Illyrian tribes to establish alliances with each
other. Eventually, these alliances developed into tribal federations. The
most important of them, was the federation of the Taulantis, comprising
western Illyria, eastern Illyria or Dardania (present Kosova and western
Macedonia), and Mollosia (Epirus). In the 3rd century D.C., Alexander the
Great of Macedonia incorporated part of Illyria into his own Empire. The
Illyrian kingdom culminated with the Queen Teuta, in the 2nd century B.C.
She led the Illyrian navy to attack Sicily and the Greek coast colonies. She
practiced piracy on a large scale in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, thus
antagonizing Rome, which finally sent a large fleet to defeat the Illyrian
navy. The Roman-Illyrian wars continued for nearly a century, ending with
the conquest of the whole Balkan Peninsula by the Romans and the surrender
of the last Illyrian king, Genthius, in 167 B.C.

The spread of Roman citizenship in subsequent generations bound Illyria more
closely to the Roman Empire. Most importantly, the fighting men of lllyria
became a principal source of soldiers for the Roman army. Most the Roman
soldier- emperors, after the later part of the 3rd centery A.D., were of
Illyrian origin, =91Virtus Illyrici=92 or =91Genius Illyrici=92. When=
 Septimus
Severus, governor of the Danube provinces, seized the throne in 193 A.D., he
disbanded the Italian Praetorian Guard, replacing them with soldiers
recruited largely in Illyria and Thrace. In 268 A.D. this Preatorian Guard
killed Emperor Gallienus and replaced him with Claudius II, one of the
brilliant young Illyrian officers, promoted by the ranks. He was succeeded
by Aurelian, another skillful Illyrian general, who secured the Danubian
frontiers. Aurelian restored both Eastern and Western Provinces to the Roman
Empire he reconquered Gaul and stabilized the Roman economy. Later in Roman
history, the army of Eastern Rome proclaimed another Illyrian as Emperor,
Probus. He liberated Gaul from the Franks and Alemani, and freed Egypt from
Sudanese invaders.

Between 282 and 285 A.D., another Illyrian, Marcus Aurelius Carus, was
declared Emperor. Upon his death, his son Carinus claimed the throne. The
Army of Eastern Rome ignored Carinus, and selected as Emperor one of their
own officers, Diocletian, also an Illyrian. He restored the Roman Empire to
its former greatness and in 286 A.D., promoted a fellow Illyrian,
Maximilian, to the rank of Caesar and Augustus, in recognition of his
victories. To further strengthen the imperial power and to assist in ruling,
both Diocletian and Maximian chose young Illyrian men as Caesar. Diocletian
selected Gaius Galerius in the East, and Maximian chose C. Flavius
Constantinus in the West. The latter was the father of the future
Constantine the Great. Diocletian and Maximian adopted these young men and
gave them their daughters=92 hand in marriage, thereby cementing the ties
between the East and the West.

Illyria was one the first scenes of the evangelic activities of Paul the
Apostle, in which the Christian message was preached. According to the
Bible, Paul the Apostle "fully preached the gospel of Christ roundabout
Illyricum", and in the flourishing cities of Dyrrachium and Appolonia, still
in existence in present Albania. Octavius Augustus had studied at a military
academy in Appolonia, before returning to Rome to become its Emperor, when
his uncle, Julius Caesar was assassinated. Cicero called Appolonia a
"beautiful and imposing city". William Shakespeare had chosen Appolonia as
an attractive scene of events in his famous play "The Twelfth Night".

It was during this period of time, the worst persecution of Christians took
place. The first martyrs of Christendom in Europe, Florin in 117 A.D. and
Lorin in 138 A.D., both Illyrians, had been killed in Ulpiana (near present
Prishtina). The Roman Emperor Galerius from Illyria, convinced of the
futility of the persecutions on the Christians, issued the Edict of
Toleration, which granted Christians the freedom of worship. To the newly
instituted Christian Empire, Illyria contributed the men who instituted it.
Constantine the Great converted to Christianity and put the symbol of Christ
on his soldiers=92 shields. He was a native of Naissus ( Kosova), which at
that time was an Albanian town, just as it is now a Serbian one. Saint
Jerome, the first translator of the Holy Scriptures into Latin, and the
Father of Church of Christ, is noted in Butler=92s book, Lives of Saints, as
born in Illyria and speaking the Illyrian language. Pope Sylvester, and the
Emperors of Byzantium, during the 6th century A.D., Justin and his nephew
Justinian, were also of Illyrian descent.

The division of the Roman Empire made Illyria, a continuous bone of
contention between these two parts of the Empire. One particularly
irritating dispute between these two halves of the Empire, was a territorial
one. Illyria lay west of the north-south line separating them, and was
usually considered part of the West. The Court of Constantinople coveted and
seized part of it. This action resented the West and caused Illyria to serve
as a perpetual reason for enmity between the two, the same as Albania is
doing today.

During the periods of the great tribal migrations, Illyria was repeatedly
subject to the first invasions. In 395 A.D., the Visigoths under Alaric,
descended upon Illyria, Macedonia and Greece. Their assault was followed by
the Huns and then by the Ostrogoths in 461 A.D. From the late 6th century to
the mid 7th century, the Slavs, natives of the regions between the Don River
and Black Sea, in present Russia and Ukraine, flooded the Balkans, putting
an end to Byzantine authority as well as the Roman civilization in this
area. Four distinct Slav groups may be identified in the Balkans in the 10th
century. They were respectively the ancestors of the present day Serbs,
Croats, Slovenes and Bulgarians. Within this territory, there were many
non-Slav people, mostly survivors of the Illyrians. The memories of Pax
Romana, found in the coastal cities of the Adriatic, whether under Byzantium
or Slav rule, still evoke strong memories, today. They are the Romanized
Illyrians, who retained their Latin culture and dominated the Albanian
language. Secondly, the ruins of Diocletian=92s Palace at Split, and the
remnants of Via Egnatia evoked these memories. This route, Via Egnatia,
crossing the Balkan peninsula, linked Rome with the Illyrian ports of
Appolonia and Dyrrachium to Constantinople. Via Egnatia was used by the
Albanians until late in the last century.

After the barbarian invasions and Slav migrations, the Romanized Illyrians
of the north were gradually assimilated or disappeared from the historical
scene. Those in the south, who populated New Epirus, Old Epirus, Dardania
(present Kosova and western Macedonia) and the south of Prevalitania
(present Montenegro) resisted on, by retaining intact a separate Illyrian
identity and their own order and social system. In the course of centuries,
this old population, with its tormented history, was to lose its ancient
name of Illyrian, and entered medieval times under the name of Albanian. The
last time, the Illyrians have been mentioned as an ethnic group, was in the
7th century A.D. document of the Byzantine Empire called Miracula Sancti
Demetrii. The habitat of the Illyrian tribe of Albanoi was distinguished in
the 2nd century A.D., by the Alexandrin geographer Claudius Ptolemy. In the
11th century, the Byzantine historian Michael Attalaite had mentioned the
Albanians, as participating in the military revolt fermented by General
George Maniaces against Constantinople in 1043. By the end of the 11th
century, the Normans occupied these territories and referred to them as
Albania. Due to the depression of the Byzantine Empire in the late 12th
century, the first Albanian state, Albanoi, reigned by native kings, was
recorded.

The Bulgarians, since the 9th century, occupied vast territories of the
Byzantines, including Albania. With some intervals, the Bulgarian rule
lasted until the year 1241. In 1272, Albania was occupied by Anguins of
France, and Charles I was proclaimed Regnum Albaniae, with Dyrrachium
(present Durres) as the capital. It was during this time, the first
recognizable Serb state, known today as Old Serbia, was born in Rashka
 present Serbia proper), with Stephen Nemanja (1168-1196) as its founder.
After conquering part of present Kosova and Macedonia in 1185, Nemanja
proclaimed his independence from the Byzantines. The remaining Albanian
territories continued to be under the Norman rule even during the 13th
century.

In the middle of the 14th century, the whole Kingdom of Albania, as well as
Greece and Macedonia was overrun by the Serbian Empire. The Serb Czar
Stephan Dushan the Great (1331-1355) proclaimed himself Emperor of the
Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians and Albanians. The Serbs relocated their capital
from Rashka to Scupi, the former capital of Illyrian Dardania. This region
began to be called Kosova. As the Emperors had to be crowned by a patriarch,
Dushan raised the status of the bishop of the Serb Church to that of a
patriarch. A Serb Patriarchate was created in 1375, in the town of Peia in
Kosova.



The Turks continued to become a growing menace to the Balkan kingdoms and
principalities. Following the Battle of the Maritza River, in 1388, Bulgaria
was forced into subjection. The Sultan turned against the Serbs. A coalition
of Balkan forces: Albanians, Hungarians,Serbs and Bosnians, led by prince
Lazar of Serbia, met the Turks in the Field of Kosova. The battle of Kosova,
in 1389, ended with the total defeat of the coalition, and the Serb state
ceased to exist. Some Albanian feudals managed to form powerful independent
principalities in the mountainous regions of Albania: Prince Balscia
established his principality in present Montenegro and Kosova. Prince Thopia
established his principality in present Albania proper, and Prince Shpata in
Epirus.

During the first half of the 15th century, Albanians fought against the
Turks under their national hero, King George Castriotti. He was taken
captive as a child by the Turks, and brought to the Court of the Sultan. He
converted to Islam, and eventually was titled Scanderbeg (Alexander the
Commander), in recognition of his performance as one of the Sultan=92s best
field commanders. When Scanderbeg learned in 1443, the Albanians were
revolting, he came to Albania with 300 faithful cavalrymen, renounced Islam,
and returned to Christianity. Scanderbeg united all the Albanian princes
under his banner, and began a long fight against the Turks until his death
in 1468. Scanderbeg made great efforts to organize an alliance of the
European Christian states to halt the penetration of the Turks into Europe,
envisaging a crusade against them. Scanderbeg traveled to Rome to meet the
Pope and ask for his help. Pope Pius II was enthusiastic of this plan and
promised support for Scanderbeg, whom he called the "Champion of
Christianity". Preoccupied with their own conflicts, the Europeans were slow
in responding to the appeal, and with the death of Pius II in 1464, all
plans were abandoned.

After Scanderbeg=92s death in 1468, the Albanians continued their fight for
independence, but resources had come to an end. After a two year siege, the
Albanian capital Croya, fell to the Turks, followed by Scodra in 1478 and
Durres (Dyrrachium) in 1502. Albania was the last Balkan country to be
occupied by the Turks. The Albanian resistance continued in the mountains
well into the next century. In 1681, Austria invaded the Turkish-occupied
territories of the Balkans, and led to uprisings of its oppressed peoples.
The Albanians, in an effort to get rid of Turks, welcomed the Austrian
invasion in Kosova. They fought under the leadership of Pietro Bogdani, a
distinguished Albanian scholar of the time and Catholic priest. The Turks
pushed the Austrians back and hopes of liberation vanished once again.

It is interesting to note, the name of Albania has been thought to be
derived from the Latin word =91Alba=92, meaning =91dawn=92 in English.=
 Albania is
the place where the sun rises to be seen by the West. While called Albania
from the westerners, the Albanians called their own country =91Arberi=92,=
 and
themselves Arber or Arbereshe. During the 16-17th centuries, the Albanians
in Albania began to call their country =91Skiperi=92, meaning in their=
 language
=91the nest of eagles=92. In their mountainous lands, the Albanians felt
themselves free as eagles. The symbol of the Albanian national flag has
been, throughout their history, the double-headed eagle. According to
Plutarch, the soldiers called Pyrrhus, King of Epirus from the Illyrian
tribe of Mollosia, =91the Eagle=92. Pyrrhus replied to his soldiers: "If I=
 am an
eagle, I owe it to you ". The names =91Arberi=92 and =91Arbereshe=92 are=
 preserved
to this day, by the Albanians who have migrated from their country. They
have formed enclaves in southern Italy, Morea of Greece, and Dubrovnik of
Croatia.

Perhaps, the most unusual group of Albanian-speaking people today, live
across the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy and western Sicily . Together,
they are known as the Arbereshi and arrived in Italy more than five
centuries ago . The very first Albanians to land in Italy were recorded in
1448, as soldiers led by King George Castriotti Scanderbeg. They came to
defend the Kingdom of Naples against attacks of the Frankish prince of
Aragon. In 1459, the Albanian army of Scanderbeg came again, this time to
help his ally put down a revolt against the King of Naples. In return for
Skanderbeg=92s assistance, he was given land near Taranto, some 250 miles
south of Rome. Beginning from 1488, around two hundred thousand Albanians
crossed the Adriatic from the shores of Albania, with well-armed Turks in
hot pursuit . The settlers clung to rocky rural Mediterranean areas of Italy
and Sicily, reminding them of their mountainous native land of Albania.
Today, most of the people in these areas, with Albanian ancestry, still
speak an old form of the Albanian language, and call themselves Arbereshe.

By the beginning of the 18th century, the Turkish pashas (princes) of
Albanian descent, began to play an important role in the Ottoman Empire, as
the Turks dominated Albania. The Koprulus family, natives of Albania, has
given several remarkable prime ministers, governing the Ottoman Empire to
its heights in the 17th century. Mohammed Ali, an Albanian pasha, was sent
to Egypt to oppress a revolt . After suppressing this revolt he proclaimed
himself King of Egypt, disassociating Egypt from Turkey. The most important
of pashas, Kara Mohammed Pasha of Scodra in northern Albania, and Ali Pasha
Tepelena of Iannina, in the south, extinguished Turkish rule in Albania for
nearly a century . They failed to implement a new social order as Mohammed
Ali had done in Egypt . Ali Pasha Tepelena was known in the West as the
=91Lion of Iannina=92. He made the town of Iannina in Epirus, the veritable
capital of a small state, totally removed from Constantinople=92s influence.
He entered into independent relations with Napoleon of France, and hosted
Lord Gordon Byron of Britain, when he visited Albania during the early 19th
century .

In the 19th century, the Albanian struggle for national liberation entered a
phase with the achievement of political, economic and cultural independence
becoming paramount for the Albanians. At the same time, relations had been
established with the national movements of Greece, Romania and Italy.
Albanians participated actively in these countries=92 movements, which has=
 led
to their freedom. The first Greek President, Kounduriotis, and the first
Italian Prime Minister Crispi, were of Albanian descent. The Albanians in
Greece, contributed greatly to the independence of Greece. In the history of
the Greek revolution, the Albanian leaders Marco Botzari the Captain of
Suliots, Bouboulina the Lady Admiral, and Miauli the Great Admiral, became
heroes of this revolution. Today, they are still honored by the Greek
people.

The Balkan national liberation movements shook the Turkish Empire, by
creating, what is called "The Eastern Question". In 1878 Russia appeared at
the gates of the Balkans, trying to impose a Russian solution of who should
control the Balkan region. After attacking and defeating Turkey, Russia
concluded the San Stefano peace treaty in favour of the Balkan Slavs. The
most important provision of the treaty was the enlargement of Serbia and
Montenegro, at the expense of the Albanian populated territories. Since
then, Russia has been the most important player in the partition of the
Albanian lands, thus creating "the Albanian Question", which threatens peace
in Europe, today.

In 1878, the Congress of Berlin was held, to revise the provisions of the
San Stefano treaty. This Congress failed to recognize the national rights of
the Albanian people. Its decision to again divide the Illyrian lands gave
immediate impetus for the formation of the Albanian National League(ANL) in
Prizren. The ANL decided to defend the Albanian territories and establish
Albania=92s independence. The Albanians fought battles against both Turkish
and Slav troops, particularly in Ulcin (present Montenegro), Shtimle and
Kacanik (present Kosova). The Turks could crush the League=92s forces in=
 1881.
Trials were staged in Scupi, the capital city of the vilayet (province) of
Kosova, and in other Albanian provincial capitals-Scodra, Monastir and
Iannina. The reprisals against the Albanians created the first division of
the Albanian lands. The Congress of Berlin ceded to Serbia ,the regions
stretching from Leskovac and Vranie to Nish . Montenegro was given the
littoral regions of Tivar and Ulcin, and the mountainous regions of Plava
and Gucia.

Large scale uprisings broke out in Kosova and northern Albania in 1904 and
1910. The insurgents took Prishtina and Vucitern. After fierce fighting
against a 40 thousand strong Turkish army in Kacanik of Kosova, the
insurgents had to retreat. Another uprising broke out in 1911 in northern
Albania. This uprising spilt into Kosova, Pollog (Macedonia), and southern
Albania. The Turkish Sultan went to Kosova to try to placate the rebels, but
without result, as they insisted on full independence. In 1912, the Albanian
uprising engulfed all of the Albanian lands. In Kosova alone, there were 70
thousand insurgents, liberating all the towns of the region, including the
capital, Scupi. It compelled the Turkish Government to resign. The new
Turkish Government sent a delegation to Prishtina to negotiate peace. But it
was too late.

In the Autumn of 1912, the Balkan states formed an alliance against Turkey,
and the First Balkan War began. Within a month, the armies of Serbia,
Montenegro, and Greece penetrated deep into the Albanian territories.
Delegations from all over the country met at a National Congress in the town
of Vlora (southern Albania) and, on November 28, 1912, proclaimed the
independence of Albania. Unfortunately, it could not stop the second
division of Albania, taking place less than three decades from the former
one. The London Conference of the six European powers was held in 1913. It
gave Serbia the whole of Kosova and Macedonia, predominantly populated by
the Albanians. Montenegro was again enlarged at the expense of northwestern
Albania. Greece was given a considerable portion of southern Albania. More
than two thirds of Albania=92s territory was detached from its trunk. Kosova
(the Illyrian Dardania), the cradle of the Albanization, was still left
under foreign yoke. Serbia, at this time, decided to abolish the oldest
language of the Balkan region and all of Europe. The Illyrian-Albanian
language was prohibited to be used in public, by people who spoke it, tens
of centuries before.

In 1919, international plans for a third division of Albania were being
discussed at the Versailles Conference. An Albanian delegation was invited
and attended. They vigorously opposed the redivision of their country.
Fortunately, for the first time, the United States participated in the
international decision-making process of the Balkan region. At that time,
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, established the principle of
self-determination for nations, and he was a strong advocate for this
principle, thus backing the Albanian interests. A delegation of American
citizens of Albanian heritage traveled to Paris, and attended the Versailles
Conference under the leadership of Bishop Fan Noli. A true believer of
democracy, Bishop Fan Noli established the paradigm of democracy in Albania,
and became the first democratic Prime Minister of Albania, in the year 1924.
Within six months, democracy was overthrown by feudals, backed by the Serb
army.

In the Albanian territories occupied by Yugoslavia, known as Kosova, the
Serbs began a systematic campaign of subjugation and genocide against the
Albanians. The atrocities of the Serbs and the desire of the Albanians to
unite with the motherland, gave rise to a very strong liberation movement
among the Kosovar Albanians. The Kosovars organized armed groups and waged
guerrilla warfare. After eight years, the Serbs ruthlessly crushed the
unrest. The national, cultural, economic and social rights of the Albanians
were totally repressed. No expression of the Albanian national consciousness
was allowed. Thousands of Albanian families began to be forcefully removed
from Kosova and were deported to Turkey. A thorough program of massive
deportations was devised by the chairman of the Serb Academy of Sciences
Vaso Cubrilovic in 1938. He would advise the Serb Government that, "at a
time when Germany can expel tenths of thousands of Jews, and Russia can
shift millions of people from one part of the continent to another, the
shifting of a few hundred thousands Albanians will not lead to the outbreak
of a world war". The denationalization policy of the Serbs in Kosova, during
this period, failed to suppress the Albanian national consciousness.

Contrary to Vaso Cubrilovic beliefs, ethnic cleansing had erupted in other
parts of Europe, creating World War II . As Germany overtook Yugoslavia in
1941, the Kosovar people were liberated by the Germans. All Albanian
territories of this state, such as Kosova, western Macedonia and border
regions under Montenegro, were re-united into Albania proper. Albanian
schools, governmental administration, press and radio were re-established.
In 1945, the communists of Tito came to power in Yugoslavia. The Albanian
public structures, which had been in place in Kosova for four years, were
demolished and replaced by communist Yugoslavian ones. These measures of
destruction were contrary to the strong nationalistic sentiments among the
Kosovar Albanians. Wishing to keep union with their motherland , an armed
revolt of Albanians occurred in early 1945. This Kosovar revolt was harshly
suppressed, and Kosova was turned into a mere autonomous province of Serbia,
within a federal Yugoslavia. Once again, Albanian-populated territories were
ceded to Macedonia and Montenegro, both partner republics with Serbia, in
the post-World War. The Albanian communists collaborated with Titoite
communists during World War II, and agreed with the re-incorporation of
Kosova into Yugoslavia.

In 1949, the Titoite communists, reduced further the status of Kosova, from
an autonomous province of Serbia, to that of an administrative one. The
Albanians were completely stripped of everything relating to their
nationality, and were turned into second-class citizens. They were excluded
from political and economic life. Only Serbs could be allowed to hold public
and governmental positions of the state. Only the Serb language was
recognized as the official =91national language=92. The Serbian language was=
 to
be used in the formal administration of the state, courts of law, schools,
and all public forums. The Albanian language was prohibited.

The minister of security Alexander Rankovic, was given total freedom by
communist President Tito, to take liberty of all Albanian people, men,
women, and children. His liberties consisted of killing, political
imprisonment, internments of whole families, pillaging and raping of the
masses. After two decades of these barbarous treatment, President Tito used
Rankovic as a scapegoat to try and to appease the unrest of the Albanian
people. In 1967, President Tito urged some improvements be made. Kosova
became a socialist autonomous province under Serbia. The Albanians demanded
Kosova become a republic of the Yugoslav federation. This demand was
forcibly denied. On the eve of the Albanian National Independence Day,
November 28, 1968, massive demonstrations of Albanians took place in several
towns of Kosova and western Macedonia. They peacefully demonstrated for a
free republic of Kosova, incorporating all Albanian populated territories in
Yugoslavia. The organizers of these demonstrations were tried and
imprisoned.

President Tito implemented constitutional changes in 1974, giving Kosova
special status as an autonomous province within Serbia. With its own
constitution, and the ability to bypass the Serbian government in many
political matters, Kosova became a federal constituency, the same as the
other Yugoslav republics. It had its own parliament, government, judiciary
system and police. Kosova had a representative and a one voice vote in a
rotating eight-member Yugoslav Presidency. Soon after Tito=92s death, the
Serbs were hard at work trying to re-take Kosova, and return it to its
former status, a mere province of Serbia.

Beginning in the summer of 1981, the students at the University of Prishtina
began rioting in defense of all Albanian national rights. The status of
Kosova to be equal with the other Yugoslav republics, was in question. This
situation left over 300 Kosovar Albanians being killed. Thousands of
children were being poisoned by the food given to them at their schools.
Pregnant women, of both Moslem and Christian beliefs, were receiving
injections of drugs, which created human deformity in newborns.
Mysteriously, hundreds of Kosovar Albanians rank-and-file of the Yugoslav
military began to commit suicide, and were sent to their families in coffins
for burial. More than 600 thousand Kosovar Albanians, nearly one-third of
the Albanian population, went through police hands at this time. Kosovar
Albanians, numbering more than 7,000, received jail sentences for up to 20
years for their participation in protests and demonstrations. In 1988, 89
and 90, waves of massive demonstrations by dissatisfied Albanians were
mercilessly crushed by Serb police using military tanks.

The Serb communist leader Slobodan Milosevic began calling nationalistic
rallies of thousands of Serbs. He began to lay blame for the Serbs economic
troubles on the Albanians and their constitutional status. On March 1989,
the Serbs using a police force and military tanks, surrounded the building
of the Kosova Parliament, and did not allow 115 Kosovar Albanian voting
candidates to vote on constitutional changes Milosevic wanted. This vote
abolished the Constutution of Kosova. In a speech before a Serb crowd in
Kosova, Milosevic incited them by saying: "This is your country...Yugoslavia
does not exist without Kosova...Yugoslavia and Serbia are not going to give
up Kosova". With forced constitutional changes and the subsequent
dismantling of the Kosova administration and economy, these 115 delegates of
the Assembly of Kosova proclaimed, in 1990, the independence of Kosova
within the Yugoslav federation, and a government to be led by Dr. Ibrahim
Rugova.

Serbia=92s response was quick. Milosevic, by order, abolished the Assembly=
 of
Kosova and dissolved its government. Consequently, the courts were abolished
and the economy was destroyed. All schools in the Albanian language were
closed down. The entire Albanian-speaking media (radio , television and
press) were silenced. Health services, cultural institutions and all state
funds destined for Kosova were usurped. Forms of repression and genocide
became multi-dimensional. The Serbs began using media terror, a campaign
through radio and press, to repress the Albanian race and Albanization.
Ideological differentiation became prevalent when any person voicing a
different political view other than the Milosevic communist ideology would
lose their job, their pension, health services, and would be denied access
to all state run financial lending institutions. The science of Albanologhy
and its relevant Institution in Prishtina was closed, and its building was
given to Serbs for only Serb use. The Albanian University in Prishtina , the
only institute of higher education in Kosova, was closed. All the University
buildings and state financial support were given to Serbs for only Serb use.



Political trials, ethnic discrimination, punitive expeditions, demonstrators
being killed, mysterious deaths of army conscripts from Kosovar Albanian
background, deformed newborns, and the poisoning of the children were all
part of Milosevic reign of terror. Punitive expedition should not be
forgotten, for these were large armed police gangs sent to burn homes,
torture whole families, and seek out those Albanians in question, only to
kill them. Albanians were fired from every state job, creating a region with
an unemployment rate exceeding 70 per cent of the Albanian working force.
Every peaceful religious, political, social, and youth gathering by the
Albanians was broken up by Serb police and army. Many Albanians were
arrested and accused of counter-revolutionary activities. Kosova continued
to exist as a state governed only by martial law. Riot police moved against
the crowds with unjustified violence, opening fire indiscriminately on the
Kosovar Albanian people. This situation has continued unabated, despite the
peaceful attitude of the Albanian government of Rugova.

The coexistence of two completely separate and unequal political systems in
Kosova, the official Serb state and the Kosovar Albanian government with
limited ability to govern, can hardly persist. This government does not have
police, army and a judicial system, therefore, it is not a government in the
true sense of the word. Relations between Albanians and Serbs are based on a
system of apartheid grounded in ethnic hatred and growing fear. A total lack
of communication between the two communities and their leaders has produced
a political, economic and social stagnation for nearly a decade.

Both the Albanians and the Serbs claim sovereignty over Kosova=92s=
 territory.
The Serbs consider Kosova to be the =91cradle=92 of their nation and the
birthplace of the Serb Orthodox Church. They remember the Field of Kosova,
just outside Prishtina, as the site of the Battle of Kosova in 1389, which
brought Serbia under foreign occupation. Conversely, the Albanians claim
Kosova to be the cradle of Albanization. They are the native and original
people of this area, as they are descendants from the Dardanian tribes of
the Illyrians. They say the Serb nation was not born in Kosova, but in
Rashka, further north in present Serbia. With 90 per cent of the inhabitants
of Kosova being ethnic Albanians, living in this region since antiquity, the
principle of self-determination, established by President Wilson in 1919,
seems needed in this situation for Kosovar Albanians. The Albanians of
Kosova assert that Kosova should have its independence since the
disintegration of Yugoslavia began in 1991. All constituent people of former
Yugoslavia have their own independence and freedom, except Kosovar
Albanians.

Albanians in Kosova are Muslim and Catholic. Practicing Orthodox Serbs
comprise only 8 per cent of the Kosova population. The Serb occupiers, since
1389 have transformed Catholic churches into Serb Orthodox churches. They
have tried to change religion in a country with roots that go back to Homer.
Kosovar Albanians are honored that five emperors, ( one of which introduced
Christianity to the world), two popes, numerous cardinals and bishops, and
soon to become a saint, Mother Teresa, came from their motherland. Mother
Teresa, because of religious persecution, was not allowed to enter or
communicate to communist Albania and did not attend her mother, brother and
sister=92s funeral, or even know of their deaths. Cardinal Michel Koliqi of
Scodra was persecuted for his religious beliefs and served twenty eight
years in prison before before being released. Cardinal Michel Koliqi died
January 28, 1997.

The Serbs have a fable that begins in 1689, with a patriarch greeting the
Austrian army, who was in pursuit of Turks in Kosova. When the Austrians
were forced to retreat, it is said this patriarch led columns of Christian
Orthodox Serbs, numbering in the thousands, out of Kosova. The fallacy with
this fable is proven in documentation by then Austrian Commanding General
Piccolomini. In fact, Austrian troops were greeted by a patriarch. This
patriarch was the Albanian Catholic Archbishop Pieter Bogdani of Scupi. He
and the Austrian General agreed to join forces against the Turks. This
Albanian Archbishop is responsible for the translation of the voluminous
"The Christian Doctrine" and many other religious books from Latin into
Albanian. There is no historical evidence about any Serb patriarch leading
columns of Christian Orthodox Serbs away from Kosova.

It has been proven, the history of the Albanian people has not been
historically told. Fables do not make history. In the saga of the Albanian
people, the world has learned of the apartheid of a people in their own
motherland. Kosovar Albanian Christians and Kosovar Albanian Moslems stand
united for their belief of a truly democratic and peaceful land. Their
shadow government, that is comprised of multi-religious people, work
together to maintain a political, religious and social order, that brings
peace for all in Kosova. The absurdity of treating the masses as a minority
is hypocrisy in its truest form. How can democracy exist when Serbs regard
Albanians as "a minority" when they are the masses? The European community
talks of autonomy for Kosova under Serb rule. The United States Government
believes that a more balanced democracy should exist for the people of
Kosova, by giving them an enhanced autonomy. Now the question arises: How
far does this kind of autonomy go to lead to the liberation of the Kosovar
Albanian people and create a true democracy in this region? President Wilson
envisioned in 1919 the principle of self-determination of nations and was a
staunch advocate for this principle. Will this Wilsonian principle be
applied to the liberation of the Kosovar Albanian people?

Albanians will not live under Serb rule any more. They refuse to participate
in the political systems of Serbia. They will achieve full independence and
international recognition for their Republic in Kosova. The policy of a
passive resistance against the Serb administration has failed and no longer
will be considered. Kosova Albanians have demanded international involvement
in the process of finding a solution to this crisis. In view of the rigid
position of the Serb authorities and the lack of will by the international
community to solve this crisis, the patience of the Albanians have been
exhausted. The present political impasse is escalating into a deeper and
more passionate national issue. Neglecting a resolution for the Kosova
crisis dangerously risks a wildfire that will spread beyond Kosova=92s
borders. Both the Albanians in Albania proper and the Albanians in Macedonia
will not stand for blood being shed from their fellow Kosovar Albanians.
Macedonia will be destabilized. Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria will be
involved, because of their ethnic backgrounds and territorial ambitions.
Turkey, a NATO member, will attack Greece, a NATO member. This will mean a
new Balkan War. This will have severe consequences for all of Europe=92s
security and stability!

There has been a successive reign of terror in all of the former Yugoslav
republics, since the breakup of Yugoslavia. Beginning in 1992, Slovenia was
the first republic to experience atrocities, by Milosevic of Serbia. Croatia
was the second republic to experience Milosevic=92s progressive aggression.
Milosevic the Serb totally annihilated the town of Vukovar in the summer of
1993. Next in the chain of Milosevic=92s terror was Bosnia. All of Europe
witnessed mass graves, pillaging, raping of women, complete destruction of
towns, and the establishment of concentration camps, while all of Europe has
remained passive to this monster. With nothing of value remaining in
Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia, Milosevic the Serb unleashed his police and
military aggression on Kosova. Milosevic is the first state leader, since
post World War II, to implement a policy of scorched earth. This policy is
creating a twenty kilometer wide zone of destruction along the entire border
of Albania. This destruction is causing refugee camps to be built in Albania
for a constantly growing number of Kosovar Albanians. Milosevic the Serb is
implementing a scorched earth policy and the policy of genocide in Kosova,
today. Milosevic the Serb is a wanted war criminal, yet western leaders bow
to Milosevic as if he was not a war criminal

The United States has made promises to protect Kosova. In 1992, President
George Bush let Milosevic know the United States was prepared to use force
if Serbian violence spilled into Kosova. President Bill Clinton reiterated
this Bush warning. The peaceful resistance of Albanians has been based on
these promises. Currently, U.S. policy on Kosova is focused on an
internationally mediated and unconditional settlement, between Yugoslav
President Milosevic and Kosovar Albanian leader Rugova. Slobodan Milosevic
is constantly defying American policy on Kosova, because there is no
uniformity in decisions. Milosevic has refused international mediation, and
has escalated military and police violence, while implementing ethnic
cleansing.

The United Nations Contact Group is divided over the slightest economic
sanctions. The Contact Group, a seven-member voting board is not an
objective opinion of world affairs. One member, Russia, is closed minded to
any issue regarding Russian-backed terrorists, Serbs. How can America
financially support an evil government, which gives modern tanks, planes and
helicopters to Serbs to shed blood in Kosova? The Kosovars situation seems
only to be a true abyss.

What Albanians are looking for today, is nothing more than God has promised
to all human beings, Freedom and Liberty. The Illyrian-Albanians are hopeful
for these universal rights that are innate in every living creature. The
Albanian-inhabited territories are presently divided into six states:
Albania proper, Kosova, Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia, and Greece. The
Albanians are a homogenous people separated with lines drawn by the
international community of mortal men. These lines have divided Albanian
regions, Albanian villages, Albanian tribes, and Albanian families. The
Albanians are caught in a web of borders among them. The Albanians must
apply for foreign visas to visit their relatives just a few hundreds yards
away.

Albanians believe in the promise of God. Presently, Albanians are in the
same situation as the ancient Israelites. During the Israelites march in
search of the Promised Land, they found themselves in the Sinai desert with
Egyptians at their back, trying to massacre them, while standing with their
feet on the shores of the Red Sea. As God parted the Red Sea, the Israelites
were fearful of the walls of water, and they had to make a choice: to be
drowned or to be massacred. Replacing their fear with their faith in God,
they were neither massacred nor drowned. God let them pass safely through
the waterway, so they could reach their Promised Land. God gave them Freedom
and Liberty, and sent their enemies to the bottom of the sea. Today,
Albanians must choose either to be massacred, or have freedom like their
Eagle. Albanians pray God will deliver His Promise.

Kosovar Albanians are hopeful the United States, as a country, which trusts
in God,will keep their promise to bring Freedom and Liberty to them. Liberty
was given to over seventeen thousand Kosovar Albanians in 1987 by U.S.
President Ronald Reagan. These Albanians, fleeing Serb repression, found
themselves scattered hopelessly along the banks of the Rio Grande River,
bordering Mexico and the United States. They had a choice to either be
drowned or remain hopelessly wandering across the deserts of Mexico. They
were neither massacred nor wandered aimlessly. President Reagan, having a
deep passion for freedom, liberty, and democracy, spoke to border officials
and the Albanians were allowed to pass through the Rio Grande to find
freedom and liberty in a democratic land. These Albanians that were given
new life, believe President Reagan was moved by FRYMA HYJNORE (THE DIVINE
BREATH). This President, not only believed a government is evil that
suppresses people, but believed Freedom and Liberty are the Promise of God.

All Albanians are honored that a saintly Kosovar, Mother Teresa, spoke her
religious beliefs of God to three consecutive American presidents, spanning
two decades. Mother Teresa, an Albanian from Kosova, accepted an invitation
from President Reagan to be his guest at the White House. So moved by her
presence, President Reagan kissed Mother Teresa on the forehead and called
her "angel of the poor". President Bush received Mother Teresa and was
inspired by her divine spirit. She had addressed him on the eve of war "I
beg you with my whole heart to work for=85God=92s Peace". Once again, an
American president was answering the issues of God=92s Promise, Freedom and
Liberty. President Clinton invited Mother Teresa to a Presidential Prayer
Breakfast, where she spoke about the freedom and liberty of life.



In history, scholars have discovered many hidden paradoxes. During World War
II, the Jewish people suffered the shameful holocaust of Hitler. They were
hunted, tortured, killed, and exterminated by the millions in all countries
of the European continent, except Albania. Not one Jewish man, woman or
child, living in the Albanian motherland, Kosova and Albania proper, lost a
life. They found warm and secure shelter with Albanian families, who
promised to hide and protect them from the Nazi Germans, whatever the
consequences. The Kosovar Albanian Minister of the Interior, during the
German occupation, promised Besa to all Albanians who hid Jewish people.
Besa is a pledge of an Albanian to keep a promise at the cost of his life or
the life of his entire family.

It is paradoxical that Albanian families in Kosova today, are being hunted,
tortured, killed, and exterminated. If Jews found safety in Albania, who is
going to give safety to Albanians being massacred by the Serbs? Albanian
families all over the world are asking the U.S. Government and international
community to stop the holocaust in the Albanian motherland. The world has
taken action against Adolf Hitler and Saddam Husein for atrocities, that
made them war criminals. How is Slobodan Milosevic different? When will the
United States Government and the international community take action to stop
the Serb genocide against this three millennia race of Kosovar Albanians?
The only answer must be aggressive action against Milosevic the Serb.

Discussion failed to bring peace in World War I and World War II. Force was
the last answer to bring peace during both world wars.With escalating
violence, bloodshed and ethnic cleansing, Kosovar Albanians are looking for
new ways and means to survive. A guerrilla group called the Kosova
Liberation Army (KLA) has emerged. The recent cycle of violence unleashed by
Serbs has been met with counterattacks from the KLA. The KLA is committed to
liberate Kosova and to bring their motherland to freedom.

Kosovar Albanians are trying today to do for their motherland, what freedom
fighter and Founding Father George Washington, and his fellow countrymen,
did for America two centuries ago. Kosovar Albanians are seeking Freedom and
Liberty , the same as the American people did two centuries ago. The Kosovar
Albanians are fighting to gain freedom from an occupying army, the same as
Nathaniel Green and the American Minutemen did. There is one exception, the
American Minutemen used armament their adversaries used. The Kosovar
Albanians are trying to gain their freedom peacefully, while children
demonstrate with wooden sticks against Serb tanks and war planes. Can
Freedom and Liberty be won with wooden sticks? Albanians have given Besa for
their motherland. The Kosovar Albanians need weapons to bring them Freedom
and Liberty. For Freedom and Liberty to ring in Kosova, the U.S. Government
must answer "The Albanian Question".

Men, women, and children in a democratic republic discuss their differences,
issues are resolved, hope is instilled in the masses, and life lives.

Men, women, and children in an oppressed republic are silenced for their
differences, issues are not resolved, despair is instilled in the masses and
life dies.

DISCUSS PEACE NOW!

THIS IS A CALL FOR PEACE

PEACE MUST RING NOW!

F R E E D O M
 L I B E R T Y
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