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Albanians in Kosovo Are a Nation, Serbs Are a National Minority

ivica dacic, serbia.
Ivica Dacic, Serb Foreign Minister.

It is true that Albanians in Kosovo are a nation, but Serbs are a national minority. But the First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, said the opposite. He said, “The Albanians in Kosovo aren’t a nation. They are an Albanian national minority because the Albanian people have their own state – that’s Albania. They say they need one president now…”

Actually it wasn’t anyone in Kosovo who said that. It was Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama who said “Kosovo and Albania should have one President – M.H.). They can create Albania if they want to, but on the territory of other states. Surely, not on our territory.” [ b92 ]

However Dacic’s vulgar and untrue political and propagandistic statement against Albanian nation in Kosovo is false. Historically, politically, de facto and de jure, it is refuted by these irreplaceable facts: “Albanians descendants of the Illyrians, are an indigenous people in Kosovo. They are the most ancient people around. Slavs, that came to the Balkans at the end of the 6th century, began to appear in Kosovo by the end of the 12th century.” [Academic Mark Krasniqi, 1992:40].

These historical data are known from “Appianus and Herodotus and archaeological and anthropological findings, it is an established fact that, since ancient times, and today, too, Albanian Kosova has been inhabited by the Illyrians, who are the ancestors of the present-day Albanians who constitute 90% of its habitants, and henceforth must be rightly called Albanian Kosova.” (Ethnic Albania, 1944:61-62).

These historical arguments prove who is a Nation in Kosovo, – Albanians are a Nation, while Serbs are a national minority for many centuries.

Kosovo is a part of Ethnic Albania, not of the former colonial Serbia

First, Kosovo there was not minority, but colonial problem. Second, Kosovo is a part of the integral indigenous territory of the Ethnic Albania, not at all of Serbia. Third, the problem of the future status of Kosovo was already resolved on February 17, 2008 when the United States with its European Western Allies unilaterally recognized the independence of the Republic of Kosovo. In this context should say, also the fact that till now the Republic of Kosovo has been recognized by 114 member countries of the United Nations (2008-2017).

This political and judicial act of the recognition there was entire according to contemporary international law of self-determination and de-colonization in conformity with principle of equal rights of nations, large and small (Preamble,Chapeter I, Artcle 1 Purposes and Principles of UN Charter).

This legal recognition of the Kosovo Republic has also been confirmed by the International Court of Justice in the Hague on 22 July 2010 which declared that “According to the ICJ Advisory Opinion, the Unilateral Declaration of independence of Kosovo on 17 February 2008 DID NOT VIOLATED the International Law.”

We can debate pro et contra with Serbs by centuries, but Albanians in Kosovo, Albanians in Serbia (Presheva, Bujanoci and Medvegja) are indigenous nation in their autochthonous territories of the Ethnic Albania.

Therefore, there’s no more any valid legal and political arguments that Kosovo, and during this century(XXI) still be under colonial rule of Serbia because this would be unjust and contrary to the principles and norms of international law which dismiss’ any form of colonialism.

As the First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, and all Serbian authorities of the Belgrade should be clear with their very wrong political, juridical and historical explanation about Kosovo’s status because of the fact that Serbia has no more any percent of its legal sovereignty on Kosovo. This crucial argument which must knows also Mr. Ivica Dacic and Serbia’s government, too.

Being that Kosovo was a Serbia’s colony in continuity from 1912 to 1999, in this case, Ivica Dacic could not treat Kosovo as Serbia’s territory in no sense be it historic, ethnic, political or national because has last its colonial rule of its 100-year colonial rule of terror, ethnic cleansing, economic exploitation, resettlement of over one million Albanians, genocide etc. it has lost any colonial status over Kosovo of the Ethnic Albania.

As noted above, historically and lawfully, Kosovo has never been Serbia’s legal property, but it was incorporated as an illegal and alienated territory within Serbia’s colonial sovereignty. Kosova was fissured from the indigenous territory of the Ethnic Albania by force and genocide committed by Serbia, who has had the allied supported by Russia and other European Great Powers represented at the London Conference of Ambassadors in 1913, and the Conference of Versailles (1919-1920).

As above Serbia have to accept the new Kosovo political reality, and recognize the independence of Republic of Kosovo. This is the only way to normalize mutual relations and to live together in peace Serbs and Albanians as two neighborhood independent people and states in the Balkans. Otherwise, there’s no excuse to Serbia’s colonialism and hegemony on Kosovo which recognized by 114 countries of the United Nations (2008-2018).

Despite the bitter history and experience as victims of terrorism, genocide and oppressive 100-year colonialist repression, Albanians are willing to reconcile and have normal relations with Serbia as it recognizes Kosovo’s independence. This is a basic condition for reconciliation with Serbs.

We do not want to get into a war with Serbia, but a real and stable friendship, cooperation and peace. But it depends on official Belgrade.

Mehdi Hyseni is an Albanian Ph.D. in International Political Relations, residing in Boston.

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