Crisis in Albania and Kosovo

AIM Pristina, 19 September, 1998

In the present great engrossment of Kosovo Albanians in the latest developments in Albania, there has been no major outbursts of emotions like last year. The change has not been conditioned by the situation in which Kosovo Albanians are, nor because conflicts in Tirana are less dramatic. The essence of the change is in newly acquired experience of Kosovo Albanians and new view of the situation over there.

There has not been major illusions about the possibility of involvement of Albania concerning Kosovo. Veteran of Albanian resistance to Belgrade after the Second World War and now representative of the Liberation Army of Kosovo (OVK), Adem Demaqi, declared a few days ago that Albanian resistance, has never since the fifties counted on Albania as the decisive factor and that it has always been just the internal need of Kosovo Albanians. This is approximately the stand of all Albanian parties and organizations in Kosovo in constant re-examination of the possible influence of the Albania's political chaos on lowering of the price of Kosovo Albanians in the political and diplomatic bargaining with Belgrade and the big powers.

Analysts and diplomats who are dealing with the issue of Kosovo consider this question inevitable especially with the current developments in Albania, and representatives of the Albanians, in normal and abnormal circumstances answer to it almost always in the same manner. For them, Albania is a mighty strategic and psychological stronghold, but never a decisive factor. It has not been that even at the time when resistance was offered by small or slightly bigger groups of the Albanians or in the first six months of this year when the resistance reached proportions of a general uprising. Assumptions of foreigners about involgvement and influence of Tirana were most clearly denied by last year's developments in Tirana.

While Albania was going through hell of blood-stained internal conflicts and the rule of criminal gangs or semi-criminal armed political phalanges, in Kosovo, the most powerful massive movement of non-violent active resistance to Serb rule broke out. As it is known, in the end of the year, this movement has acquired new outlines, and in the beginning of this year it developed into a real armed uprising of Kosovo Albanians. Despite much evidence which indicate that problems of Kosovo are essentially authentic, Kosovo Albanians have never managed to convince the rest of the international community that Tirana is not the source of main processes, political aims and activities of the Albanians in Kosovo. This does not refer to assessments which are also stated nowadays like before, that stable and progressive Albania can do more than other countries to help the process of achieving freedom of Kosovo Albanians.

New experience and information show that Kosovo Albanians, hoewever concerned they may be for Albania and whatever the assessment of the damage done to the cause of Kosovo Albanians, should by no means choose sides in the ruthless struggle for power. That is the reason why the following three stands prevail in the reactions of Albanian political and social organizations. The first is condemnatrion of the assassination of Azem Hajdari who headed the students and the people in Tirana in the end of last and in the beginning of this decade in the struggle for overthrowing the communist dictatorship. The second stand is a condemnation of application of force against state institutions and in every other form. The third stand is support to the principle that power can be won or lost only in elections.

Despite that, it would be false to claim that reactions are absolutely not burdened by the near and far past, especially of last year's bloody chaos and the manner in which the current authorities in Tirana came to power. Last year, Kosovo Albanians were deeply divided concerning the essence of the causes of developments in Albania and they were politically separated in clans the most powerul of which supported the then Albanian president Sali Berisha.

However, it is very important to underline that political divisions among Kosovo Albanians concerning the developments in Albania were not simply an expression of inclinations and aversions for the one or the other party in Albania. These divisions had deep internal inspirations as well. Regardless of how monolithic the Albanian ethnic political block may seem from the outside, there have always been, sometimes visible even from the outside, not clearly defined groups which could have been classified as left and right political orientations. The complex internal political stratification of Kosovo Albanians is blurred primarily by the position of the Albanians under Serbian rule. But, it should also be said that, due to the general situation, it has not been expressed through different organizations and that it is not founded on affiliation with the former League of Communists of Kosovo.

The entire left and right political orientation of Kosovo Albanians has its origin in the opposition, or rather resistance, from the left and from the right, to the rule of Belgrade in Kosovo. Along that line, although quite vaguely, appeared both the right which aspires to be the successor of the rightists from the time before the Second World War, and the left which, from the position further to the left than the League of Communists of Kosovo, offered resistance to Serbian rule during the entire period of the rule of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia. According to the thus projected, conditional division, the so-called right supported Sali Berisha, and the so-called left, except respectable member of Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts Rexhep Qosja, in a vague or concealed manner took sides with those who were trying to overthrow the regime of former president Sali Berisha. The impression is that this division is still present. However, with the exception of extreme cases of open declarations of some parties of right orientation, such as the Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Liberal Party of Kosovo, all the others express only their principled orientation.

However, it still is not clear whether such stands are the result of consciously accepted knowledge that stability of Albania cannot be accomplished by the victory of one side. If this commitment is not the result of political opportunism imposed by the current demands, primarily the attitude of the world, it may become a very precious experience in public and political life of Kosovo Albanians. If cooperation between two opposed parties, the authorities and the opposition, is the only condition of stability of Albania, such logic should also be applied in consideration of relations within the political movement of Kosovo Albanians.

As it is known, the Albanian movement of Kosovo is politically split to the extent which prevents even an ordinary gathering of political leaders in one place. This means that possible cooperation and coordination of political and other activities are out of the question, although everybody is talking about necessary cooperation and unity of vital interests and objectives. Similarities or equivalence should be also sought when presence and influence of the international comunity is concerned. Both in Albania and in the Albanian movement in Kosovo it has become an almost decisive factor in development of internal processes. The Albanians on both sides of the border still cannot understand that the only possible logic which directs activities of a foreigner in another country or environment is the logic of interests of that person's country of origin. Foreigners are greatly applying this logic and, in view of the general situation and interests their countries have when the Albanians are concerned, the foreigners use the possibility given them and often on purpose incite new and/or deepen the already existing divisions. It would be useful if Kosovo Albanians drew a lesson from the process and developments in Albania, as well as from sensitivity of relations with Albania which the broader and the immediate environment of the Albanian territory.

Developments taking place on the surface of political and other conflicts in Albania make the impression that Kosovo is one of the critical points of the current inter-Albanian confrontations. Mutual accusations range from treason to patriotism. In the unscrupulous political struggle which is even taking human lives, extremes expressed in this way just confirm that Kosovo is in fact only a merchandise for making cheap political points. It is clear to everybody that real interest of Kosovo is cooperation and understanding of all political forces in Albania and in all the other regions inhabited by the Albanians, and Pan-Albanian cooperation and understanding.

When speaking about the approach to the question of Kosovo, among main political forces which are clashing in Albania there has never been and there still are no differences which would be worth mentioning. Regardless of the sharpness of rhetoric and numerous tricks especially of the Albanian prime minister Fatos Nano, as well as possible maximalist wishes, everybody in Tirana seems to be making realistic estimates about possibilities of Albania in promoting the cause of Kosovo and Kosovo Albanians. There is no foundation for the conviction in Kosovo and the world that Berisha has been and still is a greater nationalist than Fatos Nano. This impresion was created mostly on the basis of statements of Fatos Nano who is trying to present himself on the diplomatic scene as a better man than Berisha. Albanian prime minister overdid it on several occasions, but it should be said that not even here, where things have become red-hot, has this been taken seriously. After all, it is known and generally accepted that Kosovo Albanians will have the decisive word about Kosovo.

AIM Pristina

Fehim REXHEPI