"The recent unrest brought back the demand for Kosovo to become a republic and to include the Albanian population in the neighboring republics of Macedonia and Montenegro", wrote Eric Borune, special correspondent of "The Christian Science Monitor" on May 7, 1981.
A year after taking office, the members of the joint presidency of Yugoslavia are facing the first post-Tito unity tremor of this multinational state.
Nationalist unrest that erupted in the ethnic Albanian-majority province of Kosovo in March has shaken the confidence of the new leaders, who appeared to be enjoying a smooth ride while maintaining the non-alignment policies established by Tito.
The discontent also sparked public anger, concerned that officials had evidence of pending trouble and that they had done nothing to prevent it from escalating into an all-out threat to the federation as a whole.
Now, the head of the Communist Party in the province has resigned amid calls for a purge. Mahmut Bakalli has accepted most of the responsibility for not being able to prevent the nationalist riots.
Since 1945, this back corner, once a Serbian "colony", has been like a childhood problem in the attempt to create and maintain a stable Yugoslav union with many peoples, languages and religions. Anti-Serbian demonstrations have erupted from time to time. Continued federal aid since the fifties and the "Albanization" of the police in 1966 have made little real difference.
It is not surprising, then, that Tito's followers are concerned about this first threat to his dream of security through "fraternization". It has been overshadowed by massive economic problems – the ports are still not competitive in the West, despite closer relations with the European Community and subsequent 44 percent dependence on Komekon trade.
Since 1974, Kosovo has had autonomy in all internal matters. Why then not the status of the republic? Seems like a simple enough solution.
also
Escape from the land of ethnic chaos
The recent unrest brought back the demand for Kosovo to become a republic and to include the Albanian population in the neighboring republics of Macedonia and Montenegro.
A Belgrade newspaper considers it absurd to talk about exploitation as the extremists (of Kosovo) refer to a region that has received so much help from the rest of the country. However, the economic benefit has not moderated the acute nationalist feeling nor the underestimating feeling of socio-political inferiority.
