The interview with academic Rexhep Qosje that we are bringing to our readers was conducted by journalist Jovan Radovanović and was published in two parts: on December 12 and 13, 1991, in the Belgrade daily “Borba”. It is one of the first, but also rare, interviews of the time, published in the “Yugoslav” press in which academic Qosje reveals his platform for the solution of the “Albanian Question” in the former Yugoslavia. We recall that in those years the opinions of the leaders of the “Kosovo alternative” failed to find space in the international press, primarily because of the wars that had erupted in the former Yugoslav republics. Academic Qosje’s positions revealed in the Belgrade daily “Borba”, as expected, did not escape the well-known anti-Albanian campaign of the Serbian press, controlled by Slobodan Milošević.
"Yugoslav sovereignty has been imposed on Albanians"
“Yugoslav sovereignty for Albanians is an imposed and violent sovereignty. We will not rest until we receive the status of a nation and Serbia should be afraid of itself. It is in the interest of both peoples, both the Serbian and Albanian, to get rid of the Milosevic regime,” said academic Rexhep Qosja at the beginning of the conversation, continuing that “Yugoslavia is already in an accelerated process of disintegration. So, we can no longer talk about Yugoslavia. At the moment, there is or perhaps will be created a kind of small Yugoslavia, namely Greater Serbia, but Yugoslavia will no longer exist. Yugoslavia was a mistake in the history of the Balkans and history is now correcting that mistake. Some historians have said that Yugoslavia was created from ethnic chaos and its disintegration was inevitable. Gone are the days of empires and artificial federations. Therefore, the fate of Yugoslavia is tied with the fate of the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. If the existence of Greater Serbia is allowed, then this will be an even greater historical mistake. Europe will be forced to build yet another injustice, another illusion, against which, in fact, its democratic forces have risen today.
This is how one of the most prominent Albanian intellectuals from Kosovo, academic Rexhep Qosja, who is seen as a leading figure among those "radical" Albanians who are increasingly defending the option of unifying Kosovo with the state of Albania, answers our question. Now and immediately afterwards, Qosja says: "Albanians have nothing to complain about Yugoslavia, although at first glance it seems that its dissolution hinders the resolution of their national issue, because instead of one state, Yugoslavia, Albania and the Albanians will have to negotiate with three states - Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro. Despite the political behavior that has been imposed on us since 1912 - when Albanian territory was occupied by Serbia and Montenegro, that is, since 1918 - when Yugoslavia was created, Yugoslav sovereignty for us has been and has remained an imposed and violent sovereignty. However, with the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Albanian national issue on the Balkan and European political scene is actualized as a difficult, tragic and national issue and one that European and international institutions must deal with. Historically speaking, with the dissolution of Yugoslavia the construction of Albanian national unity begins. "This is the logic of history - the death of one state brings to life several other states."
You are one of the leaders of the Albanian Intellectuals Forum. Until recently, it was said that Albanian intellectuals were silent, but now it can no longer be said that way, because they have formulated their positions. What are those positions?
Qosja: I am not the leader, none of the leaders of any party, nor of any association or forum. In a way, I cannot become a man of the organization, of the party. The man of the organization seems to cease to be a man of the spirit. The organization, that is, the party, is a part of the people, which is opposed to other organizations, parties, which means other parts of the people! Whereas I want to be a man of the spirit, which means a man who communicates spiritually, that is, communicates politically, with the whole nation. From a political point of view it may sound inappropriate, but from an intellectual point of view – more than necessary. Albanian intellectuals have already formulated their views: national and political. And we all agreed on two things: first, Albanians will not rest until they are recognized as a nation, which means enjoying the right to self-determination, and second, parties are mechanisms that degenerate, so there must be intellectuals who will tell the truth to the people.
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Speech about a man of his word
We are not afraid, but we are careful of Serbia.
The views of independent Albanian intellectuals, in relation to political parties, when it comes to the Hague Conference, differ. Please explain to the readers what these differences are?
Qosja: The political parties of Albanians in Yugoslavia did not simply appear in The Hague, because the political parties of Albanians from Kosovo appeared as a separate political entity, and the political parties of Albanians from Macedonia also appeared as a separate political entity. So could the political parties of Albanians from Montenegro, that is, southern Serbia (Presheva, Bujanovac, etc.). Most intellectuals believe that the Albanians should have been presented as a unique political subject, through legitimate representatives that they would choose themselves. Because the Albanian national question in Yugoslavia exists as a unique national question. The Italians, who live in Slovenia and Croatia, the Hungarians who live in Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia, and the Muslims who live in Serbia and Montenegro (in Sandzak) in The Hague all presented themselves uniquely. In line with a non-unique presentation of Albanian political entities at the Hague Conference, the political parties of Kosovo, or the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, organized a referendum only for Kosovo Albanians at the end of September. Most Albanian intellectuals believe that, despite the obstacles, a referendum should have been organized for all Albanians in Yugoslavia. Because, in The Hague, it is being decided for Yugoslavia and not just for a republic or a people.
Are Albanians afraid of Serbia?
Qosja: Serbia should be afraid of itself, because in the last ten years alone, it has caused an ocean of evil to Albanians: injustice, violence, abuse, robbery, persecution, expulsion, beatings, injuries, murders, and so on. Albanians are not afraid of Serbia, but Albanians are wary of Serbia! We are wary. Serbia has an army, and that army until yesterday was the Yugoslav People's Army. And that army is armed to the teeth. Serbia has large police forces, and those police forces, when necessary, can also be armed with military equipment. Serbia has Territorial Defense. Serbia has armed the Serbs and Montenegrins in Kosovo to the teeth. In a word, Serbia is a military-police state, i.e. militarist. While on the other hand, Serbia kills and persecutes Albanians just because of a gun. Serbia expanded into Kosovo with the help of the army, it was held by the army and the police until today, and Serbia thinks that in the future it will also be held by the army and the police in Kosovo. We hope that it will not succeed in this direction for a long time, because the military-police holding of states today is contrary to European democratic movements and contrary to historical reason. But until such movements reach Serbia and until such reason prevails over Serbia, the Serbian aggressor regime can for a short time create a huge slaughterhouse here in Kosovo, in which it would not be possible to recognize which bodies would be Albanian and which Serbian. For this reason, it is in the interest not only of the Albanian people, but also of the Serbian people, that Serbia be liberated from the current Milosevic regime, which has transformed Serbia into an aggressive, militaristic state – the most hated state in the world today, which is becoming dangerous for the entire Balkans, and even beyond, because it is trying to achieve integration on a religious basis with Greece, Montenegro, Romania and Bulgaria under the protectorate of Russia.
National reconciliation is a historical necessity
What impact could the arrival of the United Nations "blue helmets" in Yugoslavia have on resolving the Kosovo problem?
Qosja: Yugoslavia is in a civil war, which is ethnic, religious and political and, soon, may also be interstate. And that war threatens to expand more and more. The arrival of the “blue helmets” would spare the peoples of the former Yugoslavia from the expansion of this war. And, the arrival of the “blue helmets” would bring even more hope in Kosovo for the solution of the Albanian question. Or, for the beginning of the solution of the Albanian national question.
What are the goals of the Assembly of Reconciliation and Unity of Albanians, which has been written and talked about in recent days?
Qosja: For several months, efforts have been made for Albanians to gather in the Assembly of Reconciliation and National Unity, that is, in the All-Albanian Assembly. Albanians are not the first nation, and they will not be the last European nation to try to achieve national reconciliation. National reconciliations at certain moments are a historical necessity, but also the historical maturity of a nation. And Albanians now find themselves in such a dramatic historical moment. More than any other European nation, Albanians today need such a Nationwide Assembly because of the great injustices that the Albanian people have been subjected to by their neighbors, and above all by Serbia, it has remained a divided nation, even divided to this day. That division of the people and the country has weakened national energies, opportunities for development. This has led to Albanians today being the poorest people in Europe. Albanians in Kosovo, in the truest sense of the word, are today an oppressed and enslaved people. Kosovo is under a “state of siege”. However, Albania, as a result of decades of Stalinist dictatorship, is experiencing a difficult political, economic, social and moral crisis. Albania is in a great, even tragic political disintegration. There are a large number of Albanians in the world who found themselves there, some because of political persecution in Yugoslavia and in Albania, and some because of social poverty. As you can see, there are many reasons for Albanians to gather in the National Assembly of Reconciliation. And I hope that we will gather in that assembly. The purpose of the assembly is national reconciliation, that all the intellectual, political and moral energy of the people be directed towards the realization of the main goals: the just solution of the national question, overcoming the crisis in which Albania finds itself, and the construction and institutionalization of democracy and the rule of law of the Albanian people. However, we are all aware that the goals that the Albanian National Assembly will set for itself are not an event that can be completed immediately, but a process that will take time.
The second part of the interview published on December 13, 1991:
After a long period of silence in Yugoslav opinion, in an interview for the newspaper “Borba”, the Kosovar academic, Rexhep Qosja, appears, explaining the views of the “radical” wing of Albanian intellectuals, who today set as their goal the unification with the state of Albania, now and immediately. Mr. Qosja yesterday explained the reasons for the All-Albanian Assembly, for which there were many reactions in the Yugoslav media. This is why our first question, in the continuation of the conversation, was:
Which political forces are in favor of that Parliament and which are against it?
Qosja: For the Pan-Albanian Assembly are mainly the political forces that are in power in Albania and the majority of the Albanian people in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and in the diaspora. The political forces in power are for the Pan-Albanian Assembly, because they think that they will gather some political points for the upcoming elections, while the people are also “for” it, because it is thought that with national reconciliation the further deepening of the crisis in Albanian society can be stopped. No one is against the Pan-Albanian Assembly, but some opposition parties in Albania and some parties in Kosovo are in favor of postponing the date of its holding. The opposition parties of Albania, according to my deep conviction, have unnecessary fears that the ruling party will derive political benefits from the Pan-Albanian Assembly. Because in fact, only one factor can benefit from this Assembly: the Albanian nation, on whose back the political divisions, frictions, and incompatibilities of political parties are breaking, which demand everything, but everything, for themselves, whether in an attempt to maintain power or in an attempt to gain power, thus forgetting the recent political experiences: precisely those who demanded everything and took it from power and brought the greatest misfortunes to their people.
A democratic act with high morals
Which intellectual forces are “for” and “against” the All-Albanian Assembly?
Qosja: With the exception of a very small number of those who were in the service of the previous regime in Albania, or those who fought against the “counter-revolution”, or who welcomed 1990 in Kosovo in deep silence, and now with the “democratic” rhetoric they fight against their cowardice of yesterday, there are no other Albanian intellectuals who declare themselves against the Nationwide Assembly. However, it should be noted that the most consistent supporters of the Assembly are the most prominent Albanian intellectuals, as well as those who suffered injustice and violence, i.e. who with their lives or work spread the views of democracy to the Albanian people both in Albania and in Kosovo. And there is nothing strange here. The Nationwide Assembly is a very moral democratic act and those who sacrificed in one way or another for the sake of democracy, which means for the freedom of their people, cannot stand against it. Because they do not engage in political calculations and demagoguery: they are simply oriented towards the future, which determines both their political and social thinking and behavior.
Is it true that you promote the unification of Kosovo with Albania rather than the Republic of Kosovo?
Qosja: That is correct. Until this year, until the Serbo-Croatian war and the dissolution of Yugoslavia, many Albanians believed that by advancing the political and constitutional-legal status of Kosovo in the Republic, the equality of a part of the Albanian people in Yugoslavia could be ensured and thus, to some extent, Albanian national feelings could be calmed. However, this does not mean that with the creation of the Republic of Kosovo the Albanian national issue will be resolved. No. The Albanian national issue in Yugoslavia is broader than the Kosovo issue. Today, it is clear to everyone that the Republic of Kosovo in no way resolves the Kosovo national issue, let alone the Albanian national issue. Yugoslavia without Slovenia, Croatia and Macedonia or Yugoslavia only without Slovenia and Croatia will not be a small Yugoslavia, but a Greater Serbia. And being under the sovereignty of Serbia, regardless of what it will be called, what borders and how it would be organized politically constitutionally-legally, for us Albanians means being under OCCUPATION. Serbia must be clear once and for all: that in Kosovo there was and remains an occupying state. We will never have a different feeling towards it. Serbia will not be able to take into account such things: the feelings of the Albanian people, because such feelings are being formed more and more firmly in the national policy of the Albanian people as a whole.
It is difficult for us, really difficult with Serbia, but it will be increasingly difficult for Serbia as well. We have nowhere to go from Kosovo. Serbia has made several historical, political, military and state efforts to get us out of Kosovo, but it has not succeeded, because we have been part of this country for thousands of years, our roots are so deep here that we can never be separated from this land. Then, the entire world public opinion increasingly has an understanding of the truth and legitimate rights of Albanians. Serbia will be increasingly concerned about Kosovo due to the pressure of world public opinion: being absolutely without any argument – neither historical (because the Albanian historical right in Kosovo is older than the Serbian one), nor demographic (because there are dozens of times more Albanians than Serbs and Montenegrins in Kosovo), nor political (because Albanians as a majority nation have the right to political and territorial self-determination). So, Serbia cannot justify its state sovereignty over Kosovo.
The brutal game of political facts
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A figure transformed into a symbol of modern national identity
Qosja: Serbia cannot justify its state presence in Kosovo with historical rights and its state presence with ethnic rights in Vojvodina, which was historically Hungary. Serbia cannot fight to prove the right of self-determination of Serbs in Croatia, in those territories where they are the majority, and forcibly deny the same right to Albanians in Kosovo, who are the absolute majority here. Serbia will not be able to play with political facts so brutally without raising against itself even more world public opinion, world political and economic sanctions and perhaps military ones. If the Serbian people want to be considered a democratic people, if the Serbian people want to be considered a freedom-loving people, if Serbia does not want to be an occupying state, then it must do what European and American public opinion, to be honest, is now half-heartedly demanding – namely, to allow the right of democratic civilization to the Albanian people of Kosovo to self-determine politically and territorially. And this means “allowing him to do what is natural and right to do – to unite with his people in Albania; to allow what nature gives them to be together”. Serbia will never have citizens among the Albanians who see it as their state, but it will certainly have a good neighbor, the Albanian state, to which Kosovo will also belong. Serbia will not be able to keep the Albanians in the position of a national minority. If this is to be so, historically speaking, for Serbia too, and not only for the Albanians, it is better to agree to the unification of the Albanians, because only with the unification of the Albanians, the Albanian national issue is removed from the agenda for Serbia as well.
Pluralism is now visible in Kosovo as well. I am informed that at this moment there are 15-16 political parties in Kosovo. Is this a sign of the political dynamics of Kosovo?
Qosja: Maybe at this moment there are many political parties in Kosovo, but for me this number does not show much about the dynamism of political life in Kosovo.
How much democracy is there in the current political pluralism in Kosovo? How much in Yugoslavia?
Qosja: Kosovo is under siege. What kind of democracy can we talk about here? Such a situation does not allow our internal political life to develop democratically. Serbia allows our political parties enough activity to show the world that there is political democracy in Kosovo. Thus, Kosovo's political pluralism is instrumentalized in the service of Serbia. However, more democracy is not seen anywhere else: not even in Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro. For example, Serbia has about 60 parties, but nevertheless, one-party rule still reigns there. Because, in the Serbian "multi-party" parliament, all laws and measures are decided by socialists converted from the League of Communists of Serbia. Serbian democracy today is a semi-cultural democracy where demagogy, lies and violence reign.
In your opinion, how politically profiled are the parties in Kosovo when it comes to approaching the solution to the "Kosovo Knot"?
Qosja: Today, all Albanian political parties have approximately the same position on the Kosovo issue. And they expressed this position in the statement of the Coordinating Council of Albanian political parties in Yugoslavia. However, until now there have been some differences between our parties regarding the Kosovo issue. Albanians do not call their parties that for nothing: Parliamentary Party of Kosovo – Movement for Yugoslavia. Social Democratic Party of Kosovo – Movement for Serbia. Democratic League of Kosovo – Movement for Kosovo Autonomy.
Anachronistic remnants of self-government
It is known that attempts were made in Kosovo to form a National Council of Albanians in Kosovo. Instead, the Coordinating Council of Albanian Political Parties was formed. What is the reason and why was the “Government of Kosovo” formed with such a delay?
Qosja: The Coordination Council of Political Parties was not created as a replacement, nor can it be a replacement, for the Albanian National Council. Coordination councils are an anachronistic remnant of socialist self-government. These are forums that cannot decide anything, and therefore do not force anyone to do anything. As long as the Assembly and the Government of the Republic of Kosovo exist, the Coordination Council of our parties is a political failure. I personally think that we should have created the Albanian National Council immediately after Serbia dissolved the Assembly of Kosovo and the Executive Council of Kosovo in July 1990. If they had created that council, Serbia would certainly have had more work to do for the sake of Kosovo in The Hague than it actually had. Our people say: it is never too late. Therefore, I hope that you would not put the phrase “Government of Kosovo” in brackets for a long time.
What are the concerns and priority topics of Albanian intellectuals and writers today?
Qosja: At a time when Albanians in Kosovo were deprived of all their natural resources and were left with only air, when our young people are fleeing to Western Europe to avoid being wiped out in the Serbian war of conquest, when our schools and faculties were closed, when our Academy of Sciences and Arts was abolished, when the largest number of families are unable to feed their families, when children, instead of being born in maternity wards, are in most cases born in impossible health conditions, when hundreds of compatriots are arrested and mistreated in police stations, when they threaten us with Captain Dragan's "ninjas" and Chetnik daggers - at a time when all entrances to Kosovo through the gorges of the Ibar, Rugova and Kaçanik rivers are blocked by police and military forces, and this means at a time of siege in Kosovo, when the Albanian people are a captive people, the preoccupations of intellectuals, of other Albanian writers and creators cannot be literary, artistic, or scientific. Their main concern, if not the only one, is the fate of the Albanian people in Yugoslavia. I can say that I am very concerned about the political, social, and spiritual crisis in Albania. Because, despite today's border, we live spiritually and culturally the life of a united nation, which has never stopped believing that one day it will live as a united nation.
Alongside Ismail Kadare, you are one of the most prominent Albanian intellectuals. How much does this influence you to be careful in your communication with the public?
Qosja: The intellectual status I have in the life of the people to whom I belong certainly imposes obligations on me that I must respect and that I respect in my communication with the public. My people raised me and my work and life belong to them.
What are you working on at the moment?
Qosja: In addition to my daily obligations, which I usually have in the morning, I am preparing a book on the Albanian issue, which, if I don't have any additional obstacles, I will prepare by the middle of next year.
With whom is dialogue possible?
Assuming that dialogue between Serbs and Albanians is possible in the not-too-distant future, in which circles of Serbian intellectuals and politicians do you see partners for dialogue?
Qosja: Assuming that dialogue between Albanians and Serbs is possible, I see sincere Serbian patriots as partners for dialogue. However, I do not consider those Serbian politicians and intellectuals who use Kosovo as political capital to score political points and create temporary political authority as Serbian patriots. I consider those Serbian intellectuals and politicians who sometimes, even if in a low voice, say that because of what Serbia is doing there, Kosovo is a Serbian disgrace and say in a low voice that the principles of justice, rights and democracy are being compromised in Kosovo as Serbian patriots; who feel and say in a low voice that Serbia is experiencing a civilizational defeat in Kosovo; who feel and say that Serbia will inevitably experience a political and historical defeat in Kosovo; and who do not ask the Albanians to be submissive subjects, but sovereign neighbors.
Self-determination
Precisely because academic Qosja is known as a promoter of "radical" solutions for Kosovo, at one point we asked him if he believed in the possibility of a peaceful solution to the Kosovo problem.
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Rexhep Qosja – the man of his word who stirred everyone
“In the emerging world political order,” Qosja replied, “the issue of Kosovo, or the Albanian issue, will be resolved by the Albanian consciousness itself: the persistence and determination of the Albanian people will continue in the face of suffering until they achieve the right that is legitimately theirs as the majority population of Kosovo: the right to political and territorial self-determination. I am even inclined to believe that Serbian public opinion will eventually become more open to such a right of the Albanian people and will give up Kosovo just as the French gave up Algeria, just as the Russians give up their colonies in the Soviet Union today.”
Taken from the newspaper "Borba", December 12 and 13, 1991. Selected and translated by: Skënder Latifi
