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| Prishtina |
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| Courtesy of Iliriapress |
| Faqe 6 |
| The years of 1945 to 1966 were tamed for Albanians. Many people were persecuted, killed, and massacred by the communist regime. From 1950to 1966, the Serbian government behind the communist regime continued with Chubrilloviche’s plan. Until 1966 security in Yugoslavia was in the hands of the Serbian, Aleksandar Rankovi?, who practiced the old-fashioned style repression. After the war, he was appointed as the minister of the interior and the head of the military intelligence known as "OZNA". In addition, Aleksander Rankovich was the head of political police known as "UDBA." He lunched an organized "Weapons Seizures" in the Albanian population. Behind the weapon seizure program, Aleksander Rankovich used torture, arrests, and killings for deportation of Albanians from Yugoslavia. Even though Yugoslavia was created as a joined state of all the people, Albanians, Hungarians, Germans, Turks, Jewish and others none Slavic were considered as foreigners. In the initiative by the Communist Party of Serbia, the peoples of Yugoslavia were classed as either "nations" or "nationalities". The former were entitled to Yugoslav republics. They were the Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Montenegrins and Slavic Macedonians. The most important of the "nationalities" were the Kosovo Albanians and the Hungarians who lived in Vojvodina in the north, both of whose people had existing states. There were attempts by Serbian and Slavic Macedonian leaders to dilute the level of Albanian and Turkish populations throughout the Republic. Through a series of agreements signed with the Turkish government, "voluntary" repatriation would take place in an official attempt to ethnically purify Slav-held lands. |
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| As official statistics suggest, this policy of the "repatriation" of ethnic Turks really constituted expulsions of large numbers of Albanians (purposefully labeled Turks) for a period of over 15 years. Of the many policies of Rankovic, forced emigration has been particularly challenging to document. |
| Forced migration or "repatriation" and ethnic cleansing were nothing new except the continuation of Chbrilloviches plan. What made this particular version successful was its seemingly "voluntary" nature. By now we know that this was just the facade and the pressures on Albanians to migrate to Turkey or elsewhere were unbearable. Rankovich and other Serbian communists succeeded in ethnic cleansing in Vojvodina. Almost everything that was not Slavic, they were expelled and deportated or killed. All the Germans, Jewish, and Hungarian vanished from Vojvodina. |
| Before the end of the war, Rankovich and other Serbian communists allowed the Serbian fascist collaborators and war criminals known as “Chetnicks” to join the partisan units. Most of these people were settled in the houses of Hungarian, Jewish, and German houses in Vojvodina. Part of Russians and the Serbian population was settled in Kosova. They targeted the cities of Prishtina, Prizren, Dragash, Peja, and Mitrovica. Many Albanians were deportated, mistreated, tortured, killed, and massacred; the Serbian could not succeed to deport all Albanians to Turkey. In the attempt to over through the government of Josip Bros Tito in 1966, Aleksander Rankovich was detained and expelled from the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. Nevertheless, the Communist Party of Serbia continued with repression in Prishtina and Kosova. In 1968, the demonstration erupted in Prishtina. On November 27, 1968, the streets of Prishtina were crowded with students protesting the bad conditions in institutions; asking for more rights for Albanians, Kosova to become Republic; Stop the colonialization of Kosova, Release the Albanian political prisoners, stop the exodus and deportation of Albanians, and etc. At the same time, the demonstration erupted in other towns of Kosova. The cities of Gjilan, Podujev, Ferizaj, Pej, Prizren, and other cities in Kosova were engulfed in demonstration. The Serbian Police massacred the students and other demonstrators. Thousands students were arrested, thousands of them left Kosova, and several politicians and civil workers were expelled or their employments were terminated. After the demonstration calmed down, the Yugoslavian assembly agreed to open a university in Prishtina after huge remarks by UN for human rights violation. In 1970, the University of Prishtina opened. |
| The Serbian Communist Party wanted Prishtina to become entirely Serbian. Immediately after the war, Prishtina started building. It was a plan to destroy whatever was old and replace it with new and better one. In fact, it was building more properties for Serbian. The Serbian government settled 3000 Serbian families in Prishtina and surroundings from 1945 to 1948. At the same time, many Albanians from all over Kosova and southern Serbia in search for employment were settling in Prishtina. Prishtina was the only city to have employment opportunities for Albanians in Kosova. The Communist Serbian Government was sponsoring great deals for Prishtin to attract the Serbian population in Serbia to come and live in Prishtina and Kosova. Many Serbian villagers from all around Serbia settled in Kosova. Many Russians were brought from Russia as the children of Balkans. In reality, they were nothing more than Gypsies of Russia. They were called, Montenegrins. The number of Serbians in Prishtina increased rapidly. From 1948 to 1953, the Serbian government brought 8000 Serbians to live in Prishtina; the Serbian government brought additional 1000 Serbians and settled them in Fush Kosova, suburb of Kosova. The Serbians were all employed in the offices, and the other people had to do other jobs. Proportionally with increase of Serbian population, the Roma or Gypsies population increased. By 1953, Prishtina had 25 000 Serbian, 2518 Roma. In 1953, 9100 Albanians and 4700 Turks were deportated for Turkey from Prishtina and surrounding towns. Nevertheless, the Albanian population increased too in Prishtina by far more modest number. In 1953 alone, the Serbian government brought additional 2000 Serbian as new communist colonialists and settled them in Graqanicë, Laplesellë, Sushicë, and Çagllavicë. By 1961, the Serbian population increased tremendously in Prishtina and Kosova. Even though Albanians constituted 95% of the city’s population in 1945, the figure changed in 1961. The 1961 official population census of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo organized by the government of the Socialist Republic of Serbia under the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia government recorded 38,593 citizens from whom 49% Albanians and 38% Serbs. This census could not be believed because it was done strictly by Serbs and governed by the communist party of Serbia. They manipulated with figures. The communist party of Serbia never showed the exact figure. According to unofficial figur by Croation employed in Serbian government, Prishtina had 70% Albanians and 30% other nationalities. It remained as the communist party of Serbia wanted. |
| With oppening of the University of Prishtina in 1970, more jobs were opened for Albanians. The new constitution of Yugoslavia in 1974, Kosova became a Yugoslav republic in all but name. The 1974 Yugoslav Constitution recognizes Kosovo's "autonomous" status, and gave the province the right to self-government. It was part of the federal power structure, with rights equal to any of the other republics. It had its own assembly, police force and national bank and it was represented on the federal presidency along with the six Yugoslav republics. All of this was located in Prishtina. There were more jobs for Albanians which attracted more Albanians to come to Prishtina. The population of Prishtina increased again. The Serbian population increased too. Nevertheless, the living conditions in Belgrade, Nish, and other cities in Serbia were far better than in Prishtina. This attracted the inter immigration and emigration in Serbia and Montenegro. Nevertheless, the Serbian government continued the exploitation and further colonialization of Kosova. This time was perpetrated in a hidden way and slowly. |