INTERVIEW/Sylë Ukshini: “Greater Albania”? Belgrade’s formula to mask Greater Serbia

INTERVIEW/Sylë Ukshini: “Greater Albania”? Belgrade’s formula to mask Greater Serbia
The term “Greater Albania” is mere propaganda being used by Serbia to justify its destructive role in the Western Balkans. But at the same time, it is also a formula invented by it to conceal the intention to create “Greater Serbia”. This is the stance expressed during an exclusive interview for Albanian Free Press by the chargé d'affaires at the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo in Albania, Sylë Ukshini. He further defends the idea that “among Albanians, there has never been a program, a written or a political one to create ‘Greater Albania’…

Interviewed for Albanian Free Press by Eglantina Nasi

Mr. Ukshini, in the recent days, Kosovo went through an important development, such as the overthrow of the government through a no confidence vote. What is your comment on this? Is this a sign of democracy or a sign of crisis?

After the no confidence vote which led to the overthrow of the government, all political parties showed their composure by using moderated rhetoric and as a result, the situation in the country is calm. So, by holding consultations with political parties, decided to decree early elections for 11 June. And as a senior state official in Albania said, “the government changes are being associated without clashes between the majority and the opposition, there is no turmoil, there’s no tension, there’s no intervention from abroad and everything is being managed through democratic procedures. This political culture must be taken as an example by the political class in Albania”. Don’t forget that our state is only 9 years old and this shows that democracy in Kosovo is developing within institutional framework. Governments come and go, but what counts the most is to preserve the stability of the country and continue without any obstacles in the path of European integration. Any government and parliament plays an important role in the process of the consolidation of the state. The new government will play an important role in the internal and external processes of the Republic of Kosovo.

The main three countries where Albanians live, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania are going through turbulent political developments. Do you think they are related to each other?

No. It may be a coincidence, but I wouldn’t see any links between the political developments in these three countries. The crisis in Macedonia is a totally different crisis. It’s taking place between Macedonian political parties and recently, it has also taken the shape of an ethnic crisis. But not between Albanian political parties. The Republic of Kosovo maintains that such acts of violence and clashes between elected representatives in Macedonia, which occurred in the month of April in the Parliament of Macedonia, are unacceptable and do not help democracy, peace and stability of this neighboring country.

Do you not believe in the conspiracy theories that there may be a “hidden hand” in acting here, interested to destabilize the Albanian factor in the region?

No. Then, as far as the current developments in Albania are concerned, I don’t think that they are insurmountable problems. In contrast to other countries of the region, Albania doesn’t have any minorities or ethnic groups which can make it difficult for the problem to be solved. In Kosovo, we have chosen the same approach that Albania has chosen: respect agreements and the vote of Albanians here in Albania.

Recently, the term “National unification” or “Greater Albania” has been commented by the media, while Thaci and Rama have mentioned the fact that Kosovo and Albania are part of a joint cause, the European Atlantic cause. According to you, who is interested to put such terms in the mouths of the two Albanian leaders?

First of all, Kosovo and Albania are strategic partners now. In January 2014, in Prizren, the two prime ministers, Rama and Thaci signed the Joint Declaration for Cooperation and Strategic Partnership. This agreement offered the chance for a new dynamic in our bilateral relations, namely in drafting implementing joint policies in the political, economic, educational, social and cultural domain. The term “Greater Albania” is mere propaganda used by Serbia to justify its destructive role in the Western Balkan region. We’ve seen how Serb media has constantly used this term as a headline, while nobody in Pristina or Tirana ever mentions the so called “Greater Albania” term. This term is used by Serbia to justify its destabilizing role in Kosovo, Bosnia and the entire Western Balkan region.

Why is Serbia, of all countries, using this term?

Such rhetoric used by Belgrade aims at demonizing Albanians, because Kosovo and Albania are where they have always been. Kosovo is where it has always been with 95% Albanians and we don’t have any Greater Albania here. We have two states. But I think that Belgrade and several circles use this term to mask the idea of Greater Serbia.

Everyone knows that among Albanians, there has never been a program, a written or a political one to create “Greater Albania”. There’s no official idea for it. This is merely an artificial formula created by Belgrade to conceal the intention to create Greater Serbia and to create doubts about the fact that Albanians are a factor in Southeast Europe. Allow me to mention a recent interview by the Serb Prime Minister, Vucic, for “Politico” portal, where he declares that he wishes to create a new Yugoslavia, which would include Albania. Do you know what this means? This concept means nothing less than Greater Serbia! In the optic of the Serb political and cultural elite, the idea of a Greater Serbia for the inclusion of the countries of the region within the Serb state has been dominating. And the Serb political elite has never given up its objective and the old national policies. Its agenda continues to include the idea for the creation of Greater Serbia, openly or discreetly. What’s more, when we talk about the idea of Greater Serbia, we refer to written Serb documents, we refer to violent policies and the wars that the Serb state conducted in the region during the 20th century in an effort to create Greater Serbia.

To say that “Kosovo is Serbia” means to protect the concept of Greater Serbia, because Kosovo, with 95% of ethnic Albanians within Serbia, has been a classic invasion and almost a 100 year old colonial behavior. Kosovo’s separation from Serbia has created a new reality, a more real Serbia and a long-term stability.

But I think that that Belgrade has another concern. Serbia is worried about the fact that Albanians have become an important factor in the region and recently, in Macedonia too. Of course, we are not to be blamed about the fact that we’re here. It is a fact that the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War have offered Albanians a new chance and possibility, which was denied to them for over a century. Another problem is that Serbia is not getting used to within its current borders, because for a century, it has controlled a large territory which has not belonged to it in the ethnic and geographical aspect. Serbia is demonstrating that it is not yet used to see its neighbors as equal partners. Its return to the real borders is a problem. The same thing happens with a person who is used to dominate the others and as soon as he loses this, he is unhappy. So, Serbia must learn to find internal peace in these borders and give up on its territorial claims toward the state of Kosovo, the same way Kosovo doesn’t have any territorial claims against Serbia and invests for constructive neighboring relations. On the other hand, Serbia continues to invest itself in expansionist options for territories and also for the option of dividing Kosovo. Meanwhile, our foreign policy aims at securing more recognitions for Kosovo and for the country to become part of the EU and NATO. In this context, we’re convinced that the new government of Kosovo will also apply for the EU member candidate status.

So far, you spoke like an official of Kosovo about the official stance of your government on the issue of “National Unification”. Meanwhile, there are political representatives in Kosovo, for instance, from the opposition party, Self Determination, who often use this term…

I would like to repeat that Kosovo’s foreign policy strategic goal is for us to be integrated in the international system. Meanwhile, the idea that Self Determination proclaims is a political orientation of a political party, which for the moment, doesn’t represent the official line of the Republic of Kosovo. Allow me to say something else: Europe has many political parties that represent many ideas, which do not follow the same official line of the countries where they operate. But we must stress that neither Kosovo, nor Albania do not manifest any tendency for a Greater Albania.

The foreign policy of the Republic of Kosovo is oriented toward strengthening good and constructive relations with all the countries of the region. But I can also say that if we want the process to remain within these lines, I think the EU must be quicker in the process of integration inside of it, to include Kosovo and the region in it, because almost three decades have gone by since the end of the Cold War and our return to Europe looked closer and more achievable.

If Kosovo remains outside the EU, NATO and the United Nations Organization, this certainly forces Albanians of Kosovo to look for other alternatives. Let us take a very simple example. The more delays there are in the liberalization of the visa regime for Kosovo, the more requests there are from students, artists, academics and Albanian business people from Kosovo to be issued with Albanian passports, in order for them to have better opportunities to fulfill their academic, artistic or business projects.

 

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