Albanians in south urged "to show they're ready for war"

Source: Beta

PRIŠTINA -- Ethnic Albanians living in southern Serbia were urged on Tuesday "to show they are ready for war, and put aside all their differences".

(Tanjug, file)

The call came from Adem Demaci, formerly the political representative of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; UCK).
Albanian language daily Epoke e Re, published in Priština, is quoting him as saying that "nothing can be done without the unity of Albanians in the Preševo Valley" - a term he used for southern Serbia.

His comments came after announcements of the Serbian authorities that a memorial built in Preševo to honor members of "the Liberation Army of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa" (UCPMB), would be removed.

The now disbanded ethnic Albanian group was considered a terrorist organization by the authorities, since its members in 2000 and 2001 engaged in attacks on police, military, and civilian targets in the area.

"It is a monument to the great fight that the people have led for their existence and their rights," Demaci said on Tuesday, and added:

"They (Albanian leaders) should put aside their power struggles, create an organism that unites them, because they can do nothing divided. This is about 100,000 citizens and if they are not ready to die - nobody can help them."

According to this former KLA representative, "Europe is simply testing Albanians to see how ready they are to fight for their rights".

He also advised Albanian leaders "to seek the same rights for themselves as those that Serbs have in Kosovo".

"While in Kosovo we were forced to give the Serb minority the rights nobody in the whole world has, Europe now seems to think that Serbs really are a heavenly people, while Albanians are some idiots who can live in slavery and without any rights. Albanians should organize on a national level, it should be known who is giving commands, they should be unanimous in their demands. The demand is that they be given the same rights as Serbs in Kosovo," Demaci was quoted as saying.

According to him, "principles of the Ahtisaari plan" should be implemented in southern Serbia - "if the goal of Europe really is to be peaceful, and for Serb and Albanians to be peaceful".