The Independent 5
January 1999
Letters to the Editor
This is in response to a letter written by Mr. Graham Perkins on 5 January 1999, attributing Serb nationalism as being the catalyst that gave rise to the tragedy in Kosovo.
Mr. Perkins mentions his concern for a “Greater Serbia,” but says nothing about the consequences of a “Greater Albania,” or a “Greater Croatia,” the latter already having achieved its goal of a ethnically pure Croatian state.
Serbs and Jews need not apply. Sarajevo has already been turned into a pure Islamic city, and not the multi-ethnic state that the Dayton peace agreement was intended to implement.
Furthermore, Mr. Perkins didn’t show any outrage when under 15 years of Albanian autonomy, from 1974 to 1989, Serbian nuns were being raped and murdered, Serbian churches and monasteries were being destroyed, the Cyrillic alphabet was banned, their water supply was being poisoned, and the 80-year old Bishop of Kosovo was beaten by young Albanian thugs so severely that he laid in the hospital for three months not knowing if he was going to live or die.
Over 200,000 Serbs were driven out of Kosovo during that period of benevolent Albanian autonomy.
It was due to Tito’s hatred for Serbia’s Orthodox Christians thatencouraged illegal Albanian Muslims to cross into Christian Kosovo. It is also interesting that Mr. Perkins praises communist dictator Tito.
Serbs were the 75% majority until first decimated by 500 years under Turkish oppression, followed by Hitler’s gestapo. Today, the Serbian people are a 10% minority.
In view of this, who is being ethnically cleansed?
Stella L. Jatras
Sterling, Virginia, USA
Mr Perkins’ letter:
Subject: Letters to the Editor
The Independent, 5 January 1999
Serbia’s lost war
Sir: Dr Michael Pravica, in his justification for repression in Kosovo (letter, 29 December), fails to recognise that this is a situation brought about by Serb nationalism.
It would have been possible to retain the autonomy allowed by Tito and to respect Albanian culture and language and to treat Kosovan Albanians as equal citizens in Yugoslavia. Then the present situation might not have arisen.
However, we are where we are. Serbia may be able to maintain, for a time and at great cost, control in the urban areas and the main roads. But I doubt if there is any going back. Kosovo is effectively lost to Serbia – which has never had more than a tenuous grip on much of the countryside.
Dr Pravica’s solution is for the West to step back and allow Serbia to “combat Albanian terrorism” and at the same time to relax sanctions in the hope that the “irresponsible leaders who destroyed Yugoslavia” may be replaced. I do not see how handing Milosevic a free hand will weaken his regime.
Internal opposition to the present Serbian regime is growing. There is reaction to the clampdowns in the media and in higher education. Vojvodina, which, like Kosovo, had autonomy withdrawn, is restive and has large Croat and Hungarian minorities. Montenegro is taking an independent line.
Neighbouring successor states such as Croatia and Macedonia are seen to be, by comparison, increasingly prosperous and open societies.
Western governments have a variety of options, but these should not include allowing Serbia to use the methods seen at Vukovar and Srebrenica to suppress a legitimate desire for self-determination on the part of the Albanian majority.
Graham Perkins, Bromyard, Herefordshire
