TWENTY PRINCIPAL MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUTTHE KOSOVO ISSUE

Kosovo issue is a conflict between ethnic Albanians and ethnic Serbs over the territory

Wrong:

It is a part of the conflict betweenBalkan Albanians and the surroundingpopulations, in Montenegro, Serbia,Macedonia and Greece (ex. clash betweenAlbanians and Macedonians in Macedoniain 2001)

The issue is a fight of Albanians for their political rights

Wrong:

the crux of the matter lies at thebiological level. The real rationale is ademographic explosion which is going on within the Albanian population for a centuryor so (rate of growth in Albania four to fivetime faster than the average rate in otherEuropean countries) and the ensuingexpansion for Lebensraum

The southern Serbian province is called Kosovo

Wrong.

It is Kosovo and Metohia,abbreviated KosMet. Kosovo itself is anabbreviation of Kosovo Polje, what inSerbian language means Blackbird Field (inGerman Amselfeld). Metohia is a corruptedGreek name for Metohi, meaningdependency to monastery, referring to theland bestowed by Serbian kings and otherrulers to the monasteries of Pecka

Patrijarshija, Dechani, Grachanica etc. (13-14 cc.)

Ethnic Albanians at KosMet (Shqipetars in the following, as they call themselves) constitute a majority of 90%

Wrong.

In the last census carried out atKosMet in 1961, Shqipetars constituted 67%of the overall population, with(predominantly) Serbs and others sharingthe rest. As for the subsequent censuses(1971, 1981, 1991) Shqipetars refused totake part in them. All figures quoted for thisperiod are estimates only

Shqipetars are autochthonous population at KosMet

Wrong.

In the Middle Age KosMet was thecentral part of Serbian state, culture andcivilization. Shqipetars were tiny minority (c.2%, according to Ottoman census in 1455),nomadic herdsmen mostly. They came toKosMet from North and Central Albaniamainly after the Great Serb Migration in1690 from KosMet to Vojvodina (then inHabsburg Empire), after an abortiveuprising against Ottoman rule in 1689.When KosMet was liberated from Ottomanrule in 1912, by Serbia, Serbs andShqipetars shared equally the overallpopulation there (50%

versus

50%). Alltoponyms at Kosmet are Serb, except for afew of them (as opposite to the state inAlbania)

KosMet is an undeveloped, poor region

Wrong

. It is the most fertile land in Serbia(apart from Vojvodina). The average NP perfamily is the same as in the rest of Serbia. Itis low only if counted per head, since the

Shqipetars’ family has six times more

children than Serbian family (and former

Yugoslavia’s one, for that matter). (We are

referring to a proper family here, not to theso-called fis, extended Shqipetar family, which may comprise hundreds members). Infact, accounting for the fact thatproportionally more Shqipetars are workingin Western Europe, their income are notaccounted for when estimating familyearnings and KosMet appears better off thanthe rest of Serbia. That KosMet is aprosperous region can be verified by directinspection at the spot. KosMet is the biggestcoal reservoir in Europe

The aim of Shqipetars is an independent Kosova

Wrong.

It is a common goal of all Albaniansto live in a single (united) state. The politicalprograme of Greater Albania is designed in1878 by Albanian First Prizren League. Thisaim has been practically already achieved.KosMet has been practically annexed byAlbania as there is no border betweenKosMet and Albania. As for the WestMacedonia, it is a matter of the near future. The next step is Cameria, as the NorthernEpir (Greece) is called by Albanians and theEast Montenegro