We must not forget that members of more than ten nations and many religions live in Vojvodina. If we can prevent war from coming to Vojvodina there is a chance for everyone.
Gashi: I am speaking as a representative of the Democratic Union of Kosovo, the country's biggest party with about 800,000 members. It is a young party; until recently it was not possible to form opposition parties.
For the past hundred odd years Serbian academics, publicists and politicians have sought to prove that the Albanians are simply a nomadic people who had settled in Kosovo. Other research shows that the Albanians are the descendants of the ancient Illyrians — and have been around
In 1913 the London conference split up the Albanian people so that after another conference in 1918 much of the Albanian people found itself inside the newly formed Croat/Slovene/Serb kingdom of Yugoslavia without ever being consulted on the matter. 1945 once again saw Kosovo's Albanians unable to determine whether they wished to remain a part of Yugoslavia or join the rest of Albania.
Peaceful demonstrations
In 1981 peaceful and organized demonstrations expressed the will of the Kosovo Albanians for an independent republic in the framework of the Yugoslav federation.
Instead of listening to the will of the people draconian measures were taken against Kosovo's Albanians. In spite of this Kosovo's Albanians declared an independent republic on July 2, 1990, drew up a constitution on September 7, 1991 and on September 21, 1991 a referendum was held, in which Albanians in Europe, America and Australia took part. 97% of those who voted supported an independent republic.
The Serbian response has been ferocious. The Albanian media has been suppressed, the only university for Yugoslavia's three million Albanians dissolved as have high schools. Around half a million have had to emigrate for political or economic reasons. A big percentage of these are deserters from Yugoslav army. On the day of the army's attack on Slovenia, the DUK issued an appeal for Albanian soldiers in that army not to take part in such attacks and to desert.
We had three options for the solution of the Albanian problem in the Balkans. The first was an independent Kosovo republic inside the borders inherited from the Yugoslav federation. However, the Serb decision to annex Vojvodina and Kosovo effectively abolished these borders.
The second was an independent state of Albanians in Yugoslavia. In fact the Albanians are very compactly settled. Some 92% of Kosovo's population is Albanian. The same is true of the Albanian communities in north west Macedonia and southern Serbia. Even so we are everywhere "a minority". With the Serbian aggressions in Croatia and Bosnia this option has become increasingly
Until now, Albanians have put up with all the provocations from the Serb side. However the violence from the Serbian side means inevitably a radicalization on the Albanian side. Groups are already forming which call for organized and active resistance. So far the DUK has succeeded in keeping the radical groups at bay and heading off reactions to Serb provocations. But that cannot go on for ever. Europe has ignored us. Our official representatives are not invited to the conferences. We have a parliament, a government and legal representatives and they must take part as representatives of Kosovo in the next round of peace talks.
If weapons talk
If weapons begin to talk in Kosovo then Albanians in Albania Macedonia, Montenegro and southern Serbia will join in. If Macedonia is involved then that brings in Bulgaria. If shooting begins in Kosovo there may be a Balkan war.