Albanians cautious of Serbian crisis<\/p>\n
By Jovan Kovacic<\/p>\n
PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (Reuter): Ethnic Albanians, restive under
\nSerbian rule in the province of Kosovo, are steering clear of
\nSerbia's democratic opposition movement to avoid a new backlash
\nagainst their aspirations to autonomy.<\/p>\n
Analysts say President Slobodan Milosevic would be handed a
\nexcuse to both crack down harder on the Albanian majority in
\nKosovo and crush Serbian opposition protests elsewhere with
\npolice force if the Albanians openly backed his foes.<\/p>\n
\"Albanians must not give Milosevic any pretext to crack down
\non Kosovo and shift the Serbian crisis into this volatile area,\"
\nsaid Shkelzen Maliqi, an Albanian publicist and member of the
\nGeorge Soros Open Society Foundation.<\/p>\n
\"Any (pro-opposition) play on our part would disturb the
\npolitical process in Serbia and give Milosevic an excuse to call
\nfor homogenization of Serbs once again,\" Fehmi Agani, vice-
\npresident of the leading ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic
\nLeague of Kosovo (LDK), told Reuters.<\/p>\n
Maliqi and Agani were referring to a wave of street protests
\nby the opposition Zajedno (Together) coalition which has rocked
\nthe rest of Serbia for more than 10 weeks in the biggest
\nchallenge to Milosevic's 10-year rule.<\/p>\n
Zajedno is protesting against the ruling Socialist Party's
\nannulment of opposition victories in 14 of Serbia's 18 largest
\ncities, including Belgrade, last November.<\/p>\n
Some analysts fear the unrest could spread to volatile Kosovo,
\nwhere ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs nine to one, and help
\nMilosevic divert world attention from the streets of his capital
\nand silence both Zajedno and the Albanians.<\/p>\n
When Albanian Parliamentary Party (PP) leader Adem Demaqi, who
\nspent 28 years in jail as a political prisoner in old Communist
\nYugoslavia, sent a message of support to Zajedno last month, the
\nSocialists accused the Serbian opposition of consorting with
\nsecessionists.<\/p>\n
In 1989, Milosevic abolished the autonomous status of
\nimpoverished Kosovo on the ground that its Albanians were
\npreparing to secede from Serbia. Nationalist Serbs say Kosovo is
\nthe ancient cradle of their culture.<\/p>\n
Kosovo's Albanians have quietly dissented ever since,
\nboycotting Serbian state institutions and authority in a quest
\nfor self-rule by peaceful means.<\/p>\n
But the tense equilibrium could be broken suddenly, diplomats
\nand political sources say, with new leaders like Demaqi calling
\nfor more radical steps towards independence against a backdrop of
\nrenewed violence against Kosovo Serbs.<\/p>\n
Bosko Drobjnjak, Serbian information minister in the province,
\ntold Reuters that an atmosphere for dialogue painstakingly
\ncreated last year was not welcomed by hardliners.<\/p>\n
\"This has resulted in the emergence of terrorism -- first
\ntargeting people at random and then selecting Serbs and loyal
\nAlbanians for assassination,\" Drobjnjak said.<\/p>\n
Both Serbs and Albanians say that 15 Serbs and 14 Albanians
\nwere killed in ethnic violence in Kosovo last year.<\/p>\n
An obscure organization called the Albanian Liberation Army of
\nKosovo (LAK) has taken responsibility for most of a handful of
\nkillings of Serb policemen and other Serbs over the past year.<\/p>\n
Serbian police said they arrested its leader, Avni Klinaku,
\nand some followers last Saturday.<\/p>\n
In the most spectacular recent attack, the Serbian rector of
\nthe university in Pristina, Kosovo's main city, was critically
\ninjured in a car bombing two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Socialist-run state media accused Zajedno of complicity in the
\nattack. A Zajedno leader, Zoran Djindjic, ridiculed the
\nallegation and pinned the blame on radical Albanians in Kosovo.
\nThis did not go down well in Pristina.<\/p>\n
\"I see the point he was trying to make but why blame us?\"
\nAgani, said recalling that both Djindjic and his partner in the
\nZajedno leadership, Vuk Draskovic, had hardline views towards
\nKosovo autonomy.<\/p>\n
Despite smoldering tensions, the Serbian police presence in
\nthe crumbling streets of Pristina was low-key this week and gone
\nwere the paramilitary assault rifles they carried as recently as
\nlast year.<\/p>",
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